#to either misrepresent their accomplishments

[ms-hells-bells]

that 'black inventions' post circulating currently has so many crazy inaccuracies, but for me to say so, i'd need to prove it, and to prove it i'd have to basically write an essay, and if i write a ton of info, people will wonder why i spent so much time to argue with and write about a pro black post and no matter what i'll look dodgy as hell (even i'd feel weird doing so), so i guess i'll just ignore it :')

[bteezxyewriter12]

Massage

Pairing- Jin x Named Reader

Word count- 4.1k

Includes- Cock massage, sex, missionary, sex from behind, cock riding, multiple orgasms, fluff

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxminnie @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa

@borntowalkaway @soulseobi05 @kpop-bambi @seokwoosmole @meowmeowminnie @realisticnotes @effielumiere @svnbangtansworld @pinkies-things @insomniacatiny @marvelfamily3000 @amyz78 @blueie-things

Masterlists- check out for more fics

📝Masterlists 📝BTS Masterlist 📝Jin Masterlist

Jin POV

“You ok Jinnie?”, Joanne asks me, pausing the movie we’re watching

I’m stretching because my back and shoulders are killing me

Too much practicing

“Yeah Jo. I’m ok. My back just hurts”

“That sucks", she comments then moves behind me on my bed

"What are you doing?”, I ask a bit alarmed

“Fucking relax Jin. I’m just gonna give you a massage.”, she says and I know by her tone she’s rolling her eyes

“You don’t have to”, I answer although I really want her too

She's my best friend since I was little

We grew up together and have been inseparable since then

She’s a veterinarian for the zoo here in Seoul

How she goes near those wild animals that can eat her, I’ll never know but she loves her job

Sometimes we don’t have time to see each other because of our schedules We try to hang out once a week if I’m here and not on tour

“Oh shut up Jin”, she answers

I feel her hands start moving on my shoulders and it feels good

She rubs her thumbs in my shoulder blades and it hurts but in a good way

“Damn Jinnie, you weren’t kidding. You’re so stiff”, she says, using both hands on one of my shoulders

“Yeah. We’re practicing so much. All the award shows are coming up and we’re performing at almost every one.”, I answer

“You’re being worked to death, you know that right?”, she says as she switches to my other shoulder

“It’s ok. I can handle it. BigHit is better than some of the other companies. We’re given a lot more freedom”

“Sure Jinnie. Whatever you say”, she answers

She doesn’t like that I’m an idol

Don’t get me wrong, she’s super proud of me and all I’ve accomplished with BTS

But she hates that I have to work all the time, that I have to practice and perform show after show

She hates that I really don’t have time to do what I want to do

It’s always work

She also hates how the media misrepresents us sometimes, how I can’t go down the street without being recognized, how our privacy is always invaded and how some fans can get She hates the sasaengs with a passion

I swear she’d kick one’s ass if she ever met one

I love that she cares about me and my well being

She’s always there for me whenever I need her even though I’m not always there for her

She really is the best friend I could ever ask for

“Take you’re shirt off and lay face down”, she orders

“What?”

Is she serious?

“Oh c'mon Jin, get your mind outta the gutter. I need to get to your back and I can’t if you’re sitting up. And your shirt’s in the way. Just do it”, she explains

I sigh

I know she’s not going to do anything

We don’t see each other that way

It’s just different

But I trust her

She moves from behind me and waits

Oh what the hell

Taking my shirt off, I turn and lay down on my stomach

She gets up and sits on my ass

“Joanne!”, I yell

What? I need to get close to you and I have no where to sit.”

“Yeah but for you have to sit right on my ass?”

“Where do you want me to sit? I can sit on you’re lower back while I massage your shoulders but I still need to sit somewhere to get your lower back”, she asks

I think but honestly there’s no where else

“Fine, do that then”, I agree

She moves and sits on my back, her legs on either side of me. Her hands go back to my shoulders and she starts rubbing, sliding her fingers on my neck and massaging there too

Her hands move all over my back, making my muscles putty under her hands

She massages me hard at first to get the knots out, then she lightens up, the massage becoming gentle

She’s so fucking good at this

She’s never massaged me before so I never knew she was good at it Honestly she’s better than most professionals

She moves again and sits back on my behind

Her hands slide down and she massages my lower back

“Fuck Jo. It feels so good”

“Good Jinnie. You’re body is so fucking tense. When was the last time you had a massage?”, she asks

“Uh…like a year ago, I think”

“That’s to long Jinnie. You gotta get it more often or you’ll fuck up your body. With how much you have to dance, you need it a lot.”

I know she’s right but there’s no time

When she finishes my back she gets off and says, “Turn around”

I turn and lay on my back. She climbs and sits on my stomach

Leaning over she starts rubbing my shoulders and then moves to my chest

Jesus I didn’t know that can feel so good.

I watch her while she massages me and her face is in such concentration at what she’s doing

Why haven’t I noticed how beautiful she is?

‘Stop it’, I think

She’s your best friend, nothing else

She takes my arm and massages down my arm, starting from my bicep to my wrist and then my hand and fingers

She’s really going all out

She switches to the other arm and does the same thing

When she finishes, she moves and sits on my thighs, completely avoiding my lap

She leans over, rubbing and squeezing my sides and stomach

God my body hasn’t felt this good and relaxed in a long time

When she’s finished she asks “Do your legs hurt too? If you change into sweats or pjs, I can massage you through the pants”

I want her too but I’m too lazy and comfortable to get up. What do I do?

Swallowing hard, I make a decision

“You can uh take them off”, I stutter

Her eyebrow shoots up

“Take you’re pants off?”, she repeats

“Uh yeah”, I blush

She shrugs, “Fine but your boxers are staying on”

I nod

She stands and takes off my belt

She unbuttons and unzips my jeans

I lift myself up so she can pull the jeans down

She gets them off and then moves my legs, opening them

She sits in the spaces between them and starts squeezing my thighs

“You and you’re thunder thighs”, she mutters

“Hey!”, I protest

“Sorry. They’re just big”, she smirks

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Yeah”

“Nice Jo”

“You’re welcome”

While she touches my thighs, I realize with horror that I’m getting hard

This entire thing, her massaging me is turning me on

Shit

What do I do?

She’s not paying attention but she’ll see it eventually

'Don’t freak out’, I tell myself

If I freak out she’ll definitely freak out Just don’t draw her attention to it

She moves down my legs, still massaging and making me more hard

I’m so scared of what she’s gonna say

When she’s done, she looks up and her eyes widen

Shit

Shit

“Oh”, is all she says

I look down

I can’t meet her eyes

“I’m sorry, it’s just all the touching-”

“I can fix it if you want”

My head snaps up to her

What?

Is she serious?

“Whh….what?”

“Not sex Jin. But I can make you cum if you want”

How is she talking about this like it’s nothing?

She’s gonna make me cum?

How?

“You don’t have to Jinnie. I’m just offering. You don’t have to take it”

“Yes”, I blurt

I don’t know why but I want her to

I want to know how she’s going to do it

How it’s going to feel

“Oh uh ok.”

She gets off the bed and stands

She pulls my boxers down to my ankles

“Do you trust me Jinnie?”, she asks

“Yeah Jo. Of course”

She nods

Then she pulls her pants and panties off

What?

I thought she said no sex

She climbs back on me

She touches my cock and pumps it a few times then lays it flat on my stomach

I’m so fucking horny and I want to know what she’s going to do

She moves up and I suck in a breath when I see her pussy

I want to touch her

Reaching out, I touch her and shit she’s wet

She breathes harder and I move my fingers on her clit

She lets out a little whimper and fuck I love it

I slide my fingers inside her, her pussy clenchjng hard around them

Jesus, she’s so wet

She gently takes my fingers out of her, then moves down and puts her wet pussy right on my cock

Fuck, it feels good

Slowly she starts moving, sliding along my shaft

I moan from the pleasure that hits my body

How is this feeling so good?

She’s just rubbing herself on my cock and it feels this good

“Jo-”

“Shhh Jinnie. Just feel ok? Just let me massage you and make you feel good ok?”, she whispers

I moan and nod

She changes the way she moves

First she presses hard on me and moves up and down slowly on my entire length

I can’t tear my eyes away from her pussy on me

Then she starts moving faster still pressing hard

“Oh my god”, I moan

Her pussy leaves my cock so slick with her juice and honestly I just want more on me

Then she presses lightly and moves slow again for awhile until she starts to move fast

But the best and what drives me crazy is when she slides up and rubs right on the sensitive underside of my head

She changes her speed a lot as I watch her

First fast, then slow, then fast again and somewhere in between

The pleasure is so fucking intense, running up and down my spine

“You gonna cum Jinnie?”, she asks, starting to move faster

Watching her pussy glide over my head and leaving me soaking wet, pushes me over the edge

“Fuck fuck fuck”, I yell, coming on my stomach

Oh god it feels so fucking good

She keeps rubbing on me until I finish then gets off and sits next to me

She touches my cock, wiping the cum from my tip

I watch as she puts her fingers in her mouth

Oh my god

Did she just?

She leans over me and licks my cum from my stomach

Holy shit, she did

My mouth drops open as I watch her lick all the cum from my body and swallow

It’s so fucking hot

When she’s done, she just says, “You taste good Jinnie”

Holy fuck

She’s going to kill me

She’s going to get me hard again

She glances at my clock and says, “I gotta go Jin

I have to get up early

A tiger is supposed give birth tomorrow and I have to be there”

Wait what?

That’s it?

She just made me feel incredible and she’s just going to leave?

Did she even cum?

She climbs over me and starts pulling her panties on

“Wait Jo…..did you c-”

“No Jinnie. It’s ok. Don’t worry about me. Everything was just for you”

“But Jo”

“It’s ok Jin. I really have to go. Call me when you wanna hang out again ok?”, she smiles at me

Uh....

“Ok”, I answer at a loss for words

She waves and leaves

What the fuck just happened?

My best friend massaged my cock…with her pussy?

And she made me cum

And she didn’t want anything back

And why do I want her to do it again?

'Because it felt so goddamn good’, I tell myself

I can’t wrap my head around this

🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹🐹

Four Months Later

Jin POV

“Hey Jo. Can you uh massage me later?”, I ask her

“Sure Jinnie”, she answers then goes back to the couch, next to Tae, puts her head on his shoulder and watches the movie

And I instantly get jealous

Ever since that day, she used herself to massage me to cum, I’ve asked her to do it a lot

And she always says yes

She comes to the dorm or I go to her apartment

We both undress from the bottom down, then she climbs on me and rubs me with her pussy until I cum

Then she licks my cum off me

After that we hang out like normal

Like we didn’t just do something sexual

We watch movies, get food, play games and talk

I’m with her as much as I can be

The only thing that bothers me is that she doesn’t cum

I mean she’s so soaked everytime but she doesn’t cum or let me make her cum

When I brought it up to her, she just shrugged and said that she’s happy to just do it for me and that she doesn’t need to cum

I accepted that at first but now it’s different

Because I’m not with her all the time just to cum

I actually haven’t asked her to do it for awhile except for today

She does it on her own

She takes me to whatever bed we’re near and she does it

And I fucking love it, love being with her so I give in

Because I’m in love with her

I’m in love with my best friend

I’m with her all the time because I want to spend time with her

Once I realized I fell in love, I stopped asking her to massage me

I just want to be with her, doing whatever

Just sitting next to her and looking at her is enough

And honestly that’s what I’ve been doing- all the time

When we watch movies, tv or play video games all I do is stare at her

She doesn’t notice and I always avert my eyes quickly when she looks over at me

She hasn’t shown any sign of feeling anything more for me than friendship

She never holds my hand, never lays with me after she makes me feel good, never puts her head on my shoulder when we’re watching tv like she’s doing with Tae now, never kissed me

She’ll do something sexual with me but she hasn’t kissed me once

I can’t take it anymore

I want her

I want to be with her in every way

I asked her to be with me to get her alone, because I’m going to tell her I love her

I’m terrified but I need to tell her

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

She follows me to my room

I sit on the bed and she sits next to me

“Jo-”, I start

“Shh Jinnie. I’m going to make you feel so good”

“But Jo.”

“Yeah?”, she asks as she reaches over me and palms me through my pants

Fuck

Any touch she gives me makes me so hard

And shuts my brain off

I want her so fucking much

And I give in

I pull her up and pull her pants and panties down

She takes my pants and boxers off

She pushes me on my back and immediately climbs on me

She lays my cock on my stomach again and puts herself on me

She starts sliding up and down and I moan so loudly

“You like it Jinnie?”

“Yes. Always”, I answer

“I like making you feel good”, she answers, moving to my head and sliding her wet pussy on it

She likes to tease me because she knows that’s my favorite spot

So she’ll do it there for awhile then move off

I can’t fucking take it

I want her

“Jo…ccc….can I go inside?”, I stutter

“What?”, she asks but doesn’t stop moving

“I wwww…..want you. I want to be inside you”

“You want sex?”, she asks, stopping

“No Jo. Not just sex. I want to be with you. I want to make you feel good, I want to make you cum, I want to kiss you, hold you. That’s what I want”, I admit sitting up with her still on me

“Jinnie…”

My heart constricts in my chest and I look down

She doesn’t want me

That kills me

But I’m not going to force her

I would never hurt her

“Yes Jinnie”, she says, lifting my face to hers

“Yes?”, I repeat

“Jinnie, I want you. I…”, she trails off

She what?

I want to know

What is she going to say?

That it’s just this once?

That she’s going to want it all the time?

I don’t care, I’ll give it to her

“What Jo?”

“Jinnie, I….I…..”,

She looks down, takes a deep breath and looks back at me

“Jinnie I love you”, she says softly

She…she loves me?

I let it sink in

She loves me!

“I’m in love with you Jinnie. Since we started this and we’ve been together all the time, I’ve fallen in love with you. I love spending time with you and I do love making you feel good. I wasn’t going to tell you but I…shit…I don’t know why I told you. Shit…I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry Jo.”, I interrupt, “Please don’t be sorry”

I can’t let her apologize for loving me when I love her so much

She looks away but I gently turn her face back to me

“I love you too”, I tell her

“Www…what?”

“Jo, the reason I asked you to my room wasn’t to do this. It was to tell you I love, that I’m in love with you and to ask you to be mine. But then you touched me and anytime you touch me anywhere you get me hard and I just went with it”

She’s staring at me wide eyed and I can’t get over how beautiful she is

“I love you so much Jo. Can you please be mine?”, I ask

She nods immediately, “Yes Jinnie, yes”

She moves closer and kisses me

Oh god, her kiss is everything

It fucking blows my mind

I wrap my arms around her, my hand sliding in her hair and her arms going around my neck

She pulls away and says, “I love you Jin”

The biggest smile burst on my face, “I love you Joanne”

I pull her back to me in a heated kiss

She pulls my shirt up and I let go of her lips so she can take it off

I grab her shirt and have it off in a second

She kisses me passionately again, her tongue going in my mouth and making me moan

I reach around her and unclasp her bra, taking it off

She pushes me back and starts moving her hips, sliding herself on me again

“Oh fuck!”, I yell

When she slides up to my head, I move a little and slide inside her

“Oh shit”, she yells as I get all the way in

“Oh my god Joanne! Fuck me, you feel so good”

She feels so tight and so fucking wet. She fits around me perfectly

She leans down and kisses me again, then sits back up and starts bouncing on me

Sheer pleasure runs through my veins

“Oh Jinnie! Oh god!”, she moans, moving rapidly on me

She’s so fucking sexy and watching her ride me is such a turn on

She leans back, putting her arms behind her on my thighs and moves so much harder and faster

I thrust up, watching my cock go in and out of her and hitting so deep

I slam a spot in her and she yells, “There Jinnie. Oh fuck baby, don’t stop”

“I won’t princess, I won’t not until you cum”

I love listening to her moaning

I feel her throbbing on me and I know she’s close

I slam her in her spot again and again making her scream

And my door opens just as she cums

“Jin what’s-”

“Jin! Oh god Jin! Yes Seokjin!”, she screams, coming hard, body shaking hard and feeling so goddamn incredible

I had no idea it could feel so fucking pleasurable to be cummed on

“Baby, Jinnie, more Jin, please baby”, she begs

“Anything you want Jo.”, I answer

I pull out pick her up and throw her to the foot of my bed on her back

Opening her legs again I bury myself in her

“Yes!”, she cries

I lean over and kiss her lips, then move down, kissing her neck and moving hard in her

“Oh god”, I hear a gasp

Shit.

I vaguely remember the door being opened

I look up at the door, still slamming in her and see all the guys staring at us in various stages stages of shock

“Get the fuck out!”, I growl

“Jin harder, Jin”, she moans, oblivious to the guys watching

She’s gripping my upper arm so tightly and moaning

I snap my hips harder, driving myself in her as hard as I can

“Yes yes yes!”, she cries

“I said get out!”, I yell at them

They all jump, close the door and I go back to her

I kiss her again, then move on my knees, one of her legs wrapped around me and I grab the other holding it out wide

“Jin, fuck Jin, you’re cock feels so good baby.”

“It’s all for you, my beautiful princess. You can have me anytime you want”

I feel her getting ready

“Cum Joanne. I want you to cum right now!”

“Fffff……Fuck!”, she cries, pussy clenching me as she releases all over me

“Jin! Fuck Seokjin!”

“Yes princess, fuck yes. Again baby. Give it to me again”, I order

I slam her and find her spot again

“Oh god!”, she screams in ecstacy

I turn her on her side and hold one leg up, pounding into her spot over and over

“Cum now!”, I demand and she listens, orgasming again, legs shaking

“Fuck Jo, you’re so fucking gorgeous when you cum. I want to watch you some more. Can you give me more princess?”, I plead

“Yes Jin. I’ll give you whatever you want”, she answers, shouting

“Good girl. My good girl”, I praise her, “My princess”

Moving again, she screams while another orgasm rips through her

“Good girl”, I repeat, fucking her hard through her orgasm

I pull out, get her on her hands and knees and plunge back in

“Yes oh fuck yes!”, she shouts, “Fuck Jin, I love you’re cock baby. I love you’re big, hard cock fucking me”

Yes, I love that she loves my cock and how good I fuck her

Gripping her hips, I move her on and off me hard

“Yes Jinnie, yes baby. Give it to me baby”, she moans

“Are you gonna cum princess? Or do I have to stop?”, I tease her, pounding away in her tight pussy

“No don’t stop Jin. I’ll cum. I promise, just don’t stop”

“Ok princess but I want it”

“Yes Jinnie”

I drive my cock against her spot again and again, her screaming incoherently

I need more

I fucking need it

“Again Joanne. Now”, I hit her spot again, “Again princess. I need it, one more time so I can cum”

Another slam

“Seokjin!”, she screams at the top of her lungs, her whole body shaking violently as she struggles to keep herself up

I watch her cum coat my cock, more going on me the longer her orgasm lasts

I slam in her once more and cum, screaming her name from the intense pleasure I’m feeling

I pull out of her just as she collapses on the bed

I need to fucking lay down

My body isn’t used to this kind of pleasure

But I need her in my arms

I pick her up and settle her on me as I lay back

I move her sweaty hair from her face and run my fingers in it

I feel her heart beating so rapidly against my skin

“Jin, fuck Jin. That was amazing. You were amazing”, she breathes

“You were too princess. It wasn’t just me”

She lifts her head tiredly and smiles at me shyly, “I like when you call me princess”

I smile, “You are Jo. You’re my princess”

She touches my face, stroking my cheek, “You my worldwide handsome prince”, she says softly

I like that, a lot

She moves a little closer and kisses my lips, so softly and lovingly

“I love you Jinnie”

“I love you Jo”, I answer, “Can you stay with me tonight princess? I don’t want to sleep without you”

“Yeah Jinnie. I want to stay with you. All the time”

“You can princess. You can stay with me all the time”

She kisses me again and lays back down on me

“I love you”, she sighs

“I love you”, I tell her

I play with her hair, closing my eyes and fall asleep with her in my arms

[lihyot-am-chofshi-beartzeinu]

This was sent to my main but I didn't want this putrid shit on my aesthetic blog. @trudgemank99, I'm going to try to explain this as best I can without insulting you.

Zionism is not a fascist ideology, and it is not responsible for an "ongoing genocide".

You don't even know what Zionism is. Seriously, you and others like you straight up don't even know what it means. You don't know its history, you don't know its cultural and religious significance, you don't know its politics, you don't know how it has saved so many Jewish peoples' lives over the 20th century. How dare you apply your own made-up interpretation of it to give you an excuse to go around harassing Jewish people on the internet?

You know how I see you? I see you as a Nazi. Because you have replaced "Jew" with "Zionist" in your vocabulary, so that you can get away with the same hatred of Jews that has festered within society for thousands of years.

You claimed in that other thread that you cared about the Palestinians. But you don't, because instead of, oh, I don't know, donating to charities or uplifting Palestinian voices, or even supporting joint Israeli-Palestinian peace movements like Standing Together, Women Wage Peace and A Land For All, you chose to desecrate the images of dead and grieving Palestinians who are victims of the tragedy of the conflict to "prove" it was a genocide (it's not; the ICJ ruled that Israel must take steps to prevent actions that could be considered genocidal. War and civilian death is horrific enough on its own; you gain nothing by misrepresenting what it is.)

You couldn't even name a single person in those pictures when I pressed you. I don't even know if those photos were of the conflict, because you didn't link to any reputable sources or date the images or name the photographer. For all I know they could have been pictures of the devastating war in Syria, which have taken on a second life with people attributing them to Gaza. Either way: how dare you use the dead as props. They were real people with real families and friends left behind to suffer - they are not your "gotcha" gore card to play on the internet.

Despite all of that, I don't hate you. I don't hate anyone. I don't want anyone to die. I want the conflict to end but I am realistic about why it occurred and why there is no ceasefire yet (hint: it's because Hamas keeps refusing ceasefires, because they want to send as many Gazan civilians to their deaths as they can). There is nothing I can say or do on my blog that will work towards an end to the conflict, and nothing I can do or say in my real life that will end the conflict - because I don't have a direct line to Netanyahu's office, and calling my local politicians here in Australia will accomplish fuck all. Because Australia doesn't influence Israel, just as Israel doesn't influence Australia.

So how does ranting incoherently at Jewish people on Tumblr save Palestinians? Go on, answer how screaming at me demanding I call it a genocide helps anyone.

I'm not defending Israel. I don't need to. What I do talk about is fighting Antisemitism and anti-Zionism - because there is no difference between them anymore. You and people like you might keep using the word "anti-Zionist" (something that I consider to be grossly inappropriate and culturally appropriative, actually) but we all know that, deep down, you're just Jew-haters.

If you can't admit to yourself that you are operating on a basis of incoherent hatred for Zionists (aka Jewish people who believe in the existence of a Jewish homeland in our ancestral land of Judea; something, by the way, that is fully compatible with the existence of a Palestinian state) then I'll do it for you: you are a Jew-hater.

Oh, wait! You did admit it:

Thank you for this mask-off moment. Truly.

[call-me-strega]

Me when I see posts where ppl are complaining abt fanfic writers changing or altering plot points/characterization of character by asking if they’ve even read the source material and how what their writing isn’t in line with canon:

Like that's entirely the point. We saw what canon did. Cool, awesome, amazing, fantastic. What we as fanfic writers want to explore is what if it didn't.

We want to see what would happen if we had slightly altered things or if certain things worked a different way or if things didn't happen all together. Canon is but the source material for our manipulation and experimentation. And sure it can get annoying if things commonly used in fanon are innaccurate or misrepresent the spirit of the story but here’s the thing: you don’t have to read it.

If fanon bothers you don’t engage with it. If you want to see more interpretations similar to your own then make content for it and share it. Popularize the takes you wanna see by starting the conversation. The only thing you really accomplish by complaining is making someone else feel bad for enjoying exploring their imagination. Because nobody is going to stop changing canon however they please and making something they enjoy just cause you don’t like it as much as they do.

If you don’t want people to misrepresent characters, then write them how you think they should be represented. If you don’t like seeing certain tags, then just don’t engage with them. No one is forcing you and if you were unsatisfied, then do something about it other than complaining and making everyone else feel bad.

Can we just learn to tolerate each other more? Because no one is saying you’re wrong either. There might be people who agree with you, but wouldn’t it more productive to create some thing those ppl will also enjoy rather than to bring down the people who enjoy warping canon every which way?

tldr; A mostly vent post about how people complaining about fanfiction not reflecting canon or aspects of canon are annoying. Fanfiction is not meant to replicate canon but to purposefully fuck around with it. They don’t accomplish anything other than making people feel bad about enjoying stuff that they don’t like. If you have such an issue with it, then start creating content that you want to see and more ppl will join in bc that’s how fandoms fucking work.

[nexility-sims]

I was wondering what the lore is behind the cultural tattoos that I see the reyes family have?

ah, i'm so glad i finally got this question !!!!! i am, however, woefully unprepared to actually answer it skdfsd long, so see below for more & for reference images and such:

i decided at some point to lean more heavily into actually representing the world the way i imagined it—after i went on the hiatus with part iii, i suppose? part of that was reconsidering the aesthetics, which includes tattooing. i'm familiar with the traditional tattoo revitalization movement going on in the u.s. and canada right now (and elsewhere in the world), and i wanted to incorporate it ! i had already sort of included tattoos, but it was in the background (literally, see alfonso's aide). i'd done some sketches in the past with coastal carolina tattoos, so it was pretty easy to draw on those as inspiration (see blanca below or zuriñe's foremothers).

obviously, however, this is not the region that i've chosen as the inspiration base for the story's worldbuilding. for that, i've taken inspiration from designs and depictions of either body paint or actual tattoos. (one source is this comic, which is super well-researched and interesting!) the actual process has been really slow-going because i don't want to ?? misrepresent anything i'm borrowing inspiration from ?? even if it's being put in a fictional space, you never want someone to be like "that looks familiar, but it's wrong and offensive." the body paint, for example, is from a set that is, i believe, brazilian, but i haven't been able to figure out to what indigenous communities it belongs or what the meanings may be. feels a little weird, tbh, but the content for this whole entire hemisphere is SO limited. so, i have been hesitant in part because i don't want to lift designs without trying to understand what they might have meant historically or may currently mean to descendants.

i also would, ideally, like to have meaning ascribed to the details in my own mind? like, if there's a style of tattoo that people are getting across generations within the context of the story, then the elements have to have meaning. probably. the other limitation is that i can't spend all of my time figuring this stuff out or, worse, in photoshop trying to master the line art and fight the way sims destroys image quality sdjksdg

for example: the tattoos depicted below on alfonso and rui are comprised of stepped frets. my understanding is that they're called xicalcoliuhqui in nahuatl, and they're at least a couple thousand years old, with connotations related to the feathered serpent and mountains—a primordial motif with deep roots in the worldview(s) of the region's religious complex(es). the bird on their shoulders is a fantasy bird, apparently, that is frequently (mis?)identified as an eagle ... for my purposes, it's probably an eagle sdjsg i've decided these are military tattoos, but i'm still in the process of figuring out what the military orders are and how these tattoos fit into that ... this is the problem with creating details then having to retroactively refit them into something you create later on down the line !!!!!!

the body paint on arnaut (below) is also a military design, in my mind. he doesn't have the tattoos because he's not in the same order that alfonso and rui were/are/will be. safya's body paint (below) is funerary since she's a corpse in that picture. there are distinctions based on occupation, gender, life stage or accomplishments, whether one is considered nobility/royalty or a commoner, and so forth. same with the tattoos ! i imagine the clans also have their own specific designs (halima has a face tattoo from the aforementioned set; blanca's are based on zuriñe's family's, so i guess they'd be an armendariz design rather than a reyes one, which ... fascinating choice, blanca ????). the body paint is ceremonial, so it's most likely to be seen at an event like a funeral, a coronation, etc. i've been thinking a lot about royal orders lately, and i think they're more likely to be represented with tattoos (or body paint) than a little thing you pin on yourself.

okay, i'm going to stop now because i'm rambling and have nothing left to say of substance skgsjg if you have follow-ups, feel free to ask :^)

[reviewsthatburn]

I’m so happy about BITTER MEDICINE. Often I can get very stressed out by stories where the two parties are lying or misrepresenting things, usually because the reasons don’t make any sense, except as transparent excuses to further the plot. When this happens I either become distressed by the lie(s) or I’ll lose the suspension of disbelief and can’t stay in the story. At all points in BITTER MEDICINE, Elle and Luc are being as honest as they possibly can be with each other (given the constraints on them). As they grow closer they work first individually, and then mutually, to get rid of the barriers between them. In each new stage of their relationship they work to accept whatever obstacles cannot yet be removed. The story is driven by their need to fix their individual problems, gradually turning into a realization that they can help each other accomplish more than either could without help.

Full Review at Link.

[tayfabe75]

thx! And I agree with everything you said! not sure if you caught the livestream of the fist night in Glasgow concert but if you did any thoughts on who Matty was referring to when he warned not to come at him, that he had receipts…

Unfortunately, I was out & about yesterday, so I didn't catch the livestream! Just some clips on Twitter afterward. My biggest takeaway was that he seemed very happy and energetic for most of the show, and that his angry rant was a bit of a departure from his general mood.

So, it could all be an act, of course (he confirmed tonight that he's basically starring in a play), and perhaps he just wants to get people speculating about it (if so, mission accomplished lol) Now, this is just my personal opinion, but I don't think Matty would use a stage like that to air his personal or business grievances. Political grievances? Oh, all day. But that's not what it was, either, so...

The day before his angry rant, I saw a viral hate tweet going around about Matty. As we know, he has historically marched in place while doing an American military salute, which has been misrepresented to be a different type of salute (same old tired song and dance). If I recall correctly, the rant sort of bookended 'Love It If We Made It', right? So, perhaps it's related to more regurgitated misinformation about him. I don't think I'd be able to find the tweet again - I blocked and muted a lot of people that day lol But I think it had something like 30k likes last I saw it. So that's my best guess at the moment... but also have no idea what "receipts" could mean in that context, so who knows! Your guess is as good as mine!

Either way, thanks for the ask!

[sleepysigh]

By encouraging people to be wrong, to be sorry for being wrong, to correct themselves, and not to be ashamed at any point in the process. Even people who try to be sensitive cause harm all the time. In fact, sometimes this need to be pure and wholesome can make someone a downright pest to the marginalized, always badgering them for help self-actualizing as the next Mother Teresa, while the friends they have who don't differ from their own experience receive more casual and, arguably for all intents and purposes, preferential treatment. Sure, that's not the intent, but the intent is not selfless do-gooding, either.

It's a desire to avoid shame. Embarrassment is such a powerful motivator, and always in the wrong direction. To be embarrassed is to feel small, vulnerable, suddenly helpless, to realize something you hoped for or the way you tried to get it was foolish, which is to acknowledge having lost some finite hours of your life by mistake. We have essays about "social death" for a reason. It seems absurd, but people really lie to themselves the most when it comes to potentially feeling ashamed.

The only way to believe you are perfect and pure and you are a good, unbiased judge of perfection and purity, even your own, is a delusion. It's one almost everyone has as children, which we are meant to be humbled out of by the perpetual humiliation of puberty.

Being right is not the most useful thing much of the time, nor is being blameless, but most of all they both are SELFISH to pursue as a central goal. You mean you see people out there doing things you truly think are evil online, and you're DMing them hate mail, and what actual GOOD are you adding to the world?

The suffering of evil people is no gift to those they have victimized, but this goes a step further and adds suffering to the world for victimless, intangible crimes. Writing something, drawing something, holding an opinion. Apartments explode in Ukraine, measles resurfaces in a granola mom's suburban book club, fascists make it all but illegal to be black, queer, or female in the US, and your wholesomeness has to be defended and shored up by contrasting it with someone who wrote BNHA smut???

No, that isn't a contribution to the world, it's a pleasant lie that quells an insecurity. I can play Stardew valley and trick myself into feeling productive and accomplished. I'll go to bed with an easy mind and a sink full of dirty dishes. I did do that for a long time, actually, but then I had to grow up.

Because socially your dirty dishes are someone else's unavoidable mess. Socially, your willingness to self-delude to avoid shame is HARMFUL because you can only do it by using people. Bullying them, using them for clout, misrepresenting them to make an argument work. Denying reality. Denying the real problem. Denying that this is how you've been hiding from your shame.

You are gross. You are literally a pile of wet meat. You have unwholesome thought, urges, ideas, all the time. You are not the first human to escape the wiring of your own brain. If you are the sort of person to harass and degrade strangers online for making the wrong sort of art or not taking a hard enough stance against it, then internally there is no option but for you to keep running, screaming, ears plugged, from the persistence hunter inside you jogging along and asking "But what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament?"

Burn your shame like so many pine cones on a brushfire. It is not useful, to you or anyone. Roast marshmallows (they're basically pure sugar you know) and whoop with joy. You would not have to keep looking for someone to give this pain to if you stopped carrying it. It always finds its way home.

Burn it while you can, while you are young, if you are young, because it's much easier the less time it's had to grow. If you can't do it alone then find your most shameless friend and follow their lead.

Right and wrong don't change because someone feels ashamed or not. You aren't giving up the moral battle because you graduate from making your GI Joes fight in the sandbox. The creative world encompasses all creation and that is an immutable fact about humans. No amount of angry Twitter users will put a stop to all "immoral" art, whether you think they should or not.

You have to stop pushing when the door says pull. We all have bigger fish to fry, especially the people the immature Quixote so often thinks they're defending. The more stolen valor you rack up in their name, the more likely you are to turn bitter when no one appreciates your "hard work." You're playing at a crusade with action figures, still thinking you deserve the real holy grail, and it makes life harder for thousands of other people every day. Including you.

it really does bug me that we have this weird caveating in some conversations around Dark and Messed Up Writing (fanfic and real fiction alike) where there’s that pussyfooting of “they could be working through trauma/they could be processing things/they could this that or the other” in some way to still cater to the purity politics brigade. 

And it’s like, who cares? Who cares why people write what they write? Who gives a fuck? Maybe they’re working through trauma, absolutely. Maybe they’re not and they just really like the dynamic of these characters. Maybe they think it’s interesting to explore the dark, twisted and fucked up side of what it means to be human. Maybe they thought it was hot. Maybe they just had this thought and it wouldn’t leave them alone, and sure it was twisted, but they had to get it out so they did in a safe normal way which is through writing. Maybe it’s some combination of the above. Maybe it’s something else entirely. Who cares. 

Who fucking cares. 

Christ ya’ll. No one needs to make excuses for why they write what they write. 

Full stop. 

The end. 

No more, no less. 

tag appropriately; if you don’t like don’t read; if someone doesn’t tag appropriately be an adult and be polite about giving them a heads up; if you can’t be an adult about that you shouldn’t be online reading fic. 

god. 

[tobi-smp]

I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I think this bares pointing out:

people have been mocking tommy for stuttering and repeating words and shaky breathing for going on two years now. and to me it reads as no coincidence that at the literal first opportunity tommy was Punished for this trait. having it actively twisted against him in an obviously malicious and intentional way.

for anyone unfamiliar, tommy stuttered while saying the word “fad” during his birthday stream earlier today. this was clipped to twitter and it was claimed that he said f*g. obviously with the intent of claiming that he’s homophobic to a group of people who have no interest in going to a tommyinnit stream to check the context.

no matter how ridiculous this situation may be (and it is, it’s extremely ridiculous) the cut and dry nature of it makes it Completely Clear that the only motivation here was to hurt tommy through a lie.

the biggest poison to modern discourse right now has been people going out of their way to make anything or anyone that they find annoying out to be morally reprehensible so they can incite violence against them and justify their anger.

this is accomplished whether that’s working backwards to dig for anything problematic that has ever been attached to your victim (even if it’s long been addressed and grown from), opportunistically jumping on something small and either blowing it out of proportion or taking it out of context, completely misrepresenting a situation either by leaving information out or describing it in the most inflammatory way possible, or just lying outright.

this has been a consistent trend with how people treat the creators in the dream smp, both inside and outside of the fandom. and Particularly with tommy and dream himself. and every time it happens separately it gives the situation More Weight. because everyone who comes before gives legitimacy to everyone who comes after.

if someone on the outside sees a string of accusations for one person in particular they’re more likely to engage Just For The Fact That It’s More Likely To Be True. because if All Of These People are saying that this person is harmful Separately then there must be some truth to it right? likewise, The More that people Successfully do this, the More that they cause direct harm to the victim, the More that controversy is stirred around this person the More Opportunists recognize this person as Vulnerable and decide that they’re safe joining in.

these two fact feed into each other and create an absolutely miserable cycle of someone being the face of twitter for a year straight. this is how lindsay ellis gets harassed off of the internet over a mild tweet comparing a movie she didn’t enjoy to avatar. this is how dream antis get this picture of the dream smp being populated by every kind bigot and abuser imaginable and use it to justify harassing teenagers online.

it’s a cycle that encourages harassers and abusers to victimize strangers because their lies and harassment are convenient to someone else’s annoyance over Popular Thing or Popular Person.

this specific example is small, but it’s indicative of this larger problem in how boldly it gives up the game. in how Evidently it exists only to cause harm.

[godtrauma]

this is going to sound harsh, but 2011-2016’s mental illness romanticization walked so today’s era of “everyone has this very rare mental illness/let’s spread misinformation through tumblr, tiktok and twitter” could run. 

i used to think i had borderline personality disorder (BPD) and i know it was because of that era of tumblr. i know that’s where i learned about it, too. and before that, it was the 2011-2016 (and estimate of its peak; it’s never gone away) romanticizing mental illness tumblr that i was so invested in and got fucked over by. i remember characterizing BPD simply as having frequently varying emotions, and because so many people had the #actuallybpd tag or similar, i thought i must be the same way. to be fair, i was thirteen when i joined and lacked critical thinking skills, but i know several adults who are the same way. 

we seem to go through cycles of trending mental illnesses. first it was depression, then it was BPD, and now, for some reason, it’s dissociative identity disorder (DID). everyone seems to have it now, despite it affecting an estimate of between 0.01% and 0.1% of the earth’s entire population. it’s also one of the most misdiagnosed ones, even by medical professionals. (hell i used to think i had it simply because i dissociate) and sure, having more awareness and advocacy of this serious mental illness is a contributing factor, but how many people are self-diagnosing based on misinformation they got from tiktok or colorful infographics? while it’s great for people to find a voice, the problem lies within those who are either pretending to have it, or have the wrong diagnosis (whether self or professional) and are spreading misinformation. (or did someone see the egregiously ableist and inaccurate portrayal of DID in the film split and run with it?)

do not get me wrong: i believe that self-diagnosis is a valid method in place of a mental health professional **when one is not able to seek one out and has done their own research with verified medical literature,** not what they read on such-and-such social media platform. for those who are able to get an official diagnosis, it may take more than one professional and usually several sessions to determine the correct mental illness(es). additionally, certain professionals with be more credible if they specialize in a specific mental illness. i was told by one of my counselor friends that in their schooling, they spent around 45 minutes on dissociative identity disorder because so few people have it. i went through six mental health professionals to get a correct diagnosis for my schizophrenia (something i will touch on next.)

there’s something to be said about being an advocate for mental illness, and we need more of them. we need advocates for those who can speak informatively and thoughtfully about their mental illnesses, the good and the bad. to have someone to empathize with is so important, a kinsman of the mind who can share similar experiences. i have “schizophrenic” in my carrd because i would like others to learn from me, and even when i’m not talking about mental health, now others can recognize that they know someone with schizophrenia, someone who is a friend who they can relate to. conversely, if someone doesn’t want to be an advocate for their illness, they absolutely do not have to. it’s 100% a personal choice and it always comes with the risk of being exposed to ableist comments and predispositions. for me, i’m in a healthy place where those comments don’t bother me, so please do not feel pressured to put yourself in harm’s way. 

all this begs the question: what does one accomplish by faking a mental illness? is it worth the negative attention, as well as the often misguided sympathy? how is one helping a cause by spreading misinfo and misrepresenting something so serious? why has tiktok become the go-to for trusted information when literally anyone can say anything? please, do actual research into mental illness, whether you’re someone looking for a diagnosis or someone looking to learn more about it. misdiagnosis not only harms you, it harms people who actually have the illness. be critical of the information you’re partaking of, and for the love of god, be compassionate to those who suffer from mental illness.

[nehswritesstuffs]

Why does everyone keep calling 12 and Clara toxic? To me they are soulmates who happen to have bad timing, hid their feelings and tragedy. There’s nothing that says that indicates that had 12 and Clara been honest about their feelings earlier on and Face the Raven hadn’t happened that they wouldn’t have had a chance at a happy romance with each other. I wish Doctor Who had a spin-off show like Marvel’s What if and then we could see an alternate timeline where 12 and Clara had a happy romance.

Ooooh, I like this ask. This feels very meta-y.

Personally speaking, Whouffaldi is a very complex relationship that I don't think is easily broken down into terms like "toxic" unless it's something that's thrown about in a long conversation/meta piece that has a ton of context and includes that as merely one of the facets. The word toxic is a phrase that very much has an interesting place in current Anglophone lexicons, as it's one of the It Terms in use with certain circles (other examples include feral, iconic, wholesome, and chaotic**). The biggest problem with that is that because it is a popular way to describe something, it can be misused fairly easily. Is it wholly wrong or incorrect to describe Whouffaldi as toxic? No. Is it right or correct? It's not that either. That's why I feel like--outside of affectionate jokes, mind--the use of an It Word like toxic to describe something without a ton of context risks highly misrepresenting what is honestly one of the best ships I've ever seen.

'Cause, like, I get it: Clara and the Twelfth Doctor aren't entirely good for one another. She becomes more like him as time goes on, which isn't necessarily a good thing... especially for a creature as cosmically fragile as a human. He becomes dependent on her so much that he is willing to destroy time and space itself to be with her... and that's after she told him to let her die. They push each other so, so far--galactic adrenaline junkies, the both of them--and then keep going. They are an entity that can literally change the course of history, and that is terrifying. The universe almost ended because of them. Ended. I don't care what you think other xyz-ship is... rare is the ship on this level of danger to the characters involved and their surroundings.

HOWEVER, along with that, they are a force of good too. Clara's influence is what helps the Doctor work through a lot of stuff, from old soldier's guilt to him being just so, so tired and cranky with the universe. By being with the Doctor, Clara is able to see wonders and make great use out of her potential, doing things that average humans wouldn't be able to dream of accomplishing. Did anyone really think that "Laugh Hard, Run Fast, Be Kind" just came from nowhere? No, it didn't. We got to see the end result of Whouffaldi on the Doctor, and I think part of why that stings is because we never really got what felt like a final result with Clara as well, due to the fact she was killed off sort of in the build-up of her game. She told him to remember to be a Doctor--to be the good he pledged himself to be--while she became more and more like a Time Lady and yet... it didn't come to full fruition. I honestly feel like Clara not becoming a fully-realized Time Lady is about as disappointing on the same level as Ace McShane not getting enrolled in the Time Academy, just for clearly different reasons.

Something that I think is important to note when it comes to Whouffaldi is an It Term from days gone by: emotionally constipated. When you break things down, Twelve and Clara are very emotionally constipated, whereas they have all these feelings pent up inside, things they want to act on, and yet, for whatever reason, they can't/don't/won't. Such a thing often manifests in things such as posturing (going from "I'm not your boyfriend" to showing off the goods in 2.6 seconds as if to ask for approval for being husband material), avoiding saying "love" ("Did you really think betraying me would make a difference?"), and putting emotions into acts and nothing verbal (the way they hold each other omg my heart). They very much work on a sort of odd status quo, where their attraction is easily interpreted as something that is just sitting there in the middle of the room without being addressed. It is also easy to interpret that we see less and less of their relationship as time goes on, that we are privy to fewer beats, and that there's so much to them that we don't know and never shall. Both s8 and s9 have them grow a ton as far as their emotional and behavioral habits, but as the s9 finale showed us, they still weren't wholly there yet.

So that's the long answer. Short answer, the tl;dr, is just that people need to stop using one word with traditionally strong connotations as the sole descriptor of a ship, especially when there's so much to it that that, since that can easily and often lead to damage. There are worse ships, in this show and others, that don't get called toxic that are more genuinely so than Whouffaldi, so yeah.

I mean, just look at them. So confused and concerned by some people's lack of media literacy, whether it's their fault or not, and how they attempt to rectify that.

I don't know how I'd like a What If...? style show where these two get a proper romance and life together though. It could be really neat, but considering how many conversations I've had about these two getting married and being space-parents involves how absolutely dangerous of a father Twelve would be if his family came into even the slightest bit of genuine mortal peril. Obviously that's one of my jams... but still... it's something that I'm sure wouldn't be broached properly because it seems like although there are plenty of people who ship it in all levels of production and fandom, it's the ones who don't for whatever reason (ageism, anti-Clara rhetoric, being idiots, etc.) who seem to have lots of final says (or, at least act like they do) and that's frustrating.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

**there is variance between It Terms and regular old slang, as there is some crossover, but they are not fully synonymous with one another. It is not uncommon for an It Term to be a newer, more slang-oriented definition of a word, for example: when gay transitioned from happy and carefree to homosexual, in a variety of tones and contexts (this is also a good example of slang that eventually became widely-accepted/adopted terminology). However, there are regular slang words I wouldn't necessarily categorize as It Terms, such as pog or cheugy. Does that mean they're stuck there? Not at all, since language is always evolving and adapting to new generations and the situations they find themselves in and the things they need to express.

[catie-does-things]

Hi, I saw an impressive post you made in answer to an anti-Christian cartoon that misrepresented the role of women in Catholicism and am hoping you could explain something to me. I got confirmed this year as a Catholic, but being raised Pentecostal I have no understanding of redemptive suffering. I have tried Google and my parish priest, but the responses tend to use Catholic terminology that doesn’t make sense to many people with Protestant backgrounds. So would you mind explaining redemptive suffering? To a Protestant that concept sounds almost heretical in that only Jesus can save and we don’t have the ability to help.

That's an old post, crazy that it's still making the rounds.

I'm not a theological expert by any means so I'm not sure of the particulars of the terminology around redemptive suffering. But the general idea is that our personal suffering becomes redemptive when it is united to the suffering of Christ. Without Christ's sacrifice, this wouldn't be possible at all, so yes, in that sense, only Jesus can save us. The work of salvation can only be accomplished by Christ.

But part of the gift He gives us on the cross is the ability to participate in this work by uniting our suffering to His and offering it up either for ourselves or for others. This is what St. Paul is talking about in Colossians 1:24 when he talks about rejoicing in his own suffering for the sake of other members of the Church, and also in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 when he talks about the "thorn in the flesh" that God gave him to keep him from becoming prideful, which he also rejoices in. In the first case, Paul gives his suffering to Christ as an offering for his fellow Christians, and in the latter he recognizes it as a means God is using to help him increase in the virtue of humility. In both cases, Paul's suffering on its own is of no merit, but it becomes fruitful through God's grace.

It's probably helpful to keep in mind that the Church - that is, the communion of all Christ's baptized followers - is also the mystical Body of Christ. Since we are incorporated into one body with Christ, our suffering can also be incorporated into His suffering. So redemptive suffering is not something separate or additional to Christ's sacrifice, but a part of it.

Hope that explanation helps!

[egg-emperor]

I think people are completely valid to dislike forces considering the ending was so unclear we didn’t even find out what happened to infinite for several years and then they just slapped ‘he’s basically dead’ in a book full of inaccuracies and misrepresented plot so who knows if it’s even true

I'm glad there are people that can still find things they actually like in Forces no matter how big of a fan they are or if they still dislike it overall like I do, as it's really only Eggman's good portrayal and his absolutely sexy animation and voice as usual that's in it for me lol. But I still think the actual story as a whole and the gameplay is very lazy and rushed and should certainly not be the standard for Sonic games. It's not what I'd call the absolute worst in the series but it's painfully mediocre and disappointing compared to what it was hyped up to be.

I also think Infinite is a wasted concept that didn't really give me anything to be interested in the end. He also took away valuable screentime of Eggman's accomplishments and evil because it's really weird how he got less scenes and screentime when finally defeating Sonic and taking over the world should've been a big deal. So of course I was expecting much more Eggman involvement and spotlight, rather than him often just working in the background while Infinite gets more involved with Sonic and especially the avatar and delivers unnecessary edgy speeches in multiple cutscenes without having much more to his character lol

Eggman shouldn't have felt like a side character and secondary villain like he did in comparison. Not being betrayed and getting to be the final boss was good but still not enough for the kind of role he was supposed to have in this story. If they had developed Infinite more to make his character more interesting and balanced out his screentime with Eggman then I could've liked him but I don't see much interesting about him outside of his unused potential and pretty neat design.

I don't mean to just put all the blame on Infinite, as it's the poorly executed ideas and writing too. But since they seemed to struggle with the involvement and screentime of the majority of characters both good and evil in the story, I think they should've either better executed the concept of Infinite or just had Eggman be a standalone villain for this game.

Their way of throwing Infinite out without a real conclusion or actual explanation to what happened makes it even worse, like they didn't really know what they wanted to do with him all along or how to bring his story to a conclusion. I feel bad for how his fans didn't get an explanation or closure for years, only for a tiny bit of text in an awful encyclopedia to potentially be implying that he's dead lol

But considering that the encyclospeedia is full of a load of bullshit, I wouldn't assume it to be true or at least that it means he's actually dead until it's brought up again outside of the book, as Flynn isn't trustworthy when he likes to make things up and try to change how canon events really went and deny that others exist. Who knows if it's just another made up fact from him at this point.

Personally, while I think it sucks how they handled Infinite quite poorly, I don't really mind if he comes back or not. But at the same time, if he did I would give him a chance because perhaps he did have some good potential that could still be tapped into, despite the initial execution. And I'd hope they'd develop him well and balance out his screentime and plot significance with Eggman the next time.

[momtaku]

(1/2)I’m not sure if this ask will annoy u or not so i apologize in advance but. I guess part of the reason why i lost a lot of love for levi and snk in general is because what drew me to levi was how selfless he was (call me boring, i know.) the fact that he constantly carried the burden of fallen comrades, his innate compassion and desire to make life better for humans, his upbringing in the underground etc. when some ppl take that away and state “he was thinking only of erwins humanity…

(2/3 oops)) on the roof” or “the promise is the only thing that keeps him going” and kinda makes his primary motivation about erwin, or that he dedicated himself more to erwin the person as opposed to any higher goal, it sometimes upsets me. with all the extra material given from isym, i guess theres no denying it either which sucks (for me) as someone who has never cared much for erwin or eruri. sometimes i wish isym never provided all these extra materials because without it, i never would

(3/3) have drawn the conclusion that erwin was “THE most” important to levi, even more than his goal. ive never been a fan of the trope where person A puts person B above “the weight of the world” which is why yumihisu never appealed to me either. but yeah, idk. and i hope this doenst come off as hate, although ive never liked erwin or eruri i am glad that majority of this fandom is able to enjoy the ship! its just,, been sad for me i guess.

----

No sincere ask annoys me. Bait doesn't annoy me either although I prefer to spend time on sincere asks. My baitdar has been a little off these days so I sometimes struggle determining what is sincere and what isn't. With this ask, it seems like bait, but I'm struggling to see what you hoped to accomplish with it. Did you think I'd agree?

The thing is, I don't know any actual eruris (or many fans of the series for that matter) who would agree with this sort of oversimplification of Levi's character when it comes to Erwin. Instead what you've done here is compile every straw man that I’ve seen on tumblr regarding eruris into a single ask, which is sort of fun to see.

A straw man is the term for when someone purposefully misrepresents another persons argument in order to make it easier to defeat. Here's an infographic (source) which sums it up perfectly:

An example from the eruri fandom would look something like this:

There seem to be a cottage industry these days of blogs focusing on defeating such pretend arguments. Your ask sounds like you've been spending a lot of time on those.

The thing is nearly all eruris agree that Levi was selfless. They don't reduce him to a vow. They agree he cared about humanity. For two years we defended Levi against groups who reduced him to "must kill monke" and claimed he was only focused on vengeance. Now the conversation has flipped but we're still saying the same thing.

Do I think the promise kept Levi going? Yes. Do I think it was the only thing keeping him going? No. He's always fought for humanity.

Do I think Levi prioritized Erwin's humanity of the roof? Yes. Does this mean I think he didn't care about humanity? No. See above.

Do I think Erwin was Levi's most important person? 100% yes. Does this in any way diminish his feelings for any other character? Of course not. He obviously cared about Hange, Eren, the 104th and all of his fallen comrades. His compassion is the best thing about his character.

So anon, I don't know what to tell you. If you don't like Erwin, Eruri or even (*gasp*) Yumikuri, that's fine. No one is saying you have to. If the series makes you sad, self help would be to avoid it. Your ask didn't come off as hate, it just really had me scratching my head.

Thanks for the ask!

[wordsnstuff]

Guide to Combining Genres

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

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Pick Complementary Genres

It’s difficult to say which genres do and don’t mix well, as complementary characteristics are highly subjective, but some widely known combinations that you may consider are young adult x fantasy, paranormal x mystery, and action x dystopian. When splicing two difference categories of story telling, it’s important to pick based on which characteristics of each genre would make the most interesting tension and original approaches to age-old staples. 

Consider Structure

When you combine two genres, you must take the readers’ expectations into account. If you’re combining fantasy, which is primarily either politically or adventure based, and splicing it with romance, which usually follows a linear, steadily building structure, you have to find a hybrid between these two genres in order to justify marketing it as a combination. When a reader signs up to read a fantasy romance, they want a blend, not one with the other drizzled on top. 

Be Intentional, but Not Forceful

Don’t blend genres because you think it will magically make your story more interesting. If a genre doesn’t belong, the readers will notice that the characteristic elements of it are out of place and badly incorporated, like adding kale to a fruit smoothie. Everyone notices that it’s green, so you’re not fooling anyone, and yes, we can taste the kale. 

Use the Characters As A Guide

The best way to figure out which genres have a place in your story is to use your characters as a makeshift arrow, using their flaws, motivations, and personal history to indicate which elements of other genres could easily incorporate into the existing narrative. 

Tell Multiple Stories

The easiest way to make sure your genres mix well but remain intact is to feature different star genres in different plots within the overall narrative. Smaller conflicts can feature different thematic elements that stray outside the bounds of the focus genre. 

Common Struggles

~ How do you combine conflicting expectations without making the audience feel cheated?... If there’s only 20% of your book that could fit into another sub-genre, it only deserves 20% of the attention in the marketing department. If it’s primarily a fantasy but you market it as a romance, there will be hell to pay. Try your best to be honest and advertise your story clearly, rather than trying to reach a wide audience by misrepresenting the contents of the story.

~ How would you combine two commonly combined together genres and not disappoint readers, while still making sure you have enough different stuff?... Identify cliches within those genres separately as well as in their combination, and avoid or adapt them to suit your vision to the best of your ability. If two elements from the genres are commonly featured when they’re combined, try your best to imagine how you could tweak it to suit your story in a more original and interesting way.

~ How do you decide which characteristics of each genre go well together?... When you combine two tropes, you usually do so with the intention of creating heightened tension, unique conflict, or exploring a new idea. When you approach the task of deciding what to include and what not to, try to do so from the angle of what you’re trying to accomplish, rather than the reaction you’re hoping to receive. The mindset you use when making these decisions makes all the difference in the final product. 

Other Resources

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

Tackling Subplots

Plot Structures

A Guide To Tension & Suspense

Characters First, Story Second Method

 Coming Up With “Original” Ideas

How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story

31 Days of Plot Development : January 2019 Writing Challenge

Resources For Romance Writers

Guide To Writing Historical Fiction | Part II

Resources For Writing Science Fiction

Resources For Writing Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Stories

20 Mistakes To Avoid in Science Fiction

Resources For Fantasy/Mythology Writers

20 Mistakes To Avoid in Fantasy

Guide to Writing Fantasy

Resources For Crime/Mystery/Thriller Writers

Tips For Horror Writers

Tips on Writing Pyschological Thrillers

10 Mistakes to Avoid in Horror

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[balsa-margarita]

My thoughts on Raava and Vaatu (probably a hot take, idk)

I had a conversation with @deriroga recently about the spirits of Order and Chaos that were introduced in LoK, and it basically came around to the idea that they were misrepresented. I’ve seen this in other places too, and since it’s relevant to my slowly-assembling spirit lore I’m going to explain it here, or at least list what I’ve figured out.

First of all, the way the show represented Raava as the “good guy” and Vaatu as the “big bad” really rubbed me the wrong way, because in reality both spirits in their pure forms are not good at all. If pure order actually existed then the world would be warped into something completely unrecognizable and that result would be just as bad as whatever pure chaos would accomplish. So for humans the ideal outcome would either be to have Raava and Vaatu slugging it out and ignoring everything else (as they had been for time immemorial before one man got involved), or for them both to be sequestered somewhere they couldn’t do any harm.

Well, when Wan became the first Avatar they got the second option - except not really, because now the most powerful entity in the world was being directly influenced by Raava. In practice, this worked out not nearly as badly as one would expect, because humans are naturally pretty well balanced between order and chaos, so the Avatar was mostly normal and reasonable with only the slightest bent towards being more orderly. (Which kind of shakes out to explaining the lack of technological progress and national upheaval throughout most of ATLA’s history - we saw it with Roku believing in separation of the four nations which sounds like a whole lot more isolationism than is a good thing for humanity.) And of course, order and chaos in human society persisted anyway, because that’s how humans work, and also because you can’t contain the literal embodiments of Order and Chaos in a tree or an ape with anxiety. They’re concepts-made-into-eldritch-entities that are far too large for that, and they leak out and spread and do other messy things.

Also - and this is even more weird, but I think it makes sense - Raava and Vaatu aren’t the most powerful spirits out there, not by quite a bit. These two seem to represent order and chaos as they apply to sentient things (humans and spirits) not entropy and whatever the opposite of entropy might be in physics. So they’re big, but not that big. The actual spirit of entropy would be... something entirely different.

So, that’s my rant for the day (maybe, I might have more to say). Hopefully this wall of text didn’t interrupt your scrolling too much.