#there that's the tldr in tag rant form which is also very me

[novadreii]

Being a bitch is your kink, but you have a big heart?? Hm.

To loosely parrot a post I saw on here recently: why do you think the author has chosen to contrast these two concepts in one tumblr bio?

[sanini-panini]

last night i mentioned i was doing this oc ask game and some friends off tumblr threw questions at me but i thought i’d cross post here for funsies (part 4). this one is... also long because it involves all nineteen characters.

🙊 SPEAK-NO-EVIL - what is something your oc will refuse to stay quiet about?

ENNEAD

jinal - injustice. if she sees something wrong, she's going to step in and fix it. after what happened with skye, she's done being a passive observer.

haku - ask them why they haven't used their powers of infinite regeneration to fix their vision yet and you will earn yourself a free lecture on the necessity of imperfection.

minerva - i talked about this here already! the tldr is that she will always advocate for her loved ones and their well-being.

ven - they are very vocal about their hyperfixations, which tend to be related to music, TV, or movies. it's the ADHD.

kai - if he sees someone making what he considers a mistake, he will intervene. often this intervention takes the form of gentle advice or a cryptic discussion that prompts self-reflection, but sometimes he is more direct.

mateen - he's not the Advice Friend like kai is, but given his past, he is unable to stay quiet when he sees someone acting recklessly and doing something they'll regret later. it just reminds him too much of himself.

ridwan - injustice. they refuse to stay silent in the face of the same kind of fear-based persecution that almost got them publicly executed. they are a staunch activist for civil rights and if you mention the word capitalism while they are in the room you will hear about unionization.

silpa - ask them about any of the unsolved problems in mathematics and you will earn yourself a free lecture, most of which will probably go right over your head.

felix - kpop. i said what i said.

NEW GUARD

ilia - this is difficult because ilia is a fairly quiet person actually... but i think she could talk for hours about historical fiction and period dramas

morgan - if you accuse her of being wrong (even on the smallest thing), she will give you a ten page reply with footnotes. this is how peter and juli got her to deliver a passionate diatribe about the color chartreuse.

peter - i was stuck on this one until i remembered his reaction to morgan throwing away dirty dishes and like. yeah. that's it. if peter sees someone being wasteful, he will not stay quiet.

juli - kpop. felix is about to get an hour-long powerpoint presentation on all the kpop moments he missed during his fifty years in prison.

lian - high school musical. next question.

joshua - if he feels like he or his loved ones are being wronged, you will hear about it, and he will tell you exactly what he thinks of you.

rae - injustice. this applies to the big obvious things (the classist structure of modern society under corporate capitalism and the inherent corruption of the justice system under the Soul Stealers), and it also plays into his philosophy on parking tickets, a la henry david thoreau.

karyme - so her public passion is media preservation, and she's a big name in the archival scene online. that said. if you know her well enough you will unlock the rant on all the ways the internet is absolute shit when it comes to media analysis. this includes a visceral denouncement of modern retellings, a lament on how found family has morphed into a mirror of nuclear family structures, and a list of all of the tags you should probably blacklist if you want to avoid absolutely braindead takes.

auster - this is difficult because auster is like. the master of Not Speaking. but i think one thing that gets him to speak up without fail is self-deprecation from people he cares about. he knows they're wrong, and he'll tell them why in the most earnestly beautiful speech you've ever heard, and then he'll turn bright red as he realizes exactly what he just said.

and as a bonus...

joel - his math homework. it's torture, don't you see? absolutely horrid. none of it makes sense. why do people do this for fun.

[caelumsnuff]

Alright, well. It seems i will not be getting any further context on this ask so I'll be responding to it as is. I don't usually get confrontational on this blog, or articulate my positions in such a way, but i did this time.

TLDR; These terms are rarely, if ever, used to describe people not liking certain taboo subjects. They're used when people try to bully others into not making, posting, or enjoying fiction with taboo themes by moralizing fiction and insinuating your taste in fiction says something about your morals. And you know this, and you understand that it's disingenous to frame what is happening in this way, but you decided to do it anyways.

Rant below the cut.

We live in a society in which puritanical values and purity culture have a heavy presence. In recent years, like maybe the past 10 years or so I'd say, fandom spaces have become more and more popular in every day life to the point that its now just a part of pop culture instead of this niche interest/hobby. Even if they weren't as popular, we are people and we cannot entirely separate ourselves from the environments we live in. It is completely and utterly expected that these ideas and values that people hold are going to bleed into these spaces. We exist in real life. The people engaging in fandom are real people. The people calling and being called these terms are not like… erasing the other meanings of those phrases because people use them in fandom spaces.

Stop acting like people are wrong to make comparisons to other forms of moral control and enforcement of moral purity. Control over fiction/fantasy, especially as it relates to sexuality, has always been a part of purity culture and puritanism. The focus on being morally pure has become more and more prevalent recently too, and it's very present in this fandom.

It's not innacurate to use the word "policing" to describe accusing people of being evil and morally corrupt for creating or enjoying content you aren't comfortable with and then demanding they stop creating/engaging with it. Not liking fictional dark content doesn't make you more morally upstanding than those who do.

It's not purity culture to dislike dark fictional subjects, or even fictional sexual themes that are actually immoral or harmful in real life, and people shouldn't be calling each other the "morality police" over personal preferences. But that's not what people are doing most of the time, now is it? I wish that was the case, but 9 times out of 10, its not. I think we both know that its inaccurate and disingenuous to frame what is happening as such. They are not voicing their dislike for such content, they're voicing their desire for it to not exist, this isn't the same thing.

Like and dislike whatever you want, SFW or NSFW, i don't care, but stop acting like this content existing is inherently harmful, and stop moralizing it. Artists have a job when posting their art anywhere, which is to tag and warn correctly. Your job as someone engaging with it is to curate your own experiences. Block, filter, mute, all of that jazz. Ignoring the tags/warnings and reading stuff anyways (or taking the risk to read if there are none) makes you liable for your own reaction. It's not our job as creatives to coddle you and only ever make/post content that you're comfortable with. Discomfort is not harm, and even when harm is being done (triggering or causing distress to someone), that harm is not something that is inherent to the art itself.

Like listen, child x adult (or child x child) content, especially NSFW, makes me uncomfortable. I don't read it and I actively filter it out, but I also understand that it's fictional. Art has the right to exist, and creatives have the right to create. As long as creators are doing their job to tag their content, then it's not my place (or anyone else's) to tell them to stop making art that i don't enjoy. We all understand this when it's outside of taboo sexual themes.

But we have people going around calling each other "degenerates" (you know… the word heavily associated with fascism, used to describe people or ideas that are causing the downfall of western society), telling each other to "seek help" over writing something we don't like, empathy trolling, sending death threats, suicide baiting, threatening to doxx each other, all over some words about some fucking magical dudes. (double entendre intended)

We shouldn't be aiming to shame, coerce, or otherwise pressure people into censoring their own creative outlets. Aiming to annihilate the existence of stuff you don't like is literally just censorship. Advocating for sites like AO3 to not allow certain content on their site doesn't make anyone "safer" from that stuff, it only makes you more likely to see it untagged and not be able to filter it out, then the sites themselves just become a hellscape to navigate if you have ANY kinds of triggers. This doesn't make anyone safer from avoiding content they find uncomfortable.

We have legal protections over the creation and posting of fictional content for a reason. We know for a fact that every single time we give an inch to entities to censor content online, they take a mile. If you want to protect the fiction you like and enjoy, you have to protect the stuff you don't.

Also:

Morality: "conformity to ideals of right human conduct" (subjective) Policing: "one attempting to regulate or censor a specified field or activity" (we all know what "police" means) Purity: "the quality or state of being pure" (subjective) Culture: "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group" "Morality Police" and "Morality Police" mean two different things. As do "Purity Culture" and "Purity Culture". People should understand that, because words and phrases often have several meanings. Both definitions of these phrases are slightly different from each other, but they both make sense and are valid. Context in language should provide you enough information to understand what meaning is being used in the conversation. Using one definition to describe the behavior of people in fandom spaces does not subtract from the other definition of these phrases. This is not a hard concept to grasp. You wouldn't tell someone not to use the phrase "fashion police" because there are places in the world where actual police enforce legality over how people can and cannot dress.

I am begging fandom people to stop taking real world terms like purity culture and morality police and use them in reference to people liking or not liking "taboo themes" in fiction, morality police are real and incredibly harmful IN REAL LIFE away from fanfiction and media, purity culture is a REAL WORLD thing, that affects and harms ppl and children in real life, they are not fandom terms. it is not purity culture or morality policing to dislike pedo fantasy fanfic or incest porn or whatever. PLEASE

May i ask what post you’re responding to??? Im very confused as to what prompted this and id like to know before i go on to respond to this ask in full /gen

[celestial-ringleader]

This is an unnecessary rant about Gambit but here we are

Hi yeah so I’m procrastinating pretty hard on my school work and current pile of WIPs forming on my google docs, but I’ve noticed a lot more x-fans calling Remy narcissistic and since I did an ungodly amount of research into Gambit as well as being very into deep-diving into a character’s psychology, I figured I’d jump on that and put my two cents in.

But first I should start with saying that I’m not a professional in the field of psychology (I’ve only taken one class in psychology and I don’t plan on furthering myself in that field) and the information I’m getting is mostly from the DSM-5 as well as other articles discussing NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) and of course the many, many panels I have stock-piled about Remy, so yeah don’t take what I’m saying here as gospel. Another thing, I realize that not everyone has to deep-dive into a character to find enjoyment with them, I have a few characters that I only really like because I think they’re cool, so this isn’t me trying to berate fans for not doing the same amount of research fueled by hyperfixation as I have. Honestly this is just me wanting to ramble about Remy and I just so happen to go way too deep into it sometimes kdjbvdjk

That being said, I’m completely open to critique and if I make a mistake in my assumptions I’m cool with it, just don’t be an ass about it. I’m doing this because it’s fun and I wanted to share my own personal opinions on a popular fandom headcanon, I’m not looking to start an argument over this I literally do not have the time for that.

Anyways this is gonna be a long post so I’ll put it under a read more, in case you don’t want to read this long-winded rant: TLDR; Remy isn’t a Narcissist, at most he’s egotistical/full of himself.

Don’t tag as any kind of ship, this isn’t about shipping.

Okay, so what is NPD?

So to start off, I’ve often seen people treat Narcissism the same as someone who’s incredibly prideful and arrogant (and sometimes they’re treated as synonyms of each other), and this is simply not the case. According to the DSM-5 (which I actually did read for a paper I did for sociology not that long ago) NPD is a personality disorder which is mostly characterized with a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. But there’s a lot more to diagnosing someone with NPD beyond those three things; also within the DSM-5 there’s a list of nine criteria, five of which must be met for a formal diagnosis:

Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements). 

Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love. 

Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

Requires excessive admiration. 

Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations).

Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends). 

Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others. 

Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her. 

Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

(Link to DSM-5 pdf) It goes way more in depth into the criteria than I am so yeah

Okay, that’s great and all, but what does this have to do with my point over a fictional character? Well on the surface you would probably assume that Remy ticks most of these boxes, and in a way I can agree, but it’s also to understand the context behind his psychology to find other possible reasons for his behavior rather than just having NPD. Sure someone can have narcissistic personality traits, but that doesn’t immediately mean they are one since some behaviors can overlap and be caused by something completely different.

To not make this go on forever, I’ll only focus on the main traits of NPD and go into why Remy doesn’t fit into that specific personality disorder.

[Disclaimer this will be my own interpretation of canon, so for all I know this could be different than what you think and I’m cool with that, just know that there’s probably gonna be bias and I can’t help it sometimes.]

Desire for Grandiosity

A notable trait in someone with NPD is wanting everything they can get, having high ambitions and doing anything to achieve that goal because they feel entitled to it. And sometimes this can lead to either conscious or intentional exploitation of others to achieve said goals. However, Remy doesn’t have big goals or ambitions in life; he doesn’t want to become a King of Thieves, he doesn’t want to be the next folk hero, he doesn’t even want to be super powerful**; all he wants is to settle down and live a normal life. That’s it. Of course he fully expects to never get that considering how eventful and crazy his life has been since he was born, but it’s something he’s expressed on multiple occasions. All he wants out of life is peace*.

*Here he was talking to Rogue about this very same thing when they were both going on a mission together in New Orleans, I can’t remember the full context but it was before their relationship really kicked off.

Very simple, mundane hopes and dreams despite the craziness of his life up until that point.

**During a fight with another version of himself called New Sun, who was powerful enough to kill the Dark Phoenix and destroy his entire planet because of a surge of his powers, he says he doesn’t want to have that kind of power. He sees this great Omega-Level power and rejects it wholly because he doesn’t want to be above everyone else.

(And yes, he does manage to kill New Sun at the cost of burning out his powers, reducing them back down to how they normally are)

As much as I don’t like citing Excalibur because frankly that characterization of him is not my favorite (that’s a rant for another day) but at the prospect of possibly having kids he seems to like the idea, and during the Hellfire Gala he mentions being okay with just watching Rogue from afar while staying home. While the rest of Excalibur is questionable at best, this is at least consistent with his dream of living a normal life with the person he loves. Nothing grand whatsoever.

Normally I would try to cite HoM because that was literally an AU where everyone got their dream life, but apparently he was also a thief in that AU too which makes me so mad that the writers would just ignore canon but whatever.

Lack of Empathy

I feel like I don’t need to explain this, but after hearing about people online accusing him of being heartless and downright awful, I guess I have to debunk it now. 

NPD usually leads to someone not understanding how other people feel or what the consequences of their actions could be, in some cases they genuinely can’t understand how their manipulation could affect their friends and loved ones and assume it’s probably their fault, not on the Narcissist. Empathy, according to google, is being able to understand and share the feelings of others, and if there’s anything Remy has, it’s empathy. In his first debut we saw him treating Storm with kindness simply because he could and empathized with her, saying that thieves need to stick together. Later on, we see him comforting her after a nightmare and not showing any signs of fear or caution most likely because he knows how it feels and goes with the next best thing to distract her from it: taking her out on a night of stealing and enjoying the town. Again, probably because that’s his best method of helping himself, so he does the same to her.

This kindness and understanding is very consistent with his character, extending it to Laura despite how much everyone was warned away from her, and to Jubilee because in a way she’s very much like him. He also shares this same empathy with Rogue when she needs it the most, once again knowing and understanding her pain.

He’s been through a lot of pain so he goes to great lengths to ensure none of his loved ones have to feel like he did.

Arrogance and Egotism

One thing I’ve seen talked about a lot is that Remy is typically seen as an arrogant bastard who just loves to talk himself up and...yeah this is pretty much true. Most writers consistently have him boast and brag and not surprisingly this is what most fans (and writers) turn to when throwing the Narcissistic label onto him; he acts super arrogant and just loves himself so much, so therefore he’s a narcissist. But as I said before, being arrogant isn’t the end all of NPD.

Judging from what I’ve gleamed from his past and what’s been hinted at on several occasions, I don’t think his arrogance comes from being a Narcissist. In fact on several occasions, he talks down about himself, even outright admitted to Rogue that he hated himself, especially after the events of what happened in Antarctica:

Someone who’s truly a Narcissist wouldn’t admit this sort of thing, they wouldn’t show shame in their actions nor think that they’re not deserving of anything; but Remy does say these things, even believing that Rogue deserves better than him because of how much baggage he has despite how much he loves her. It’s sort of become a meme at how little he pays attention to his own lack of self-esteem since he gases himself up around others, but that’s just it: he doesn’t gas himself up because he believes he’s better than everyone, he’s doing it because he believes he’s lesser and is compensating for the lack of self-esteem. Which is something trauma survivors tend to do: think the “fawn” in fight/flight/fawn. He’s pushing this persona because he knows people like the persona, but deep down he’s very troubled and believes himself inadequate (couple that with abandonment issues and suddenly there’s a lot more reason to believe he isn’t a Narcissist).

In Conclusion. . .

Remy isn’t a Narcissist despite what comic writers want to present to the x-fans out there. To me, and this is going purely off my own personal interpretation, Remy is someone who’s done horrible things in his past and has paid the price for it ten times over, and how he tries to safe-guard himself from his own demons is by touting himself as some big-shot with an angel’s smile; nothing can stop him because he’s on top of the world. But in the end, all that is is a persona, a mask he presents to the rest of the world. After experiencing so much pain in his life, he has to keep whatever is left of his mental state safe by covering it up, not exposing his wounds and insecurities to anyone. And oftentimes he’s so good at keeping it that he forgets he’s wearing it, but if that means Remy LeBeau gets to rot away in a corner while Gambit lives high on life, then he’s content with keeping it that way. 

At least until the mask falls off. . .

Anyways. 

This took a lot longer than I expected, namely because I was trying to do this between school work and also procrastinating so much on finding the panels and writing out all my thoughts concisely (and not in the form of screeching and keysmashes like my metas usually are). But in the end I had a fun time doing research into this and of course any chance to talk about Remy (and debunking popular fanon around him) is just a fun time for me period. Just as a reminder, this is my own personal opinion and it doesn’t have to be yours, we can disagree and I’m fine with that; this is just how I show love of a character by putting them through Pain and talking about the Pain.

But with that being said I hope y’all enjoyed this long ramble and have a good day/night/afternoon! 

just wanted to have something cute at the end

[smilingperformer]

Discussing the good and bad of Pokémon Journeys: Part “Goh”

Oh boi... this part is gonna be a doozy. Because I have a lot to talk about Goh, or as I tend to call him, Gou.

TLDR; I like Gou as a character but I very, very much have issues with the way he's currently written in the show. And that frustrates me deeply as I'd love to feel more positively about him. More under the cut, with Journeys abverted as JN.

Where do I even begin... Maybe by how I first became a fan of Gou's character, by after some time started to go back to neutral ground.

Like, ever since the very first episode, we've got a very clear picture of what kind of character Gou is: a bookworm, loves Pokémon, loves to show his knowledge and isn't exactly good at making friends. His only friend before Satoshi (and before learning about Tokio/Horace's reasonings for not showing up to their meeting place) was Chloe/Koharu, and we still don't know how the two met. Thou my guess is that their childhood friendship bonded over their parents meeting during some job or by Koharu feeling the need to be Gou's friend. Who knows, it's something I want to learn about. But that's besides the point, cough.

But like, from the very first episode on, it became clear that this show wants to focus on Gou, and telling his journey on becoming a Pokémon Trainer who wants to catch all of the Pokémon in the World, in order to get closer to catching Mew, the mythical Pokémon who's said to contain DNA of all existing Pokémon. He had a very strong introduction arc, with showing his dynamic with Koharu, having him meet Satoshi on top of Lugia, first getting to know Satoshi (and Rockets) and then catching his first partner Pokémon in Hibunny. However, as time went on and episodes started piling up, I started feeling like something about him was... off.

I feel like the first time I had an issue with the writing involving him was in JN006, where he went on his first catching spree. Where he kept catching Pokémon with ease. Small struggle at the start when trying to work together his dynamic with Hibunny, but the rest of the ep felt way too easy. Then again, Gou IS flat out Pokémon GO promotion. No one can deny that. His purpose is to promote GO's capture mechanic. It is the most successful Pokémon Mobile game of all time.

Anyway, the easy captures piled up on and on til JN010 when he finally had to use dozens of pokeballs to catch one. single. Dewgong. I loved this so much. It made me feel more at ease with his goal mechanic and I felt like I'd be fine with him from there on out. And I was. Til I started having new issues with him. All thanks to Satoshi's new goal in PWC finally having been established.

As time went on, it became clearer and clearer, that Gou was more focused on when it came to his goal progression, development in character level, and in what kind of quality his episodes would be.

Everyone knows how much I love JN032. Everyone does. It's one of my absolute fav episodes in the series. However, it also kinda is what first prompted me starting my worry that hasn't gone away since then: That Gou feels more like the protagonist than Satoshi does in this series, and not really an equal dual protag he was advertised to be.

Before the pitchforks are getting aimed at me, hear me out. I know, that based on some statistics, the focus is equal, with sliiiightly more inclinded towards Gou. However, that's where the issue is: Gou has, so far for me, had way better focus and way better episodes in this series, than Satoshi has, while also getting progress on his goal on other character's focus episodes. When Satoshi's episodes have been about PWC and training his Pokémon, Gou's had the kind of episodes that are more character exploring, developing him, evolving him in some way. And it, frustrates me. Because despite my better judgement, it gives me this feeling that Gou is stealing Satoshi's thunder, even when some type of statistics would suggest otherwise. It gives me this feeling that Gou is here to write Satoshi out. I do not like that I feel this way, I don't know how to get rid of this feeling and I hate it here.

Again, I like Gou's character, he's sweet, well developed, and I do enjoy seeing him in his own episodes. But I have come to noticed, than whenever he gets goal progression in an episode that's supposed to focus on Koharu or Satoshi, I feel so.... angry? And I've never, ever felt like this while watching other characters progress. And I know it's irrational.

Like, his main partner's already fully evolved, his secondary partner Sobble is already evolving soon despite only having one focus episode for itself before it, and he's caught all three of the Galar starters now, with some of his other not-that-important Pokémon making appearances every now and then with possible evolution showcases. And it's all done so fast. Same issue was with Satoshi's poketeam evolving in fast arcs, but I forgot to mention about it? But then again, I am somewhat fine with it as I get the writing style is to focus on one 'mon and then move on to another. Which is not to my taste completely but I digress. ANYWAY, back to Gou.

After seeing discussions and joining in on some on tumblr and twitter and elsewhere, it does appear that Gou's development speed and progression speed is incredibly fast. Like, seriously fast. He's caught a lot of Pokémon by now, and the show's already shown about 50% percent of all existing Pokémon in a bit over a year. About 30% being caught by Gou. (Statistics borrowed from EntityMays' Living Dex trackers, links in posts will disrupt showing in tag search so, google EntityMays's Living Dex, and you'll find the statistics there).

This is also very apparent when you think about how fast Gou suddenly became a good battler, when at the beginning he sucked. A lot. I get Satoshi could be a great example on learning how to battle with good strategy in mind, but we barely saw Gou struggle. We Satoshi struggle in OS, so I would have prefered more struggling by Gou. His first battle against a legendary ended up in Zapdos almost getting caught and uuuuuggh, while it's a pretty good episode it really should have been at later point, same with Suicune episode. Thou with the latter I have WAY more issues than just the placement but, I'm not gonna rant about that today.

And what should I say about his dynamics with other characters... They're good, I am a huge fan of how the dynamic between Koharu and Gou works, as their childhood friend dynamic is shown so, so well, and you can just tell the two have mutual respect as Gou gives Koharu the space she needed when she wasn't into Pokémon for a while, and when she then became partners with Eevee, Gou was so so SO darn supportive just, AGH. Love how these two work.

And everyone knows I fell for Gou x Tokio dynamic straight away. Like they had a friendship built up right away when they first met as little kids and Tokio missing out on their promised meeting due to being sick and not having any means of contacting him yes still considered Gou his friend after these years when Gou considered him a traitor of trust and Gou then forgives him for it and just aaaaaahhh-. KRHM. Excuse me.

Then there's Gou and Satoshi's dynamic and I already said in my post about Satoshi how I feel intimidated by the fans of their shipping and how it makes me feel.... kinda sad about not being able to like their dynamic for what it is. I LOVE it a ton. I have said it a countless times, they're a broTP to me. They're dynamic was very enjoyable for me to watch, and even Gou was. But like, on TOP of these issues I mentioned before this part, I also have another issue with Gou: his fanbase, or the crazier part of it.

Often times I feel like I'm unable to enjoy Gou's character without being reminded of the fans who constantly think of him as shipping fuel, or think he's flawless and anyone disagreering is in some form a negative trait filled human being, etc etc etc. In a way, I feel like I'd enjoy Gou and his dynamic with Satoshi way, way more, if I had never learned about this side of the fandom. Let people like their dynamic the way they want. Be it romantic or platonic. Neither is wrong, but pushing one side to push their own headcanon to other people's head is just, bad act. Having this feeling in me has actually made me wonder, whether I would have liked other characters I am such a huge fan of, if I had been watching their shows during their airing times (for example Serena).

Now what would I have done differently with Gou? Firstly, slow the fuck down. I would have prefered to see Hibunny way more. I would have prefered to have one Galar Starter, namely Grookey, go to Satoshi, as it would help me feel less like Gou's stealing his thunder. I would have prefered if Gou and Satoshi's goals were established around same time. I would have very much liked it, if Gou wouldn't be catching Pokémon each episode.

Now what COULD help me like him better from what we have by now? Well. Slow it down. Have him interact with Koharu more. Give him a rival to further make him shine on his own instead of seemingly relying on Satoshi to shine through. Hell, maybe make Tokio his friendly rival. And on top of that, please let him not catch Pokémon almost every single episode. I'd love an episode where he captures some Pokémon that prefers to be free, and he then would let it go. I think that would make his character be good on his own, and make me feel better about him once again.

Cough. I think I've got my point clear. As said, I like Gou, but very much dislike the way he's written in such fast pacing and in a way that, despite statistics stating otherwise, making him feel like he's the sole protag and not sharing spotlight as dual protag. And I hope to god I can get rid of this feeling as the series goes on. Because right now, I don't have high hopes :(

If you've read this far, thank you for reading, and I am so, so sorry this became a long long rant about the issues I have with Gou, but I hope I managed to bring out what I like about him as well. Hopefully next time's gonna be a more positive post, as I'll try writing about my full on feelings about the handling of Koharu, or as dub audience knows her, Chloe.

Once again, thanks for reading, have a good evening or morning or whatever time it is by the time you've read this, and I hope you'll have a fantastic time ♥ And as a reminder, these are just my opinions, and if you disagree, you are totally valid.

Til next time! This was Smiling Performer aka Aleira, signing out!

[hornedandhornypandan]

Vent/Rant post about Witchtok idk

Tw: CSA/Grooming mention

((TLDR: Witchtok seemed fun at first but pretty soon showed a very ugly side of itself that puts kids in danger. Meanwhile 'experienced' witches are out there are putting dangerous misinformation about religious practices. +Also a personal rant about how this whole thing has put me off from talking about my own practices with Pan.))

I've been a somewhat active "tiktoker" for a few months. I only really posted videos of my artwork and whatnot to sort of gain some traction and sell commissions, which was great! I met a lot of really cool people, and made some really sweet friends within the small community of artists on tiktok... And then I found the Witchtok tag.

At first I was uniquely excited, it was really cool to see other witches actively show off how proud they were of their craft and their religious practices. I saw lots of pretty good advice, and for me at least, it was absolutely wonderful to see how different and unique each person experienced their craft. I feel stupid now in hindsight for thinking this, but I genuinely felt something with how fun and welcoming Witchtok seemed to be.

And then all of sudden it became a fucking train wreck. There are lots of things wrong with Witchtok: Cultural appropriation, online harassment, misinformation, people throwing around hexing accusations with no proof, etc etc. A lot of really dumb shit. At first I was able to ignore it, because surely people will be smart enough to do their own research and not trust some random person on tiktok about entire religions, right? And then I realized how dumb I was for thinking that. There are people on Witchtok touting themselves as being experienced witches who are experts in everything spiritual, and beginning practitioners are going to naturally look up to them as positions of authority to consult on matters that they might not even be in the position to be consultants of. So many of these people are actual children too, and its become a very scary situation with how out of control it has become. I think the breaking point for me was the issues surrounding that,,, "Medusa" tiktoker who began trying to groom minors for illicit photos. I just couldn't do it anymore with Witchtok, that was too much. It already hurt a lot to see so many experienced witches actively condemn and shame children for not knowing better, but that entire thing just proved to me that too many people within the Witchtok community DO NOT CARE about protecting or educating each other. They all just want to one up each other in this imaginary game of who's the most correct, meanwhile AN ONLINE CULT WAS LITERALLY BEGINNING TO FORM, I'M JUST,, AT A LOSS FOR WORDS.

There's so much to unpack, especially from my perspective as a Hellenic Pagan who's worshiping Pan. I'm going to get quite personal but it's been on my mind and I need to share it for my own sake. Up until recent events, I was beginning to consider participating in the Witchtok community because I really do enjoy sharing things about my path, especially my relationship with Pan. I love sharing the things that I learn, and I want to record all of it as I go, so that one day I can look back and see how far I've come in my journey. My time with Pan has not only helped me grow spiritually, but my overall outlook on the world around me has changed for the better. To illustrate better what I mean by this, I am a CSA survivor, and for most of my life, sex fulfilment and healthy love were things I fundamentally believed I didn't deserve. By the time I approached adulthood, I had already accepted that I would never be able to enjoy sex or feel the kind of love I wanted. Pan at this point has obviously proven me wrong. He helped work through my trauma, he taught me that sex can not only be safe but exciting, and he showed me that my body isn't something to be ashamed of. Needless to say, my relationship with a deity heavily associated with sex and fertility is OBVIOUSLY intimate.

So it really fucking hurts when I see my fellow pagan peers tell me that my relationship with Pan isn't real, and that my practices based on tradition that I spent MONTHS researching before I started is just me being a 'stupid baby witch.' Or worse when people tell me that I should FEAR my God, my God who has done nothing but treat me with kindness and love throughout my entire time with him. Or even worse, when people who think that because they read up on a little mythology, they can tell me my God is a r*pist, and that I'm wrong for having a close and friendly bond with him. It's almost laughable how so much of what Witchtok considers to be "the right way to worship deities" is exactly what Pan would've hated if I behaved the way they deem to be correct.

Pan would HATE it if I was never friendly and comfortable around him. He is known for having a unique sense of humor, why wouldn't his followers be able to do the same? Obviously there are boundaries, but any deity including Pan will set up said boundaries when necessary. He loves when his followers are silly and playful! He loves when we explore ourselves in ways that are happy and healthy, whether spiritually, sexually, or physically! He loves when we let ourselves loosen up and forget about our chains, even for just a moment! If I talked at all about my practices with him I can guarantee Witchtok would eat me alive. To be honest, I wouldn't put it past them if the collective opinion of Witchtok was that he's dead because it says so in myth.

In retrospect, I'm very glad I chose to stay away from Witchtok, not only would I not be welcome, but children are watching. I feel like not enough people are thinking of that, and that's terrifying. I can't imagine how guilty I'd feel if I put something out there that was misinformed, or even DANGEROUS, and kids were seeing it. I just couldn't bear it. As an artist I'll continue to post videos on tiktok exclusively about my art, but I can't in good conscience post anything there regarding my religious practices. Which honestly saddens me, so much of my practice involves me drawing and painting works involving what Pan looks like to me, and I would've loved to show off that artwork had it not been for the absolute shit show I've been exposed to.

So in conclusion, Witchtok is fuckin yikes man.

[brokemylegflippingthefirewall]

*This is absolutely a fic promotion, but plz hear me out on the discourse part too

So, self inserts and original characters, the worst fanfic catgeory (fanfiction.net literally says that in one of its fic groupings, and I'm pretty sure the number of views on any fanfic website says the same).

TLDR- Yes, I agree that this stereotype carries truth, but I do think SIs and OCs have more potential to be explored, and the stigma surrounding these labels is blocking that. And oh god I just want to know so badly if this is the deal with the work I'm currently writing or if I genuinely just can't write well.

The longer version- (this was written quite late into the night/ I'm in Singapore/, and might not be so well organized, I apologize for that.)

To what extent is this stigma "justified"? I mostly use AO3 for reading fics, and when I see the OC/SI tag, the thing is....I came to look for fics about canon characters and might not have the wish to invest my time in taking in a new character. I understand that most people who read fanfiction would feel the same. This, I think, is more or less justified. If you came to look for a certain canon character/relationship, and you don't want to get invested in any OCs, then of course the OC/SI tag isn't for you.

But... I think that's about it. Bcs here's the thing,

1. Using the OC/SI format does NOT automatically make the fic worse in quality. Hell, I'm not even sure if the statistical "fact" that these tags generate the worst fics is true. Judging from what I've read in the tma fandom and my other past fandoms, the stuff with OC/SI isn't inherently worse or better than the rest of the fics. There are ones that are pretty normal in writing quality, and the ones where the prose is rly good, others where plot design stands out etc. Of course, there is a lot of wish fulfillment and the like, but... there's also a lot of that in fics that write about canon characters.

2. I can't really say whether a wish fulfillment "I just want to write cool scenes/fluff" fic is better or worse than a more serious fic that explores some characterization or plot point. I think stories (all stories, books, fanfic, myths, everything) exist to entertain us and make us feel things. I am not sure if writing a feel good story is any less meaningful than writing a story that brings people "deeper" thoughts and makes them feel good in some other way. And this isn't even the issue at hand, because fundamentally, writing an OC/SI or not doesn't determine what the content is about. I agree that a larger proportion of OC/SI fics tend to be more on the lighthearted side, but... so is most of the content consumed in the other tags. Readers don't seem to have a problem with feel good stories/fix it fics etc when there is no OC or SI, so I don't see why that type of fic paired with an OC/SI should be considered any less "meaningful".

3. Guys/gals, what is an OC/SI?

Yes, it is very personal, and it is very wish fulfillment, but... isn't that like a common literature thing...like in general? Look at the works that "real writers" publish, from contemporary to the classics, which writer doesn't write about themselves? Like, just off the top of my head, Les Miserables, Marius? Um, Dante's Inferno? (and that guy did not self insert into some random thing he straightup went for the Christian Canon😂 used his real name too, so Jonny I guess if you feel awkward about your MCs name you can think of Dante//Jk). But seriously, self insert and wish fulfillment is a big part of literature itself, and while there are things to be said about these tropes, if people don't have that much of a problem with them in other literature, I don't see why fanfic OC/SIs shouldn't be treated the same.

4. in relation to the last point. More specifically...

I do think that a lot of fanfiction which write about the original characters are also OC/SIs to different extents. I've read fics that depict pairings where the author and readers project heavily onto one (or more) of the characters. I've read stuff where the author uses a minor character to explore the established world building/character dynamics and it's clear that it's an SI but with the appearance of being a canon character (and yes it gets tons more views than one that's written as SI). How do I know this? Because I am one of those readers who project onto those characters, and I know why I read those fics, I know why I like them. It's because I can self insert, and feel like I am part of the story, part of the world. Isn't that something most people want to do? I mean, Universal Studios? Specific franchise themed museums? COSPLAY??? Of course that's not all there is to engaging with a story, but what's the shame in wanting to be a part of an already established world building, or want to love a wonderfully designed character? (slight tangent, but if u feel like it's bcs ur not as interesting/cool as the story's world or other characters appear to be then I can tell you with certainty that's not true. You are very interesting and cool and absolutely deserve to be part of a fantasy world.) Isn't that a big part of why "real literature" is written and read as well? So... what's the problem with being like, okay, I'm just gonna insert myself into the world now, through this original character? Of course, I'm not asking for people who prefer to write strictly in canon characters to change that. What I mean to say is, writing it in the form of an OC/SI, doesn't make it a lot different from other fics, or hell, from classic literature even.

I think a potential problem might be the feeling that you are taking too much creative liberty with something that is established canon, by having your own character directly interact with it. But, um, can't the same thing be said if you take a canon character, and then proceed to project heavily onto them? Like, a big part of why I don't feel comfortable writing just canon characters is that I know I'm clearly projecting and it feels awkward to rewrite an already established character to explore my own thoughts/desires. I would rather just straightup design a new character. (this is all just personal feelings, I haven't thought enough about this to make any kind of argument here. And of course, the main reason is I can't trust myself to write canon characters that don't ooc in some way so having one as my protag might kill me with my own awkwardness. )

5. the potential.

Now this is looking far ahead because I'm not sure how much our current system for distribution of knowledge & copyright can allow it. But damn. The OC/SI thing has a lot of potential. There is one thing that makes it different from writing in canon characters, and that is the way it opens up a clear space for you to add your own experience into the story. When exploring your own world view through the lense of an already established world, or vice versa, so much can be revealed about both, perhaps even bringing to light aspects of the narrative the author hadn't previously seen. We all know this feeling, it's when we ramble on about one of our stories or worlds to a friend, and they point something out, and we're like ooooh that makes a lot of sense but I hadn't thought about it before. Yea, like those moments. Stories are generally made more interesting by their interaction with many different perspectives/experiences. With OC/SI it straightup allows you to be like, okay, I'm going to engage my own experience with this fictional world/character now. I mean, isnt that also a large part of how fanfics work in general? Readers/writers bouncing symbols and experiences off each other in the form of stories? Reading about the various interpretations of canon stuff? Whats the problem with tagging it as it is? I'm just thinking about the fics that could have been written as OC/SI and explored the story in some fascinating way which weren't written at all or were discontinued bcs the number of views discouraged those authors. (I feel that with my current work as well, though I have already written half of it and the remaining half is too juicy to give up so I'll probably be completing it)

6. conclusion, sorta

I guess what I want for OC/SO fics is just the same treatment as everything else. Saw it in the tags you were searching for? Look at the teaser. Do you find it interesting? No, then very well. Yes, then click in and take a look. Do you like the writing style? Are you getting into the narrative?... etc. You know, like, same standards you would have for any other kind of fic. Not feeling like you want to read about a new character? Cool, no problem at all, click away. But I do not think that the current difference in number of views is just based on whether readers are interested in reading about a new character or not. In fact, that's what I want it to be. Show me that "true" difference, the one without the stigma behind it, because, as the same goes for every kind of stigmatized community, you're not receiving the proportionate amount of positive feedback, but what's worse is you can't even trust the criticism you receive. If no one engages, or someone gives a negative feedback, how am I supposed to know if it's because my writing is bad? or my teaser wasn't interesting? or my character was badly written/designed? Or if it was to a certain extent, bcs of the stigma? I do want criticism, of course I do, it's the first step to every improvement, and I would love it if I could get feedback that I can trust. (and this brings us to the truely "oppressed" community of the fanfic world, the people who write very good but cant write interesting teasers//jk)

7. the entirely skippable straw man rant part, also the expression of my love for The Magnus Archives.

some straw man: if you like writing your own characters so much, why not just write your own story entirely? and publish it?

You think I'm not annoyed about that? Here's the thing, I LIKE THIS WORLD I READ FROM THIS BOOK/SOME OTHER FORM OF MEDIA OR WHATEVER, I like it, it's brilliant, I want to write for it, about it, be in it, think about it, read about it, engage in whatever way I can. I CAN'T just "go write my own." And who do you think is more annoyed about not being able to publish the stuff? (According to you) I have written something that is potentially publishable (thank you btw I know you don't exist and is a strawman I invented just now but I've gotta get my compliments where I can//Jk), and I can't publish it in any potentially big way (and rightfully not) because I have no copyright over the characters. I worked hard to design my character, to make the plot meaningful, and to study the original canon plot and characters so that it would all fit together (I mean, partially bcs I can't force myself to sit down and write sth that is any less complex), and I can't actually publish it where more people will read it. And of course, on top of that, even less people will feel like reading once that "original character" tag is up. Does it look like I would be here if I could "just write my own"?

(slight tangent but come on what even is "your own"? how many classic European lit books were just fanfics of each other which were all just fanfics of the Bible or Greek mythology or sth? Stories and symbols have no boundaries it's the economic system that drew those.)

Damn this got way longer than I thought and it's morning now😂 guess I ran out of space to actually promote my fic, might have to do that in a seperate post then. But to anyone who actually read up to here, I'm so sorry for wasting your time no but srsly thanks for reading all of these jumbled thoughts, and good luck with whatever you are working on at the moment, I know you're probably working on something if you're reading through these tags. And of course good luck to the tma folk we're gonna face the end together🙏. good night (I should rly go to sleep now😂)

[thegardenandthegrave]

My Independent Publisher Roadmap:

[Image Description: Indie Street Marketing branded infographic (red and black text and an empty road in the background). There are five slightly transparent gray boxes in the foreground that contain the five stages of publication as determined by indiestreetmarketing.mn.co. All content in the infographic is also provided in the following text. End.]

for @reshiramgirl88​

Oh god, I’m sorry this is so long. Worth the read though, I promise!

Five Stage Publication:

Stage 1 - Drafting

[Image Description: This is where the magic begins, where you start off with brainstorming and outlining and writing. This is the NaNoWriMo stage, the 'let me rant about my WIP' stage. This stage ends with two very important elements. The first is a completed first draft manuscript and the second is an Ideal Customer Profile]

So this is the stage that a lot of writers get stuck in. It’s the quicksand sinkhole of starting over with a new project. There’s nothing wrong with living in this stage, but if you want to actually publish a novel worth reading you have to have two things:

1. A Book.

2. An Audience.

One of my favorite quotes is:

“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”

― Jodi Picoult

You have to have a book in order to publish and sell a book. This is the hard part for a lot of authors, the part that they get bogged down by for years and years trying to make their debut novel some perfect specimen of literature.

Guys, my friends, my fellow authors; do not allow yourself to be bogged down by the weight of perfectionism that accompanies years of reading ‘the greats’ and thinking you’ll never be one of them. A favorite line of mine from Charles Bukowski goes:

“ don't be like so many writers, don't be like so many thousands of people who call themselves writers, don't be dull and boring and pretentious, don't be consumed with self- love. the libraries of the world have yawned themselves to sleep over your kind. don't add to that. don't do it.”

The second part of stage 1, the part that is almost unheard of with writers who are just starting out or plan to publish traditionally, is the ideal customer profile. I’m actually posting a series on the ICP in a few days so I’ll give you a basic rundown and link back to it here when it comes out.

Essentially, your ideal customer profile is a character sheet for the person most likely to enjoy and cherish your work the way it was meant to be enjoyed and cherished. 

It’s important to develop your ICP near the end of stage one because moving on to stage two without it means missing huge opportunities to throw in the little nods and subtle glances that will really thrill your audience.

Stage 2 - Revision

[Image Description: Your revision process may be your own, but the fact remains that you have to have one. For some, it looks like printing out the book and redlining it. For others, it's about re-writing the entire thing. No matter which way you do it, this is where you will put in your foreshadowing and arch phrases. This step CANNOT be skipped.]

I used to write a book and then think it was done.

I used to write a book and then put it into a spell checker and a grammar editor and think it was done.

I used to read through it over and over and over and then ignore it for months as I tried to figure out where the missing part of the story was.

I’m not saying these methods are invalid. I’m just saying that after I learned to pull up a blank document side by side with the original and then write the whole thing out again many of the pains of plotting disappeared and my work moved into the professional arena.

Maybe it was the way I had to focus on the words as I read the story again, or maybe it’s because I’m a chronic underwriter and re-writing gives me a chance to unpack certain lines to expand the story.

I think it might be a little bit because revising is a lot like moving houses. You have to decide what to pack up and what to leave behind, and when you’re done you’re left with a newer, cleaner house and a sense of exhausted accomplishment.

Stage 3 - Editor/Beta Reader

[Image Description: While many writers try to skip from stage 1 to stage 3, others try to skip stage 3 altogether. Don't. Stage 3 is what brings your book into the professional realm and smooths out those rough edges. Feedback from your editor and beta reader may loop you back into stage 2 for another round of revision.]

So my first comment here is directed more towards stage 2 and how important it is.

I’ve beta-read too many books that didn’t go through the revision process. I’ve seen too many authors kill their own work over comments from beta readers that could have been avoided if the author revised their work before placing it into the hands of someone who could hurt them.

The connection between an author and their editor/beta reader is a very emotional one. My editor and I are sharing a hotel room at a writer’s conference in a few weeks. My beta reader is refused to talk to me for a week because of how I left the cliff hanger at the end of the last book.

These two people are your gatekeepers.

Where traditionally published books have agents and publishers to keep the tide of bad writing decisions from seeing the light of day, indie authors have their own poor judgment and a burning desire to see their works in a published form.

Your editor can save your asses (literally, the word was suppose to be assess and I accidentally deleted an S during the final touches stage. My editor caught it before I sold too many copies).

Your beta reader can warn you if your character’s personality changed halfway through or if the room for your final confrontation is a blank white box in their minds because you maybe forgot to describe it every single time your characters were in there before.  

Stage 4 - Final Touches

[Image Description: This is where we clean up our blurb, tag lines, cover, and formatting. Creating auxiliary content for content marketing, and developing a media strategy. At the end of this stage, we push publish (or place the book on pre-order). ]

This is my golden stage.

This is what I’m going to college for and what I plan on building a media and consulting company around. This is something I’m going to be posting a lot about so I won’t say as much here.

If you have questions on stage 4 publications pls send them to my ask box, I am always ready to help with the marketing.

Stage 5 - Continuation

[Image Description: The connection between the reader and the writer is a unique one, and is something that many indie authors tend to neglect. Your readers are people. They need assurances that there is another book coming, someone to yell at for the last cliffhanger, and a place where they can connect to other readers. As a publishing author, it is your job to provide them a way to connect. ]

Continuation is really almost an extension of stage 4. It’s the engagement side of being an author. It’s where the fandom is born.

This is where I think a lot of authors make their last mistake. Those who manage to get themselves to this stage tend to drop the ball because The History Of Authors clearly states that we are ethereal and unknowable creatures who mustn’t interact.

Times are changing, folks. Technology is changing us. We are a social bunch and we want that connection. We want the validation. We want the community.

An author that can give their audience a sense of belonging, who can engage them openly and respectfully, and who can make them feel as though they are remarkable is going to be the author who has the competitive advantage.

tldr: come ask me questions about author marketing.

[notanathleteslungs]

I posted 831 times in 2021

13 posts created (2%)

818 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 62.9 posts.

I added 27 tags in 2021

#always reblog - 4 posts

#this is adorable - 4 posts

#yes - 3 posts

#i love this so much - 3 posts

#🤣🤣🤣 - 3 posts

#… - 2 posts

#fullmetal alchemist - 2 posts

#like - 2 posts

#fma - 2 posts

#so - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#no joke i put this down because i knew it wouldn’t make any sense even to me and woke up at 6 this morning and still think it’s rambling

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

when you get a job and immediately start wondering how you can decorate your desk with the KPop merch you DON’T EVEN HAVE

0 notes • Posted 2021-02-01 03:00:13 GMT

#4

So...I think the site crashed? Just me? Now I'm wondering: does ARMY have a big enough presence to crash the app due to new concept photos for Butter..

1 notes • Posted 2021-05-11 16:55:01 GMT

#3

I’m trying to find a post, I can’t remember when I saw it, but it had the life dates of all four Golden Girls with the lyrics from the show theme, and I turned on a Betty White documentary and was talking to my mom in another room and I tried finding the post and I can’t, someone, ANYONE please help me!!

2 notes • Posted 2021-01-23 18:13:28 GMT

#2

So I’ve been watching Miraculous with my mom, and we just finished the season on Disney (yes, we are still using Disney despite the IATSE strike sue me) and can I just say HOW STINKING CUTE MYLENE IS AS POLYMOUSE!?!? LIKE SHE’S SO ADORABLE I’M HONESTLY CONSIDERING DRESSING AS HER FOR NEXT HALLOWEEN WHICH IS A YEAR AWAY!!! So I can go the cheap route, which is a grey hoodie, grey leggings, grey mouse ears over the hood, dye my hair pink, and tie a jump rope around my waist, or go the extra mile and try to get an exact copy of her costume together…decisions, decisions…

12 notes • Posted 2021-11-07 01:25:13 GMT

#1

So, I am almost finished with rewatch number I Don’t Even Know At This Point of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I just noticed something that I find pretty interesting, partly because I never picked up on it before now.

(I am very sorry if this seems to go all over the place, I woke up at 5AM yesterday and couldn’t get back to sleep, I got a massage so I’m a little sore and I wrote the majority of this at 10PM last night when my eyes were trying to unfocus themselves. I still don’t know if there’s any cohesion to it or if it’s as rambley and rant-y as I think.)

TLDR; the presentation of alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist makes it spiritual as well as scientific.

So when you ask someone what Fullmetal Alchemist is, they will probably think about it before saying it’s a sci-fi/fantasy show. Because alchemy is fake but also is an early form of science. And they’d be right. Alchemy was basically an early form of chemistry with all the talk of elements and what makes up what and yada yada yada. It also is mainly thought of alongside fantasy worlds coinciding with potion-making.

However, there is an inherently spiritual quality to how it is presented in Fullmetal Alchemist.

Let’s start with the transmutation circles. The transmutation circle is a symbol by which an alchemist is able to do a transmutation. There are many different ways to make a transmutation circle, but the base is always, say it with me: a Circle. Circles are the perfect symbol of unity, of togetherness and equality. The reason King Arthur made a Round Table was so that even though he was the king of Camelot he was of the same rank as the knights he allowed at the table. When we did icebreakers in choir, we always made a circle so everyone was included and no one was left out. Circles are the symbol of a whole.

Everyone used a circle to perform a transmutation. If you’re a hobby alchemist, just doing it for funzies in your basement, chances are you carry chalk with you to draw a circle if/when you need to. But a career alchemist—especially the state alchemists—always carried a specialized circle with them somewhere on their bodies. Mustang had his circle sewed into his gloves so he could make a spark and also do the transmutation. Armstrong had his circle engraved on his gauntlets, so with every strike he could activate the circle and make what he wanted. Kimblee, Isaac MacDougle, and one guy in the Star of Milos movie had their circles tattooed on their skin, Kimblee and MacDougle on their palms and SoM guy on his arm. They carried their circle everywhere. It gave them a connection to their alchemy so they could always do a transmutation if they found themselves in a situation. Now on to our human transmutation people.

Ed, Al, and Izumi are rare cases in FMA in that they are able to do transmutation without a circle. It is explained that this is because they performed human transmutation. It is safe to assume that the reason they are rare is because everyone else who did it probably did not survive, so yippee, our three favorite alchemists beat the odds (especially Izumi). As the reward for surviving the rebound, they don’t need to draw a circle; however, they do still make a circle, by clapping their hands and making a circle with their arms. They are still whole. And when Ed was trying to get himself, Ling, and Envy out of Gluttony’s stomach, Ling said it looks like Ed prays when he transmutes.

Here is what actually prompted this idea.

Even though Ed, Al, and Izumi don’t need to draw a circle, they are forced to humble themselves when doing transmutation. The most common thing for them to transmute—and most readily available—is the ground beneath their feet. Unless you’re a contortionist, there’s no way you can touch the ground without bending your knees. So alchemists who perform human transmutation—an act that defies God—and manage to survive the rebound are forced to humble themselves for the rest of their life when they perform a transmutation. They are forced to their hands and knees to look up at their target, a pretty vulnerable position. They are punished for their arrogance by being lower than everyone else as long as they live.

Now, connections. Each alchemist has a connection with whatever they are transmuting, whether physical or symbolic. Mustang has a flame and (probably) a salamander on his circle. Fire is easy, but salamanders got their connection with fire both from their red skin and that when a piece of wood with salamanders in it was thrown on a fire, the salamanders would crawl away as the wood burned, leaving the assumption that they came from the fire. Mustang’s connection with his transmutation of fire is symbolic. Armstrong’s connection is more physical, because his circle is on a gauntlet. Said gauntlet protects his hand as he punches, and when he punches stone, he transmutes that stone. Ed, Al, and Izumi are even more physical than Mustang because they physically touch whatever they’re transmuting. Armstrong has a metal plate between his skin and the stone, but our human transmutation folks have bare contact.

In a way, this bare contact gives them an even deeper connection with their transmutation. Not only are they themselves the circle, they also directly influence what they transmute. In performing human transmutation, they have forged a deeper connection between themselves and the world. Ed is the perfect example of this, because when he gave up his portal, he gave up his connection to the alchemy, and therefore his connection to the world. It’s like humans looking at Mars. We know exactly what it’s made of, whether or not the air is breathable, but we have no true connection to the planet, not like we do Earth. It is this connection to Earth that gave rise to all the myths from different cultures. Ed is kind of like the astronauts in The Martian, or whatever that Matt Damon movie was. He is on the planet, he understands it, but he doesn’t have any real connection to it anymore. It’s kind of heartbreaking when you realize it.

BACK ON TRACK!

Father and Hohenheim are kind of the worst case scenario. They are examples of what happens when you play god and win. They don’t need a circle, a unity. They don’t need a symbol to connect them with their transmutation. They can just be god and make something from nothing. They have no connection to their transmutation or the world despite having this god-like influence over it.

In gaining the philosopher’s stone, Father and Hohenheim were able to ignore what makes alchemy spiritual. Hohenheim doesn’t want to—he has always regretted what happened in Xerxes to the point that he worked with the souls in his stone to get to know them and pay them back as individuals. He got to know them so he could recite name, occupation, and quirks of their personality at the drop of a hat. I can go on a whole other rant about that being a trait passed to Ed and Al based on what happened with Nina but I won’t right now.

This is getting rant-y and I’m losing my train of thought, but basically, the way people do alchemy in FMA has incorporated aspects of a spirituality that you might not notice on your first watch if you’re the kind of person (like me) who watches or reads something for the enjoyment, not the analysis. First, there is a sense of connection between alchemists and their transmutation; they carry a circle—a symbol of unity—everywhere they go to act as a bridge between themselves and their transmutation. Second, people who do human transmutation almost have a deeper connection than other alchemists because they are able to make themselves the circle (and in the act of transmuting, almost pray to the very God they attempted to defy) but in exchange are forced to humble themselves before God and other people. Third, there is a contact between alchemists and their transmutation, but human transmutation takes away a barrier that other alchemists can enjoy between themselves and their transmutation. While other alchemists have the opportunity to distance themselves through a medium, Ed, Al, and Izumi made themselves the medium so they can never distance themselves. Lastly, people who have/are philosopher’s stones have destroyed the connection between themselves and transmutation because they don’t need a circle and they don’t need to touch what they’re transmuting. They don’t need to fear being struck down by God because they believe they are God and transmute as God would, standing tall and proud. Arrogant. I have a feeling if they tried doing human transmutation with a philosopher’s stone, the rebound would be even worse. If their body were taken and someone tried getting their soul back, I don’t think Truth would let them go. Whoever tried saving them would be sent back empty handed if Truth was merciful or wouldn’t go back at all if they were not.

Now that I have well and truly gone on a rant, do with this insight what you will.

24 notes • Posted 2021-03-07 11:39:56 GMT

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[giasonesdream]

Track Your Fic’s Success on AO3

Fanfic Writing on AO3 (for ARMYS)

I'm not sure why I felt the need to make this, but I have heard writers talk about this topic before, of not getting much traction on their fics. There's a part of it that really does fall on the readers, but this is a post to maybe help get you on the right path or maybe change your perspective on the stats given to you (aka kudos, hits, comments, etc).

The 10% Idea

Basically, this is just something to keep in mind if you see that there aren't many kudos on your story.

I used to have a friend that said pretty much this: If the amount of kudos is 10% of the amount of hits you have, then it's deemed a good fic. That is to say, even if your story only gets 50 kudos out of 500 people that read it, you're in the clear.

I'll be using screenshots of my own works as example because I have a range of decently well-received stories to not well received at all.

So this one has almost exactly 10% the amount of kudos.

This, which has only a whopping 5 kudos is in the 10% (it’s actually not it’s 2am and my brain is shitting itself but I’m gonna make a point with this one regardless so leave my math error alone}

Meanwhile, this fic only has 55 kudos even though, presumably, over 2k people read it.

There are a few things that should be taken into consideration here:

THE SHIP: it's no shock to anyone -especially writers- that there are favoured ships in our fandom. Taekook and Jikook take the first place spot followed by Yoonmin (this one actually was named the top ship on all of ao3 a couple years ago!) along with yoonseok/sope maybe Namjin? This is all to say, if you write about a ship that isn't necessarily popular, not many people will read your work. That isn't to say that you should only write for certain ships. Please write what you want and what you feel! I cannot stress enough that all of this should be for fun or maybe even practice if writing is your passion.

But let’s look back at the three fics I pointed out. The first one with 400 kudos is taekook, so it had a better chance of getting seen by more people. In fact, 4k people clicked on it and potentially read that story...but the next fic with only 5 kudos is yoonmin. Aren’t they a popular ship? Why did only 100 people read it? And vhope isn’t necessarily a popular ship now (it had its time earlier on back when Rookie King came out, and the veterans for that ship are still fighting, me included!) but 2k people clicked on that and only 55 of those 2k liked it enough to leave a kudos. So, if it’s not the ship, what else could it be?

THE TAGS: tagging a story is very detrimental when posting on a site like this or any other, really. Many people like to narrow their searches down based on the criteria. Being able to filter what fics a person sees can make or break a work’s traction. My yoonmin story is a horror fic, and I’m sure there aren’t very many readers looking to get scared. As an avid reader myself, there is no denying that I -as well as many other readers- are interested in reading smut. Whether it be a one shot that’s quick and easy, or maybe it’s a slow-burn that tallies up to just being a written rom-com series, if you specify in the tags that smut is in this story, people are more willing to give it a try. For the vhope fic, I didn’t mention smut, but I did put in the tags some subgenres of smut. You can’t have “over stimulation” without sex, right? 

But, again, I feel the need to stress this: do not write smut if you are not comfortable with it! Despite the fact that a lot of us are thirsty, shameless fiends, there about just as many people that are only here for the cutesy, lovey-dovey shit. That taekook fic doesn’t have any sex in it, nor did I ever mention that there was a possibility of sex. It doesn’t go past being flirty in the span of 2k words. So, then, if a fic with a popular ship can do well without having sex in it, what else is making people click on it?

THE SUMMARY: I...am such a huge advocate for summaries. There’s a nice fine line between going into too much detail or not enough. This is why I normally go the route of putting in an excerpt from the story and then add a TLDR (Too Long Don’t Read) in the form of an “OR” followed by an incredibly oversimplified idea of what the story is about. As you can see, I didn’t do that for the yoonmin fic. I only put in an excerpt that -quite frankly- is boring narrative. The reason as to why I chose that in the first place is because the horror aspect of the fic is where any dialogue comes in- which brings me to the next point!

This could just be me, but I do tend to click on stories that have dialogue in the summary. This is going to depend on if the reader cares more about dialogue or narration, but think of the story as if it were a new movie coming out or preview to a new episode of a show. Do these videos only broadcast the actors simply moving around? No, they like to add in clips from scenes, use dialogue where you can sort of understand what the context of the scene might be, but not enough context so you’ll want to watch and see what the fuck they’re talking about.

So, if you’ve gotten to this part, you have probably realized that all I did was just tell you how you can market your writing so that more people will click on it and possibly read it all the way through. And really, these aren’t necessarily sure, guaranteed ways of becoming the next “The Fic” in our fandom, but I can assure that just taking more time to consider these aspects can allow you to contemplate what works for you as well as the audience. 

That’s that on that. The next thing I want to talk about some stuff I didn’t cover that are just as important:

Comments (and Bookmarks)

This is probably the biggest thing I ever hear/read/see artists of any sort complain about. And with good reason! As a writer, it truly does wonders to get feedback of almost any sort, even if it’s just a critique on how something was worded. Comments mean that we’re not just throwing our art out into a vast void. Effort was put into the art we created, so if you enjoyed it, effort put into commenting is much appreciated. But this isn’t another rant begging the audience to please just let us know how you felt. No, I’m here to mention that we should not let the number of kudos overshadow the interactions.

More examples. And keep in mind that taekook fic. Feel free to scroll back up and look at the amount of comments on that work. Now take a look at these:

So, 8.1k read this fic...and only 250 people liked it...but boy did this story cause some sort of reaction because people W E N T O F F! And rest assured, none of the comments were necessarily negative. The majority of them are just people being like “wha- how could they >.<”

Everything seems to be pretty even across the board. 2.6k readers, 220 kudos, about 20 or so comments (that’s excluding my replies). 

As I mentioned before, comments are so important. The taekook fic I wrote that seemed to garner enough traction where 4k people read it and 400 people liked it enough to leave a kudos, only a handful of those readers left a comment. It kinda makes me think of instagram. How strange does it look if a picture gets 10k likes but only has maybe 10 or 20 comments. Something seems a bit off, doesn’t it? I can see how this sounds entitled, but my sole purpose in bringing this up is because those numbers can be discouraging. And I want to stress how important it is to look at your works, cherish the comments you get even if the number of hearts seems low in comparison. Some of my most heartfelt comments are on that Taegi fic just above. And it makes them all the more special because this has been my favourite story to write. So even though not many have read it (whether it be because the ship isn’t popular or I didn’t do a good job of summarizing the fic where it seemed interesting) the people that clicked on an liked it felt the need to comment some absolutely amazing words. And those are the comments that should keep you going and growing.

I’ll also just add this little tidbit because it wasn’t something I noticed until recently, you should also check the bookmarks. People are able to leave comments and tags in their bookmarks, and I believe those to be extensions of comments. Not only did people feel like saving this work you wrote, but they might just let out some of their feelings in the tags, like the tags section of a tumblr post or the comment on a retweet.

There is no rule or formula that I particularly know of for getting more comments -aside from using the note section to say “let me know what you think” or “comments are always appreciated!”. I think this aspect somewhat depends on the story itself. That taekook fic I wrote is probably one of the more “cookie-cutter” things I have written. Tropes are great, they normally have a plot and formula that people can follow and know what’s going to happen. And they’re tropes for a reason: they’re common and entertaining. I know I don’t always like to go the route of writing tropes. I have accepted that the style in which I write is not always catered towards the general audience, but that is completely okay!

As I said before, this is for fun. You write because you have a story you want to tell, and you feel so passionately about it that you take the time and effort to write it. If my numbers have proven anything, it’s that your fics will find their niche. It’s always going to fit someone. And it’s important to really appreciate those that seem to like what you’re writing, even if the greater audience doesn’t vibe with it.

And that’s that on that.

So, since we’ve gone over all this, I just wanted to say that I am open to helping writers. I know this post probably isn’t the best representation, but I’m pretty damn good at spelling and grammar. I’m not a novelist, don’t have any published works floating anywhere on the New York Times Best Seller list, but I have been writing since I was seven years old. With fifteen years of experience and having worked with authors in the past on potential books, I am always more than happy to pass on any knowledge I have gained over the years. If it’s wording something to make it flow better, trying to fill any plot holes or answer questions of character motivations, of if you should be using “there”, “they’re”, or “their”, I would love to help. All ya gotta do is message me :)

*mic drop*