#no offense to ppl who write that kind of stuff

[yoshi-ori]

finally figured out how to block tumblr tags god bless

[mod-kyoko]

hello :) i loved your latest byakuya hc post so much 😭 it seems so accurate ykwim

so... could i req byakuya nagito and kokichi w an s/o who's quite closed off about everything (trust issues yk) and has social anxiety? thanks <3

accuracy is something really important to me when i'm writing so if you think it was accurate then i'm so glad

and i'm so excited for a nagito request i haven't gotten one in a while

byakuya, nagito, kokichi with a socially anxious s/o

byakuya is not the type to nag you to tell him what's going on

he's such a "sit in comfortable silence" type of guy

because of your social anxiety, combined with his general aversion to people, the two of you don't go out often

he is perfectly content with you entertaining each other in your own home

but some times you can't avoid going out. errands and all that jazz

and usually he would go by himself and let you stay home, but this time he really needed your help with what he was doing

he knows how being around lots of people affects you, and while he can't relate, he can sort of imagine how it feels. you're afraid of people, he is annoyed by them. so you both kind of have something in common: you love avoiding social situations

anyway, when you're in public he always makes sure to stand near you and never lets the two of you get separated

if you were to end up separated, he would internally panic

one of the only times he ever experiences genuine anxiety: when you are left alone in a stressful environment

it took a long time to get you to open up to him. not that he was trying, he preferred to let it happen naturally so it was genuine.

and he is so glad you did because now he knows what kind of situations to avoid, and he is perfectly content with being a social hermit

nagito likes(?) being around certain people generally, but he also doesn't mind being alone, so wherever you go, he goes, and if you want to be a hermit, he wants to be a hermit

it was actually really easy for you to open up to him purely because he is so self-deprecating that there was no way he would judge you for anything

from time to time he will encourage you to go out and face your fear because yknow, it's the hopeful thing to do. then he'll apologize because you probably don't want advice from a lowlife like him (his words not mine)

anyway, when you two go out he's never afraid to hold your hand or bring you close to him

(i think nagito is so old fashioned in the way that he feels modern flirting and stuff can be too offensive or disrespectful so he likes to court ppl he is attracted to. we need to bring back courting pls)

so in public he generally has his hand on the small of your back, or intertwined in yours, wherever you want it to be

he's so damn intuitive. if he ever notices you are uncomfortable in a certain environment (and he will always notice), he will find a way to get out of there

kokichi is a very free spirit, you can't tie him down

he's always ready to go out and do things

being around people is his thing, he's hella extroverted

so he's always begging you to do things with him, and he just can't grasp how you are so anxious around people

he asked you why because he was genuinely trying to understand, and at first you wouldn't really talk about it, so he gave up

it might seem like he's annoyed about it sometimes, but he's just adjusting to being with someone who lives a lifestyle so different to his

eventually he will come around. and, like nagito, he will encourage you to go out and fight off that social anxiety

he often invites friends over so you can socialize in a comfortable environment and get used to the presence of others

when you two go out and you worry you're being stared at, he'll purposely do silly things to embarrass himself and take the attention off you. he's such a goof

and if he notices you're getting uncomfortable, he will get you out of there, find someplace quiet, and make sure you're okay. he'll also give you a ton of kisses!

and if for some reason any person is ever bothering you more than usual, he'll weird them out by barking or some shit so they'll go away (he would literally do this don't tell me he wouldn't)

♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧

bro damn byakuya's got my heart rn

i used to write kokichi well but it's been forever since i played the game so now i barely remember what he's like. looks like i got homework to do augh

-mod kyoko

[broodwolf221]

venty/negative and kinda fandom critical. not exclusively about the da fandom but just fandom in gen re: queer characters

re: the krem post i rbed earlier... i don't even know what ppl wanted from that scene 😭i still think it holds up well in 2024, but even ppl who seem to appreciate his inclusion will always add caveats about how it could've been better, how there were uncomfortable parts, etc etc

and i'm just confused. like what did they want? fr? bc what we got was something that, to me, felt earnest and sincere. it did not feel like a tumblr post explaining gender, but a person's real experiences and the inherent complexity of them

idk. yelling into the void. but i just always think about how critical fans can be of any queer rep and it feels weird sometimes. like everything that ppl point to as This Was Bad Writing doesn't feel that way to me and i don't think i'm a super weird outlier or anything and i'm honestly tired of conversation around krem's inclusion always coming with these caveats

this isn't @ the person who wrote that post or @ any individual person who has said these things. they're fine on their own. they're always valid points! and obviously i do rb them. what bothers me is the frequency of seeing these takes. it feels like the only krem posts i don't see them on are silly short ones, but if it gets remotely serious the caveats come in, the "it could've been better but-" comes in, the "it was good for the time," comes in

or put another way:

krem's inclusion, or the inclusion of any openly trans character in a videogame, is a political statement. but liking krem, talking about him online, talking about his character, should not have to couched in politicized language. like after a certain number of times seeing it, it just starts to feel weird, yknow? i'm a trans man and krem was really important to me. but now it feels a little... off-putting, because it feels like he's being used - by fans - to make a political statement whenever he's talked about

and i'm sure there are blogs out there who don't do this stuff who i just don't follow bc idk them. like my pov on tumblr is limited, naturally, and that's a factor that needs to be considered. but esp knowing that trick weekes wrote krem, and that weekes is nonbinary, it's like... i've just been thinking all day long about the extremes fandom holds queer characters to, especially if they're written by someone who isn't explicitly queer (at the time!) and how horribly and regularly that backfires on the creators. how so many creators have been forced out of the closet because people thought they were being offensive by writing someone or something queer, when in fact they were writing from their own experience (not even getting into how cishet people can write queer characters and should be allowed to, that's a whole post to itself)

i just think there's an underlying issue, and not one exclusive to the dragon age fandom, about treating queer characters like they need to be perfect and infallible and somehow represent every kind of queerness in one person and how, failing that, they need to be dissected and examined and the work they come from dissected and examined. but yeah, all i can say is that it's gotten to a point where i'm kinda uncomfortable posting about krem despite the huge impact he had on me as a fresh out of the closet trans man bc it feels like there's an implicit need to write a political essay about gender when u talk about him and i'm tired i just wanna yell about my blorbos sometimes

[ca-suffit]

I hate that you are right (affectionately ) but there something really ''funny'' happening since they officially presented Nicolas and the actor playing him.I can already see the excitement for Lestat first (on screen) white male interest.

It's not really about Lestat this season but all they do is center everything around him, since the photos of the next episode came out people have already forgotten everything else. It gives me a glimpse of what's going to happen in season 3 and I can already say that I will probably drop the series.The fact that the showrunner says he accepted the series just so he could adapt The Vampire Lestat book is a red flag.Also the more I learn about Anne Rice the more I regret even starting the show.

I should still point out that I don't hate Lestat or Sam I know he's popular,it's just his fans.

I also don't hate Lestat or Sam, but this is the lie that white fandom has to keep pushing to victimize themselves. Ur noticing how often white characters take over the tags, it happens every time. The first Loumand kiss we got (when it was still a bts video) barely existed but a single still of Lestat got posted by everyone for *weeks*. A lot of ppl's engagement with stuff they promise isn't racially motivated and is "the books" rly is about how much whiteness is present. It's prbly gonna be insufferable here after the next episode. There's already constant shitting on Armand with the "it's not racism, it's the books" excuse. Nicki is also a huge asshole, do u think we're gonna hear about that tho lol? It's so easy to discuss all these characters and plots without having to victimize urself. U can tell who is part of white fandom by who can't write anything without paragraphs of a disclosure about how this isn't about race. Everything is about race lol. Maybe if u got comfortable talking about it u'd learn it's easy to do without being racist about it gd?? "Noticing race is the real racism" mfers, Anne Rice made everyone stupid as hell.

I don't think wanting to adapt TVL is a red flag itself without seeing what's done with it. Obviously, watch to ur comfort level but I'm just saying for my opinion. What they've created so far is not something that paints Lestat in the best light and I'm v doubtful they'd undo all that when they already went there in the first place. I'm waiting to see where they're going with this before I decide what I'm doing. AMC is known for telling stories about fucked up white guys, I don't see them suddenly making Lestat a whole different man once it's his version of himself. The point of all of them is that everyone is flawed and we all think the best of ourselves. How we're seeing Louis, Daniel, and Armand rn is how I also think we'll be seeing Lestat. The show so far isn't picking a side on these things happening, it's showing different angles of ppl and saying it's up to u how to feel about it. White fandom is waiting for him to get a whole character retcon because they're used to Anne Rice telling stories like that but it's doubtful that's what AMC is gonna do. He might grow as a person over time but I don't think they're gonna show up on day 1 and say "so S1 and S2 were a lie" in any serious way. That would be rly offensive to the audience and pointless to the plot as well. "It was alllll a dream" kind of shit.

[nerves-nebula]

tbh im glad i did find your account because i was kinda anti-incest/rape portrayed in media (mainly because of personal reasons) before i did. and your stuff made me change my mind about it so thanks for that.

how pleasant!

to be honest, when i started seeking out media that dealt with sexual assault and incest it was almost always through fandom stuff (specifically ao3 because they have the best sorting for that kind of thing) because I couldn't STAND the way it was treated in mainstream media. and a lot of ppl who write about incest have personal stake in it (cause otherwise ppl tend to feel too skeeved out haha like they don't wanna think about it which like. fair.)

like the amount of times i'd finish a fic and the author would say, like, "this is a vent/cope" or something was. a lot !!

the more i branched out though the more i found i adored indie stories & those little fanfiction novels that are like, 30 chapters long haha. I'm still not a fan of how sexual assault is handled in a lot of media tbh, but that's not to say it shouldn't exist and i almost never begrudge someone for trying (unless I think it's particularly offensive)

ok now i'm just rambling about my interests- POINT IS! thank you, i'm flattered!

[liquidstar]

Question to the OC keeper, if my universe had a Goddess who ruled and protected women, and especially young girls, would it be alright to include a trans man in her sphere of protection? Not because he is a woman, of course, but because he stands risks of similar types of violence and discrimination. Maybe only when he's a child. Or would that be a bad thing to have regardless of how it's written? I am a cis girl myself, so sorry in advance if any of this is offensive.

dont worry about potentially offending! i think its good that youre making an effort, do not worry :)

see i think that stuff like that could be done well (wonder egg kind of did it! even though it was a very messy show so its hard to tell exactly what the point was...) but i also think that it would be veeeerrry easy to botch, especially if you dont have firsthand experience. and im not saying that its impossible to write for people w different experiences than you, im just saying it requires a lot more conscious effort. but youre being conscious by asking so thats good!

like you said, its tricky because it could imply that the misogyny trans men face via ppl seeing them as women is "binds" them to womanhood so to speak. and personally i think that my knee-jerk reaction to seeing that is skepticism about what the author thinks of trans people. THAT BEING SAID you could also work around this by just... also including a trans WOMAN in her sphere? i honestly would suggest doing that either way, if you want it to be clear that the goddess also stands for trans people.

but in regards to the child part: not every trans person thinks of their gender in the same terms, many people do think "i was a girl then, but now im not" rather than "i was always a man" (and sometimes its a combination of both, its complicated!). but i do think that if handled poorly the former could also translate to "since this character was a girl, then hes on some level still a girl even if he doesnt identify as such anymore" which is dangerous. the issue is that its a very very very common belief that trans men are actually just scared and confused girls who were manipulated or groomed in some way, and that they have to be PROTECTED from this terrible fate in which theyre mutilated and victimized. and since this is a /protection/ circle i think it needs to be made clear exactly what he is being protected from. it cant be just vague misogyny, because many could take it to be the former- that hes some sort of recovering victim of the trans mob forcing him to give up his divine femininity or whatever

it really would be a safer bet to make the trans character a woman, because transmisogyny is such a rampant issue and making it clear that trans women are welcome in women's safe spaces is important. that being said you could also do BOTH, like i said before. or even include cis men impacted by misogyny in other ways too, if you dont wanna make it a women's only club. if its moreso about the type of discrimination than the exact gender of the person experiencing it, i'm sure your oc wouldnt stand for any type of discrimination that hinges on the idea that things considered feminine are lesser. it could be as simple as an ostracized gay guy being treated like he's "unman", or a big cishet man who keeps all his emotions hidden for fear of being seen as weak, or a little boy who gets bullied for crying, or something. these are all just suggestions that i'm spitballing, you dont have to use them (its your story!) but it could help with not making the trans guy feel like hes either an "odd man out" or... like a hes woman. which is what you wanna avoid!

of course, if you wanna keep it generally women-only (and i still suggest including trans women in this) and you wanna depict him as a child pre-transition... i think that could work in a way. again i think its tricky, but it could be the sort of thing where, since he's a kid, he's afraid to leave the comfort of being a girl (all he's ever known so far!) in order to embark on the unknown transition into manhood. there's a lot there that's genuinely so scary. "what if i'm wrong? what if i'm not accepted? what if i lose everyone i love? what if ill always been seen as a woman anyway? how will i be safe?" and you can have it be the sort of thing where the goddess ENCOURAGES him to try anyway, and thats its okay if hes wrong, because the people who have loved and supported him so far wont stop. that he will still be welcomed and protected, not because hes a woman but because hes loved either way. that he wont lose his community over becoming a boy, and she will still watch over him. i think thats what you want to go for, right?

so good luck my friend... let me know if i was helpful or if you need anything else. i hope i was able to at least give some good ideas! and i hope your time with your ocs goes well :)

[dateamonster]

what’s your opinion on monstrous transformations (both fast and slow), and also more controversially what do you think about having monsters/nonhuman characters serve as minority allegory (as opposed to society’s hate for them being being an allegory)

ohhh hold on this is a rly good question i think abt a Lot actually.

ok getting the first bit out of the way, love a good monstrous transformation. fast, slow, its all good. i personally like gradual slow shifts the most but its a situational thing. transformation is one of those things that like just always has to be symbolic. even more than the degree to which Everything is symbolic ya know. so like context rly matters when it comes to how to invoke it most effectively.

MOVING ON

i think from the phrasing of the ask ur looking for something more along the lines of like. for example shapeshifters as representation of nonbinary people or aliens as representation of different cultures rather than like monsters vs humans as allegory for racism. but im also not sure you can meaningfully separate the two! the latter i think is more overused so it like registers more as an immediate red flag, but its like. if the aliens from avatar werent being violently invaded by humans it wouldnt make like their reskinned stereotypical indigeneity anymore tolerable i dont think.

which isnt to say i think every story that draws connections between fantastical fictional species and real world people are inherently bad. i dont really think theres any trope that i believe cant be handled well by anyone under any circumstance. the super easy fix to bad rep via monster or fantasy creature characters is basically just have actual humans who also represent those same identities and communities and experiences so that the audience isnt drawn to connect the traits of any one group with your fictional species.

the harder fix is to like seriously analyze why you want this character to be a monster and what that says about them and what that says about you and your own experiences and biases and what you actually want to communicate with the inclusion of this character. and when applicable hire a sensitivity reader. its kinda crazy how many pieces of media seem to prefer half-assing the hard way over just doing the easy thing and not assigning the status of token minority to a literal monster.

of course once again all of this is ya know circumstantial. im speaking to like my own experiences and the things ive observed. and its weird too! bc im also speaking as someone who like is trans and nonbinary and thinks of myself and my gender expression as inherently intertwined with monstrosity. and as someone who is autistic and thinks of myself as a changeling. and as someone who is a fat person who represents themself with a pig themed sona. if i talk abt cringeass hollywood blockbusters engaging in High Fantasy Racism i feel like to be fair i kinda have to talk about independent own-voices creators who write stories and make art about their own identities in the lovely language of monstrosity. theres not rly a way to draw a hard line around the former without the risk of catching some of the latter.

so umm as usual i dont rly have a snappy all encompassing answer for how i feel abt this kind of characterization. im simply too much of a Nuance Enjoyer. i do i guess think this is something that generally turns out better when it is someone making art about their own experiences, but also unless i believe minority artists are a monolith, which i dont, i need to accept that artists will inevitably make stuff that is beautiful and resonant to some people and totally repugnant and offensive to others, and that both of those responses can be like totally justified and correct. thats art babey!

anyway slight digression but i think any case where a character feels more like an allegory than a fully fleshed u know Character is gonna flop for me no matter how relatable it is. tbqh, id rather more ppl try and fail to make beautiful grotesque frightening sensually moving monsters out of their lived experiences and their empathetic connections with others than succeed at creating bland toothless universally approachable Good Rep tm. if u know u know. if u feel me u feel me. that is all.

[sweetescapeartist]

I had watched Velma (for free cause I aint helping them get views) and theres this trend I hate. That's when they make the white people idiots & always insult them. I'm black and I find that offensive. There's a way to make fun of everybody in a smart way (In Living Color is a great example) but these modern shows are just hateful or not funny or both. They just want to trigger ppl without any kind of positive message.

And I can't be mad at only the ppl who write the shows. The companies who allow it and advertisement and ones who distribute it are at fault too. And when you look at the history of propaganda, I'm pretty sure this is intentional. The United States makes money off of ravial division. This is why we dont have shows like Weekenders, Statick Shock, Doug, Hey Arnold, Xaolin Showdown, Totally Spies, Darkwing Duck, Recess, El Tigre, 6teen, original Teen Titans, Justice League, Kim Possible, The Proud Family (original not the new one), Jackie Chan Adventures, or other shows like that anymore. Those shows brought too many different ppl together. Racial division is profitable but also useful in controlling the minds of the ignorant. And behind it all is politics. One side complains about this while the other complains about that. Then both sides make a profit while controlling the masses through artificial hate.

I wish we could go back to shows that had positive portrayals of all races & both sexes. A group of friends of different races with both guys and girls just happily hanging out and dealing with everyday struggles and how to overcome them with help from your friends. Cause this modern stuff just makes everyone hate each other.

I want shows like Statick Shock where Virgil finds out that his best friend Richie has a racist dad & it upsets Richie so much that he runs away from home. And the dads of both have to work together to find Richie as Richie's dad learns he is misjudging others. And episodes later, Richie's dad is friendly with Virgil and his dad.

Or how in Teen Titans, Starfire was being called a troq by a "heroic" racist. Then Cyborg thinks its just a nickname and calls Starfire that and she gets upset. Then after Cyborg finds out, he says he can relate because he's half cyborg (subtext is that he can relate because he's black). Then all of her friends stand by her and give the cold shoulder to that guy who called her that slur. They weren't gonna put up with that.

Or even in oG SpongeBob when they say Sandy can't do stuff they can because she's a squirrel while they say "sea creatures rule!" That episodes teaches a lesson about both racism and sexism. Sandy is the only girl against a group of guys who thing they are better. Sandy is from a different group of people against a group of water people who thing they are better. Sandy thinks she's better too. Then in the end, they give the lesson that nobody is good at everything and they should value the differneces and what the other person is good at as they apologize to each other.

We peaked in the 90's and 2000's. Sadly, I think its all downhill from there now. Not just with TV shows, but with music and everything else. The good things we get nowadays are just leftovers from a better time that didn't over politicize race, sex, gender, religion, and policital leaning as they do now. Respect is lacking. All ppl want to do is trigger someone. What kind of society is that?

[kassandras-one-braincell]

Don't know why I needed other ppl doing this to finally send you this appreciative ask, but I thought you wouldn't want to interact with anyone cuz you mentioned going through a slump. So i held in all the shit I wanted to say about your beautiful art (not visual arts) which is your writing.

Honestly, I joke yo write like you one day. Or at least as good as you. The way you describe shit is so... tidhsgfegsv idek fuck.

I've just been spending months reading all your works dude, you are BANGING in that area (your writing). I just- I just- maybe it's cuz it's been long since I wanted to say this so Idek the words to write, but I just love you and your work (sorry if saying ily makes you uncomfortable 🙏🏾).

Anyway, your writing is really beautiful, it's engaging, it makes me wanna give you my last penny if you publish a book and ask for more. Idk if that's... idk in..sen..sitive...? but idk you're really great is my point.

I think my first fice of yours was a sevika fic (like fine wine) but I didn't even know your blog cuz I didn't look at the name 💀. But I noticed your style of writing when I came to your blog and read your Kassandra fics.

See, for THOSE ones ???? I am forever grateful, cuz you made me live that woman more. And despite her not fully having a solid personality (yk the fact rhat we can choose what she says and all that), you captured her perfectly. I think my favourite fic is the one where reader moves into a new place and meets Kassy and her beautiful bird uhhh... Ikaros! Or maybe it's that friends with benefits one that I would love to read more of (I was sad when I saw it was supposed to be a full length fic, but it became headcannon 😪 it's still good though dw😭).

I'm typing too much now, but your fics made a um, safe (?) space for me in my head to properly daydream (this is probably bad but wtv 👀), and I think that's great.

Uhhhh, gb

Hope nothing I've said is offensive anywhere or in anyway. I hope you get through your stressful uni life successfully. I feel you on that. Uni is fucking stressful, especially with the misogynistic assholes you mentioned.

I didn't expect to full on ugly-cry today. But this is one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me. This genuinely means the world to me and I'm sad there aren't enough words to encapsulate the emotions I'm feeling right now 😭

Thank you for everything - your time reading my fics, your kindness, sharing your appreciation for the characters, and your consideration for my mental health. I will never close my inbox even if my brain is in the shitter, because interacting with the wonderful people who read my stuff is one of the few sources of real happiness in my life.

Daydreaming is a beautiful thing! And the reason I write is to help facilitate that, so I am very touched 😊

Rest assured, you have been nothing but sweet and considerate. Thank you so, so much for taking time to type this. I can't emphasise how much of a healing experience it was reading it. Have a lovely day my dear ❤️

[gaythemayaway]

ask game! 1, 12, 17, 18, 23!

1. when did you first watch/discover good omens, and how did you find out about it?

I first (!!! I watched it so many times) watched Good Omens some time last year, in September I think, when I met with a friend that had just recently moved quite far away to study creative writing (so proud of them btw). And well, all we really planned was to meet, not what to do. So we were kinda just sitting there, wondering what we should do (I think?) until they said "Ayy can I show u a thing I really like bc I think you'll like it too?" And I said "Lezzgo!" And then we started watching and when the Intro started I went "OMG IT'S NEIL GAIMAN??? WHY ARE U ONLY SHOWING ME THIS NOW??" And then we binged the first season and started the second one and I LOVED IT so I forced them to do an Amazon watch party with me during the week (bc they had left again by then) bc I COULDN'T WAIT but I also didn't wanna watch it alone. Aaaand yeah,,, I think they found my reaction to the final 15 (or all of the show, probably) quite entertaining xD

12. has your interaction with the good omens fandom been overall good or bad?

It's been mostly good, actually! I've been in quite bad ones before. But this fandom actually got me back on tumblr and rediscovering this hellsite with all its silly little tumblr weirdos made me feel so at home again in a way? If that makes sense? I mean idk what happens on other ppl's timelines but mine is just all fun artsy stuff, queer ppl and well,,, general tumblr tomfoolery. And A LOT of love and support. So I feel quite nice here :D It's been my main source of comfort ever since I watched Good Omens.

17. what is your favorite husband-y moment between aziracrow?

Ooooof that's a tricky one. I'm not good at picking favorites. But uh,,, probably the Crowley-off-his-head-on-laudanum (1827) where he's just running around like some uncoordinated cat and Aziraphale catches him and grabs his waist to steady him and tells him how kind it was of him to save Elspeth. I like that one c:

18. what is your favorite moment through history, and why?

ALSO 1827 because first of all, I think it was a very important plot point, especially for Aziraphale to understand that the world isn't just black and white and sometimes things that seem bad at first glace have very good intentions behind them and are. just. needed. And right. And good. And then ofc also bc of what I just said to question 17. AND the fact that I LIVE for Crowley singing Flower of Scotland <33 The entire last scene just always has me giggling. It makes me so happy.

(Plus, the "Trying to kill yourself. That's, I mean, It's NOT ON!!" is a thingy me and my friends (those I forced to watch Good Omens with me :P) now do every time one of us is in a difficult phase. It's a silly way of reminding each other to just keep ourselves alive, and that's so dear to me <3

23. what's a good omens headcanon that you considered canon?

Idk if it counts bc I'M STILL NOT SURE IT'S NOT SOMEHOW CANON??? But I always thought Crowley was just the wildest Queen fan ever. Bc his Bentley always plays Queen. And that was the first thing (right at the beginning) that made me love Crowley in the show, bc I LOVE QUEEN, I LITERALLY CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW ANYBODY COULD EVER NOT LIKE QUEEN (I was very offended when, last year, some old guy told me he didn't like Queen bc they were too "camp" for him. (Actually, he said "tuntig" which is an offensive term in German, bc we had that conversation in German.) I never spoke to the guy again.) ANYGAY, then I read the book and found out that it's not actually Crowley who likes to listen to Queen all the time, but the Bentley. That was quite a disappointment at first. For like a minute. Then I decided the Bentley is now my favourite GO character. I draw a heart around it every time it's mentioned in the book. :D (I still headcanon Crowley loving Queen tho)

[jokin-around]

Can I ask you a question?

I'm currently trying to write and draw some colors characters, and I wanted to know if you, or your followers could help me with that. Like what people of color would like to see/read or what they don't want to see/read. Because, if one day, I accidentally hurt someone with my art, I'll feel really bad. So some help will be gentle. Not only that will help me, but also, I would love to learn more about it. BTW, sorry if there's any kind of spelling mistakes, I'm from France.

And, you're two blogs are real blessed for my Littles eyes.

Thank you! And FIRSTLY I recommend using the term “people of color” or POC to describe them “colored people” “colors characters” may be seen as derogatory, but English isn’t your first Language so that’s okay

as for writing them, I think I’d start by writing them like any other character, this means avoiding any stereotypes you’re aware of and just making a character that appeals to you, just like you would a white one, then I’d dive a little deeper, share the character with ppl, ask for critiques, stuff like that. input from ppl of color can make your characters of color much stronger if you really listen to them.

As for more specific things, all cultures, races and ethnicities have their own stereotypes, it’s impossible to keep up with or avoid ALL of them, but just make sure you try your best to be respectful. As a loose guideline I would avoid:

> making characters of color too agressive

> making them overly submissive or subservient to another white character

> AVVE or heavy slang (this is really something only black ppl have a good grasp on it’s hard to learn)

> constantly making them comfort a white a character

> drawing black characters very very dark or “ashy” all the time (this one isn’t much of a problem rlly since ppl with darker tones exist and lack rep/face more discrimination because of it but most African Americans at least are some shade of dark or light brown and exaggerating that CAN be seen as offensive, also be careful with drawing them too desaturated )

> animalistic traits (this one should be okay if most characters in your story have such traits but be careful with tails and horns)

> drug use

As for things we LIKE to see with poc characters:

> poc who are gentle and kind

> poc being taken care of, loved deeply by other characters

> poc being driven and determined

> poc who are smart (they don’t have to be geniuses but avoid “dumb” tropes)

> poc who like to have fun, smile a lot

> poc who are skilled or successful at something

> poc who have personalities and interests outside the culture they come from

> poc with personal struggles that don’t have to do with race (this is a good way to humanize them, just don’t go crazy with the angst)

I hope this list isn’t too hard to follow, just use it as a guide to making any character you come up with even better

[franki-lew-yo]

Of the things that I really miss being able to pay for AND HOW, my #1 would prob be therapy. I miss my old therapist- she was the kind I can vibe to: a person who may not understand or have the best advice to always give back, but who listens and who knows psychiatry. Better than anyone, she could hear my ramblings and tell me what I needed -

I can't pay for her anymore. So many personal things and thoughts that I'd do best to write down and want somebody to hear (and respond back; no offense to the religious folks out. It's my personal belief that a god would never physically help me but allow me to help myself;) me, but I can't have that somebody be just anybody.

I like having mutuals and internet pals. I like having people who I can overall trust and whom they can trust their stuff with me. I try to be as open I can to other people's problems, but I can't unload myself onto ppl no matter how much permission they give me to "let loose". I feel like people can tell when I'm crying and/or having a mental breakdown just through how I type, y'know?

Anyway all you need to know is that I hate myself over something I did on the centaurworld discord and hate myself even more because it's been a week and I'm still not over it or coping at all. hohum

[kuekyuuq]

Gloria, Jet-lags and Imps [6x11]

Let’s jump right in:

Kinda love how Kara lamp-shaded addressed the fact she didn't tell the gang about her adventures in the PZ. She’s not wrong, tho.

...what do I want to say about Mxy using what's basically a well-known gay-anthem to tell his tale? I mean, it didn’t lead anywhere. The original song is about freeing oneself, liberation, stepping out of a (gone bad) relationship and moving on, stronger for it - empowerment. The only connection I could make, is that originally it was Nyxly’s aim to just do that (freeing herself and her kind from an oppressor), but in the way Mxy performed it, that part of the parallel was long over before he even reached the chorus. It’s also a popular Karaoke song, tho, so... he chose it because it’s catchy? I’ll try not to overthink it for now. At least, the Superfriend’s reactions were fun.

Nia exiting the elevator, "And what's this Old Stone?" I love it when ppl enter a room / situation and pick up on words that they couldn't have possibly heard. I think cinema sins ding such... Are we to assume, she dreamed Mxy's rendition of ‘I will survive’? Or is the elevator not sound-proof at all? (If it’s the latter, Nia later apparently telling Brainy “in private” between scenes / during the elevator ride about her Nyxly adventures, was a silly thing to do.)

So, "Jared" created the ring Old Stone to rule them all, it got shattered into the Paragons totems? Nyxly needs the totems and to get them she needs a crystal which also belonged to "Jared" - who happens to be Mxy's ancestor, which is why she needs Mxy / his blood, too.

I have one important and incredibly relevant question here, tho... 

With the introduced imps and their names... Why’s dude named Jared of all things?!

Really, did I mishear that? If so, I’ll leave it as is and never edit, bc that would be hilarious in its own right 😋

...

Not sure what to make about Supergirl paraphrasing a Dirty Dancing quote.  "Nobody puts Mxy into a power crystal on my watch."  ...is he Baby now? (Seriously, though: Which of the writers thought that was a fitting quote to use in that particular context?)

...now, is the exposition section of the episode over yet?

Sensitive Brainy sensed something was up with Nia. He can relate... Nia doubting Kara would understand, too, is ridiculous. But I get it... insecurities and all. But, I mean, just 5 minutes later Kara announces she wants to save Nyxly despite her wrongdoings. And yet Nia still remains convinced, Kara wouldn’t forgive her own personal mini-me... After having witnessed Kara forgiving Lena for a whole season of the writers being stupid messing up to the nth degree. But I digress, Lena’s Lena.

...how old is Nia meant to be again? Just asking out of completely unrelated curiosity.

F*ck. They really went with NewFoundland...

Imma assume it was an executive choice after realizing they couldn’t find enough actors and actresses with a convincing Irish accent... maybe. Again, no offense to Newfoundland! Just... we got the insinuations of Ireland, not Newfoundland... And truthfully, when I think of magic, Ireland is an easy association. Whereas I only due to this whole debacle learned Newfoundland has Irish ancestry. So, okay, the show forced me to learn something new... I give ‘em that.

An easy journey, she said.

Lena's been off-screen for two whole episodes, Kara announcing at the beginning of ‘Dreamweaver’ [6x09] Lena being “back east” (at least insinuating Lena’s left the west-coast already), which span over at least one full day (feat. a scene at night), and ‘I still rise’ [6x10] at least another a whole day (the whole Nia’s mom back for a day deal). And, now, after at least 48 hours she barely just arrived.

Lemme check how long a regular plane would need to fly from California to NFL......... ... .. .. So... approx. 10 hours with at least one layover. 

Yeah, using a private jet made it easier, but apparently also much, much slower...

Or, Lena randomly went some other places / did some sight-seeing in NFL before she decided to finally visit her mother’s hometown...  [Either that or the timelines don’t match up and Lena’s scenes are flashbacks of sorts.]

Optimistic and relaxed Lena is a sight to behold. I rewound 3 times, just to enjoy it for as long as possible. We all knew it was going to be short-lived... 

Let’s check off a few more items...

OMG, Kara hiding behind Alex at the mere sight of the PZ-projector broke my heart!  😢

"Elisabeth Walsh" is the new 'the one you shall not name'. ...poor Lena. 😭

Oh, so Mxy wants to be Patrick Swayze instead of Baby... gotcha.

...is this going anywhere?

KITTY!!! Okay, this must be the best opponent in the history of CWSG. 

Despite the horrible CGI, SG using her heat-vision to project a laser-beam to distract the cat had me in (happy-) tears! 🤣

Gotta love the civilians of National City quickly returning to business as usual once the giant cat is gone. Even the police officers looked rather chill...

Nyxly did look fabulous this episode ^^ 

Andrea being Lena's rock is both great and annoying. I can't fault Andrea. It's just, that we still have to see an on-screen interaction between Lena and Kara and that bugs the heck out of me. I can’t help it. I’m sorry, Andrea.

Nia: "...is my fault." Kara: "Nu, is MY fault!" J'onn: "Stop fighting, kids!" Space-dad has spoken.

Mxy used an LuthorCorp copy machine... and of cos it's faulty. It's not an L-Corp product.

Kara forgiving Nia came as a surprise to her... Oooookay. I mean, the show has been writing Kara a bit inconsistently the past two seasons... so, yeah, maybe being unsure which of her traits apply this week was not such a far stretch...

Maybe it's the hair, but I wished, Florence was played by Alex Kingston.

So, not-Alex-Kingston shows Lena herself with a funny wig and tells her how her mother was still watching her...

If it wasn't for Katie's acting skills (I love her.) I would have already hit my head against the wall repeatedly. Something about these scenes had me constantly cringe and I made it through 5.5 seasons of this show already... Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was highly distracting from the story that explained Lena’s mom was special even to another witch, where there was domestic abuse, and an accidental murder. Y’know, important stuff, deep-cutting stuff! 

At least, poor widddle Lena got some closure there. Elisabeth was a good cookie. And filled with magic. And Lena’s gotta have that ‘spark’, too... 

....so... Lena’s gonna stay in NFL for how much longer, to train becoming a witch?  Please, just hand her a how-to manual and send her back home, to figure it out on her own, please... (Yes, that would be horrible decision-making, but I need her back with the team!)

On to the finish line: 

So... Mxy IS Nyxly's brother? Wait, that doesn’t sound right... then Nyxly would have the same blood... Did I miss something? Can someone explain, please? Or is he her ex, and that’s where his rendition of “I will survive” makes sense?

Hnn... I can't help, but think Kara's speech for Nyxly was 85% based on her experiences with Lena in s05.

Awww... he said "stronger together"... Mxy... I hope, you'll be okay!

Lena believes in magic now. And I absolutely love how Lena wants to science magic XD

...but apparently magic isn’t science that hasn’t been explained yet, but parallel... powers? concepts? ether strings?

Nyxly has a loyal henchman now. Which was a bit heavy-handed. Took way too much of screen-time, so it better leads to something interesting.

And Kara is on a warpath now. Wooooot! Girl’s got enough.

...what else? 

Did I miss a third Patrick Swayze hint / quote / mention?  I learned, these things come in threes... Y’know, basic writing rules... 

I guess, for once the episode title was meant to be taken literally, Mxy popping up between characters, to try and help. (I need in-show footage, of Mxy sneaking up on ppl, without his powers, on all fours / crouched, just to get the desired effect.) I mean, I’ve never really watched Malcom, but wasn’t he like what Mxy usually is? A bit of a trouble-maker, prankster, chaos-ensuing wherever he goes? ...well, in that case, the episode title didn’t hold up, as Mxy’s scenes were not fun or really goofy. Yes, there was some superficial humor, but just to serve Mxy dealing with not being able to use his powers, which in turn was only barely scratched at (although it turned out to be his final character development crisis, appreciating not having powers and - in turn - facing consequences for once). Again, a whole lot going on in the episode, so a lot of that may have ended up on the cutting-room floor.

...where’s Kelly? Secretly adopting a kid, maybe?

...Kara’s still a reporter, right? I mean, whenever it serves the immediate plot, yes? ...Not even a throw-away line, that she has to pop up at CatCo for appearances sake? Since Andrea is already upset with her AND looking into her friends’ identities? At least, Kara should take a peek to make sure Andrea hasn’t uncovered anything yet... No?

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Kue out.

[ca-suffit]

First off - I really appreciate what you do here, I'm new to fandom spaces and the things you post about have crystalized what bothered me in this fandom, which has made the experience of sifting through it much easier, knowing why some people's takes make me wildly uncomfortable and why I wasn't convinced by the big blogs big loud voices yelling at me what to think and how. There's an objectivity to your words that takes me out of the shipping war, book nostalgia, societal issue-blind mindset a lot of loud people here flaunt like some intellectual commentary, when it's not.

That aside, I know you mostly comment on fandom racism, but I've been confused for some time with how this fandom deals with transgender AUs. I know that a while back there was a lot of heated discourse and some big blogs saying that Louis shouldn't be feminized, dismissing critique of patriarchy which the show makes so clear, and misinterpreting Lestat's place in the familial structure etc. Now, I'm not talking about that, I wholeheartedly agree with Louis being a feminine (and maternal) figure in regards to gender roles, and with his general demeanor, as well. Though he is more subdued in that sense and gets misinterpreted, due to people used to something more outright like Lestat's flamboyancy.

And I know a lot of fic was written at first to spite the people who were uncomfortable with the notion of a clearly feminized Louis, which brought out MPreg, A/B/O, breeding kink, crossdressing, GNC, and even trans (FTM or MTF) iterations. I've read some great work involving most of those (though I've never wanted to check out any applying to Lestat, since most of them seem ridiculous) which was careful, mindful and made sure to respectfully use real life sensitive tropes, such as transness.

But I've also seen really crude, insensitive, and outright unconvincing characterization of an FTM Louis. Empowerment through writing is great, and I know transmasc writers can vent through the process, but some work has had such blatant fetishization of trans men, and it gets lumped in with praise along other, more serious and deserving fics. Not every FTM Louis is empowering, and I just can't get behind people writing a trans man that's turned on by being called a wife, having his genitalia spoken about in an outright feminized and crude way, AND ENJOYING THE THOUGHT OF GETTING PREGNANT.

Now, I know that various people's dysphoria allows for different things, but the amount of trans men that actually have a single positive thought about pregnancy, their female genitalia being spoken about, or having womanly roles forced upon them in relationships, is so low that writing about it without consideration becomes quite offensive. If you want a mindless smut one-shot of a pregnant or willing to be Louis, go for him as a cis gay man with a breeding kink, for A/B/O, bogus science, or honestly, fucking anything besides him being an FTM.

And I say this especially because I know it's not just trans men reading those crude and smutty iterations, it's also, and mostly, people who have hurt me and many other transmasc individuals with their disgusting chaser behaviour. Talking about it brings up many hurtful memories and I won't go farther for risk of becoming too subjective and affected, but I think trans AUs really shouldn't be treated with as much ease as they are.

first, thank u for the compliments!! I don't rly hear nice things here so it's appreciated when anyone takes time to give feedback and let me know this is doing something.

second, trans stuff is still under the racial umbrella as there's a lot of trans people of color here who get ignored in favor of white fandom bullshit all the time.

idk all the ins and outs of this but my main question reading this was.....are the fics being written by trans ppl or no? Cuz it's one thing if it's trans ppl expressing a spectrum of an identity and another if it's a non trans person using an identity to meet some kind of plot end and not considering the real implications of that. It sounds like it's the latter but I got a little confused.

[drwcn]

Hi! I hope you are doing okay with all the discourse going around. Im white and raised in a very white society so i will never have a say in it, but i was wondering, is there any way i can educate myself more in asian/chinese culture? Im aware i consume content thru western lens and because of that i dont really get all the nuances of the shows, but i would like to have at least some backround. Im guessing just watching the shows doesnt give enough of that, can you maybe reccommend some blogs or books to check out? (If you dont thats totally fine and im sorry if i said anything offensive)

Hey friend! Not offensive at all, no worries. Honestly, I’m not too sure. I think just keeping an open mind about things is a really good start. I’m not really sure which blogs to recommend but if I could recommend some dramas? Since it’s probably easier to watch a show then read a book?

《The Story of Minglan》 is a good one to sort of parse out the intricacy of historical Chinese society in the Song Dynasty, keeping in mind that different dynasties have different practices, so even amongst different time periods there were differences. 《The Story of Yanxi Palace》 is another good one for Qing Dynasty (circa 1740s) if you wanna get into imperial harem stuff. (Or you can watch 《甄嬛传》 or 《如懿传》 for harem stuff. I just think The Story of Yanxi Palace is the most palatable, most aesthetic, and most fun out of the three. The other two are kinda tragic?) There are other dramas but I feel they’re not as... accessible?

Chinese historical dramas come in 3 flavours: serious dramas, idol dramas, and those that ride the fence. What I mean by idol drama is...everyone in it is young and hot and the writing is eh and the acting is eh. More often then not there’s a lot of modern elements to it. The Untamed is so popular because it’s idol drama done really well.  (xianxia and wuxia genre used to be more quality when I was a kid, but now they’re kind of ehhhh.) I would say Minglan and Yanxi are both successful because they ride the fence. 

On the other hand, serious historical drama has A LOT of politics and can be quite dry especially if you’re watching it through half-assed subtitles. The actors typically are more seasoned, older. People jokingly say that idol drama is what mom watches and serious drama is what dad watches, and honestly given my parents’ tv habits...it’s pretty accurate 😂.

Some really well known ones from the past 20 years are: 

The 《铁齿铜牙纪晓岚》 series 1-4. I would only recommend part 1-2, 3-4 are not as great. This one has quite a bit of humour but it might fly over your head a bit because of the language barrier. The story surrounds a well known government official and scholar named Ji Xiaolan  纪晓岚, his frenemy and colleague the (EXTREMELY corrupt) prime minister He Shen, and the Emperor Qianlong. For better or worse these three are depicted as both liege and subjects as well as friends. Trying to see Ji Xiaolan and He Shen one up each other while Qianlong tries to balance his court and rule the country is quite interesting. I won’t pretend this is an easy series to follow, but it’s actually quite fun. 

《汉武大帝》 - is about Hanwu Emperor of the Han Dynasty circa 150 BC? He’s one of the most famous emperors of distant history. It’s basically about the course of his life and the many people that featured in it. 

《大明王朝 》- my memories of this one is very vague, but it is about the Ming Dynasty (the dynasty before the Qing Dynasty c. 1500,1600.) 

《The Advisors Alliance 军事联盟》-  2017 two-part television series based on the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. circa 150 AD. 

As a side note, a lot of serious dramas for a while now have been focused on the Qing Dynasty, just because it’s the last imperial dynasty before Imperial China fell into decline, WWI and WWII ravaged the country and communism happened. Even a lot of idol drama are about the Qing Dynasty (I feel like I should do a post about this, just to string things together haha). 

So for the Qing Dynasty, because they are Manchurian, their last name is Aisin Gioro or in Chinese Aixin Jueluo 爱新觉罗. Their earlier emperors are much more well known than their later ones and have been the focus of MANY dramas. (You’ll notice their names in the beginning spell very different than the Chinese names you’re used to, but once they take over China, the emperors’ names start to become more and more mainland Chinese and less and less Manchurian.) 

Nu’er Hachi 努尔哈赤/ Nurhaci - The granddaddy of Qing Dynasty, but was never officially Emperor of China during his life time. 

Huang Taiji 皇太极 - Nurhaci’s oldest son. He led the campaign against the Ming Dynasty but died before the campaign was over 

Fulin 福林, Emperor Shunzhi 顺治 - Huang Taiji’s 9th son. He is the real first Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. His uncle Duo’Ergun 多尔衮/ Dorgon was his regent as well as his commander-in-chief. Dorgon was the one who won the war against the Ming Dynasty and instated his nephew as the Emperor. Fulin was 6 years old when this happened, and now you may wonder why the fuck is that? It’s because Fulin’s mother, Huang Taijii’s widowed concubine Consort Zhuang (name: pu’erji-jite bumubutai  (pinyin) 博爾濟吉特 布木布泰/ Bumbutai Borjigit, Da-Yu’er 大玉儿) remarried her brother-in-law Dorgon. Whether Bumbutai and Dorgon were actually in love is....contestable. Certainly one of my favourite serious dramas that depict this part of history is《大青风云》. 

Xuanye 玄燁, Emperor Kangxi 康熙 - Fulin’s third son. Very famous. Very long reign. Serious drama associated 《康熙微服私访记》， 《康熙王朝》

Yinzhen 胤禛, Emperor Yongzheng 雍正 - Xuanye's 4th son. His reign was highly contested because some ppl believed he forged the succession document. It’s probably not true. He was an efficient emperor but very austere, very severe. Not well liked. The best serious drama about him is probably 《雍正王朝》and the aforementioned《甄嬛传》. The former is 100% politics and a fictional re-telling of historical events whereas the latter is 100% harem drama and 100% made up. 《步步惊心》is an idol drama about a girl who transmigrated back to this time and fell in love with Yinzhen. Lol. 

Hongli 弘历, Emperor Qianlong 乾隆 - Yinzhen’s 4th son. I think he’s the longest living/reigning emperor of Chinese history. SOOOOO many dramas were made about him or set in his reign. Of the serious drama category:  《铁齿铜牙纪晓岚》 that I mentioned earlier is really good. There are others but I won’t name them here.  《如懿传》 is a serious drama about his harem, but really terrible? I really didn’t like it (just my personal view). Incidentally it was released around the same time as《The Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略》which is also about his harem and MUCH better in my opinion, because the actor for Hongli in Yanxi is much better skills-wise. 《还珠格格》was the OG idol drama about Hongli’s children. I gave a brief synopsis about it here. It was made in the 90s but damn...so nostalgic. 

There’s many more emperors after him, but they’re not as important. 

Okay yeah, so I’m not sure if any of this is really helpful, but definitely watching serious drama gives you much better context and understanding of Chinese culture than idol drama. I mean when the drama has flying and magic...the historical relevance sort of falls to the side. 🤣

ADDENDUM: I made a typo earlier. Fulin is Huang Taiji’s 9th son, not Nurhaci’s son. Also Abahai is Huang Taijii’s mother’s name (wikipedia lied to me on this one XD). 

[welcum-to-sp]

“hello.what do you think is the most toxic ship is? do you think stendy is a bad ship? do you find it annoying how the fandom portraits butters? do you find it annoying how people make tweek stutter in almost every sentence? should people use jimmy more? should the goth kids be used more? 

sorry for all the questions no one(besides my sis) i know likes south park”

what do you think is the most toxic ship is?

•tbh i don’t really get “the most toxic ship” thing (if we’re not talking about fucked up shit like pedophilia etc). in the end it’s all about interpretation bc we talk about grown-up versions of the characters. i mean even cartman can get his redemption, since he’s only 10 in canon. but if i need to choose a ship it’s gonna be kyman? i just don’t think it would ever work out.

do you think stendy is a bad ship?

•i’m fine with it. it’s not bad in canon, they like each other. still i hate how in some fics it’s used like a plot instrument. in this situations it’s baaaad. wendy is evil (sometimes homophobic pls wth) ex girlfriend and stan is poor guy who can’t get out of abusive relationship. just meh lazy writing stop that.

do you find it annoying how the fandom portraits butters?

•YES YES I DO. i have a few posts about it. long story short: i’m tired of uwu baby boy butters. i hate how ppl make him all innocent and kind, like he doesn’t even understand that people around him may be mean. all the time in the show you can see him in the crowd which bullies someone, he is the one who always laughs at cartman’s offensive jokes, he is mean to other kids if he knows that they won’t fight back. there’s a lot of this stuff in the canon. honestly, ok, even if you want to see him as this nice boy, just keep in mind that it’s always easier to be a piece of shit, not being a good person. what i’m saying is that he’s aware of all the bad things around him and he still chooses to be nice. i believe he’s one of the characters who really cares about the moral aspect of the question whatever the question is.

do you find it annoying how people make tweek stutter in almost every sentence?

•yesss welp haha his dialogue lines are just impossible to read cause of it. also in canon he doesn’t stutter that much.

should people use jimmy more? should the goth kids be used more? 

•not sure. i don’t want to tell people which characters to use. i like jimmy and goth kids, but sometimes they just don’t fit in the stories ppl want to tell so it’s always up to them. i don’t want to force anyone to use characters they don’t want to write about. whatever their reasons are. i’d rather read a well-written story without jimmy/goth kids than the story with them but chapters about them are boring/badly written just because the author was told to write about them. it’s the same if i’d ask in the comment section “hey! where’s clyde? he’s my fave!” under the fic about stan and kenny, for example.

Thank you for your questions!!💖