#well. some people do anyway. but. this kind of representation helps a lot with helping people understand

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

Hermitcraft / Life Series Fic Recs

Because I love so many of them...

I'll split the fics into completed and updating fics, and try to only recommend currently updating fics (i.e., not abandoned). I'm going to write a little about why I like each fic and what the general vibes are - so this is also a kind of review I guess?

I've tried to @ the authors if they have a public tumblr. Sorry to anyone who didn't want to be tagged, I can remove any @ if you ask (or if I have embarrassingly tagged the wrong person). Anyway, enjoy, and I appreciate reblogs because I want as many people to see these fics as possible!!

This ended up being incredibly long so I'm putting a divider here. Click to keep reading!!! Also, fair warning: shipping ahead! Some fics will have mild sexual content, please read the tags if you are unsure <3

Updating Fics

I have already recommended Help Me To Breathe, lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart), and There Are Monsters Nearby in this post, so I won't explain why I like them a second time, but definitely check them out!!

Death's A Good Gig by @mawofthemagnetar is probably going to be finished by the time this post gets to you, reader, but I'm putting it here anyway. It's short and sweet, one of my favourite representations of Zedaph (or, Zedeath) I've read, and just a joy to experience. If you like grim reapers and discussions of unions, this one is for you. Also I need more Zedaph in my life.

Look, I'm Sorry, Please Stop Scaring Everyone by @cat-in-the-desert reminds me a lot of a particular TV drama I liked when I was younger, which followed a similar premise. This fic follows Mumbo (vampire) and Grian (ghost) as they get up to various housemate shenanigans and meet their local magic-expert and salesman Scar. This fic is fun, but still includes a nice amount of Feelings and hinted-at Angst which I really love. It's lighthearted, but never boring.

It Hurts To Hope by Inquillitory is my favourite of the "Grian crash lands into Hermitcraft and causes problems for everyone" genre. Seeing how many fics there are with that premise, I think that says a lot. It handles Grian's weird Watcher stuff really well. Honestly, I just want to know what happens next!

killing the boy in the tv by @raspberrystruck is like a sickfic on steroids. If you want Grian with so much past trauma he forgets how to function in society, this is basically the fic for you. I really love how hybrid traits affect the characters' interactions in this fic, and how everyone is kind of messed up because of the imbalance Grian brings. It is wonderfully descriptive in all the right places!

Love Me Like I'm Dead by @daniofcrows is such a gem. You know how hard it is to find good Xisuma whump? It's impossible. I absolutely love how Xisuma and Evil X are characterised in this, and I am obsessed with the unique take on hanahaki disease which I have never seen handled in this way before. The balance between flashbacks and present day is maintained wonderfully and I cannot wait to continue reading this one. Wow.

Oh, you wanted me to do a verse? by @bugbbear is... kind of indescribable. It's horror. It's comedy. It's the apocalypse. It's boatem. Scar eats someone. One of the most interesting and unique apocalypse stories I have read. Slowly updating but worth the wait, in my opinion. This one NEEDS more attention.

So Much For Stardust by @a-plethora-of-peters is basically one of my all-time favourites. Which is a damn good achievement seeing as I don't usually read ZITS fics. Like, ever. In this fic, Skizz is a human abducted and hurt badly by aliens, now recovering in the care of good aliens who don't know how 'sentient' he is. Every update of this one makes me smile, it is wonderful. I love how the characters are written and how the different perspectives are shown. It is just great.

Solar Waltz by @raspberrystruck and aroundtheclock is a brilliant and very very sad regression fic. I love fluffy regression fics as much as the next guy, but this one just... hits different. The hurt/comfort levels are off the charts. Grian is so damn cute the whole time, while also being harrowingly complicated and sad. I am so ready for whatever comes next.

Tango's Castle of Cards by @evilrat-sabre is the one where Tango is a BUG. He's just a little guy (horror). This one is so beautifully written, with poetry-type interludes and perspective changes that really make everything feel so much more impactful. Finding out your buddy is a murder bug isn't the easiest thing in the world. I love this so much.

Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU} (series) by @amethystfairy1 is basically one of the series of all time. I know I keep saying that but it really really is. I love a good fantasy au, and I love an au with hybrids even more. In this world, hybrids are treated like slaves, but it isn't all doom and gloom for the main characters of each installment. There is a lot of hurt/comfort and the different stories feed into each other in really interesting ways. I try to read as much as I can, though I've missed a few because my emails are buggy. Definitely worth reading these fics, especially since now they're all starting to come together!

Completed Fics

Solving Counting Sheep by @theminecraftbee might have rearranged my brain chemistry a little. Another strong contender for 'fics that inspire me to kill Grian', this time with a more concrete notion of "replacement". Three is my favourite fucked up living weapon. It's so rare to find Evo fics in this day and age, too. This fic had me immediately clicking on every update as soon as I got the emails.

Rescue Fire by @imaginethat0327 is one of the most unique takes on a fictionalised life series game that I have ever read. The whole concept is explained in a realistic and easy-to-follow way, as we learn what's happening with the characters. There are several brilliant storylines happening in this one, but my particular favourites are Jimmy & Tango, Joel, and of course Scar & Grian. This fic is full of whump and, well, read the tags, it isn't always pleasant, but those are my favourite things ever. Definitely worth checking out this fic and its currently updating sequel.

don't you know about me? by takenbadgering is a wonderful comedy of errors with just the right amount of angst for a realistic setting type of fic. If you enjoy polyamory miscommunications, rave aesthetics, kandi, school teacher dynamics, and a lovely blend between grumbo, cubscar, and mumscar, this is the one.

Eventually the Birds Must Land by @milo-hypno follows a polyam ship I would have never thought of, and I cannot believe how much I loved it. This married-as-friends fic premise is wonderful, and captures the main trio (Grian, Mumbo, Impulse)'s personalities so well, while balancing them with the incredibly terrifying descriptions of the Watchers and their power. There's a lot of angst here, but it is ultimately hurt/comfort to the maximum degree. I loved reading it as it updated. Yay for gay marriage!

From The Archives (series) by @sixteenth-days was the absolute inspiration for my own Comms AU, and I will never forget its influence on me. As someone basically unfamiliar with TMA, I thought this series might be hard to follow, but it was not! I read all 57 parts in the span of two days, and I think it altered my brain chemistry. Please read it, even if (especially if) you don't know anything about TMA. The Cleo and Grian storyline lives in my head rent free. I mean it. This is horror at its finest. Also there's an audio series of this fic being released rn, which is very cool.

SUPERCRITICAL by @masque-of-plague hits different. It is such a wonderful take on the superhero/HotGuy trope, and it gets so super dark at some points! This one really takes swings at it's fictional government, which of course I love, while at the same time building this brilliantly emotional relationship between Scar and Grian. I do enjoy a bit of enemies to lovers, but the actual plot mixed into the story makes this one extra special. It is thrilling, with action that I don't get to see too often! Great work.

I am weary with contending! is one of the mumscarian fics of all time. From 'this house has people in it'-type horror, to magic gone wrong, to childhood trauma, to attempted assassination, to gender fuckery, this fic has it all. Usually I don't go for convex siblings, but this one is good enough to get a pass from me. Amazingly detailed worldbuilding alongside a brilliantly creative story.

It Spreads by @foxxology may not count as a fic, actually. It's a comic. But it's posted on ao3 so it counts. I was obsessed with this one as it was updating, honestly. It rocked me to my core. The art is phenomenal. The writing is brilliant. I love sculk.

Luck of the sea by Sleepy_Duck is a lovely take on mermaid and human interactions, with Grian as a marine life conservator and Scar as a very neglected mer. This one takes us emotionally in all sorts of directions, and offers lots of hope for the future of the characters. I heavily enjoyed this fic - if you like mermaids and marine biology, check it out.

there are many downsides to being a marine biologist by donnerstag is another mermaid fic but with a pretty different vibe. First of all, it follows what I would consider a rarepair Doc/Martyn. Second of all, reading this as it updated was a thrilling experience that nearly made me cry at certain points. I love how the relationship builds in this fic. It is honestly amazing. The whole idea of experimenting on a sentient sea creature, learning that he can communicate, then losing funding and having to save him from being dissected?!?! It's crazy. I love it.

Thus concludes my fic recommendations. I hope you enjoy at least some of these, and consider reblogging to spread these wonderful fics around <3

[cybertron-after-dark]

I was gonna ask a question but i honestly forgot it 😅 so just tell me something you want to rant about

If you do happen to remember what you were gonna ask feel free to do so, do not worry about spamming my inbox bc I live for that shit.

As for the rant

Transformers Rescue Bots had some of the best, kindest, and most respectful representation of neurodivergence I have ever seen in media and I'm tired of pretending it didn't.

While there are obvious complaints to be made about neurodivergent traits (especially autistic traits) usually being portrayed in media by inhuman characters like aliens or robots, this being a case of both, I feel like thats a pretty negligible sin given just how human the show makes the robots feel. (Also it was like 2011 and we were STRUGGLING for any scraps of rep anyway)

But like. The behaviors all these robots exhibit are all shit that I do that was always deemed unacceptable when I was a kid and seeing it portrayed with the level of kindness and gentleness they do in that show has me fuckin crying a little man. I wish I had actually watched it when I was younger and it was first airing because maybe if I did I would've had an easier time explaining what the hell was going on with my brain a LOT sooner.

Blades being anxious, overly sensitive, and WHOLEHEARTEDLY queer (which they had the absolute unparalleled balls to just casually confirm by having him swoon over "hunky vampires" in one episode and NOBODY commented on it. Fucking iconic) and getting so so deeply invested in the shows and movies he loves that he acts out the roles with enough passion to steel his nerves and completely flourish.

Boulder getting really confused at concepts that are basic and intuitive for most people, but still being so fucking intelligent, and never being made to feel stupid for the mix-ups, as well as just being so wholely, unabashedly in love with the planet he's found himself on, even if he doesn't understand all of it (Also apologizing to inanimate objects when he knocks them over 😭)

Chase being obsessed with rules and law because he NEEDS the structure to not fall apart at the seams, even feeling the need to fabricate a minor crime to justify using the emergency line to get a hold of the firehouse when he can't find the other bots. As well as just fully not understanding comedy (BUT TRYING HIS DAMNEDEST), taking things super literally, and having a lot of trouble with tone and expressions (even though you know just how deeply he feels All The Time).

Heatwave being desperate for attention and recognition, but completely allergic to asking for it. And honestly allergic to showing any genuine emotional responses other than aggression. The constant sarcasm and sass and defensiveness that he POORLY maintains because everyone knows that underneath that tough guy front is the loneliest robot on earth that wants to be loved SO bad but would rather jump into unicron's mouth than voice it because if he lets his guard down who knows what will happen to him or the people he cares about.

Just. All of it man. Seeing them exhibiting all these behaviors and quirks that all too often get met with poor reactions from people who don't want to deal with what they don't really get, but here they're met with patience and understanding?? It's got me fucked up. They get to be functional adults that struggle with what they have going on but still push through. They get to have unconditionally loving relationships with people that treat them with respect. And that's the kind of shit that gives me a lot of hope for folks like me because maybe some neurotypical kids that watched it picked up on what's helpful when their friend who acts like one of the bots is going through it. And maybe some neurodivergent kids watched it too and for the first time they just felt SEEN.

Okay rant over, I'm gonna go cry over some plastic robots 👍

[weebsinstash]

Hello! I don’t know if you do this but I was wondering what your thoughts were for a Yandere Lucifer Morningstar from Hazbin Hotel? I’m having trouble writing a good representation of him and would like some advice.

Honestly I'm gonna humble myself and say that it took reading someone else's post to make me like, REALLY notice the nuances of Lucifer's character

This post right here literally made me rewatch his scenes and go "oh wow he IS like DANGEROUSLY DEPRESSED"

He doesn't remember Charlie told him where she is, or what she's doing, and he can barely follow a conversation despite clearly trying to pay attention. He also just seems kind of scattered, and um, HE LITERALLY MAKES A JOKE ABOUT DYING FROM FALLING OFF THE HOTEL BALCONY like dude is making jokes about death in front of his fucking daughter, like my dudes, I think this guy is BARELY holding himself together

He clearly loves loves LOVES Charlie but he doesn't really know how to properly articulate himself and I have a feeling there's a lot he's concealing from her, and another big question is, is his depression from being cast out of Heaven, or from something to do with his missing wife, or a combination of both? Either way this man is clearly dealing with like, really bad issues. And Charlie also mentioned he wasn't around a whole lot when she was younger, so... did he have depression back then too?

So, that all said, I feel like a yandere Lucifer would almost be, potentially invigorated by his darling? Given a new lease on life? He may not be 100% his old self again but, you get him to like, 65, maybe 70% on a good day. You give him another reason to get out of bed in the morning, or afternoon, or evening or, whenever he can drag his depressed ass out of bed

Given what we currently know, I feel like a romantic yandere Lucifer would pretend to only be platonic and do his best to poorly conceal his feelings because of his whole... "can't ask his missing wife if it's ok for you to be their third" ordeal, the man still wears his wedding ring, and a platonic yandere Lucifer basically adopts you like another kid, because uh, I mean for one he apparently canonically missed a lot of Charlie's childhood, and he's also an ancient fallen angel, so he's got that age advantage on you no matter how old you are. I mean what are a few decades when he's literally thousands upon thousands upon thousands--you get the idea

Yandere Lucifer would want to stay close to you, helping watch over you, maaaaaybe being overly paranoid about you randomly disappearing and going missing For Very Obvious Reasons, and in the process he winds up being unintentionally overbearing. I mean, he did it in irritation, but he basically showed up at Charlie's hotel immediately saying it was a dump and all of HER FRIENDS were 'a bunch of losers'. He never completely pulls his punches when there's something he's displeased with, even if it has something to do with someone he loves, so his darling would get much of the same treatment. "Ohhhhh, you uh, you wanted to move across the city? That's, um, definitely a fun idea! BuuuuuUuuut, what IF, instead of doing that--", like, he tries to playfully tug you in 'the right direction' until you make him put his foot down

Hmmm... what would him losing his cool look like... well, we've already seen that he doesn't mind throwing hands and WILL KILL, but will stop if he's asked to or there's a good reason. With you, though, you're not typically going to be there to stop him from offing any rivals or bad influences, so I imagine he'd be kinda casual about it, actually! He already thinks pretty lowly of Sinners, so say he finds out you've been ditching him and Charlie to go out drinking with strangers, making new friends, maybe having a few one night stands? Yeah, some of those people definitely aren't calling you back, and Lucifer doesn't really see a problem with it. These people are kind of the worst and really don't deserve you, anyways! If anything he's helping clean up Hell for you and his daughter and keeping you safe :)

Losing his cool with YOU... I think would involve him using his powers to finally confine you, maybe even going demon mode to intimidate you into submission in a very dad-esque "now you listen HERE" kind of way. We don't really know the scope and scale of his powers but I can picture him at least being, obviously much stronger than he looks, and transforming to fly you "back home" where he puts you in your room where no one can reach you without his explicit permission (and you also can't leave~)

One second you're just drunk and jokingly defying him, teasing him, maybe even picking him up and swinging him around because you're bigger than him, to you he's just a silly little guy! Meanwhile this Grown Ass Man Who Is Also The Actual Devil is getting more than just a little frustrated you basically view him as a wacky little cartoon more than a grown man, one who has had sex and has had two wives and sired a child. You're just teasing him and stumbling around drunk when he's trying to get you to your hotel room to get to bed to sleep, like you're clearly not taking him seriously, maybe even playfully putting your hands on him (TOTALLY not riling him up in 'fun' ways) and he finally just huffs and snaps his fingers and, you're suddenly magic'd to bed! You're laying there blinking confused and he's tucking you in and chuckling that "you're such a handful!" before leaving you to sleep and somehow INSTANTLY knowing when you're up.

You ARE in his house, after all...

Not to be gross but uh..... I'm not saying "yandere Lucifer who has the power to still get a Sinner pregnant if he wanted to and you wind up fooling around with him and you're waking up with his little apple symbol on your lower tummy as one of those like hentai womb tattoos to show you're pregnant" but uhhhhhhhhhhyeah that's what I'm saying, and whether it was accidentally or intentionally, he's keeping it, and thus, keeping YOU

I just feel like he'd be very goofy and awkward and bad at hiding his feelings and being very clearly overprotective and jealous in ways everyone else but you manages to pick up on (god Alastor would have some MATERIAL) and, in a romantic/sexual setting he eventually just loses his patience with you not seeing him as a man and just gets... progressively more forward. You pop back into the Hotel after a night out and Lucifer's already hammered at the bar with Husk, stumbling up to you, hanging off of you, slurring and embarrassing himself, "You'reeeee SO pretty... like SO pretty.... do you wanna have *BELCH* you wanna fuck? Cause I LOVE to fuck, like when I FUCKED my wife to make my DAUGHTER, my wife and daughter that I have, 'cuz im a DAD, 'cuz I'm a MAN!" and you're just giggling and ruffling his hair, "You're so weird, dude ^^" and walking away while Lucifer internally screams, wondering just how DIRECT with you he's going to have to be

meanwhile Charlie is totally cool with all of this and sees this as a weird double whammy of Curing Dad's Depression + new family member and friend hurray! and she's totally actively either shipping you with her dad or aiding and abetting him in his weird attempts to absorb you into the Morningstar family

[libraryspectre]

Ugh ok fine I'll talk about my murderbot casting opinions

Awhile back I noticed people getting irritated with Kevin R. Free as the audiobook narrator because he's a man with a Man Voice and it really rankled me. People of any gender can have any voice, and anyway, Kevin R. Free's voice IS fairly androgynous.

This is more or less how I feel about a man being cast as Murderbot. It would have been nice to have a nonbinary actor play Murderbot, because nonbinary actors need more roles, but Murderbot is not nonbinary. Murderbot is nonhuman and human labels are N/A. Gender is N/A. You could argue that is splitting hairs from a representation standpoint, but I think it's core to the theme of the series. (Also, it's great that nonbinary people relate to and claim murderbot as representation, we just need to acknowledge it doesn't experience being genderless in the same way a human does). Because of this, I don't think the studio was ethically obligated to cast a nonbinary person.

I think, from a worldbuiling standpoint, I would have liked someone with a fairly androgynous voice and facial features. This is because we know murderbot is sexless, with no secondary sex characteristics. As far as murderbot's flesh parts, the only relevant features I can think of are voice and lack of facial hair.

So, I'm actually pretty fine with a man being cast as murderbot? I think to follow the logic of secunit biology he should stay clean-shaven for the roll, and maybe avoid the deeper registers of his voice (I haven't heard him speak so I don't actually know what he sounds like.) His features are pretty traditionally masculine but that doesn't really matter, and he has big ol eyes that could help them play into the androgynony if they chose to.

My bigger initial problem was with Murderbot being played by a white actor. I think a lot of the readers' image of Murderbot has been shaped by the Tommy Arnold illustrations where it's dark-skinned. It doesn't actually say anywhere in the books, from what I remember, what Murderbot's skin-tone is like, but we do know it's made from a slurry of donor DNA and the Corporate Rim has people with a wide range of features (I avoided alluding to racial diversity here because we have no idea what concept of race the CR or any of the other settings actually have. Edit: to clarify, the characters are definitely racially diverse from our viewpoint. I just felt the need to caveat because the concept of race is very cultural and we don't actually know what cultural concepts of race the setting has, if any at all. This is my anthropology degree showing lol). It makes little sense for Murderbot to be white if its DNA is built from a pool of people with, most likely, a wide variety of physical features. At least.....I think it is? I realized after thinking about this for awhile that I don't actually know if Murderbot's DNA came from one human donor or a variety of people. So this whole argument could be moot. (If you could direct me to evidence for or against this I'd be grateful).

So, Murderbot being white might be technically fine, from a worldbuilding standpoint, but at that point I think it's just kind of disappointing to see another show with a really diverse supporting cast and a white lead. That being said, there's actually interesting commentary to that, considering Murderbot was created to be a cop. I actually think, if handled well, the image of a bunch of white secunits policing the enslaved masses could be some really effective commentary. And to some extent, it doesn't matter if Murderbot's DNA came from one person or a pool of people, if you take the stance that the Company is intentionally choosing white features for their SecUnits. The commentary stands.

My other concern was that they would whitewash other cast members, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Finally, the series having Martha Wells' stamp of approval encourages me that they've made these choices with intention and will handle them thoughtfully. I saw another fan point out that there is some power to the idea of seeing an actor on screen that most people would read as male, asserting again and again that it doesn't have gender, and now that I'm feeling more optomistic I agree.

And hey, I'm actually feeling optomistic!

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I have a character who has esotropia. I myself have esotropia but it is not really noticeable unless I take off my glasses. I wanted this character’s esotropia to be more visible because I always wanted to see people like me and just giving them glasses and not showing their eye often felt like a cheap cop-out. I also already have many other characters with glasses in this story and others. I have two questions about the character. 

One, I’ve been researching and I am still unclear on whether all forms of esotropia require glasses and if they would experience any reduced vision or other symptoms. 

Two, the character struggles with self-worth and an obsession with being conventionally attractive (not just about their facial difference, the obsession effects several other parts of their appearance as well). With the help of their friends, they gradually learn to accept themselves as they are. The character is a fairy and has the ability to cast minor spells that change small parts of their appearance. I had the idea for them to hide their facial difference (as that is something ive tried to do myself) with their magic and then stop hiding it (and other parts of their appearance) as they become more comfortable with themselves. Is this okay to do? The character largely draws on my own experience and is in a way a vent character but I don’t want to spread harmful ideas with my work.

Thank you! 

-💚

Hi there!

I have exotropia, not esotropia, but hopefully I can be helpful anyway. How exciting to hear about some good representation!

There's accommodative esotropia, which can be corrected with glasses. It sounds like this might be your type, since you say yours isn't noticeable with glasses on. There's also non-accommodative, which cannot be corrected with glasses. That might be a good angle for your character.

As for vision issues: double vision is an issue for a lot of us. In some cases, it can be corrected with prism lenses. This wouldn't necessarily make the eye appear the same as an average eye.

Another way it can affect vision is amblyopia: sometimes the brain can suppress the image from one eye (particularly if the esotropia is present from a very young age). These people would have other vision issues (poor depth perception, limited visual field, etc). This is commonly known as a lazy eye - people often incorrectly call strabismus a "lazy eye", but it's a misnomer!

My particular strabismus cannot be corrected with glasses, and it "drifts" too much for prism lenses to be effective in correcting my double vision, either. I wear an occlusive (opaque) contact lens to block the vision in the affected eye. It doesn't hide the position of my eye, and actually makes it stand out slightly more from my unaffected blue eye since it's black. It's my understanding that it's not an especially common treatment, but it may be an option for your character. It's also fine for them to not wear anything for their vision.

As for your second question: I personally feel that a disabled person drawing from their own experiences is almost always going to be an appropriate way to write something. I think a story that shows a journey toward self-acceptance is one of the best ways of including the experience of that kind of shame that people often have with their disabilities.

[crystal-fems]

Current thoughts on the Pearl/Greg situation…

First of all, It’s crazy coming back to this Steven Universe centered blog after all these years since I still hold so much love in my heart for this show that allowed me to discover who I am and live with confidence as well as helping me through many rough periods in my life. And now since we’re suddenly getting a few trickles of new content here and there (and discourse, but it’s SU so that’s always been a part of the fandom lol) I’m getting the feeling we’ll be getting some kind of big announcement sometime soon. Fingers crossed!

But alas, on the GregPearl early drawings that Raven, a former storyboard artist leaked that were drawn by Rebecca that have been resurfacing around the internet, I am able to see both sides. And incoming is a bit of a rant on the latest debacle…

At the end of the day these are Rebecca Sugar’s (Who is bisexual and genderfluid btw) original characters who she poured her heart and soul into, a lot of whom she based characteristics around herself and the people in her life. So first and foremost, what she decides to do with these characters is up to her. Not you. Of course you’re allowed to have your opinion on it, but Rebecca is nowhere in the wrong here and I’m tired of hearing about it because of the lgbtqia+ community’s blatant biphobia. She also fought tooth and nail to have a wlw wedding in her show but people have the audacity to say this is lesbophobic when these concepts and personal sketches were drawn very early on anyway and not even implemented into the fucking show.

Now on the other hand, I also understand where certain people are coming from to an extent. It’s odd for me personally to see Pearl with Greg and really any other man for that instance, as she’s always been lesbian representation to me and many others as well. At the time, she was the representation in cartoons that we so desperately wanted and needed. She was actually the first character that made me realize I was attracted to women in the first place. And because of that, many of us attached so heavily to this part of her identity which was never officially confirmed.

But you know what’s forgotten? Pearl is also nonbinary. All of the gems are nonbinary. But there’s erasure in that too of course because the community only wants to see her as a futch presenting lesbian when in reality, she physically can’t be that. Now don’t twist my words and think I’m for a second implying that you can’t be nonbinary and a lesbian, because that’s just not true either, but she’s supposed to be an alien for fuck’s sake. The whole idea of gender and sexuality is completely abstract to her species. AND ESPECIALLY SO in a world so inclusive and accepting of everyone, no matter what race, ethnicity, physical capability, gender identities and sexualities. You’d think for a show with a plot that’s so integral on being open about embracing who you are and not being afraid to love yourself as well as the people around you no matter the status quo, that people would have a little more open-mindedness and compassion.

[milk-ly]

Fuuta and Wind

I was reading this post (super interesting btw!) and I want to address Fuuta’s connection to wind!

That post brings up that Fuuta’s Twitter name is “Pazupazu_Soccer” and if you didn’t know, Pazuzu is a God of wind.

More specifically, Pazuzu is the king of wind demons in Mesopotamian religion. He is believed to help and protect humans from other dangerous wind demons.

Now, that’s already painting a connection between Fuuta and Pazuzu. Some powerful and heroic person/creature that’s protecting the common folk from evil! But there’s MUCH more.

V more below the cut!! V

What is wind? Well, it’s a natural force that represents power. When it’s a simple breeze, it’s pleasant, it can bring about change such as the weather! But what happens when gusts of wind become too powerful or intense? Destruction.

Despite Pazuzu being a creature that wards of other wind demons, he too is still a wind demon. Specifically, one that was known to be destructive and powerful.

Fuuta wanted to be a hero that protects others from evil like Pazuzu! And yet, Pazuzu is a personification of the southwest winds, which associated with droughts, plagues, locust and famine.

Fuuta ends up being not much better than the people he’s attempting to punish. He is a wind demon too in the end. Like wind, Fuuta was powerful, causing destruction and ultimately, the death of a young girl.

And remember Fuuta’s whole fire symbolism? Keep in mind that Pazuzu is the personification of the southern west wind. So hey, what does wind do to a fire? It helps fire spread.

Fuuta wielded a fire sword, the fire being used to symbolize his justice and judgment. Fuuta, being the representation of wind, spread the flames until they were out of control.

Pazuzu also had an arch rival named “Lamashtu,” known as the goddess of monsters/demons.

I’m not sure of my interpretation here but since she is the Goddess of Demons, I believe she might be a representation of those who Fuuta believes have wronged in general. Lamashtu is often associated with very evil deeds. The most famous is how she would pray on children and pregnant woman and eat them.

BUT THERES MORE.

Kajiyama Fuuta written in Kanji is “梶山 風汰”

The “ta” (汰 )in “Fuuta” is pretty straightforward. It means "select," or “scour.” Scour means to clean something by rubbing it really hard. Pretty much what Fuuta is trying to do in a way. Trying to remove the scum, the dirt, plaguing society.

Bring it On quote: “I give up. Need to make it clean since it’s so dirty.”

However the “Fuu” (風 )in Fuuta’s name means “wind.” Sound familiar?

Another fun fact I want to share! From my knowledge, I believe in Japan, “Fuu” is the sound of blowing on something to cool it down. Hmm, now where have I heard that?

Salamander!!

A part of the lyrics in the song is

“Make sure to cool it down so you don’t get burned!”

And in Romaji, it’s:

“chanto fuu shite yakedo shitakunai nara”

Yup!! The Fuu used here means to blow on something to cool it down, the same kanji as Fuuta’s name.

And I just think that’s really neat even if it was probably only half intentional lmao.

Another thing is that that “Yama” (山) in “Kajiyama,” Fuuta’s last name means mountain.

In a lot of written sources, Pazuzu climbs a great mountain and fought other powerful wind demons, coming out victorious. It was a show of his power.

Anyway, kind of an abrupt ending but I just thought this was really interesting!! Thanks for reading!:D

Edit: somebody pointed out that it’s Pazuzu and not Pazupazu. Completely my bad, that is incredibly embarrassing💀I’ve fixed it all now, thank you for the correction @moibakadesu !!

[forabeatofadrum]

El WooWoo Wednesday to y'all. It's been a while since I kicked one of these off, but here I am.

Also, I just posted one of those "Female character poll" polls, so if you're reading this, feel free to vote on it!

A while ago I got a comment on Isolation, a fic from the Dancin' on that bamboo ceiling series, a series that explores adoption and the Asian representation on Glee. After all, that was at time, uh, questionable. Isolation in particular is about the comments Tina and Yu-Jin (OC) get about adoption and this commenter said it resonated with them. On a whim, I decided to reread the entire series and this night, instead of sleeping, a new topic for a fic in this series came to me: names.

This takes place after Tina and Mike started dating.

Mike's mother Julia is an incredibly kind woman and Tina's nerves about meeting Mike's family fly out of the window. "So glad to meet you, Tina," she says warmly as she shakes Tina's hand, "Mike has said so much about you." "All good things, I hope," Tina says back. It's such a cliché line, but she still wants to impress Julia. "Of course, of course," Julia's smile widens, "Mike told me and my husband about how you met in Glee club and then got close on the Asian forum." "Well. We even went to Asian camp together," Tina says through gritted teeth. She still doesn't really understand why her parents sent her to Asian camp. Julia nods happily and then turns to Mike. She says something in Chinese to him and Mike groans, but smile. "Ma!" he says. "I say how it is," Julia continues, and then says another Chinese word that Tina obviously doesn't understand. Mike says something back in Chinese, which makes Julia laugh. "Oh, clever boy. I go to the kitchen now, okay? I made snacks for Tina!" Julia bids them farewell and Tina follows Mike to the living room. "Do I wanna know?" she jokes. Mike sighs. "Ah well, I always know something's up when my mother uses my Chinese name," he says, "But luckily, it was all good. She complimented you." Chinese name?

Ah, Asian camp.

I have A Lot more to say about names, identity, racism in the Glee fandom about this thing, and what not, so I'll put it under a cut.

That being said, I would ideally have some help here. If you speak/read Korean, could you help me out with the hangul of Yu-Jin's name (유진) and Tina's Korean name (Min Ji, 민지)? And also, if you are Asian and you have a Western name on top of your Asian name, like Mike in this snippet, could I ask you some questions?

Anyway, more musings and explanations on those questions under the cut.

The names of the characters that are central to this series are Tina Cohen-Chang, Yu-Jin Danvers, Blaine Anderson, Mike Chang and Wes Montgomery. That's an interesting bunch and lately, in real life, the whole idea of names and identity has come up a lot, cause most of my friends are trans, lol. We have this inside joke that, even though I am cis, I very much am part of the club of "people who use a name not given by their parents", since due to adoption, my parents never named me.

Someone asked me if I wanted to share my feelings about the fact that some adopted parents change the names of the children they adopt. I will delve more into that in this fic when it comes ot Yu-Jin and Tina, since Tina's name was probably changed, but I chose to give Yu-Jin, who is an OC, a Korean name. (Yu-Jin isn't a self-insert, since we differ a lot, but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't base Yu-Jin's name on my own.)

And well, names are powerful. Not only in mythology, but also when it comes to identity. And I realised that all character in this fic, apart from Yu-Jin, use a Western name: Mike, Wes, Tina and Blaine. So this fic idea started forming in my head, since there is a very interesting conversation to be had here.

So as I said, this chapter (or maybe multi-chapter installment) will be about their names.

Yu-Jin and Tina's story will be about the aforementioned discussion, since that has happened several times in my life and I have thoughts. I chose Min Ji as Tina's name pre-adoption, since that is Jenna Ushkowitz's pre-adoption name. I am lazy, I know. That being said, I might change it, since I also made the choice in this fic to not have the characters be exact copies of the actors who play them, which is why Harry's Puerto Rican heritage isn't part of Mike's character and Blaine's dad is Filipino, not his mom. I do like Min Ji, though. It sounds nice.

Anyway, The reason I'd like some help here is because I have zero (0) knowledge of the Korean language, so I have no clue is Yu-Jin and Min Ji also have a meaning in their hangul. If so, I could maybe use that for the fic. Heck, I don't even know if Min Ji is a surname only, or if it's a combination of a first and last name. Again, I'd like some help.

Wes and Mike have Chinese parents, so I am taking a wild guess here and say that they have Chinese names on their passports. That's because basically every Dutch-Chinese person with Chinese parents I know has this. Honestly, apart from adopted Chinese people, I only know Chinese people here under a "Dutch" name. (Although I do know one that has started using her Chinese name in daily life at the age of 27.)

The thing is that I do not fall into that category, obviously, which is why I'd like to hear some thoughts on it. In my life, I've always experienced Chinese names as a secret within the family. My other Dutch-Chinese classmates would go great lenghts to keep their Chinese names hidden. If people were to ask for their Chinese name, they would refuse to say it. I never understood the secrecy, so if someone would "let me in on the secret", I'd appreciate it. I mean, for this chapter I am using a cop-out by having Tina's POV be the POV on Mike's name, and Tina doesn't understand it either, but I would like to give truth to Mike's part of the story.

I could take the Radio Silence route, where Daniel consiously decided to not use Dae-Sun anymore, due to racism. We'll see.

Next, Wes. In canon, Wes's last name is Montgomery.

(EDIT: lol it's not, it is a big fanon name and the mandela effect got me.)

In this series, the explanation for this is that his parents changed their last name when moving to America, in order to better their chances in the job market and what not. This is based on Chloe Bennet, an American actress who once Tweeted that the reason she uses Bennet professionally is "not because I hate being Asian, but because America is racist" (paraphrased here by me, so the exact wording might be a bit off), since her name is actually Chloé Wang, (or Wāng Kěyíng if you will, which ties back to Mike's story). For Wes's story, I'd like to go back to the moment Wes first tells Mike and Tina this story on the forum.

(Side-note, in Myosotis series, Wes's middle name is Xiùlán (秀兰), which is not canon. Maybe I'll bring it back. I am aware it's a feminine name, though.)

And then we have our boy Blaine Devon Anderson. In this fic, I made the wild switch and made his dad Filipino, since again, we're working with canon here and his mum is portrayed by Gina Gershon. (Cooper is also biologically Pam's child, since yes, they're half-brothers here in this fic to explain why Cooper is white.) This raises the question of whether his dad already had the name Anderson, or whether they took the Jake Long American Dragon approach and the husband and kids took the wife's name, which is a reasonable explanation, but I also portray his dad as a conversative man.

That being said, the thing that came back from a deep, buried memory is... ah... fun times... the time people insisted Blaine, as a character, couldn't be a person of colour, because Blaine Anderson was a rich name.

Yeah.

The big rebuttal to that was obviously the fact that richness got immediately equated with whiteness, and that there are many other reasons that could've let to Blaine being named this way, but yeah, this was a thing. God, being in the fandom when Gina Gershon was cast was not a fun moment. The amount of "opinion pieces" I've had to see that basically were long rants on whether Blaine couldn't be Asian was kinda shit. (Shout out to the person who didn't want Blaine to be a person of colour, cause they're a person of colour and they hated Blaine, and they couldn't deal with the fact that they'd be hating a fellow person of colour.)

So anyway, I kinda wanna do something with his part about how assumption are made based on his name, especially coupled with his appearance. Wes Montgomery will still be clocked as Asian, Blaine not. (Darren actually had a very interesting conversation about being white passing with KAYE on her Golden Hour podcast.)

And that's the plan, folks!

There's obviously one big issue looming over me when it comes to names: the Cohen-Chang of it all. I've explained away other things, like Wes's name and Blaine's family situation, but ever since I came up with this series in 2017, Tina's last name being Cohen-Chang has loomed over this series. So far, I've been just ignoring it, but if I am doing a chapter on names... maybe it will come back to haunt me. There is in my eyes no great explanation why Tina's white family has the last name Cohen-Chang.

Since I am very adamant about working within canon, I cannot change it. Heck, the whole point of this series is giving the shitty canon representation of its Asian characters a place. Hence my dig at Asian camp in the snippet.

Well, okay, there have been explanations. Someone once suggested that maybe Tina's family is mixed as well and that would work, since we never meet her parents in canon, so nothing in canon contradicts me. It does contradict literally every other aspect of Tina in this series, since Tina's story focuses on transnational adoption, especially the story of a Korean girl in a white family. I admit I hadn't thought of this when I started this series, and I am afraid I am too far gone to find a way to add it. We can maybe go back even further in Tina's family tree and add an explanation there.

Another explanation, which is what I initially came up with, was that Tina's parents also changed their last name in order to make Tina feel welcome. But here is the thing: why Chang? It is seen as a Chinese surname. I am aware it can also be a romanisation of the Korean last name 장, but again, Glee canon presents it as a Chinese name. I think it is also pronounced differently in Korean, but again, I don't know shit about Korean. Jenna herself has mentioned in the podcast that it bothered her that Tina was given the same Chinese name as Mike since she's not Chinese (and Kevin was also shocked to hear the show never acknowledged that she is Korean). I wrote Tina's parents as being very sensitive about Tina's Korean heritage, so it would go against my fic to have them make this mistake. Again, I could pretend they used Chang as 장, since even though Glee did imply it to be the Chinese 常, it is never actually stated in the show, but hmmmm. Not only that, but 장 is more commonly romanisised as Jang.

Again, if I weren't limited to canon, I would change it. I have changed Tina's name to Cohen-Choi in my unpublished Sense8 fanfic, but in that fanfic, she isn't adopted and I changed multiple characters (shout out to Blaine Sotto and Brittany S. Pearson). Of course, since Glee canon itself is blurry, there is some freedom, but that freedom has limits as well.

Or maybe, again, I keep ignoring the Cohen-Chang of it all.

Well. That's my musings. If you're still reading this, hi!!! Have a puppy:

And now, the weather: @quizasvivamos @coffeegleek @caramelcoffeeaddict @raenestee @tectonicduck 

@nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @bookish-bogwitch @confused-bi-queer

@that-disabled-princess @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral @cutestkilla​ @wellbelesbian​

@artsyunderstudy​ @facewithoutheart​ @shrekgogurt @rockitmans @bitbybitwrites 

@whatevertheweather @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion @esilher @kurtsascot @blackberrysummerblog 

@nightimedreamersghost @ivelovedhimthroughworse @thnxforknowingme @martsonmars @snarkyhag

[rabbitprintart]

okay I need to get this outta my system because realistically I won't be able to draw this in a while but at least wanna write down my head cannons and au AND I'M DRIVING MYSELF INSANE EVERY NIGHT!!!

Anyways, I've been meaning to make/explore an au where Trigun takes place in my motherland of Tierra Caliente, yes I know it's incredibly self indulgent, but where I live, questions of climate change and agriculture are constant within the community, it's a weeeee bit lawless, and I can see so many opportunities of weaving those ideas together with those of the original Trigun series. I just think the reason Trigun speaks to so many of us Mexicans is for the same reason we have an insane clown culture, or the "laugh now, cry later" attitude. I have never seen 2 anime/characters that embody the Mexican spirit and struggle like fucking Vash the Stampede and Nicholas Wolfwood (if you ignore the DragobBall IP lol). So far the ideas that I have are:

Vash and Knives, and all the plant aliens, are representations of ancestral Mesoamerican culture of having intricate stories about twins, duality, and nature. Really wanna dig into the idea of Vash being some kind off shoot of Quetzalcoatl and Knives of Tezcatlipoca, probably even paint Knives in a more charismatic light because tbh my man has some points and I don't blame him lol. Knives does remind me a lot of the cynical Mexican who has been wronged so much in his life that he can not understand a world that isn't evil therefore sees the only solution the destruction of all, just pure nihilism. It's unfortunately more common than you think, especially in men :{

Really weave in Mesoamerican thought, art, and philosophy with Mexican Catholicism. It will be more obvious through Wolfwood, and it makes a lot of sense in my mind since a lot of Rancho people unknowingly hold onto our native thoughts and customs without realizing, even if it has been repackaged through Catholicism (ex: Dia de los Muertos)

Commentary on the insane chokehold the idea of Family as the supreme value in Mexican people through Knives

Ranchero Wolfwood, El Dark (Darks means Goth in Mexican Spanish slang lol) Vash

OKAY NOW FOR THE ONE THAT ABSOLUTELY IS KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plants are seen as saints by the average Mexican even if the majority don't know about the plant angels inside, so much so that they are constantly offered milagros and have town celebrations for them, but they all have been slowly exploited and killed by the humans who were meant to protect them due to greed. Vash has a collection of the milagros he has salvaged from all his sister's graves and he ties them into his coat. Knives also does this, but they both do it for different motives, Knives mainly does this is as a reminder for his hatred of humanity, Vash mainly for his love for his people and endearment towards humans for thinking well of them, a reminder that he is not much of a monster as he has been made to believe. I literally made myself so emotional last night because I imagined Wolfwood making a milagro shaped in the Passionate Heart of Christ and offers it to Vash right before he dies LIKE SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! SHUT UP ME!!!!!! ME VOY A MATAR !!!!! AAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

In conclusion : Nightow, you are more Mexican than you think, I'm giving you the beaner pass

*cultural context for the non-Mexicans: Milagros are these tiny, usually silver, metal charms that are sown into the velvet of Mexican Catholic statues/icons as a sign of gratitude, a commitment of lifetime devotion, and appreciation for the idol for helping the individual make their prayer come true. Basically, people go to a saint, angel, etc., pray for them to help them (Most common prayers are to physically heal wounds, help with addictions, grief, have children, etc), and if the prayer is answered (the person is healed, they get their dream partner, have kids, etc), then the figure will be offered a Milagro that takes shape of the miracle (a healed leg, breasts for breast cancer, eyes, hearts, etc) and the devotee will sow it into the idol's clothes or their altar as an affirmation of their power and existence.

[tsutan]

My class lecture today was about Dante's Inferno. Kind of thinking about YS in this tbh. Not for the hell aspect but the introduction and how poetic and metaphorical it is. Finding yourself in a shitstorm and seeing where you need to be to get your shit together, but facing roadblock after roadblock to the point where you're going backwards and slowly lose hope and give up. And like how Dante finds Virgil, YS finds the RGBFVerse BFs who he, in a way, looks up to them for being more put together than he is. Obviously not a proper parallel but it made me think about it.

Then again Dante acts as a representation of humanity. He goes through the hopelessness everyone feels when we're in a bad place, knocked down over and over again.

To me, YS represents the very real human feeling of being without power outside of the fictional media we write. He lost his source of willpower to keep going consumed by grief and the idea of what he could be in that reflection of himself. Though we as the audience may not have lost something like he did, there's something we as writers lose when we stop creating, and that is the control and containment of our fictional narratives and worlds.

"Why do you not go? Why do you not try to keep going knowing people care for you and I tell you that there's something worth fighting for? Why are you scared when we have your back?"

These are the counters to YS's self-doubts as much as it is for Dante. His fears. His worries. At least that's how I'm interpreting it. The other BFs are trying so hard to convince YS that he is worth helping. He's not a waste of space or air like his mind tells him he is. (Ochre you were so real making that fic btw it hurt so bad.../pos)

At some point, I want to think YS regains his determination.

"I am no longer doubting. I am back on track. I have willpower once again. I am determined to go through with this, and dive into the deepest parts of my trauma and the trauma of others not only to heal what ails my brothers, but to mend my own broken soul."

This would be the healing arc I think. It won't be easy. He'll be knocked down again and again. He might feel like giving up again too.

But right now he has the other BFs who are supporting him, and he is supporting them as well.

There was absolutely no reason for me to connect any of this to Dante's Inferno, but I think just listening to the lecture in class inspired me a lot and I felt like I needed to share even if my interpretation could be wrong.

Not a really serious analysis on it anyway and I don't think the BFs would do a great job at representing Virgil LMAO

[neoninky]

HSR Penacony spoilers BUT imma gonna talk about this

Honkai Star Rail related/kinda personal tangent under the cut. It's something that's been hanging in the back of my mind for a while, but I haven't seen people talk about it so I'm talking about it now.

I honestly should have screen-capped this when it happened ingame but oh well- Real talk: I was playing the last patch in Honkai Star Rail when this scene happened. You meet up with Robin again - who btw is a friggin ANGEL for real omg - and you meet this group of children that she has been helping teach (I believe?) and the main teacher NPC, Grace, is introducing the audience/Trailblazers to the children by name and she says this... "And as for Gary, he's been living with autism since he was a child..." Some context: I'm an undiagnosed adult with suspected autism. I word it that way because, like I said, I haven't been officially diagnosed. It's something that I want to achieve in the future but even so, I'm about 95% sure that I'm somewhere on the spectrum. Sometimes I still struggle with denying or doubting it because I do not have tangible proof on paper. Also, I can do things that a lot of people on the spectrum cannot (to an extent). But it's called a spectrum for a reason also masking is a very real thing. So is imposter syndrome but that's a whole other story-ANYWAY

With that said, I do have proof in that there are a lot - far too many in fact - common factors between myself and others on the spectrum that I've seen online, watched in videos made for and by autistic people, or even read in books. So I'm just now getting comfortable telling people out loud that I am autistic and explaining to them the sensory and social issues I sometimes have just so we can hopefully understand each other better. Back to the game - when I reached this part, I had to stop, pause the dialogue, and just sit feeling recognized in a way I never had before when consuming media. Sure, I've played games, watched tv/films, etc., and had seen characters I relate to before. But this was the first time that I've experienced a narrative that wasn't specifically written for/about an autistic character, say "Yes this is a so-n-so and they're autistic." No character coding, no implications, just outright. They don't make it this big to-do or something weird or pitiable (not that it should be by any means). It just is. And that's my favorite kind of representation. In this grand sci-fi space adventure drama mystery murder dinner theater of a game, there's an autistic kid named Gary. Love it. I may not love everything about Hoyoverse games, but this? I will give you your flowers for this Hoyo, thank you.

[cornyonmains]

Finished The Eclipse. I honestly feel like I had the right instinct to tune it out the first time, but I do think it's interesting in that you can really see the baby steps GMMTV was taking to grow up a little bit.

You can really look at The Eclipse and see a show where it's clear GMMTV really diminished its potential with a lot of its own standards, and to their credit, I think they stood back and took a hard enough look at it, the BL environment in general, and how absolutely hard fans were calling out their bullshit and decided to get real with Only Friends.

The Only Friends cast is heavily indicative of this being the case. GMMTV was gunning for elevated talent that knew how to play ball, and Neo, First, and Khao were all shining stars in The Eclipse, that blasted their scene partners out of the water. Force and Book are intensely unique, as they've always been shafted with bad scripts and sexually repressed directors, despite the fact they came into the game with a lot more professionalism and comfort with the material they were handling. The director didn't wind up sobbing in the corner because they refused to move their mouths when they kissed. They're also a much more 'modern' ship, that doesn't default on yaoi contrasts and that weird seme/uke binary. After the success of KinnPorsche, and popularity of MileApo, I think GMMTV finally saw the potential in this pairing. About time.

But the casting is very indicative of GMMTV kind of telling fans, "We've been listening, we hear you, and we're making changes." Only Friends corrects a lot of complaints the fandom has been having.

Adults, for example, don't have much in this genre. Part of the reason The Eclipse fell short for me is it's just another damn coming of age drama. Great for the baby gays, but the adults are over it. GMMTV gave us Neo eating Mark's ass like groceries then getting godless with Force in the backseat of a car, and I'll live 10 years on that alone.

The plot contrivances they have to cook up to keep everyone from doing anything but doing a cutaway kiss with no tongue in the final episode is no more, people are fucking nasty, so now there's room for actual plot, which is hilariously ironic. But also, it's not, because I mean the desire women have for horny softcore erotica with good plots and high production value is not unknown.

Queer women and bisexuals have been complaining about a lack of representation. At the core of these yaoi tropes is a world where bisexuality has no meaningful distinction from being gay, which is really annoying, because bisexuals have a much different experience in the queer community, and that's not reflected in a world where X amount of interpersonal communication can magically turn anyone gay. Queer women just don't exist in BL. Women are all straight virgins trying to steal your man. Only Friends has lesbians. Actual FDA approved lesbians. Are they fucking nasty? No, but it's something. We are allowed to exist in the world of Only Friends and that's HUGE.

People have been complaining about the cringe. Only Friends removed that and replaced it rage provoking stupidity by the characters, and I approve of that.

Anyways, analysis is what I do for a living. TV is well within the ballpark. So while I'm only basing my thoughts on what I've observed and not cold hard numbers, there's only so much insight I can provide, but it's insight backed by years of experience. With Only Friends posting absolute numbers, we can expect to see some structural changes at GMMTV on the horizon, because this is going to create growth. Probably even stimulate a search for new actors to get on their roster, since they have a lot of actors that won't be able to deliver going into the new era. I also think this is going to help them land sponsorships from atypical brands, which is BIG. Mile getting Maserati on board for KinnPorsche is part of what allowed it to exist in an elevated form.

I also think the success is going to result in a shake-up with the quality of writers they hire, because that's at the core of a lot of issues in BL. They adapt these novels from these absolutely unhinged lunatics, these lunatics have WAY too much creative power despite the fact they're low brow porn writers, and it kills the quality of a finished product. America doesn't do that. Directors have the power to elevate material, and that's important. GMMTV got a proper writer for Only Friends, and it paid off in a big way. Mame is one of the names I hate in BL the most. Her goo-goo gaga shit is creepy, I hate it, it makes queer people look bad, and I'm hoping writers like Jojo just drive her out of the scene.

Anyways, I'm going to end things here. I just wanted to share some random thoughts I had.

[redeyeingirs]

The announcement

Hi. I'm here to announce what I think is a pretty big job that I finally got up the courage to do. This is my first experience in creating works of this format.

Wormhole is a comic book that tells one of the many alternative universes with dp with elements of mysticism, horror and, of course, drakes live in this universe instead of people.

⚠From the warnings⚠: my work will contain elements of body horror, themes of death, possibly suicides, blood, perhaps straight guro. This is not what the work focuses on, but elements of the graphic representation of these topics may be present.

I present the cover of my comic book ^-^

I was inspired and started drawing my comic based on my random dragon au of Danny Phantom. So far, there is no system by which I would plan to release this creation of mine, in the end, I think it depends on my and your interest, anyway.

The comic will be released in 2024. I think that the publication will take place on several pages.

Later, I will create a separate post, which I will make pinned to collect all links to outgoing pages and chapters on it. I haven't decided exactly yet, but most likely there will be separate posts for individual chapters, since I plan to draw my own episodic covers for the chapters as well. You can follow if you're interested, but I'm just a poor student who has a lot of work to do, so don't expect a lot of quick updates.

A few of my sketches and some kind of spoilers on the topic when I wasn't sure if I was going to do a comic yet, hehe 👀

In fact, I tried not to spoilerize the designs of some of the characters here, hehe.

And, of course, chibi draco Phantom:

English is not my first language (if it is not already obvious from my excellent grammar), so @dragondancer403 kindly volunteered to help me with character dialogues and various entries, thank you 💜

🪐 Also write to me if you want me to draw character cards as well 🪐

[killer-wizard]

my mini fuckin essay apparently. this is about rapid eyes! go watch it here. tw for mental health problems, amnesia, death and loss, suicide mentions, ect. also a long ass post!

this is about the main character of rapid eyes being a system. maybe not canonly but. i see some parallels between my system and the player <3

ahh okay i have an interpretation of this series.

as a system, i see a lot of parallels to a system in this character and game. in a previous episode (#6?) red eyes refers to the player as "they" and while i am all for the player being nonbinary or using they/them, i do personally think it could also be the plural they/them, and our main character is a system.

the way red eyes acts, is very much a persecutor move, being rude or self-destructive in the way a verbally abusive person is. (sometimes introjects of abusers repeat the abuse out of a trauma reaction or other fear) i think red eyes showing up first in the forest where the player grew up, maybe they represent a childhood trauma, like an abusive parent, or maybe an outside person hurting the player. i saw another system say they didn't like the "evil alter" trope, but honestly? i think, if this is a system character, then it's done pretty well, as this character is just self destructive and not harming outside people. sort of like, a representation of how OCD/PTSD can make you spiral and think about it uncontrollably, and how people can beat themselves up about loss like this.

i totally respect if it makes other systems uncomfortable though!! anyway.

radio comes off as very genuinely kind and sweet, only trying to help and reassure the player. sort of like an emotional protector. she reminds me of some of our child alters, she's so silly. i love her. she's silly and lighthearted but clearly is a traumaholder, or at least aware of the trauma.

the game represents an inner world, something many systems develop as a coping mechanism. these can look like anything. the game (and in our case) has many different popular places from various horror games, but also from their real life. the scary "slenderman" woods (which the player says they lived near when they were a child), the backrooms, the school (based off of their old school), the boardwalk, the parking lot (player says they were afraid of them as a child). it's all familiar to our player, and so was put in their inner world as to make sense of the scary reality they were living in. (a little funny, but our headspace has a part of an among us map in it lol)

to add to this, the constant, changing nature of the game is reminiscent of an inner world of a system. ours changes mildly often, and who can or cant access parts of the inner world also changes, which explains radio being unable to contact the player in places red eyes controls (like the backrooms, and this cave).

now, DID (and other dissociative disorders) has amnesia attached to it. the fact that the player seems unable to remember that they made rapid eyes, is very in line with DID (i have a lot of art we've made that i have no memory of making.) but also kind of implies that the game was worked on by the other characters. the boardwalk changes, the parking lot changes, and we can assume that the player didn't do that (it implied they gave on the game entirely).

also, the name. "rapid eyes". it reminds me of looking around quickly out of terror or fear, but i also saw someone mention REM sleep (RAPID EYE movement) also being a meaning, which i think makes much more sense.

now, episode #11. radio breaking because of the fall, representing how kind words don't help when youre in the pits of your mental illness. or at least, not as much as they would if you had heard them in a better state. the nooses, the notes, the ruined lockers, it's all memories and urges, traumatic and otherwise coming together when you're at your worst and trying to stop ruminating on the past.

and the phone call: this teal character (who i'll just call static for now) has called before, when radio was out for a second to take care of something. they clearly have a lot of suicidal ideation and worthlessness related thoughts. i don't really know if static is the player, or another part of them, or what, but we've only just met them, so maybe we'll find out later?

in the phone call, they talk to their grandmother, who says their dad is sick. the player reacts very instantly to this, as if remember the phone call with terror. static plays the concern off, saying he was fine and just taking a nap. the player is audibly crying now, though it's quiet and horrifyingly sad. the acting in this part is insanely good and i love it. anyway,

"i should have called someone" (responded with "yeah, you think?" which is another example of the player constantly using humor to cope) clearly, this character and the player share guilt. over their father's death, presumably. the player begs to be left alone, maybe to red eyes, who is implied to be torturing the player.

a note for this scene is, someone in the comments mentions the "as above, so below" note, and how that is the title of a movie in which a character misses a phone call right before her father commits suicide. it lines up pretty well, and can be assumed to be a reference.

episode #11 is the final episode as of now, and is very interesting. i'll be watching for more! anyway.

disclaimer: this is my opinion, and is probably not canon. pls take what i say with a bit of salt.

OKAY wall of text over. i might be overthinking this and this is the most ive ever talked about having DID online. good lord.

[gracefullou]

I’ve been thinking about this and looking at peoples reactions on the setlist and the biggest problem to me is not 1D songs but the fact that there’s THREE 1D songs and like genuinely if I went to the festival and I saw him then afterwards I’d left with a feeling of “he doesn’t have enough solo songs”& “he’s still stuck on 1D” when it’s not true and we as the fans know that but the gp doesn’t.

Also I do understand him putting the songs that the gp knows and blah blah blah but well the gp knows jho (or at least some people) so he could’ve sang it instead of another 1D song or a cover which no one knows anyway. But overall I think Louis is stubborn and he won’t listen to us (esp since we’re such a small group of people lol) buuuut I’m really glad to see that the fans are saying very loud that they want more solo songs on the setlist because Louis deserves to know that his solo songs >1D songs and that people love them more so I hope he sees all the complains lmao

Hi, anon. I agree with everything you said. No matter the angle you see it from, it's not looking good. At first, i was disappointed solely for the fact that all these covers are taking up the place that fitf songs should've had. Simply bc i believe in its potential, i believe that every fitf song is so much better than any one direction song. I believe that no cover (one direction or not) is the key to win people over, but fitf is. Not in i'm a solo louie only his solo songs are good kind of way but bc it's the truth. Everytime the transition between a fitf song and a one direction one happens, i feel the dip in the quality. It's frankly striking. Fitf is my favorite album ever but also, i always make all my family and friends listen to Louis' music (usually not in an obvious fangirl way) and never has anyone said that this song is bad or that they didn't like it. On the contrary, most are now casual fans/ listeners and get excited along with me when a new release of his aporoaches. I also know what i felt/ thought when i heard fitf for the first time and that's why i have no doubt in my mind that an artist could not ask for a better representation. Fitf is EVERYTHING. I just wish Louis believed that too 😔. Anyway, the more that i think about it, the more obvious it becomes that Louis is waisting a lot of potential with his setlist choices. First of all, it doesn't send the message of a solo artist that is confident in his work. It can frankly paint him as the ambitionless loser from a dead band who can't move on from the break that the media (and some of his so called fans) try so hard to make people perceive him as. When in reality, he's been up to SO much since the pandemic. People respect ambition, they respect hunger for success and validation so why put yourself in a position where you can seem to not care enough? Larries and ot5s are horrible we know that (see how they're celebrating fucking seven of all things and then they have the audacity to claim that they love him and it's the toxic solos who don't respect his previous work 😬) but i can't help but feel that somewhere, sometimes Louis is responsable as well. Fans take cues from their "idols" and Louis is not helping with the three covers. I don't even know what he's trying to achieve with it 😭. Bc he does sing an awful lot of covers even at the tour shows when he knows the crowd is mainly his fans. Like the directioners that do show up now will show up even if he reduces the number of covers to one (and everyone will be happy then ☺️). He also needs to stop thinking too highly of 1D and assuming everyone is a fan. A lot of people are not. A lot of people don't even know their songs. It's been nine years, people move on. Today was the first time that i was left feeling a bit underwhelmed and not on a high after his set. It's one thing to sneak 4 covers on a regular tour set (it used to be less rip 💔) it's a whole other thing to fill it with those and leave your own beautiful songs off in a tight set like he has on those festivals and he needs to understand the difference ASAP. And it's not that he doesn't have "popular" songs under his belt. Back to you, just hold on, miss you are more than enough familiarity for any audience. Also, as much as he cares about "popularity" when it comes to 1D songs, he doesn't seem to care for the same for his own. Hello always you has over 100M streams on Spotify with no promo or playlisting and it's not even a single. Hoth, Chicago, angels fly, bigger than me are the most popular fitf songs after waoyf but they're nowhere to see on the setlist 😃. Instead of wdbhg why not reward fans with a favorite? Megamix is a clear fan favorite. Or defenceless as a nod to the fans' dedication and effort in 2020 for example? Or maybe he does reward them... With one dead songs 😭😭😭

[gabessquishytum]

I really wanted to reign myself in and NOT send you an ask this morning but OMG the house of night anon!!! I used to love those books (like, the first three or so before they turned really, really bad) because I’m nothing if not a slut for shitty vampire novels and we only get the more popular ones translated here :D

Morpheus would look soooo gorgeous with a half moon mark on his forehead? Fits amazingly well into the whole grumpy emo/goth vibe he’s got going on. (Technically it should be an outline but as the anon said, the protagonist progresses really fast and instead of years it takes months for the half moon to fill in. I think there was a prophecy involved? It’s been a while)

Anyway, the thing that kept me invested in the books way longer than I thought they were any good was the whole magic aspect? Like, they’re doing proper magic rituals and the potential for horny professor!Hob and student!Dream shenanigans is just too good to pass up?

iIrc you need five people for a proper circle in this universe, but let’s skip that to the kind professor secretly helping Morpheus out with magic rituals to figure out just why he’s special. This means late night meetings in the library, sneaking around on campus for clandestine strategy discussions and finally the rituals in the middle of the night.

The binding circle on the ground glows with magic, the bowls that house representations of the elements are vibrating, it looks like morpheus and Hob are hovering over the ground as they speak the incantations. They are granted insight, a future where Morpheus has survived the initial months and where he’s fighting something-

The vision breaks suddenly and Morpheus is back to reality and in Hob’s arms. Hob’s shaking him because he was just levitating and bleeding and he was so worried about him.

Morpheus is alright, but the residual magic is filling him with restless energy and Hob’s shirt is basically see through and five seconds later he’s toppled them over, mounting his professor in the middle of the binding circle. The ritual left him so, so hungry and professor Gadling looks so, SO tasty.

Hob knows he should stop Morpheus because he’s his student and it’s bad enough that he’s had this embarrassing crush on him ever since he came to school the first time with his strange mark. But it’s just so, so hard. Because Morpheus fascinates him like no other, he’s so lovely when he allows himself to be and all the sneaking around for research purposes at night (or rather during the day) allowed him to catch glimpses of the real Morpheus, who’s funny and kind and whip-smart. And, fuck, but he’s also so fucking beautiful so he can’t do anything but let Morpheus bite his throat and claw at his shirt, riding his thigh until he cums in his skintight jeans. He holds him through his orgasm, whispering sweet nothings into his ear and lets him rest until he’s come down enough for them to banish the circle.

Afterwards Morpheus is so, so exhausted he can barely stand. There’s no way Hob can smuggle him back into his dorm room, so he takes him to his own flat on campus. It’s risky but a lot more private and this way Morpheus can at least rest a bit more and clean himself up before he goes back to his room to tell everyone he just lost track of time in the library…

Hob sleeps on his couch and leaves Morpheus in his bed. He dreams strangely and he’s pretty sure he’s dreaming of Morpheus but it feels more like a shared memory? It’s very strange.

The next day, they don’t talk about it. Hob lends Morpheus some clothes, lets him shower and makes him breakfast. The new familiarity from his dreams still lingers and it’s so hard to not pull Morpheus on his lap and feed him the waffles, interspersed with kisses.

They try to keep their distance but the dreams come back all the time in very graphic detail. Hob cums in his sleep nearly every night now and from the embarrassed/panicked glances Morpheus throws him, he’s not faring much better.

They take some class trip or something and the proximity of them being in rooms next to each other seems to help. The first night they get at least a few hours of sleep. The next morning Hob knocks on Morpheus door (who has a room of his own) and somehow they end up in bed together.

That evening, Hob sneaks into Morpheus room. He bends him over the bed to fuck him until they’re both ready to drop from exhaustion. It’ll help with the dreams, he’s sure of it. They do sleep soundly that night, for the first time in weeks, but that has more to do with the fact that they’re entwined the whole night. The dreams still come (and so do they) but they’re clearer now, shedding a light on their shared past.

Love, 💄

Asdfghj I'll be honest I have not read these books but I love the setup. Thank you SO MUCH for filling in this au even more!!

I just think. The inherent sexiness of a vampire ritual. It's very hot, right? Magic and blood and emotions right there on the surface. It's going to lead to some absolutely feral sex on the floor, right in the middle of the spell ingredients. Hob probably tells himself that it's a good thing. Sweet, precious Morpheus is so stressed. He needs someone to help him take the edge off, before he hurts himself. Hob is just being a good mentor by palming his pert little arse through his jeans and encouraging him to rut his way to a climax. Morpheus clearly needs someone to take care of him, poor darling. Hob can do that. Keep him safe and fed on Hob’s blood until nothing else will satisfy him. Nothing but the best for him.