#this is 100% coming from personal experience

[the-herdier]

I've probably posted about this before a long time ago, but... what if a big part of why Stein is the way he is is that he got very very sick as a toddler (possibly something congenital) and had to spend a lot of time in the hospital and undergo many procedures? Hence his fascination with how bodies work. It could also explain his social awkwardness too- you can't exactly socialize with other children when you're laid up in bed, nor can you really get the same kind of interactions with your parents that those other children get. Maybe he felt neglected by his family because of his illness? Could be why he got mad at Medusa for saying she would abandon Crona as soon as she wasn't "useful" anymore.

[novella-november]

Not to harsh your joy regarding your personal project, (which does sound awesome!) the fact that you keep answering the "can I do fanfic?" questions with "technically yes, but have you considered not doing that?" does not actually *feel* very fanfic friendly. (Especially for anyone who enjoys fanfic as a hobby and isn't also an ofic writer. For example, I personally write almost exclusively character studies that are an explicit reaction to canon; there is no real way to write that sort of thing except as fanfic.)

Which is just a long-winded way of requesting that you maybe consider less of a caveat with the FAQ if you make one, please.

oh that was definitely not my intention, thanks for the ask! I think it was mostly just because I got that same question a few times in a row from various anons within the same time span (including some that were not published publicly), it just happened that I was thinking of my own project(s, plural now) in the last day when I answered those two, for those who want an extra creative challenge.

There's a reason my own original thing has been in my head for the last ten years without me actually writing it while I've written and posted tons of fanfiction, and even now some of my original works are going to be based on Arsene Lupin, so they'd technically be considered fanfiction since they're based on and use an established work for the characters and settings --

--writing completely original fic *is* harder, and that's exactly why I'm *suggesting* (not requiring!) that people consider taking 1 out of short story 4 challenges to look at their work in a new light.

90% of what I read and (until I actually start and finish my original works) 100% of what I've written in my life is fanfic. I have nothing against fanfic, otherwise I woudn't even be interested in creative writing.

But its also not a diss to say "Would you consider looking at your [fanfic] writing from a new angle and try to figure out different ways of going about it?"

Honestly, being able to even consider this option *as a fun extra challenge* is meant to help improve your writing and creative skills; it's not meant as a cheap shot at people who choose to write fanfiction because I my self write and read tons of it,

it's me saying "if you want even more practice at creative writing during these monthly challenges, try branching out a little bit from your comfort zone, you may be pleasantly surprised."

People who write and read fanfiction already have tons of creative experience, and if people like me and many other fanfic writers who one day dream of being published authors, want to broaden our horizons and seek new experiences, one of the easiest exercises is to take something we're planning on writing or already wrote, and see what we would change to make it brand new and standalone--

-- something that not only helps you come up with new ideas, but also will help when it comes time to *edit*, which can be, depending on the length and complexity of your story, can be a complicated process:

whether that means having to delete scenes entirely,

changing what a character says,

altering an aspect of the worldbuilding to fix plot holes

, re-writing your character so they're not overpowered because it was ruining the stakes and tension,

changing the POV of chapters because it was ruining the flow of the story,

etc etc etc.

I love fan fiction.

I love reading it and I love writing it, and for many people who take on monthly writing challenges, it is a way to test ourselves and gear ourselves up and prove to ourselves that not only can we write x amount of words, but it proves to ourselves that we are *capable of creating*, and for many creatives, that ultimately leads to crafting our own unique stories;

if you're already taking place in a monthly writing challenge, why not push the bounds a little bit *if you're so inclined* and test the waters? Especially when you're surrounded by a community who is cheering you on, every step of the way?

Every Nanowrimo I ever won was fanfiction. Heck, even not during November I once did 40k words in two weeks for a fic.

I always stalled out when I tried to write original works;

it is much easier to start small with a single short story than it is to try to write an entirely original novel, and my encouraging people to try baby steps by *experimenting* with one short story out of four in a month is not meant to be a diss against fanfiction,

but an *encouragement to those like me* who were so eager to write original works but floundered when I tried to jump into the deep end and felt disheartened.

Many fanfic authors aspire to write original fics, and thats who that challenge is for, for the people who want to write original works but are too afraid to fully commit; I'll still be writing and posting fanfiction even if I become a published author, even If I just have to come up with a few new pen-names to post them under.

There's absolutely no judgement on anyone who wants to write fanfiction for these challenges, my "caveat" as you say, is only there as encouragement to those like me who are afraid to take the first step, or uncertain of how to even *begin* that first step, not any kind of condemnation.

TL;DR:

I did not mean for my responses on the "can I write fanfiction" to come off as rude or looking down on fanfiction, its meant to be an encouragment to all the people like me who love fanfic and started out writing fanfiction, and dream of writing original works to take the first step, with a community of like-minded people all taking the same challenge.

Like every other challenge aspect of these events, taking a fanfic idea and turning it into an original short story is completely optional and meant as inspiration, just like following prompts for events is not mandatory, and even completing the 30k word goal is not mandatory; the goal for this month is to create, get in the habit of creating, and having fun with it!

[hinamie]

hina have you seen this theory yet? 😭

https://www.tumblr.com/thepersonperson/762115329999650816/why-the-hell-is-jjk-270-called-dreams-end

yeah so i saw it first thing when i woke up yesterday and the fit of dread it put me into spiralled into a full-blown breakdown by the end of the night. dramatic I know but hear me out. ik people had mixed reactions to it but the relief and joy i felt the night of 268 leaks when I saw all the first years alive and together again was unmatched. after weeks of anxiety and trying to make peace with the fact that either megumi or yuuji would most likely not make it, suddenly it looked like everything would be ok. with those leaks i was SO happy to be in this fandom i was so happy to be making art for my favourite characters and to be able to watch them pull through. the thought of getting slapped in the face fr embracing that joy by a twist dream/unreality ending Hurts. I'm right back in the same anxiety that 2 days ago I thought was behind me.

re: the theory itself. i definitely think it's interesting and god knows i'm not well-versed in the manga enough to offer evidence against it , however comma for the sake of my own sanity I don't want to believe it. Even if it means that the ending we do get isn't satisfying from a writing or character standpoint, I don't want to believe that gege would be so cruel as to tear away even this rushed happiness at the last minute. Personally I don't think it's feasible for a single chapter and I definitely don't see surprise killing off a main character(s) as an ending that will satisfy the majority of audience members. call me delusional for it idc i cried enough last night i'm apathetic as fuck today.

I know i'm a lot more laid back than a lot of fans when it comes to how i respond to gege's writing choices, and a large part of that comes from me preferring to experience media giving creators grace and focusing on the aspects of their work that make me happy. i've /always/ been in jjk for the characters and their relationships. /they're/ what inspire my art. /they're/ what make me happy. Am I 100% satisfied with the way the past few chapters have been handled, no, but that dissatisfaction doesn't outweigh my happiness at seeing my favourite characters, the reason i make art in the first place, alive and together and happy. I would Rather the unsatisfying rushed disney kaisen ending or even a sequel than to have gege rub his audiences' faces in the dirt and mock us fr falling into the false sense of security he put us in. has he trolled before, yes, but i don't like to think he'd be this cruel in his series finale.

[zmichelle1234]

Edwin Payne would be fascinated by washing machines

Like I just know he sits in front of them while Niko and Crystal are washing their clothes and is just mesmerised by the spinning

[blueskittlesart]

do you have any thoughts on zelda not staying as a dragon? me personally I like it and am very cool with it mostly because I think zelda should get to be happy forever (and because I'm smart enough to know she changed back because of recall and not some ambiguous power of love lmao) but a lot of people seem to dislike that it made the draconification inconsequential?

i think there's like. some valid concerns surrounding inconsequentiality/"curing" the physical problems characters have as a way of giving them a "happy ending" but I think those concerns don't necessarily apply to totk in the way people seem to be applying them, especially irt zelda's draconification and link's arm.

most of the time when the criticism of this "magic cure" trope is applied to media, it's because the trope is used as a cure-all to erase a character's suffering or trauma and make them "normal" again, and often ignores the character development or themes of the story in favor of giving the character a happy ending. I don't think that applies to totk, though, because the "curing" link and zelda experience is both within the realm of possibility given the worldbuilding present in the game (recall could easily have done it, as you mentioned) AND thematically consistent with the rest of the game. One of if not the most important central themes of totk is the idea of failure and second chances. we see a hyrule that has been given a second chance after link's initial failure with the calamity brought it to the brink of destruction. we see characters who were deeply unhappy and entrenched in the shame of their precalamity mistakes like purah and zelda become active, beloved members of their communities. we see the people of lurelin village take back and rebuild their destroyed home. we watch this kingdom and its people make an unprecedented comeback after a century of struggle and ruin.

Similarly, totk's gameplay is LINK's second chance, his comeback from the initial mistake of losing zelda, of specifically being unable to reach her with his injured hand when they fell. The consequences of that--the master sword's corruption, the loss of his arm, and zelda's draconification, are all supposed to SEEM irreversible, because that's how LINK initially sees them. he believes that he doomed both himself and zelda all because of that SINGLE moment in which he wasn't enough, a viewpoint which is obviously left over from the pressure he experienced to perform to an impossible standard of perfection pre-calamity. The story of totk is about deconstructing that belief and proving it wrong. the mistake he made caused harm, but it's never too late to repair things. he can fix the regional phenomena ganondorf causes and rebuild those communities. he can revitalize the master sword. he can GET ZELDA BACK, with his own arm, uninjured and able to reach her this time. no matter how impossible those things may initially seem, no matter the perceived finality of his mistakes and their consequences, there is always hope. there is always a second chance. no one person's single mistake can doom an entire kingdom for eternity. the fate of hyrule was NEVER resting on link's shoulders alone. he was never their final hope. there was always going to be an after. the whole POINT of the draconification and the loss of link's arm is that they AREN'T final. they ARE inconsequential, because they were born of one mistake and ONE MISTAKE IS NOT THE END ALL.

[salemontrial]

Why the FUCK didn't Sasha apologize to Quinni.

[britneyshakespeare]

i feel bad for raquel lee bolleau and i feel like what she's saying about the lack of transparency behind quiet on set is a bigger issue that the consumers of this type of content don't want to talk about or criticize. social media has led to a huge boom in tragedy porn and trauma porn about the entertainment industry but especially the children's entertainment industry, especially especially from the eras when the largest demographic in that audience were consuming it themselves.

it's already been problematic in itself that there is an oversaturation of unresearched and repetitive videos on the exploitation of former child stars. it seems like the creators and audience don't often ask themselves "have we gotten enough of this? do we need another take on it? is another video full of dan schneider rumors and gossipy forum posts really adding to the public discourse?" i don't know quite at what point it becomes exploitative that this content continues to be made, and be evergreen in social media algorithms. the volume, the reach, and the general lack of quality control are the evil triad. because we are far past the point where i really believe everyone consuming this stuff cares about exploited children. there's far too many people gawking and not reevaluating the systems of power involved. or, to put it more concretely: how many times do we all need to watch those clips of ariana grande squeezing the potato and spilling water on her neck? at what point is this just personally disrespectful and retraumatizing for the victims that for the most part we, the consumers of internet content, are claiming to advocate for?

quiet on set is the first time traditional media got involved in this niche. there is still a lot of value in some of the discoveries made by the series. but it does not have completely clean hands in this either. it does not feel like everyone involved in making the executive decisions cared nearly enough about the vulnerability of former child stars they recruited to share their stories, or hell, whose stories were told without their involvement, such as amanda bynes and racquel in episode 5. these people did not even give statements.

the focus of this docuseries was far too broad and not coherent enough at the end of the day. and they did not give enough support to all of the people they roped in to tell their stories about childhood trauma. i have a hard time trying not to be completely cynical about its whole production, because i really want to believe that many of the people who worked on it do care. not every individual involved knew or had control over the injustices that happened in its own production. but the executives? fuck em. they greenlit this thing, and probably incentivized the creators to make these episodes as fast as possible, because they knew it would be a cash cow. something as sensitive as THIS series should not be so poorly produced just because it will be a guaranteed smash.

[invre]

Headcanon; post-canon, Mithrun stayed in the Canaries lodging for a while — his squad were happy for that, and none moreso than Pattadol who worries a fair bit about him living alone. But, ultimately, he got his own place in Melini once everyone else had moved on as well.

Despite being from a noble family and having connections to both his brother and the new King, he saw little reason to pull said strings. It probably was suggested by Pattadol and maybe also Cithis that having live-in servants might be beneficial, but he declined. Having a large home and servants felt no different than the lodging quarters, so what was the point? He would only be there periodically, anyway.

Mithrun has a simple house in Melini with a fairly large garden. It's an average sized house, primarily built from wood— the one thing he did accept help on was having it furnished/decorated, because it would have been the same to him if he had nothing besides a mattress to sleep on— and everyone seemed bothered by that idea. It's actually quite a nice space, now. The garden is mostly made up of flowers and a few fruit/vegetable patches, though none of it is Mithrun's doing. It was all left from the previous owners.

His home is cozy, to a degree, but it does feel slightly... Impersonal. When visiting his brother for the first time post-canon, he had given Mithrun two boxes full of his personal affects from before he joined the Canaries. Books, jewellery, photo frames, and so on. Those boxes were brought back to Melini, but they're just sitting there gathering dust.

That said, one photo that does hang on his wall — a moving-in surprise, courtesy of those who helped him decorate — is a framed picture of their squad, the official photo they all took together when initially assigned. They all look morose or pissed-off, for the most part, but they're together. Despite their circumstances (and clashing personalities), they did spend a lot of time together and a strange kinship appeared to have formed. He does look at that photo sometimes.

[maeo-png]

anyone got any hc’s for how cap’s coming out might be handled? i really hope he comes out to everyone one at a time :)

[gibbearish]

btw similar to the whole "if you try adderall at a party and it calms you down, get an adhd test" thing, if at some point in your life you try microdosing shrooms with a friend and end up feeling like a functional person for the first time in your life, get tested for depression. like yeah hallucinogens come with elation so youre probably gonna have some "this is the best ive ever felt in my life" vibes regardless, but like. if that in and of itself feels like finally breathing in for the first time in years, thats for sure a sign that something is up with your ability to process serotonin most of the time. feeling better than ever before should be a nice bonus, not a crushing weight off your chest

[thats-my-passion-right-there]

I finally saw the mean girls musical (the movie one) I have so many fucking thoughts oh my god

[aeide-thea]

disjointed thoughts abt like. various anti-'normalization' takes i've seen and how actually i think like. expanding the range of things people are aware of & comfortable with is in fact often a helpful step towards becoming less dependent on the concept of normality to determine acceptability, because once you understand that normal isn't in fact a narrowly fixed range but is subjective and can be widened, it becomes a much softer yardstick & less of a bludgeon

[ofallthingsnasty]

Well you know what overhaul would do. HAHA. He'd treat you even more like his little patient. Dress you in a surgical gown and sit you in his exam room so he can do all the tests to get to the bottom of whatever illness you have (even if it pronbaly is just a simple cold.)

Imagine him snapping on his gloves real menacingly as he approaches you, your legs dangling over the edge of the table. He'd constantly be looking down at you with a glare, but he's really worried you know? Secretly. Deep down.

He'd make you open your mouth and point a flashlight around, then he'd check your nose- maybe shoving a q tip up inside to send off for tests. He'd lift up your gown and palpatate your tummy, it's super embarrassing and weird. He pokes and prodes and asks "Does this hurt?"

Oh and he makes you pee for him. You claim you can't go? Fine. He starts pulling out a long tube and lubing it up. If you won't pee for him then he'll have to use a catheter. Bad utis can travel to your kidney and kill you, don't you know? It'd be so horrible, you'd beg for him to just let you go by yourself but it's too late.

Next? Rectal thermometer maybe? Sniffling as you're forced to bend over the table and hold yourself apart for him. Or maybe some breathing tests. Maybe he'll get you on a treadmill with some monitors attached to your body and make you run until you almost collapse. The tests are endless. 😌😌😌

😂😭 noooooo- this man, I swear. EXACTLY. That's exactly what he'd do! He's such a little shit with a god complex 😤💕 aaa this is so in-character, I have so little to add!! and also yeshhh overhaul and catheters are always so- unf- tw.yandere, medical malpractice mention, everything sickness

Oh poor, poor you. You're miserable. No matter what bug you caught, it's no fun freezing your ass off on the plastic covers of one of his examination tables. You can barely keep yourself up - and he doesn’t care that the lights are too bright, that you’re shivering and trying to curl into yourself. He’ll make sure to bark something at you the moment you try to lie down - this is his domain and he’ll tell you what to do and when. Don’t you even dare to sneeze without his permission. And you’re so right- you tell him exactly what’s hurting, what feels wrong - but he’ll still make you do a dozen tests that are painfully unrelated to your issues. He just likes to see you suffer a little, likes to see your little tired eyes cling to him like he’s the only thing in the world for you... I feel like he would barely let you get enough rest, even if he doesn’t require your presence - it’s all about making you a little more uncomfortable, to slow down the healing process. He likes you hazy and dependent and pliant. Why not keep it that way for a little while longer? And torturing you a little is just the proverbial cherry on top. He’s going to hold any sickness you ever had over your head for an eternity, too. Even months later, if you dare to push back a little, if you dare to show signs of disobedience - get reading for him to play it up as though he saved your life with all his nonsense. One would think he brought you back from the brink of death with how he twists his words around, it’s infuriating. But imagine if you catch something that makes you... expel any sort of bodily fluid. A fever is almost cute to him, you’re just woozy and disoriented, hell, you’ll even try to cling to him with how out of it you are. Yeah, you’re sweating a lot but that’s nothing - nothing compared to phlegm, pee, vomit or other waste. I feel like doing all these fun little tests would be easy when you’re not an active germ factory. Because once he gets even a speck of snot on him, he’ll break out in the meanest hives you’ve ever seen. I feel like if you keel over after every sip of water to puke it out again, he’d simply lock you into your room. Lets someone else bring you food, water and medicine. As long as you’re breathing, you’ll be fine. If he comes to see you, he’s gonna be red in the face with strained effort and act as though you’re a walking biohazard. Makes snide little comments about the air (as though you have window! You should be glad to have a functioning ventilation system) and keeps his distance. But as soon as your state clears up a little, he’ll make up for all those tests missed... He has to make sure you’re really getting well again, right?

[im-smart-i-swear]

Does Jiro has ghost like abilities (possession, ability to levitate things, etc etc) or does she just live in Shiro's head?

when i created this au, i thought the best option would be for her to be unable to interact with the physical world in any way(including possesion), beacuse i really wanted to lean into her isolation and how it affects her....... and while thats something i still want to emphasise here, lately ive been toying with the idea of jiro being able to impact the physical world somehow(though it still being fairly limited). i think letting her have some control could have a lot of potential! buuuut i also have no idea what abilities i want her to have lol

For now i think im not gonna give her any telekinetic abilities, bc i feel like it would be giving her too much power......... if she could throw shit, shed go APESHIT with it. it would made things too easy for her. i'm sorry babygirl but i'm NOT giving you the possibilty to throw knives and other sharp objects, i dont trust you to not kill someone:/

i really like the idea of her being able to temporarily posses her old body in certain circumstances tho- maybe when shiros uncouncious?? or like when hes is very tired or heavily injured she can kind of 'squeeze through' and take control back for a few minutes???? idk. i think this could be a very cool ability to give her- it cant be frequently used but can also be very helpful, and also theres so much potential for ✨shenanigans✨here>:) oh god i could put these fuckers in so many Situations with this..........

uhhh. so basically i think all of her influence on the physical world are through shiro. shes here bc of her connection to her old body, and thus its the only way for her to interact with anyone besides him- and shes NOT HAPPY about this(neither is shiro).

[holyshit]

anons from earlier today ⬇️ (sorry for doing so much tag answering but it’s a heavy topic to me so i don’t want to get too... out there with it lol)

[crescentfool]

after a year of on-and-off playing, i finally finished persona 3 fes (the journey) and it was a very lovely experience! so i thought i’d write a post compiling some of my thoughts about it!

first things first, p3p or p3fes:

i enjoyed fes a LOT but for people who are looking for a smoother game experience and fun social links, i would suggest playing femc’s route on p3p, and then watch the p3 movies to see minato’s journey.

that said, if you feel that 3d models are important to help immerse yourself in the setting and storyline (like me!), i would still recommend playing fes!

and if you are not entirely sure if you want to commit to an 80+ hour long game… the movies are a very good starting point!

where im coming from:

before i actually get into Some of My Thoughts™, a lil’ precursor  i did go into fes with the general gist of p3’s plot (i watched the movies).

p3 fes was the second persona game i played (after p5r), but i have seen a good chunk of gameplay of the other games (p1, p2is, p3p, and p4g).

i can say that playing the game definitely heightened my appreciation for the characters and setting in a way that the movie couldn’t. soufhglkhdf i loved it. 

but anyways. some More Thoughts™ under the cut, mostly just about fes’s gameplay and Some Spoilers!

on the gameplay:

i think that playing fes after p5r was really interesting! i felt that i could see the foundation of what makes up the ‘modernsona’ games. it’s not as streamlined as p5r (no baton passes 💔) but i think it’s still playable (though that might be because i played on easy, lol).

tartarus, i found it… oddly calming? but i understand if people feel it’s repetitive, and not as interesting as the dungeons in p5r. i enjoy that tartarus isn’t as segmented since the story beats didn’t have to be tied to it.

i think the worst part of the gameplay to me was anything to do with the golden hands…. it’s very annoying to get into a battle with them on the map, and once you DO get into a fight they can just run away before you can do anything? so i’m glad that their appearances in p4g are much more fair and feel more rewarding bc i had to abuse so many save states just to hit the fuckers.

in regards to the ai, i think they’re alright unless you’re trying to pull off a more elaborate strategy that isn’t “knock down enemies and all out attack them.” i think the directions that you can give SEES are fairly straightforward but there have been times where their decisions are questionable (no mediaharan or… attacking when the final boss activated their reflect barrier… lol).

i found fes to be tolerable but i do think that sometimes enemy advantage attacks combined with the ai can be rather punishing when party members heal people that aren’t the leader (given the if protag dies = game over). totally not speaking from experience haha what do you mean (volume warning)???

if you’re playing on emulator i highly recommend keeping save states! i used them a lot for hands and the (groans) random skill mutations and. shuffle times. im cheap. i know. but don’t b afraid to make it easier for urself ✨ 

there’s also the new moon difficulty mod for anyone who’s concerned about the game balance, but i haven’t played it myself.

on the characters / story:

i liked sees when watching the movies, but gosh, playing the game really heightened my appreciation for them! especially yukari, i loved her social link and i really enjoyed getting to know her better.

that said. anyone who’s been in the p3 fandom long enough probably has heard that minato’s social links are… lackluster. there are a few good ones (that weren’t SEES) that i really liked- bebe (XIV), mutatsu (XVI), and akinari (XIX)! but all of these are… available in femc’s route and she gets a lot better options. i don’t want to sit through nozomi and kenji’s social links again </3

even if i feel that minato’s SLs are a bit meh, i really appreciate how SEES’s social links are handled and that their development does not hinge on minato DOING things- i think it allows for stronger and more believable character arcs and i loved seeing the different dynamics among the cast!

i think that playing the game and living out each day brings out the inherent strength of the persona calendar system- i really felt a stronger attachment to the characters and their individualized storylines than i did in the movies, which in turn enhanced my enjoyment of the themes portrayed in the narrative. which. i already enjoyed a lot (gestures a lot at ryoji mochizuki who everyone probably knows that he’s my favorite character ever).

if it’s not readily apparent! i really! enjoyed playing FES! im glad i chose it over p3p bc :) i like to look at minato and smile at his silly little animations. but uh. i think that’s all i have to say!

if anyone wants any specific thoughts™ on the characters / gameplay, feel free to leave an ask !!! i would be happy to answer it whenever i have the chance to~

 TL;DR: p3 GOOD i loved it a lot