#usually in a case like this i would simply just *point at canon character* and make adjustments as needed but

[eerna]

How would you describe the face shapes and facial features of The Lunar Chronicles girls? (Since you draw them so beautifully, I wanna know how you figured out what features to give them based off the info the books give us. Plus I began to imagine cinder's face looking exactly like your art).

Also what undertones do you give them (you don't gotta be specific, just list whether they're cool or warm). oh! You can info-dump if you want. I find it really helpful.

Yayyy thanks for the compliments and for asking this, I love talking about why I draw faces the way I do!! :D

Ok so first off here's an explanation of my general book character design process which I will base these descriptions on. For TLC specifically the canon descriptions are based not only on the books, but also this guide from MM's website.

CINDER

The starting canon point was ambiguously mixed (but definitely Asian), tan, brown upturned eyes, mousy brown hair in a ponytail, tall, all angles, boyish build and clothes. I HC her as specifically Cambodian (based on her family names and general description), so I based her features on it. She is characterized as brave and decisive ina protagonist way, so I gave her an oval face shape because ovals are serious and constant, and thick eyebrows to intensify her expressions. She sees herself as unfeminine, so I gave her thin lips and short, brown eyelashes. She is always messy and unkempt because of her work, so I gave her an uneven, shaggy haircut to match (inspired by Link LoZ for absolutely no reason). But she is also an awkward nerd, which I integrated through her big, goofy ears. I give her a warm undertone to match her eyes and offset her desaturated hair.

SCARLET

The starting canon point was white skin, curly ginger hair, super freckled, very feminine build, full lips, farmer girl vibes. Her color scheme is very low contrast with hair, eyebrows and eyes that are all within the same value range, because at one point she is described as soft curve shaped as opposed to Cinder's sharp angles, and I wanted to bring out that softness not only in shapes but colors too. She is also brave and decisive, but in a mean old lady way, so I gave her a long, pointy face to match it. I should def give her more defined curls than I usually do. I don't often color her so I thinkkkk I mostly give her a cool undertone, but it's inconsistent.

CRESS

The starting canon point was super pale white skin, nose freckles, heart shaped face, extremely messy wavy honey blond hair, sky blue eyes, super tiny. Everything about her is supposed to scream "pure sweet innocent little baby who never did anything wrong in her life" (even if it isn't the exact truth), and her face is based on a girl I saw at school when I was a teen. Her eyebrows and eye shape are anime inspired because I was an anime fan and so was MM. I give her a cold undertone.

WINTER

The starting canon point was very dark skin, Black, three scars on her right cheek, and a ton of other descriptions because she is the most beautiful girl in the galaxy and the epitome of soft, gentle, princessy femininity. We're talking full lips, gently curving features, insane eyelashes, etc. Her scars should realistically be darker, but the description of them resembling tears and their symbolism of Winter choosing to stick out like a sore thumb stuck so far into my brain that I simply gotta make use of artistic license in this case. I went for 3C type hair and its shape fits the cloud-like dreamy vibe she embodies while keeping to the glossy corkscrew description. Her eyes and lips are her mother's, and thus bear resemblance to Levana's. I give her a warm undertone.

IKO

The starting canon point was light brown skin, golden eyes, button nose, blue braids with golden accessories, and capitalist-made beauty. She is fun, fashionable, and flirty, so her color palette is braver and more expressive than the other girls'. Her beauty is noticeable, but man-made as a product instead of Winter's natural appeal. Her undertone is sometimes cold and sometimes warm because it makes the various color combos easier to execute, and also she is an android so I bet it is possible to do it anyway.

Hope this was interesting~

[parvulous-writings]

Could I request dating headcanons for Alejandro Vargas, John Price, and Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick with gn s/o please? - Fluff anon

Warnings: Mentions/allusions to canon typical violence.

Notes:  My requests are currently open! My request post (found here) contains both a list of characters I write for, and a masterlist!  Original character list - please request for these too! If you’d like to support me more, consider reblogging! I’d appreciate it loads!! I put Gaz first because I feel like people overlook him so much.

𝘒𝘺𝘭𝘦 '𝘎𝘢𝘻' 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬

Kyle doesn't often talk about his time in the Task Force, despite spending so much time there. It's not that he won't, or can't (except for some circumstances), it's just that he doesn't see much point in it. He'll answer questions when you ask, but he won't go out of his way to tell you about it all - unless Johnny made a funny joke that he cannot help but spout to you. He's close to Johnny - and to Price. Less so Ghost; but from what you've heard about the Lieutenant, that wasn't too unusual. When he's back, he's typically much more focused on you, and what you've done whilst he's been away. "And how's my sweetheart been, hm? Not getting into too much trouble, I would hope..."

Like the rest of the 141, he's gone a lot. He's a Sargent, he can't exactly decline very easily; and though he loves you dearly, he doesn't want to leave the force just yet. He feels that he has so much more that he can give, and doesn't want to waste that. He balances his time with the force and his time with you pretty well, though. He takes regular leave unless he is unable to for operations, and keeps in regular contact with you; mainly through calls and texts, or even through emails when phone signal gets scarce.

Gaz loves physical affection; he really likes holding hands with you when you're out and about. Not only is it a way of showing emotion between the pair of you, but it also means you can't wander off so easily. At home, he likes to be next to you - no matter what you're doing. You could be watching a film, doing housework, or just out on a walk - and Gaz is right there with you. He's also an acts of service man; he cleans, he cooks, surprises you with little bits and pieces when he thinks you might need that pick-me-up to your day.

𝒜𝓁𝑒𝒿𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜 𝒱𝒶𝓇𝑔𝒶𝓈

Alejandro's life in Los Vaqueros is kind of heavily interwoven with ordinary life; it simply cannot be avoided. His work is for the protection of his home and his people, and you are encompassed in that. You know the broad strokes of what has happened, but he rarely tells you of upcoming ops, just in case something happens to your shared home, or to you. "It's not that I'm trying to exclude you, cariño, I'm just trying to be... Prepared. It can keep us both... Safer." Of course he's well aware that by being with him, you can never be truly 'safe', but he tries his best keep you as safe as he is able.

Though his Ops or busts are usually around your home, he doesn't tend to spend much time at home - mainly as a way to keep you safe, and out of the eyes of the cartel. He keeps in contact, though. You have a ham radio he tries to call you on at least once a day whilst he's away, and he sends little notes and letters through a middle man when it's safe enough, but too risky to be heard on the radio. He always assures you that he's safe, uninjured, and always missing home - It's clear that he thinks about you often.

Alejandro enjoys cooking; with you, for you, you name it, he enjoys it. He especially enjoys teaching you his family's recipes for various dishes - Pozole, baked chicken chalupas, sopes - if he gets his way, he will teach you all the recipes he knows. Once you mastered those, perhaps he'll take you to his mother, for the three of you to cook or bake together.

John Price

The majority of the time that you hear about the Task Force is through the grumbling and complaining that John does about the copious amounts of paperwork he has to deal with. He takes care of as much as he can whilst he's on-base, but unfortunately, sometimes he has to bring some on leave with him. A Captain's work is never done, it seems. Whilst away, he keeps in contact mostly through email; he says has plenty of time to, when he's sat his desk and computer for so long. You don't entirely believe him, but you let it slide. It's nice to hear from him whilst he's away, it keeps the worry and the anxiety out of your mind. When he's home, outside of his home office, he rarely talks about his work - unless he's telling you about some close-call (typically with Johnny), that in hindsight is rather funny. Other than that, he likes to keep the conversation of 'What's been going on' solely focused on you, even if you've nothing much to report.

Price is gone... An awful lot. He doesn't get a lot of time home, thanks to his station, but every bit of leave he can get, he makes sure to come home to you. Sometimes his leave is very short, though, so instead of spending the majority of it travelling (which would wear him out far too much), he'll opt for virtual dinner dates instead. He's very understanding of the fact that this situation isn't really ideal for love, or dating. He was aware from the start, and had warned you as such. He often reminds you, late at night, that you don't have to stay with him - you're free to leave and see whomever else you so choose, it could be years until he has the opportunity to retire. You just shake your head at him, and take a moment to reassure him that you're not going anywhere. It's not ideal, no, but you're willing to wait. You know John is the one for you.

John loves a good day out. Down to the beach? He's packing his sunnies. A hike? Wonderful, he's got a new pair of boots he needs to break in. Trip to a museum? Brilliant, what kind? Being able to share time with you, making memories of things big and small, is his ideal day. If he could do it forever, he would in a heartbeat.

[blindmagdalena]

Related to the last ask about Gilded Cage, and reader finding out about Billy/what happened to Becca. How would you go about reader finding out Homelander is a rapist? Not just in that verse, but in any fic?

The only time I've seen this play out is a Homelight fic where Annie knows about what happened to Becca. But she sort of "forgives" Homie or rather choses to ignore it, because she also finds out that (in that particular story, not in canon, obviously) he was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a kid. So, she doesn't justify it, but sort of understands why he did it.

Besides that, I can't think of any story where Homie's s/o found out about what he did. Do you think it would be the end of the relationship? Would reader gaslight herself into thinking it wasn't really rape, as many women (sadly) do? I would love to hear your thoughts about it!

it's a tough topic and i don't begrudge people who choose not to address it. it's also honestly just kind of a difficult thing to work in unless homelander himself freely admits to it (won't happen) or someone like butcher tells them.

there's also a lot of dub/noncon fics where it's just. kind of a moot point. if the relationship evolves from that in the first place, they can't really "find out" that he's a rapist. they've got firsthand experience. and yeah, in that case there usually is a ton of gaslighting and rationalizing going on. this is kind of what's going on in Gilded Cage right now where feelings are developing despite the fact he's keeping her against her will, and she still doesn't know if he's done something like this (or worse) before. which... we know he has.

but i do have lots of fics where the reader has no idea the extent of his damage and what he's done, and they would be properly horrified. Guilty Pleasures is a good example of a fic where i believe this revelation would end the relationship for SURE. she would not be able to reconcile that.

honestly you could take any one of my lighter/consensual fics and follow them up with the events of The Breakup / You Let Me Complicate You, which could just as easily have been about finding out that he's a rapist. it turns into a situation where the reader wants out, and he's simply not going to let them go.

the level of consent in Say It is also extremely questionable. basically noncon early on. would the reader here be shocked to learn he's done this to someone else? no. and she's already pretty well given into his corruption by this point.

whereas the reader in Don't Fret Precious (I'm Here) is a total loon, and would very readily excuse his actions. might actually be jealous because she's just. my ultimate yandere homelander simp. but she's definitely an outlier lol

ultimately it depends on the type of story you want to tell, and what kind of person you're writing against him. it's up to the author if that particular s/o believes the information at all, or if they let themselves believe that it's a terrible lie, and that their hero would never do that. or... maybe it makes perfect, horrible sense to them, and they either can or can't live with that.

i do think it's an interesting (albeit brutal) topic and one i'm open to exploring in the future! i can see myself going down any number of these potential avenues, depending on the vibe/character personality i'm working with.

[gynandromorph]

this is the other comic i've drawn of them..... i've had a lot of fun just pantsing it, as is the nofna way. like with the other, my hand has hurt too much to actually draw all of the details all the way throughout the sketch (the dirt smudges, the roots in the burrow), so i added a simple background color and flat colors to make the characters stand out. you can see i couldn't even hand-write a lot of the dialogue here......... it's the worst on my hand, i stg. this one is about a little of Legend's lifelong obsession with rodents, naturally stemming from her desire to write. while there are primates who often write as well, they usually write their own work and see great success from that. i don't think we've ever seen a markscraft who isn't a rodent in the canon. canonically, there is an undercurrent of condescension toward rodents, even though they basically Started society as the majority of the citizens -- there are incredibly powerful rodents in the government, and then there are undesirables who become markscrafts as a safe, stable career. Legend's negative bias toward rodents is fed by that pervasive hierarchy in their society as well as her own hangups. i think she's had this little rant in her head bottled up for a long time, but she has usually had the option to Just Leave when she reaches a boiling point. Legend sleeps in burrows she seals off like in this comic to hide her scent from authorities. her belongings like her mantle and her scrolls and notes she leaves in a location usually designed to mislead anyone tracking her scent. generally, though, it seems like you can just leave your shit wherever and not worry about having it stolen in this canon. in Legend's case, even if her property is stolen, she can simply use Allusion to retrieve it. naked mole rats sleep in one big pile because they aren't very good at keep their body temperatures stable. Pegging needs to huddle up against Legend for her body heat and yes she loves every minute of it

i would really love to finish these strips one day, but idk when i will be able to. i would rather sketch more anyway

[doubledyke]

Which are some of your unpopular opinions?

hmm well i don't think most of my takes are that hot tbh. our community here is pretty small so there's usually some overlap with head canons/fanon, etc. most of us are on the same page, or at least in the same chapter lmao. which is great! and even when i see a take i might not wholeheartedly agree with, i feel like it's still added to my subconscious lore to be explored later.

right off the bat, i guess one hot take might be that i find the theme song pretty grating 👀 i skip it every time. it's probably because ive heard it so many times since i was a kid up to now. i don't even really have a nostalgic or sentimental attachment to it at this point.

all my mutuals know this already, but season 1 is my favorite season, which i don't think is the case for most fans. i made a whole long post about that already though.

im already drawing a blank here ummmm

well, i probably have a lower opinion of edd's parents than most people in our little community. realistically it makes more sense that they're simply absent (neglectful) due to their demanding jobs, and that they work hard to give edd a good life, etc. but i tend to view it as more of a malicious, conscious choice. i like angst and drama, what can i say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

this one isn't really a hot take these days, especially among the tumblr crowd, but i like when edd is portrayed as the morally complex character that he is. i don't think he's all good or all bad. he's way more realistically ambiguous than that. i'd say i do lean towards him being a bit more devious than most though.

moving more into head canon territory here, but

i don't talk about this one a lot because it's totally projection, but i think edd would have issues with alcohol. between his autism, his ocd and his unloving parents, i think he'd hit the bottle a little too hard after realizing how much he likes the way it makes him feel. but he'll work through it eventually don't worry.

uhhhh let's see

again, not a scorching hot take here, but i enjoy edmay, and it's not because i don't want ed to be a "third wheel" (he's lowkey a third wheel in the show, but anyway-), it's because they're cute. that simple. i'm totally cool with ed being asexual, and i think it fits his character a bit more tbh. but i really like may, and i think her experience as the sort of outcast among her sisters is a good match for ed's experience as somewhat of an outcast even among his already outcast friend group. i think they make a very cute, very weird, and probably very smelly couple.

i have sympathy for bro! i think many of us do, but yeah. obviously he's really shitty towards eddy and even the other kids, but you don't just wake up one day and decide to be a "monster". he's clearly got trauma and issues of his own and while that's not an excuse, it's worth acknowledging. i'm fascinated by eddy and bro's dynamic and it's one of my favorite things to analyze and speculate about.

to me, it's likely that eddy would try to date girls in middle/high school, perhaps even beyond. i don't see him and edd even really addressing their deeper feelings until after graduation because of eddy's internalized homophobia and deep-seated denial of his sexuality. he'd still be worried about what people think in that regard. idk, i know a lot of folks see them being together shortly after bps, or even in high school but personally i don't see it. like edd knows how he feels, but he's not gonna push it. he'll let eddy figure it out on his own. plus it's amusing to imagine how awkward it would be for eddy and the poor girls that fall victim to his farce.

you'd think i'd have more hot takes about eddy but i think i post most of my thoughts about him pretty openly lol.

oh, i kinda hesitate to bring this one up cuz it's hard to explain or back up with much evidence, but PERSONALLY, i think eddy is pretty smart. i love to harp on his malapropisms as much as the next guy, and obviously he's immature and all the other negative adjectives associated with teenage boys. but he's very clever and witty, and like most kids with terrible trauma, "wise beyond his years". he's inventive and resourceful. he's good at analyzing people (in some circumstances) and learning what makes them tick. and despite being unable to come up with an example at the moment, sometimes the words and phrases he uses, and just generally the way he talks is more....advanced? than you'd expect from someone who can't spell "respect". i dunno, i'm sure at some point i'll make a long-winded post about this subject but suffice to say, eddy is smarter than he gets credit for.

but yeah nothing super controversial i wouldn't say. i have some weirder headcanons that im sure ill blab about at some point, but for the most part like i said, im pretty outspoken with my eene opinions. thanks for asking!!

[xviiper-rents-houses]

Avatar... way of the water..YANDERE? P2

Neytiri

I'm going with the premise that you are a human. It was when she saw you in the woods with Grace and Norm. She would have killed you if it weren't for Grace being there particularly. (I think that Neytiri had a connection with Grace, like teacher and student).

Anyways.. Neytiri grew curious about your behaviors. Her decision to not kill you led her to want to learn more about you. It was then, Neytiri decided she would go to the Sky People's base.

When approaching, Neytiri spied you doing your normal tasks. Something about you fascinated her. She just couldn't place it. Neytiri would probably stalk you for a long while before making any sort of contact. When she does make contact, though, it's probably in the case of an attack.

Neytiri in the newest movie was like: insane murder mode. She was unstable in that moment but determined. Dragging from that, I'd think Neytiri would take you as a hostage at first, pointing a knife to your neck. The rest is just history ✨ 💅😈

Jake Sully.

You probably met Jake on base. A cripple. "A meal on wheels." I could see Jake meeting you and you just ignoring the fact he is bound to his wheel chair.

When Jake got his avatar body, however, that's where I think things would get interesting. Perhaps you are doing one of your tasks and Jake just up and lifts you off the ground.

This would lead into spouts of arguments. Either teasing or genuinely irritated, whatever the case. You decide! (Perhaps I'll do some canons on how many Na'vi character likes to hold you? 👀).

When Jake left to go into the woods, you had a feeling something was off. You then learned he fell in love with the ways of the Na'vi.

Jake wanted you to share that bond as well. In the revolt against the humans, Jake Sully wanted you to stay by his side during this battle. To work together.

Spider.

My headcanon for Spider is rather interesting. I felt that we did not get enough of him in the movie though, I could be biased.

In any case, Spider strikes me as the extremely hard headed and protective yandere. Maybe Spider made you uncomfortable multiple times. Forcing you to go outside with him when you didn't want to. And you probably hurt yourself in those cases.

Spider would simply laugh at your misfortune, not aware you were genuinely wounded. It would most likely take him some time to recognize your pain. Then, he would feel extreme guilt.

Spider does care for you though. Deeply. He'll try to take you under his wing and teach you things he has learned. Spider wants you to see what he sees. Spider is fierce in his movements.

He knows what he wants and he thinks he knows what you need. There are times where he doesn't know, though. And that's where you come in. Your words fix anything he doesn't feel sure about.

Ao'noung

Like Spider, you were human when you met Ao'noung. The Na'vi always saw humans as weaker than his own kind. It was bad enough having the Sully kids around and Spider. Now, there is you?

My brain likes to think that Ao'noung personally hated you for a long time. This hatred turned into a sort of obsession when Ao'noung followed you around. I think he would do this because he wants you to know he's not leaving you alone. Making fun of your slow speed in the water.

Calling you names in Na'vi. Poking and prodding at you. If you weren't able to learn Na'vi, Ao'noung would take full advantage of this.

It's probably at a moment when you felt particularly upset when Ao'noung continued his usual antics. Perhaps flat out crying or growing extremely mad at him triggered something inside the male.

That's where I think to think he got used to the Sully kids and their odd fingers. Ao'noung would get used to you and try to make it up to you by being a lot nicer in the future.

Roxto

Now, we didn't get enough of this guy in the film but, I do have some small ideas. (Sorry if it's short, but if I let myself rant: I 👏 will 👏 RANT...p.s., lemme know if y'all want a big rant from me or not).

Roxto seems to be rather unsure of himself in the movie, usually following what the others do. Roxto needs the support and encouragement from others to feel like he belongs.

He was heard saying in the movie after Ao'noung saying: "He asked if you're a freak?" His tone sounded rather uncertain. So, that adds more curiosity to what type of yandere he could be. DEFINITELY the uncertain, unpredictable type.

Like, Roxto might feel major guilt for the stuff he does to you and whatever. Maybe he tries guilt tripping you into liking him? Perhaps your first interaction was of Roxto following along with Ao'noung's bullying.

But, maybe he didn't really like the idea of doing that to you. Maybe he wanted to learn so much from you before but did not get the chance to. So, in his own time, Roxto would maybe try to speak with you to learn more?

[flamedraco]

OCs in Fandom

This is something I've been thinking about more but why is the DSMP and MCYT fandoms specifically more OC repulsed than other fandoms?

Like this is a very strange trend I've noticed where when I introduce an unnamed, unimportant character meant to fill a role (usually to die or get droned in Aurelia's case) why does everyone ask "oh who was that btw?" or "ooo I wonder who this character was! You said she was a woman so she has to be one of these select few characters from the series!" Like. No? No that's not how that works.

In every other fandom I've been in I see art and stories surrounding the OCs that people make. Original Characters with their own powers and abilities, their own relationships to the canon characters. OCs made to fill roles in stories that other characters in canon simply cannot fill because they already have a role in the story somewhere else or because it wouldn't make sense.

This is a behavior that is present in a lot of fandoms. Especially in places like BNHA (the fandom I was in before DSMP). But for some reason not here? And I find that weird.

I'm not judging anyone for this btw I just find it strange because us viewers are CANON to a lot of MCYT mediums. My friend @emi-writings pointed out that the viewers are CANON to the DSMP. We were the ones who voted in the L'manburg election. We are The Voices in Techno's head. We're Phil's flock of crows.

And when you think about it we're canon to other MCYT mediums too. Any time "chat" is brought up in lore, that's us. Any time our suggestions make it into our favorite series and becomes part of the lore? That's us. We're here. We're existing. We're canon.

So why aren't there more OCs? I'd expect a lot more of them seeing how we are quite literally canon.

And yeah, there are a lot of characters to pull from in these mediums so maybe the need for OCs to fill plot points in our fics aren't as needed. But sometimes they are? And I find it so strange that they're kinda frowned upon or not normalized because you go to any other fandom and sometimes you can't tell an OC apart from an actual character in the lore!

In YWNTMBAH, for example, I wanted to give the readers more insight into Quackity's backstory in the AU. And so I decided I wanted to introduce a small handful of OCs as his family because I couldn't lean into the generally accepted family (head?)canon of Sam being his father because Sam already had a role in the fic. And I had already established that Quackity got his shrike wing power from his mother and there's not 'mother' character in that specific family canon. So what am I to do? Make OCs.

Right now I'm considering making a Minecraft Diaries AU as my next major multichapter fic. But Diaries has so many characters with very specific roles that half the cast of the DSMP is pretty much useless to me because they don't fit into these roles I need. Obviously a Diaries AU wouldn't be one to one because the characters are different with different personalities and temperaments, it's a completely different setting I'm throwing the DSMP characters into. But I also don't want to use certain characters unless I absolutely have to especially when the DSMP cast is so large I don't even know the lore and personalities of half the characters. And hell, some of the people whitelisted on the DSMP never even participated in lore or were just there and didn't really roleplay so I wouldn't use them to begin with. The answer here is to use OCs. In any other fandom everyone would tell you to just make some OCs to fill the roles you need or use the characters that were already present in Diaries (which isn't something I'd want to do because I want to create an AU not a crossover).

But for some reason in this fandom that's just...not a thing? Or at least that isn't a thing most people would recommend or do because I rarely see it. And readers will look at some unnamed, undescribed character, and assume I intended for it be someone in the DSMP cast. Had a specific character in mind for it.

And...no. No I didn't. That's just some dude that Wilbur killed. That's just some random ass hero Quackity plucked out of the cell to experiment on. That's just a character meant to fill out the world and make it feel more alive.

I guess the point of this really is just...make OCs more normalized in this fandom? Like it's not everyone's thing obviously and you don't have to if you don't want to. If someone in the DSMP cast fits the role you need then hey, less work for you as the writer, right?

And I'm not saying that this is a huge problem or anything because it's not. There are other people that do use OCs as writing tools or hell, collectively accepted OCs that the comment section of a fic will adopt because the concept of there being this one specific dude everyone bullies is funny. I remember a fic being inspired by YWNMTBAH and it was a story about someone's OC that they made and I thought it was cool as hell that my fic inspired someone to make an OC!

But I just think everyone should be more aware that it's okay and normal to make OCs in fandom. Hell, my take on Wilbur, Sally, and Sapnap are all pretty much OCs at this point. I made the Fridge an actual character with the help of Em. Me and Double added OCs in Arsonist's Waltz to fill out the DSMP Pantheon more because it wasn't explored enough in canon.

I think we should have more OCs. I think it should be normalized. I think the general expectation shouldn't be that every last character mentioned in the story is someone in canon. OCs are a really useful fanfiction writing tool and they aren't even hard to make really! You don't even have to name some of them! I never gave Q's parents in YWNTMBAH names, just descriptions! Half of Wilbur and Quackity's drones in Aurelia are unnamed OC characters they just yoinked off the streets!

OCs are things you can pour a lot of time into, give backstories, give cool concepts. But they can also just be easy writing tools when you need to kill something off but don't want to use one of your more major characters. They can just be there, chilling, making your world more alive and more full.

Because not every viable character in the canon cast can be used for the roles you need.

[boyfridged]

Do you have any more thoughts about Alfred and how to make him a more interesting character? And there's this tag "Alfred Pennyworth is a Saint", got any opinions about that? And what about some different portrayals like the Gotham Tv version, the multiple versions from comics (usually either harsh, sarcastic and emotionally repressed stoic or openly affectionate, offering actual advice and kind), or the super nice and kind ones from the various movies (live-action and animated)?

there's a lot of contradictions when it comes to alfred's character, even within the scope of individual works (that including current canon... post-mortem too): he's supposed to be both harsh and kind, extremely competent and yet - out of picture to a degree, both fundamentally against the idea of batman (mocking it at times) and supportive of it, professional and a parental figure, conservative in appearances but progressive in acts... most importantly, he plays a role of a "sage" -- he is supposed to be simply right.

but you probably already know -- i'm very interested in characters being wrong.

and i'd say the best angle to approach alfred is simply based on the question of who he needs to be in bruce's story for it to work at all. and one of these requirements is that he is not really there. he cannot enter the action too often, even if writers want you to believe he's invincible. he cannot truly make the residents of the manor a family -- there ought to be some distance, because it's bruce's job to be a father (this is interesting in moench's pre-crisis run also... where it is very clear that alfred leaves raising jay to bruce.) and, most importantly, for bruce to become batman -- alfred ought to fail him to some degree.

and i reckon that's why we don't see much of bruce's childhood. there are some conflicting narratives irt leslie and alfred, even in the 80s - on the one hand, it is suggested that they *both* do not know how to handle bruce as a child; on the other hand, you're supposed to believe that there was no way to do that (and to absolve them of their fault). but i'm interested in a compromise... in acknowledging that none of them were equipped nor ready to take that responsibility, but also realising that there was more they could do. because i think that, for example, alfred's conservatism did intrude on the task of providing care. for example -- in some versions of bruce's childhood (isn't it fascinating that we don't even have one official version at this point in canon... it's always so elusive. but that's a topic for another post) he is sent to a boarding school. and that works. he's an old british guy, of course he'd think sending a child even at age 8-10 would be not only normal but also a good idea.

also -- alfred at times comments on bruce's inability to perform house chores, which is obviously a comic relief. but it's interesting because it's alfred who raised him. if bruce does not do his own laundry, or can't cook - that's quite literally on alfred. and again, i do believe it is plausible that alfred would not teach him any of these things. once more, the reason for that is his conservatism.

what i just said does not negate that alfred is a father to bruce and family to other children raised in the manor. however, i think that his own realisation that it is the case should come with some regret... &that his biases and the role of bruce's enabler are flaws that could make him interesting if it was take seriously.

however, there's still plenty of gaps that are hard to fill - for instance, why alfred is a butler at all, given his background (there were obv some attempts at explaining it -- i wouldn't say they were very successful). i know some of it is simply a matter of editors and writers throwing bits of amusing/surprising lore into the story without really considering the wider picture, but it is frustrating. his development was, after all, quite strange -- if you read first issues of batman/tec, you will notice he himself was mostly a comic relief. the whole concept of his links to military, for example, came later... so i had quite high hopes for pennyworth (the show) in that regards, but it did disappoint me. i wish we simply got a well-written mini?

a complete sidenote -- i also quite like how close alfred & damian grow to be. it makes a lot of sense (i do think alfred would be partial to the "biological" child + the way alfred carries himself & the routine he sticks to would be comforting for damian i think...)

[mayfay]

Hardening Analysis

To preface this, this will be my first proper analysis of a canon character, so be patient with me here. Also Kirishima Did Not cooperate on this one. 2 days and multiple hours of digging and research for Just this.

To start with a brief overview, Kirishima has a transformation quirk called Hardening that allows him to “harden” his body. This is usually indicated by his body becoming a series of flat edges, with incredible durability and strength added on. When pushed to the extreme in his “Unbreakable” form, sections of skin rise up and overlap each other as well as gain “cracks” all along his body resembling the metamorphic cleavage lines of some minerals. Another aspect that should be brought up is that his quirks limit is based on stamina drain. The “harder” he becomes over more area, the greater the drain on his stamina. Damage to these hardened areas also eats into his stamina pool, though it seems like by training his quirk he becomes more efficient and has a larger stamina pool to drain from (as evidenced by his growth between the Sports Festival and the Overhaul arc).

Now this all seems like it lines up very well. No inconsistencies, no strange happenings to pick at, just a simple consistent transformation quirk. Well Guess What! I Got his ass! There is More to Hardening and I have Found it!

First off there are some minor inconsistencies. For one Kirishima's Unbreakable form has raised skin all over his body, and yet this doesn’t cause him any damage and goes away after de-transforming. Also the lines that appear during hardening aren’t given any explanation, they’re just there and act to highlight how far hardening has spread. More damningly is the Overhaul arc though. In it Kirishima fights Rappa, who severely damages him, to this point that he’s missing a large section of arm. However that section doesn’t experience Any bleeding, whereas the wounds on his slightly hardened face do. And after the fight ends? Kirishima Just had a large section of arm torn off and doesn’t have access to Any healing quirks, and yet he Lives. He lives and doesn’t have Any physical therapy afterwards. No lasting damage, no bleeding out, Nothing.

So how? How does he do it? Well the only explanation I can think of that doesn’t require a bunch of coincidences is if “Hardening” comes with an extra healing aspect to it. But wait! How the hell does “Hardening” = Healing?! Well what if Kirishimas quirk Wasn’t Hardening. What if it was something incredibly similar but with far different mechanics? What if he had, for lack of a better term, “Crystallization”. More specifically what if Kirishima's quirk allowed for some measure of control over the atoms in his body. The ability to change them into a more crystalline pattern and Keep them there.

This would certainly explain some things. First off keeping everything together would cost energy, which his quirk processes his stamina to produce. And as crystalized sections are hit? As an outside force tries to Shatter him? His quirk would fight back, Forcing the atoms to stay put and unbroken. This kind of power would take energy, energy that would need to be taken by the quirk in the form of his stamina. If Kirishima had simple hardening this likely wouldn’t be the case, damage simply hurting him rather than eating away at his limit. His healing is in a similar situation. Regular Hardening wouldn’t grant any form of recovery, but if his quirk is forcing everything into predetermined shapes then inconsistencies would need to be patches, inconsistencies like wounds. Of course this would eat away at his stamina pool and we can’t risk the damage from outpacing his healing. If that were to happen then sections of Crystallization would need to be dropped or the whole body might fracture. How to combat this? Well if the body is forming crystal structures, it would be ridiculously easy to simply shave off sections if too much force to counter is applied. By shaving off sections of damaged tissue the underlying sections would be exposed, but could be quickly crystalized in specific areas to limit bleeding until de-transformation when the stamina pool can be safely drained for emergency healing. Of course this implies that Crystallization also redirects damage across crystalized sections to prevent internal damage, but considering the hits Kirishima takes throughout the series that’s not really up for debate (barring his Whole body crystalizing, but that would take stupid amounts of energy and the lack of blood from the arm wound during the Rappa fight indicates crystalized sections don’t operate as fully as they do when de-transformed).

Crystallization also explains some more minor inconsistencies, specifically his strength and overlapping skin in Unbreakable form. The strange skin formations could be Crystallization increasing the area's volume, but not having the required space. This could be handled by “lifting up” and overlapping over other sections of skin, creating the effect seen in Kirishima's new form. The strength aspect has ties back to the “reset-healing” aspect of Crystallization. By “resetting” his muscles they would spring back, causing the associated movement. This would cause a massive increase in speed and strength at the cost of potentially damaging the muscle. However, when combined with the healing portion of Crystallization this damage from hysterical strength would be healed up without trouble, and potentially even leave the muscle Stronger than before seeing as micro-tears in muscles cause an increase in their strength.

Now of course while this Seems like an upgrade from Hardening, and it certainly Is, there are some weaknesses Kirishima's quirk brings with it. The first one would be that Crystallization offers little protection against more elemental powers. Don’t get me wrong, he would certainly be better at taking a hit than a random passerby, but powers like electricity or mental quirks would still have some level of effect. This is actually supported in canon as the One(1) non-physical quirk Kirishima goes up against is one called Meatball, which immediately incapacitates him. Now this isn’t Entirely fair seeing as this was meant as a moment to make Bakugo shine and Meatball directly counters Crystallization (even more than it would Hardening), but it’s worth bringing up.

The second and equally important weakness is that the body was Not built for straight edges, and that has consequences. The first one is very hypothetical, seeing as I don’t believe Crystallization goes to far below the skin when possible, but if the lungs were to crystalize they would be Far less effective at delivering oxygen. Specifically the alveoli are a small circular portion of the lungs that’s responsible for oxygen distribution to the lungs, and that circular shape is to maximize how much is distributed. By crystallizing they become all sharp edges, reducing oxygen efficiency. At first this low oxygen would simply cause cells to produce energy without oxygen, known as anaerobic respiration, which produces lactic acid. Lactic acid sets off nerves like Crazy, which is that burning sensation you feel when exercising. As things intensify though Kirishima would begin to suffer from oxygen deprivation, which has a variety of symptoms but most notably includes wheezing, disorientation, and confusion. Very similar to his state after the Rappa fight, though that’s explained by the adrenaline crash and likely concussion.

Now the second major body weakness due to Crystallization I found was in the eyes. See, the eyes are circular for a reason, mess with that and light reflection gets wonky. More specifically, while flattened (as seen in the Rappa fight) the outermost sections of eye, known as the cornea, would reflect light further back instead of where it’s supposed to, leading to farsightedness. And the cornea isn’t the only part away from the iris, you also have what’s known as the anterior chamber. Flattening this chamber causes its own issues, but most notably its been found that prolonged flattening of this specific region causes damage to the organs in the eye. Now this Would be handled by Kirishima's healing aspect (further supporting its existence), it does mean that prolonged transformation risks worsening vision if healing can’t keep up.

Now every quirk comes with natural mutations to better handle it, but Kirishima is quite lacking in this department. The only major mutations I could think of is potentially thicker skin to give Crystallization more to work with, a larger mouth/lungs to more efficiently take in oxygen when fighting (especially if Crystallization affects the lungs), and some sharper teeth. Now the teeth could very easily be a vestigial mutation from a family member, but it could also be an expression of his Crystallization, with his teeth being permanently crystallized. This would result in them being far harder and sharper than average teeth of a similar shape, and potentially slowly train his quirk over time as it keeps up the mutation.

Some quick side notes that didn’t easily fit in elsewhere. Thanks to how hardness is measured, how much flakes off when scratched, Kirishima's quirk keeping everything together when possible means that he would have a Much higher hardness than his skin would naturally have, even while transformed (so “Hardening” in a sense) (he would also be highly resistant to fire for a similar reason, as heat wouldn’t be able to vibrate the atoms to damage or melt him as planned). He also displays some control over his hardening on the bus to USJ when he sharpens his fists rather than bulks them up, something I never caught him doing in battle when it might harm someone. It’s also worth pointing out that higher Crystallization levels might be an indicator to the quirk to up the healing in that area, rather than being an automatic process. This is most supported by the fact that while the arms were heavily crystallized and suffered no bleeding, his face was only lightly crystallized and Did bleed.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Can you tell me why you like Lan Xichen, if that doesn't bother you?

I know why the fandom at large like him, but I disagree very hard with the "N°1 Wangxian shipper, best wingman, the only person in this cast that has eyes" thing they've got going on because all of this is directly contradicted by canon, and I'm just not a fan of blissfully ignorant characters that are fine with staying blind to the faults of others depending on how convenient it is for them.

I may be exaggerating a bit, but his "You were his only mistake" speech while advocating and protecting and giving the benefit of the doubt to Jin Guangyao made me a little bit salty, and the implications as to how he participated/supported the siege and Lan Wangji's punishment didn't really help.

I usually enjoy your takes and often agree with you, so I figured I'd ask, maybe you'd provide some insight in his character that I missed?

Hello anon,

I think part of this does simply come down to personally what type of person I myself am able to tolerate and want to see the potential of capability and being better. I do agree on with Wei Wuxian as he observes Lan Xichen's faith in Jin Guangyao, is that he unlike him was able to interact with memories of Nie Mingjue and the only reason he himself was able to believe that Jin Guangyao wasn't what he presented as. Lan Xichen isn't presented as a character to despise even in his ignorance which yes, is a factor of his one comfortable position, yet he is a kind simple man.

Simple kind men, are not meant to be politicians and should not be as they are easily manipulated. Yet the people that Wei Wuxian commends and listens to are simple, kind people. He understands very well where Lan Xichen himself comes from as a party close to Jin Guangyao and as an outside party to Wei Wuxian. They don't know each other, Wei Wuxian also is not a grudge holding person for slights against himself because they are wrong. Why would he himself care for what is not true? He knows who and what he is, whether it's liked by outsiders or not. He knows how to work with either reaction and is not sensitive to what is said about him, he also doesn't need others to take up that mantel in his stead, what he appreciates is those that trust in him as he is to support that.

Wei Wuxian also understands the casual misunderstandings perpetuated, some of which he did continue once he came back and hid for a time as Mo Xuanyu. He didn't think his unconscious love from when he was you g would reawaken, he WAS fucking around to disgust Lan Wangji to abandon him. He did not expect Lan Wangji to be caring and as loving as he was because the man hadn't so openly been anything like that in their youth.

Lan Xichen had the privilege of knowing this about Lan Wangji, hence his protectiveness and assumptions. While Wei Wuxian did not. It's a case of great misunderstanding on part of what Lan Xichen knew against what Wei Wuxian knows. As the audience we DO have a greater privilege than either of them because we get insights into both's actions and thoughts the other has no idea of. They are outside observers of the other.

Do I think Lan Xichen held a grudge towards Wei Wuxian either? No, but he was weary of Wei Wuxian's intentions to his brother given the outside view he had of them. Subconsciously yes we see that Wei Wuxian greatly loves Lan Wangji, but that is not apparent for Lan Xichen given the history he had seen. He had at one point thought a friendship with Wei Wuxian would be good for Lan Wangji who didn't ever seek companions, yet the only thing he was seeing and told was the hurt and struggle Lan Wangji struggled with. He had no investment or friendship with Wei Wuxian to think of other context.

Wei Wuxian also gets this, it is why he is terrified of the potential hurt Lan Wangji had been put through unintentionally because of himself and the assumptions of outsiders as well that influenced both of their hesitance to be open of their growing feelings, trust and love.

We all want to think of the best in those close to us. Wei Wuxian understands how that becomes so natural to the point of blinding yourself to the worst. It is what he did when it came to Jiang Cheng who continued to escalate his hate and actions towards Wei Wuxian who gave Jiang Cheng the benefit of doubt until he no longer could. And it is what Lan Xichen is faced with when it comes to the whole of Jin Guangyao's crimes exposed. Wei Wuxian was the perpetual stain and hurt for Jiang Cheng and did take the blame Jiang Cheng put upon him while reasoning with himself that Jiang Cheng had such a right and what good would it do for him to complain.

Lan Xichen trapped himself in the blindness of wanting Jin Guangyao to be reasonable in his choices in a very unfair world that condemned his class. He did know that Lan Wangji loved Wei Wuxian, he was weary of that love due to not knowing the whole. And why at the end he is disgusted, horrified, hurt in his own self snd yes embarrassed with his stubborn assumptions and blindness. He is not proud of that and what he is torn up over at the end. It's not the great tragic friendship he supposedly lost, it is his own stubbornness and ignorance he let overcome him and what he allowed to go on for too long. He is forced to see his one sided idea of Wei Wuxian was wrong, he has no hate over that, he to a point had seen Wei Wuxian as an influence for Lan Wangji to open up, yet lost his own faith in that due to his assumed biases.

He to a fault is coddling to the point of it being offensively infantilizing to Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian understands the why of this and also is completely logical in understanding as to why Lan Xixchen thinks as such. He thinks Lan Xichen is a good man, because he is, whether we the audience like it or not in the logic of their world Wei Wuxian understands the mechanism of Lan Wangji's punishment as well and the cruelty it was for the society they are stuck in that is slow to change. Simple kind men are not made to be in a world of intricacy and conspiracy because it is more complicated than they know. Good intentions and offer of protection is dangerous when you have not been exposed to cruelty that can personally hurt you and take advantage of you when you are ignorant to the extent of the backlash.

I think this is also why Wei Wuxian in the end does respect Lan Xichen he had been there as well. He can't condemn something that he had been a part of at one point and had been taken advantage himself by multiple others.

[skaruresonic]

So Sonic 3's trailer finally dropped today. Any thoughts on it?

I had zero hype for this film because I didn't like the previous two and had no reason to believe this one would turn out any different. Lo and behold! ...it doesn't.

There's so much I could talk about.

• The shameless digging up of the corpse of my favorite Sonic game just to dress it up Norman Bates-style. Why yes, I love getting butchered adaptations of SA2 shoved down my throat. Keep 'em coming.

• The fact that the overly-furry aesthetic Paramount chose for Sonic and the other anthros still looks plug-ugly to my eyes no matter how much I try to get acclimated to it. In fact, it somehow looks even worse here than it did in previous movies.

• The fact that they ripped off a scene from Matrix Revolutions. Interesting choice, lmao.

• Jimbotnik continuing to register as "Jim Carrey in a costume" and not as Eggman.

• Agent Stone continuing to be a nothingburger of a character aside from being a living footstool for Jimbotnik. I thought everybody said he was going to be 3's main antagonist. Why is he even here.

• Jimbotnik calling Gerald "Pop-Pop," cutesy-ing it up for no real reason, when Eggman simply called him "grandpa" at most in the games. What, is his grandfather Mike Ehrmantraut now?

• The original game's "fuck the police" angle now being ignored in favor of maybe making GUN look like the good guys (what?).

• The fact that the ARK, an iconic location, is nowhere in sight is making me more than a tad apprehensive. Idk if this thing is supposed to replace it:

• This one really steams my hams: the fact that Paramount portrays Jimbotnik's weight gain via hateful stereotypes of fat men which the games do not employ in their overall portrayal of Eggman. It reflects a fatphobic attitude I could have told you was the case years ago judging by the fact that they cast a thin man in the role.

Games!Eggman is stylish and immaculately groomed, but Jimbotnik has to be a slob who dresses like The Dude just because he gained a little weight. Of course. 🙄

It really bothers me because Eggman is quite possibly one of the only examples of positive fat male representation I can point to, and they can't even let him be a little fat onscreen without literally exposing his belly with the intent to make fun of him in ways the games seldom do, if ever.

God fucking forbid he actually weighs the 281 lbs. he does in canon; Paramount would probably portray him like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.

In lieu of being portrayed as dumb and weak, as is usually the case for fat male characters, Games!Eggman is portrayed as cunning, intelligent, powerful (physically and mentally), and stylish in a way that commands respect, despite whatever this Chili's says to discredit him. Eggman is fucking cool, and y'all are tripping if you don't think so.

• The fact that this movie is probably going to be cringe on the basis of its constant bathos-inducing insistence on making the characters crack mistimed jokes during serious moments.

• Doing a double take when Sonic called Shadow an "alien," possibly realizing that "alien" is the film universe's designation for anthros, then promptly short-circuiting and catching on fire. Can we not.

• Why does the trailer insist on making Shadow look like a wet cat? They did not deep-freeze my boy like they did in the games. Games!Shadow emerged from stasis minty-fresh, whereas Movie!Shadow looks like a newborn kitten yeeted straight out of the womb:

Disgustang. Stop that.

• The fact that everyone gives '06 flack for aesthetic whiplash but thinks Shadow looking like a muppet beside an irl little girl is fine, actually:

And the fact that said little girl may be killed just making dead Maria jokes 10x more uncomfortable than they need to be.

• They missed an opportunity for a fun visual gag by having the bathroom sign read "occupied" instead of "eggupied" or "hatching" (as in hatching a scheme. or a shit. maybe both, lol). Something like that:

They can pay homage to the Akira bike slide and the Super Burly Brawl from Matrix Revolutions, but God forbid we actually allude to Sonic games :v

---

...But most of this can be boiled down to "Paramount gonna Paramount."

All in all, I'm likely to continue my time-honored tradition of seeing the movie when it releases in theaters because deep down, I'm still a Sonic whore and subsequently pretending the films don't exist thereafter lol

[paintedhyenadogs]

Just because Im lowkey pissed that people don't understand the archive warnings on AO3 and get mad at the author because of their own lack of understanding:-

Here are what the archive warning tags mean and what each apply to:

No Archive Warnings Apply

This means the fic doesn't have any of the content that fit into the other warnings

Still tread with caution, especially if there are no other tags, as in 0. No relationship tags, no character tags, nothing, nada. It means the author might be really new or just was too lazy to use any tags or warnings. Know the risk or play it safe and don't read.

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

This means the fic might have none, some or all of the listed warnings. This is the warning. You might end up reading triggering material, or reading a fluffy sweet fic. It's a toss up, so if you aren't willing to take the risk, DO NOT READ.

If you've filtered out any of the other archive warnings and see this one, make sure you are ready to encounter something that might be triggering, that you've filtered or just avoid it. Even if the other tags don't indicate it, be wary and stay cautious, remember that this is still a warning.

Graphic Depictions of Violence

The content of the fic features graphic violence, as is stated. But if the creator chose not to tag what happens specifically that is violent, be ready for anything ranging from a bloody fist fight, to cannibalism to eroguro to violent torture.

Rape/Non Con

The fic will contain rape/noncon, which I've also seen include dubious consent/dubcon. It can be a major plot point in the story of the fic, or be smut. Read the additional tags to get a gauge of if it is one or the other. If there are no other tags, and you only want to read a story driven fic that may have rape/noncon, play it safe and don't read.

Underage

The fic has pedophillia and just like the rape/noncon warning, can be either a plot point or part of smut. Just like the above, if you do not want to read smut, play it safe and do not read if it has 0 additional tags. Honestly just filter it out all together, it's a good idea.

Some people also might use this tag when the fic involves sex between two underage characters (usually when the show is set in a high school), please keep this in mind if you aren't filtering the underage warning altogether. Also serves as a, "Always read additional tags!" note.

(Just in case someone gets on my ass and says "omg why would you say it also has smut under it ewww, are you a pedo?!" because I know someone will: I am simply saying that, the reality is, it's on the site. I don't wanna see that either, but it's there and I can't do a thing about it, just please be aware that you could be stumbling into a gross fic if you are not reading the tags properly.)

Major Character Death

A major character in the fic dies. This could be an OC, the reader, or a canon character.

If anyone feels I should revise and/or add these explanations, please tell me.

Additional words for newbies for ao3

AO3 is an archive site first, fanfiction hub second. It isn't for readers, it's for authors to archive their work and be able to label their work accordingly (or just not label it).

As a reader you should be respectful towards the authors and their work. You have no right to demand for a new chapter of a work you may like, you have no right to insult the author because of your own lack of knowledge or ignorance. Be grateful you're even getting any work from these people. Again, these people. These authors are real people like you and me, writing you fanfiction to read at no additional cost.

If you plan on posting on AO3, you should tag it, just so people can filter it, it's nice to be nice. I don't write on AO3 so I don't know what else to say on this part.

[general-cyno]

Sitting here thinking about Luffy's blind faith in Zoro. I can tell a thousand reasons why Zoro's devotion makes even more sense, I mean, it's not like Luffy doesn't spend every moment unintentionally proving that Zoro was right to trust him. But Luffy's faith? Is it entirely based on the strength of Zoro's spirit? And I find that amazing. Crazy. Insane. Because Luffy canonically has no interest in those who don't have dreams but the only thing Zoro had when Luffy met him was his own dream and the conviction to hold on to it? And that was what struck Luffy the most, even before he knew that Zoro was actually a good person? And that Zoro is, for Luffy, probably the definition of invincible. Because he never gives up on his dream, because his way of joining the Straw Hats or sacrificing himself is to never give up on his dream but to make other dreams (Luffy's dream) part of his? I-

sorry for the late-ish reply anon! and hmmm. it may sound like I'm arguing semantics here but I don't really think luffy's faith in zoro (or anyone, for that matter) is blind per se. huge? heartfelt? intense? yeah, just not necessarily blind. for all that he's very trusting and prone to falling for tricks/underhanded methods, luffy is usually a very good judge of character and if he ever extends his trust or faith to someone it's bc he's got a reason for it or simply believes in their potential. if they fail to meet his expectations, it's their loss, not luffy's. he can take care of himself, and even if he's in danger he relies on his crew to back him up.

now curiously enough I've seen the "it doesn't make sense" argument for both zoro and luffy wrt each other, also that their relationship isn't very reciprocal from luffy's side and it's not something I really agree with. while their relationship does rely on more subtlety than people would think at first glance, I'd argue that as early as zoro's recruitment into the crew we can see why luffy trusts and believes in him as much he does. it's not solely about strength (mental or physical) because as interested as he may have been in zoro's reputation, luffy himself said he'd only ask zoro to join him if he turned out to be a good guy. though zoro had a cool dream, luffy wasn't exactly happy about how dismissive he seemed to be about pirates at first. ultimately, what persuaded him was witnessing first hand that zoro's the kind of person who'd eat dirt if it meant repaying someone's kindness, that he places great value in honor and is a man of his word even if those around him (like helmeppo back then) don't give him the same courtesy or mock him behind his back.

a dreamer just like luffy, someone who stays true to what he promises, who protected luffy, called him captain, became his first crewmate and long lasting companion, regarded him as his friend right away, pledged his dream to luffy's etc etc, how could luffy not have faith in him? not to mention zoro proved to be on luffy's crazy wavelength (to the point he understands luffy's reasoning and motivations to do xy without having to voice them out loud) and that he's as much of a dork too, on top of all that. if luffy's demonstrated why he's earned zoro's trust with his actions, either towards zoro or in general, zoro's also shown why luffy's had plenty of reasons from the beginning to have that much faith in him in turn, and those have only fortified with time, sometimes without luffy being aware of it (ie thriller bark). I've also mentioned it before and this kind of applies to his overall relationship with each member of the crew, but luffy's belief in zoro's strength, dream and so on is a reflection of zoro's in him. it's one of the many reasons I don't really see their mutual respect/devotion/loyalty as blind in either case. I love that about these two so much! everything about their relationship is so intentional, built brick by brick, sprinkled all over the story and their characters. so good.

[pollyannawog]

⭐️Polly’s writing commissions ⭐️

Hi there! I decided I’d just go ahead and make a writing comms post because well. I need the money. So if you want something written, especially a fanfic, read below!

About me

I am a 23 year old artist/biologist with a decent amount of literary classes under my belt due to my liberal arts education. You can find samples of my work on my ao3, with my more recent works being the highest quality. I love writing fanfiction, especially of the series I’ve already written for, but what I make for free would naturally be less polished than what I would write on request!

Pricing

My base rate is $1 USD/100 words, with a minimum word count of 1000 ($10 USD). As of now my policy is to pay half of the estimated price up front (more on that later), with the remainder paid upon completion of the work.

Commission rules and guidelines

Things I WILL write:

Angst

Fluff

Ships

Horror

Gore (Including character death and torture)

Mildly suggestive themes

Original fiction

Fanfiction

Things I will NOT write:

Smut

Ships between adult/minor, incest, or anything that doesn’t pass the vibe check (can be discussed if unsure)

Fandoms I am uncomfortable with/simply don’t know enough about*

Anything that promotes hate, bigotry, or otherwise problematic stances on groups of real life people and places

*If you would like me to write for a fandom I am not in, I may be willing to for an additional ‘research fee’, dependent on the story concept and complexity/length of the media of origin. That being said, here is a list of fandoms I am almost certainly willing to write for, and the ones I will NOT write for, period:

Will write:

Pokemon

Digimon**

Kirby

Fire Emblem**

Viva Piñata

Sonic the Hedgehog

MOTHER

Splatoon

Dungeon Meshi

Hunter X Hunter

Fullmetal Alchemist**

JJBA**

The Legend of Zelda**

Kid Icarus

**May not be knowledgeable about specific canons

If a specific fandom isn’t here, still feel free to ask if I’m willing/interested so long as it isn’t on the “will not write” list! That being said…

Will NOT write:

H*rry P*tter

H*talia

Att*ck on T*tan

F*af

S*uth P*rk

V*vziep*p shows

Like before, there may be other fandoms I’m uncomfortable with writing for, and I will let you know up front.

Strengths

While I am willing to write just about anything not on my exclusions list, I am most comfortable and well-versed with stories featuring themes of self-discovery, identity conflict, manipulation and control, speculative biology, and interpersonal conflict. Therefore, I am more likely to accept a commission with these themes as I am more confident I can deliver a satisfying product.

Those reading this page may already enjoy some of the works I have written in the past, including ones that I have stated could hypothetically have sequels at some point in time. If you are interested in paying for said sequel to be made, I may be willing to consider a slight discount on pricing given that I already have ideas (and in some cases early unfinished drafts) for said stories. In other words, if you want me to write a sequel to something, you can guarantee I will through commissioning!

Art

I often incorporate artwork into my fanfics, and for additional payment I can add art to your commission as well. My base price for these pieces depends on number and complexity, so it would be worked out on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, if you have artwork you made/commissioned from others that you want featured in your writing commission, please let me see and it will usually not be a problem or cost extra!

Terms and conditions

I reserve the right to decline or cancel a commission for any reason. In cases of cancellation (exception below) or if I am unable to finish a commission due to unforeseen circumstances, you will receive whatever I have already written and refunded the remainder if under half of the originally agreed upon length. If unfinished work is greater than the original payment, you will not be charged extra.

You may request that I not post the finished work publicly, in which case it will only be given to you as a pdf or word doc. However, I may use snippets of the finished product for advertising purposes later, but never the full thing. If this is a concern for you, we can discuss more in detail. I also reserve the right to not post a completed work to my socials, in which case you may do so but only under the condition that you keep my involvement anonymous (I don’t foresee this being an issue, but it is better safe than sorry.) In the case that the work is published to ao3, I request no mention be made on site about the work being paid for/commissioned, as site policy has rules against this!

I often ask friends if they will beta my work, and as such if you are adamant that the commission remains strictly between us that may incur additional cost depending on complexity. This is not, however, a guarantee that anything I write will have a beta reader. Upon delivery of the final payment, you will receive my final draft and may put together a request of minor edits and changes to be made that must not exceed an additional ~2 hours worth of work.

If the final product is +/- 1k words from the original agreed-upon estimate, you will not be charged or refunded for the difference. Anything under or over this amount will be refunded to you in full or will be added to your final payment amount. I will communicate to the best of my ability as soon as possible if it seems that the story will be shorter or longer than originally anticipated (though it will likely trend towards longer) and we can decide how to proceed from there. In some cases, additional payment or the removal of desired plot points and themes may be necessary as I prefer not to deliver a sub-standard work.

Do not use any of my works for training ai language models. If I find out you have any involvement in creating ai tools using stolen or scraped artwork, that is grounds for immediate cancellation of your commission without delivery of the unfinished product and without refund. I do not take that kind of thing lightly.

By requesting a commission, you agree to be held to these terms. Thank you.

Timeline

The timeframe of delivery of the finished project ideally would be ~1 week for works 1-5k in length, 1-2 for 5-15k, 2-3 for 15-30k, and so on. These are estimations, however, and depending on other factors may be completed more or less quickly. Progress reports come in the form of chapter snippets and synopses, in which case after the completion of a chapter I will send you a few paragraphs and a summary of events. You may make requests and adjustments, with the knowledge that time spent revising increases the time before the piece can be completed.

Depending on the length and complexity of the commission, I may close down additional commissions until completion. Additionally, I may close commissions if time is limited. Chapter length and number is up to you, with the acknowledgement that longer chapters mean fewer updates. Chapters must also be a minimum of 1500 words, so commissions under 3000 words will be written as one shots.

Contact and payment

Please DM me here on tumblr to discuss any potential commissions, and payment will be made through PayPal. No writing will be done before initial payment is received, and full refunds will only be available in the first 24 hours after payment is made.

Thank you for reading! I hope to work with you soon!!

~Polly

[rynnthefangirl]

I just did an AO3 quick search.

Viserys II appears in 1281 fics, 218 when you exclude the HotD tag

Aegon III 1489, 208 exclude HotD

Joff 21114, 63 exclude HotD

Luke 8376, 140 exclude HotD

Jacw 6828, 140 exclude HotD

Baela 3341, 153 exclude HotD

Rhaena 3155, 165 exclude HotD

The results can probably be further refined if we exclude the last two years or play with other tags to avoid labeling errors (For example, among the most recent fics, Jace appeared in an xover where the fandom was Got with time travel and I saw out of the corner of my eye a "fix it" of transmutation where the green children "the father they deserve" and it is obvious in both cases that although Hotd does not appear as a fandom, they are based on that version).

There are several inferences that can be drawn from this, such as the popularity of the characters skyrocketed after the show came out (80% sure Luke's popularity skyrocketed because his death was a turning point that was left to simmer for two years), but it is also very easy to see that the VBs were not as popular before.There is a clear bias against the dragon twins as there usually is against female and black characters (especially if you check the fandom pairings of their fiancés) but once you remove HotD they appear more which is logical. Daemon's children lived and coexisted longer than the VBs, you have more space to play with them and their story.

Among TB Children Having Cut Back Screen Time and Disorder with Ages It's really no surprise that the characters that new fans focus on are the ones that are already involved and playing an active role in the plot, it's also no surprise that A&V are seen simply as their younger brothers and the children of Daemyra. Joffrey is also just... there. What plot would fans who come in through the show put them in? Why wouldn't they talk about the characters who are already there?

I find this hate against what are essentially new fans doing what new fans do really petty. Especially since if what you want is A&V focused content... I literally got it as soon as I excluded the HotD tag and I can say the same about Tumblr.

There are people talking and writing stories about Jace and Luke (the characters they already know and connect with) not dying and ruling and that bothers you? Perhaps curing your experience by blocking and filtering would be more useful than talking about how A&V are not being given the place that the canon gave them (and which the show has not yet reached).

Oh no, someone wrote a fic where Ned lives and now Robb won't have his place as king in the north!! Don't you see how unfair this is for hits character who was a good leader and almost achieved independence for the north?!Those fans who want Rhaegar to live don't understand that it's important for him to die so that Daenerys can bring back the dragons? Don't they understand that if Jon is a recognized prince, Dany doesn't matter?

Perhaps a revolutionary idea, but accepting that people have other tastes and freely use the lock button would be a better path.

Dude this ask reads like a scientific paper and as a scientist I love it! We’ve got methods! Results! Discussion! This is great FR, thanks for searching this up.

And yeah, I think you are spot on! The fandom favoritism towards the Velaryon boys is just a natural extension of HOTD being popular and bringing in new fans who of course care more about the show characters. Not everybody is going to go get obsessed with other characters in Fire and Blood after watching the show, and that’s okay!! It’s a silly thing to get upset over, especially since it’s the case for every character who gets more focus in HOTD.

[askpercyandsally]

((will g4be become a recurring character/a problem in this au and should I be concerned about cws with him in it? I know he's canonically abusive but I can't bear to know baby percy is getting hurt by him :(. what's the best way to filter out the more upsetting/triggering parts of that storyline while still staying on track with your blog?))

(( This is an OOC post. The content of this post is from the person running the blog, not the characters the blog claims to represent. ))

Hey Anon, first let me say thank you for sending in this ask. I was worried about introducing Gabe to the story and I wasn't sure how how to address it. Your ask reminded me that I can just communicate to you all directly and I really appreciate that.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After I made this blog it eventually occurred to me that I could have Gabe show up at some point. When I realized this I began to wonder what people might do if that did happen. At the time I thought it would be cool to see how a community of people that care about Percy (you readers) might change things for him. I thought it could be an opportunity for Percy to have a better childhood and I admittedly got sort of invested in hearing that story. The idea made the blog more collaborative in my mind and that made it easier for me to commit to.

What I did not anticipate is how "real" young Percy would become to some people. I forgot how fun it can be to simply pretend a character isn't fictional. I know a lot of people come to this blog just because Percy is cute and he loves his mama and Sally loves him too which is sweet. And I know that introducing Gabe could ruin that.

At the same time I think there is value in telling a story about someone surviving? And I think a lot of people would be happy and feel empowered by potentially being able to make a real difference in the story? So admittedly I'm not sure which direction it is best to go in from here.

I guess I was sort of thinking of my previous post as a "test?" I expected people to really dislike it, but it ended up getting more reblogs than usual... So now I don't know what to think. -_-

I'd actually be interested in getting more feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts if you are so inclined.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In regards to what content warnings to look out for.? I could see the need for a cw: child abuse and/or cw: domestic violence tag to be used at some point, but I'm sort of hoping to avoid things going there for now. I guess cw: emotional abuse would be the one that is most likely to be used if we continue in that direction.

In either case I'll try to make a clear announcement about where we're headed. I just need to think about it some more and potentially get more input on the subject, but that's where things stand for now.