#not that i would know anything about that. i just think it's probably an underrepresented demographic. for reasons

[crimeronan]

finally some good fucking representation for the people who process grief by snarling "DON'T TOUCH ME LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE" at all their loved ones and then within 60 minutes break down sobbing on the exact same loved ones like "i'm sorry i love you i don't know what's wrong with me i don't know what to do i am trying SO HARD,"

[cripplecharacters]

with regards to the recent post about different types of disabilities to represent, and how amputees tend to be an over-represented* type of character, would you say the same would apply to characters with congenital limb differences? specifically those that do not use prosthetics, if that's a factor as well

*not quite the word i'm looking for, but i'm struggling to think of a more suitable one to use. i understand disabilities in general are pretty sorely lacking in representation

Hello,

I think the word you may be looking for is misrepresented. Amputees are represented in a very specific way- they lost their limb, usually their arm though upper-limb amputees are rarer than lower-limb amputees, usually in some deeply traumatic accident, such as falling off a cliff and being experimented on, and then they're given some magical prosthetic or cybernetic that basically replaces their old arm or functions even better, even though a lot of upper-limb amputees either don't get prosthetics, barely use their prosthetic as anything other than something to make it look like they have an arm or a cool arm, or get a prosthetic arm that maybe does something like fingers clenching or unclenching based on the activity of a certain nerve, which in no way completely substitutes their flesh arm. The type of amputees in media, the ones who lost their arm due to trauma and who wear a prosthetic (and usually sleep wearing it, Bucky and Anakin) that entire replaces the limb they lost, are basically nonexistent in real life and those who come close, amputees who lost their arm in an accident and who do have a cooler prosthetic that does certain things like grab stuff, are a very small portion of real-life amputees.

As for people with a congenital limb difference, I don't think I've ever really seen those in media. I know of one character ever with a congenital limb difference, a Lego Friends character born without the lower portion of her left arm, and that's all. Though people with congenital limb differences make up a good portion, half if not most, of the limb difference community, they're sorely underrepresented in media.

As for people with congenital limb differences who wear or don't wear prosthetics being represented, I don't have room to speak on that because I only know of one character ever with a congenital limb difference and she uses no prosthetic. However, based on the people I know in real life who have congenital limb differences, their use of prosthetics depends on which limb (and, of course, the condition they have. Some limb differences don't have the ability or need to use prosthesis at all.) Upper-limb limb differences usually don't get a prosthetic, unless it's some form of adaptive technology to help them do something such as write with their dominant arm when they may be missing part of their hand or arm, because they've lived their entire life with this condition and they're very used to working around it. Lower-limb limb differences may have a prosthetic leg depending on their disability, or they may just use a wheelchair or other mobility aid because those may have been easier for their family to keep up with (prosthetics for growing children can get very expensive and they aren't a catchall solution.) Based on how amputees are represented, I get the feeling that characters with congenital limb differences would be represented mostly the same. They would mostly have upper-limb differences that do not impact them at all because they wear some cool cybernetic that entirely substitutes a limb they've never even had, ignoring how that would probably be a major learning curve for them because they've lived their entire life using their body in a certain way but now they have an entirely new limb to learn to deal with.

Mod Aaron

Hey!

I agree with Aaron (especially on how amputees are misrepresented - just because there's more rep than usual doesn't mean it's good), but I want to add one some context for non-amputee limb difference representation that was pretty big for all the wrong reasons in the visible difference community. That remake of the Witches. In the original, the main villain is, well, a witch (a witch with a facial difference, but that's irrelevant here I suppose).

In the remake, she has a limb difference. Ectrodactyly, if you want to be specific. It's the villain who has it. The Grand High Witch is supposed to be the Big Bad, and during the making of the movie, I guess they decided that giving her Disabled Hands would make her more visibly evil. There was a whole social media movement going on with the #NotAWitch hashtag. Also some videos, like this one.

My point is that limb differences are still treated quite horribly in the media (the video linked describes the portrayal I mentioned as "heartbreaking", "disappointing", and every other synonym). It's still seen as a "freakshow" thing. In that particular movie they even hide it for the "grand reveal of scary disability. I guess what I want to say is that non-amputation limb differences are treated very similarly to facial differences. If we get anything, it's to be scary and villainous and bad.

Here's an ancient post about this topic. To quote it here, "maybe your oc with a bionic arm, doesn't have a bionic arm and instead of pretending to have representation, actually do some research. maybe they have a club foot, maybe symbrachydactyly, maybe they are missing a finger and they don't wear a prosthetic pinkie."

It's the whole "magic robot arms are so cool!! everything else is ugly so I won't show that unless I need the shock value tho" thing again.

I'd love to see actual positive representation of congenital limb differences because it's simply not there. Especially the ones that only get the once-in-a-blue-moon "representation" like I mentioned above - a hero with ectrodactyly would be awesome, or any other limb difference that doesn't get even a crumb of thoughtful representation (I mentioned a few of them in this post), or amputee representation that is actually good and not just the same "perfect prosthetic because the author is so scared of amputees they refuse to do research" thing again.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[krypticcafe]

Hi! I love your writing sm!!! Could I request how the boys + könig would react to a reader with curly hair? (We’re talking tight, kinky coily curls)

COD:MWII Boys w/a curly-haired partner

rating: PG-13

character(s): GN!Reader, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, John Price, John "Soap" McTavish, Simon "Ghost" Riley, Gary "Roach" Sanderson, König, Hound

warning(s): none

a/n: aw thank you! And I love this request!! I'm not someone with curly, kinky hair, but I hear a lot about how they're super underrepresented. Even I'm tired of the "brushed his hand through your hair" or the "y/n with a messy bun/straight hair" bc PLEASSEE, my hair is a rat's nest, this would not work 💀 Anyways, I hope I did you justice and lmk if I got anything wrong!!

Gaz

Let's be honest, it's nothing new to him. He's experienced with coily, kinky hair, whether it be himself or his family or a friend.

I actually like to think he experimented with longer hairstyles before cutting it for military.

He gets you the most out of all of them, honestly. Knows exactly what you mean when you need a certain product or talk about maintenance, doesn't belittle you when you get upset over your hair, and helps a lot, too.

He doesn't have to do as much maintenance, so he doesn't use too much product, but sometimes he'll eye yours and make a note to try some for himself.

Since you and Gaz can trust each other, you sometimes have nights where you help style each other, just to spend some quality time.

Also yes, you guys have matching bonnets, it was actually his idea. You guys take so many pics together, too.

Gaz will notice if your hair looks healthier or fresher, and while he always thinks your curls are beautiful, he'll make extra compliments so that you know that he pays attention.

Oh, and if you do something special with it? He's all over you, all like, "What's the special occasion? Or am I just lucky today?"

Price

Your hair was one of the many reasons Price had noticed you so much, particularly because the military didn't really allow room for soldiers to do much with their hair and most have to gel it down if necessary.

When you tell him about the amount of care that goes into it, he starts thinking that his facial hair routine isn't so bad after all.

Once you get together, he starts looking into the product you need to get.

Unfortunately, he will have a bit of a hard time, so it's probably best if you show him the ropes for stuff like oils for protective styles, specific tools you use, etc. Otherwise, he'll be wandering around the aisle for a while. Please.

Sometimes, there'll be days where both of you guys take up the bathroom and go through your routines together, it's a pretty good way for him to learn your process and for you to learn his. There's a mutual respect.

Realistically, I don't think you would let either party take over for each other. At least, not for a long time.

If you put on a real nice outfit and let your natural hair out, oh this man will be on his knees, so use that information wisely.

Soap

Ooo, he's obsessed, I'm telling ya!!

Definitely gets stunned at how much it takes for you to take care of those curls, but not surprised that it's so difficult.

He does kinda wonder how you deal with it if you're someone that's on the battlefield.

You definitely had to tell him off for toying with it once, and he has stopped, but it's taking every inch of him to keep his ADHD ass from mindlessly twirling one between his fingers whenever you guys cuddle. But he isn't gonna do it! Unless you let him, then he loves how the texture feels.

You won't admit it, but sometimes you only let him touch it because of how happy it makes him, and you know he's being as respectful as possible.

He'll always be your #1 hype man too! Loves it when you experiment!!

You've definitely caught him wearing your bonnet multiple times, too.

One time, you decided to tease him by guiding him to help you detangle your hair, and frustration was absolutely worth it.

He got so pouty afterward when he had to give up, but you let him know he did a good job trying.

Ghost

He doesn't mean to be rude but he's definitely like "Can't be that bad."

And then you show him your grocery list.

It is that bad.

He gets frustrated and just buys one of everything, walking out of the store with like a dozen bags. He memorizes the ones you pick so there's that at least.

Don't mind him, he's just a bit blunt because he'll then ask, "Why don't you just cut/gel it?". Just explain it, and he'll respect your choice, though it intimidates him a little.

At one point, you're actually the one that lets him feel your hair, so he knows what it's like. He would never touch it unless invited, he's got too much self-control. People also become too intimidated by him to try to touch your hair too, so that's a plus.

It oddly soothes him, he likes how the texture feels on his fingers and especially when it's softer than usual.

One time, you used your own hand to help guide his through your hair, and oh man, was he flustered. Mans was glitching out for a few seconds.

Roach

He thinks your curls are so cute,

Like he literally can't stop watching you because of how they move when you walk.

On occasions where you let him touch it, you'll find that whenever you both are close to each other and really deep in an activity or conversation, he'll absent-mindedly roll a curl between his fingers.

His hands are good for many things, signing, fighting, and other fun stuff. Styling your hair is included!

One of his favorite things to do is help you find and try new styles with your hair. Roach loves looking up and researching about your hair type and what you can do with it, he finds it all super interesting!

Often buys you clips, beads, or whatever he thinks is pretty so you can try it on!

Loves to kiss your head because of how your hair tickles his face a little. He's been tempted to just bury his face in the back of your neck just to plant a bunch of kisses on more than one occasion.

On days where you put extra care into your curls, he's absolutely showing you off to everyone! He wants others to know how hard you worked to look so damn good!! (Gary says it's a full-time job, really)

König

Expect to find him staring all starstruck a lot.

Like a lot.

When you tell him it's your natural hair, he's surprised, he thought you just did a lot of work to make your curls so coily.

He once asked (very) politely if he could touch your hair, and because he was (extremely) nice about it, you let him.

Only for him to panic when the velcro from his glove got caught and he apologized a dozen times over. Afterwards, he treated you like porcelain, keeping his hands straight at his sides around you and acting like a spooked animal.

It got to a point where you had to confront him and tell him it was an honest mistake, and he didn't have to apologize which made him apologize more.

On the other hand, König enjoys watching you do your hair, just sitting there quietly with the occasional question. Sometimes, he helps comb your hair, but that's the most he'll let himself do since he doesn't want to mess things up.

Really loves how your products smell.

While he thinks you look amazing no matter what, he likes it best when you go natural.

Hound

Knows a lot more than you expected. They aren't well-versed, but they know more than the average person when it comes to the deal with kinky hair.

They'll go out with you on shopping trips and often help you pick out scents, one that you like but one that isn't too sensitive for their nose, it's something you didn't expect them to enjoy so much.

You can trust her to always have stuff on hand for you if you live separately or in different quarters. Oils, creams, custards, moisturizers, a hair pick (all from your fave brands, of course), she's got you.

He surprises you again when you come home one day, way too tired to do your routine, so he offers to do it for you.

If this was a test, they passed!! They even knew how to brush your hair the right way not to damage it and had already refilled some of your stock.

After that, you often find him helping on wash days when you're far too exhausted, as his way of pampering you. His favorite thing is doing your edges.

Her scary dog privileges also help ward off weirdos trying to touch your hair, and much like Soap, she hypes you up regardless if it's a frizzy day or a special occasion.

Expect them to be mildly addicted to the way your hair smells, it's literally one of their comforts because of how much it reminds them of you.

[massivetyrantduck]

it’s time

more thoughts about outsiders musical

not being a hater I loved the show

I don’t like the mischaracterization of dally I thought about it but it took away from one of the huge points in the book: dally being the greaser version of bob. Which is important to me bc not many seem to understand how if bob cannot be redeemed than neither can dally. They both had good moments but were not very good people. Dally did horrible things and people tend to forget it simply bc the actors who play him are all hot

in the same way getting rid of randy destroyed the comparison of randy and Johnny. Which got rid of pony and Randy’s conversations and the realization that they really couldn’t change much of anything no matter how hard they tried but Randy chose to try anyway because it was right

speaking of comparison pony and cherry are obviously each others counterparts. Shipping them to me is wrong btw. Maybe in ten years but ponyboy is barely 14 and she’s like 16-17 and ponyboy never showed interest in her other than understanding her bc they are both different. I disagree with cherryboy shippers bc come on a guy and a girl can have an intellectual conversation without romantic energy. This doesn’t really have to do with the show I just have opinions

I did appreciate Paul yes bring attention to how if the curtises had more money and if their parents hadn’t died Darry could have been someone big. Someone known. Someone the world considered important. And probably to the gang he represented the idea that a greaser could make it out there but then he didn’t and it crushed them a little so they tried to joke about ‘him going soc’ as a way to cope and it just alienated him even more since he now needed a full time job and to raise his brothers and to keep the house standing

I think they fed into the johnnyboy just a little too much. I love me a gay ship but come on, there’s something so beautiful about choosing family and that is what ponyboy and Johnny have. Can we shut up about the ship for one second and admire brothers who would go anywhere for each other, who would kill for each other or die for each other. Brothers who spoke without speaking. Platonic love is amazing and I loved their songs but I know the johnnyboy shippers are gonna be annoying af whenever I try to interact with the fandom. Like just because some people are queer doesn’t mean every character you like has to be queer. I know we as a community are underrepresented but if you want queer representation write a new story with queer characters, dont ruin the kinship of the curtises and Johnny cade

I loved throwing in the towel but I did not like how ponyboy sang in it too. The whole point is he is gone, and also the literal next song is the three brothers so it would have made more sense if he wasn’t singing TITT. Also if there was a missing harmony it could have been chefs kiss

the Julie Andrews bit? Fucking iconic

who tf is blondie soc girl and greaser girl. Sure ig for harmonies but they added nothing to the story and seriously to me seemed pointless. Their characters did not have to be written and served no purpose and come on, outsiders isn’t even about girls. The only girl who was close to a main character was cherry, and the only side girls who could have added to the story were sandy and Marcia, and they already underutilized Marcia. Like if you needed another girl moment just add in the two bit Marcia stuff but blondie and greaser girl had no use other than harmonies and dancing.

dally seemed way older than he should. He’s 17 he’s not put together he’s in and out of jail he’s not a responsible older brother to the boys he’s dangerous and unstable and both twobit and Darry are older than him also

the dally vs darry brother stuff was stupid

twobit was everything I wanted him to be loved it

ITS A HOPELESS WAR WERE FIGHTING AND WE DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT FOR EVEN IN THE END EVEN IF YOU WIN IT DOESNT CHANGE A THING

I didn’t really like little brother. At first I was like YES dally only cared about Johnny so yes the devotion is eating but then he’s like ‘do it for ponyboy and Johnny’ like what? ‘I am killing myself for the sake of ponyboy and Johnny’? That accomplishes nothing. That makes no sense. He killed himself bc the only good thing in his life was gone, not for pony and johnnys benefit?? The song is a banger but the lyrics are not it

stay gold is beautiful and the message is beautiful it fit the end of johnnys story so well and hold on to the good things and make peace with the bad things bc holding on to bad things is how people become resentful and vengeful and easily tempted to do bad things and that’s how bob and dally became bob and dally anyways stay gold might lift me out of my depression bc the message is so powerful and if I just find the beauty in this world in the sky and in the kids I work with and in my pets and everywhere else and if I act with grace and mercy and kindness rather than anger and justice and a mean spirit then I think I’ll do okay

I don’t blame the writers for not putting it in bc time exists and there’s only so much of it but I wish we’d seen more of ponyboys mental struggles or maybe even a short court scene showing them labeled innocent and it could have included ponyboy getting confused like in the book but I’m not mad bc it was getting to be a long musical

I did think the idea of ponyboy choosing to share johnnys message of staying gold by writing their story was very cutesy

awwwwww the way they ate dinner together and showed him improving by him eating a little bit like yes baby steps disordered eating is no joke and family dinners are amazing especially since the first few months of family dinners were probably sad and empty and tense and angry and then Johnny happened and they were sad and empty again until he started eating and the way darry didn’t make a big deal out of it and let him go slow :,)

[comparativelysuperlative]

What was the book? With the Definitely Real Banishment

Spoilers (obviously) but it's the Lightbringer series. That villain was pretty good! The word-by-word writing is fine! The plot is, for several books' worth, aimed at being Very Generic Fantasy (for reasons that will make sense later). Incoming long post about its philosophy, with even more spoilers.

It's not often that I read a book and immediately go "I can tell you what kind of middle school this author went to." In this case, it was drawing on the author's experience of exactly the theology I grew up with, which was almost eerie.

(I read book one years and years ago, and didn't retain much other than "cool magic system." Probably everything in this post is true about book one as well, but I wouldn't know.)

Google will tell you that the series gets gradually very Christian, to the point where the climax of the last book contains a sermon. But it's more specific than that. These books scream "Protestant, American, classically educated, does not travel internationally very often, male, straight, probably white, the kind of person who would vote straight-ticket Republican until that meant Trump at which point all bets are off." I did not bother confirming most of those. They're just obvious.

The loudest part--to me at least--was the "classically educated." (If you're not familiar, it's this thing.) The series would mention quotes from fantasy medieval Catholics or fantasy ancient Greeks or whatever, and I'd recognize the quotes or the names because they'd be real people I ran across in school. Sure enough, author went to Hillsdale.

Lightbringer is interesting for having an actual vision of a conservative society, not just about hating the right/wrong people. Not being on that team anymore I don't actually like this vision very much, but compared to current conservatives, credit for having one at all.

Differences between people obviously don't affect your value as a person, they just might make it easier or harder or mean you have to specialize differently to accomplish as much For The Group.

(That opinion makes perfect sense for characters in an elite military unit/training for that unit. But that context is mostly specific to book two, and the philosophy really isn't.)

This applies to everything. Physical condition, including strength/weight/gender. Color-blindness. Superpowers. Being straight. (I'm genuinely not sure if that part was intentional. Characters kept getting distracted at terrible times, and the narration outside their head sounded exactly the same as when someone can't run a mile without Trying Very Hard.)

It does not matter whether your mental illness turns out to be literally demons in your head. Either way you've still got to either work through it or specialize around it.

Tradition matters, even when we don't understand the reason behind it.

If you happen to be in a fantasy book and have access to magic, consorting with demons is evil but fancy physics is fine. You can just BET this author got into fights with other Christians about whether Harry Potter was anti-Jesus.

"Irredeemably bad" isn't really a thing. "Not in fact going to be redeemed" is, but it's worth trying to show mercy if you have the chance. If you don't have the chance, kill 'em. Don't enjoy it, though.

Forgiving people for actually-bad things is hard, can't just go "idk, they're good guys now," but it's also important. (I do think this is underrepresented in secular fiction, where it's either depicted as "how could you work with THEM" or "come on, get over it already and team up against the whatever.")

One of the big reveals at the end is "the Christian God is real." The answer to the problem of evil is indeed the popular answer in the denominations I grew up with. Human choices something something mumble free will.

Very incrementalist. You do as much good as you can as fast as you can, but obviously without overthrowing the entire order or anything. Only evil opportunists would want to do that. Yes, even if the existing order is corrupt all the way through.

Speaking of which, you know that organization/political entity claiming to represent God? Corrupt all the way through. God is more personal than that. Protestantism!

Personal morality matters. Your leaders absolutely must be good people, or at least trying to be, or you're screwed.

Personal morality matters. It is safe to assume you'll end up as exactly what your peers expect of you, so pick good peers.

A man should be faithful to one (1) wife. Viewpoint characters speedrun figuring out the philosophy behind this.

(IMO monogamy was a legitimate human rights win by early Christianity, relative to what came before, and I think something similar applies in this setting. But since the real-life alternatives today are so much better than women being property, giving this a lot of screen time sounded like the book is fishing very hard for things historical Christianity did right.)

Also, once you are married you Are Married. It's not that changing that would be unthinkable, just that if you do treat it as an option you're obviously doing it wrong.

Gay people don't exist. Any variety of non-straight, really. Nobody says that it should be that way. It just doesn't come up. Characters are written in enough detail that I can tell you how they'd react if you asked them, and it's mostly the "not my business" + "prefer not to think about it" kind of low-grade homophobia. A few would be explicitly okay with it. But it does not come up. If there were a gay relationship depicted, I'd expect it to be "coincidentally" problematic in some other way.

(I guess there's that one slaver-antagonist whose sexuality is just "sadist." Yeah, one might call that problematic.)

Practically dripping with Great Man Theory of History. There's a scene where the protagonist has a self-affirming/emotional moment about not relying on his family name and meritoriously earning his first kingdom. This is played completely straight.

Don't worry, he uses it for good. At least as much good as he can without overthrowing the existing order etc.

If there are end times prophecies, they might well be true but you can't trust any specific interpretation so it's wiser to just do your best without reference to the prophecy. (This is an interesting take! And not heresy but also not common! I bet the author's reacting against some interesting strains of fundamentalism there.)

A cool idea where angels and demons can be anywhere in any world at any time in history, but are very reluctant to actually do that because they can't pick the same time twice. You can just tell it's the author's Christianity headcanon.

You win by doing your best and having faith in God. The villains are very much a sideshow.

(I think if everyone followed this book's philosophy more it would be a mostly bad thing. Let's not do that.)

(But wow, I wish modern conservatives were only this bad.)

It probably sounds like I didn't like this series. But I did read five doorstoppers' worth. This post is just about the opinions, and the opinions sucked.

Anyway. This has to be on purpose, right, and 10 or 15 years ago I was pretty much the target audience for this. Guess I'm old.

I used to explicitly think "I'm Christian, but atheist fiction is more interesting," and this book is the kind of thing that...tries...to counter that. Fails, because resolving major conflicts with divine intervention is tricky to make interesting. But you'll see why it's going for Every Other Book, But Christian. (Also, the amount of sex in these books is much higher than you might think, given everything. I wish I knew less about what body types the author is attracted to.)

Anyway, I can't really say I would recommend it. But if you're interested in what would happen if Card or Sanderson tried to be Evangelical Lewis for adults, Lightbringer isn't bad.

[justanotherhh]

hold up wdym fizz is word of god demi? did a cast/crew member confirm it?👀

hey hello howdy!

before i get into anything i need to disclaim, for my own health, so bear with me:

first of all, i want to stress that word-of-god is fundamentally meaningless in the sense of actual canon (being a teenager under the reign of that book series about a magic school written by a bigot + the whole 2010s fondness of declaring characters to be gay maybe if you keep watching *wink wink* only to turn around and call queer fans deranged for caring too much... ive got no time for that nonsense)

on the other hand, i think there's also something to say for a show that's about 99.999% canonically queer characters and that sometimes narrative is showing not telling... that is to say... even if there hadn't been any kind of word of god, especially in a verse in which relationship structures are built along fundamentally non-heteronormative dominant lines, one gets to analyse different forms of queerness with far more deliberation than one might in a Very Straight Show In Which We Are Aware That This Was Not Intentional

on the... third? hand. specifically aspec identities, still very underrepresented, still very disputed, still very hard-done by, even when the visuals really do lean into a show-don't-tell obviousness (see: all that marketing for alastor being very aromantic and supported by his narrative in the canon, and it's still not "enough," often simply because many people haven't even heard of ace, never mind aro... i digress, but i think, for relevant reasons), so fizzie being read as demi by people who know

what the heck demi even means

have the ability to engage with an aspec-analysis lens

is probably still the vast vast minority!

all this to say. it's not canon, in the way that, say, his being gay is canon, or blitzø being pan is... more canon (in the sense that the word "pan" may not occur to everyone, but it's more obvious within the queer community and those without may at least land on "bi" and be in the correct ballpark) and moxxie being bisexual is 100% indesputably-stated-out-loud canon

in order for it to be canon, it would have to imo:

either be stated out loud in canon (and even then, we get the word "ace" on hazbin and it's StiLl DiSPuTeD okok im calm...)

fizz would have to have a narrative or speech or some kind of important Beat explicitly dedicated to the fact that he Does Not Feel Sexual Attraction unless he's in love (which... honestly... if that were in connection with some kinda beat in blitzø's narrative about feeling like he's unworthy of love... im just sayin.... + it would lean very neatly into exploring fizzmodeus' being an in-universe very non-normative relationship)

in this case, i do think it's a neat little easter egg, without being pandering or *pat pat on the head,* that is supported by the text, and so yeah. fun. if they backtracked on that and in some way decided fizzarolli has had tons of casual sex that he's enjoyed/pursued... i mean, honestly without the word of god, i'd think that was kinda out of character, which leads me back to "yeah, fun easter egg, only canon insofar as it's not disputed by canon!"

disclaimer over:

this tweet stating the creator said these words, liked by the creator, this was my original reblog of it (although I do note the original poster seems to have taken it down since then)

[accio-bagel]

HELLO HELLO!! :D

dropping some questions for this hot criminal 🥵:

🔥 What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

🔥 What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

🔥 Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about

sending you much love!! ❤️‍🔥

Hello Casper love!

I'm so glad you asked!

🔥 1. What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

My initial thoughts were: a) I want a morally grey Slytherin. b) “Why are nearly all lovable rogue characters men?” (examples include Han Solo, Robin Hood, Flynn Rider, etc.) c) What could logically explain so much of the MC's wild in-game behavior? (I wanted to keep her fairly canon-compliant.)

To be a proper lovable rogue, Ellie had to have a sympathetic backstory, and since the MC seems to know some things about the wizarding world but not everything, to me that meant she wasn't purely muggle-raised. So, I made her a supposed Squib whose magical parents abandoned her out of shame. Ellie had to live on the streets and learn to take care of herself at an early age, turning to crime first out of necessity, then growing used to it as she got older.

A thief/rogue type would likely be skilled in running and climbing walls, stealth, breaking into places and stealing without getting caught, and generally unfazed by being chased by enemies. She’s charismatic and charming, everyone seems to listen to her and she can be very convincing (I imagine Ellie to be much less obvious than the canon MC when she's lying tho 👀)

🔥 6. What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

Mostly for the aesthetic, but with purpose too: I wanted her to have a pretty face as another tool for her to use to her advantage - easier to get away with her criminal activities and not be caught if she can look cute and innocent. She has hazel eyes just because I love them and think they’re really underrepresented in media. I am also incapable of making a character without some freckles. I gave her the eyebrow scar and haircut and the end of her 5th year both for a physical reminder of what she went through, and to mark the passage of time, but this probably just confuses everybody who sees screenshots of her and hasn't read my long-ass OC intro post 😅

🔥 20. Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favorite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about.

I don’t think I’ve written anywhere yet that she has ADHD (undiagnosed obviously, because 1800s.) So she’s off in her own world sometimes and gets distracted, fidgets when she has to be still for a long period of time, and can get very irritated if she’s disrupted while she's focused on something. She's also spontaneous, a creative thinker, has a lot of energy and a good sense of humor. She's the type who might seem intimidating at first, but she's silly and has a soft heart deep down, despite her hard upbringing.

[foolishfynnesse]

Wondering if maybe I should make my aroace intersex OC aplatonic as well. Like, maybe either plato-favorable or plato-indifferent. I have several OC’s that make up a friend group, but I’ve been wondering for a bit if I should make one of them aplatonic, since I’m on that spectrum myself (grayplatonic) and since aplspec people are horribly underrepresented. Kind of weird that I would make several OC’s when I’m not really capable of fleshing out even one of them (I really only know basic things about all of them). But anyway, I was thinking that maybe the character I’m referring to first joined the friend group a long time ago because of shared interests with one or more of the members of the friend group. She knows she cares about those who call themselves her friends, but she comes to realize that she doesn’t love them like someone who’s alloplatonic would; that she wouldn’t mind if she stopped seeing them altogether. Sure, she likes having people to talk to about her interests and to vent to, and is mostly fine with the give-and-take that friendship demands, but when it really comes down to it, she likes being alone most of the time. She eventually kind of leaves the friend group as they go their separate ways. Maybe one or more of them check in on her from time-to-time, which she doesn’t mind, but she goes on to live on her own with her cat Nimbus (or Bus for short), pursuing her career and interests.

Idk, how does that sound? I’m not entirely aplatonic, so I’m not sure if this is really good or not. I don’t really plan to do anything with my characters as of now (I probably never will tbh, lmao) but I still want to make sure that they don’t misrepresent any of the lgbt+ groups that my characters fit into (or any of the racial groups they are a part of, but that’s not what I’m talking about in this post). For instance, I’m perisex, so I have many things to learn about intersex people. I guess this is one of the reasons I don’t try to flesh out my OC’s that much; because I’m afraid of inserting my own ignorance and biases into their characters (if that makes sense?). But anyway, thoughts?

(Sorry about this post. It’s just that, if I didn’t make it, I would probably spend hours awake thinking about this idea)

(Also, should I make a post about my OC’s…?)

[error-core-animations]

What are some of your favorite character relationships/dynamics in TMNT, and why? Is there anything that you particularly like seeing explored with them in fan works (art, writing, comics, etc)?

Wwell. Would I be predictable if I said I like it when people write about Mikey and Meatsweats's dynamic. Cuz I like that. Even if it's not angsty it's still interesting!! Mikey's fanboy obsession that might be a celebrity crush vs Meatsweats's cranky ass middle aged man divorcee that also wants to eat a bunch of teenagers... FIGHT!!! And we all know that I see that whole mess that's going on as Mikey getting groomed because I love to harm my blorbos and give them my personal problems. Also Nothing but Truffle was literally just an episode where Mikey was very explicitly groomed so there's that too. Source: that was, for me, a painfully relatable 11 minutes 👍

I also like Donnie and Mikey they're very special to me,,, and Mikey and Raph too they're CSA victim buddies. Leo and Mikey are still cool but the whole. Oversaturation of Leo content makes him less appealing to write/read about tbh. It's only ok to include him if it's in relation to Mikey now instead of the other way around (JOKE I PROMISE). And Mikey and April are such an underrepresented duo that it's quite literally killing me. THEY HAVE MOVIE NIGHTS GUYS!! CASH IN ON THAT!!!

I also think that April should be included more in general. Across iterations, not just rise. She doesn't get nearly enough attention. Neither does Mikey! So Mikey and April should team up and become. Like. Way cooler than everyone else. I mean they already are but folks can't see it because of misogyny, ableism, and, in rise, racism. Yaaaaay. 😑

Also TO BE CLEAR. none of this is shippy. I hate shipping (all of it) (yes even that one. Especially that one.) (everyone get divorced NOW) (I'm aromantic and romance repulsed)

Sorry if this is like. Weird and incoherent it's 2:30 in the morningggggg I should probably go to bed

[irrealisms]

bro i had a whole ask and then tumblr reloaded the page and i lost it. i will attempt to retype it from memory

hi! ask game. if i could make you write anything, uhhh. more itzsubz. you have written him before, but usually when doing eclipse stuff you usually focus on zam and vitalasy more, and subz is My Special Guy. specific ideas, uhh. transfem subz? maybe transfem subzam? this is kind of already in the hwbm fic you posted, but id love to see more, maybe canonverse and also more, focused on them and gender stuff? hwbm fic was about lots of things, something Just about subz and zam and gender and the ways zam idealizes subz would be nice. also Different idea id love to see you write subz ableism moments, because it is so underrepresented in the fandom( understandable why i guess, but still.) and i think youd probably do it well? and then i was gonna say more things, but the rest of my ideas are things id like to see anyone write, rather than things id be super excited about you specifically writing

sent the ask and immediately thought of something id want to add. subz ableism yes, but also, just in general subz being kind of shitty. i feel like a lot of the fics make him better than he is and thats fair but also it isnt in character and i want fics where he is in character yknow. and i think youd be able to do this

thank you!!! honestly i feel like i said enough of what i want to say about my transfem subzam gender thoughts in their chapter of hwbm au that i'd struggle to do a full fic about it... hwbm au as a whole is def about more things but the subzam chapter is like a solid 1k of this and so idk how much more i'd be able to write on the topic without feeling like i was Repeating Myself yk (yes i know two cakes but i am less motivated to write when i dont feel like im doing something New). i should write more subz being kind of shitty though.....i feel like i wrote subz most in hwbm au where i ended up making the choice to make her Better than canon for au reasons but when writing canonverse i feel like i could do a reasonably canonically shitty subz in a way that a lot of people Dont Want To...... ty for the ask <33333 !!!

(if you could make me write anything, what would it be?)

[befooremoonrisee]

random thoughts that i have about the vale because it's my favourite underrepresented region in asoiaf:

-does the arryn girl who was kidnapped by the mountain clans fit the whole bael the bard "mythos" and will she be important in the series?

-the vale had many female leaders, i think it has the most prominent women ruling besides dorne (and probably the most named ones). will sansa become one of their widow queen/lady at some point? how will the three sisters' common folk react to stark influence in the vale if sansa becomes regent?

-will alyssa's tears reach the valley at last? will they play some role or they were just there to further catelyn's themes?

-the royces were the first named house and they haven't done anything of remark yet. i want to know more about them. what does their armour mean? does it have powers? if so, it would be the first first man's magic artifact which is not directly associated to children of the forest. also, bronze is quite the opposite colour of the ice armour of the white walkers.

-the relationship between the royces and starks. i wanna see it developed.

-cannibal and nettles.

-mya stone needs more theories about her future. why can't she be the heir of storm's end when she's robert's oldest child and the paternity is clear. maybe she will get the moon gates at the end of the series? please grrm let her and sansa kiss at least one time.

-sweetrobin survives the series because of all the "cripple, bastards and broken things". i love that little child so much and i hate how the fandom reacts to an emotionally abused young boy.

-myranda royce is gonna become sansa's closest ally because i say so and it would subvert the "mean girl" trope. she was just married to an old guy and sansa is being groomed for that. she is the best character to help her deconstruct the harm petyr is doing.

[starcanwrecked-confessions]

On the campfire confessions discourse going on:

This once again goes back to something that happens a lot on here: people not being able to handle others having different headcanons or ships to them. It is ok for people to have different ships. It is ok for people to ship whatever they want and it is ok for people to headcanon whatever they want as long as they don't push it onto others as though it's canon.

The og anon that said they don't like the ship because they see them as sisters literally said "it's stupid" and "even though my hc isn't canon" they know it's not canon and aren't trying to push it onto anyone else that are not allowed to. They were just confessing it, not trying to force it on anyone, not trying to shit on it. Could they have worded it better? Yeah definitely. Saying they get the ick was rude. And seeing someone say they see your ship as siblings instead would definitely be something kinda like gross to see.

But looking through notes on that post I see these phrases: "if you feel so strongly" "care so deeply" "because you feel so strongly" where the are you guys getting the idea that they feel strongly about it? The original anon really didn't say that much?

Look, WLW ships don't get enough attention in the fandom I absolutely agree and I understand why you would be upset over someone saying they don't like one. But that anon was really not like tearing down your ship and shitting on it or anything, they just said that they personally don't like it. It still hurts to see what they said yeah I understand that but for what they it felt like an overreaction. I mean one person said "I won't say that I try to not be all high and mighty, because I'm acutely aware, that I am in fact better than you. At least I don't try to sneakily shit on a small and underrepresented portion of a big *big* fandom under the guise of this" WHAT?? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but that is very mean if I'm understanding this correctly. MUCH more mean than the person simply saying "oh yeah I don't like this ship because of my headcanon" I feel like we're overestimating anons intent with that confession like I really doubt they were TRYING to hurt anyone (even if they did).

And obviously posting opinions online, especially on this blog, is gonna get reactions and replies, and the and should expect that. But at the same time it's confession blog and you should expect people to send in stuff you don't agree with either, right? Doesn't it go both ways? We all need to take a chill pill I think, myself included probably. It's ok if people don't ship your ship. It's ok if people disagree with your headcanon. It's ok to respond and say that you disagree with someone's opinion. I get why people were upset over it I'm just confused as to why people were SO upset about it.

~~~

[eeblouissant]

Catching up on new fics and need to say that I love how you used consent as this unspoken theme. I don't have a problem with other fics in the fandom, it's so cool that there's any fics at all still being made for a 40 year old show and I love what people are doing, so hopefully it doesn't come across that way but I feel like your Dorothy is truest to the show. And I really like how you explore her vulnerabilities but, if this makes any sense which it probably doesn't, in a loving way? Both in the tone of your writing, you can tell you care about the characters and their backgrounds, but also how she's always got a safety net with the others overall, so even if she breaks or falls she won't be left to hit rock bottom, but how that also means you can dig into those more traumatic themes and hints from canon and let her be less than angel or someone who needs those reassurances etc. Your fic that centers around Dorothy's smoking habit is one a constantly thing about that encapsulates all this, it's probably my fave fic for the whole fandom. not even 2000 words but there are so many layers and it's all so Dorothy and bittersweet and feels so true and it never feels rushed or forced or superficial.

anon 🥹🥹🥹 anon !!!!!! I’ve been smiling so much my face hurts !!!!!! Oh my god, you have absolutely no idea how much this all means to me, i don’t even know where to begin!!!!!! Thank you for the (very) happy cry :’) very very happy & very appreciative. I really can’t express just how much this means !!!

I can’t believe people have really seen beyond the surface of what I write (i thought I was insane, adding in so many layers but sorta kinda failing to articulate them properly, or so I thought? I was sure that I was kind of just living in my own head here 😅), but wow, it means the world to hear.

One of the shows biggest themes, and one of its most important imo, shows that women “of a certain age” can and do have healthy & active sex lives/a healthy relationship with sex. And while I’ve seen a good few (incredible 👀 by the way) fics talking about or portraying this between the girls, whether you seen them being platonic or romantic - i had yet to see fics touching on the topic while also displaying Dorothy’s trauma/how she would respond. The body always remembers, the mind may heal, and heal Dorothy has - but there will always be a sort of response, memories hidden just beneath the surface. I like to imagine it like crumpling up a piece of paper - you can unfold it and lay it flat, press it flat with a book if you like, but the wrinkles, those memories, will always be there. That piece of paper isn’t ruined, just wrinkled. A little more delicate. Dorothy’s just a little more delicate than the others. And that part of her is so so soooooo criminally underrepresented and glossed over imo. (Since we’re on the topic of vulnerability, everyone go read @/hecatesbroom’s essay on vulnerability in tgg RIGHT NOW !!!!!!!!! you will not be disappointed!!!!!! someone teach me how to link things neatly please 😭)

I don’t know if it means anything (or if this is too personal) but I write and speak about Dorothy as a survivor of very similar trauma, so I tend to project a little onto her (while also trying my best to stay true to her character, i have this thing about sticking to canon very strictly haha. But while I was working out my portrayal i definitely pulled from bits and pieces of my own healing journey). I like to take my negative experiences and use them in my art as a sort of coping mechanism, so at least I can make something good of them? Does that make sense?

Anyway - I’m really really glad that the consent theme has seemed to get through (to more than one person, too! ahh :’) ), and that it was clear there’re many more layers there. Dorothy is gentle, she really is so gentle. I think lots of us can be blinded by the facade she puts up, and I truly believe it is a facade - one very well perfected after years of putting up - but behind closed doors she really isn’t that. She presents herself as the “fixer”, “the great balloon pricker”, but she needs to have that safety net ready & known more than the others I think. Purely because of her experiences leading up to (now, canon, etc)

ahh & i had completely forgotten about that fic, oh my :’))) i really don’t have the words - you’re just too sweet 😭🤍🤍🤍🤍 i wish I had added more to that one, but I’ve never really enjoyed writing looooonnggg pieces like that. About 2000 words is all I’ll ever manage, if that 😂. It’s been a good few months since I’ve read that one over, i never read my work over after it’s published, so I can’t comment on it the same way I just did the last.

thank you thank you thank you for this you have no idea how much it means :’) i will be thinking about this for the rest of ever,,, truest to the show??!!! Watch me sob right now

[chimerafeathers]

[personal opinions about dunmesh op 1 vs op 2 visuals, mild namedrop spoilers below]

tbh while i liked the first dunmesh op’s song a lot, the visuals REALLY didn’t do it for me in terms of establishing tone, character, overall plot or vibes of the story…

almost half of it is static or minimally animated images, and the first section of the giant characters standing stoically with eyes closed in various landscapes does very little to convey anything meaningful about them as individuals or their role in the story. like, i could see that imagery for a more low-key ED, and i think it would work really well. (i'd never replace Ryoko Kui's art from the EDs, but in a different universe where they had a more standard animated approach.)

but for the first op, that’s supposed to set the tone and hook you on the world & characters….ehhh. especially since Kabru, Namari, and Shuro/Toshiro are featured equally to the main party, but Kabru and Namari get very little screentime in the first cour, and Toshiro gets even less and is barely even mentioned. meanwhile, there's only one food/cooking-related shot right at the end. the biggest focus of the first arc is barely present in the op.

they spend a huge amount of time just kinda teasing characters that won’t be properly featured or introduced for a while yet—shots of the Canaries, Toshiro's party('s legs), Thistle, the Winged Lion, are all exciting to see *as a manga reader*, but they feel out of place for the first op. the first arc primarily focuses on our main party and their interactions with the dungeon itself and the monsters within it, and, you know, cooking.

the main party's personalities, monsters, and food. those 3 things were either severely underrepresented or completely absent from the op 1 visuals, and i really felt their absence more and more as time went on.

2nd op on the other hand......love love love. WAY better representation of the characters and what the show is actually about! there's so much more humor and personality, it showcases the camaraderie of the main party, it flips back and forth between the party hunting/gathering ingredients to cook and BECOMING ingredients that are getting cooked, there are so many more monster designs and interactions, it still manages to show off upcoming characters and designs without detracting from the overall feel or focus.....it's EXACTLY what i was hoping for from the op switch so i'm absolutely thrilled!!

i like the new song, but i have less to say about it specifically, other than the visuals being timed to it really nicely. i could be wrong but i feel like people who are "meh" about the new op maybe just care about the music part, or at least weigh it more heavily, whereas i'm somewhat the opposite. it's hard for me to imagine someone comparing just based on the visuals and thinking that this:

somehow matches the tone and vibe of the show better than this:

but, people have different perspectives on things, so there probably ARE people who genuinely prefer the more solemn and mysterious atmosphere of op 1 visuals to the more “cutesy” op 2, even if i personally think they feel out of place for arc 1.

to be clear, none of this is to say the visuals are *bad*--i have the stitched image of Laios (& co) and Falin (& co) reaching towards each other as my phone background--just that i felt like they emphasized the wrong things for this first arc, and were maybe better suited to an ed.

i'm really, really happy that op 2 completely fixed every "issue" that i had with the first one!

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

hey. sorry to do this but i have to second what the other anon said re: your reply to the first(?) guy. you're dead right that you don't owe people complete agreement and that your blog is not their confession box. at the same time i think it's a pretty bad faith reading to interpret that ask as anon saying that trans men bottoming is gross. as far as i can see what they said is that lack of rep makes them FEEL gross. i say this with love in my heart as someone who has often fallen prey to it myself but i think you may need to check that your approach-everything-as-discourse switch is not switched on. responding to someone being vulnerable about their sexuality by nitpicking the possible political implications of their wording is not really necessary and a bit mean. anyway love you i hope you have a good day/night and enjoy your team fortress pornography

Looking back at it, I do think I was a bit harsher to that person than I should have been, especially since I have a lot of very similar feelings myself. I want you all to realize that whatever interpretation this has of my words is definitely not what I meant in any way. However, I am also under no obligation for every post I make to be perfect, and I am ESPECIALLY not well-equipped to perfectly answer something THAT personal which I was not prepared for and did not ask to receive. I think referring to what I said as me "approaching everything as discourse" is disingenuous. I don't think looking in on your feelings and asking yourself why you might have such a strong gut reaction to other trans people's expression is "discourse". I'm not saying that no one's allowed to feel that way (if you knew literally anything about me outside of this stupid comedy videogame blog, you would know I have a LOT of the same feelings myself), but I am asking people to think about how they express those feelings and try to not word them in a way that TO ME, IN THE MOMENT, sounded like it was somehow other trans people's fault or something. I'm a vers and allowing myself to feel good again about bottoming, which is actually very stigmatized for trans guys and "mascs" in general in a lot of spaces, is something that took a lot of work. Despite my best efforts, I too will have strong gut reactions to anything that posits either topping OR bottoming as like The Good Proper Trans Guy Thing To Do. If I had gotten an ask complaining about transmasc tops in the same way, I would have probably given the same response. I have feelings about this stuff too, and I don't really want these feelings to be a topic of Great Debate. Literally nowhere in my response did I tell that anon that they weren't allowed to feel the way they did, just to think about ways to word their response that doesn't accidentally put the blame on other trans people with different relationships to their bodies, which is something I am working on myself! I was too harsh and I do apologize to them, but I don't retract any of the actual content of what I said. I think if anything the issue should be viewed as "not enough transmasc top posts" and not "too many transmasc bottom posts". Everyone deserves to be "represented" and make content about what they like. I really DO hope that we get an increase in "representation" for transmasc tops, we ARE underrepresented and I talk about that on my nsfw sideblog literally all the time, I just don't think that should be done at the expense of posts about trans guy bottoms, which I understand now was probably not that anon's intention at all, but it's how I read it at the time. I am a human being and I will make mistakes sometimes. I am going to ask to please stop overanalyzing my feelings AND that random anon's feelings now. I really do not want this to be the next "discourse" or whatever on this blog

[symptoms-syndrome]

Hi, can I ask you for advice?

Regarding your last post about the racism white people have with asian names.

I'm a writer and I'm planning a novel with a Japanese character named "Yuriko" (although I might change her to be from the Philippines because I feel they're underrepresented, but this question is in case I keep her as Japanese.

I was wondering if that would be a good, respectful and sensible name for a young Asian woman. I wish to be able to properly represent an often underlooked minority.

I'm afraid I can't help with Japanese names, as I'm Korean. I would probably ask a Japanese person, or maybe a trustworthy name site. Wikipedia says it's pretty common. I'm pretty sure that Japan has a smaller pool of names than USAmericans are sometimes used to, given there aren't as many variations of names (i.e. Caitlyn vs Kaitlyn vs Keightlynn) because it's more unusual to want your child to stand out with a unique name. But it's generally good advice to check in with a local regardless because sometimes there are associations with names culturally that you might not be aware of, less in the realm of offensiveness and more in the realm of like. IDK, in English the name Patrica gives off a different idea than the name Stefani even though they're both real and valid names y'know?

I will say that I wouldn't change your character's ethnicity purely for like, representation points. It's just sort of weird to do and also won't do your writing any favors. Sometimes ppl can tell when a character has a trait purely bc the writer thought they'd seem like a better person by adding it. But then again, it's not like everyone can always know your intentions. I just think that if you write a character for a novel as Japanese and then can change her to being Filipino with like, no change to anything else about her or her life/family/etc it might mean she's a little flat y'know? But then again IDK what stage ur at with ur writing. I'm just saying this as a fellow writer not to like. Lecture you or anything. Do whatever you want that's just smth I'd keep in mind.

Also like. IDK I think sometimes writers get too in their head about this sort of thing. So don't stress yourself out too too much. If you're questioning something specific it's cool to ask but you can also just write what u wanna write and then maybe hire a sensitivity reader.