#response to previous asks

[damnfandomproblems]

Wow at all the syscourse going on. To throw in my four pence:

1. Y'all are making assumptions about people you barely know about outside of their social media presence. You don't know if they're getting a diagnosis or already have one, and saying someone's faking because their DID/OSDD doesn't present like "normal" or like yours (if you have it) is kind of disingenuous.

2. On the whole traumagenic thing... eh. I get that medically DID/OSDD is inseparable from trauma. Still, I think making that the be-all-end-all of systemhood doesn't sound very nice. I feel it sort of gives an expectation that you have to constantly be sad and in misery of being a system and having trauma and want to not be a system. Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to fuse, but I'm fairly certain not every single system in the world wants that.

3. From what I've seen of the endogenic crowd, it's not like they call themselves "non-traumatic DID/OSDD" or some shit. They just call themselves endogenic systems.

4. Y'all calling people fakers and brainwashed children in cults are probably just enforcing the belief if they're really faking. People don't tend to just go "Oh, you're right" when insulted, you know. Also, on that topic of endogenic systems, some of them have turned out to be traumagenic systems/have DID/OSDD; they only thought they didn't have trauma because it was buried so deep it was practically forgotten. So, y'know, all that fakeclaiming could hinder and even prevent from that revelation happening.

FWIW, I don't disagree with the original submission. Fictives (and, for that matter, kinnies and DAs) shouldn't get to dictate what people do with the fictional character they're sourced from. I just think the wording and subsequent discourse is kinda yikes.

Posting since this is a response to a previous problem and the previous asks related to it.

[claymton]

AGE REGRESSION CLAY HEADCANON TIME OOO BOY.. I may or may not have some yapping to do about this..

First off, I saw the 2 tags specifically on the answer you gave that caught my attention. I do feel Clay definitely bites his nails or his thumb.. With age regression (spoken from someone who has an issue with this) I definitely think he does suck his thumb or gnaw at it a little if he's overstimulated in a way.. specifically in fetal position. I may just be saying this out of solely what I do but.. yeah.

The whole urine thing as well. I think like the bed wetting definitely has something to do with age regression and bladder issues due to overuse of alcohol, being a responsive thing that just kind of happens reflexively.. most likely with a nightmare or something.

Also think he does things subconsciously while he's asleep like for one, clinging onto his pillow as well as tossing and turning. I think he gets restless while asleep, and maybe that's why he ends up responding that way. (bed wetting, being restless, etc.)

There's another thing that could fall into the restless category but I may return to that sometime after this ask.

I don't really want to get into the egg thing because. first off since its uncomfortable a bit for me to talk about myself and. also since Sinvilles could do a better analyzation post about it than anyone, i fear.

with clays hair curl I have a few random things with that. that could very likely be tagged on with this in a way maybe. I think he may have had a habit of twirling that thing a bit..

I think he had issues at school with bullying and constantly tried to get attention and make himself the rage bait.. clearly it ends up working. He'd go home bloodied a lot to Aurther and he'd brush it off, not care, almost scold him for it, but then stopping himself, pretend not to notice, or just not notice entirely.

which made clays sacrifice rant happen, specifically because he wanted that attention again and wasn't able to get. which maybe could be why he kept his distance from Orel, just because of how his father was absent for a while after giving clay old gunny. and he didn't want to look at Orel because he felt mad at Orel and himself a little because he wasn't 'Man' enough and Clay himself couldn't make him something he saw himself in. so it made him feel the need to be distant with something he didn't feel connected to, felt more like Blobertas child than his own.

"weak, and passive. and ultimately broken by the ones who were made the fittest!! and that through your weaknesses you built up a poison.. that poisoned others around you.. that you loved. and the only true justice was to let those dominant jackals feed on you.. survive of you."

I truly believe he was age regressing here. back to when he would try so desperately to get his fathers attention that he craved and somehow failed no matter what he did. and he let everyone pick on him and make himself stand out specifically because it would make him feel at least some sort of affection other than being ignored. negative attention is still attention nonetheless right?

There's still more too it than that I just need more time to get my thoughts collected..

extra little side note ::

with clays hair curl I have a few random things with that age regression that could very likely be tagged on with this in a way maybe. I think he may have had a habit of twirling that thing a bit..

Clearly the more reasoned option being he snipped off a chunk of his hair when he was younger so it just never grew out enough and it just kinda just wouldn't stay back.. either that or he does his hair every morning and tries to make his hair perfect every morning cuz he's kind of a freak when it comes to that I think..

[thehighmass]

ok Catholics and Catholic adjacent girlies, I have a conundrum

if I ask my husband how many kids he wants, and he responds with “idk as many as God wants us to have” every single time, do I have the right to be annoyed about it or am I not submitting properly to the will of God

[cry-ptidd]

This might seem a little silly but as a woman starting to get hairier because of PCOS, it feels really good to see you depict Laura's hairiness in a neutral (dare I say positive?) way. Like, even if it's technically completely unrelated it still helps when thinking about my future appearance and how it'll be perceived by others

Im so sorry for taking so long to reply to ur ask anon, but you have no idea how much this makes me happy!!

Bodily quirks and details unique to each person add so much to someone's appearance (in the best way), and I really like to add that! I physically can't resist giving my characters at least a bit of body hair. Even if it's just armpit hair or a happy trail (it's not called a happy trail for nothing!!)

I struggled so much to accept my own body hair as a teenager, now I embrace it as part of my body, like my chub and robust build. I fully believe that such things are to be appreciated instead of being mocked or used as a debate subject. It is a thing as natural as anything, and to be fair someone whining won't make it go away. I try to treat traits like body hair on a character as both neutral and celebrated, as in it's a part of their body and character so it's natural for it to be there but I also like that it's there.

While I imagine not that many women/people are as hairy as Laura (she's a literal werewolf) I'm still really happy at least someone takes comfort in her design.

Same goes for you anon, your body is something to be appreciated and respected. You're not here to entertain or pleasure anyone, embrace yourself.

[ask-the-royal-absol]

(Response to: https://www.tumblr.com/ask-chien-pao/740001603492462592/destino-saunters-up-to-chien-pao-smug-grin-upon )

@ask-chien-pao

[henrysglock]

Anon that asked about Will’s character writing here! Tysm for the long reply, it was really interesting to read! I especially found your thoughts about Will’s relationship with El interesting, I hadn’t really thought about it that way before but it makes a lot of sense. That sort of subtle resentment definitely adds a lot to their dynamic and is super interesting! Did you have any further thoughts on El’s relationship with Jonathan? I don’t recall ever really interacting.

Also, “I think the majority of his two-dimensonal-ness, as it were, is fandom based. He's flattened out to "sad gay sweetheart artist" because no one seems to be able to consider his flawed moments and what they say about him as a character in any real or genuine way” you’re so right about this. I do think that the fandom’s portrayal of Will might have influenced my perception of his character, especially as it’s been quite a while since I watched the show. It kind of seems like a lot of fan portrayals have him as this “tragic soft boy uwu babey” of the show which I admit to finding a bit ridiculous and extremely boring.

In regard to characters like Karen and Bob being interesting in terms of their relationships with the “flashy” characters and not the supernatural I definitely agree. I do find them and their position in the story interesting, although I suppose that might have been helped by the fact that they never received the “Will Byers treatment” in fandom spaces where they are automatically portrayed/treated as flawless and “the protagonist” which the show revolves around. (Not that Will has no importance to the story but it’s very much not about him, if anyone is the protagonist it’s El) I’ll definitely keep what you said in mind when I do my rewatch, especially what you said about non-linear storytelling! Thanks again, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Previous Ask

Hi again, Nonnie! Honestly, I should be thanking you for the thoughtful ask. It was refreshing amongst the deluge of anger. I love talking about Will—actually talking about Will, I mean.

Re: El and Jon...We really don't see much of them interacting. Jon is far closer to Will, and even they self-admittedly are quite distant by the time El begins living with the Byers family. However, even at El's darkest moment in Lenora, Jon is there reaching out to comfort her. He may be stoned off his ass, but he's at least making an effort. It's clear that he cares about her, or at the very least, he cares about not seeing a teenage girl hurting like that and letting it go on that way without saying something to reassure her.

I think his behavior with El really adds an interesting dimension to El and Will's relationship. El is closer to Will just by proximity; they're the same age, in the same classes, in the same friend group. However, when she smacks Angela, Jon is the one to reach out and comfort her while Will remains silent the whole ride home (and even at the dinner table later, where Jon once again speaks up in El's defense re: the incident not being that bad/it being blown out of proportion). I also find it interesting that when Will does speak up on El's behalf, it's with Jonathan and/or Mike leading the charge (see: scenes with the police in Lenora).

I think this all also speaks, to a degree, on Jon's parentification and his willingness to take on a caring role towards the younger children in the household/his sense of duty in that regard...but it also speaks to him valuing El for what she is to their family. She's a girl in need of love and support, she's his new little sister, but she's also this miracle who's saved his little brother from certain death multiple times over. I'd say that El is very important to Jon, even if we don't witness them interacting very much.

You and I are of a similar mind re: the fandom's attitude towards Will. The "uwu soft tragic gay artist" trope is tired, and honestly...it's a little vanilla for my tastes, figuratively speaking. The strict adherence of the fandom at large to that characterization of Will makes having in-depth conversations about him difficult at best, especially when his flawed moments are glossed over as "confusion", etc. Like...no! It's more fun when you can admit that he's a little bit of a cunt sometimes. Personally, I like my characters to be a little bitchy for the satisfaction of the dig. It's why I liked Henry so much in TFS—he's not always afraid to be mouthy for the sake of expressing his displeasure. He has certain thoughts that he usually keeps to himself, and they come to light when he feels more comfortable in his company "accepting" his snarky remarks (see: him discussing Virginia with Brenner). It's more fun that way, and Will is no different. [Magneto voice] I prefer the real Will Byers. I said the real Will Byers. Perfection.

In regard to characters like Karen and Bob being interesting in terms of their relationships with the “flashy” characters and not the supernatural I definitely agree. I do find them and their position in the story interesting, although I suppose that might have been helped by the fact that they never received the “Will Byers treatment” in fandom spaces where they are automatically portrayed/treated as flawless and “the protagonist” which the show revolves around.

SPEAK 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️ Absolutely zero comments or corrections here.

I hope you enjoy your rewatch, Nonnie!! Nice talkin to ya :3

[leafuxxtea]

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!

HELLO!!!!!!! HOW R U DOING??? I'm sorry for responding this late 😭😭

your ask made me laugh the most because I remember around 2 weeks ago, I crawled out of my hermit hole and liked one of your posts (REGULAR BASED AND GORGEOUS 74N5N DRAWING), and not even 5 minutes later, I receive an ask from you going "HI?? HELLO!!"

I felt like an thief that just got caught LMAO

I'm just going around doodling as much as I can before I go on a trip, and I thought it was so genius of you to make the tsumigram x pmmm crossover so here's a quick doodle!!

[otaku553]

A doodle of nebula knight (Kirby hero of yore oc!)

Lots of thoughts about writing narrative foils for characters that are paragons of light and goodness (galacta knight)

[hollowslantern]

can we all block this cunt.

[bear-do-well]

How game going?

my computer is weeping

[damnfandomproblems]

This isn't a submission but a reply to the ask about censoring. For anyone who is used to using tiktok as their main pastime, PLEASE unlearn your preconception that the internet by default censors stuff. Tiktok is one website, with a lot of problems. I know it seems like a huge huge part of the internet, or even THE internet depending how much time you spend/t on it, but I guarantee this isn't true. It's an exception to censorship, not the rule. Don't assume ANY site censors like tiktok does!

Posting since it is a response to a previous ask.

I have more asks responding to the ask from the submitter at the post, but I will collecting them all together and posting since they are the same theme. However, some are just down right terrible.

[sin-simps]

I need to insert your art in my brain /pos

As you do this I am eating your art, your art is lovely and hope to see more of it soon!!!

[moe-broey]

based plurality let's go

DEEPLY HONORED BY THIS TAKE........ wearing it like a gold star sticker.... 🥺

I hope I can express this right, but!! It is genuinely SO cool to me, that even though Moe is a study of the self, an exploration of my experiences/feelings, it is SO cool to me!!! That people who have experiences outside of my own can see themselves in it, too!!!!

I also want to say it's a super cool interpretation of Mani, as well. Given what Mani IS -- an entire personality created for the sole purpose of Protecting Moe. And when things get dire, Mani does kick back in again. Ensure Safety, above All Else. Like!!!! It really isn't too far off from how alters come to be!! (Also the fact that it did just. Become its own entity about it. Much to Moe's chagrin. Much even Mani's chagrin. The Lif effect....)

I only worry about "canonizing" it, because I don't have DID, and esp for a self-insert adjacent character... it feels like it's not my place. BUT. BUT. BUT!!!! I DO really want to emphasize that it's such a cool interpretation of Moe and Mani!!!! SO EPIC..... 😳🥺🫡

[ask-pakistan]

OP How has Umer been as of recent? We send our sincerest regards of concerns to you both.

He has become a firm believer of sleeping your problems off. "Everything's fine", he says as he laughs a little too hard. Domestic Pakistani politics have been a joke recently =_= and it doesn't help that climate change has begun to rear its ugly head in Pakistan :( , This last year has been particularly tough and unkind to Pakistanis. Inflation in particular, has me seeing tears :') I've gotten plenty of asks in the last few months asking if Umer and Mun were okay and I'm fine! Thank you so much for asking! To all the people who dropped by to check up on how i was doing, i appreciate your concerns a lot and you've got no idea how touched i was while reading those. <3

[FUNFACT]: "Khes" is the name of the thin cotton blanket that's wrapped around Umer. It's a piece of textile that derives its origin from Rural Punjab :D

[deathbydarkelves]

Do you have headcannons for night elf weddings??? There's a little canon for them, but it seems very Normal, and doesn't really seem to take advantage of what makes night elves a unique culture? Like, I imagine them more akin to traditional Buddhist weddings tbh. But, yeah, got off track. Would love wedding headcannons for night elves, or any other races too!

I’m glad I read this while I was at work, because as a result of not being able to respond right away, I had time to think it over and thus solidified a lot of the vague ideas I had :)

And yeah I completely ignore the canon one we got because it’s lame and boring <3

The whole thing is initiated with a hunt...

Technically anyone may join the hunt, but usually it’s just the betrotheds. And since polyamory is so common, that means the hunting party ranges anywhere from two people to A Lot of People.

But first, a priestess communes with Elune and requests permission for the hunt and by extension the wedding as a whole. If she permits it (she almost always does), a druid then enters a trance which may last up to a few hours to determine what animal the gods and other powers want hunted. It can be just about anything, as long as it gives the betrotheds a challenge and forces them to prove their ability to work as one. Deer, wolves, bears, sabers, hippogryphs, owlbears… smaller things too, like otters, pheasants, and quail. Not only do they have to kill the animal, but they have to find the specific individual the druid saw. So even if you’re “only” hunting a humble pheasant, you still need sharp eyes to make sure it’s the one you need, sharp ears to hear it in the undergrowth, and quick reflexes to claim it. So, while a hippogryph is certainly much more physically impressive, no animal is really seen as greater or lesser than another.

There are certain associations made with different animals, naturally. Something as dangerous as a bear is often seen as the gods either challenging what they believe to be a very capable pair/group... or a very incapable pair/group. Either way, taking that bear is a feat.

The standout exceptions are owls and chimeras. To be tasked with hunting an owl, a creature so closely tied to Elune, is considered one of the highest possible honors anyone can receive. And as for chimeras, well… marriages initiated with the hunting of a chimera are really only spoken of in legend. Or in crowded bars, by drunk patrons, who totally have a sister who hunted a chimera for her wedding.

The length of the hunt depends entirely on luck and the ability of the betrotheds, but it’s basically expected for you to practice hunting together after deciding you want to marry. Most hunts take a couple days to a week, but some stretch for months (either due to the animal's secrecy, or because... the betrotheds should have practiced a bit more). Once the animal has been claimed, the wedding truly begins. Death is part of the cycle of life, thus the animal’s death ushers in the next part of the betrotheds’ lives. The animal is butchered, with part (a stag’s antlers, a quail’s flight feathers, etc.) being set aside as an offering for the gods and ancestors. Then it’s cooked, and the next part of the wedding — the feast — begins.

The feast lasts eight days and seven nights, with food and alcohol provided by all the attendees. There may be other recreational substances too, depending on how rowdy everyone wants to get lol. Gifts are given during this time as well.

After the feast, at dusk on the eighth day, is the ceremony proper. It starts with the betrotheds giving thanks to their ancestors, the gods, and spirits. Incense is burned, shrines built and honored, and the offering saved from the hunted animal is given as well.

If the betrotheds have children in mind, they'll pay special attention to Goldrinn in hopes of pleasing him and preventing him from cursing their children with thor'drinn.

Then the betrotheds give their vows, and receive tattoos (usually on the upper chest) symbolizing their connection to each other.

I designed some quick, simple ones a while ago to get the idea across, but people will spend years deciding on a design. The only stipulation is that every other person in the marriage is represented by a solid circle, while the bearer of the tattoo is represented by a hollow circle. The solid circles hold a piece of each person’s spirit, and the hollow circle is where the bearer’s spirit can pass through to reach the others. These things can get really complicated. They can also be extremely individualized — not everyone in a polycule has to like everyone else, after all, so each person’s might have a totally different number of circles, etc. (They can also be added to or reduced over time. Magic makes tattoo modification a lot easier lol)

Many people’s tattoos incorporate something related to the animal that gave its life for their marriage, as well. It’s typical to leave a space in your design just for that. But, ah… I drew these before I decided on the hunting thing lol (granted, the second one does resemble a stag's antlers somewhat, so there ya go!)

After being tattooed, the newlyweds then bathe in a moonwell together, or at bare minimum in blessed water. This is to clean their tattoos, speed up healing, and serves to wash away the remnants of their past, unwed life.

And that’s where things officially end. It’s, um… widely understood you don’t bother the newlyweds after this point :P

((Moonwells are magic and self-cleaning and this is just an accepted role of them, alright, it’s fine. Not everyone does that, but... generally speaking, people are gonna do what people are gonna do.))

EDIT: I haven't thought much about other races' weddings, but I can tell you the hunt initiating things is a holdover from dark troll traditions, and many modern troll weddings start with a hunt as well :) Tauren do a similar thing, though they conclude the wedding with a hunt (and subsequently a feast) instead.

EDIT 2: My friend brought up a good point. What if the betrotheds are, for one reason or another, unable to hunt the animal themselves? In that case, many get help from trained hunting animals capable of taking the prey they've been tasked with. A fox for a quail, a saber for a deer, etc. Otherwise, they may invite capable friends or family members on the hunt.

[this-machine-runs-on-coffee]

For the (two) Tumblr mutuals I probably will never hear from again, I'll remember you.

I'm glad I met you in this life, and I hope we can meet again in this same one.