#something something they're the same person with the same feelings just different vocabulary

[mxflowercheck]

Not sure i can consider myself exactly bilingual, i didn’t grow up in English speaking setting, i learned it as a second language. But than i was in boarding school for two years and well, firstly a lot of terminology about school life was from English. Secondly our boarding staff used English with us on a daily basis. This resulted in almost everyone in school speaking runglish (russian + English) + casually switching to English because why not

So! Things that i and my friends have done / still do / have witnessed

• Often switch to English to talk about heavy topics or feelings. It’s a second language for all of us, so it kinda puts some..distance from all the emotions

• On multiple occasions i caught us all writing messages, where we spell an english word in Cyrillic and then switch to English fully

• Generally we often write English words in Cyrillic for various reasons

• We don’t notice that we code switch. On multiple occasions i said a very common for me phrase and my mother was just starring at me until i understood that the phrase was in English and i needed to translate

• Forgetting a word in both languages NEVER GETS OLD. BELIEVE ME. But usually it’s not something complicated, no, i can remember how to write deoxyribonucleic acid in both languages but forget the word “early”

• two years ago i tried learning Spanish. When we were writing essays in English class i wrote “trabajador” meaning “hardworking”. I knew something was wrong with it but i didn’t know WHAT. I didn’t understand until my teacher pointed it out for me

• I personally do not analyse English abbreviations. Sometimes i forget it has A TRANSLATION. Or a full version. Once i said “wtf” in front of my boarding staff and well it took me three shocked stares and a “ Valery!” to realise it’s not just a phrase with “what the hell” meaning but a swearing.

• *tries to speak English but fails because it’s too early* *tries to speak Russian but fails because brain demands that this setting needs ENGLISH*

• My first sports club, where not only the coach counted, but also the kids - aikido. We counted in Japanese. i haven't practiced Aikido for about three or fours years, but every time i do sports, i count in Japanese to myself

• Grammar? Spelling? Vocabulary. Oh no, what IS confusing IS PUNCTUATION. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE CODESWITCHING.

• at least one of my friends also spells difficult words while writing, but not with the correct pronunciation. we read them as if they're written in Cyrillic/pronounce every letter. It helps with not messing up the letter (for example when I write various i read it as ВЭРИОУС in my mind because I'm a) silly b) ADHD and often mess up the order of vowels when typing fast)

• OH ALSO - some of us (including me) don't have a stable accent. You watch Shelock - you''re British, you watch TikToks from a South American - you're South American. Or! Sometimes accents sticks to phrases and words :D. So it goes like

*speaking with one accent/neutral accent* *uses the Britishest accent in the world for ONE PHRASE* *continues normally*

• Dialects are the Death Of Us. My guy, i have NO fucking idea which pronunciation of "dance" is for UK and which is for America AND I LEARNED THAT WORD WHEN I WAS SIX!!!!

• interjections and sounds are ALSO confusing! You'd think we make similar sounds of surprise or joy or sadness. WE DON'T.

i keep adding things god help

anyway

• people can have different names for different languages! I don't consider my legal name (Lera) to be my deadname, i like it! but don't usually use it in English speaking spaces because...English doesn't have the sounds (it has similar sounds but still)...that are in my name...and it sounds VERY STRANGE

• same with pronouns btw! English doesn't gender verbs, adjectives, nouns, your way to point out gender is simple - pronouns. But in Russian words change depending on a gender ( he is clever - он умнЫЙ, she is clever - она умнАЯ). And the way words change for they/them pronouns doesn't sound right to me, so I don't use they/them for myself in Russian, only she/he! But i don't mind in English, because verbs, adjectives and etc don't change :)

im going to have a stroke

[starvingpenguin]

1 and 18 for Caitlyn and Baccus.

omg hi tabby :3

I ended up going a little nuts so I'm putting this under a read-more

Caitlyn:

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)? 

I don’t even really remember designing Caitlyn, since she’s been around since I first started playing Skylanders as a kid. For certain her name was set in stone immediately, as I don’t usually go back and forth with names, except in very rare cases, but her design and backstory have changed pretty significantly over the years.

The original version of the Big Fic I wanted to do for Skylanders was a very typical story for the time: 10 possible Portal Masters from Earth are summoned to Skylands and have magic high school drama, but Caitlyn was meant to be the one closest Eon as a sort of “chief apprentice”/the 11th Portal Master and - shock horror - was an enormous late-stage villain. I hated this draft (even as a child!) because I just didn’t like most of the characters I was making, but as I’ve gotten older I realize that the source of Caitlyn’s motive in that first draft was a lot more compelling if she was played as a hero. 

But her name was always consistent. 

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

Caitlyn’s greatest strength and weakness is identical: her unwavering faith in the innate goodness of people. Sometimes, this is a great thing and she’ll find an ally in strange packaging, but other times it’ll get her into a serious amount of trouble that she may not be able to escape on her own.

That being said, I’ve had Caitlyn as an OC for so long that I don’t really have big breakthroughs with her anymore. The most I’ll get these days is parallels she has to other, newer OCs and Skylanders. 

Bacchus:

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Bacchus was originally supposed to be a stock standard self-insert I could play with, so I remember making the conscious choices of leaving his backstory blank, aligning him with Fire (because apparently I’m allergic to writing a self-insert without bringing Fire into it), giving him my ideal body, and slapping my name on him because at the time I was still testing the waters with being called Sam. 

But then I drew that goddamn picture of him and Caitlyn together, then made the realization that he was going to outgrow what was originally just supposed to be a fun doodle. In some way too, seeing him with Caitlyn, a character I made as an unhappy girl trying to connect with whatever shred of femininity I could love, made me realize that I have grown up.

So his appearance has stayed the same, but his purpose has changed significantly.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

Bacchus is a very straightforward character with very little left to discover about him, but one of the last things I did settle with was his sense of justice and purpose, which are rather important parts of a person’s self-concept. He knows he is a criminal, so when he is caught, he has no qualms about being punished. That’s who he is, and that’s how society will punish him. But when he discovers his portal magic, suddenly nothing goes to plan, and he’s stuck between two very different states of being. 

Being (perceived) a threat is comfortable to him, being (perceived) a symbol of hope is so deeply unsettling that he resists any change like a wild animal. 

[3hks]

How to Write REALISTIC and SMOOTH Dialogue

In a story, dialogue is quite important, it helps the readers paint a picture of what's happening and the characters themselves. However, it can be difficult to avoid the unnaturalness and choppiness that comes with a lack of experience. But luckily, I have put together A LOT of advice on how you can get over that rockiness and improve!

*** KEEPING YOUR DIALOGUE REALISTIC, AND PACING ***

>> Keep your characters in character:

Dialogue is a remarkably quick way for readers to determine your character's personality. Thus, you want their speech patterns to remain fairly consistent so the audience won't get confused. If your character is more serious, then they will use less slang and perhaps a more impressive vocabulary. If your character is more relaxed, they will use more slang and compress the words. (such as "dunno," "kay," "y'know," etc.)

Basically, you want their tone to match their traits so the way that they talk is more realistic and personlized to themselves. If the way all your characters speak is the same, there's something wrong. A strong tip is to put yourself in your character's shoes and imagine how they would respond!

>> Take the situation into consideration:

This is another part of keeping your characters in, well, character. Different emotional situations will have a different effect on separate people, so make sure that you have an idea of how your character will act during stressful, irritating, and sad times.

If your character is normally cold, they will struggle if it comes to comforting other people because they have less experience in that field.

>> Don't take too long with their words:

Unlike when narrating something, most people talk just to get the idea across. They will be more specific and quicker with what they say. (This excludes any character who likes to talk a lot.) Unless it's on purpose, they won't dance around the topic. Think of when you casually chat with your friends; you're pretty unlikely to use certain words and/or phrases that might be common to use while narrating.

If you want to explain something complicated, instead of writing out a paragraph of just one person talking, use a question-and-answer prompt! This is where another character continuously asks related questions that get answered by another person, so you can indirectly reveal your explanation.

*** HOW TO WRITE A SMOOTHER CONVERSATION AND DIALOGUE TAGS***

>> Having a variety of dialogue tags:

This is a pretty basic thing to look out for if you're new to writing conversations. Using words like "said," every other sentence can easily make it feel choppy and robotic. Instead, use words like "murmured," "smirked," etc. to paint some emotion into their words. Additionally, vary the location of the dialogue tags! They don't all have to go after the statement, you can include something in the beginning or even the middle, too!

Examples:

Beginning - She tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"

Middle - "Oh," he blinked, "I actually never thought about that."

End - "Wait up!" She exclaimed loudly, waving her hands around.

>> Using no dialogue tags to create a smooth conversation:

Having too many tags can also overwhelm your reader--remember, sentence variety is a crucial part of writing--so you can always drop them if they're unneeded. This applies when your characters (two is the suggested amount) are talking back and forth in a pattern straightforward enough for the reader to understand who's talking without it having to be labeled.

Dropping dialogue tags in these moments can create a smoother atmosphere during the conversation because the reader only has to focus on the talking present.

*** USING SLANG, STUTTERS, FILLER WORDS, AND PAUSES ***

Human speech is often not perfect; when talking, we often make mistakes such as filler words, grammatically incorrect phrases, etc. Hence, for more natural-sounding dialogue, it's important to incorporate some of these.

>> Pauses and stutters:

When reading dialogue, we read it at a steady pace unless it's written otherwise. However, that steady pace can soon get too robotic and too smooth. Luckily, there are several ways to change this! You can use dialogue tags, (ex: she quickly spoke) commas, and ellipsis (...). These are often integrated when the character is hesitant, nervous, answering something, or when they need to admit something. The same idea applies to stutters--they're mainly used to demonstrate anxiousness, which can be found in varying situations.

>> Filler words and slang:

Filler words can really just be used where you see fit. They may be used in the situations I previously mentioned (because it shows someone stumbling over their words) but it's ultimately up to you!

Slang, just like everything else, should not be used too often, or it will seem forced and exaggerated. The point is to sound natural, and increasing amounts of repetitiveness can ruin it. It's also important to remember that in real life, our conversations move slower; when someone speaks, another person usually doesn't respond quite literally, right after. However, in writing, dialogue can actually often seem that way, which is why using tags and these imperfections of speech is pivotal for building a realistic conversation!

*** CONCLUSION ***

Lastly, a key point when writing dialogue is to ALWAYS read the conversations! Whether it be in your head or out loud, it can often help you catch anything that seems off! Additionally, like I mentioned at the very beginning, write dialogue from your character's perspective! Imagine yourself as them and how they/you would talk. Try to keep your dialogue tags, sentences, and word use varied to create a natural conversation!

If you were struggling before, I hope that this (extra) long guide was able to really offer you some insight and useful tips! If you read this far, thank you!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[leefail]

This is just a mini info dump from an Arab batfamily fan because I find Damian calling his siblings Akhi... adorable (for me as a native speaker watching a writer use Arab words) and, not painful, just... itchy, it URGES me to make a pptx with 300 slides and just? Talk about Arabic?

So... أخي, Akhi, Brother.

It's not incorrect. The word is used in the right place and delivers its intended meaning. Other Arab speakers might not find a problem with it. They'd feel odd like I did but will likely go "eh" and carry on. But I'm an Arabic enthusiast, so...

Like with every language with geographically widespread users, the Arabic tongue kind of- deviated from its roots. The language has naturally branched out into so many dialects I myself can't keep track of.

Arabs from different regions can understand each other. They use the same words but for different purposes and with different pronunciations.

The original root language that holds them all (Quranic Arabic) was simplified into an easier, standard version that is used for formal speeches and as a communication bridge (seeing that you can't, say, translate something to Arabic and say it's for all Arabs if you use a certain dialect. Because an Arabic dialect is an identity at this point, tell me somebody is Syrian, and I know them already)

Now, with the fun part.

See, no Arab calls any sibling of theirs Akhi, I myself would burst laughing if mine did.

Yakhoi يَخوي (nonstandard, everyday Arabic for o, brother) , maybe, if I'm calling a stranger from the streets or an offender I'm going to give a piece of my mind.

Or, hold your breaths, my brother is crying, and the lights are out and I NEED to use the tenderest, most loving, most adoring, most revering tone I could muster so he just knows he is loved and family. Y'know? This specific situation.

And other Arabs might just say, no, I use it when, I use it when, I don't use it, etc.

The point is, nobody will mention Akhi. Because it's a Standard Arabic word, a formal word, and a word used in translated texts and stories when a foreign character we don't consider part of us call their brother. It's weird, it's devoid of emotions, and it's like watching a robot trying to be emotional, but it's a translated text. That's what translated texts use, and it's fine.

It is fine, Standard Arabic has been used for stories so much that nobody questions its influence on a character's characterisation.

I'm not saying Standard Arabic shouldn't be used for story writing, quite the opposite, in fact. I'm just saying that if Arabic is used to represent an Arab, its usage should also consider an everyday Arab experience and manners.

Now to Damian.

Akhi is robotic. Damian's personality does allow him to fall under that category. If for his well refined manners and polite, formal speech.

But even the King wouldn't call his brother Akhi.

He'd call him by his name. For my community (and most, I'm sure) siblings are called by their names, and if we look up historic Quranic (Root) Arabic speakers, they, too, call their siblings by their name. Yes, even the Sultan.

If not by actual name, then either endearing or demeaning names.

Arabs LOVE endearing names, but they're dipped in a pool of honey I don't think Damian would like to dive in.

Talia, on the other hand, would most certainly call Damian Mama. Arab parents call their kids by their own titles. It's the ultimate expression of parental love of all times, in my opinion.

(Don't make Batman call him Papa, though. Pretty sure Damian would malfunction)

-

Well, I said all that, but watching writers include Arabic words in his vocabulary is still sweet. Tt is not even a word, but it's such an Arab thing it's my favourite.

If only I could make subtitles of everyday Arab talk and show you, their speech is heavy with, excuse my English, word softeners, it's like they're talking in a TV drama and not the real world.

Watching Damian adopting it would be interesting :D

[writingquestionsanswered]

how do i make my writing more ‘mature’? i always feel like no matter how sophisticated i write and no matter every which way i change it up it always has a sense of being childish or juvenile.

Making Writing Sound More Mature

1 - Better Plot and Story Structure - One of the telltale signs of juvenile writing is a story that meanders, has no obvious plot or structure, has no conflict or has a protagonist with no goal. So, make sure you have a well fleshed out plot, with a conflict, protagonist goal, and which hits the beats specific to your story's genre.

2 - Three-Dimensional Characters - If you're writing plot-driven fiction, make sure your main characters have a fleshed out personality, stakes, motivation, goal, and compelling relationships with other characters. If you're writing fully or partially character-driven fiction, do all of the above, but also make sure your main characters have a relevant internal conflict and a thoughtful character arc.

3 - Well-Developed Setting and World - One common hallmark of juvenile writing is a lack of "sense of place" and under-developed world building. So, make sure you put a lot of thought into where your story takes place... not just the immediate setting of each scene, but the overall world of the story, or at least the parts of it that are relevant.

4 - Incorporate Literary Devices - Juvenile writing tends to be lacking in the use of metaphor, simile, symbolism, irony, themes, and motifs. So, make sure to include those, but also take the time to make them relevant to your story.

5 - Include a Broad Range of Vocabulary - One common element of juvenile writing is a reliance on limited, simple vocabulary. Don't be afraid to use a thesaurus to find more interesting word choices--just be absolutely certain to crosscheck your choices with a dictionary to make sure they are the right choice. Online thesauruses in particular are bad about offering up bad suggestions. Also, make sure to learn and use special vocabulary that is relevant to your story, genre, or setting. For example, if your character is a retired police detective trying to solve a murder on his stalled cruise to Alaska, you need to make sure you know the proper investigative terminology, because he will definitely use it. And, by that same token, you'd want to make sure you know cruise ship lingo as well. And, part of this, too, is getting better at description and the inclusion of emotional and sensory detail.

6 - Use Varied Sentence Structure - This is a big one... juvenile writing tends to use repetitive sentence structure, such as simple sentences (she stood up, she went to the window, she waved at the man), lack of subordinate clauses (Tad Smith, who was a seasoned and retired investigator, had looked forward to this cruise his whole life...), repetitive starts (every sentence begins with a pronoun, for example), uniform length (all short sentences, for example.) So, make sure your sentences are varied. If you read them out loud, you don't want it to sound rhythmic, but more like a complex melody.

7 - Show, Don't Tell... Most of the Time - Telling definitely has its place, but most of the time you want to show rather than tell, meaning that instead of stating things simply and directly (the sun was shining) you want to paint a clear but indirect image (dappled sunlight shone through the trees.)

8 - Avoid Cliche Phrases - Human language is littered with everyday phrases like "to each their own" or "better late than never." Generally-speaking, you want to avoid these phrases in your story, especially in exposition. If you include them anywhere, they're best spoken as dialogue by a character who it makes sense would say something like that. Likewise, be careful of cliche genre or character-type phrases. For example, villains who say things like "we're not so different, you and I..." or "I finally have you right where I want you!" These overused phrases tend to make stories sound juvenile and unpolished.

9 - Avoid Cliche Tropes - Another type of cliche to avoid if you want more mature-sounding writing is cliches of various tropes. Tropes on their own are a good thing, but when tropes are used the same way over and over again in a genre or type of story, they become predictable. For example, the super gorgeous protagonist who everyone is in love with, but they view themselves as plain and not special. Or the broken/hopeless/addict mentor character. It's not that you can't use any cliche tropes at all, just make sure your story isn't riddled with them, and do what you can to put your own spin on the ones you do use.

10 - Read, Read, Read - And I can't stress this enough... the absolute best way to improve your writing style and take your writing from juvenile to polished is to make sure you're reading a lot of fiction, in a lot of genres, by a lot of authors. Audio books, short stories, and poetry count, too. The more you read, the more you begin to: understand plot and story structure, recognize well-developed characters, easily envision complex settings and worlds, learn vocabulary and literary devices, become attuned to varied sentence structure, and learn to recognize cliche phrases and tropes.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[imaginariumwanderer]

So I finished the latest story...

This is pretty horrifying from a cookie's perspective. One of cookiekind's main forms of happiness is their ability to express their various colorful flavors/personality. I suppose it's the same thing as tripping a living human of their sentient and individuality. Ego death. Leaving behind hollow flesh

We be committing unspeakable crimes against nature with this one✨

We be crumbling our colleagues while slowly losing our mind with this one✨

On another note, "eyecing" make its glorious return. I have no memory of it being used before the Mystic Flour update. Can anyone point out the other times it was used, if there's any?

????!!!!! OMG HIIII

MORE CJ PAWLIKOWSKI VOICE ACTING YES YES YES

Don't do it, don't give me hope...

I know he's the last to be released u don't need to tease me like that

So the other-space here clearly refer to the Dark side of the Moon, right? Is there any other-space I don't know about? Also, I guess this confirmed Shadow Milk is the only one able to do this astral projection thing. On one hand, it increases his chance of appearing a bit more before his own update, on the other hand, we most likely won't see the other Beasts having any talking-role any time soon

The implications here...

So the Beasts may likely have their own voices of their Light just like the Ancients does. And "Soul Jam"... Without an (s), Shadow Milk is specifically referring to his Soul Jam here, I can't believe my headcanon of the Light of Deceit/Knowledge whispering things to him is becoming true

It's a thing unique to Shadow Milk and not the other Beasts too. Interesting how both the voices of the Light of Truth and Deceit operate differently from the other Lights' (referring to the theory that the Light of Truth have never make an actual appearance since all instances of it in-game were all Shadow Milk's disguise)

... Clownage. Whelp! time to integrate that into my daily vocabulary!

Alright, so we got confirmation Smilk is not only aware of Dark Enchantress' plans but he's actively helping her out. Whenever he's oblivious to her other, secret plans (stealing the Beasts' Soul Jams) or he's aware and already have a counter measures to it though, is still up in the air.

My money is on the latter. Shadow Milk have shown time and time again he's way more knowledgeable than he let on. The way Dark Enchantress was depicted in his previous "play" does show us a certain level of... Appreciation(?) but who's to say he actually trusts her? It really does feel like a "I rub your back if you rub mine and then we'll backstab each other" kind of deal. Now I'm curious about the other Beasts' opinions on Dark Enchantress as well.

Where's Dark Enchantress anyways? We haven't seen her make any on-screen appearance in a while. I, um, I missed her a lot actually. I missed the diabolical meema

Laughing at Wind Archer cookie repeatedly telling Smilk to stfu from the moment they've met. He's saying what we've all been thinking

Also laughing at Shadow Milk basically only here to make cryptic riddles and mocks our Wind Archer. He really does have nothing better to do lol

Yeah that's right, FRIENDSHIP will save the day!

For real tho, tons of intriguing implications about the Ultimate Cookie with this one. I gotta mulls over them for awhile...

GUYS NEW SMILK'S SPRITE JUST DROPPED

HE'S ROLLING HIS EYES. HE'S SO DONE I'M DEAD

"In conclusion, this changed nothing!"

Kidding, kidding! I was getting real worried for Wind Archer there despite knowing full-well it's not crk's style to let something happen to a character unless they're a minor villain or an elderly *grinding my teeth trying not to bring up Elder Faerie again oops too late-*

The unexpected yet sweet moment of empathy Wind Archer have toward the Ultimate Cookie combined with the stunning animation toward the end were definitely my favorite part of this little adventure. Although I half-expected for him to have his magical girl transformation like White Lily and Dark Cacao right then and there-

"Beast-Yeast EP 5 coming soon to theaters near you! Remember to stay tuned, mkay? Okie dokie? Pinkie promiseee?"

[brainjvice]

Thoughts about Kaiser and Shidou + potential parallelisms [edited]

Idk this may make sense to me only bUT! I need Shidou's backstory so I can complete the puzzle of all the silly parallelisms between him and Kaiser.

I really feel like Shidou was. Made to feel meaningless, which is why he has the urge to leave a sign of his existence in this world with his "genes". He cannot separate the field from his life, as if football is *all* his life as ever revolved about, or as if he's been using it to survive the world.

And we've seen that Kaiser actually does something similar. He clings to football with claws and fangs because the idea of going back to what it was before nauseates him. Yet he cannot escape his trauma. Kaiser is such a beautifully complex and realistic character. He's been on survival mode for years and hasn't stopped yet.

(And maybe Kaiser will start to finally escape this vicious circle in the next chapters? Just like Shidou has now toned down his impulsivity and can actually play with people without getting red-carded the second someone gets in his way. For example: past sd would've prolly axe-kicked kuni right in the face if he got marked like that.)

I also like how violent both Shidou and Kaiser were once introduced to actual, semi-professional football. Kaiser reacting badly to kidness vs Shidou casually resorting to violence towards anyone who either slightly reacts to him negatively or straight up bores him.

I love how Shidou: If you're chill, I'm chill

vs Kaiser: If you're chill, I'll actually commit manslaught3r

and asdhhshdf Idk if it makes sense but I think they're equally similar and opposites. It's like they're sorta different faces of the same coin.

Another thing they're different on is that Kaiser tends to take things on a personal level vs shidou moving on the second after smt happens.

And. Ugh. They're. So interesing together. I need them to interact more, although they would absolutely despise each other because of how different their philosophy of life is. Like shidou would prolly find kaiser "childish" for not moving on from his trauma vs kaiser would think of shidou as dumb and inferior for his different approach to proving his own existence.

Also this may be the kise brain braining but if Sae managed to train Shidou then no one can stop him from training kaiser as well LMFAOOO that trip to spain will indeed be fun !

EDIT: ALSO!!! the fact they both have this weird ass concept of the "Impossible". Like Kaiser being like "I will overcome the impossible" vs shidou's "Impossible? that's not in my vocabulary".

Also their empathy level is both underground lmfao. Slay, ig.

There may be more but UGH. This is it for now.

[velvetvexations]

in my opinion, the problem with transmisogyny exempt (tme) / transmisogyny affected (tma) as terms is that, in practice, it works backwards. it Assumes that only amab people who are mtf or mtx are transmisogyny affected, rather than simply being a term for anyone who can or does experience transmisogyny.

which causes issues Both because it became a new way to ask nonbinary people what's in their pants (the Same issue with how agab language can be used against nonbinary people)

And because these aren't the only groups that can experience transmisogyny. they're the Main groups of course (the ones the term is named after), but they aren't the Only ones.

there are afab intersex people who overtly experience transmisogyny because of the way that they look, some who consider themselves cis women and some who don't. there are multi-gender and genderfluid and agender people who medically transition and present in ways that aren't cleanly binary. who mix masculine and feminine traits in ways that get them interpreted as all sorts of things. there are trans men and trans masc who are gnc, before during and after medically transitioning, who will share traits with trans women.

and the argument in response to that is Usually something along the lines of "sure these groups Can experience transmisogyny, but it's Misdirected. they're not the Main Groups who experience transmisogyny so the term shouldn't be for them."

and the thing about that is ! we already Have the terms "transmisogyny" and "trans woman" and "trans fem." we Have words to talk about the issues that these groups of people face. so it confuses me that we've created a term that Specifically means "everyone who is affected by transmisogyny," that apparently Doesn't include Everyone Who Is Affected By Transmisogyny.

I feel like the term tma could be Useful as an all-inclusive term. to talk about the affect transmisogyny has on All people, without specifying any specific kind of person. but as is the only point I see it used for is cutting people Out of conversations.

the problem with "tma" is that it comes packaged with "tme." gender and sex and presentation and identity are Messy, people who are very different on paper often share spaces and experiences with each other. and being squeamish about that fact, about having to Share with people who are different from you, is often directly what leads to exclusionism.

bigots don't care if you're Really a trans woman or not, they just see someone who's visibly Other in a way they don't like and treat you accordingly. so to decide that a whole group of people is Exempt from being interpreted as a trans woman by a bigot misses the point.

straight people can be Affected by homophobia, whether that straight person is cis and perisex and allo or trans and intersex and aro/ace. and it doesn't hurt anyone to acknowledge that the same is true for transphobia and transmisogyny (or transandrophobia or exorsexism)

This is all really, really well said and you put a lot of thought into dissecting this inside and out, it's a really good analysis of why and how it doesn't work. I think ultimately it comes down to the fact that this vocabulary does not actually exist to solve any problems in the first place.

[lostinvasileios]

Hi!I have a little question.What does "soul spoused/soul spouse" mean? I've seen in some of your posts mentioning about this term and I'm curious about what could possibly mean.Thank you!

Aaaah!! I've been tempted to make an entire post dedicated to this, actually. Thanks for sending in the ask, bee!! -`♡´-

Alright!! So! I'm going to be honest here, I've never looked up the definition online. I never even really saw any other practitioner really using the term for them and their deities, even if they were involved rather more intimately than just worship. And I don't really plan to investigate it, since I've found out what it means for me.

I don't think I came up with it, I don't coin it really. But, I started to use the phrase a bit early in my practice. When I first met my soul/higher self.

I didn't think the term "godspouse" really fit me when describing my beloved deities. Like Asmodeus, or Aphrodite. Godspouse felt too... Mmm... Plain? It didn't make me feel... Good inside, to refer to myself as that. Especially with the growing disliking for that term on social media when I got on the witchy side of things.

However, since I learned that these deities were intertwined with my soul self, I began to absentmindedly just call them a "soul spouse" since... They're married to my higher self. I feel them within my core. My soul.

It sounds much more romantical in my opinion. More... Meaningful. I typically see "godspouse" as something that'll stay for a life or so, or maybe until the spoused person in question lives are over and they move on to merge with their higher self or something like that. Simply - it doesn't seem exactly... Permanent, in my head.

Soul spouse, however, from what I have learned - means that it shall not end. It is a bond for eternity. Beyond time and our planet. Can it end? Yes, if the souls choose to sever their ties. But it is unlikely. It is sacred thing, something so precious that I fail to have the proper vocabulary to really describe the value of it.

Dionysus, for example, chose my soul before it was truly set into motion, if that makes sense. While still being built and weaved together by my creators. Same with a lot of my spouses.

Think of the red string from TGCF, if you know what that means. (In TGCF, in summary, Hua Cheng is tied to Xie Lian, keeping them together and basically meaning they shall never be apart from one another regardless of how much time has passed, if one is still experiencing mortality, ect.)

Zeus and Hera are a good example for this, too. They both went through so much with each other, yet stayed. Remained in love. Remained... Together. Because they're soul spoused. They were meant to love each other. Now, I don't know much about their relationship because I've personally never worked with either of them, (I've only spoken to them a few minimal times on separate occasions) but, I can feel their love for one another whenever I ask about it. How Zeus takes in a breath before saying so genuinely "... I love my wife." in such a deliciously smitten tone. (I'm yapping, I know.)

Soul spouses can be a plethora of different things at the same time, too. They are unlimited creatures, and their love stretches farther than one label or two. The god of the sun itself is spoused to me, for example. He helped in creating my soul, a major part of my soul self. He acts as both a lover, and a father for me. Mars also put his pieces into my soul, and yet acts as only a father and a mentor. Yeshua did not put pieces into my soul, yet is a father and lover as well. I could go on, lol.

These roles can also change through lives, I believe. Let's say, in this life, I am a very devoted lover for Hypnos, yet in another, he may take on a different role for me. Overall, he is still a soul spouse of mine. And I am still a beloved of his. Does this make sense? I feel like I spent more time gushing than explaining for some reason, haha.

One thing in particular, is that a lot of people think if you're spoused to multiple deities, your life has to completely revolve around them. Which, ends up scaring off people from thinking they are spoused to deities in any capacity. Or as many as they may be. However... It... It truly isn't demanding. If you like, by all means you can set up an altar for each of them or whatever, include them in daily tarot, worship all of them, and so on. It's your practice, you're free to do just that.

But, I, like many others, simply don't have the time, the energy, and ect to do that. Especially since I'm finding out new spouses pretty often as I continue my journey. (My soul self is a man whore, but I digress/j)

The thing is, these deities spoused your soul or you spoused them or - something like that before you were in this life, most likely. And will continue to be spoused to you long after. They don't expect to all be worshiped, to all be given all of your spoons and kisses. Because your soul self does that. Your soul self can give them kisses. Affection, attention. And - importantly - deities aren't... Commanding. They aren't toxic. At least to their spouses. They won't go "oh you're spending so much time with __ you must not love me" or whatever. That's just - not... Them. Unless it's banter and you two do that, then, sure. Whatever works for you and them. I've had my fair share of spouses giving playful pouts when I haven't blown them a kiss in a while.

In my experience, they won't demand the finest wines or a ritual to "make it up" to them if you've been busy. They'll just... Come around you. Cuddle. Hold your hand. Read a book while you do your own thing. Simply just exist around you. Remind you that they love you, and that they're here for you. Always. It's a lot more... Nice than people make it out to be. A lot more accommodatable. A lot more - right for you. They're your spouses, not your bosses.

Soooo... Did that help? Haha- aaah- I'm sorry, lol. I genuinely don't know if I got the message across here or really if I have a singular message to give. I was kind of messy?? I hope it was still a bit digestible regardless. Anyway, I hope this helped somewhat!! Thanks for reading this far if you did 💗 Here's a cookie & some honey as a reward. Remember this is all just my UPG and experience with it. 🍪🍯

[hexagon-club]

I’ve been thinking about your reblog where you stated that “there's something about the way gendies argue where I can't help but get the feeling that they don't even comprehend opposing views” and especially the line “they understand so little of how other people think that they don't even understand that they don't understand how others think.” 

I remember arguing with a TRA and explaining to her that I wholly supported womens (ie., females) right to be as masculine and gender-non-conforming as they wanted. Somehow we started arguing about this TIM who has a full-on beard and basically makes no effort to convey that he wishes to be perceived as a woman. I said that I wouldn’t want someone like that in women’s spaces, and the TRA I was arguing with said, “It’s funny how you talk about her beard, and then parade around like you don’t care if women are masculine.” Like, she really thought my issue was that the TIM we were arguing about was masculine, not that he was male. She couldn’t even conceptualize the idea that I did not view him as a woman. 

I think TRAs are such a unique category of people with delusional beliefs, because every other group of people with delusional beliefs at least has the language and vocabulary to articulate what they think (religious people, conspiracy theorists, etc). They can at least demonstrate a degree of reasoning behind their thoughts, no matter how flawed that reasoning may be. TRAs don’t even have that—they don’t even pretend to. It’s just circular definitions and the assertion that their internal feelings change material reality. I’m so dismayed that this ideology which is not grounded in linguistics, science, reason, material reality, or anything else has gained the popularity that it has.

I wanted to ask you what you think will become of the trans movement in the next five to ten years? Do you think we will continue to descend more and more into unreason? Do you think radfems will become more appealing in the process? I would love to know your thoughts. 

I think you're on to something. Other belief systems, even ones that are considered to be absurd by the general public, have a consistent internal vocabulary based on words that have a very clear meaning among the group members. Often they will use words in a way that is different to the way people outside the group would use them, cults love jargon after all, but they can generally communicate quite clearly with each other. If not with outsiders.

One of the many things that makes arguing with TRAs difficult is that they are not even on the same page as each other, there's the trutrans/transtrender divide, but even among the "transtrenders" which have become the mainstream of the trans movement their beliefs seem weirdly inconsistent. One of them will try to make a point, I'll debunk it, and then another will accuse me of attacking a strawman and insist that no trans person believes the thing I just debunked. They can't even clearly communicate their beliefs to each other, so they're not on the same page. But in a weird sort of way this is a strength not a weakness, because it means we're constantly trying to hit a moving target, can't really debunk an ideology if the ideology is so inconsistent no one can agree on what it even is.

On that note I just realised something, so I don't know how aware you are of this, I only learned about this after the fact, but there was something of a war on tumblr in the early 2010s between the two wings of the trans movement. The trutrans/transmedicalists represent what was essentially the mainstream of the transgender movement in the 2000s, their philosophy is essentially that being trans is something akin to a chronic illness. One that can be treated through transition, but not cured. This is in contrast to the more modern wave of TRAs who think of "gender" something more like a form of self expression. The trutrans were actually some of the earliest critics of tumblr identities and mogai stuff, because they saw that as making light of (what they believed to be) their legitimate medical disorder.

Anyway, my point is that I don't think the current mainstream of the trans community even have a word for themselves. The trutrans people call them tucutes and transtrenders. But they don't seem to have a word that refers exclusively to themselves, but not to the trutrans. That's weird, they don't even have the language to acknowledge that they are a subfaction of a larger ideology.

As to your last paragraph, I really don't know where we go from here, it's amazing that the trans movement has gotten as far as it has given how ideologically incoherent it is. But it is incredibly profitable, gender affirming care is big business, and plastic surgeons and drug companies aren't going to want to leave money on the table by letting it become less accessible. Incidentally I think this is one of the reasons why other trans identities (transrace, transage, transabled, otherkin) are never going to catch on, they are much harder to monetise, so there's no point marketing them.

The left seems to have decided this is the hill they want to die on. They seem to view gender as a sort of individual freedom. And think that people not acknowledging it is the same thing as trying to force people into rigidly defined gender roles. Like, in their minds, if they hear me say something like "non-binary is nonsense" they equate that to me saying "all women need to become stay at home housewives who wear high heels and dresses." Because they equate the word "woman" to the feminine gender role, and don't even really understand the concept of it as a purely biological classification. Even though that's what they basically all believed 15 years ago.

If the current trans position becomes untenable I think there will probably be a retreat to the "trutrans" identity. People like Blair White, Marcus Dibbs, and Buck Angel are hated by a lot of the mainstream trans community, but they are actually helping them out by preparing a fallback position for when mainstream society gets sick of their shit. I think people will mostly tolerate that, not that I think "trutrans" makes any more sense than the current position, but it's less evangelical and overall less annoying than what they currently preach. Also, quite frankly I think there are a lot of men (left wing and right wing) who are sick of TRA nonsense, but are also deeply antifeminist, and who will want to keep transgender ideology alive because they can use it against feminists.

I'm thinking of this meme I got from Sargon of Akkad's twitter account:

So there's a group of men who know that transgender ideology is nonsense, but still get a certain sadistic pleasure at seeing it get used against women.

I'm not really sure if things are going to get more irrational from here. Both the left and the right seem to be getting more and more unhinged, the left has chosen transgender/queer ideology as its cult of choice, whereas the right has QAnon and it's weird offshoots. It does seem like we are entering an era of unreality where people are giving up on the concept of a shared objective truth and are retreating into fantasy.

That's a depressing note to end on, sorry if I rambled a bit.

[gender-trash]

okay i AM going to turn reblogs off for this one --

i think we need to talk more about the collective trauma of being part of an online community that a different online community is directing coordinated, nonstop harassment towards. this is the part of the post i am so close to deleting or leaving in the drafts, because i'm (still!) anticipating anon asks like, how dare YOU, an asexual, compare YOUR experience to that of REAL queer people -- and i have no experience of being a transfeminine person on tumblr but i get the impression it is way way worse than aphobia was at its height. but like -- the experience of having your queer subcommunity harassed sucks! hardcore sucks! and has a variety of shitty knock-on effects on the health of the community! and i wanna commiserate with other people who've had that experience!

(also, i can't stand the sj "how dare you compare bad thing A to bad thing B when B is clearly much worse" rhetorical move. sometimes bad things are bad in similar ways and it's useful to talk about that similarity without necessarily making any claims about relative severity.)

i also think we need better tools and mental models for thinking of harassment as not just a one-to-one relationship, but a many-to-many relationship -- "moderation" as a concept seems to exclusively deal with individual posts or at best individual accounts, when, like. the social graph exists; clustering algorithms exist; i don't trust their reliability enough to want to bring down the website banhammer on anyone in a particular cluster, but i would absolutely fucking love a "block this blog and everyone within three degrees of separation of them" button. or something along those lines -- hey, i'm just spitballing here. a mental model of bad actors on a website as not just individual bad actors, but badly-acting communities with internal dynamics.

in every community of recreational bullies i've ever closely observed on tumblr (terfs, truscum, aphobes, various flavors of shipping drama), the following dynamics are present:

members of the community socially reward other members for engaging in harassment, and encourage new members to engage in harassment

members of the community screenshot and pass around often-equally-rude responses from the people they're harassing, as "proof" that these people are Incredibly Harmful and therefore the harassment is Morally Good, even Important, and that the harassing community are actually embattled victims valiantly fighting the oppressor

usually an Opposition Community forms, with the mission of harassing the bully community and exactly the same group dynamics, and the "original" bullies + opposition bullies become a self-sustaining feedback loop of harassment, because each group is constantly giving the other one more material to pass around and rile themselves up with

each community forms an incredibly specific and characteristic dialect of shorthand language that updates frequently as the community they're harassing gets wise and starts blacklisting keywords (when i was most recently on a terf blocking spree, "febfem", "TiM", and "moid" were big ones). engaged community members rapidly become unable to interact with anyone who is not Very Online, isolating them so that the community is now their main social circle

eventually the community comes up with some chain of reasoning, no matter how strained, for calling the objects of their hatred pedophiles

occasionally someone in the community will actually Go Too Far and bring down the banhammer on themselves. they remake their blog within days or weeks (due to the profit incentives of running a social media website, users are sucked into becoming hopelessly addicted -- especially users who are in so deep that they can no longer figure out how talk to people who aren't up on the Incredibly Specific Group Vocabulary). they are promptly passed around as a martyr

you'll notice that the main forces that keep the feedback loop going are a feeling of victimization -- if you feel like you're a righteous, oppressed victim, then you can justify little a death threat as a treat against the evil outgroup who is oppressing you, right? -- a community that rewards its members socially both for harassing others and for being harassed, and isolationist tendencies that make it difficult for community members to get social reward anywhere other than within the community.

it seems that, if you want to be able to deal with a group like this, you need to have some strategy for countering those forces -- whereas conventional moderation efforts mostly feed into the victimization mindset. maybe you need to somehow wall off the harassing community and the responding opposition harassers from each other, so that as far as each group is concerned the other one doesn't exist. maybe you need better tools so users with the characteristics that the harassing community targets can block the entire harassing community all at once. i don't actually know! but i doubt we're going to get anywhere without at least a basic understanding of system dynamics!!

[paintbrushnebula]

Listed below are some Spiderverse hot takes/controversial opinions I have that'd id like to ramble about

I wish Gwen and Pavitr were overweight. Like midsized. I'm very happy we got a heavier *young* girl on the team with Margo at least, but I'd like there to be a heavy *young* guy. I noticed that Pav is certainly not as petite as Miles is, but that's more of a flex for how skinny Miles is, it's not really saying that Pavitr is chubby. And Gwen, idk I always just draw her as heavier. It just suits her better and again we need more mainstream skinny x fat/overweight ships. I've never drawn Pav yet but if I happen to I'm drawing him heavier too. 

I don't think Miles and Gwen were about to kiss before Rio interrupted them at the water tower. Everyone thinks this was what the scene was trying to implybutI don't think that's what would've happened at all. The camera was zooming in and the two of them were getting dangerously close to each other, they were definitely going to get more intimate, Miles was definitely looking at her lips and thinking of sssssomething, but they were not gonna KISS. They would've gotten real close and quiet, maybe held hands, then realize what they're doing and then break apart all awkward and embarrassed. And like, it's not just that i don't think the scene leading up to a kiss, I don't want that to have been the case. It's shallow, these two were SO not there yet. Gwen was not even fully in love with Miles yet. "But they're teenagers that's just normal teen friskyness, man 🤷‍♂️" Yeah I know, I've watched teen romcoms. We don't need to apply all the cliches to Ghostflower. 

Not a huge fan of whenever people write Miles and Miguel becoming like a sweet, surrogate son and father dynamic post-BTSV. If you want your found family tropes and you wanna give Miles a secondary daddy besides. his actual daddy, Peter B is right there 🤷‍♂️. Yeah I know ATSV wrecked their relationship but idk I personally headcanoned a whole mini arc for them to reconcile in my mind that I love, it's easy. Just play with the potential drama that's already sitting there. 

Ok so. This is more of a complaint against like, the original conception of the character, obviously there's nothing the movies could do about it. But. I don't like the name Miles very much. Idk i...do y'all ever love a fictional character and then like, pay close attention to their name, and go "hey uh, I actually don't think that name suits the character." Naming a character is like a whole process for me, I take character names very seriously. The name "Miles" just sounds too...unsentimental. Like they (Miles' original creators) wanted to name him something cool and hip. I just. Idk! I feel like he should've been named something else. Certainly nothing generic, but something more personal or meaningful, at least cute! I mean like at this point I'm used to the name and it's like, whatever, doesn't change anything for me. But still it's just a gripe I have. Idk does anybody feel this way. I'm genuinely curious. 

I am saying both this as a Hispanic and someone who likes Miguel O'Hara that I never found the ATSV script describing Miguel as animalistic or beast-like to be offensive. The guy was running on all fours and had talons and was trying to bite people. Because he's part vampire. They were literally just describing his actions as they appeared in the movie. He was literally behaving feral, he's not full human. He's a spider man. Now onto George. Now I hate when a white man's actions are sugar coated to appear less severe than when the same actions are committed by a person of color, I really hate it. But the script isn't gonna use "animalistic" vocabulary to describe George pointing a gun at his daughter. It's pig-headed, certainly. But like, George can't run up walls with claws or smash through metal, he's just an awful guy with a gun. It requires different vocabulary than "feral." this is all like, just sort of circumstantial. 

Bro imma be real. Ay. Aaaahhhhhhhghh, esto si lo odio. I'm sorry. I hate it when people write Miles and Gwen to be Mayday's godparents/uncle and aunt. I've seen people do this. I've read BTSV prediction fics that write in this moment where Peter B will...declare Miles and Gwen--PRESENT DAY Miles and Gwen, as in. 15-16 yr old Miles and Gwen--as Mayday's godparents. ????????? Peter, Miles and Gwen are young enough to be Mayday's siblings??? You think of Miles like your son (oh and you SUCK as a self-appointed dad btw sorry not sorry). Idk it's just silly to me. Like why do you as a middle aged man give legal guardianship over your daughter to two high schoolers if you die. I don't. What even are you, Peter. lol

The character "acting"--aka the way the characters' facial expressions and body language are animated--in ATSV is worse than it was in ITSV. I noticed this before, but it becomes so much more obvious when I watch the two movies back to back. It really stinks because I just KNOW this is a direct result of the crunch the crew went through. You cut corners when you crunch. Things get overlooked when there's no time. You don't have time to polish. It's the one obvious way that the poor working conditions during production actually shows. I mean, the character acting in the first movie was amazing.  That part when Miles is being choked by the Prowler. The part when he removed his mask, when Aaron turns off the thermal sensor vision in his cowl to actually look at his nephew and you see Miles just broken. His eyes already start welling up with tears and his lip quiver. Man and that's just one example. ATSV's character acting...it's good! Overall. It has its moments when the expressions are amazing, certainly, just as good as the first movie. But they're fewer. The Right to Remain Silent scene, the scene where Miles has the vision at the Spider Society, that little moment where Miles smirks at Gwen out the window, all two times Gwen smiles, all of Hobie's body language, that face Gwen makes when Rio warns her not to break Miles' heart, Gwen's speech to her dad when she returns to her universe, there's a lot of great ones. But then...there's like, a lot of frames where characters look weird. Have you seen how many times a character looks off??? Like if a character's face is just a little far away the model looks weird. Like look at this shot--look at Gwen.

In the actual scene, she says "Peter?", but why is she so...unanimated??? It's like, she's moving, yeah. Her mouth moved. She blinked. But it's so minimal. Her animation is not conveying enough emotion. Honestly, the weaker character acting is another one of the big reasons I really hope they're not crunching Beyond the Spiderverse. That movie should be ALL the feels, and I want characters to be emoting properly and fully, and for the animators to have the TIME to do that ETHICALLY. You see what happens when they ARENT provided with that LUXURY.

[spacelazarwolf]

Can i ask why people seem to only refer to black and brown people? I'm east Asian, and it can feel kind of bad not really being included in the language surrounding talk about racism. We're one of the groups that faces the most discrimination and hate crimes, especially with how covid started. Me and nearly every Asian person i know has faced racism over our lives and many of us have very pale skin. It feels very alienating to be, in a way, left out of the discussion. I understand that often we're included somewhat implicitly, but it doesn't look like it when the language doesn't represent it.

so before i get into it, i'm giving two caveats: 1. even though i'm jewish and my family and i have had a complicated history with being racialized as non white, i'm still racially white. so while i always try to take into account all the things that my family has experienced and that the people of color i know have taught me, that's still the individual perspective i'm speaking from. 2. i live in the us, so that's the culture and society i'm talking about. it may apply to different places in the west (or even outside the west idk) but it may not so like inb4 "#american centric" bc i am literally talking abt america.

re: your actual question of why people seem to only refer to black and brown people, i think it's mostly used to talk about issues that affect darker skinned people of color, but sometimes used as another variation of "people of color" that's meant to encompass all nonwhite people. i've definitely used it that way before without really thinking about it, but i can see how that could make groups who may not see themselves as being black or brown feel left out of a conversation that still absolutely pertains to them. i think we as a society are currently struggling with what vocabulary to use when we talk about racial issues. there's a bunch of different acronyms and phrases people use, and listing out all the different racial and ethnic groups we can think of always leaves someone out.

but i also think our struggles with vocabulary are caused in part by the way our view of race has become very black and white. especially when it comes to east asians, i think people fall way too easily for the model minority myth + think lighter skin = less oppression, so they think east asians don't need as much advocacy as other groups. but as you said, especially since covid, there's been a massive spike in anti asian racism, and that's something i don't think people are really taking seriously. there's this one scene in station 19 (cw for discussion of anti asian hate crimes) that i feel like addresses this so well. people are afraid to downplay the severity of anti black racism (which is understandable considering that anti black racism has been downplayed for hundreds of years), but they end up gaslighting other racial and ethnic minorities or even themselves about the other kinds of bigotry that exist. and as one of the characters states in the clip, "it's all bad."

and like, as a jewish person, i definitely feel a lot of solidarity with east asians because our struggles are dismissed in similar ways. for those of us who are light skinned, we're often told (in my experience, usually by non black people) that basically our skin is too light for people to care because "black people have it worse." people use any success our communities have had as a reason why what we experience Can't Possibly Be That Bad. but what they're missing is that it's all connected. the same people who are perpetuating anti blackness are likely perpetuating anti asian racism and antisemitism too. you can't get rid of anti black racism without dismantling white supremacy, and part of dismantling white supremacy is addressing anti asian racism and antisemitism. we can't just keep hacking away at one brick and expect the entire wall to come down. we have to bulldoze it all.

[snugglesquiggle]

hi again! I have another question😭 do you have any tips on writing pre-existing characters? (while still adding more to the table of course.) How do you keep it in character? like how you write J or Uzi for example.

unfortunately, this is an area where my expertise is more intuitive than theoretical.

before i'd ever written a word of Hostile Takeover, i had watched murder drones a few times and read many fanfics (in addition to being moderately versed in character writing already), so i already had a decent knack for holding a character's idea-shape in my head and rotating it into new configurations.

but let me try my best.

there are two different things you need to grapple with when writing an established character. it's simple enough: you need to understand them both internally and externally. but let me explain

external understanding is easiest to recognize and for me, easiest to pull off. it's the character voice, style, and vibe. for J, it's the buzzwords and condescension, for Uzi it's the sardonic teenage lilt and the insecure grandiosity.

for this, i recommend getting the episode transcripts and reading them. copy/paste all of the lines for the character you're studying into a personal notes document, and pay attention to how their lines are constructed. what words do they use most often? how do they structure their sentences?

there are some broad spectra you can clock dialogue on right away. what sort of vocabulary do they use? is it simple or complex, formal or slang, gamer or sailor? do they speak concisely, or at rambling length? confidently or insecurely, politely or rudely, passionately or callously, convincingly or deceptively, literally or flowerily?

these are generic buckets, but even if you treat them as dichotomies, ten yes/no binaries is already enough to write a thousand subtly different characters. and i already know you can think of specific vibes i didn't list out here, because there's so many to choose from

sometimes, when i'm writing J, i feel my command of her voice slipping, and i just write her as an archetypal Articulate Dominant Lady. but to a first approximation, that is J. she's confident and she comports herself with sophistication. not every panel of a comic will or can have a character fully rendered, and not every frame of animation has them completely on-model

another thing to note here is that just how a character sounds depends on who they're talking to; J won't address Tessa the same way she addresses N, nor V the same way she addresses Uzi. so the possibilities i listed off aren't even true spectra, because a character falls differently on them in different scenes, in different moods

it's something you should consider practicing, the way musicians practice scales or artists do gesture drawing. can you write someone who sounds angry? how do you write an expert vs someone ignorant? how do you write someone talking to someone they deeply respect?

if you can get a handle on the general principles of portraying characters, it's a skill that'll generalize pretty broadly.

but don't just practice this. you'll struggle with certain emotions, certain mindsets — everyone does. what you want to do is be on the look out when you're reading and watching stuff — try to catch a writer pulling off what you struggle with, and think about how they did it

if there's a fic that captures the characters about as well as canon, don't be afraid to make a note of it, quote it somewhere where you can study it (but be sure to keep it labeled and sourced; don't plagiarize. it's for reference, not tracing). you have my permission to dissect my fics if you think it'll help you

but enough about general character writing advice. how do you practice writing specific characters? here's an exercise. take some lines of dialogue from somewhere, the more the better, and think. how could you rewrite it so that it sounds as if the character you're studying said it? what words would you have to swap around, what sounds all wrong and needs a rephrase — would they even say it all, and if not why?

all the better if you do this with multiple characters at once: then you can see side by side how their voices differ and how to distinguish them. (as well as what they have in common — sometimes it's surprising)

but speaking of distinguishing them, a great exercise is to try writing a scene that's just dialogue. not even with he said, she said tags, just the quotes. how can you make it clear who's speaking from their cadence alone? (hard mode: do this with more than two characters)

i've been pretty laser focused on dialogue so far (i suppose it might be why my dialogue is what everyone compliments), but it's far from the only thing that constitutes an external understanding of a character

body language and small scale action are key components of a character. J glares and puts her hands on her hips, Uzi balls her fists at her side, N salutes. in a sense, "body language" generalizes to the style of how they approach actions. V famously takes every excuse to crawl on the ceiling; is it really Uzi if she isn't going for style points in combat?

this depends on the medium, somewhat; the techniques for portraying character in prose are different from those of a visual medium.

people (myself included) always say the mark of good dialogue is that you can tell who's speaking without needed it attributed. rarer, in my experience, for someone to assert that you should be able to tell who's acting without a name or face. but shouldn't you?

and more importantly, what does it take to make actions characteristic? understand this, and you understand how to present characters

still, an external understanding of character is only enough to carry you through a scene or two at best. you can't effectively tell a good story if this is all you have. what we've developed so far is less a character than an aesthetic tendency.

what an external understanding gets you is a way to ornament and present words and acts so that they evoke a certain character. what it doesnt get you is the worldview and motivation that generates those words and acts

to truly write a character, you need to know what they value — no, you need to know what they're afraid of.

every character is a story. now, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. (or as i spelled it out in my last answer to an ask of yours, presentation, transition, and conclusion). so, my assertion there is a little bit misframed, because characters aren't really like this.

rather, every character is an incomplete story. beginning, middle, and to be continued. they have a backstory, their current entanglement in the plot, and the future directions they could go.

in my previous answer to you, i suggested stories should start in a state of falsehood. an example was that story of Uzi killing N, where she's thrilled at first, only to later realize she's feels kind of guilty. and i think this lens is the perfect one for understanding character arcs, and characters in general

the inciting incident to a character's life story is a problem that demands some resolution or cope to deal with, and a character is defined by how they deal with that problem. even (especially) after they're no longer dealing with the problem, those coping mechanisms remain

let me be more concrete. take Uzi for example. why is she Like That? her mom was killed by murder drones, and her dad neglects her. so she acts out in class for attention, so she comes up with a brazen scheme to win her dad's respect, so she's brash and insecure. because she's isolated, she'll never get anyone's recognition unless she fights for it

or consider Khan. he watched everything his people built be torn down, and the only way for things he cares about to survive are if he builds something protects them. why wouldn't he be obsessed with doors?

Doll's another clear case. she watched her parents be killed, so she must grasp for purpose and power by plotting revenge. but i think the important part of the trauma here isn't the injustice of it, or even the loss, but specifically the loss of control. V violently reshaped her life, nearly had the cheerleader at her mercy — and thus, the revenge plot reasserts her control.

this distinction matters, because i think when she's killing the prom court, she isn't thinking it's an unfortunate means to an end, she's relishing that for that moment, she's the one in control, and killing V represents finally returning to the way things were and are supposed to be. not morally, but a order with Doll securely, comfortably, at the top.

you can trace an interesting throughline, and imagine that before V happened, Doll enjoyed a position at the top of the pecking order, unchallengeable with Uzi and the other losers beneath her.

throughlines are why i find this reading so compelling: because how else do we explain what happens after prom, where Doll quietly ditches the priority of taking revenge on V in favor of the solver plotline?

one analysis is to parse it as, structurally, distinct. the story of Doll the Avenger has reached its conclusion; and since every character contains multitudes, you can tell a different story with the same body. Doll the Afflicted, thus, would be one with its own separate beginning, middle, and tragic end.

but isn't it more compelling to notice that one concern echoes in both stories? they're both about control. before Doll fully understood her plight, she viewed V as the thing that had torn her life out of her own control — but after taking a bullet to head, after searching for a purpose in the wastes of Copper-9, after meeting "Tessa", she comes to understand (almost) the truth: the Solver is what's threatening to take total control, and thus is her true enemy and goal. her demanding a patch to exorcise the possession is then simply a maturation of the same thing she was attempting when she subjected V to rebar-cruxifiction.

the key to this model of understanding characters is knowing that every character has a theory, a logic that defines how they view the world.

a character believes. i have a problem, that problem is this, and i have to do something, if I do that, then everything will be fine.

remember what i said about falsehoods? you can tell a lot of great stories by having the character be wrong somewhere in that core logic. maybe they're wrong about what their problem really is, wrong that their approach to solving it is the best or only solution, wrong that their approach would even work.

there's more to be said about how this theory of character informs how you should write character arcs, but i realize this is getting a bit abstract and removed from the problem of how to characterize them.

but take that model of doll, for instance. if we're right that her overriding theory of life is that being in control is the most important thing, how does that inform how she talks to other characters? one obvious consequence is she probably wouldn't care about them except insofar as she could use them.

no matter how good your formulation of a character in these terms is, you can't reduce everything to it. Doll is a cheerleader, she likes fighting with kitchen knives, she's russian. you can tie a lot of character details back to their fundamental traumas and beliefs, but there's a line to walk between insightful and boiling everything down to low effort archetype-matching

still, knowing what logic a character believes in deepest of all is huge. another way to put this is — you know how they say every character thinks they're the protagonist of their own story? a corollary of that is believing you have a life story means believing you're in a certain kind of story. it's driving a certain conclusion by certain tropes.

if you want to know what a character would do in a certain situation, look at it through their story-lens, and ask what the obvious next chapter would be. if Doll thinks she's in a story of regaining control, she tried to do whatever would give her a sense of security and superiority.

this, i think, finally brings us to the real thing i want to offer. studying a character's speech tics and mannerism can help you on the line by line level, and figuring out a character's inner philosophy can illuminate their arc and core motivation. but despite being important, i don't think either is the most important thing, structurally.

what lies between the two extremes? what marries the gap of abstraction? how do you decide the broad strokes of what a character does in a scene, in a chapter, in an arc?

the best way to think about characters, i think, is in terms of verbs

you can't understand uzi purely through the lens of seeking recognition, but you can broadly group the things she does and the ways she acts into behavior patterns.

uzi rebels against authority. uzi hacks together and into technology. uzi blushes and stammers when boys are nice to her. she broods angstily and quips sarcastically and she theorizes conspiratorially. she gets scared and needs someone on her side. she gets manic and ready to kick everyone's ass.

that's not everything, but that's a pretty expansive palette to work with, isn't it?

every one of these tendencies is contextual. to rebel, uzi needs to be confronted with authority. she can't be scared if there's nothing to be scared of. key to writing a character, then, is to look at what's going through their mind, and figure out which of their preset scripts they'll try to fall back on.

this is a place where limitations breed creativity — so it can be better if your list of verbs isn't all-encompassing, at least if you know how to get creative in how you interpret them. for instance, imagine if Uzi encountered a person that she thinks is best talked to like a hacker trying to crack a system (imagine her talking to J like this :3)

but i've been yapping for a while, and if i don't wrap this up soon my evening walk is about to become a night walk.

in summary, to understand a character:

study their dialogue and actions and try to imitate it. practice different moods, different scenarios, and keep an eye out when you're enjoying other stories for stuff you can mine and repurpose for portraying characters

once you've taken a good look at their external components, try to group them into a broad but specific verbs. think about what situations prompt what behaviors, and see if you can't collapse different behaviors into expressions of the same impulse

once you have a effective summary of a character, think deeply about what trauma or dramatic incident prompted this behavior. what must they believe about the world for their behavior to not only make sense, but seem like the only sensible way forward?

if you manage to pull all that off... well, i can't tell you if you really understand how to write that character — but you'll be doing as well as i am, at any rate

P.S.: you'll note i didn't really talk about J in this essay. consider it an exercise for the reader. if what i said made sense, if the concepts are understood, you should be able to break her down, too.

in a way, doing this for her is both easier and harder than all the others. be careful out there — my friend tried to understand J and wound up with over twenty thousand words of character study. this J shit is serious. but it was also some of the best fiction i've read, so maybe it's worth it :3

[myragewillendworlds]

"Non-binary girl" history anon. Thanks for explaining and for the links to look through! I've been watching the rise of this on Tumblr & LJ for along time, but it was always at a distance, and of course I thought the fad would die immediately so I never thought it was worth digging into back then. I do remember at least a few users using the word "non-binary" to describe their fashion sense on Tumblr before trans* (remember the asterisk?) activism got big here, but maybe they themselves were appropriating that vocabulary from the LJ & DA crowd? It's so hard to untangle this stuff and really makes me wish I had thought to document it at the time, now that I'm trying to explain to people 15 years later that their "gender" started as a fad on LJ and isn't part of some 1000s year old queer history.

I'm not entirely sure when I saw "non-binary" as a term for the first time. I do remember the birth of words like "agender", "bigender" and such, which came before. In general, it started with girls going "I don't think I'm really transgender… but I don't feel like a girl because I like wearing boxers and hate dresses" and them concluding that makes them neither, or both at the same time, or both but they switch depending on whether they feel like putting on make-up or not. Shoving it all under the term "non-binary" came a little later.

This won't particularly make you feel better, but it doesn't matter. It would have made no difference at all if you had painstakingly documented every single thing, screencapped every relevant quote, created a whole timeline on it. The person accidentally "responsible" for spreading the word "demisexual" outside of its niche forum of origin had documented & screencapped every bit of proof that the word was just made up by a 15-year old girl for her monsterfucker RP fanfic. None of the "demisexual" adults who've seen this care that they're using a teenager's childish made-up fantasy word as a serious sexual identity and continue to use it all the same.

But you don't need a history on the origin of these words. You have 15 years of documented non-stop aggressive, transphobic bullying, suicide-baiting and death threats sent by the "non-binary" community to actually transsexual people. You have evidence by the WPATH that the "non-binary" crowd doesn't experience gender dysphoria, the symptom that's clinically required to be present for a diagnosis of transsexualism. You have a community of people that truly believes gender dysphoria doesn't actually exist, transsexualism isn't biological in nature, and gender is something purely cosmetic, malleable and changeable by choice – the exact same arguments made by the equally transphobic and sexist conservative crowd. These are your arguments.

"Non-binary" is an inherently sexist and transphobic concept, one that has been continuously used this past decade to bash, threaten and intentionally trigger actually transsexual people. All that is still as true in the present as it ever was.

[chunkymamatam]

Hii Reena here ^^

Thanks again for the reply! I would certainly love to know how to behave in a more masculine way, I think that would certainly help me in my mission! In the case that I do get found out though, I want to know, on your more feminine days, do some people get creepy or weird? I think that's my biggest fear when going to an all boys school :')

Besides that, I came up with more questions! Wanted to ask how the Octavinelle and Scarabia Arc went since you said you already completed them

I assume that most of it was the same, but wanted to know how exactly it went and how the differences were.

My personal favourite Character is Azul, but Jade, Jamil and Kalim are close seconds, so I wanted to know how those Arcs went since they are my favourites :)

Obviously more happened than what was shown in the game, so I would appreciate it if you could tell us a little something about what went on behind the scenes!

Also, a few more specific questions (assuming that the story was similar to the ingame one...): When Ace, Deuce and Grim made a deal with Azul and Jade and Floyd came up to the group, did the interaction go similar to the ingame one? Does Floyd also call you Shrimpy?

Did you immediately agree to help the boys? I mean...it was their own fault lol...

How is Jack? My favourite Savanaclaw student <3

How was working at the lounge like?

Oh and something I've always wondered is how the water-breathing potion tastes like. Is it really that gross? I feel like Azul made it taste bad out of spite.

That brings me to the next point, how is breathing under water like? And what do Jade's and Floyd's real forms look like?

Did Leona also help with the plan? Was it hard to convince him?

What did Azul look like as a kid? I can imagine him being adorable! Also, did he cry? I found it super adorable in the game, but I assume in person it would be much more of a hassle lol.

I saw a few comics about your experiences with Scarabia and I loved them.

How is Jamil? I feel like he would be much more antisocial than ingame...he gives me those vibes.

Special shoutout to Kalim, the ray of sunshine we all love.

Did you escape Scarabia like in the game? What is it like to fly on a carpet lol? And also, did you crash into Octavinelle? I feel like there was some compensation behind the scenes...did he make you work for him?

Okay okay I've noticed that there are a lot of questions so I'll stop here for now. Additionally, if it's too much feel free to skip some or split it up over more posts if that help :)

Thanks in advance! Have a nice day <3

-Reena

Hi again! Sorry it took a little longer than normal. It’s a lot to type and the heat exhaustion hit me like

These tips are gonna be general things that I've observed and heard from trans men, vocal coaches and body language specialists respectively. I'm not an expert and its probably gonna take a bit of practice.

also everything I say as to explain why to do these things isn't to bash men, its all neutral. Men and Women were just raised with different expections and social norms whether people want to admit that or not lol The social context behind the behavior is also important imo

don't be afraid to take up space. Man spreading, wide stances, etc. They were raised and taught the social norm and expectation that they're allowed to take up space with no shame so this is how you're gonna have to naviigate the world too if you wanna pull it off.

Bigger and less words. Men tend to talk less and explain things in bigger words while women tend to explain things in more words (even if we have the vocabulary to shorten it). This is due to the fact they're raised with a "I'm gonna talk how I feel and if you don't understand the language I'm using well then too bad ig" type mentality

They walk like they have something between their legs (cuz they do most of the time lmfao)

Confidence is key honestly. and if they question it gaslight tf out of them

Honestly its mostly just practice. There's more to it vocally but I haven't managed to do that yet so idk how to explain it too well. Its more than deepening your voice tho cuz men do have higher voices sometimes. They speak wider idk how else to explain. It has to do with the way they hold their jaw and move their tongues (Yes they can both affect the way you speak majorly)

Now as for my experience with Octavinelle and Scarabia... Do I hold everything that happened against them? No not at all. Am I still going to heavily fucking bitch about that shit? Absolutely. Lets start with Octavinelle

In my DR is an actual college EVERYONE is 18 and up

Octavinelle

First of we had our first set of finals and the tweels were campaigning Azul's contracts which I expected. What I hadn't expected was for them to start low key stalking me. They approached me one time because I had a bad grade on the pop quiz we had in class that day. Man they’re toweringly tall. They’re not that scary tho. Like intimidating and suspicious sure but like that’s cuz they’re being plotting bastard men lmfao they were like

“I see you’re struggling a bit~”

“We can help you with that~”

“All you need to do is come to our lounge and speak with Azul, he has something that can help”

And I was like “uhm.. no I’m good. I don’t need help and besides. I’ve heard about those deals and I want no part in it.”

And then for the next week up until finals they would watch me. Bro it was so scary just seeing a flash of blue and teeth. I turn around and they’re going around the corner. It definitely wasn’t a coincidence either cuz this wouldn’t just be when I’m going to class. Grim would point them out and start sweating. It was wild 😭

When the time finally comes and the hoard of mfs with anemones start crowding into octavinelle I wanted to mind my business. I checked out what was going on with Jack and then go home and not think about it for a week. Those 3 must do their time. I literally only felt bad for Deuce. I couldn't have it my way tho because of course I couldn't. Crowely comes in and is like,

"Fix this for me. I assume you like the amenities I'm providing.. Housing.. Food.."

So I didn't really have a choice unfortunately. I slept on it and that morning at breakfast the tweels came over and started asking how I was feeling cuz I "Looked extra stressed" and "extra done" with "the anemones." Nah cuz this information is relatively inconsequential cuz Azul was gonna find out anyway so I was like.

"Yeah I have a bitch of a commission from the headmage. So I'll be paying you a visit later at the lounge."

Bruh Floyd was kinda excited in his sly type of way "A visit from shrimpy? That'll be fun"

That was the end of that and I made my way to The Mostro Lounge after classes, ask about talking to Azul and start working a shift while we wait. It was really funny cuz when I'm serving I switch to a customer service voice that sounds significantly different than my normal voice. It almost sounds like Barbie. The way the Tweels, Jack, Ace, Deuce and Grim stopped and stared for a solid 10 seconds cracks me up every time I think about it lol

Eventually I get to go talk to Azul and I sit down in front of his desk. I was like.

"This isn't my usual thing, should I just cut to the chase and say this bluntly or..?"

"My aren't you just straight to business. I like it."

"I guess. This isn't my scene and I'm not exactly here because I want to so I'd just like to get this over with"

"Go on then."

"Sorry. So I'm here because of the whole.. Anemone situation. Is there anyway I could get you to release them from there contracts?"

"Maybe a few.. But all. That's quite the tall order."

"and if it were up to me I would only ask that Ace, Deuce and Grim be released but unfortunately that's not an option at the moment."

"You seem like a relatively reasonable person so I'll cut you a deal" and he explains how the contract works. I get the picture and he lets everyone go.

He asks me if we have a deal and as I open my mouth those 3 fuck heads bust through the door, Jade and Floyd following behind. They start begging and pleading for me to just "sign the contract" and save them. That shit pissed me off because how dare you. I really laid into them I'm ngl. I told them

"You got your damn selves into this situation and if I had half a mind I'd leave you to your contracts. I don’t want to be here and if it were up to me I would leave you here to suffer the consequences of your own actions. So how about instead of begging me to get you out of the hole YOU dug, you take your asses back on the floor and do your damn job that you stupidly signed up for."

Which must’ve been really funny to watch considering Azul, Jade and Floyd were chuckling. After the three were dragged out by the anemones on their heads Azul just starts roasting the fuck out of me with the most matter of fact tone it was genuinely hilarious. He clearly knew nothing about me but like I wasn’t gonna say nothing. He really looked at me and said that a bargaining chip was gonna be tricky because and I quote I’m an “Average student with no exceptional talents” 💀💀💀 did I correct him? No but like damn I think my art is good and according to everyone else I can sing so stfu bitch 😭 Anyway I signed away Ramshackle as collateral because like.. Crowley threatens to take it all the time tf do I care lmfao

I end up sleeping in Savanaclaw for those few nights but whatever. Azul gave me the potion to let me breathe underwater, Thank you oh merciful see witch ig, we try to go to the museum. Now. I’m an epileptic, oxygen deprivation in any capacity is a trigger. I’m not a very fast swimmer and the Tweels are fucking fish. Floyd caught me and the squeeze is basically a choke hold combined with chest compression to stop you from breathing 😭 I had a seizure cuz of it and when I came to him and Jade were mortified, Jack was yelling at them, Deuce and Grim were sobbing, Ace was yelling about how he thought I was joking about having my medical conditions LMFAO

Yeah they generally stopped trying to catch me after that 💀 We ended up using the plan they used in the game and I specifically told Leona “hey, remember how Lilia pushed you into an overblot? If he starts freaking tf out and having a mental breakdown DONT I repeat do NOT start bullying tf out of him.” He didn’t fucking listen to me. Then wanted to look at me like he didn’t know that was gonna happen. Like bitch I warned you tf you looking at me for. In short he tried to snatch my whole life bro 😭 Dealing with over blots is fucking crazy bro cuz they’ll Fr try to kill you and start insulting tf out of you. It was so unserious with Azul tho I’m not even gonna lie to you man.

He said “you have no money and you live in a shit hole. Do you know how much money and energy its gonna take to fix that???? And you live there!!”

I said “take that up with Crowley man!” LMFAO

Afterwards he cried and then when he pulled himself together and we went to the museum I had a little heart to heart with him. I let him know that he was worth more than his appearance and more than his money and he should be proud of his accomplishments and his smarts. He said there’s no need to butter him up but like I don’t do that shit I was just being honest with my feelings.

That’s all I really have the energy for. Again I’m sorry it took so long 😭