#sometimes i like to pretend I'm funny

[lifewillalwaysbe-lavieenrose]

Have you heard that Hozier song ??

[spotaus]

Thinking about Orchid and her connection to my take on Gender (because this was meant to be about her and the Crew but it just devolved into a character analysis kinda??? More trauma-dumping maybe???) This is very much an oc/personal rant so feel free to ignore it 🫡

So, Orchid started off as a character I didn't really think much of (hear me out this is going to be relevant) because I wanted to add a 'girl' character but didn't know what to *do* with her, y'know? She was always going to be the strongest one there, she had the odds stacked in her favor with her parents. She was always going to be the gloomy side-character to match Reset's energy. But I think she's gone through every stage of Generic Woman I could possibly find.

At first she was angry and abrasive (think Fell!Sans) where every other word was a curse and she was likely to throw the first punch then laugh as she kicks her enemy while they're down. This was when Reset was a cartoonishly self-centered villain whose goal was simply to prove others wrong. Then Orchid became a sort of sisterly figure. This was short-lived, but she was the one comforting people who Reset would torment, but would ultimately follow his orders, because at this point he was actually a danger and sadistic. And then there was the phase where the story mellowed out and she became the token Goth Girl who, yes she was strong, but was heavy on the 'whatever' energy. Then there was her Era of deep self-loathing and anxiety about her worth that held her back and made her a much more timid and meek character who would only lash out on occasion.

Now, Orchid is the best of those iterations I've written yet. She's calm, level-headed, and a natural leader. Her father raised those traits into her. But she's very reactive, and can be silly, and when she's comfortable it's likely that air of importance transforms into something more comfortable and familiar. She laughs loudly and grins wide, she likes loud video-games but loves to read in the quiet. She's extremely disciplined, and normally no one can get through her tough exterior besides her best friend, Reset. She does what she does for her own enjoyment, sure, but she's thought of every angle and makes her choice to help Reset and control the others with her whole chest. She still worries she won't live up to her invisible expectations, and that and her loyalty are her two driving forces.

I know that Orchid is important to me because she's the longest-running female oc I've had. I have a rough relationship with womanhood/girlhood and I know looking back that Orchid recieved every ounce of my distaste for being a woman that I could shovel into her. That never made her less of a character, she was actually always one of my favorites, and rarely was she a 'punching bag oc'. I just... projected onto her a lot. And she's a good sign of how I've learned who I am. I've decided that my own femininity is something I could live without. I'd rather not associate myself with it, and I'd like to leave it in my past, focusing on a future where I'm not tied down with any gender roles or expectations. That won't happen, but I've come to terms with it myself. Orchid though? I figured out through her that I don't have to hate women characters. My own distaste for my circumstances doesn't mean I have to push it onto my characters (on God I've never expressed anything rude to actual people, that'd be rude as hell and uncalled for, but I have a bad habit of disliking fictional women in media). So, Orchid is a well-roubded character finally. She has motivations abd goals and a *lot* more depth than I ever expected her to. She's happy with being a woman, she's content. She's not treated differently for it in unfair ways by those she cares about, so she doesn't mind it. She likes to wear pretty outfits and lets Reset add bows to her ribbons. She doesn't let being a woman hold her back in the slightest.

So, yeah. Orchid is one of my babies. If I ever leave this Fandom behind for good, she's one that's coming with (Ichor, Orchid, and Pretender all have human designs I can use elsewhere lol-) but in the meantime I'll just rotate her around in my brain for a while longer.

If I'm right, she's been with me for nearly 5-6 years and I went through a *lot* with her as an outlet. So, she's kinda just like an old stuffed animal. A lil ripped, matted fur, maybe a stain or two, but there's a story there and that makes it important beyond belief.

[radiantaerynsvn]

this came to me in a vision

[crowned-clown-rising]

Trying to make Erika and Lance hate each other but then I have them talk for 5 minutes and they start saying nice things to each other in front of my salad.

Shut up and bicker? You are supposed to barely tolerate each other guys?

[melancholic-pigeon]

Okay this is the *actual* last comment, for real, but I just found out Spider is now smearing me as a convert and accusing me of being involved with drama I was not involved with because he mistakenly attributed my apologies for his public temper tantrum as being about something unrelated.

THIS IS A FALSE ACCUSATION and I do not appreciate having yet another bit of fake malicious intent falsely ascribed to my actions and* attributing a completely unrelated attack to me.

Also, it's very sad and disappointing whenever a Jew gets mad at a convert because something else is going on in the Jew's life and the convert happens to be in the splash zone and the Jew falls over backwards to smear the convert and invalidate her faith.

Just....the childish aggression is making me so, so sad and disappointed, from someone I used to think very highly of, who is now lying about me and publicly smearing me with false accusations based on a conflict he started because he misinterpreted something I said and I went out of my way to give him the benefit of the doubt when trying to clear up the mistake HE MADE that led him to decide bullying and attacking me for three fucking days was appropriate and okay and that I'm the bad guy for saying it's wildly unprofessional to behave like this in public to a former customer face.

Sorry, but facts, reality, linear time and the truth of what I actually said and did are on my side here, and I will not stand for being smeared and attacked and shat all over because I had the gall to try to kindly resolve his uncalled for, unjustified temper tantrum.

I am also not sorry that I left a side note in the tags that it was also unacceptable for HIM to drag his daughter into a stupid internet slapfight based on his own reading comprehension failure. Because it was and is unacceptable, and she needs to hear that message from someone.

End of story. Keep digging that hole as long as you like, Spider. It's not helping your case and is continuing to make you look progressively worse and more unreasonable, and the only person you have to blame is yourself.

*revised for clarity

[romaritimeharbor]

the ONLY reason i have never given diona an older sibling!reader is because i think all the posts would come out traumadumpy. Erm. yeah. do with that information what you will 😇🙏

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

i will never get over my pet peeve of how it's not "to disassociate" but "to dissociate" because why would put the "away from" suffix AND the "this goes together" suffix in front of the root??? it makes no sense why do people not immediately start yelling at clouds whenever this happens help

and yes i know it's in dictionaries and some people say it has a different definition but listen. it just makes no sense and i don't like it

[nebulathunderwave]

That's it, I'm taking L/X/C away from the ultra w/n/g/x/n only crowd. They don't even like him for his personality beyond the fact that he once tried to help his little brother get together with the man he loves, so that won't even be a loss for them. They won't notice he's gone. They won't find him. I'll keep him safe.

[mobgeo]

I feel so clueless on how jokes work. I know what makes people laugh, and I can repeat what makes them laugh so I can be funny, but I still don't understand the joke itself. I know how to make people laugh but I don't understand WHY it elicits laughter

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

why does William continue insisting that Eliza should just settle down and forget the detective business and STOP undermining him and going against his order and DEFINITELY STOP jumping in the middle of his cases (particularly ones where she's used some unscrupulous means to get in the middle of them), when almost every time she does something incredibly cool (sometimes actually saving his life at the same time), and the camera immediately flashes to his face wherein can be seen a mixture of general annoyance + a very distinct oh snap that's really hot

[fazedlight]

mel i loved your post about your full timeline of s5 from a character’s perspective and i eagerly await the fic!!! i’ve never actually posted fic or anything but sometimes i kind of quietly write things i don’t think i’d ever post and honestly i both hate the amount of background you need when all you had was a scene in mind but i have to admit i also love it. it’s like this logic puzzle where you’re trying to slot everything in so it makes sense and adheres to a timeline and the headcanon speculation of it is so fun (insert crazy murderboard jpg here) and i would love to hear any of that sort of background stuff that never made it into your fics but that was painstakingly pieced together if you would care to share! i loved when you shared your gender headcanons.

AHHHHH I genuinely freak out when people put things in my inbox, thank you 💗💗 I'm going to answer this in almost-reverse order! Starting with some stuff that never made it into the fics (I forget a lot of them over time, but these are some off the top of my head):

My Crisis rewrite had some headcanons around how people processed time at the Vanishing Point. More "super" people like Sara and Kara processed time more slowly, whereas humans like Lena and Ryan processed time more quickly. This kind of shows up in the writing with how Kara angsts in the background, and how Sara doesn't really sleep, but ultimately I didn't use it.

In It's a Metallo Life, the team briefly heads to MIT - I have a lot of headcanons around Lena's time at MIT (I went there myself), including certain unauthorized activities she may have participated in. Ultimately, I didn't find a good excuse to include much of that in the fic, but let's just say as a student she spent a lot of time in strange places and setting things on fire.

For Even Though You're Kryptonian, I actually have a separate science summary post that you might enjoy. I really thought a lot about the science there, but it didn't make it into the fic itself.

I love the logic puzzle aspect!! Putting together the outline of the story is the part of writing that really feels like storycrafting to me. When I finally have that working outline, it gives me the same high as engineering a working piece of code.

Last year, I went into posting my very first chapter thinking "What am I even doing? I'm not a writer" - but it ended up unlocking this part of me that I had hidden away, becoming a really worthwhile experience. So I hear you on being shy to post, and I know it's a vulnerable feeling, so no pressure. But if you're feeling that inkling to give it a try, I'd encourage you to ❤️

As for the fic I was posting about... funny thing, it's not supercorp (except as background characters), and it doesn't really need the timeline at all (I just needed to know how much I was going to break canon). Maybe you'll enjoy it anyway, or maybe not.

If not, I have 3 other supercorp fics (after my current WIP) that I plan to release into the world too. So more stories will be coming regardless 💕

Thank you so much for the ask, I hope you have a marvelous day!

[heartbeetz]

I'm not the kind of person who likes having fankids for my ships. So the thing about Amy (Anton's kid) is that she's not even really a fankid. She's just my version of his canon kid who 1) we haven't actually seen (only heard about) and 2) I made non-canon in my selfship outside of an au. Like I would NOT have designed her if "Anton's a single dad and his daughter is a little pink hedgehog girl named Amy (but definitely not That one. wink)" was not a running thing. Sorry Anton for un-canoning ur already ambiguously canon daughter

[the-insanity-of-mojiru]

20 years too late but I’m finally watching Hunter x Hunter. Just got through the exam arc and really hoping to see the opening actually happen.

[phony-phony]

fantastic meal

[memento-mariii]

"Gay people don't care for sports" factoid is false. Gay people care for two (2) kinds of sports, Blaseball and Jelle's Marble Runs, which, to be fair, are outliers, but still, it should have counted.