#but i also think everyone would possibly agree that fandom kind of changed

[not-poignant]

Reading you say you just don't feel like writing fanfic anymore made me sad, because I've felt the same for years. Even shows I really did like just.. Arent inspiring? I watch things and enjoy them, but I don't feel any desire to produce something from it, and I no longer even look for fanfic that much. I felt the grief, too, so in a way, I'm glad it's not just me :/ It's a sucky feeling, really.

I hate it, honestly. I haven't closed the door to it, in weird ways it feels like the door has been closed on me instead (because of the pandemic, and life, and fandom changes).

I'm definitely not ruling it out! I'm also just not sure when things will change.

And then additionally, I've been in a 6 month lockdown that shows no signs of changing because I'm immunocompromised and disabled and everyone else is living kind of selfishly as though people like me don't exist and don't deserve protection (specifically re: masks and mask-wearing). Protecting disabled people really stops at mask wearing, even though folks wearing a mask does less protection for you and more protection for the *people around you* and vice versa. I've gone to a cafe once this year. I've been inside a shop once. It's kind of hard to get that old enthusiastic fandom vibe personally.

I think it will change eventually re: fandom because the media landscape is changing all the time, and nothing is static anyway. Things feel like they may have changed forever, but the reality is it's only been about 2 years out of about 13 of writing fanfiction?

But yeah I also no longer look for fanfic that much. It's harder than it used to be. People used to joke about looking for needle in haystacks but the reality is with AO3 and tag-surfing/narrowing/limiting it was, at least for a while, a lot easier to find fics you liked. These days it feels like...idk...

Also just factually, there's less longfics then there used to be. I talked to a friend about this and we both agreed it's probably connected to how short-lived fandoms are these days. A lot of the time it can take time to come up with a longfic concept, and it can be even harder to execute it in a dead or quiet fandom. I am primarily a hurt/comfort + happy ending longfic reader, and a PWP reader. There are still a lot of PWPs, but I've found no longfics I've really enjoyed in about 2 years. At some point, I just...gave up. I'm sure they're out there, but not really in the fandoms I was last active in, and not with the pairings I was looking for. And by the time I thought 'I'll write a rarepair longfic' the fandom was dead and I think every fic writer can write for a dead fandom a few times, but not many can do it forever. Even the last fanfiction I wrote was way way shorter than my normal ones, almost as though even then I was afraid to commit to anything longer than around 20k.

Anyway! Yes. It does suck and it is sad and it's kind of depressing. I'm very lucky that I can still get 'fandom feels' with Fae Tales, which has helped. But my writing life doesn't really feel complete without fanfiction, so it's been a weird two years. Falling Falling Stars came close to filling that gap because it's so whumpy and hurt/comforty, but that's going to be over soon.

Be interesting to see what happens to fandom during the pandemic/s (1 million cases of monkeypox now predicted by September). And hopefully you find your way back to fandom eventually, or that many of us do. You're definitely not alone. I know so many people kind of deep in this issue (many of them previously longfic writers), and while I do know a few people still writing fic, the 'old guard' of writers who actually still kind of want to be writing, or in fandom, or feeling that feeling, just...can't.

I don't think it's 'growing out of fandom' personally. For me, I really think it's connected to the change in the fandom experience + global issues + personal issues. So I am hopeful it's not permanent. But still sad that I can't tell people when I'll be writing fic again any time soon either. x.x

#asks and answers #pia on fanfiction #personal #even my favourite fic author hasn't written any fics in ages #i kind of found them at the end of being active #i have mutuals here - many who have written longfic #who just...don't now #i do think it's multi-factorial and different for everyone #but i also think everyone would possibly agree that fandom kind of changed #also i will say comments went down for longfics for many authors #and engagement dropped #personally i'm also a lil grumpy that the bigger fandoms these days #are the ones i can't seem to get into lol #'is it me am i the drama' dsalkfjafldsajfsa

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for bitching about fics I dislike on my blog?

as a foreword, this is kind of a non-issue and no one's ever told me to stop, but I'm curious what other people think of fandom etiquette.

the fandom: a fairly small one. 2.4k fics on ao3 small. I recognize most people posting in its tumblr tag small. if I tell you the name of the source you'd almost definitely be able to find me small.

the source: pornographic, which means everyone involved is or should be an adult. it's BL with a switch MC, but the fandom overwhelmingly prefers bottom MC/top LIs (love interests), to the point where I've had people be astonishingly rude to me because my favorite character is a bottom LI and some of my friends have been outright harassed for the same. I used to not care about sex positions in the slightest, but now when I see bottom MC fanworks I can't help but remember how poorly I was treated.

the fics: wildly and inexplicably popular, even though they are, frankly, poorly written. it's eternal bottom MC turned up to 11, complete with copious amounts of OOCness in order to turn every ship into the worst ye olde yaoi gender roles dynamic you can imagine. it's things like MC, canonically a 23yo plank of a dudeguy, being written as a big titted milf in his 40s (which is made more confusing by the fact that one of the LIs is already a big titted milf). it's also things like the MC being written as disliking sex and having to be coerced into it when one of the most charming things about him is that he's a hilarious sex pest, or writing the LIs sexually harassing the MC when they really would never do that. I've likened it to replacing the characters with OCs that share the same name and my friends have agreed with me. I'm honestly convinced that the author and his readers don't actually like any of the characters if they feel the need to change everyone so thoroughly.

why I might be an asshole: it's assholish to hate on free fanworks, and I've bitched about these fics on my public tumblr blog. the fandom is small enough that there's a non-zero chance of it getting back to the author and a reasonable chance that fans of the fics have seen my bitching. I'm probably projecting the hostility I've received onto someone who's done absolutely nothing to me, and I am absolutely just straight up jealous that their fics get better stats than mine. I may also be being an asshole to myself, because being critical of other people's fics has made my hypercritical of my own.

why I don't think I'm an asshole: I think everyone has the right to be bad at things, but I also think everyone has the right to be a little hater. I don't put the fandom tag on these posts; they stay on my blog and my blog alone, and if later on I feel like I was unfairly vitriolic I'll delete the posts. I only post on tumblr because I'm certain the author in question only uses twitter, which dramatically lowers the odds of him stumbling across my posts. the fics are so popular that it's definitely possible that their fans would see my posts, but I think it's unlikely that they'd bother looking at my blog because 99% of my posts are about one of the bottom LIs. I have never and would never leave comments on the fics themselves, and I generally try to keep the bitchy posts to a minimum; it's far from a constant thing.

tl;dr - I publicly bitch about fics that (in my opinion) are poorly written and extremely OOC, under the assumption that it's unlikely the author would ever see it. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

House Tour (not the house we wanted, but the house we have)

Fandom: Poppy Playtime.

Synopsis: Angel (referred here as "you") introduces their house to the toys after the events of the game.

---

"It's not much", you hurriedly tell the group. "And it's not very big, we'll have to get a bigger house as soon as possible, can't forget to immediately look for what's on sale around here".

You stop on your tracks to face the door to your house, hearing the others stop just behind you. Searching for the right key, you add:

"Also please don't mind the fact everything's a big mess, I'm more organized than that but last time I was there it was a week or so ago and I left in a rush".

"Don't apologize, Angel", Poppy replies back, as gentle as ever. "I'm sure it's not even that bad! And, look, even Kissy agrees with me! Right, Kissy?"

The taller girl mutters a quiet "hm-hm" sound.

"Nothing will ever be as bad as the factory, Angel", Dogday adds. You turn around to see Huggy still holding into the dog's poorly-adapted wheelchair, smiling in return. "Besides! You're here with us now! That alone makes things a lot better".

"You guys give me too much credit", oh, finally, you found the key! "I'm just doing what I have to. Anyone else would do the same".

"Li-ar", Mommy Long Leg's voice echoes. "No one never ever took care of Mommy when she was hurt".

"I was the one who tore your arm off, I kind of had to help".

"Li-aaaar".

You sigh, finally opening the door and stepping inside: "C'mon, everyone, it's pretty small but it should do the work for now".

You counted the toys one by one as they entered: Bunzo, PJ, Poppy and Kissy, Dogday and Huggy, a very bubbly Miss Delight guiding Catnap inside, all the mini huggies, all the mini critters, all the other mini toys, then Mommy Long Legs. More than 80 in total.

Thankfully the money you got from that case was enough to cover a house and finances and medical expenses for at least an year for every single one of you. You still didn't know how the court case against the remains of Playtime would go, but with all the evidence against them, it should be enough money for a lifetime, right? You would never be able to pay for everyone's treatment with your current job...

"Angel, dear?", Miss Delight calls. You smile, give one last look outside, and close the door. "What an interesting house you have!"

"Oh, it's nothing much", you put the keys in a small counter, taking off your jacket and throwing your bag in a corner. "Huggy, can you help put Dogday in the sofa?"

"Angel, I'm very sure I can-"

"You need to wait two weeks before you can do any big moves, don't you even think about moving yourself only using your arms again unless you want another emergency surgery, big dog", you immediately cut him off. Dogday sighed, Huggy happily offered his hands to help the big puppy. The mini critters mischievously laughed. "Same thing for every single one of you. Medical orders".

The house's clock pointed at 8:44 PM. It wasn't late, thankfully.

The toys all gathered around the living room, curiously staring and exploring its corners. Someone - Bunzo, maybe? - had entered the kitchen, probably just wanting to take a good look at this new weird place. You decided to let them be, turning the TV on and trying to pick up a channel:

"So, uhm", you mutter. "This is the TV. Didn't change much since '95 except for maybe image quality. We now use CDs and DVDs instead of just cassette tapes, but I'll show that to you guys later. You can grab anything from the kitchen, I don't mind".

You blinked, hearing the sound of your Windows XP computer turning on. Somehow, PJ Pug-a-Pillar had figured out how to use it. You would be proud if not a bit worried:

"You found the computer", you announce to the group. "Okay. Don't mess up too much with that thing, I need it to work. I'll show you guys how to use the internet later, I think you would like it".

Long Legs decided to sit next to the TV, stretching her neck so she could watch it better. The mini critters seemed to really like her, as they still haven't let go of her arm.

"Angel, do you think the news are all still about us?", the spider doll asks.

"Well..."

You sit on the floor so Dogday can see the TV from the sofa. Bunzo immediately jumps to your lap, making himself comfortable. You pet him as images of the abandoned factory covered with cops and investigators appear, headline written as "PLAYTIME CO. INVESTIGATION STILL UNGOING".

You sigh. Bunzo seems to look up at you, confused.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?", his ears move. You stop petting him.

"It's not good nor bad. If the news aren't screaming how the investigation found out how you guys were made, then we can assume the Prototype is doing a good job".

"He always did".

Everyone, including you, turns to stare at Catnap. He decided to sit next to the sofa, lying his back against the wall. The ceiling was too low for him to be comfortable like that...

"Mommy cannot agree with you", Long Legs groans. "Would you want to know hy?"

The feline simply stares uncomfortably at the pink toy. She rolls her eyes, muttering something about him denying the evidence before turning her attention back at the tv. You're glad these two didn't get into a fight again, but you still don't feel comfortable. Most of the bigger toys are sitting on the floor, with the smaller ones either using Kissy, Miss Delight and Dogday or the sofa as a sitting spot.

The images in the TV then cut to you, eye bags and all, staring at the camera and politely answering a question.

"Look!", Bunzo points. "It's mom!"

"I'm not your... Nevermind", you put some of your hair behind your ear. The you in the TV keeps talking:

"No, I didn't see any guards or cops when I came in there", you shake your head, tired.

"No security at all?"

"I mean, the factory is full of weird machines you need to use a thing called a 'grabpack' to make them work, but there wasn't anyone who stopped me from grabbing one and going inside. I bet even a child could have gotten themself trapped in there from how lonely things were outside..."

"Do you think one of the monsters escaped the factory before?"

"The toys, is that what you mean?"

Your eyes finally showed some light as you bit back at the word choice. You lifted your head, now more determined than before:

"If any of them escaped, they are either dead or locked away somewhere by whoever knew about what Playtime was doing. Or do you really think these kids wanted to stay inside that prison? They were fighting each other over what to eat, for God's sake!"

"Angel...", Poppy muttered. "You didn't tell anyone about the..."

"Cannibalism? Hel- heck no. You guys will be regarded as monsters by a lot of people if i do that. Until things calm down, no one outside the investigators of our case will know".

You decide to get up from your spot, much to Bunzo's dismay. You pet his head before stretching yourself, hearing some bones pop:

"The kitchen is right there. Bathroom is there, and my room is there. I don't think there's any clothes good enough for you guys, but we'll see. You must be hungry, right?"

You step into the kitchen, followed by some of the toys and Long Leg's head stretching head. Miss Delight excitedly walks close to you as you look for what you have.

"Well...", you mutter. "I have some snacks and food, but not enough for all of us. Maybe we should get some pizza today, and tomorrow I'll rush to the grocery store".

"... Pizza?", Bunzo asks in the big toy pile that formed at the kitchen's entrance, his head between the smaller huggies. "What's that?"

"It's an italian dish made from bread dough and topped with plenty of ingredients!", Miss Delight answers in her cheerful tone before turning to face you: "But... You have pizza, Angel?"

"No, but I can just ask someone to deliver to us. I have the money", you grab the kitchen's telephone, searching in the drawers for the number of that one very good pizza place your friend worked at. "Since no one here ever ate a pizza I'll just ask for five of each flavor. Might do the job, seeing how many of us are in there..."

You turn, lying against the kitchen's corner, only to realize that everyone was staring at you. Even Catnap had gotten out of his spot, curiously watching, and you could see Dogday's head as he was trying to take a good look at what was going on.

"You guys can explore the house, y'know. It's our house now, not mine", you tell the group, going back to the living room, telephone in hand so the poor giant puppy could be included. Another door was opened, and the mini critters and huggies were now conquering your bedroom. Good for them.

You sat on the floor again. Bunzo proclaimed your lap, and Poppy decided to also sit next to you.

"I don't have to eat, Angel", the doll told you, watching TV. "Prioritize the others, alright?"

"Neither do I!", Dogday replied. "I ate at the hospital, don't worry about me".

You roll your eyes and pet Poppy's head. "I know you don't have to eat, doll, but you, young sir, have to eat. A freaking lot, actually! Didn't I tell you guys food isn't a limited supply anymore?"

A mini critter screamed and something was knocked over. Long Legs immediately got out of her spot, coming out of your room with a mini craftycorn trying to chew on a blanket.

Dogday, however, was whimpering. He lowered his head and fidgeted with his hands: "Are you sure? You did so much for us, Angel..."

"And I'll do even more. I'll be your legal guardian if everything goes well, remember?"

"But..."

Catnap then "accidentally" bumped his tail against Dogday's face. The pup's eyes widened, and you laughed at how offended he looked. The feline pretended to watch television as Dogday stared at him.

"Catnap!"

"I didn't do anything this time".

Now the pup was looking at you for answers. Poppy was laughing as well, all the while Catnap's tail kept bumping into Dogday.

"Listen to what the Angel has to say", he simply told him. "And eat".

You were smiling. Never in a thousand years did you think your life would become this weird, but you were glad it was like this nonetheless.

Then you realized something, and crossed your arms:

"Catnap, you do realize you'll also have to eat a lot instead of giving your food to the mini critters, right?"

The feline's tail stopped moving.

"What".

#poppy playtime #dogday #catnap #poppy playtime angel #poppy playtime poppy #kissy missy #huggy wuggy #mommy long legs #miss delight #save everyone au #poppy worldwide #garca writing

[theerurishipper]

I agree so much with your Adrinette post. Unlike a lot of the fandom, I've always been a fan of both Adrien and Marinette so it hurts twice as much to see what the writing has done to them. How did their huge moments get switched up?! She was supposed to be the confesser. I cheered her on for 4 seasons that she would finally confess. Then when the time comes, Adrien does all the cute and risky confession stuff that she was supposed to do. Like what? It might have made her life easier if she were a real person, but as a character? The writers just took away a HUGE character moment from her. A huge triumph everyone wanted. Just gone. After 5 seasons. It makes her less compelling as a character to not have that.

They gave the responsibility for that to Adrien and gave the responsibility of facing Gabriel Agreste and talking to him about Emilie to Ladybug?! Maybe someone wrote the character growth fulfillments on a sticky note and it smudged and they got them mixed up? I think Ladybug should have been there to face MONARCH, but the Gabriel Agreste moments and discovery should have went to Adrien. It theoretically makes his life "easier", I mean in the sense the show is going to position it as. I'd love if they tackled the reprecussions of this, but my money is on them letting that whole senti thing fade into the background never to come up again and he will just live happily in his bubble thinking his dad is a hero forever. But as a character, that just like flatlined him. He is 80 percent less compelling now. His moment. Gone. After 5 seasons. Possibly never to be spoken of again or revealed. Sad.

I don't understand Season 5's thing with not challenging the characters where it counts the most. Neither of them grew. They both did a lot... for each other's plot points. Adrien worked and adjusted his approach to woo Marinette, but that wasn't a character growth moment for HIM because he's always been that way. There was no big anxiety hill to get over there or big change for him. He's always worn his feelings on his sleeve and been kind as Adrien. No internal conflict besides "I want to be with my girlfriend." Marinette stood up to Gabriel FOR Adrien and faced him in the end, but again. Not a strong character growth moment for her considering she has no emotional tie to Gabriel Agreste. There's no internal conflict there besides "He's keeping me from my boyfriend." There's not even the triumph of her beating Monarch because he kind of... wins?

Because neither of them actually confront their assumed assigned character challenges, they both come off extremely uninteresting to me by the end of the season. I can't even agree that Ladybug's character is benefiting here. I am not happy as a fan of either. They didn't allow her any true character building triumphs that she should have as the protagonist. While robbing Adrien of his character arc and keeping him unchanged and blissfully ignorant in his bubble.

I honestly have nothing more to add, because you nailed it anon. Your observation about them completing each other's character arcs is so spot on. You're also completely right about the fact that they are going to breeze over the implications of Adrien being a Sentimonster. The one thing I will clarify is that when I say Marinette benefits from the writing, I mean that at least she gets to do something and has some kind of agency and choices outside of being someone else's prop, whereas Adrien gets none of that. But you've honestly said everything so perfectly and I couldn't agree more.

Thank you for your ask!

#MLB #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Adrienette #ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #Adrienette Salt #Meta #Asks

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

There are a lot of takes and tropes that bother me in the MDZS fandom, but don’t really bother me outside of it, and I’ve been wondering why that is for a while now. And I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because of the way the MDZS universe, is portrayed, and the roles it plays in the story, when compared to those other pieces of media.

Because one thing I’ve noticed in fandoms I’m in is that people like having hope. Maybe bad things happened to the characters, yes, but surely there are lots of good people out there – maybe if something happens so that the abused character is brought up by them instead, things will turn out well! Or maybe if those people see what’s really happening with the misunderstood protagonist, everything will be ok!  

And it’s one thing to believe humanity is inherently good, or is inherently anything. And it’s definitely understandable that people want to believe that about humanity in a fictional universe, which can often function as a form of escapism But the thing with fictional universes is that they generally skew on one side of the spectrum, whether that side agrees with those views, or not. Pessimistic or optimistic, hopeful or hopeless.

And MDZS... is not an hopeful universe.

Now, that’s not saying there aren’t good people in it, or that we’re left with no possibility things could change for the better – the Juniors precisely embody that  hope! And a lot of the established characters are good people, it’s not saying it’s impossible. But generally, the view on society and societal structures, and the people inhabiting it from the top to the bottom, tends to be quite cynical. For evidence, just look at how all the clans reacted to the situation with Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants, and how the one person who spoke up about it, Mianmian, was treated. I don’t think MDZS is making a case about how all leaders are corrupt, though some are, but it is making one about how most people will blindly follow the people in power and turn on anyone who opposes that, and how that can lead to mob mentality and false gossip and danger if that leader is corrupt. The fault and the problem is with the structures themselves. 

And because of that, it’s impossible to eliminate one thing that’s the problem. There’s no one person behind the state of the world, though some definitely take advantage of it, so you can’t get rid of Y factor in Z character’s life and make everything all right. For example, there are a lot of stories where Wei Wuxian is raised by the Lans or the Nies, and that somehow makes everything alright. And maybe something similar would work in other fandoms, where there is one nation or group of people that’s the problem – but the corruption here is society-deep. That would not solve the problem – the classism, the mob mentality, the dehumanisation and so on – because that’s how the world is going to be. Likewise, I also see AUs where people found out what the situation really was at the Burial Mounds and everyone went to band against the evil Jin Sect and help Wei Wuxian. But the Jins weren’t the only sect responsible, and if the sects didn’t know the situation before (though some people definitely did), they definitely knew after the siege – who threw the Wen remnants’ bodies into the Blood Pool, again? And that didn’t change their attitude at all. Because the Wens aren’t seen as human (there’s a reason they’re called Wen-dogs), they’re seen as less than that, and they’re seen as not deserving of life. Being ‘innocent’ doesn’t change that. 

Just because a similar premise works in other fandoms, where maybe there is one main thing that’s the problem, doesn’t mean it’ll work in all of them. And it certainly won’t here.

Again, the one person who spoke up in favour of Wei Wuxian protecting the Wens because maybe there was more to it? Ostracised. And in MDZS, people like Mianmian are most definitely presented as the exception, not the norm.

The MDZS world is not kind. And too much of the plot hinges on that for it to be easily changed.

(...And I do wonder if this thinking is a factor in people thinking Wei Wuxian rejects help too, or is bad at dealing with the situation involving the Wens, or the Golden Core, or anything else. Because if the world was kind, surely there wouldn’t be a reason not to ask for support, right? And because of that, people mistake his very sensible (and accurate) view of the clans in power for low self-esteem and being simple unwilling to ask.)

...This isn’t a condemnation of fix-its in MDZS. If you want to write one, great! But understand that in the universe you’re writing about, you can’t remove simply one thing, or one clan, or one person, and make everything ok. A story written with a premise like alternate clan adoption or people finding out what's actually happening can be great, if you remember the constraints of the universe you’re working within.

Some universes are hopeful, others are not. And you can’t have the same trope working exactly the same way in two on different ends of the spectrum.

#this is a REALLY meta meta huh #a meta on meta fandom culture... #...does that count or does it cancel out #also #this is NOT a comment on the human condition as a whole #maybe humans are inherently good maybe they're the opposite maybe they're nothing at all #but none of that affects how they're presented in the work of fiction you're engaging in #mdzs meta #cultivation world #i guess #or more accurately #The General State Of Humanity #fandom culture #mo dao zu shi #魔道祖师 #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #gdc #my meta

[xerith-42]

vylad headcanonssss?

You guys are really pushing me to make more of these (this is not a problem)

If it wasn't obvious I've been letting some ideas for my new rewrite to leak out into some of my posts here, but this is where I switch things up and make this distinctly mcd Vylad headcanons for one simple reason:

Vylad Ro'maeve of Ru'aun is Aromantic Asexual. You cannot change my mind on this.

Also Vylad uses he/they pronouns (I feel like we as a fandom can agree on this)

Vylad's favorite animal is a hawk or a mouse

While he doesn't know for sure, Vylad is fairly confident he knows who killed them. He learns to come to terms with the fact that vengeance simply isn't possible and therefore not worth going after. And by the time it is possible, he's spent so long not thinking of it that it really just isn't an interest anymore.

Canonically Vylad can play the ocarina and I will never not be upset that we weren't given more of this. Aaron forces everyone to take a day off from building the settlement, and yet we don't see Vylad sitting in a tree playing his ocarina.

He got it and theoretically learned to play it from his mother, so why don't we ever see the two of them playing it together, or just Vylad playing a song for their mother? (this is a whole thing I could go into abt mcd characters and instruments)

Needless to say Vylad isn't particularly fond of verbal forms of expression, but I can totally see him playing different songs or melodies based on different moods or feelings. Aph asks him what song he's playing and Vylad will very honestly answer her or anyone who asks. "It was a lullaby my mother taught me. I worry about her sometimes, but this song always reminds me of when she looked happiest."

Vylad is a mama's boy.

Vylad doesn't really like talking much, he tends to prefer lingering in the background and not really saying much when he's in the foreground. The only exception to this is Garroth after he comes back from the Irene Dimension. Vylad has missed his brother so much, they have spent so much time worrying about him and trying to find a way to bring him back, that once he actually has Garroth around, it's honestly like he's been brought back to life a bit.

It's slow and steady, but Garroth manages to get his brother out of their shell. Vylad doesn't talk to many people, but he talks to Garroth a LOT, like constantly. People don't believe it until they hear/see it because Vylad can literally go back and forth with Garroth about literally whatever until the end of time. Like if you asked Vylad what his ideal life would be, it would just be to grab like five people and get to spend the rest of his life having long conversations with them.

Vylad really likes talking to the right people. He's just gotten so good at closing people off it's hard to show the kind of vulnerability he's capable of in said talks. I said five people but it would probably just be Garroth, Aph, and Laurance. Probably his mother, maybe Hyria, but that's it. Vylad keeps most people at arms length or further, but he's willing to open up to them because they understand him on some level most people can't.

Irene help me I just want to write scenes of Vylad talking to people now. Vylad has been around for so long, seen so much, and has some very fascinating perspective on life and the fratility of the human spirit. I know he's not one of Vylad's people, but I would love to just listen to him and Vincent talk. Throw Laurance in there and you have a podcast I will literally not stop listening to.

#text post #minecraft diaries #aphmau #i dont support aphmau #mcd vylad #vylad ro'meave #minecraft diaries vylad #garroth ro'meave #laurance zvahl #minecraft diaries laurance #minecraft diaries garroth #mcd headcanons #minecraft diaries aphmau #mcd aphmau #aphblr #aphverse

[truedarkhunter]

Hannah Annafellows - secretly the main character of Black Butler Season 2?

Here we go again. I've been digging around in my notes and looking at Hannah Annafellows, one of the least liked characters in Black Butler. What is there to like? She is one of the few female characters and all she does is get degraded and it felt uncomfortable to watch. However, we have another bored demon who comes across a child who is trembling with fear, but cheerfully greets her anyway. What does he want? To ask her help not for himself, not for riches, fame, power, or anything people normally ask for. No, he wants the happiness of someone else. Having never encountered such selflessness, she is intrigued and agrees to make his wish come true. Luca thinks that will happen by destroying the town that grieves him and his brother so much. Easily done. She and the triplets cause a fire and kill everyone who acted against the brothers...save a few poor boys who were in a similar situation or took pity on them. Hannah says it is done and Luca THANKS HER. In all the years she had done contracts with humans not one thanked her. Why would they? She would be their ultimate end. Fear, anger, resignation, those would be common, but gratitude? Not for their demise, the oblivion that Ciel appears to be seeking to escape what happened to him and his brother, but for being so kind as to help them. This changes her. It affects her strongly and deeply. The Kuroshitsuji Fandom site says she cried as she devoured Luca. She could not break the deal either, but instead of 'digesting' Luca, she kept his soul stored inside her. She went to see the happiness of his brother, to insure her side of the bargain had been well kept...only to see him in distress over the loss of Luca. He had his wish, bought by another, yet wasn't happy? This probably threw her for a loop. For her part, she would have been given a great gift-something new that in thousands of years she hadn't experienced, yet would not have felt she had executed her part in kind. So she contemplated how to achieve happiness for this mortal for whom nothing seemed to bring joy. He gained wealth, power, even some fame as an Earl, but it did not fill him. He wanted his brother which she could not give. He would not join Luca in "heaven" so she needed to get him to make a pact with her. That was a tricky business since he also contracted with Claude. We saw that Sebastian was unable to complete his contract when he didn't have both the soul and the body. So she took Alois/Jim's physical eye which would look like a mere repayment of the indignity visited upon her to Claude. Thus their whispered pact as he lay dying could take hold. Why was it possible? Claude abandoned his pact with Alois. He mislead his master about the truth of who started the fire and then got bored with taking revenge upon Sebastian. Even with Sebastian, he broke that pact as well, because Ciel is just so darn tasty!

Anyway, so Hannah had the body in the form of Alois’ eye.  Claude had the soul in the ring, but cared not to eat it, rather trying to alchemically merge (another version of the merging theme) the two souls so he could claim the tastier one of Ciel.  Alois wanted Claude’s regard, so Hannah pointed out that Claude DID acknowledge Alois/Jim before dying. That allowed Alois to gain his happiness and Hannah was then able to allow herself and them to die to reach Nirvana where there would be no sense of self, and eternal happiness.  Her trials were those of the demon who followed the monk to learn how to rise up spiritually.  She quested not for herself, but for both of the boys and even tried to redeem Claude. Over the course of the show, the only one that actually grew and changed their nature was Hannah. So it is odd to discover that the story was actually hers. There are legends of demons in Japan following monks and Buddhism to reach enlightenment. I suspect that is similarly what was in play here. She suffered not only for Alois/Jim's pleasure, but to redeem her actions so she could reach that place of Nirvana for them all in the end. That's why she suffers silently, does not meet anger and pain with more of the same. She sought to end the cycle. I still don't like her character, but changing the lens certainly allows a better perspective to understand her and write her with agency. Her agency was the choice not to act, but to show humility and kindness. I think the tale told from her perspective, with more of her mental thoughts available to the audience would make an interesting one. Oh, and we know that the demon's names mean something. The other spelling of her name was Hannah Annafeloz. I tried looking up "feloz demon" and got a correction for "feliz demon", clicked on it and what did I get? Mephistopheles. Reading the Wikipedia page on it, that name is a Greek compound of "love" and a negation term. So Hannah's arc goes from "no love" to "loving". Her pact is the actual Faustian pact but turning the tale completely around from destruction to enlightenment. Interesting stuff, no? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mephistopheles

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #Hanna Annafellows #claude faustus #alois trancy #Luca Maken #Real Main Character #ciel phantomhive #season 2

[beardedmrbean]

I’m genuinely trying not to slide into Islamaphobia. I’m in a fandom that for whatever reason has a lot of Muslims/people from Islamic countries (they’re all part of the majority population in their respective countries); and all of them have basically put a pause on fandom stuff to say absolutely vile things about Israel, and are very much doing the “kill yourself if you feel otherwise” thing. Reading all this I just had a moment where it hit me that anytime an Islamic holy day happens everyone wishes them well, and they seem to expect the well wishes and respect. I have never, ever seen them do the same for anyone else. No happy holidays to any other religious group. They’re also the kind of people that sound the alarm whenever there’s rights abuses and hate crimes, but never when it’s about antisemitic attacks, which as we all know have unfortunately never been rare. Hell, I realized I never bring up that I’m Catholic because I think I always subconsciously knew that would put me on thin ice with all of them. And I guess I was okay with this?? With knowing ostracization could occur to me at any moment? It’s like getting a bucket of ice dumped on me. And it’s like everyone else has said; if this was truly about Israel and not Jewish people, they’d say something about attacks on the Jewish diaspora, but they’re not. There would be something about not blaming or hurting Jews for Israel, but there isn’t. I can’t see the disproportionate hate for Israel as anything other than blatant antisemitism. And I haven’t seen any of the people I (formerly) followed prove me wrong. And it’s making me feel some pretty hateful feelings that I do not want.

Saw the image in this tweet and I went to look to see if it's real or a edit being passed around as real, haven't managed to find that one out yet so I'm not going to say if it is or not, my gut says yes but that's not a real source, regardless of that it will serve to make a point.

That being

It's the absolute lack of any consistency that's getting me the worst

The near 100% obvious feds making up seemingly most of that one patriot front group on their marches are treated as something to be feared and shunned and looked down on because of their hateful rhetoric which if they're spouting it then yes absolutely condemn them but also admit the obvious bit about some them being feds.

But this pops up on a feed and all of a sudden we get this action, all of a sudden false flags are a possibility that has to be entertained.

And oh lord the calling for the deaths of J6 people from some of the same people that decided to cheer for the mass slaughter at a rave, something that isn't even associated with the government beyond permitting, how does anyone make that connection in their minds.

Sorry, I might be adding more fuel to what's going on in your head with my own observations here, but it kinda needs to be said.

It's infuriating.

You being Catholic does get to let me segue really well here now too.

Said it in an ask last night as well, managed to land in a Catholic subreddit somehow and there were people popping off about Deus Vult and cleansing the Holy Land of unbelievers once and for all, it didn't read like a joke in the slightest past the first comment.

Not something I'm going to hold against Catholics

It's not going to be all Catholics thinking like that and it's not going to be all Muslims that are cheering on hamass, feels that way because that's what we're seeing.

Go see what Imam Tawhidi has to say though, never really super popular with the loud Muslims on the internet, but it's good to see him and remember that there are reformers out there.

Hating Muslims would include hating folks like him, not that I always agree with the dude but he's trying to get some positive changes in the way Muslims interact with the rest of the world.

Funny guy too

#anonymous

[miixz]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the MDZS ending recently, so here’s a rambly post about where I'm currently at:

Wangxian made the choice to stay a part of the Lan Sect. Their interactions seem to be limited due to the amount they travel, but they’re still at home in the sect, it’s where they have their house, they work with the juniors, where their money comes from. I’ve seen people say that because it is not a place that accepts them, and that because the Lan Sect has committed its own crimes, that this was a bad choice, one that will make them unhappy in the future, and I just sort of don’t agree.

Something I think I rambled about before is that Mo Dao Zu Shi is pretty realistic with its societal problems like homophobia and classism, they are structural problems that are part of their entire society. That kind of thing isn’t solved in a day, and short of seclusion I don’t think there’s anywhere Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji could go that’s completely free of them, and if we think of that through a realistic lens, isn’t that much sadder? I know a good portion of people in the fandom are queer or marginalized in some other way, isn’t the thought of just… Never being accepted, having to hide away forever, being made to leave society, much much sadder? 

Not everyone wants to be out and proud, not everyone is safe to do that, hell I’m not. But I don’t think limiting my interactions with people and leaving all the places that bring me joy would be a form of resistance, running away feels like a tragedy in itself. Obviously I don’t mean that for every situation, it’s great and encouraged for people to leave situations that make them unsafe! You don’t have to interact with bigoted people if you don’t want to! It’s important to take care and living a happy life does count as resistance in a world that doesn’t want you to. It’s just that in their case I don’t think that's what it’d be.

Yes, some of us are tired and want to leave a society that clearly was not made for us, but there are people fighting to make it a better one and that thrive within that. That’s the kind of people I think they are supposed to read as. They’ve found a way to make their happiness and exist within those spaces they want to occupy, and it isn’t perfect, but we see signs of it getting better through the juniors, and I think it’s entirely possible that it’s not as bad as some of us fear it to be in the adult front as well. Not in the direct interactions with the Sect, but in the rest of the novel.

Most of us are in acceptance that saving the Wen Remnants was the right thing to do, and that they were not all in agreement over what was happening in the sect all the time right? If not all Wens are the same as Wen Rouhan and his closest family, then why do we make all sects be a monolith? People will have different opinions, these organizations are big places and I highly doubt everyone feels some unanimous way about Wangxian.

More on the Wens, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both show no resentment towards that group of people, even though that had been right after the war and they had been enemies very recently. And they might very well have fought some of the people in the burial mounds settlement before! But the point is not what they did, it was that the war was over and that it wasn’t right to act in the same way as the Wen had, fostering resentment and cruelty. 

It’s not about what the Wens did or didn’t do, but more about what kind of person Wangxian are.

I think the same applies here. To change people’s minds about prejudice and to encourage growth, you need to offer them a place to go when they leave those beliefs behind. Now, do I think that means Wei Wuxian should be buddy buddy with Jiang Cheng if he ever changes his mind and miraculously goes through some character growth? Become happy in-laws with Lan Qiren? No! There is such a thing as having healthy boundaries while also not holding onto vengeful feelings. 

The kind of people we see they accept into their lives are ones like Jin Ling and the other kids who change their minds on Wei Wuxian over the course of the story, Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang who are in dubious places regarding morality, those I think seem to have room to grow. 

It’s admirable and heartwarming to me that they would choose to live a good, happy life and to make their world better, little by little as they help people and teach juniors and affect everyone else around them. I don’t think either of them are actively being activists in the way we would conceptualize them right now. They are simply happy and just being themselves and still their happiness by itself will have an impact on plenty of people that get involved with them. It’s not perfect, but it feels like a good ending to me, especially when I think of its relevance to the world we live in right now. It won’t change to accept us, but we can still be kind to people, perhaps change some minds, and be happy in spite of all the prejudice. 

Idk, it just seems like a good message to me. One of the things I love the most about both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is how kind they are, and it makes a lot of sense to me that if they could give a chance to the Wen Sect Remnants, they can give a chance to Lan Wangji’s family too, and they might change some minds and make some close ties with some of them like it happened between Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning, while some people there might never change, but at the end of the day Wangxian will be happy regardless and also leave the world a better place than it was when they entered it. 

I'd love to hear others opinions on this, but its just an interpretation I arrived at that makes me feel happy about the ending and where its going.

#mdzs #wangxian #i am literally just rambling rgdfsdfdxz i may be full of shit #i would love to hear others opinions on it too #but idk i tend to try to view things on the best light whenever possible and mdzs just feels so Hopeful yknow? #tw: homophobia

[the-genius-az]

You're welcome!

It can have lots of drama before the little pack has their happy ending. I think part of Azula's redemption + healing arc would involve her eventually understanding that they didn't think they had an option + didn't know it could hurt so much. (Original!Azula herself only realized what was happening in the night before she passed away). With the bond still there, Azula tends to be protective, and a little more forgiving once she sees Ty Lee and Mai do love and need her.

I already am thinking about a "Izumi is Maizula's baby" tbh, now that the A/B/O obsession has infiltrated the Azula-centric part of my brain.

Ty Lee needs more fics where she's not the silly, stupid little girl. In the KS AU, I'm making Azula much worse than in canon to make it work with the plot, considering how canon!Azula is a jerk but definitely not a psychopath or anything of the sort. I really don't like the way fandom demonizes her, for a few reasons, and it also makes me feel weird for writing AUs where she is, indeed, a monster.

Yes. Here's the thing, I like the parallel of Oh Sangwoo, a straight man, being SA'd by his mother & Azula, a lesbian woman, being SA'd by her mother (+ I think Oh Sangwoo hallucinates her at some point? So that's a good parallel). Like, something that works into this specific character hating women so much they abuse and kill them in horrific ways.

(I don't like it either, which sounds almost like a hypocrite with the way I have multiple OCs that have SA in their backstory and I do write fucked up content. And because I also have read a lot of fics that have it in them – thankfully they do tend to work it so, so well. Like, not as a torture porn kind of thing, but another layer of her character. Azula x Ozai CSA seems to be almost a must for Maizula fics, and I eat it up every time.)

When I say "everything possible", I do mean it. It's a dragon AU and when Azulon asks for Azula's life instead of Zuko's (because she's Ozai's favorite), Ursa kills Azulon + takes Azula out of the palace (and Azula's hatred comes from how they abandon Zuko in the palace). Like, Ursa up until that point gave Zuko lots of attention, but there's a silent agreement between mother and daughter that goes like "this boy is ours" because they're dragons and all of that. I can talk for days about this AU too.

- Ash 🔥🍌

Thank you for this, Ash!

Original! Azula herself only realized what was happening in the night before she passed away.

I wonder how sad Azula was at that moment, she must have been screwed.

I already am thinking about a "Izumi is Maizula's baby" tbh, now that the A/B/O obsession has infiltrated the Azula-centric part of my brain.

I have an idea about a baby Maizula, maybe I'll post it later!

Ty Lee needs more fics where she's not the silly, stupid little girl.

I needed to bookmark this...

I really don't like the way fandom demonizes her, for a few reasons, and it also makes me feel weird for writing AUs where she is, indeed, a monster.

I know, sometimes the Aus completely change the characters, that makes them interesting or worse.

I like the parallel of Oh Sangwoo, a straight man, being SA'd by his mother & Azula, a lesbian woman, being SA'd by her mother (+ I think Oh Sangwoo hallucinates her at some point? So that's a good parallel).

I see the potential! I still don't like the SA though, but it's because of the plot.

(Honestly, I'm glad that we agree that it is Ursa who commits the act, sometimes everyone ignores that she is not a saint)

I don't like it either, which sounds almost like a hypocrite with the way I have multiple OCs that have SA in their backstory and I do write fucked up content.

Oh, I actually hate that kind of stuff, any fics, novels, manga and more, I'll leave it quick and fly away! I can't stand him, that's why I don't like Bl very much, he always has those things and the fans normalize him.

Seems to be almost a must for Maizula fics.

They are the only Fics that keep me on a leash, there is little content and I am hungry for Maizula.

It's a dragon AU and when Azulon asks for Azula's life instead of Zuko's (because she's Ozai's favorite), Ursa kills Azulon + takes Azula out of the palace (and Azula's hatred comes from how they abandon Zuko in the palace).

You are a bomb from Au's Azula!

(Sometimes my mind spins because of so much information in English, please have mercy next time).

Azula is a VERY loyal girl, it makes sense that she would be a little confused and angry about abandoning one of her own.

Actually, I think I talked something about Azula/Dragon, and her possessions that are people.

Like, Ursa up until that point gave Zuko lots of attention.

What did Ursa change to leave everything for Azula? I'm not saying she doesn't love her, I just don't think she would leave Zuko for Azula.

#Azula #Mai #Ty Lee #Katara #Ursa #Zuko #Ozai #atla #avatar the last airbender #killing stalking #Maizula with a baby. #Au Dragons #Your ideas are great...but have mercy on me and write one at a time in a different message #my translator is going to explode! 😭 #I almost forgot #send me the link when you finish Tyzula/Ks.

[unquietspiritao3]

Interrupting Your Irregularly-Scheduled Fic-Related Content with An Extremely Long Note on The Situation in British Comedy

Hi there. If you don’t want to read about my thoughts on everything happening in the British comedy scene at the moment, feel free to give this a skip. I totally understand needing to take a step away from such things. But I felt it was important to address, given some of the characters in my stories are based on the people involved/being criticized. I’m also going to link this post in the author’s note of my next chapter update, but feel free to share it before then with those who might not be on Tumblr.

CW: non-detailed mentions of transphobia, sexual assault, and childhood sexual abuse

Okay. I think to start, I need to explain a few of things about me.

First, as I alluded to in the opening author’s note for Should’ve been obvious, I am just an American with a moderate obsession with British panel shows and not enough time to keep up with the entire British comedy world. I jumped into writing in this fandom with huge gaps in my knowledge, which was possibly not wise.

Second, as a way to protect my own mental health and under the advice of my therapist, I’m what you might call ‘terminally offline.’ Before I reactivated this blog for the purpose of sharing fic inspo, I had not been on social media for over a year. I still don’t use it outside of Tumblr, where I follow a very narrow selection of blogs that mostly post Taskmaster gifs (love you all, btw). I don’t watch or read the news. I have systems in place with my friends and family to keep me informed when something really big happens, but outside of that, I am purposefully oblivious. The consequence of this is that I did not know about the two situations I’ll be discussing until I saw some stray posts this past weekend, and that’s why I didn’t address it before.

Third, I always (to a fault, my friends would say) give absolutely everyone the benefit of the doubt and see the best in people until they prove otherwise—and even then, even while holding them accountable and removing them from my life if need be, I try to be compassionate. That’s not going to change; it’s just who I am.

Now for the two situations, my thoughts on them, and their impact on my writing.

The Richard Ayoade Thing

I’ve said before that I’m genderqueer (she/they, equally happy with both, btw). I’m not down with transphobia. But I’ve read that Richard is a separate-the-art-from-the-artist kind of guy, so his personal views aren’t entirely clear to me. That said, the blurb he gave makes me uncomfortable because to me it seems to imply he does agree with the views in the book. I don’t know much about Richard and haven’t consumed much content with him other than Big Fat Quiz and some random clips of various shows, so please point me to anything that would confirm or refute this. For now, I’ll leave it there. In terms of my writing, this isn’t as big of a deal, since the Richard character isn’t central to anything and could be easily retconned out if I wanted to, but I’ll talk more about the writing at the end.

The Noel Fielding Thing re: Russell Brand

Like most Americans, I was introduced to Noel through GBBO. (Well, to be fully honest, I watched the Buzzcocks spanking clips long before then, because those get passed around in spanko circles, but I didn’t know, or care, who the guy in both of them was at the time. It took awhile for my crush on him to develop.) I’ve actually never seen The Mighty Boosh or much of Noel’s standup; he’s just a bit too surreal and nonsensical for me to enjoy when he’s in complete creative control. I’ve watched interviews going back to the time he was promoting Luxury Comedy, all his episodes of Big Fat Quiz, and some episodes of Buzzcocks, in addition to GBBO. I knew he and Russell Brand and had good on-screen chemistry, but I had no idea they were off-screen friends to some degree (at least, they were in the past; more on that below) until this weekend. I also didn’t know that Noel was ever accused of being in a relationship with a 16-year-old when he was in his 30s. I experienced sexual abuse throughout my childhood. Obviously, if that accusation is true, it’s completely unacceptable regardless of the legality in the UK and I will no longer be a fan of Noel.

But rather than try to break down all my complicated feelings on this situation regarding Noel, I’m just going to link to this post, which I agree with 100%, including the part about respecting people who feel differently. The two follow-up posts on the same blog give some good additional info/thoughts. I’m working on doing my own digging, trying to find anything relevant, including the source of the claim that the then-girl in the supposed relationship denied it too. No luck there so far, [EDIT: shared what I found here and it’s in Noel’s favor!] though I have discovered that she (now a woman in her 30s) and Noel currently follow each other on Instagram, and that Noel doesn’t follow Russell Brand (nor can I find a time Noel mentioned him after 2020, right about when it seems like Brand’s right-wing conspiracy-theory crap started). Make of that what you will. Personally, it makes me give Noel the benefit of the doubt unless and until further info is revealed.

Somewhat of a side note: It seems like people are most upset about the lack of a public statement from Noel, specifically. However, what I find odd overall is how there hasn’t been a real statement from any big-name British comic. Lou Sanders was basically strong-armed into saying some stuff in an interview that was supposed to be about her book. Katherine Ryan is very clear she doesn’t want to speak about it despite being the one that called him a predator on Roast Battle years ago. There’s this article about the problem in comedy more generally which several female comics are quoted in, and this one from 2020 including Fern Brady (highly recommend you read both if you can stomach it) but no specific quotes on Brand from names I recognize even there. Radio silence. UK people, can you tell me, is this normal because of the libel laws you all have? From what I understand, it’s much, much easier to be sued for defamation against a public figure and lose over there than over here. Should we expect to wait for an arrest or conviction (if that happens) before people feel safe commenting? Or what is going on?

Impact on My Writing and Final Thoughts

I’ve been having a hard time mental-health-wise, these past few days, reconciling the human need to connect to art with the fact that all art is created by imperfect humans and you simply cannot know what is in someone else’s head or past. That includes my own art. I want it to be an escape for you all, for you to feel safe reading it, but like everyone else, I’m imperfect, and part of that imperfection is not knowing what to do.

At least for now, I’m going to be focused on More than that, and Noel and Richard have never been in the plan to appear in this fic. As for the future, I’m undecided. I feel like I need more info, but I also recognize that we might not ever get real answers.

The sad truth is that writing fanfic always comes with the risk that the thing you’ve been inspired by is later revealed to be problematic. Even if not with these two, something could come to light at any time about any of these people we base our characters on. That last Guardian article I linked should give everyone chills.

I think the best I can do with the info I have today is to say I’m writing about a fictional universe populated with fictional characters, and my use of real people to inspire those characters does not mean I endorse their actions or beliefs; past, present, or future; known or unknown to me at this time. I also want to say, though, that I respect anyone who feels they can’t engage with certain fandoms or fics. Trust me, I do understand.

Take care of yourselves. I care about you so much, internet strangers. 💜

edit: linked the wrong article quoting fern, so added that

#meta #to a degree i guess?

[genshinconfessions]

"Actually, Nahida only takes a smaller form because she's the youngest archon--"

So you're telling me she identifies most with a child body.

"Well, no, see she's just short-"

But you just related her form to her age and how she percieves her age

"Yeah, but she's so mature-"

Because of the trauma. Literally as a result of her trauma. Maybe she could've aged differently and chosen her form as such should she have been given a proper upbringing, but that doesn't change the fact that as of now she Views herself as a Child and Projects The Body Of One.

---- I'm sorry, I can't - with Sigewinne being revealed, I've been seeing more shit sexualizing children and I'm Tired. Lets just put it to rest, okay? Tall body models? Typically adults, no exceptions come to mind. Medium body models? Some young adults and some teenagers.

But characters with the Smallest Model? It's not just short. Look at their proportions. If they were just short, they'd still have similar proportions to the previous models, but they don't. Their heads are largened with softened features and their body shape matches other child models in the game. An argument for body type also doesn't work given Genshin isn't exactly inclusive and such logic would only apply to one of the three model categories. They are children. Stop fucking around with your "AcTUaLly" - It doesn't matter. You are attracted to CHILDREN and need HELP. If not help, then to be on a list. Either check yourself and improve, or at least quit making excuses so the rest of us can ignore you as we so please whilst also redirecting younger members of the community.

Not to mention, those that plea and cry that their "waifus" aren't actually children and are just short adults, typically don't have that reflect in their content created and consumed. Maybe I'd take y'all a little more at face value if y'all actually y'know, drew and wrote what you supposedly believe. Hell, it'd still be a problem if it were Jean or Lisa being sexualized, but drawn and written blatantly as children.

Also, anyone that may want to say "oh, you don't believe in short people" - I DO. I AM a short person. A short asian person who has been infantalized and not treated as an adult. But I have also been a child who was sexualized. And now both intermingle in my life. I am sick and tired of it all. It's all just shitty excuses. Thirst after literally anything else. Work out whatever you have going on with consenting adults instead of projecting it onto public media that has an audience of varying ages Including Minors. Additionally; Venting, coping, and exploring darker topics via fiction is NOT the same as GLORIFYING and INDULGING. That line should be Very Distinct.

(one last point: some people say characters like Dori and Sigewinne are a salesperson and nurse respectively, adult professions, yeah? Well friendly reminder, Barbara is ALSO a nurse. Fischl is an adventurer, and she's no older than 16. We are going by FANTASY LOGIC in which children can wield weapons and explore nations with little to no supervision! The given profession of any character as well as their attire means nothing in that kind of world.)

i'm sorry you've had to go through such things, anon :///

but i agree with you; it's a problem that definitely extends outside of genshin but for some reason, ppl seem so desensitized to it and shrug it off as 'oh waifu go brrrr' which is quite irresponsible imo

i'm a big proponent of 'fiction is fiction and you can think whatever you want as long as it doesn't harm anyone', but in this case, these things DO harm ppl; they harm all the very young children who play genshin and partake in fandom discussions

it's very important for everyone to realize that even if a piece of media is fictional and thinking/saying/doing certain things won't hurt the characters, your actions will absolutely set an example in real life, very possibly harming the younger members of the fandom

the line is quite gray sometimes, in fandom circles, and it might be hard to tell what's 'okay' and what's 'not okay', but i think most ppl have a good sense of what's simply enjoying a character vs sexualizing them

and hence, it becomes our responsibility to call out the things that are disturbing and potentially harmful. even if the original person who did those things won't change, you've at least spread awareness to others and let them know that [whatever the thing was] is unacceptable

katheryne from liyue

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin confessions

[nerdydowntherabbithole]

Fantastic chapter i just read. Man UI just gives off the feeling that she has no fucking idea of the impact of her actions and doesn't really want to think about the possibility that maybe she wasn't really good towards others because of them. They'd tell her hey maybe you fucked up and she'd be like no that's not possible >:'((((( i wasn't doing it to be mean so i wasn't mean!!!!!!! You're just sensitive!!!!!!!!That's the kind of impression she gave me here

And also man i really want Chasing Wind to be like hey i was the first to know you were in the silverist groupchat....why would you go there...? And for Pebbles to be like '..... girl what were YOU doing in the silverist groupchat' and Wind just paused for like ten whole seconds and then she and Pebbles both agree to move on from the subject. It's so funny

(also ive been wondering, didn't Gray/Chasing Wind change their name after the whole pebbles rot thing? Or around that time anyway? I keep wondering cause the fandom is usually very good about not misgendering anyone but i keep seeing them be called Gray Wind... Am i tripping or is everyone deadnaming them by accident :'( )

(also is it grey or gray. English isn't my first language and i just now noticed there's two versions of the word. For some reason grey just looks better. Probably because its written closer to how it would be pronounced phonetically in my language)

First of all YEAH YOU GOT IT. Secondly lmaooo. Thirdly, I dont think so. I think Grey Wind is kinda just a chosen shortened moniker for their other name. Both are fine. FOURTH I think it can kinda be either. It completely depends on the person I just use Grey because I also think it looks better

[ultramarine-spirit]

about the wmmap side stories, do you think there is any chance of seeing some scenes from the novel? For example Athy and Claude going to the city, Lucas giving Athy a dragon or maybe something about lp universe?

As a personal taste I would really like if spoon made a reference to the other wmmap universes, where athy marries ijekiel and in which she has a daughter with Lucas, also that Lucas and Athy meet in korea (I'll die if a only panel hinting at that) I'm so excited for the side stories, every day that passes I feel like I'm dying (yes, very dramatic)

The other thing that excites me to think is that when the side stories come out, the entire manhwa community is going to lose it and so am I, i want to see my whole social media just about them again, I miss my girl Athy 🤧

Spoon has said that the side stories will be, at the very least, about:

Claude and Athy visiting Anastasius and Jennette

Claude and Diana's romance story

Lily and Felix's stories (people took this as it being the story of their -so far, fanon- romance but in the way it was worded, it seemed to me that it was just about their individual backstories? There could be some ship fuel there, sure, but I don't think it will be all romance)

Claude and Ana's youth feat. young Roger

The daily life of the maids at the Emerald Palace (This is unconfirmed information, so don't quote me on it but: a good friend told me the chinese notice about the side stories changed "a maid's daily life" to "Athy's daily life" after people got mad over the former being boring. Again, this is unconfirmed, but I wonder what's up with that, because yeah, the daily life of a maid does kind of sound boring. But the text of the chapter itself does say it's about the maids)

The way it was worded, it's not clear to me if these will be 5 chapters, if the stories could span for more than one chapter, nor if those will be all the side stories. So, there's a possibility they will include more than just those summaries. Which leaves room for speculation!

As for what I want: I really want Nox to be included in some way. Even a single throwaway panel about Lucas gifting him to Athy. Please. The dragon extra is amazing as well, so I would love to see it. Claude and Athy visiting the market would be so funny, but it could be kind of included on their visit to Mietta. Oh, I'm actually dying to get more backstory about Lily and Felix as individual characters. Lily's meeting with Diana, what her family situation is like, Felix's early relationship with Claude, are our fan theories about Felix being an illegitimate child true? There is a good chance some of these questions will be answered, so I'm very much looking forward to it. Also, please more worldbuilding in general!

The LP side stories... I think we probably won't get them. Mainly for two reasons: They were insanely long (over 20 chapters if I recall correctly); and also, it would ruin the fandom's opinion of... like 70% of the cast. Comparing both the novel and the manhwa, I think it's pretty obvious that Spoon tried to make everyone way nicer and soften up their ugly flaws, so I doubt she would end WMMAP with Athy suffering at the hands of... kind of everyone except Lily and Lucas. Though I would love to see my edgy boy LP! Lucas.

Spoon actually does include a lot of the novel's material even after deviating from the original plot, so I think we could get some scenes or references to the novel, but probably not LP?

Also, yes, it does feel painfully boring without any WMMAP news on the horizon. Someone said manhwa fandom died with WMMAP's ending, and while that's a little dramatic and maybe biased, I kind of agree lmao. Like, there's no flood of excited tweets every 10 days when 12 AM KRW hits the clock. There's no manhwa characters trending on Twitter. No "every single one of my followers changed their pfps to the new Lucas panels and now I can't tell them apart, help".

Ah, those were the golden days... -> sounding like an old woman.

#i love when i tweet something about Lucas or Athy and my nofits become just Lucas icons. ty for your approval Lucas nation #tbh the only upside of this big hiatus (for me lmfao) is that this year will be incredibly busy #so the wmmap drought leaves me much more mental room (?) to focus on the important/boring/adult irl stuff #what does everybody want to see in the side stories? do tell me!

[natsmagi]

i was typing this in the notes to an ask but it gogt waaaay too long lol sorry. prefacing it with you know i love your artwork & i have nothing against what you choose to draw. also possibly worded weird cus i didnt write it in the sense of talking only to you alone

there is certainly this conflict between artists as random individuals and artists as a collective when it comes to how to approach this issue… as a hobbyist you can draw whatever you like but also when you have trends like a lack of fatness thats going to be disheartening too. i think the answer is getting more people into making art (& like general societal change of course since its an issue baked into bigotry.)

because as much as i agree with the sentiment of "there is significant under representation of fat women" (or characters in general) at the same time fandom is a hobby space and i dislike the notion of badgering individual artists to draw any particular thing especially when the source material does not have that thing. if you are looking for artwork of fat women thats great but i would not ever recommend something like enstars that has 1. no fat characters and 2. no women, barring a few exceptions. i think expecting to find fanart of fat women from a source entirely composed of thin men is unrealistic, even with the relative popularity of femstars.

plus there are other complications such as the typical modern fandom f/f scene sometimes being very strict and even vicious at times with their standards of what's enough diversity or what content is appropriate. ive heard a lot of anecdotes about people who WERE contributing to these things but whom were still harassed or got threats from other users over it not being good enough, and that's just not conducive to creating the environment or diversity you want. nobody is going to want to be in a fandom space where they have to walk on eggshells all the time. and i bring this up because of how you were clearly harassed by randos. accusing you of misogyny or shaming other womens' bodies as being "unrealistic" is not the way to go

the only reasonable solution i can think of to this is, again, to just encourage more artists to start drawing in the first place, or even better start contributing yourself. individuals should have the freedom to draw what they like without getting flamed for it AND people should be able to see themselves represented in artwork. i would like to see some more fat characters too, this is definitely something ive thought about before myself

(personally all the fat people i draw are ocs or portraits of people i know that i dont want to post online but maybe if i get some inspiration i will draw the long-sought chubby mugi myself. i am not super interested in femstars though so whether or not itd actually be fem mugi is up in the air. but all the talking here about this topic has had me thinking about following my own advice and putting what i want to see into the world.)

OUGHH THESE ARE ALL GOOD POINTS!! and i agree! the main thing we should be doing is ENCOURAGING people to add more diversity, not harassing them into it! people who only draw for fun arent really obligated to draw anything outside of their comfort zone, which again is why i think its better to simply uplift the idea of trying out new things and new appearances that you dont often draw

theres also SO MUCH room for more femstars artists too! and like ive said before if you wanna see something done right you gotta do it yourself. and i kind of like that. i like that everyone gets to craft their own little femstars variant of the enstars cast, and you can make them look however you want! and honestly? you SHOULD! seeing personal touches to designs always brings me joy, so even if you dont feel very confident in your art, if you have a specific vision for a character that you want brought to life please go ahead and draw it!! (or if you really dont want to you can always commission someone)

i also wanna highlight one of ur last points too bc yea. its unfortunate but often times whenever i see someone try adding diversity to their art for the first time they end up getting flamed because its not an accurate depiction of what they were trying to represent. and that really sucks! obviously we should strive to have accurate representation, but if its an artist that hasnt tried their hand on it before, ESPECIALLY a beginner artist, we shouldnt flame them for it. rather we should educate them on what went wrong and how they can improve for the future. these are people who actually WANT and are TRYING to add diversity to their art, but because in animanga circles theres a lack of education on how to draw more diverse features of really any kind. which is why trying to educate is far better than shaming. because if you shame these artists theyre gonna be too scared to try again, giving us less diversity once more

so yes basically what im saying is i want us all to encourage diversity and to help each other out by sharing resources and tips when it comes to drawing it!! one person is Obviously not gonna be able to do every single thing, which is why i want more people to pick up the pen and bring life to their visions!! also i really want more femstars food pelase pick up the pen i am a starved orphan and only femstars yuri can satiate me!!!!!!!!!

#long post #<--felt warranted KAHJSDFK #but genuinely though i want diversity to be requested and desired #and i want it to be done so in a positive and respectful manner towards hobbyists #if we're talking megacorps u can shittalk them all u want and send all the angry emails in the world #but for artists on the internet who are only here to have fun its important to remember to be kind and encouraging! #bc asking them for rep in a hostile manner is only gonna create negative associations #which. would be counterproductive #diversity is a wonderful thing so please do not make people resent it by being rude!!!! #that is not what we should strive for!!!! #ask

[apompkwrites]

I'm not sure if I accidentally sent this or canceled sending it by accident, so here I am redoing it lmao

I saw the Asim (possibly Draconia) and Mei ask, and as someone who is mayhaps possibly a lil mentally ill about the game as I have read most of the manga, watched almost all of the chronicles videos, and am up to date on the main story along with having all of Mei's battlesuits minus lightning Empress I feel like I can say YES YES YES (which I must say is pretty tame compared to other I get shocked at the fandom sometimes wow)

It fits more with Asim because the status of the Asim family and the Raiden family are similar, big corporations with lots of influence.

Though I don't necessarily know what would be the catalyst for the change in Asim as for Mei, that change was Kiana, looking for her and trying to save her, which leads to her joining World Serpent after they give her a solution for saving her and then she's sent to the Elysian Realm where most of her development takes place

Some context:

tw// minor spoilers

Mei was originally an heiress who was beloved by her classmates until her father was charged with fraud, he ran away to avoid being arrested and left Mei behind. Everyone turned against her, she learned that they only liked her because of her family and the business she would've inherited and become closed off; hearing a voice beckoning her to get revenge on everyone who wronged her, she agrees with the voice it revealed itself as the Herrscher core of Thunder, she then becomes the Herrscher of Thunder causing an outbreak that destroyed the city and killed most of their classmates. Wrecked with guilt realizing what she had done, she attempts to kill herself but is stopped by Kiana Kaslana, a transfer student. They escape with another girl they meet named Bronya or try to as they were found by a Valkyrie sent to investigate the outbreak named Himeko Murata who takes them to the granddaughter and principal of a Valkyrie training school, Theresa Apocolypse, who enrolls them in said school, called St. Freya High School and that's basically where the game starts.

Over the story, even after this, she goes from a warm and kind girl that is kind of naive and hopeful to a more mature, colder, yet still a kind girl whose more grounded and isn't as hopeful and can move on from past grievances and make up with those she once fought with as she can look at situations with more of a logical and grown standpoint instead of the emotional and immature one she used previously.

For some more in-depth Mei backstory, I give the chronicles/ operation center video on her, and I'll add Kiana's as a plus because I love them. You don't need to watch these, but these btw I just think these are good resources to have

Thunder Reborn - Honkai Operation Center Chapter 2 - Honkai Impact 3rd

Honkai Chronicles - Kiana Kaslana

also here is an introduction to the honkai-verse because it helps make things make more sense lmao

Introducing the Honkai-verse | Honkai Operation Center Chapter 1 | Honkai Impact 3rd

And here is a video breakdown of the Elysian Realm lore; it's not made by Hoyoverse nor does it go too far into depth, but it elaborates on what happened during the Elysian Realm

A Complete Guide to Elysian Realm Lore - Full Story Recap | Honkai Impact 3rd

ooh tyty for the vids! i'll check them out when i can :DD

cant wait to see how this can be incorporated with lil asim >:))

#a pompk answers #black sheep #a randomeroacher's rambles