#so now i think that even constructive criticism (which is obviously good and needed!!!) is aimed at me as a person & always cry 🙃

[cheekblush]

made a mistake at work today and i just want to kms tbh </3

[victonair]

Courting Azul Ashengrotto: A short concept (and a result of brainrot)

Intro: In which you propose to court Azul right after your confession, and surprisingly, you succeed in this endeavor.

Author’s Note: Hi! This is my first time posting on tumblr and despite this being just a short blurb, I would appreciate feedback and constructive criticism! I based this concept off traditional Filipino courting methods, but the reader’s race is ambiguous.

-

Courtship is a delicate process that has two meanings: to win the favor and affection of someone who you’ve chosen to solely dedicate yourself to or the process of putting in the effort to win someone’s romantic favor with the intention to marry them. Now, in this case, it would obviously be the former - considering you and Azul were still teenagers. But who said, you weren’t aiming for the latter as well?

The moment you proposed the idea of courtship to Azul; it became a fairly pleasant surprise to you - seeing his face turn completely red with his hand held up to his mouth in surprise and taking a step back. He looked so faint, especially right after the confession.

Initially, he was hesitant - considering he wanted to take the role of spoiling you first like what he’d done a good amount of times within your friendship, he had not made it obvious of course or lest he risk the discovery of his feelings for you back then. But now? He was at free reign to do as he pleased after listening to your heartfelt confession. Weirdly enough, it felt as romantic as an engagement proposal, with you preparing an entire well-worded speech to deliver the most romantic words he’d ever heard in his life - incomparable to even the ones the most talented script writers and actors had given.

The moment you had proposed the idea, words of disagreement were on the tip of his tongue until he saw the determined, longing, and absolutely charming look in your eyes. Effectively, that immediately shut him up, because of course, you only had the capability to do that.

And so with a meek nod, he had agreed, unable to resist you entirely. At that moment, he had not known the consequences of agreeing to your actions.

To put it short, it was nothing but being showered with affection at least once a day. Despite not having as much money as him, you always found a way to give him flowers once a day or every other day. He suspects that someone had given you access to the botanical gardens because not only were the flowers always fresh, but you always sorted them and left a handwritten note on why you picked them and the meanings of each arrangement.

Everyday was a surprise for him: from flowers, handwritten love notes (regardless of your handwriting), and gifts ranging from different varieties like trinkets and additions to his collection of coins. He could see the amount of effort you were putting into courting him.

It was an endless amount of affection that was a testament to your deep feelings for him; it was the fact you worked so hard in doing odd jobs and put in effort to every gift and each thing you presented to him with the most smitten smile on your face, like you were the one receiving a gift instead of him.

It left him speechless and always deep in thought about you; he often thought about many things: the mostro lounge, the amount of work that needs to be done, but most of all: he thought about you the most. It was no deception or lie that he was the happiest when with you - practically anyone could see the genuine smile on his face or flustered expression when you showed up, spent time with him, or gave him one of your courting gifts once more.

Even Azul could see that you were smitten with him, and that was something that was impressive. He was no stranger to insecurity and self-deprecating thoughts: it haunted him and made him think he was incapable or not worthy of you - but whenever you looked at him like he hung both the moon and stars just for you, his heart couldn’t help but just melt at the sight.

The most memorable experience of his in fact, was you serenading him with a traditional courting song from your culture - you ended up inviting him to Ramshackle late at night, when the fireflies were out, telling him to go to the balcony in the letter. At first, he was initially confused when you weren’t there, but when the soft sounds of a guitar started playing accompany with a sweet serenade of your voice from below - he immediately looked down to see Ace, Deuce, and you - you were singing with a guitar in your hands, strumming the strings to a soft beat whilst singing a tune that practically sang of charm and romance. Ace, on the other hand was carrying a sign that said, ‘Please accept my feelings’ - and Deuce was carrying another guitar that followed different yet similar beats to yours.

It was one of the many moments that Azul realized his feelings ran deep into his veins and with each beat of his heart. By the time you had finished singing and serenading him, he was a mess of emotions that were all positive in every sense. And when you went up to the Balcony to meet him, after telling Ace and Deuce to give both of you space - that was the first time you had kissed him, despite it only being on the forehead.

It was a magical moment that had been engraved in his head, something he’d never forget.

However, it wasn’t only the fact that you put in effort into the traditional courting gifts and methods; it was the fact that you made the effort to recognize the feelings he felt at times when he was overwhelmed or when he felt anything akin to a negative emotion; you always took the initiative to comfort him and do the best you could to make him feel better, whether it be aiding him with words of comfort or giving him space he needed, you always tried your best to help him with his emotions. It was clear you cared for him so much and if the gifts didn’t communicate that; then it was every moment you held his hand, and did your best in each situation to do as much as you could for him.

It didn’t matter if you were merely giving him a trinket or surprising him with a bouquet of flowers right after class and walking him down proudly down the halls; he was smitten with you in every action you did and everything that showed you…ever so remarkable and sweet you. He may not be sure of the future to come, but all he knew is that he wanted you in every path that would alternate from his decisions. He would take you hand in hand in every twist and turn, and when time is right, he’ll take you as his forevermore.

You can’t blame him if he never lets go of you; his greed is unmatched and he could never bear to have you out of his reach when you were the one who provoked feelings that no one on this earth had ever awoken. Do take responsibility, won’t you?

And although you were courting him first, you wouldn’t mind if you took your hand off the reins and let him take over, right? After all, rewarding you for the amount of effort you showed in order to prove that you loved him would only be the only viable option in this situation. So sit down, and let him spoil you with flowers, dinner dates, love letters, and more - just as you’d initially had done.

[candlewaxandp0lar0ids]

How to Leave Comments on Fanfiction

So, I recently made a poll to know if people might find it helpful to have a list of things they could talk about when leaving comments on fanfictions, be it on Ao3 or on here. A majority of people were interested in seeing the post so, well, I'm making it. I started writing and posting stuff online when I was a teenager, on a website where leaving constructive criticism was the norm. It's by far the place where I've gotten the most feedback and it was an incredibly formative experience for me as a young writer — and it taught me how to leave detailed comments.

Writing comments doesn't necessarily come easy. It's something that you may need to learn how to do, but the good news is that you can learn how to do it, so don't worry if you don't know what to say at first. Hopefully this list will give you some pointers on how to do that.

This is more or less the list I go through when I want to leave a detailed comment. Even if I don't have a specific idea at first, I'll go through the steps and I never come out empty-handed.

Comment etiquette:

What became apparent with the poll I made was that a lot of people worry about how they'll be perceived by the writers if they leave a comment. Now, obviously, writers aren't a monolith, but 99% of the time writers will be thrilled that you took the time to leave a comment to let them know what you enjoyed in their fic. I cannot stress this enough. We're not going to judge someone based on a positive comment they leave.

As it stands, on Tumblr and Ao3, it's seen as rude to leave negative feedback, unless the author has explicitly asked for it/agreed to it, so that's what I'll be going over here. Since quite a few writers did say on that post that they would like to get constructive comments as well, stay tuned, I'm trying to get something together to do that for authors. Other than that, you're good to go.

The main ways to let an author know your thoughts on a fic on Tumblr are:

reblogging a fic with your thoughts underneath it

reblogging with your thoughts in the tags, which is often less formal

leaving a comment as a 'reaction'

sending in an ask if they're activated on the blog (which means you can stay anonymous, if anon asks are allowed)

Reblogging means that your followers will see the post as well, and is therefore really appreciated on Tumblr.

As a note, you may find different systems work for different fics! Maybe leaving tag rambles works for you when commenting on drabbles, for example for me it's the system I use to leave comments on smut.

General advice:

Everything I'm saying in here is for people who want to be able to leave longer/more detailed comments and don't always know where to start. If, for whatever reason, you're not comfortable or you don't have time to do it at the moment, a simple "I love the fic, thank you for writing it" always goes a long way for an author.

The key thing to keep in mind if you're trying to find something else to say, I think, is to try making the comment specific to the fic you're leaving it on. It shows the writer what you took away from the fic and the fic's strong points, which is both meaningful and helpful to an author.

Comments don't have to be long to be meaningful. Don't stress about writing a ton; a one-sentence comment highlighting the fic's humor or how emotional it made you can be incredibly impactful.

With this out of the way, I'll go through things you can talk about in a comment, starting with what I think is the easiest and moving on to things that could require more thought. You don't have to do all of that. You may never use some of the things on that list. Leaving comments should not be a source of anxiety. So take what you want from the list, maybe come back to it if you need more inspiration, and don't worry too much about it :)

Favorite line(s) : pull from the fic to let the author know what your favorite line was. If you wish, you can expand on that by saying why it was your favorite: did it make you laugh? Did it make you feel something specific? Did the author nail the characterization with it? Was there some incredible metaphor? Did you find it beautiful or poetic even if you can't go into detail? Is there one line in particular at the beginning of the fic that hooked you in and made you want to keep reading?

All of that is very valuable for a writer to know. Some of my favorite comments I've gotten were a list of a reader's favorite lines from a fic with one or two sentences to explain why they liked them, so don't hesitate to do that more than once if you can!

Emotions:  if there’s one thing I know about writers, it’s that we’re thrilled when we’ve made you cry. So tell us: how did the writing make you feel? Did you laugh out loud? If you did, was it the dialogue, or the narrator? Did it make you cry? Which part? Could you relate to one of the characters? Did it make you feel seen? Did the fluff make you feel all fuzzy inside or did the angst twist knots in your stomach? This isn't an exhaustive list, and emotions are great to draw from when you're leaving a comment!

Favorite element of the writing: Is there one thing in the writing that struck you as being particularly good, or what was your favorite thing to read? Is the author a master at writing dialogue? Are their descriptions so good you could see the whole scene? Are they really good at getting in a character's head and describing their emotions? Were you hooked from the start and couldn't stop until you reached the end?

Characterization: Now, this might be less instinctive, but if you've been in a fandom for a while, you'll probably be able to identify these things fairly easily. You can tell the author if you think they've nailed one aspect of a character. Did you have a favorite character in the fic? What did you think of them? Did the author manage to capture their voice? Was the attitude spot-on? Which parts of the character, if you can name them? Were there aspects of the character you particularly enjoyed? Did the author shine a light on something you hadn't considered or on something you don't think is highlighted often enough? Is there one thing from the fic you can actually picture/hear a character doing/saying in your head?

Style: I'd argue this is the hardest part, and you shouldn't feel bad if it's not something you can really comment on. As someone whose first language isn't English, I know I struggle with it. Style can be perceived as the way the author's voice comes through in the text. It can come through in punctuation, in the way sentences are formed, in the choice of the words themselves. If, when you read, you feel something intangible that doesn't fit well in the other categories, it just might be the author's style.

Here are some things (non-exhaustive list, of course) you could say about an author's style: it can be direct, straight to the point. The author doesn't bother with ornaments. Every sentence feels impactful. Maybe the writing feels intense. You're overwhelmed by the characters and their feelings and you feel truly engulfed in the story. Maybe the style is light and airy. It's so easy to read you don't even notice you are reading. Maybe the writing is intricate. Going through it is like piecing a puzzle together, sentences are foreshadowing and metaphors reveal deep truths about the characters. Maybe the style is rich. While not always the easiest, it's a pleasure to read through it, the author has a wide vocabulary, and you might want to compare it to a well-written novel.

If you identify specific elements of that style (metaphors, interesting use of punctuation, etc.), don't hesitate to point them out and let the author know you enjoy them!

That is it for this post, hopefully it doesn't look too daunting — again, you absolutely do not need to do all that in any comment, but maybe going through this list can help you leave comments for authors you enjoy.

I like to end my comments with 'Thank you for writing and sharing this with us', so I'll tell you thank you for reading, I hope this was helpful, and please consider reblogging if you'd like to save this or if you think it could help someone else!

As a bonus, my friend @elidebrey and I (but mostly her) made a 'checklist' for commenting, to help remember all this if that's something you'd like, so use at will!

A big thank you to @elidebrey, @yoongihan and @antoniorhinothethird for their precious opinions on this ♥

[majaloveschris]

So Chris presumably will be in "Doomsday." And what was most people's reaction to that? They obviously didn't like it. 

What I don't get is why people are being this hard on him. Why is it okay for other people, who also said they want to do other things, to go back, but not for him? He never said he didn't want to go back; he even said if it's the right story, he would even come back as Cap. 

I get that he made some questionable choices; I get that we don't like the people with whom he is surrounded, but at the same time, this man can't do anything good. He can't choose a good role, he can't wear a good outfit, and he can't say a good word. Everything he says or does is being ripped apart, and some people ridiculously take things too far. 

I get that those people's behavior and words to whom his name is also connected have to be called out, but it's not what's happening right now. Body shaming and twisting everything is what is happening. This behavior is one of the reasons why other people from different fandoms think it's just jealousy and nothing more. That people in this fandom are just envious of Alba, when there are actual problems with her and her friends that are being called out, but shadowed by people body shaming both of them and criticizing even the way Chris breathes. 

If you hate him and them this much, if you are so over it and have had enough (which I completely understand), then move on and forget them. But what some people are doing is not healthy. 

I'm personally happy that he is coming back; I'm interested in what kind of role he will play, just like I'm excited for RDJ. The OG6 meant and still means a lot to me, and they always will. I'm not trying to baby Chris or defend him; you know, guys, I call him and them out when it's needed, but I think we can all agree that what some people have been saying and doing is not okay. Constructive criticism and straight bullying people are two different things. 

[nina-renmen]

Just wanted to pop in and say that I love your writing ✨ it makes my day when you post!

Also whenever you have time and the motivation, would it be okay to have another part to the polar bear reader?

Thank you! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep making these stories!

Part 1

Warnings: Minimum nsfw themes and a bit of fluff, I kinda rushed this so please let me know if there are any mistakes. Constructive criticism is welcomed

Price wasn’t sneaky. At least with you he wasn’t. Your monster form was more adapted to the wild than his. You were younger, faster. Even though he was undoubtedly stronger than you he wouldn’t be able to use it if you could always outrun him. Your jaws were more powerful than his and yet you surrounded yourself with him.

Sometimes the older male wondered why. If he were you he wouldn’t even spare himself a glance. He’d try to find someone stronger than himself.

“Stop thinking so hard about it.” Y/n’s voice snapped Price out of his thoughts. She laid on the snowy ground, chewing on a bloodied bone from a human she’d hunted.

“Hard not to when spring is coming around.” Price said in a gruff voice. That’s right, mating season was coming quickly. The more he looked at you the more he found himself looking at your hips. Thinking about the way they’d hold his cubs nicely. He wondered if you’re stomach would show or if you’re body would keep his children hidden.

When y/n stood up that snapped him out of his thoughts once more. A growl ripped from her throat causing the male to stand up as well. His muscles tense until he spotted one of his men.

“He’s friendly.” Price put his hand on y/n’s shoulder.

“Looks like you found yourself a new pet Captin. Isn’t this the one that slashed Gaz’s face?” His voice was gruff, almost like Price’s.

“Gaz got his punishment for provoking her. End of discussion Ghost.” Price argued, standing in front of you.

“First soap now you….great.” The unknown man said sarcastically.

“What do you mean by that?” Price questioned, getting more defensive over you. “Nothing! He means nothing.” Another male voice pipped up. It was the man that gave you back your food. Price turned around, looking at soap suspiciously. “What do you two have going on?”

“Spring is coming up.” Ghost said.

“And? You don’t necessarily have a mating season.” Price retorted. Folding his arms over his chest. “But Soap does. I owe him one for saving my ass the other night.”

Price pulled you behind him. “Nobody’s touching her.”

“Oh com’on Captin.” Soap interjected, taking a step toward you. His hands reaching out, letting y/n lean into the warmth of his hands. “You see the way her legs clench whenever she’s around you or me. It’s obvious the little thing-“

“You back the fuck off.” Price grabbed your arm, pulling you away from him. “She’s mine-“

“I’m not anyones!” Y/n exclaimed, tearing herself away from Price’s grasp. “You all need to leave…go back where you came from. Obviously the cold isn’t good for any of you.” Y/n spoke in an urgent voice.

“Y/n wait I didn’t mean-“ Price trailed off seeing your back turn towards him. Leaving the premises.

It wasn’t like team 141 could just get up and go. They were to be stationed there for quite some time. You were going to run into them again. It was inevitable. It snowed one last time just before spring would come by. Y/n was in the cold attic waters, a fish in between her locked jaws as she made her way back to her den. The sound of twigs snapping caught her attention. Turning around quickly the person behind her put their hands up in surrender.

It was that damn bird hybrid.

Y/n narrowed her eyes at Gaz. Her distrustful gaze locked onto him. “I-I’m friendly.” He stuttered. “What do you want?” Y/n muttered as she began walking away, giving Gaz the choice to follow her. To which he did.

“To apologize.” He spoke up above the snow that was slowly growing heavier. “I thought you were a panda or-“

“I get it.” Y/n grumbled as she walked towards her den. “So….you’re not mad?” Gaz asked. Crouching down by your den but not going inside. “I’m not one to hold grudges.” Y/n said as she curled up in her den. The snow had picked up. The winds growing harsher. Y/n looked over at Gaz sensing his unease with that harsh weather. The poor bird didn’t even have any feathers to keep him warm. “Come on…you can lay with me until the storm moves out.” Y/n said, switching into her monster form, moving to her right in other to give the harpy some space.

The man was hesitant. Rightfully so. But nevertheless he entered the den. Sitting a safe distance away from y/n. But as the minutes passed by the den soon began getting cold. And within an hour the two were practically snowed in.

The bear hybrid woke up. She looked over seeing Gaz huddled in a corner. Trying to collect as much warmth as possible. “Are you just going to freeze to death or are you going to come over here?” Y/n asked, motioning the male to come closer to which he did.

His cold body coming in contact with y/n’s warmth. She was like a warm blanket to him. Within minutes Gaz was asleep, his soft snores filling up the den. Lulling y/n to sleep as well.

“Captin…have you seen Gaz?” Soap questioned. “I’ve been looking for the lad everywhere but I can’t find him.” Price only shrugged his shoulders. To which Ghost spoke up. “He left for the forest by the creek.”

Soap glanced worriedly at the Lieutenant. “Isn’t that where y/n lives?” He asked. “Shit…..you’re right.” Price stood up. Grabbing his jacket. “You just let him go?!” Soap exclaimed turning towards Ghost to which he only shrugged. “I’m not his father.”

Johnny scoffed. Following his captain out the building. Who knows what could be happening as of now. You could be mawing the harpy’s face off now. And with the spring rolling by who knows how out of wack your emotions could be.

He just hopped he wasn’t too late.

[fernsnouveau]

I actually disliked the direction where I'd recently seen a bunch of the more reasonable S5-critical ML fandom people going. Those discussions and analyses were spiraling increasingly towards demonising Marinette over time, as we were left hanging with the s5 ending for a long time, and the fandom had nothing new to talk about.

I actually liked her flaws.

But then the canon does... this...

And I do admit, it's an in-character way to push Marinette towards a villain arc. Like, if I had to construct a darkfic scenario where Marinette goes evil and try to keep it as close to her canon personality as possible, it would look something like this. Which, I guess, means that it's theoretically easier for me to accept than, for example, S5's occasional incidents of Edgy Murderboy Chat Noir (how is that the same character who had TWO guilt-based mental breakdowns about accidentally cataclysming someone completely out of his control, including the main villain??!). I'm sure there are in-character ways to turn Adrien (or anyone else) into a villain, but Murder-Noir was Not It.

Of course another reason why the writing of Murder-Noir gives me extra heebie jeebies, was how it felt like an abuse apologia excuse, validating Gabriel's accusations for Adrien to not "deserve" autonomy, nor to experience or express any negative, inconvenient emotions. Murder-Noir feels like it's a writing choice directed at child abuse victims in the audience, who related to Adrien. "See, your abuser was right, you're horrible and overly emotional and out of control, so you NEED to be rigidly controlled for your own and everyone else's good!

Anyway.

While I admit that Marinette taking up Gabriel's mantle this way is technically in character, I cannot claim to enjoy the writing choice at all. I liked Marinette's flaws. I wanted to explore them. I did not want her demonised to this extent. She could have been meaningfully flawed without becoming better at being Gabriel, than Gabriel himself was!

After this, the only justification for the lovesquare to stay together, would be as a wish-fulfillment or "reward" for Marinette, and that's not enough for me. When I think about, if there was a real-life abuse victim in Adrien's position (minus the supernatural elements), and then they were friends with, and/orstarted dating someone who repeatedly treated them the way Maribug has been doing (and "repeatedly" is important here, it demonstrates unwillingness to learn from mistakes and be sincere about apologies – S4 was brushed under a rug as soon as Chat Noir superficially forgave!), ESPECIALLY but not only siding with the abusive parent and lying to the victim that the abuse they experienced was "not really abuse" and For Their Own Good, and demonstrated this complete infantilisation and lack of respect for the abuse victim, wanting to see them only as a palatable, innocent fairytale being who's not allowed to be inconvenient, express negative emotions, make informed choices mor generally be a complete person...

Obviously the right thing to do, for the abuse victim, would be to get the hell away from that person.

It does NOT mean that the person is irredeemable. They're just... not owed the abuse victim's forgiveness and continued presence in their life.

And I can't ignore that anymore.

We failed to get an arc about Adrien surviving and escaping Gabriel and healing. He has now been put into a position where, in order to ever be okay, he would have to survive and escape Marinette in order to heal.

I don't like this. It feels very hopeless and bleak and unenjoyable. I don't even think the story is gonna go there and free/heal Adrien (Astruc made it clear that Adrien isn't supposed to be his own character or have agency, he's supposed to be Marinette's accessory and that's never gonna change).

But as far as I'm concerned, any excuse for the lovesquare relationship to get back together after this, would have the unpalatable aftertaste of propaganda to make victims return to their abusers.

I don't like this trajectory!!!

[xjulixred45x]

Platonic! Korra Gang x Chef! Reader

This is the Request of @chantillymoon i hope You're doing good with your Cooking, i'm sure it's fantastic😋! I hope this give you a little motivation💞

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: neutral

Warnings: none, pure fluff

Korra

Korra probably met you in the events of book 1 (did you see the Gala where Mako went with Asami? one of those), you were in food service.

and since Korra was a bit moody and in a new city, you were friendly with her and they got along quite well. You tried to entertain her a little with your cooking (like the chefs in certain Asian places, if you're a firebending master or something like that, even better).

Thanks to this Korra was going to see you when she needed to talk and generally let loose a little. You guys became friends pretty quickly.

If you have your own place, Korra tries to promote you when she interacts with important people and the topic of Catering comes up.

She firmly believes that your food is much better than the holidays food honestly. especially those of Unalaq.

I have a feeling that in the water tribe, especially in the south, there is not a very complex gastronomy thanks to literally living at a pole.

It's a more personal hc, but I think Korra grew up eating mainly fish and its variables (maybe rice and vegetables)

Obviously, she ate more things in her training to be an avatar, but it's not like it was food as such to "eat" but rather those for nutrition purposes.

so when she becomes a friend of yours (cutie) and you give her VERY varied and VERY delicious food, she is delighted.

like “FINALLY something that is nutritious and TASTES GOOD!”

Besides, you cook a lot of variety, so Korra doesn't know where to choose. but she has a big appetite, so it's not unreasonable to think that you probably won't run out of leftovers with her.

If you're stressed about a particular recipe, she may try to help you by giving you a hand with things in the kitchen that she knows she can't screw up, like reading you the recipe book or handing you things, all while trying to joke with you to relax you and make you laugh.

If you want a definitive break, flour war! Whoever ends up completely white loses and Naga will have to clean it up!

Now, apart from improvised or high-survival food, Korra doesn't cook shit, she doesn't know how to handle herself very well, so seeing you be so fluent in that habit is something new for her. Of course, she was used to her parents cooking. but not at your level, so there's a lot of excitement on Korra's part about how you learned all this.

If you try to teach her, can she go either very badly or...decent? which cannot be said whether it is good or bad.

Since at first Korra may even, trying to make things easier (or imitate you, if you use your elemental control to cook) use her avatar skills in the kitchen, which since she has no experience ends very badly 😅 with muddy dough everywhere.

or even with BURNT water in some way??

but after a few attempts and several burnt bouls, Korra gets the hang of it and manages to start improving her cooking skills!

She can make simple meals now at least.

but she always prefers yours, you make them much more delicious, according to her.

Korra is not going to tolerate any destructive criticism of you, who does she have to hit?she's going to scare them with the fucking avatar state🤣😅

Sure, she can TOLERATE constructive criticism because it's not malicious, but she doesn't understand why people eat your products if they're not going to like it anyway?

do not understand.

In general, Korra encourages your vocation a lot and encourages you to try new things with her :3

Asami

Asami knows you because of Varrik, he needed as many staff as possible, including the kitchen, so he hired you as soon as he liked one of your meals without thinking about it.

Asami needed a break from all of Varrik's antics, so she went to the staff areas for a while (without realizing it) and you noticed her state.

So you talked to her while you prepared something simple for her to eat and get energy back.

It was kind of nice, since you didn't feel intimidated by her or what had happened with her father, a breath of fresh air, so you continued seeing each other after that (in a platonic way).

Asami is used to eat in High Quality and/or fancy places before this, and still doing it.

which most of the time is not bad, on the contrary, it usually produces rich and delicious food.

but there are also times when for some people (ahem VARRIKahem) it just needs to be prettier and tasteless to be considered "gourmet" and even if it's not high quality food, Asami sometimes misses the feeling of having a normal meal. .

That's when you come into her life, her bubbly friend, to make things way better.

Asami probably never had a home-cooked meal as such (no, it doesn't count if CHEFS make it for you Asami) so it was a new experience for her. In the good sense.

Instead of eating aesthetically impressive but disgusting food, with you I could eat things that were really modest but that TASTED GOOD.

If you are having problems like not finding someone to give you more advanced cooking classes, don't worry! Asami will give you a hand with her contacts and help you find a good tutor.

If you already have your own place, rest assured that Asami (and in general the entire Avatar team) will come to see you and buy you food often no matter what you sell.

Even if you have any financial problems with the place, Asami has your back and helps you as much as possible. You may even become a constant Catering associate for the company!

Asami also tries not to let her friendship with you affect you so directly, especially when scandals arise with her father.

He goes to you for advice when they go out to eat, your food gives him a certain feeling of peace after all, so when you both go out he can be with a cooler head.

It's a feeling of familiarity that she hasn't felt in a LONG time.

You can definitely see Asami especially liking food with meat or more complicated things, but then again, he also really likes it when you make really simple things, like pasta or pizza, for example.

She says that it is because "you do it with love" and it is partly true, that you put so much effort into the preparation makes it much more special and she appreciates it a lot.

but in general I think she doesn't usually give you negative comments.

I mean, if you happen to screw up some food and it tastes REALLY bad, you know it just by looking at her face, even so she will never give you a "bad" word so to speak, she use very sweet constructive criticism and still assure you that you did a good job.

and you can also guarantee that if there is a particular food that she likes, she will pay you to make a couple of reservations for her ;) she can't help it! She loves how you cook!

If someone tries to criticize you in a non-constructive way and is simply Bullying you, she will directly kick their ass and deal with the consequences then why would someone be mean to a little sun like you? It doesn't make sense to her.

In general, a friend who supports you financially, emotionally and psychologically is always willing to give you a hand in the kitchen.

That's right, don't let her cook☠️ she may hace good intentions but she'll burn everything.

Mako

OMFG he LOVES THE FOOD YOU MAKE FOR HIM.

Now, let's get a little sentimental.

Mako and Bolin growing up on the streets probably never really had much to eat, not to mention they probably didn't eat every day.

especially Mako, I imagine that he probably even gave what little they had to eat to Bolin.

It's a habit for him.

So when he meets you and you give him a taste of your food, for FREE, he thinks you're too good to be true.

but he appreciates it very much.

but seeing how much his opinion matters to you. warms his heart.

For the same reason you could feed him the most disgusting thing you could cook and he would eat it like a big child.

He will tell you the truth, but he doesn't leave a crumb.

For the same reason, I have two possible versions of how the two of you met and became close friends.

One, the one I like the most, is that probably when you were younger and trying to cook on your own, Mako and Bolin tried to steal your food, failing miserably.

But from then on you started leaving food scraps on your window for them to grab so they wouldn't die of hunger.

Thanks to this little by little they began to interact more and even began to help you to apply seriously in the kitchen!

and the other possibility is that he knew you thanks to Pro-control, being the one who will be in charge of the food at the events.

In this scenario at first he would be colder but eventually either because of Bolin or because of your adorable personality, you end up liking him.

other than that he can see that you can't swing a fly, and that you're REALLY passionate about your job, so he respects you a lot for that.

We all know that Mako is more of a tough guy or expresses that he cares through actions, so he shows that he cares by showing interest in your hobby and helping you as much as he can.

But when he already has a stable job and can give you a hand.

When something specific goes wrong, he tries to cheer you up in an unconventional way, such as telling you something about his work to distract you a little or even inviting you something to eat to de-stress.

Maybe even Mako himself has learned to cook from you, of course, he is not at the same level but when you are very stressed or tired he has your back.

and when you manage to do what you want, he sincerely congratulates you, he knows that you deserve it after all.

Similar to his other friends and Bolin, Mako is quite protective of you, especially if you can't control any elements.

It's like the dynamic of "Sunshine + Sunshine protector" basically.

It also tries to help you accept criticism well, which is necessary to improve after all.

Although of course, if there is someone who is telling you shit just because and without really wanting to help you, give them the names, they will not tolerate it.

In general, he is a friend who is a bit rude but who defends you, appreciates you and supports you in your tastes, hobbies and career. regardless of how You two met.

He knows that you are as good a person as you cook well, and you are a VERY good cook ;)

Bolin

Again, HE LOVES THE FOOD YOU MAKE FOR HIM.

Bolin, similarly to Mako, has two possibilities for how he met you.

one more painful than the other.

the first, in which he knew you for trying to steal something from your leftovers when he was little, in itself, living on the streets of a republic city is not nice.

but at least you took pity on him and started leaving him leftovers. which left him EXTRACTED because (according to him) YOU COOKED AMAZING. even if at that time you were just practicing.

Even if you try to tell him that he was probably just saying that because it was his first meal in god knows how long, he still thinks the same thing.

and the second way, unlike his brother, is that he simply found you working somewhere he likes.

Maybe even with his amorous nature, at first he had a crush on you, but over time he realized that it wasn't what he really felt.

In general he is your personal cheerleader.

No matter how many times you fail to make a particular meal, Bolin eats it like his life depends on it. unlike Mako, he doesn't have the heart to say anything even remotely critical of your food :,)

He's also the kind of friend who constantly gives you ideas for new recipes. some good, some not so good, and some quite extravagant.

ex: some dessert based on Pabu.

It breaks Bolin's heart to see you sad when you don't get a particular recipe, but he will immediately move on to a session of giving you compliments and reminding you how you made other recipes to motivate you.

I can definitely see him recommending you to the important people he hung out with when he worked with Varrik, both to do you a favor and to be able to see you in those moments when Mako couldn't pay attention to him.

Bolin's favorite food is definitely desserts. cakes, cupcakes, pies, candies, anything that is sugary.

and if you get to practice making animal food (like for Pabu) Bolin is OVER THE MOON.

I can see Bolin trying to learn cooking things with you, both to spend time together and to be more independent, to help Mako out.

Apart from that, he would have the opportunity to try more of your food :D but he makes a great effort to listen to your advice and follow the instructions you leave him.

The results are quite promising! along with Mako, he is the best cook of the group (hc personal).

Similarly to Asami, he seeks advice from you when he feels left out of the group and doesn't know what to do.

Normally you prepare something hot for him so he doesn't feel so bad. It would probably be his second favorite food of yours, hot soups. In general they remind him of you, a warm and comforting presence.

Bolin is more passive when it comes to criticism and when it is constructive he makes sure to remember it and even writes it down so as not to forget it and thus apply it in his own attempts.

but eventually you can better distinguish between constructive and destructive criticism.

and when someone like that shows up, no matter how strange it may seem, they usually just ignore it. He wants to believe that he is better than them after all...

...only to launch Pabu on the attack in defense of your honor. Although well, didn't you see it coming?

He is generally a very sweet friend, he does not distinguish in social class or how or how long the two of you have known each other. He is convinced that you have genuine talent for cooking.

and he is very willing to show you that you have that talent and support you through everything.

Conclusion: They all love your food but they love the person behind that food more and how you support them in difficult times :,)

Shares, reblogs, and comments are very welcome!

Thank you very much for this Request ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[guppygiggles]

Short hurt/comfort fic below. Lots of angst and crying, cheer-up tickles, ler!Avery, a ton of teasing, and even some fourth-wall-breaking? Very personal, and a bit weird, but.. it was meant to be cathartic and I do feel better, so I think that's good enough right now. 💙

“Avery… What am I doing here?” 

I was seated on an old, green corduroy couch, which I instantly recognized as the first couch I’d ever bought. How he'd managed to get it here – wherever here was – baffled me; it had been years since I donated that ratty thing to Goodwill. 

Apart from myself, the couch, Avery, and the armchair he was seated in, everything as far as I could see was white, even the floor. I was reminded of “The Construct” scene from The Matrix. 

“You're always here… this is your mind. I merely constructed this space so that we could talk,” he explained. 

“Uhm, okay… Suspending my disbelief, for a moment… What do you want to talk about?” 

Avery's long legs were crossed, his arms folded over his chest. He did not look happy, but despite his stern expression, I couldn't help but admire him; clad in a lavender button down and khaki pants, he looked as soft and sweet as cotton candy. 

“I hear you, you know… all these self deprecating thoughts you have.” 

I fidgeted, already getting an inkling of where this was going. I studied the featureless white floor, lips pursed.

Avery continued, “I try not to invade your privacy by listening, but… I live here, and you can be quite loud. Generally, you make me proud by quieting those criticisms… But, sometimes, you indulge thoughts I cannot abide. I think you know what I'm referring to, don't you?” 

I didn't meet Avery's gaze. 

“Casper? Shall I repeat it?” 

I whimpered, my head snapping forward. 

“No! No, please don't.”

“Why not? Is it because you don't want your friends to read the absolutely ridiculous thought you had about your art, because you already know what they'd say?” 

I tried to resist it, but a warm flush colored my cheeks. I looked away from him, again. 

Avery sighed, shook his head, and smiled in exasperation. 

“Alright, dewdrop. If you won't talk to me, let's have it out.” He stood, rolling up his sleeves. 

“N-No, I just… I can't!” I squeaked, hiding my face in my hands. “I can't talk about it, I just… Nobody understands. I just try so hard, and…” I was starting to choke up. My brow furrowed in frustration – why did he have to put me through this? 

“Now, you know that's not true. You think you're the only artist who has ever struggled? Come, now.” 

“I’m just so late to the game… And, I should be further along than this. I've been drawing for six months now, and I still can't get proportions right… I still can't draw with depth… I still can't shade… My friends deserve better than what I can make… ”

I felt the couch move beside me, and then two huge arms encircled my body. I leaned weakly into his chest, his skin providing cool relief for my emotional flush. He was as soft as ever.

“Casper… You can't hang your self worth on the opinions of others. I know you love your friends – and, for the record, they obviously love your art – but you can't allow what anyone else thinks to determine whether you continue this journey or not.” 

He shifted, crooking a finger under my chin and tilting my head up. Two hot tears streamed down my face as I stared into his clear, gentle eyes. 

“I've heard you say these words, yourself: ‘You do not need to create to be worthy of love’. Why don't you believe that, when it's you? Why do you think other people inherently deserve kindness, patience, and love, but that you have to earn it?”

He studied my face as I tried, and failed, to control my sobbing. An answer was shared wordlessly through a series of mental images – we did inhabit the same mind, after all. 

“Oh, Casper…” He tugged my trembling body into his huge embrace once again. “I know, I know… It's okay.” 

“I'm trying,” I sniffled. 

“You’ve come so far, dewdrop… You've wanted this for so long. I've seen the joy that art brings you, and I’ll be damned if I'm going to let you lose one more thing that’s precious to you. Not if I can help it.”

“Avery,” I looked up at him, slowly, a puzzled expression on my tear-stained face, “did you just swear?”

He grinned. “Did I finally get your attention, then?” 

I turned my head into his arm, concealing my reaction. 

“Ah, ah! Don't you dare hide that smile I just worked so hard for…” 

He tried to tilt my head back up, but I turned away swiftly, shifting to face away from him. 

I heard a snicker from behind me. 

“Wrong move.” 

I gasped, leaping from the couch and breaking into a sprint. The boundless white space was so vast, I felt as though I could run forever; like I was a little kid again, energy nigh infinite, chasing a soccer ball on the playground field of my youth. 

When was the last time I had run like this? 

As my imagination blossomed, the space around me began to transform. Placid white ceiling became sunny sky, painted delicately with rolling cumulus clouds. Soft grass pushed up through the sterile floor until my pounding footsteps became muffled thuds, yellow woodsorrel sprouting like jewels in a sea of green. Warm sunshine told me it was spring, but the breeze whistled cool against my skin, quickly drying the tears from my face and clothes. 

I stood no chance of resisting; my weak smile broke into a huge grin, and finally a giggly laugh. 

Outrunning Avery, I knew, was a pipe dream… but I'd run for longer than I expected. Did I dare glance backwards…?

No sooner had the thought entered my mind than my ankles were ensnared by an unseen force. I yelped, eyes squeezing closed as I threw my hands out to brace my fall into the grass. I landed in something much softer. I opened my eyes. A beanbag? I rolled over. 

Avery was standing over me, grinning with delight. He didn't look even the least bit winded, that cheeky shit. I could see now that my ankles were wrapped in a boa of clouds. 

“Well, aren't you proud of yourself,” I quipped, a giggle rendering my sarcasm toothless. 

Avery made a gesture with his hand, and I jumped as a large shade tree appeared over us. “Hey! Jesus, warn me first… How did you even do that? How do you keep making things appear like that?” I was only delaying the inevitable. I shuffled my feet, but there was no breaking free from Avery's cloud cuff. 

“You can do it, too,” he replied, taking a seat in the grass as he began to unlance my Vans, “you made this entire field appear, just now – not even I can conjure something that big. That's the thing, Casper… You can't help but create, even when you're not trying to. It just pours out of you, which is why it's simply ridiculous that you'd give credence to a thought like ‘giving up on art’. Come on, now. Do you really think you could do that? Do you really think it would be fair to relinquish such a special and integral part of you?” 

I looked away, sheepishly. Avery continued. 

“I think we need to do some positive affirmations.” He set my shoes aside, and then unceremoniously pulled off each of my socks, stuffing them into my shoes. 

“Avery! Can't we talk about this?” I whined. The gentle breeze caressed the soft undersides of my bare feet, causing my toes to twitch. I took a deep breath, trying to keep from blushing. 

“I have been trying to talk about this! You are the one who keeps clamming up when I try to get you to come around. I think some gentle persuasion is in order, at this point.” He winked, wiggling his fingers in my direction. My stomach filled with butterflies; there was no stopping my blush, now. I shifted on the beanbag, but Avery's hands clasped my legs, keeping me still. 

“Ah, ah! You stay right there. I was kind enough to only bind your ankles, but we'll go for more, if you fight me.” 

I sunk back into the beanbag, folding my arms across my chest in a flustered pout. I avoided Avery's gaze. 

“Now, then… Let's start with this. I want you to say ‘I am a good artist’.” 

“I'm not going to say something I don't believe is true!” I bit, curling my toes in defiance. 

“Double nickels on my dime… Very well. Let's see if a little tickling can change your tune, hm?” With that, Avery’s plush fingertips began moving in an undulating ‘come hither’ motion along the soles of my feet. 

My face scrunched as I worked to resist it, squirming in the beanbag as I clamped my lips together, my trapped feet wriggling as much as their restraints allowed. 

“Oh, Casper, come on. Are you really going to make me be mean? Do I need to break out my worst teases already?”

Avery changed his tactic, abandoning my left foot so that he could hold my right toes back, using his free hand to scribble quickly along the sole. 

A surprised squeak turned into a series of titters that leaked from my sealed lips, and I covered my face with my hands. 

“Arrgh… A-Avery… C-come ohohohon!” 

I gasped as I felt my wrists captured by soft cuffs, which pulled my hands down and placed them neatly in my lap. He really was going to be mean about this!

“Say it, Casper… or else.” 

I stole a glance down at him – I might as well, since he wasn't going to let me cover my face, anyway – just to see him smirking challengingly up at me, his face a mask of determination. 

“God dahaahahahamn yohohohou!” I cried, my suppressed tittering breaking into a steady stream of helpless giggles. 

���Casper! Is that any way to speak to me? Alright, then… You asked for it. Coochie coochie coo~” he teased. “Awww, does someone have ticklish feet? I think they doooo~” Avery swished his hand again, conjuring a pair of ghost hands to hold each set of my toes back, while he tickled and scritched merrily along both of my soles. 

I squealed in frustration as I felt my blush immediately spread to my ears. He was really pulling out all the stops for this… How long could I resist, realistically? Perhaps it would be easier to give him an inch… Maybe he'd be satisfied, then? My brain was already growing fuzzy from his teasing. 

“Fihine! I'm a goohoohohood artihihist!” I laughed, arching my back as I endured the torturously gentle tickling. 

Avery stopped, grinning triumphantly. 

“There, now! Was that so hard? Let's move onto the next one!”

“Next one!? Oh, hell no! I am not doing any more of these!” 

My eyes widened as, in an instant, Avery was on top of me. He straddled my hips, lifting my restrained wrists over my head and invisibly pinning them there. Then he took my chin in his hand, forcing me to look into his fierce eyes. A chill ran down my spine as I felt his unwavering resolve.

“We're going to do as many as it takes for you to show yourself the same care that you show others. We're going to do these until you believe in yourself and your art. I have to live in your head, and I do not want to live in a place where I have to hear negative things like this said about my fellow. Am I making myself clear?”

I swallowed hard, but somehow, still mustered the nerve to argue. 

“Please, Avery…” 

“The next thing I want you to say is ‘I am worthy of love and friendship’, and when you say it, I want you to know that it includes when you're not doing things for other people. Not helping them, not creating for them, none of it. You are worthy just on your own, just for being you.”

“I can't…” 

Avery lifted his hands to my armpits, hovering mere inches from my short-sleeve t-shirt. 

“I know how you feel about being tickled here, and if you don't say it, right now, I'm going to tease you within an inch of your life until you do.” His eyes were ever kind, but they were serious, too. 

I whimpered, clicking my teeth together. There was no hiding in this position… All I could do was close my eyes, so I did. Feelings of disappointment, inadequacy, and loneliness washed over me. Could I ever really measure up to those I respected? Me, a person so damaged, and so many years behind? Could I really expect anyone to care about me when I wasn't doing something to make myself useful to them, or to make them happy? 

“Casper, look at me.” 

I complied, frowning. 

“If anyone else asked you these questions, what would you say? Would you really tell someone they're too late to be good at something? Would you look someone in the eye and tell them that they only have worth when they're doing something for you?” 

“No…” 

“Of course not. You deserve that compassion, too. Now, I want you to prove that you believe that. Say it for me, dewdrop.” 

“I… am worthy…” 

“Of…?” 

“...” 

“Come on, you're so close…”

“...” 

“I'll make you sing, then. Tickle, tickle, tickle! Coochie coochie coooo~! Awww, poor ticklish boy… Are you ticklish under your arms, right here? Let's see!” 

I had no strength left to resist – as Avery lowered his whirling fingertips to my pits, I howled with laughter, my blush flooding all over my face and neck. My hands twisted uselessly in their bonds as I squirmed beneath him, my heart fluttering as he gently tickled over my thin shirt. 

“AHAHAHAHhahavery! Plehehehehease NOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE!!” 

“I've given you plenty of warnings, I've been patient… now the kid gloves are off. Say it, Casper. Say it!” 

“I’M WOHOHORTHY OF LOHOHOVE!” 

“And…?” He slipped his fingers into the sleeves of my shirt, gently scribbling my bare underarms. 

My stomach did somersaults as I squealed with laughter so forceful, I could barely get the words out. 

“AHAHAHAND FRIENDSHIHIHIP!” 

“There we gooo~! Ohh, I am so proud…” He finally relented, wrapping his arms around my torso and pulling me into his softness. 

My cuffs dissipated, and I instantly wrapped my arms and legs around him, clutching him to me as I buried my face in his shoulder. He stroked my shock of blue hair, comforting me as I caught my breath. 

A warmth spread through my chest – while it certainly wasn't a cure-all, I had to admit… I did feel better. Perhaps some of the affirmations really did seep in, at least a bit. 

“I won't make you say any more, today… I think you've had enough. But we will be repeating this exercise, if I start hearing all that unkind self-talk again. Clear?” 

“Crystal,” I whispered after a moment, leaning my cheek against his cloudy head. 

[excalibur-gone-missing]

Paring: wonwoo x fem!reader

Genre: lovers to exes

warning(s): angst

summary: wonwoo realizing that good things dont last unless one takes care of them.

words:750

a/n: I request each and every one of you to comment on this fic don't be a silent reader it helps me as an author to understand my readers and i would love to communicate with all of you. Constructive criticism is always welcomed by me so do talk about this fic or send me an ask.

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Wonwoo had realized you were the love of his life from the prime age of fifteen. You obviously were not aware of this revelation of his, but you did not need to, he was fine with keeping it secret from you till he was comfortable with sharing it.

He had met you when you were six and though a series of unfortunate events, wherein you shoved his face in dog shit and he pushed you into the lake without knowing you could not swim, you both became best of friends, almost inseparable.

The first crack in your ever so strong friendship came with Wonwoo realizing his feelings for you, he stopped talking to you trying his level best to make sure it goes away. It resulted in you breaking into his house to inquire his sudden disappearance from your life and decreasing his life span in the process.

He had his first serious conversation with you about your relationship then. After spending the whole night talking, you both realized you were equally in love with each other and felt the innate teenage need to get into a relationship.

That was the second crack. Now that he thinks back to that day, he realizes the foolhardy risk you both took. It just resulted in a lost friend and a broken relationship.

That was five years ago, both of you were young and dumb, and did not know how to actually work out a relationship. Now at the age of twenty, both still young and dumb, but wiser than your fifteen-year-old selves stand in the living room of his college dorm teary eyed and exhausted from the conversation you just had.

"Maybe it's time we take a break you know experience the world, because I don't really have the energy to do a long distance anymore Wonwoo, not when it's just me putting the effort." You spoke.

That was the topic of the argument, 'his extreme ignorance to your presence', as you had stated, taking utmost care to point out all the time when he went wrong and how you are the only one putting enough effort.

In return he had used up his energy to point out valid reasons as to why he was not able to be available for you in his schedule. His head is throbbing, and he would very much like to have a glass of water but alas the predicament he is in refrains him from doing so.

"let's break up then, what are we waiting for", he says.

All he gets is a scoff from you as a reply. You turn around while running a hand through your hair, you mumble something that sounds similar to 'prick' and walk out of his dorm slamming the door shut.

Maybe if he would have tried to understand where he went wrong instead of making excuses, maybe if you would have tried to understand his predicament or maybe if you both would have sat down for a discussion, you could have salvaged the broken relationship of yours.

But that was not the case here, you both were too deep in your emotions to even try and feel the others, the years in uni had made you both incapable of accepting the changes you both went through. It has made you both hardheaded souls who refused to accept their own shortcomings and blame the world for everything when they could easily fix the problem with accepting their faults instead of defending them.

You were Wonwoo’s first love, and he knows he was yours, but maybe good things do not last long or maybe to make them last one must put in effort, which you both just refused to do. He knows before anything else you both were friends; he does not know if you will be anymore, but he sure does hope that the friendship stays.

Maybe he is a prick he thinks, but you are no less, he knows both of you are equally at fault here, but he will take the easy route this time too, he will blame you because it takes too much courage to blame one’s own self.

He just hopes when the storm dies down you come back to him maybe not as a lover but as a friend because you are too precious for him to lose, and he hopes you think the same as him. Because at the end of the day, you are best of friends.

[writers-potion]

Writing the "Mean Girl" Character

How do we write the "mean girl" without making her another shallow copy of the brainless, pink-clad, cheerleader we see in high teen dramas?

Of course, there's nothing wrong with such a character if you want them to be funny/light in the first place.

However, I can hear myself slowly losing my last two brain cells when I keep reading about such papercut characters for more than an hour - reading clearly requires more effort than watching a class B movie, so I always appreciate when authors put more effort to make the characters dynamic.

No "Mean for the Sake of Being Mean

The classic way to avoid this is to give them a sad backstory. They used to be overweight/ugly and were bullied, or their parents don't care about them enough, or they are too insecure. Obviously these plot points are quiet stale now, but the basic principle still stands - if your charcter is mean, she needs A REASON.

I love reading about a mean character's backstory then feeling, "actually, I would have felt like doing that, too."

Whatever their motivations may be, remember that bullies pick on the weak, not the successful/powerful. While the Mean Girl might feel jealous/inferior towards the protagonist, I hardly think that should be the sole reason why they picked their victim. There must be a flaw in your protagonist that happened to be something that the Mean Girl knows how to exploit, which makes them a target above others.

Give Them A Twist

There are two ways that I can think of: (1) A seemingly nice character is in fact a mean girlie, or (2) A mean character turns out to be kind and well-intended.

Personally, I love Mean Girls who are intelligent/ know what they are doing. They are purposely manipulative:"are you okay?" as if the victim has something wrong with them or providing "constructive" criticism. Or kindly inviting them to a party that she knows they wouldn't fit in.

The conflict deepens when everyone else likes the Mean Girl due to her manipulative nature, making the protagonist doubt themselves.

A Purpose beyond Providing Conflict

Think about what the mean girl aims to gain from bullying your protagonist.

Is she continuously trying to prove herself "superior" so that she can feel better inside? Is she an academic rival who just needs to be the first in everything, even is that means reverting to questionable behavior?

Overly ambitious/perfectionist characters can come off as mean when they feel like others fail to live up to their standards (which only they know about, and are usually up in the sky)

Give Them A Proper Redemption

If you plan on giving her a redemption arc, make sure that she has earned it! The worst thing you can do is make it sound like you approve of the horrible things she has done.

this transition doesn’t mean the character does a complete 180 and is suddenly all smiles and good favors. They can fall back on their old ways of thinking, but is trying to make an effort to step out of their old clothes.

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References:

https://writingquestionsanswered.tumblr.com/post/668302340882857984/how-would-you-write-a-mean-girl-character-without

https://www.writingforums.org/threads/how-to-write-the-mean-girl-character.160729/

[ceilidho]

Sorry to dump this here, but no one in my immediate and/or accessible circle reads as much as I do and this conversation came up at the right time.

I don't read a lot of romance and I started reading some popular ones last year to ease my way into it. I feel like such a snob to say this, but the plot and writing are never fully fleshed out nor are the characters. None of the romantic actions I see people swoon over are ever explained well enough for me to understand the hype. A scene in which there should be an emotional inner monologue is shorted to a paragraph and if the character is toxic (I understand a lot of people enjoy toxic/dark men, but romance books never write them well enough) and destroys the other character's life/says a relationship-ending lie/any other cliche, there is never enough explanation, justification, groveling, or any thought process behind the reconciliation.

It's always just one half-written and half-baked trope after the other.

Again, apologies for dumping it here, but I think there are such damning consequences for women (the main demographic of romance readers) who read things like this and don't give constructive criticism or thought when facing these problems.

no but you're 100% right. i mean, this is one annoying bitch's opinion (mine LMAO) but trad publishing is in the absolute pits right now. that's not to say that there aren't still some good books coming out because of course, every now and then you're going to get a gem. but i think the environment has become outwardly hostile to good writing.

i mean, i know this has been discussed a ton, but the "fast fashionization" of books has become a huge problem. every time there's a new microtrend or whatever, every author rushes to push out a book to meet the demand (see: the hockey romance trend). this, obviously, means that the editing time is severely compressed and you get books published by like harper collins and penguin with typos, grammar issues, and more.

i got some flack for this when i posted about it on twitter ahah but i honestly do not understand why the sequel to "fourth wing" came out so soon (not even getting into the messy qualities of the first book). sequels used to take a year or more to come out to allow for the book to go through several rounds of editing and fine tuning! what happened??!!

i think authors now feel compelled to get their books out as soon as possible out of fear that booktok/readers will simply move on after the initial hype and they'll lose their reader base. there's like an anxiety about being left behind in the current publishing world.

this is kind of in line with what i was talking about the other day with Bo actually - writing romance and smut is actually way harder than people think. you can't just use the same 5 recycled porn dialogue lines and call it a day. you have to care a little about the story you're trying to tell, not just churning it out to make a buck or to make people pay attention to you. i'm not saying belabour every single action and decision made by your main character or go crazy on description (i still think the sweet spot for a published book is between 250-300 pages, and maybe more if you're writing a genre specific book that involves a lot of worldbuilding), but as a writer you need to want to be writing that book in the first place.

no one who's legitimately excited about what they're writing is going to resort to cliches and overused tropes - they might lean on tropes they like, but there's inevitably going to be something original and exciting there.

also my lil controversial opinion about the state of trad publishing lately is that i think it's 100% influenced by this weird pervasive strain of purity culture that's on booktok where people feel like any enjoyment they get from reading a particular thing has a direct reflection on them as a person and their values. rather than it just being a book.

(by the way i actually completely agree with you that even dark romances are as bad as everything else we've been talking about - that's another conversation lol. i also kind of agree with the idea of more romance books coming with content warnings on the front page - this hasn't really caught on yet except with some dark romance authors but i think it's a really good idea)

i don't think there's anything wrong about people getting excited about books on tiktok and instagram and youtube btw. i think it's a fun way to share recommendations, commentary, and interests. what i think is the big problem is that the publishing industry has almost become beholden to trends and online perception because they've seen how much profit they can generate by catering to it, and i think that's why books now just feel bland and soulless. they're tapping into a FOMO on both the authors' and writers' side, of either being left behind and not being able to make a living, or missing out on what everyone else is reading and talking about.

[creature-wizard]

So, a pretty damn concerning thing is going on with starseeds, and I think we need to all be aware of this - not just as a problem with starseeds, but as a thing that can potentially happen in any context, and without critical thinking and discernment, lead to some... pretty worrying outcomes, let's put it that way.

There's a number of people who basically start learning about starseeds from stuff like YouTube videos. They start feeling resonance with the concept (which of course they do; the concept of starseeds is built to prey on certain vulnerabilities); and then a short while later, they start having everything from dreams to visions as they spontaneously "remember" their past life on another planet.

Now just in case anyone reading this isn't aware, the thing about starseeds is, this is a concept that developed over the 19th and 20th centuries, and is fundamentally rooted in colonialism, eugenics, pseudohistory, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories that are often as not just thinly-veiled antisemitism. It rides on fabricated and distorted evidence that there was no possible way ancient people (mostly POC) could have constructed sophisticated architecture, and claims that they were constructed by aliens. They have no evidence of these alien visitors, mind. What they try to pass off as "evidence" is largely cherry picked and misrepresented mythology, sacred texts, etc. Occasionally these texts are modern forgeries or channeled literature, such as The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean - not to be confused with The Emerald Tablet. Oh, and one piece of influential literature in the starseed movement - Other Tongues, Other Flesh - claims that the swastika is a holy symbol among the "good" aliens. Meanwhile, the "bad" aliens are pretty obviously antisemitic stereotypes in space. The book's author, George Hunt Williamson, used to be buddies with an actual fascist/Nazi sympathizer, William Dudley Pelley.

In short, it's not just bullshit; it's incredibly obvious bullshit if you actually take the time to look into it properly. And we have a bunch of people who are spontaneously "remembering" past lives that fit into this bullshit narrative. Based on their own reports, these people aren't even being hypnotized or anything; they'll just spontaneously have "memories" come to them in the middle of the day or something.

So yeah, it's very important for people in witchy and occult communities, or any kind of fringe interest communities whatsoever, to understand that these kinds of experiences can happen, and that they don't necessarily have any bearing on reality whatsoever. Because we can see right here that acceptance of these experiences as absolutely valid is leading people down dangerous roads - including the New Age to Alt Right pipeline.

[ljnsdump]

ATTRACTION (Jeno x F!reader)

Jeno x Female reader

Summary: Her insecurities drowning her and breaking her apart, oh if only she saw herself in his eyes.

Genre: M/F, brother’s best friend, fluff with a tinge of angst, senior high school setting

Warnings: vaping, talking about insecurities, mention of corruption

Word count: 2 103 words

Please support me as I venture into writing! This is my first post, although I have literally had this story on my notes since last year. And I have a lot more so stay tuned! 

Please leave constructive criticism so I know in which areas I have to improve. Thanks, enjoy!

—------

“Mom, I’m moving to Dad’s.” Y/N finally mustered the guts to tell her mom that she wants to leave.

Her mom raised an eyebrow, removing her eyes from the papers she’s reading and pulling down her eyeglasses. “And why is that?” Tension is starting to build up between the two.

She puts down the spoon and fork. “I can’t live like this forever. I hate this town, I hate the people. They make fun of me, talking about me behind my back and it’s already affecting my studies.”

“Why would you let it affect you?” Her mom argues, never seems to understand or even try to understand the suffering that her daughter is going through.

This time it was Y/N’s turn to squint her eyes in disbelief that she heard those words coming from the mouth of the school director. “Are you serious?!” She walks out and goes to her room to start packing.

The next day came.

She lazily opens the door of her mom’s office. “Dad’s coming to pick me up today, just in case you don’t want to see his face.” Y/N says. 

Not even bothering to look at her daughter, she replies, “Close the door when you leave.”

Y/N is just getting used to living with her dad and twin brother, Mark. She just got here two days ago. Her dad is still processing her transfer that’s why she has a whole week to herself.

She changes to her fresh clothes after a bath. She looks at her reflection in the mirror as she slowly hovers her finger on top of the big dark patch of birthmark on her jaw area going down her neck that’s about the size of a penny.

“Ugly.” She mumbles to herself. 

Grabbing a book, she then goes to the porch connected to their dining area and sits by the coffee table to read. 

Just minutes later, noise from people talking and laughing are heard all over the house. It’s her twin brother coming back from school with two of his friends coming over. 

Their maid smiles when they arrive, Mark notices her and she gestures, pointing her hand towards the porch where Y/N is and he immediately understands.

Mark was told by his dad that his sister is still adjusting, she needs space and peace of mind the most right now. 

“Guys, let’s tone it down a bit, my sister’s just by the porch.” He tells his friends, Jaemin and Jeno. “None of you are allowed to talk to her.” He warns. Y/N hears what her brother is telling his friends and it makes her smile a little. 

“Your sister’s here?” One asks.

“Yes, she’s gonna be staying with us from now on.” Mark nods. “ Which also means that both of you will be sharing a room because there’s only one guest room left.”

Oh, so they’re staying here for the night, Y/N thought. She listens to their conversations, how they played their games, and all. Through the big sliding window, Jeno sees Y/N’s side profile, her tiny smile at their jokes and it seems like she’s no longer reading the book in her hand. 

Mark notices so he kicks his friend’s foot lightly. “Don’t even think about it.” He warns and Jeno just chuckles, obviously amused seeing his friend’s new possessive side. Something in him though is even more intrigued by her innocence, something in her is drawing him in. Maybe it’s because she’s too protected that he kinda wants to be the one to slowly corrupt her? May it also be her soft and gentle aura that makes him want to bring out the fire and anger in her?

“Why?”

“You’re no good.”

Jeno scoffs. “I’m good! Jaemin is the one that’s no good. Every mother wishes their daughters would end up with me!” 

This time it’s Jaemin’s turn to scoff in disbelief. “What are you talking about, I’m the best!”

Mark just shakes his head. “Dude…” Then brushes them off. “Let’s just play.”

After about an hour, their maid called them. “Snacks are ready, kids!”

Despite being 18 year-olds, their maid still treats them like babies because she’s a lot older even than their dad. She’s worked for the family even before the divorce of the twin’s parents. 

The smell of freshly baked pizza soothes into their noses, they all gathered on the dining table, including Y/N.

She was just looking at the food while Jeno is trying his hardest to get a glimpse of her face. It’s kinda hard because she’s a lot shorter than him. He notices that her skin is just as fair as Mark’s, dark brown hair, fully plump lips, slightly smiling at the sight of the food in front of her. 

Jeno elbows Mark lightly and points at Y/N by protruding his lips to her direction. Mark just rolls his eyes, knowing exactly what his friend is trying to say. “Y/N, these are my friends.” He introduces the two guys beside him, making his sister look up. “Jeno and Jaemin.”

She smiles at both. Jeno observes her face intently, she looks very similar to Mark except for a few features that make her look more feminine than he is. But their eyes are almost identical, forming crescent lines when they smile. Also, there is a brownish-greenish patch on her face. “Hi, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Kids, sit down.” Their maid pulls the chair out for Y/N.

“Thank you.” Y/N smiles as she sits down.

“Is Dad done processing your transfer requirements?” Mark asks.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Mom may be giving him a hard time getting those. She’s the school director and those papers would need a signature from her, I believe.”

“Ey, don’t worry. Dad will get those for sure. If you wanna transfer, why would she hold you back?”

"Will she be joining our class?" Jeno asks Mark, still looking at Y/N, their eyes meet that took her back. He's such a charming, flawless-face. She pretends that didn’t happen and immediately looks down to her food that made Jeno smile a little. She looks cute when flustered. 

Mark shrugs. "Hopefully. There's a lot of people there she can be friends with." 

"Is that a stain on your jaw?" Jaemin points out and she immediately covers it with her hand and fear takes over her eyes. 

"B-birthmark."

Jeno gives her a comforting smile upon seeing her reaction. "Why cover it? It's unique and cool." 

It is her first time hearing that from another person, because she's been called a freak, weird, and whatever words they come up with just to describe it. 

A flush of pink appears on her face as she looks at Jeno. "Thanks." 

"No problem." 

Mark didn't mind the smiles his friend and his sister shared. He's just glad they were able to make her feel better somehow. 

"Wanna play with us?" Mark asks. 

She shakes her head. "I'd rather just watch." 

A few hours later, their dad came home and then they ate dinner. He said that she's already enrolled and she can start going to school on Monday. After dinner he gave her her new credit card, and key of the car that she'll use. It wasn't the most expensive car but at least it does the job of getting her from point A to B. 

He touches his daughter's birthmark and caresses it with his thumb. "Promise me, you'll enjoy." 

Y/N smiles tearfully. "Yes, dad." 

Their dad left because he has a business trip to Macau and he needs to meet his business partners there in the morning. That's why he has to leave tonight. 

"Manang Nancy, yung mga bata ha." 

 They boys spent the night playing games nonstop and at the end of the night they ended up cleaning the area and got more than 10 bottles of Red Bull and wrappers for their junk foods. 

And just an hour later, Y/N notices that the light from the living room is off. That's the signal for her that says they're already in their rooms so she goes out because she wants to sit under the moon. 

She jumps over the porch bannisters to the lawn outside. She isn't scared of the night because the moon shone so bright and also there are lights around the house. 

While watching the night skies, she also has her airpods on. She's just singing along to the songs when the skies in front of her are covered with a cloud of smoke so she immediately sits up feeling so frightened. But she sees Jeno's face looking so amused with a vape on his hand. 

"You scared me." She mumbles. "Jeez." 

"Sorry, you just were so focused with what you were doing." 

She stands up and brushes herself off. "What are you doing here?" 

"Vaping, you?" 

"Well, I was enjoying the night skies." 

"You can still enjoy it." He remarks. 

But she shakes her head. "Nope." She jumps to sit on the bannister and so does Jeno. They sit beside each other staring into the empty space. 

"Why do you vape?" She asks. 

"Kinda helps me relax." He replies. 

"Is it good?" 

"It smells good." He watches her as her eyes linger curiously at the vape on his hand. "Wanna try?" Her eyes meet his with excitement. "On second thought, no. Your brother is gonna skin me alive." 

Their eyes meet and she pouts. "He's not. Why would he?" 

"Because he plays the part of a protective brother who doesn't want his innocent sister to get influenced negatively." 

"I'm not that innocent!" Her head cocks to the side. "And how does vape influence one negatively?" 

Jeno raises the vape on her eye level. "Because this is just like cigarettes, and it's not good for you." 

She scoffs. "But it is for you?" 

"No, but I don't have someone who's over protective over me." 

She rolls her eyes and snatches the vape from his hand. "Oh, give it." 

"Y/N." He warningly says and somehow she found it endearing. Her name coming out of his lips. "You don't know how to use that." 

"Then show me."

He sighs then says, "Just put it on your mouth then inhale, don't swallow, just exhale." 

"I can do that." She positions the vapour in front of her lips. "I'm doing it." Glancing at Jeno then puts it in her mouth to inhale the smoke. 

Jeno also inhales heavily unconsciously along with her as he watches her use the thing. Watching intently how she does it because it's her first time after all. 

She exhales and a cloud of smoke comes out of her lips. She watched it giddily and the surroundings smelt like strawberry and vanilla. 

He smirks. "Not bad." 

"Told you I'm not that innocent." She smiled ever so gorgeously that he just stared at her. "W-what?" She immediately thinks he's looking at her birthmark and covers it right away. 

He took her hand away from her jaw. "Why do you keep covering it?" 

"It's ugly." She replies. 

But his forehead creases in confusion. "It's not." 

"Yes it is! You're just trying to make me feel better by saying it's not."

With one hand, he holds her face by the jaws and pulls her forward to him. She held her breath as they got closer, and her eyes widened at the same time. He gently kisses the birthmark on her face that made Y/N's heart fall to her stomach and jump along with the fluttering butterflies. "I'm not." He whispers.

 "Jeno..." Thank God it's dark and he can't see how her face is turning into a tomato. 

He shakes his head as if waking up to reality. "I-I'm sorry, I-I couldn't help myself." But he notices her more shocked than he is so he pulls her closer again and his lips perched on top of hers. "Relax." Then he holds her on her waist, she feels so stiff and tense. He slides his tongue in her mouth and kisses her like it's the last time he ever could. "Y/N, just relax." She exhales and just goes with the flow. 

Y/N has never felt this feeling before. She's usually scared, frightened, and even sometimes feeling threatened but now she just feels warm and it's like there's a blanket over her heart. 

Her eyes got teary and she bit her bottom lip when they separated. 

"I literally just met you today but I can't stop the attraction I'm feeling for you." He confesses.

[sp00kyvision]

Seeing it again after a long time, the "Gnomes" South Park episode feels so thematically conflicted it is starting to make my head hurt, which means I need to construct a "breadtube" style essay on what the fuck it is trying to say.

Tbh "thematically conflicted with what it is trying to say" can go for bunches of South Park episodes, but this one stands out in particular for me since it had such a cultural impact at the time.

Things in the episode that landed for me:

The critique on utilizing children for political centered messages. Not only is it often utilized in arguments to generate pathos, but it doesn't take into account the actual thoughts of the kids being involved. They are just a tool to generate sympathy without proper utilization of expressing a thought-out message. Not to mention when you involve kids in this kind of propaganda it is VERY structured upon a specific "script", and the children often have no clue what the hell they are even talking about. When Tweak's father makes the "joke" about selling his son to child slavery if he loses his coffee shop, it makes sense to his character in a dark way. He pretty much is already using children as free labor through having them be "spokesmen" against the satirical big corporation coffee shop totally not based on Starbucks. It's obviously not the kind of child slavery people usually imagine when they hear the term, but it is ideologically applicable in this circumstance.

The critique on the idea that small businesses are inherently moral by all standards. This should go without saying, but I think people do tend to get lost in the idea that just because someone owns a small business they are not above using tactical and manipulative maneuvers to stay on top. I enjoy the complication of the figure of a local business owner as a someone just as capable of making the same moves a corporate business does.

The whole underpant gnome thing with "Phase One: collect underpants -> Phase Two: ? -> Phase Three: profit" was pretty clever. It makes sense why it became a meme and subject that outlasted the episode. Very versatile logic that can be applied to a multitude of critical topics.

Now, with that out of the way, onto the parts of the episode that DIDN'T make sense to me:

The whole conclusion of the episode is unapologetically pro-capitalist and pro-corporate competition. Obviously, I don't subscribe to this ideology. The real thing that irritates me about it, though, is how it feels like it comes essentially out if nowhere. The episode spends its whole runtime depicting the owner of the 'totally not Starbucks' coffee shop in a bad light, only for them to kind of circumvent that at the end in a way that is hard to follow nor convincing. It really just has me wondering what is even trying to be claimed here. I feel like a stronger message would have been the ethics of utilizing children for sympathy in political messaging, but they decided lean into the topic of capitalism that just feels like a half-assed afterthought.

You could maybe argue that the ending is a joke not meant to be taken too seriously, which sure, but the framing doesn't really feel that way to me. It genuinely leaves the impression that you should accept corporations on the basis of supplying quality goods to people that lead to growth in revenue. Either I'm missing something, but that is the gist I got, and other people seem to share this sentiment since actual economic professors have praised the episode as a defense of capitalism. The praise is inherently surprising to me because the pro-capitalist message just comes off extremely lazy, and therefore an unconvincing defense by any means.

This highlights a problem I have with a good portion of South Park episodes. The writing tries so hard to define itself by its centrist perspective it ultimately ends up kicking itself in the ass. Genuinely, what am I supposed to get out of this episode? Why did it feel the need to shoe-horn corporate defense to an otherwise interesting and nuanced satirical critique on the ethics of pathos messaging? What was the actual goal here?

[sebstanismyspiritanimal]

Second chapter! I don't have a set schedule for posting but I am writing a chapter ahead so I always have something to post 🙂 again feel free to leave suggestions or comments, even something you might like to see in later chapters! Hope you enjoy! Heres a link to part one in case you missed it!

---------------------------------------------------

At 28, Eddie Munson had seen and faced a lot of horrors that would have many people running for the nearest asylum. That didn't mean that she wasnt almost shaking from nerves meeting the rest of the people that made up the behavioral analysis unit.

She was well aware that if this didn't work out, she would be placed somewhere else, and not every unit would be as welcoming.

Agent Hotchner -Hotch- she corrected herself cleared his throat to get the attention of the 6 people pretending to look busy and started to introduce her.

"Everyone this is Sergeant Edythe Munson, she will be the 8th member of our team, effective immediately. I trust that you all will show her around and get her up to speed with how our unit works." With a slight smile and nod in her direction, Hotch started back up the stairs to his office, giving the reins of introductions to his team.

"Sergeant isn't necessary, you can call me Eddie." Rolling her eyes slightly at the second time she was having to say that today, she watched nervously as the rest of the team had a silent conversation with each other before a short blonde woman in very loud clothes broke away and came towards her with a big smile.

"It's really good to meet you, Eddie! My names Penelope Garcia, im the tech analyst for the team, can I give you a hug or are you more of a handshake person?" Eddie couldn't keep the grin off her face, this womans warm demeaner reminded her a lot of Joyce Byers, just not so much in dress.

"I will take a hug Penelope." Garcia squealed and pulled the taller woman into a hug which caused the others to laugh and relax.

"Save some for the rest of us mama." A dark skin man grinned at the blonde before stepping up to Eddie, "Derek Morgan, pleasure to have you join the team." Eddie relaxed as he held out his hand instead of going in for a hug.

The rest of the team introduced themselves some giving out hugs and others handshakes before her gaze fell on the last one.

A tall man with long curly hair and an awkward smile on his face, "Dr. Spencer Reid," he gave a short wave, obviously not comfortable touching her but taking her silence as judgement for it. "Did you know that the number of pathogens passed from a handshake is less than if you kiss." It was obviously a fact that he had shared multiple times if the exasperated laughs and eye rolls of the rest of the team were any indication.

Eddie grinned back, not offended in the slightest, "I didn't know that, but now I feel the need to wash my hands." She said to the louder laughs of everyone present. Spencer seemed to brighten a little when he realized his ramble wasn't going to be mocked from the newbie.

"So Eddie, what has you joining the BAU?" A dark haired woman asked, Emily she thinks her name was.

Eddie cleared her throat, trying to buy time, "After being discharged, I decided I still wanted a similar career, just not one I needed a passport for." Eddie relaxed when the vague answer illicted a laugh from her new team instead of suspicion.

"What branch were you?" Jennifer asked her, leaning on a desk in a way that suggested the gentle interrogation was just beginning.

"I was apart of a task force, no specific branch, we went where we were needed when we were needed." Eddie had to consciously lower her shoulders that were rising up in defense, it was completely normal for new coworkers to want to about her life before they met, she tried to reassure herself.

"What kind of task force? Most special operations forces are specified by branch and training." Dr. Reid asked, taking note of the way Eddie's eyes started moving around the room, obviously scouting for exit points.

"I'm sorry but that's classified." Eddie grimaced as the eyebrows of everyone went up, obviously not expecting such a statement. "The task force was very small and never changed members until it disbanded 6 months ago, we aren't allowed to talk about it to anyone that wasn't apart of it." Eddie inched back, expecting a little backlash at the fact that the new member couldn't even share about the last 7 years of her life.

She relaxed slightly when the team just seemed to look at each other and then shrug, mentally deciding to give their new member a break.

"If Pretty Boy here can clean off his mess, you can have the empty desk next to him." Derek seemed to mock at the young doctor, making him squawk in protest. "It's been empty for years, Morgan! How was I supposed to know that we were getting a new member." He shouted at the other man as he frantically moved papers and books around to his desk to make room.

Eddie smiled slightly to herself, this team wasn't her Hawkins family, far from it, but looking around she couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest from spreading. She may be under the thumb of the government for the rest of her life, but at least she would have good company.

[personality-corner]

How to Avoid Mistyping

I’ve actually wanted to make a post like this for a while, I just hadn’t really gotten to it yet. Here’s how to know if you’re mistyping a character.

Mistyping vs. A Differing Opinion

When it comes to fictional characters, a lot of it comes down to interpretation, which means there will always be a level of differing opinions when typing a character. However, I do think it’s undoubtable that some types don’t fit characters at all.

At the end of the day, it comes down to argument. Does your argument make sense? Is it understandable to those who aren’t inside your mind? Is it obviously biased.

And here’s the thing- everyone has bad arguments. I’ve had bad arguments, even on this page. However, I am making this post, to maybe help people to think more critically about their arguments.

Are you grasping at straws trying to defend your opinion?

Honestly, this is a good sign that you are mistyping a character. Does it feel like you are trying way too hard to defend your typing of a character, like you can’t come up with any good arguments for it?

This could mean one of two things; you need to rewatch or reread the material you’re typing from or you need to consider a different type for them. Now, I would definitely rewatch or reread said thing first, because there have definitely been times I thought I was mistyping a character when in reality, I just didn’t remember enough about a character to type them appropriately.

But you should at least consider the fact that you’re mistyping a character if you’re struggling to construct an argument.

“This type would not do that!”

I do think there are times when this is appropriate, for example, when discussing a character’s actions, saying “this character’s interest in their environment really gives more Se than Ne.” However whenever I hear XXXX would never do that! It grinds my gears.

Usually, when people say this, it’s highly stereotypical, because technically speaking, each type is capable of anything… it’s why they’re doing it, what’s going on in their head that matters. Now is it unlikely for, say, an Si dom to make impulsive decisions? Perhaps, but it’s not that they can’t. In fact, some of the ISTJs I’ve typed have made very impulsive decisions when their Te or Fi kicked in.

Using your personal relatability to a character to determine their type.

Now this one, out of everything on here kind of annoys me the most. Now, there is nothing wrong with relating to a character and considering the type for them. However your relatability to them also cannot be your only argument to why they fit that type, because you don’t have to be the same type as that character to relate to them.

I’m an INTP, and there are plenty of ISTJ, INFP, ISTP, hell even ESFP characters I relate to. I also don’t think I’ve ever, at least not since starting this blog, have typed a character INTP solely because I find them relatable… in fact, it’s the second to last most typed on this blog.

Have you considered other possibilities for this character?

Typically, unless I’m really sure about a character’s type, I’ll consider at least a few types before deciding on one. I’ll keep these types in mind when watching something, and sometimes will decide on something completely different.

Obviously, you don’t have to do this, everyone’s system of typing is different, but the important thing is, don’t be so fixated on a particular type for a character that you refuse to see or listen to any other argument regarding them.

Don’t automatically assume a character is in a loop or a grip when you type them.

Now, saying a character is in a loop or a grip is not inherently wrong per se- but I will say, that I often see people use this to avoid typing characters certain types.

I have a post I’m working about on loops and grips, but I will say that if you can’t legitimize why a character wouldn’t be that type, even at their healthiest, it’s probably not a good type for them.