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veampa · 2 months

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Hey! Can I request smut headcanons or even an nsfw alphabet, if you're up for it, with Sebastian? Thank you in advance! Feel free to ignore this request if you don't like it. Have a nice day! <3

Yes of course! Thank you for this request<3

Sebastian Michaelis smut!alphabet!

Credits to- @the-coldest-goodbye for the template

Gender- gender neutral

Character(s)- Sebastian Michaelis Warning in tags!!! Do tell me if i forgot any ~MINORS DO NOT INTERACT~

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)- Gentle. Very fucking gentle, he knows the human body is delicate so of course after re-arranging his beloved's gut's he'll be soft with ya.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)- Your hair, he loooooves playing it and making it all perfect for you, he pulls it when yous are fucking. HEAVY hair pulling kink, His favourite body part for him is his mouth (lips especially) the amounts of things he can do with them ;)

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)- eating it.. Yours obviously, it ties in with his mouth being his favourite part of himself.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)- Wants you to use one of your toys on him (will NEVER say that though but oh my goddddd he thinks about it so much)

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)- very.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)- any position in front of a mirror, reverse cowgirl, doggy, standing up? anywhere he can see you.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)- serious for the most of it, might crack a few jokes or teasings here and there.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)- fairly groomed.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)- depends, its a mix of both, if its more of a rough session then he's gonna be less romantic, if its more of a soft session he's so much more romanticcccc, leaving soft kisses all over your body, praising you, being ten times more gentle, cuddling you during it maybe.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)- masturbates to you once a week? maybe a little more? he's a busy guy afterall taking care of the earl isn't a spacious job.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)- Enjoys a primal prey type of thing, he likes how small you feel compared to him, but he ADORES body worship just worshipping you in general, marking you.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)- his chambers :p or yours.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)- you teasing him or speaking back.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)- anything to do with other demons cough cough..claude.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)- giving. He loves having his face shoved inbetween your thighs. Mwah. (Plus serving you..huge serving kink whether its him serving you or vice versa).

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)- mostly fast and rough, but can be slow and gentle if you are in more of the romance mood.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)- doesn’t like them but still does them, much prefers a longer session but he’s busy, and if one of you are sexually frustrated or what not he’ll do it.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)- yes.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)- alot. Bro doesnt get tired (he overstims you SO MUCHHHH).

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)- He doesn’t, he much would prefer if you would just use him to get you off! Hello his fingers and thighs are right here!! He doesn’t use them on you but can understand if you use them on yourself.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)- alot, normally yes but sometimes depending on the matter he wont.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)- fairly quiet, a few grunts or moans here and there but nothing much.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)- wore a maid dress once (after hours of you begging). Never again.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)- rocking eight inches, curved upwards slightly with quite some girth.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)- a mix to be honest.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)- he just doesn’t

#minors do not interact #mdni #black butler #sebastian michaelis #sebastian michaelis x reader #sebastian michaelis smut #black butler smut #tw smut #tw hair pulling #tw marking #tw rough #tw overstim

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kiragecko · 1 month

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cherrystainedknuckles

I guess the only problem with being asked to take a “marie kondo approach” is that in order to find any fanfic that appears to be based in actual canon timeline and plot points and characterization (which does exist, and I’m not sure why fanon fans seem insistent that it doesn’t), I literally have to search for hours. I’m not joking, I consistently make fic rec lists, and I have to search for hours and hours for actual canonical basis. same thing with character tags on tumblr.

I’m not saying fanon fans have to stop enjoying fanon or making up their own content. I’m just saying that when the tags used for both fanon tim drake and canon tim drake are the same tag it just becomes incredibly annoying sometimes, and I understand why people who like to engage with canon (me, often) become frustrated

I have definitely had periods where I got incredibly frustrated with fanon! Around 2019, I was wondering if I needed to leave the Batfandom, because it had been so long since I read a new fic where the characters felt 'right'.

But, if you're willing to, I'd like you to consider what you mean when you divide 'fanon' from 'canon'. Because I struggle to find a hard line between the two, for several reasons:

1. Fandom is transformative. Every fanfic is going to have some interpretation of the source material. The line between what is too much interpretation and what is acceptable is different for every person. For me, I find it can even vary based on writing style or other odd things - lighthearted fic can have more noncanonical stuff in it than heavier fic, and still seem true to canon.

2. 'Canon' is subjective. I do not consider the movies or video games to be 'canon', and it annoys me when things from those creep into the fic I'm reading. (I'm okay with SOME Battinson.) Some aspects of the cartoons are okay. I consider precrisis Jason Todd to be an alternate reality version, but Donna's precrisis origins are more canonical than the dumb retcons. Wayne Family Adventures isn't my main version of the characters, but I'm not bothered if some elements show up in my stories. I'm ignoring most of the nu52, but I like Duke and I'm still watching this new Lian to see what happens. I doubt your divisions are identical to mine.

(Also, some things that I think of as 'fanon' have shown up in nu52 canon! I do not accept them as any more canon because of this.)

3. Most 'fanon' is based on canon. Canon Tim has weird sleep habits. 90s Dick is really lighthearted and joking around some characters in ways similar to fanon. Dick can canonically not be trusted to take care of himself if his mental health gets low enough. Jason likes classical literature. Etc.

These are exaggerated and/or twisted in a lot of fic, but where is the line where they stop being canon? I wouldn't bat an eye at a lot of this stuff, if it didn't show up SO OFTEN.

4. Most 'fanon fans' do know some canon. What line are you going to set where it will be 'enough'. And are they allowed to mention parts of the canon they haven't read yet? Is anyone allowed to talk about Dick's early Robin days, or only the tiny amount of people who have read the golden age stuff? A lot of the 'mistakes' I see are obviously made by people who have read ABOUT canon, but don't know quite how it fits together.

5. 'Canon' is FULL of contradictions. Yes, there are canon events. Yes, there is characterization that is consistent across 3/4s of comics. But. I'm still working on my sidekick timeline. I've devoted days to figuring out ages and passage of time. I've spent over a decade trying to figure out Jason Todd's motivations, and why Tim treats him the way he does. I've read all the 90s and early 2000s CANONICAL character assassination of Jason.

I spent years thinking that Donna's death was almost as foundational as Jason's, only to later discover that I had just happened to read the specific comics that focused on the fallout, and she only stayed dead for a short time. That happens to fans ALL THE TIME! We read a character summarizing an event we haven't directly read, and just accept it as what happened. But characters have biases, and not all writers care about accuracy.

I've read some Tim Drakes that I consider to be almost entirely 'fanon'. And quite a few that were so scarily 'canon' that I got chills. (Not all of which were similar to each other.) But the vast, vast majority have fallen somewhere in the middle.

I definitely do not want the responsibility of deciding which ones count as 'canon'! And I think I would strongly dislike anyone who tried to decide for me.

Being frustrated is logical, and I empathize. But the original post was about the impossible expectations some fans feel. The expectation to read thousands of comics, synthesize all the contradictions, and come to conclusions that match the 'true fans'. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to be complaining about.

If that's what some fans are experiencing, of course they're not going to want to engage with canon! There's no way for them to succeed, so why should they even try?

When you join THAT conversation to discuss your frustration about fanon, it strengthens that perception. When you call them 'fanon fans' it emphasizes their belief that you don't think they belong. And rather than trying to change, it's more likely that they'll double down. Canon is full of gatekeepers, so they'll avoid it.

#gatekeeping #fandom policing #fanon #canon vs fanon #usually don't do stuff like this anymore #I'm old and tired #but sometimes the words want to come out

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sibylsleaves · 14 days

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i really liked your take on the buddie apology and it not being shown on screen.

ive also been thinking about how even though the basketball game may be upsetting to watch from an audience perspective, its perfectly in character for eddie to not be upset about it. this is a man who once joined an illeagle fight ring and nearly killed a man rather then deal with his emotions asdfgjhk. if ANYONE understands processing your feelings through physical violence, its eddie.

is this a healthy way to handle jealousy? god no. does buck need to do some self work on this? yeah probably. but a Fictional Character in FICTION forgiving someone is not the same as giving a stamp of approval on the behavior in real life.

I mean, I also think there's a world of difference between "knocked someone a little too hard at the pick-up game" and like. if Buck had walked over to Eddie and just shoved him to the ground for no reason.

Sports get rough sometimes, even if it's supposed to be a friendly pick-up game, once the adrenaline starts going and people get competitive, yeah a bad foul like that can happen. Idk if it's just because I watch a lot of basketball (where fouling like that is commonplace) but I honestly didn't think it was this huge deal everyone was making it out to be. Like yeah, they're not playing in the NBA and it's a dick move to get THAT worked up at a pick-up game (and if I was the guy organizing it I might hesitate to invite him back or at least give him a talking to about sportsmanship 😂) but it's the kind of thing that can happen sometimes. And we as the audience obviously know why Buck's worked up and feeling competitive.

I do understand people getting more upset about it once Buck tells Maddie he "doesn't know" if he meant to hurt Eddie, but I think we also have to take into account that Buck is not necessarily a reliable narrator about his own motives. I don't think he ever on ANY level meant to hurt Eddie/cause him pain, but he certainly recognized something had gotten him worked up to the point where he fouled him like that. He registered that he was taking out some of his frustration on Eddie, and in typical Buck fashion he's guilt-spiraling about it and thinking like oh my god did I hurt Eddie ON PURPOSE am I a terrible person do I need to be put down like a rabid dog??? We've seen this from Buck before (ie in s5 when he decides to quit the team because it's "his fault" Chimney left, telling Eddie in s3 that maybe his fight club stuff was because of Buck, etc.)

I honestly was pretty surprised to come to tumblr and see people freaking out in all directions (either saying it was OOC for Buck or that he should like, go grovel on his knees to Eddie for 40 days and 40 nights).

Idk typing this out makes me feel like maybe it IS just people not understanding the sport of basketball--in a lot of sports, shoving someone like that would be totally out of pocket. But if you ever watch an NBA game, you'll see dudes getting slammed in the paint like that all the time and sometimes it won't even get called as a foul. It's certainly bad behavior in a fun little friendly game, but it's not like. Completely outside the bounds of how the sport is played. And does not, in MY opinion, rise to the level of intentional physical violence.

#sibyl answers #rainstorms-by-june

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dia-souls · 6 months

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Maybe a reaction for Carla and Shin who have Tomie!s/o

she has same powers, story ec.. with her.

Thanks in advance, dear! <3 ^^

Note: Welcome dear! You don't need to say thanks you waited so long for this ask. Instead of writting reaction, I decided to go for headcanons. Tomie is a fun character! She is scary and interesting.

🌹 _____________________________________ 🌹

🔮 Carla Tsukinami 🔮

At first Carla will like the way. She has beauty as well as power. She proves to be a good Queen as her powers gives her a plus point.

One thing that annoys him is that not only she seduces him but also seduces anyone who can be characterize as man.

He still doesn't respect her but sees her above normal human women but still she is way too inferior to what he posses as king.

Carla is also curious about her history? What is her origin? How does she posses such power eventhough she is a human.

His curiosity further increased when he sees her coming back to life again and again he lowkey freaks out but this will provoke his sadistic side.

Carla enjoys tourturing her as in this way he can clearly shows who is actually in charge of their relationship.

Carla in terms of power is stronger than her but her manapulating tricks and her intelligence always caught him off guard.

Carla internally will realize that she is provoking his jealousy and rage just so he could go crazy at first countless men head roll because he is stronger than any victims of her.

But Carla is also smart. He isn't dumb, he will start to realize the way she plays game with him and will start reading her pattern of doing work.

Carla knows he has upper hand over her and won't hesitate to degrade her verbally and physically to keep her in place.

He isn't going to let her do what she pleases with other men. He hates sharing or seeing slightest of her attention going to other men as it boils his blood.

Carla doesn't fall her succubus acts and her manapulating tricks but he did feel irk whenever he sees her with other man.

It will take Carla a bit off time to understand her tricks the more she interacts with Carla the more Carla gains dominance over her.

He starts to reads her acts the way she behave in order for the man to kill each other. At first this used to frustrate Carla but the moment Carla manged to acknowledge her abilities, he will become immune to her powers.

Carla laughs internally whenever she gets frustrated for not getting her way with him. She can try her best to be authoritative but Carla will easily put her in place by dominating her verbally.

Carla sometimes will use her own tricks on her. He will manapulate her to think that Carla is most powerful and that she should obey if she doesn't want to lose her head.

"Huh! Haha!! Hah.... It's funny you think you can beat a Founder King with your cheap tricks?! You really think you can manapulate and control someone as superior and strong as me?!! Make no mistake women I am not like the other pest you came across in past! I will make you submit to me!!

🌹 _____________________________________ 🌹

🐺 Shin Tsukinami 🐺

The moment he noticed her beauty he got whipped. He felt a great amount of lust and attraction towards her.

Shin loves the way she looks, the way she sways her hair, the way she bat's her eyelashes etc etc. He is whipped for her!

Shin loves that his s/o isn't a weakling and has power.

At first he will test her power to see if she by an small chance has upper hand on him but he realized she is very weaker than him.

This increased his ego. He will degrade her by using their power difference whenever she tries to use her power.

Shin literally gave a shrill scream the moment he realized that she can come back from dead

When he realized that she actually isn't a loyal one that's when he starts to go into yandere and his possessive side awakens.

Shin isn't smart like Carla he does falls for her tricks but this all backfires as Shin will not only kill her lovers but will torture her brutally.

Shin is known to love violence and his s/o provoked a dangerous side of him by giving him a reason to kill.

He will be laughing while killing all thoes victims as he is stronger than all of her victims and none of them can even touch his single hair.

Shin will definitely is enjoying all this. He doesn't knows he is being manapulated by his smart s/o neither does his care he is just enjoying this too much!

His s/o will literally regret trying to mess with him because she isn't safe too as after getting done with her lovers he goes to tourturing her since she can come back from dead.

Shin will use this to his advantage by tourturing her too much to the point she gets killed and smiles whenever she returns.

If she tries to run away he won't hesitate to drag her back to have fun with her.

Eventhough she is intelligent but compare to Shin brutal strength and his craze for violence she is nothing instead of being dominant she will be forced to become shin play thing.

Their relations ship will be filled with abuse with Shin never getting bore off her and not letting her go.

Unlike Carla, his relationship with her is brutal as he always compete with her in strength his jealous side makes him more sadistic.

"Neh!? Isn't it so fun!?? I love all this thing you do but don't misunderstand I will never let you go to another man you are my plaything since you are powerful how about we fight?! I am sure I will win but still it's so pathetic the way you try to use your weak powers against me!! "

🌹 _____________________________________ 🌹

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #carla tsukinami #tsukinami carla #yandere carla tsukinami #shin tsukinami #tsukinami shin #yandere shin tsukinami #diabolik lovers headcanons #yandere diabolik lovers

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kaladinkholins · 4 months

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Seeing fan discussions about Blue Eye Samurai and especially Mizu's identity is so annoying sometimes. So let me just talk about it real quick.

First off, I have to emphasise that different interpretations of the text are always important when discussing fiction. That's how the whole branch of literary studies came to be, and what literary criticism and analysis is all about: people would each have their own interpretation of what the text is saying, each person applying a different lens or theory through which to approach the text (ie. queer theory, feminist theory, reader response theory, postcolonial theory, etc) when analysing it. And while yes, you can just take everything the authors say as gospel, strictly doing so would leave little room for further analysis and subjective interpretation, and both of these are absolutely necessary when having any meaningful discussion about a piece of media.

With that being said, when discussing Blue Eye Samurai, and Mizu's character in particular, I always see people only ever interpret her through a queer lens. Because when discussing themes of identity, yes, a queer reading can definitely apply, and in Mizu's story, queer themes are definitely present. Mizu has to hide her body and do her best to pass in a cisheteronormative society; she presents as a man 99% of the time and is shown to be more comfortable in men's spaces (sword-fighting) than in female spaces (homemaking). Thus, there's nothing wrong with a queer reading at all. Hell, some queer theorists interpret Jo March from Little Women as transmasc and that's totally valid, because like all analyses, they are subjective and argumentative; you have the choice to agree with an interpretation or you can oppose it and form your own.

To that end, I know many are equally adamant that Mizu is strictly a woman, and that's also also a completely valid reading of the text, and aligns with the canon "Word of God", as the creators' intention was to make her a woman. And certainly, feminist themes in the show are undeniably present and greatly colour the narrative, and Episode 4 & 5 are the clearest demonstrations of this: Mizu's protectiveness of Madame Kaji and her girls, Mizu's trauma after killing Kinuyo, her line to Akemi about how little options women have in life, and the way her husband had scorned her for being more capable than him in battle.

I myself personally fall into the camp of Mizu leaning towards womanhood, so i tend to prefer to use she/her pronouns for her, though I don't think she's strictly a cis woman, so I do still interpret her under the non-binary umbrella. But that's besides my point.

My gripe here, and the thing that spurred me to write this post, is that rarely does this fandom even touch upon the more predominant themes of colonialism and postcolonial identities within the story. So it definitely irks me when people say that the show presenting Mizu being cishet is "boring." While it's completely fine to have your opinion and to want queer rep, a statement like that just feels dismissive of the rest of the representation that the show has to offer. And it's frustrating because I know why this is a prevalent sentiment; because fandom culture is usually very white, so of course a majority of the fandom places greater value on a queer narrative (that aligns only with Western ideas of queerness) over a postcolonial, non-Western narrative.

And that relates to how, I feel, people tend to forget, or perhaps just downplay, that the crux of Mizu's internal conflict and her struggle to survive is due to her being mixed-race.

Because while she can blend in rather seamlessly into male society by binding and dressing in men's clothing and lowering her voice and being the best goddamn swordsman there is, she cannot hide her blue eyes. Even with her glasses, you can still see the colour of her eyes from her side profile, and her glasses are constantly thrown off her face in battle. Her blue eyes are the central point to her marginalisation and Otherness within a hegemonic society. It's why everyone calls her ugly or a monster or a demon or deformed; just because she looks different. She is both white and Japanese but accepted in neither societies. Her deepest hatred of herself stems primarily from this hybridised and alienated identity. It's the whole reason why she's so intent on revenge and started learning the way of the sword in the first place; not to fit in better as a man, but to kill the white men who made her this way. These things are intrinsic to her character and to her arc.

Thus, to refuse to engage with these themes and dismiss the importance of how the representation of her racial Otherness speaks to themes of colonialism and racial oppression just feels tone-deaf to the show's message. Because even if Mizu is a cishet woman in canon, that doesn't make her story any less important, because while you as a white queer person living in the West may feel unrepresented, it is still giving a voice to the stories of people of colour, mixed-race folks, and the myriad of marginalised racial/ethnic/cultural groups in non-Western societies.

#blue eye samurai #mizu blue eye samurai #fandom critical #blue eye samurai meta #wank.mp3 #shut up haydar #fandom.rtf #this is a bit of rant but the prevalent whiteness of fandom in general just gets on my nerves i'm sorry #giving me flashbacks to a:tla fandom fr cuz it's the same shit! people love to devalue the stories of non-white non-western identities #also to be clear i am a southeast asian living in southeast asia and similar to mizu i am often alienated for having mixed ethnic ancestry #and even for speaking english (bcs my granddad served the fuckin. british colonials. so my fam speaks mostly in english)#cuz where im from it's still extremely hegemonic racist patriarchal misogynistic homophobic like the setting in the show #so like even though the story is set in historical japan and may seem far-removed from the experiences of a US or european audience #those of us outside the west and in the global south still face a lot of the struggles that mizu goes through till this very day #so please dont just dismiss that. it feels incredibly tone-deaf #okay rant over

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buddiebeginz · 20 days

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I just want to say if you're following me for 911/Buddie I don't plan on posting much Buck/Tommy stuff. This isn't anything against Buck or what's going on with his story right now. I've wrote posts myself talking about how I know that Buck having this journey and this relationship with Tommy before Eddie is important. Still I'm not a multishipper I'm here for Buddie first and foremost and I want to see the guys end up together eventually.

The issues I have with Buck/Tommy and the reason I plan on avoiding them isn't even really a shipping one so much as it's how parts of fandom are responding to them. It's literally only been a few days and already I've seen tons of posts, comments, tweets, fanfiction, tiktoks, etc being anti Buddie. I just came across a fic last night that was about how Eddie treated Buck awful (used him for sex) and then Tommy came along to be the best boyfriend ever.

I'm just not here for the way people are treating Buddie and Eddie. I also don't like how people keep saying Buck's story is more important than Buddie. All of it is important. Buck, Eddie, Buddie, Buddie and Chris (as a family) all of their stories and what they mean for incredibly needed lgbtq represention are important.

I'm so thankful that 911 is doing a bi storyline with a character like Buck (one I relate to a lot) but the fact that I still want to see them follow through and extend that to Eddie and Buddie doesn't mean I'm trying to take anything away from Buck's journey.

We've never really had a same sex slow burn story like this and especially not with characters like Buck and Eddie. Older queer characters who are figuring out their sexuality later in life. Who are also raising a son together. Who don't fit into some preconceived mold of what it means to be queer. Having Buddie be canon would be groundbreaking it’s own way and if they follow through on this story I believe it has the power to really change media in some ways. I think them doing Buck's coming out storyline is already doing that. It is basically unheard of for a primetime show like 911, with a character like Buck who was basically written to appeal to straight men and women to now come out so late in the shows run. The show is taking a risk and will be taking an even bigger one to make Buddie happen but that's why they need to follow through on it.

I'm not going to apologize for wanting all of the stuff we've been hoping and begging the show runners and networks to give us for 6 seasons. It is possible to care about more than one thing. I can wholeheartedly love and relate to and support Buck's journey while still wanting to see Buck and Eddie together and definitely still want to see Eddie's coming out story too.

I'm also tired of seeing people outside of the Buddie fandom say Buck and Eddie are too good of friends to "ruin" with making into a couple. That Buck and Tommy should be endgame so Buck and Eddie can stay friends. Fact is Buck and Eddie have never been just friends. If you look at how Hen and Chim and Athena and Hen and any other friendship on the show is they're not written the same at all. They don't have the same kind of depth and definitely don't have the same romantic and sometimes sexual overtones that Buddie's does. We obviously need more male friendships in media but Buddie isn't about two guys who are just friends, it's about two men who have loved and supported one another for six years and we're about to watch that love turn into something even more profound in the coming seasons.

So yeah I probably won't post much about Tommy but if I do I'll try and tag anything as b*ck t*mmy for bl. The other reason I probably won't post about them is that it feels like every space in our fandom is getting swallowed up by this ship. It's just frustrating when all of the tags are full of Buck/Tommy.

I'm not trying to hate on people who ship them. I think everyone should be able to multi ship if they want or just ship whatever ships they like. I've been hated on many times for ships I like. But I do think those of us who just love Buddie shouldn't have to see Buck/Tommy 24/7 and definitely shouldn't have to see anti Buddie stuff.

I also want to say don't let anyone make you feel like shit if you're not super into Buck/Tommy. You can still love Buck and support him without gushing over him in a relationship with someone else. I hate when fandoms get this crowd mentality where if you think any differently you're told you’re a bad person. Just remember that the story the show is telling is leading towards Buddie canon eventually. So people can be excited over Buck and Tommy for now if they want but it’ll be Buddie in the end.

Also if you have Buddie or Eddie gif requests please let me know. I really want to see Buddie and Eddie back in the tags.

#911!#buddie #b*ck t*mmy for bl

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rdhadastroke · 1 year

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So this straw-masked dumbass decided to do a thing and share some personal tips about writing fanfiction/writing someone else's character/writing in general!

Please keep in mind that I am a hobbyist writer, not a professional! These are just suggestions/things that help me that may or may not work for you, please feel free to correct me or add your own anecdotes :)

Tips for getting ready to write:

Make sure that you're in an environment where you can concentrate.

Whether that be in a quiet room, a chatty café, or blasting your eardrums out with music, whatever gets you in the groove is good. Not everybody can focus in the same environment, so your choice of surroundings for when you right aren't going to be the same as everyone else's. I (personally) listen to long video essays, my current favorite song on loop, or a playlist about the story/characters.

Clear a space for where you want to write.

Clear the space of excess clutter and keep only what you need. If what you need to write is a lot, that's fine! Having too much going on at once in your writing space can overwhelm and/or distract you. I know from personal experience.

Have all of your materials at hand.

Character sheets, previous stories, note paper to jot down ideas, rough environment & scene sketches... Whatever references and tools you need, keep them with you! Also, keep a glass of water or some other drink nearby. Hydrate or diedrate, my friends.

Make sure that you won't be interrupted while you're writing.

This may not be an option for those of you living with your parents or a roommate, but it's ideal for your creative flow to go undisturbed, uninterrupted, and unwatched. Is your father really watching you write your fanfic? No, probably not, considering that he's snoring. But it still feels weird to write when he's sitting in his armchair right behind you. No, I am not projecting my experience onto the reader under the cover of an absurd joke, why would you say that?

Now that setup is out of the way, let's go over some actual writing stuff:

Always, always, always block out what you want to write before you actually write it.

By "block out", I mean give a basic summary of the events you want to take place in that chapter or segment. I usually do this event-by-event because I struggle to carry on a story without an outline, but you can do it by chapter or by paragraph if you'd like. Make jokes in your mini-summaries, and phrase things in wacky ways (that convey things to you effectively)! You don't have to be too serious about it. After all, if you're in a lil silly goofy mood, you can get an epic sentence like this:

If you get stuck on a part of a story, move on and save it for later.

If you're anything like me, you understand the screaming, crying, pissing, pants-shittingly frustrating experience of not knowing how to describe something or figure out what should be said next. As angering as it is, it's okay. Just write a mini block-in for what you want to happen, want to describe, or the general tone of what you want to be said. Or use a keyword that you can Ctrl+F for to finish those pesky scenes when you're ready. If your writing software can do it (I have no clue if any one program does this, I only use Google Docs), mark the spot for review to return to it later. If you're one of those frighteningly powerful people who write stories by hand, highlight it and paste what you want to go there over it once you're ready. If you aren't familiar with this infuriating part of writing, you're a lucky bastard and I envy you immensely.

If you have writer's block, there are 8 potential strategies (that I can provide) you can use to alleviate it.

These are NOT surefire fixes for writer's block and are EXTREMELY subjective and results will vary from person to person, but they can potentially help you.

Read a book. Sometimes reading how another author writes (dialogue, scenery, figurative language, etc.) can help you get a better grasp of what you want to write, and how you want to write it. You might even get inspired to make a different story, which bleeds into the next point.

Work on/start a different story. (This isn't always the best way to get out of writer's block, so if you can't get a word down, this probably won't help.) Sometimes changing what you're working on can free up the ink clogged in your pen, for lack of a better phrase, and give you an, "aha!" moment.

Eat and drink something. Brains don't work when they don't have fuel, so feed your machine. Frequent maintenance keeps an engine running smooth, so occasionally get a snack and make sure to keep hydrated.

Take a walk and get some fresh air, and touch some grass for the love of god. Jokes aside, getting your body moving can excite your brain into working and clear some brain fog, since exercise gives your brain a dose of serotonin. As silly as it sounds, sitting in the sun and touching some grass can actually make you feel nice and rejuvenated, it helps me a lot. Even if you don't go outside, moving around is a good way to give your brain a break.

Talk to a friend and get their input. Their ideas can get you through a tough spot and inspire you to get writing again.

Look at pretty pictures and distract yourself from what you're doing. I have pictures of art pieces and doodles I like hanging in front of the desk where I write, and losing myself in pretty stuff helps me work through what I'm struggling with.

Jot down notes by hand on what you're trying to do. Planning things out on pen and paper, despite being tedious, imprints information in your mind and can be useful to your writing needs

If you're writing a fanfiction, look at the source material. Chances are, there's something there that could help you along.

If you don't have the motivation to write anything, don't.

This isn't the best advice for someone who's on a time limit, but works wonders for passion projects and fun stories. Very few do their best work when they force themselves to do it. Besides, there's no point in having a hobby if you don't get joy out of it and overly stress over it.

Writing someone else's character? No problemo, here's some fanfic help:

Always look at the source material, and don't be shy to explore new territory with the character.

It's important to stay true to the personality of a character when you're writing someone else's creation, but don't be afraid to throw in some headcanons and artistic flair. Remember, there's a difference between writing a character unrealistically (pertaining to personality, likes, interests, and universe/world/time period) and changing the circumstances of the original story. Characters are people too, and people react differently to the same thing depending on the world around them. A character may not have [x] trait if [y] event never happened, likewise [y] event never would have happened if this character didn't have [x] trait. Take into consideration the people around the character, as well, as they can also affect what the character does and how they develop. Change up small events in the original source material's story to get a different story and a different reaction out of the character. Experiment, and have fun! It's your story, write it your way!

That's all the advice I have for now, and I hope I was helpful! :)))

#fanfiction tips #writing tips #writing help #writing #fanfiction help #fanfiction #writing advice #fanfiction advice #hobby writer #im not a professional

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blockgamepirate · 2 months

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If I'm entirely honest, even if I get that all fandoms love angst, I find it kinda tiring, especially when it comes to MCRP, because I got into MCRP partly to get away from the angsty shit. And that's still what I tend to want from it, and it feels like the perfect medium for more lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek stuff, because it's so inherently goofy lbr, but I guess people just love angst so much that they just gotta make everything about the angst

Not that I can't appreciate the angst too, sometimes, but there's been so much of it on QSMP lately. This is what frustrated me about DSMP too, when it just kept getting angstier and angstier and bleaker and bleaker...

I mean it's not that I think ALL MCRP has to be lighthearted, I would never wanna arbitrarily limit any medium like that, it's mostly just me being frustrated with the general tendency where I get into some series because it's funny and lighthearted but also has a cool story going on, and then inevitably it ALWAYS seems to get super angsty and often lose the things that made it appealing to me in the first place. I used to get this a lot with webcomics and now I'm getting it with MCRP

Jungryeok's introduction yesterday was a breath of fresh air tbh, didn't need to worry about any of the angst for several hours, just people chilling and having fun (even tho I was kind of overwhelmed too lol)

I'd like to enjoy Phil's streams the same way, and he does generally do his best to keep things lighthearted (even when it's his own angst he tends to not take it very seriously), but the angsty storylines keep intruding on his chill vibes too, you can't chill when you know what's actually going on in other POVs

(also the FOMO is too strong, I ended up watching Bagi and Tubbo instead of Phil yesterday because I wanted to know what happened and then I also kept checking in on Bad's POV when I realised he was live etc. I know that's my own fault, I should just not watch them when they're being angsty if I don't want angst but I still care about the characters and the story orz)

(And I want to check the tags on Tumblr and I want to see what other people are posting about QSMP, but the angst is even more impossible to avoid in fandom spaces, also it makes you very conscious about how people feel about Phil and his character so then you're even more stressed out when you watch his streams because any time he says something because he doesn't know any better or because he's assuming that the server is primarily meant for fun and not to be taken overly seriously, you know people are gonna rant about it, and then you have to once again quarantine yourself from the fandom to avoid being annoyed, which is boring)

It's the same problems I had with DSMP...

This is why I should become a Hermitcraft main again tbh

But at the same time I can't get the multilingual experience on Hermitcraft, I remember the other day seeing Iskall and Keralis talk and I found myself wondering for a second why they weren't speaking Swedish to each other (dw I did realise it very quickly lol) because I'd gotten so used to seeing people switching languages based on who they were talking to

The language stuff is 100% what I would miss the most if I dropped QSMP

I mean I would miss the roleplay too, I do enjoy the roleplay. And the eggs. And the characters in general. But yknow, there's other roleplay series out there, the multilingual aspect is harder to find

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tomatoart · 1 year

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mwah your art is good and nice :>

can I ask for some advice? no worries if u don't want to answer.

do you have any tips on how exactly to practice art? everytime I ask for art advice everyone always says "practice" but idk what to practice first! do you have any strategies for learning how to draw something? do you do excercises? and if so how do they work?and are there any beginner mistakes I should look out for and change specifically?

thank you so much!! have a wonderful week :>

thank you so much! im ok w answering! i dont want to speak as if i am an expert on how to draw things in general as i am learning as well and definitely am not completely learned, so i might not be the best person to ask since im not very professional w my art as I do it as a hobby (and I can only speak on mostly digital cartoon matters) but i reallly hope to try and help u out even a lil ! im really happy that you’re eager to draw :] I wish you so much luck muwah muwah

i also hated when ppl told me “just practice” and i dont wanna inflict tht on u EITHER LOL but also thats just what i ended up doing for awhile but i tried to find some things to help ^_^

tips for practice: My number one rule is that practices should be challenging but still fun, I know it can get frustrating trying to redraw a pose over and over trying to get it perfect. And over time it rlly is all about muscle memory, the longer you draw the more your eyes will pick out specific shapes in everyday life and convert them into its own vision of them! or at least its good to look at life that way, try to pin point key shapes and stress less on details in practices. after you look at key points, THEN you can go over what you have and draw in and over it to make it more “complete.” To stop practices from getting too stressful I recommend starting out drawing what you want a little more simple looking than ur desired finished product. This helps eliminate the pressure of everything not looking “perfect” and keeps your art more loose and fun. Doing this a few times is gonna get ur brain to recognize patterns in art and how things look/flow in anatomy and such. dont get stuck in ur own head abt perfecting everything to the point you either 1) give up bc ur not at a level capable of it being 100% “perfect” or 2) focus so much on making it perfect that you end up saying the work looks “wonky” or stale in dynamics, So while I do think studies help, don’t get too lost in them. I always practice with media I enjoy too, whether it’s characters or fashion I enjoy.

Strategies learning to draw something: people get mad abt this one but I think tracing reference photos is great. its been awhile but When I tried learning to draw hands better at first I would trace them then put the traced image to the side of the canvas, then try and replicate what my mind saw as its most important angles and aspects. Same for clothing folds/hair/etc! I think it’s maybe not the best idea to trace the ref and use the tracings as is, because you learn more from tracing it then trying to replicate and simplify what u learned into the style you’re working in. Find what shapes you like from them and don’t over detail it. you may have to go by eye and think “what parts of this ref photo should i simplify to fit my style” and for me, its usually adjusting the length of the torso and then the limbs by associations. i dont recommend feeling like u need a reference for every art you make though, its ok to let ur own head try out its own sometimes too while trying to learn this, see if it remembers any call bad from the past referenced sketches! over time ull remember where everything goes more, these days i rarely kick myself to use refs but im sure they still would help to use, but figure drawing simple blobby figure in a bunch of random poses was a big thing i used to do as well to get better at full body art + overall dynamics (still does this). also paying attention to silhouettes is great

Exercises and how they work: I WANNA HELP U SO BAD BUT to be honest, all the works on my blog ARE exercises! i rarely actually do finished pieces, if u scroll thru my posts ull notice most r sketches. i usually just fill up a page and call it “warm ups” then i get attached to some of them, take a few, and just line them up pleasingly on a smaller page, then color them in (or sometimes fix the lines to be more clean too). im not rlly a person who “exercises” to practice, it more so happens from just me drawing a lot for fun as a hobby! but i really should. i will tell u this has humbled me a lil i need to start practicing too 😭 LOL but a good exercise is to look at what ur inspirations do, and study it. Make a collage and write out what you like most abt their styles/what u want to gain from them. For ref Here’s a page I did awhile ago when someone asked me abt my insps:

i also look at fashion magazines and as well as anime figures and take insps from that sometimes with learning cool poses and compositions to convert into my own things

Beginner mistakes to look out for: its hard for me to pin point “mistakes” beginners make, as sometimes we cant avoid all of them or even notice them, progress comes from growing out of old ways. some mistakes are even the foundation of ur future amazing cool style! but i think some things to look out for could be these, from my own old art experiences

Hands were the first thing I learned bc i liked drawing them. I don’t know if that is the best way to go but I think it is smart to practice sooner than later, here is a lil guide thingggyyy wingyyy from awhle ago

i see beginners shy away from drawing signs of age in people, sometimes adding too much detail on an older person in cartoon art makes it look weird, so i try and hit the key markings on ppls faces of age.

Too thin of lines. sometimes its a stylistic choice to use thin lineart, and it can look amazing ! but sometimes it can flatten an image if ur not familiar with its flow. im not saying use thick line art, but more so to keep in mind the weight of ur strokes, adding depth with a thick thin combo of line art can do SO much for the simplest of pieces. heres a visual from a while back when i talked abt my brush + more abt lines:

but if ur desired style is thin lineart that is cool too! tbh it was just harder for me as a beginner

sometimes artists think they need to do full lineart for everything and then hate how it looks compared to the sketch, do not fear i will introduce u to my bff: painting over a sketch, extractinging the lines, then calling it line art. i only do this sometimes but its a fun exercise-ish thing to do in a pinch. example:

finding what shading fits ur art. sometimes ill see ppl starting out who have a style thats very simple, but they use a very detailed rendering process on it. this is not something id ever police of course, art is each persons own choice! And it CAN work. It can be so cute! but sometimes mixing two very contrasting mediums of art can throw off the “put together” look of it. i use to abuse the airbrush tool thinking it made my simple style look super cool and detailed, but looking back on it now those pieces looked a little off, having such a simple style have somewhat more realistic shading. dont get me wrong the ability i see ppl use rendering like that is so insanely talented! but i found cellshading to be a good match for cartoony art like my own. a tip i learned way too late abt that is rather than shading each layer by color picking a darker color, instead use a clipping mask over the entire art (above line art too as I color my lineart) and lasso tool the areas u want shaded + fill it w a saturated purple then set to multiply + lower opacity. also, sometimes coloring can come out chalky looking when u meant for it to be smooth and transitional, i think this comes from overshading and overlighting pieces without reason. pay attention to where the light source is, and focus on making the shaded and lighter areas nice shapes that cover the necessary areas, then u can add additional shading to the smaller details of what should have a casted shadow/light

its good to spice up ur art now rather than later, focusing making ur art pop more w backgrounds will help ur coloring skills look better too! i dont mean detailed huge backgrounds, a small lil color pallet and design rather than a blank white bg. like this will make u feel better abt it or at least it helped me *sweats* yeah:

beginners tend to draw blank faces like “:)” but I think a good thing to do is try and get silly with expressions early on. It’s okay if the mouth hangs off the face cartoonishly with joy or shock, it’s ok if the eyebrows are super high in surprise.

tracing and pasting it as is (already said this but I’ve seen ppl do it a lot with hair styles and it makes it look alienated from the rest of the style) (final fantasy fans found critically injured) n if need a ref for a pose, using a real humans anatomy as-is doesn’t look quite right on a cartoonyish drawing. Shortening torso and legs usually comes out of this for me!

flip ur canvas i promise u it’ll be less embarrassing over time!

using guidelines for perspective and foreshortening is GREAT. Do it stylistically rather than realistically to add some groove to it...yay. Having silly perspective in art can make it look like a 10 so easily opposed to a normal front facing sketch. Look at cool poses from fashion magazines! Don’t be scared to draw something you don’t feel confident in conveying perfectly, this is why progress redraws exist :)

Drawing the hairline b4 u draw the hair is great, it helps u understand where their hair flows from, where it starts and stops, AND prepares u for drawing bald ppl. Also don’t make the head too big, the skull IS bigger up top, but sometimes I see an alien head affect.

Anatomy is an interesting mistake that beginners make a lot, but it’s one they find harder to notice! When I started out, all my art would be SO wonky, but I didn’t even realize it! It still happens today too! specifically though I see beginners struggle with the arms in this department. My advice is to try and measure them out and make sure they don’t go past the knees, and are the same length as each other when Unfolded. asking for criticism is hard but it helped me realize when i would make something bigger/longer than it should have been in my art, and stuck with me being able to go “oh... i see it LOL”

clothing wrinkles- do not over do it! Too many wrinkles and shading can look unpleasant and wirey- like a plastic table cloth all bunched up which isn’t exactly what ppl wear. pay attention to gravity too

I hope this helped even a lil im sorry tht I’m not very good at explaining or didn’t have much to sayyy! If u have any troubles no guarantee I’ll have the answer, but ur always free to ask!

#asks #faq #I hope ur week is going good n that u’ll have fun creating 💙🐠#long post #not tomaart

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shallowseeker · 4 months

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Who called cas a pretty angel? A demon (crowley?) I know he said that cas has sex appeal, but I can't remember whether or not Crowley called him pretty . Or was it Balthazar or other angels. I remember someone calling cas a pretty angel

I was on the ao3 tag looking through some dean cas fics and came across this highschool fic and how dean was a jock, cool guy and like cas is the nerd that was basically the intro and then it got me thinking of all these other highschool intro fics that makes cas the nerd etc

And like for all intents and purposes it makes more sense for cas to be the jock. Throwback to ishm calling him an angels angel. Like it makes sense that cas would be the cool one Specifically the type who is cool but internally doesn't feel like he belongs with them since he doesn't fit in that crowd.

Why I am I ranting lol it's probably cause its 1 am lol

But cas was the cool angel right? when he was still in and accepted by the angels

I think you're thinking of Changing Channels: "No, no. *MR. Trickster does not like pretty-boy angels." :-)

///

There are snide comments made about Cas's attractiveness, sure, with Gabriel and most demonic characters. But those are mostly power-motioned taunting.

You’re right about Crowley. I think Crowley's positive associations were, "Buddy Boy, you have what they call sex appeal." ("Thank you. Get to the point.") And if you squint, "You like to bend em right over, don't you?" which is the mated joke to Crowley's failed taunting, "You're the bottom in this relationship." (However, Cas on Crowley in TMWWBK? “But I was smarter than him, stronger. (I wasn't ever threatened.)")

///

IMHO, Cas is canonically implied to be handsome, simply by how regular people react to him. There's the woman on the television in season 6, saying (of Godstiel) - "He was SEXY." (After which Dean quickly turns off the TV.) Although...it's hard to say whether she was simply having a "Ted-Bundy-groupie-style" fawning moment... We can point to Mandy the waitress, but maybe she was just playing along and fawning over the guy who looked most likely to leave tips...

I guess it's up to interpretation.

I happen to think Cas's sexiness extends beyond his vessel. There's the "Angel's angel" line, of course, but also in Metatron's taunting of the beautiful Hannah wanted to be "dominated" by a more rugged experienced-battalion-oriented angel.

Taken together, I think it's pretty safe to say Cas is considered handsome, rugged, strong, cool, popular etc; both in-vessel and as simply a natural way of his being among the angels.

///

On your second point, I think fanfic is safe to explore just about anything, so I don't fault whatever way it wants to swing!

Cas certainly has enough dorky/“doof” moments to play with, and he's very brainy/eccentric/philosophical sometimes! Plus, I think there's some actor bleed-over with Misha Collins, honestly, who is in my head more similar to Dean than Castiel. (But that's neither here nor there.)

I do happen to think that in-world, all signs point to, "Cas is popular/cool even when he's a doof."

I actually think Cas exemplifies, "Even when he loses, he wins," more than the characters that actually long to exemplify this, especially when it comes to people and “being likable.” It frustrates characters like Metatron (probably also Crowley, Rowena, Chuck Shurley, even Sam -> "i.e. characters with have ambition but can't seem to muster up enough natural charisma to get where they wanna go").

And I think part of that is...well. Castiel has charisma. He has a natural willingness to play big and fail spectacularly. (Unlike characters like Rowena or Crowley, Cas usually puts his own skin in the game/his own self on the line as “the muscle.”)

In one-on-one battle, Metatron laments Cas's abilities to be popular. He calls him various things like, "the villain/lame/braindead puppy/stupid jock/underdog. Metatron is holding the high cards, even the angel tablet! And yet Castiel manages to match his nice guy 4D chess...somehow. “I didn't think he'd be good at it!" (NOTE: After all that, Metatron kinda…resorts to killing Dean as petty revenge.)

Metatron certainly comes off as "no fair! He's not even trying to be cool and here I am putting in all this effort to look cool and no one sees me as anything other than a loser!" Or "Why is it lame when I do it, but people fawn over Ass-stiel?! I'm a nice guy!!!"

METATRON: Well, I could get a new face. TYRUS: You'd still be you -- a nerd trying to be one of the popular kids. Mnh-mnh....my guys will go running to Castiel.

We've all been there.

So yeah. Even when Castiel's "a doof," he's cool/popular and connects with others pretty effortlessly.

But it's Cas's willingness to spectacularly fail that gets him places, canonically. It wins him points with others even when that's not what he's trying to do. It's that earnestness. I'll quote Daphne in Scoobynatural on what she looks for in a guy: "Strong, sincere..."

I mean, just look at how quickly Rowena flipped on him. :-)

Aside/// Like Dean, Cas doesn't actually want the big things, not really. He wants the horrifically mundane little things (boring family life). Not because of what it represents, "Normal Life." It's not a checklist of status symbol of "Success" or "Making It."

No, for characters like Dean and Cas, it's simply an emotional thing. And I think it's part of what makes them likeable/able to form connections so much more readily than other characters.

#on cas being cool #the angel's angel #cas is cool even when he's NOT cool #that's his whole thing i think

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tirsynni · 7 months

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Possibly one of the most disturbing things about a current fandom trend is that I've seen the build-up to it. Right now, no matter where you look, you'll see a growing wave of characters needing a "diagnosis." They need to have a mental/physical health label. They need to have explanations regarding their behaviors, ie, the increasingly popular "I see this character acting this way and thus I am confident they were abused as a child." As I saw one person describe it, every character needs pathologized.

Mind you, if you want to write a character as autistic, ADHD, etc., that is fine. Perhaps you have a diagnosis and want your comfort character to have it, too. Perhaps you want to explore something or just mess around. Whatever. I don't care. It's when people insist on it, make a diagnosis mandatory, insist that their perception of the character with this diagnosis is correct, etc., that it gets disturbing.

While I'm aware that many people are frustrated with the social services and mental health field -- and I completely understand, as I work in these fields and I know how messy they can be -- and turn to the internet for assistance and self-diagnose themselves when official diagnoses seem beyond their reach, I'm also very aware how dangerous this practice is. I've seen this practice grow online to the extent that every behavior has to be pathologized. No matter what anyone does, there is a diagnosis attached ("Ah, this person is so distractible, so clearly they have ADHD") or a specific history (the ever popular "This person MUST have had an abusive family growing up").

I love whumping my characters. I love using them to explore different things, including mental health issues and trauma. (Hell, one of my current LoZ fics has some inspiration from some recent training and me wondering about the character's unique background and if that would increase or decrease vulnerability to certain things.) Sometimes, I'll do my research to try to have symptoms and behaviors at least in the ballpark of correct. This is all fiction, though. When everything is colored through these lens, including how one perceives fictional characters, things become dangerous.

One big rule in the social services and mental health fields is that you are not supposed to diagnose clients. Ever. If a professional looks at a client and arbitrarily decides that they have such-and-such diagnosis, that forever colors how they perceive the client and thus opens the doorway to them mishandling the case, putting their own biases on a client, recommending the wrong care, etc. It can lead to them dismissing many of the client's statements because it doesn't align with the perceived diagnosis. This includes the decision of "I have no actual information about this person's past, but based on their behavior, they must have had an abusive home environment." This can lead to the professional changing how they interact with the client, the client's supports, overlooking other -- possibly dangerous -- factors, etc.

Humans aren't that simple. If someone is displaying a certain behavior, many things could have caused it. Humans are too complicated to decide that "Oh, yes, obviously this occurred in their background." That's absolutely not how it works. That's the damned Sherlock Syndrome in action. Many, many factors affect how people act and react, and the insistence that obviously this behavior must be caused by this is downright disturbing.

When a diagnosis is being made in a professional environment (if the person is, in fact, a qualified professional and actually good at their job), part of the process includes ruling out other factors. Many children have been diagnosed with ADHD when, in fact, they are suffering from sleep deprivation and stress. By treating it as ADHD, they are allowing the other unhealthy behaviors to continue and give the child medication they don't need. Adderall affects people with ADHD and people without ADHD very differently, for example. The professionals are also supposed to have standards to increase the chances of the correct diagnosis. Is the patient tired and distracted? Did something happen this morning which could affect the client's normal behaviors and throw off the assessment? Is there something about the person doing the assessment which is affecting the results? It's like trying to do a medical assessment and constantly getting high blood pressure because the person is afraid of the doctor's office.

I've also seen people tag a character with a diagnosis, and not only is the character themselves unrecognizable, but they end up writing a crude parody of the diagnosis itself. They read less like a character and more like a caricature. The writer went online, did some quick research, and ended up with a character who might as well be a token character on a sitcom. It ends up being actively insulting by the end. In the instances where it's done well enough so it isn't 100% insulting, you still have an unrecognizable character due to the person preferring their perception of what the diagnosis would/should look like rather than the wanting to write the character in question. (Mandatory note: if you want to write someone OOC, no problem. Just recognize that, in order to make them fit your preferred mold, you did write them OOC and not insist that yes, they are completely in character and everyone else is in the wrong for saying otherwise. It's fanfiction. Write what pleases you. Just don't insist that it's something it's not.)

All of this also dramatically simplifies the mental health field. It simplifies the various issues into something you would see in grade school. It simplifies medication and therapy into miracle cures. It reduces the insanely complicated human brain into a child's puzzle. "Ah, this person has this, so they will display these behaviors. Makes sense." "Ah, this person is struggling with this. Give them a therapist and they'll be good as new!" Like, I can imagine that someone is dealing with Stuff in real life and want to write a fic where the character does find a miracle cure. As previously stated, no problem. Just don't insist that everyone else needs to perceive what they wrote as real life miracle cures. That's not how it works, things are more complex than that, and no size fits all, especially in the mental health field.

I've seen it online for a while now: people enthusiastically putting their entire diagnosis up for everyone to see, people merrily slapping labels on themselves, people looking at every video and going, "Oh, I do this!" People insisting that everyone needed a diagnosis slapped on them and, if they didn't have a diagnosis, they were clearly in denial. They pathologize themselves, their behaviors, everything around them, and now one of the first things they do when discovering a new favorite character is ask, "What is their diagnosis?"

This post isn't meant to discourage people from researching their own needs and their own mental health. It isn't angrily forbidding people from writing characters how they want them. It is a statement that the mental health field, humans in general, human brains, mental health, etc., is far more complex than "Oh, I have this diagnosis, so I have these symptoms and here is what I need to do!" It's stating that there is a difference between being aware that someone has certain behaviors and responses and pathologizing everything a person or character does. It is stating that sometimes it is very, very easy to go from "I headcanon this character as this" to "If someone looks/acts/etc. this way, they obviously are this." If these actions are your go-to, then you might want to take a step back and breathe for a bit.

...it's also a tad frustrating as someone with a diagnosis, as someone who works in this field, to see someone tagged as ADHD and being a sitcom stereotype or seeing therapy solve everything. Write whatever you want, but have some self-awareness when writing.

...it's also funny that I see the tag "medical inaccuracies" but never see a tag about "mental health inaccuracies." Hmm.

#rant #long post #fandom rant #mental health #internet pathology #internet culture #fandom culture #chill people #i'm happy to talk about this subject #and i know this was #if a long post #still a very brief summary of these issues #but there is a reason that #the popular response #for mental health #medical issues #etc #is #“Talk to your doctor”

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heartpiercer · 1 year

Text

LFC - Marsira Ith’valin

「 general information 」

FULL NAME: Marsira Elayne Ith’valin

NICKNAME(S): Mar, Mars, Marsi

TITLE(S): The Heartpiercer, of the Unseen Path

AGE: 182

DATE OF BIRTH: June 27th

RACE: Quel’dorei

GENDER: Female, cisgender.

PRONOUNS: She/Her

ORIENTATION: Bisexual

MARITAL STATUS: Single, never married.

PROFESSION(S): Mercenary, sharpshooter, dragonrider, ranger of the Unseen Path. Former Farstrider (Captain), Ex-SI:7 (Director)

LANGUAGES: Thalassian, Common, Draconic, Sign

「 physicality & appearance 」

HAIR: Crimson red, wavy, shoulder blade length

EYES: Deep blue

HEIGHT: 5’10”

BUILD: Mesomorphic; muscular and athletic. Archer’s build.

DISTINGUISHING MARKS:

A jagged scar that darts by the corner of her right eye and stops just below her left cheekbone

An odd fern-like scar on her left bicep that stretches down her arm.

Freckles dotted across her cheeks.

Green, dragon-like tattoos on her arms and torso.

COMMON ACCESSORIES:

A lip ring, center of bottom lip.

A tongue piercing

Dagger, heart and playing card earrings.

「 personality & traits 」

Reserved even on the best of days, Marsira is more often a quiet observer than she is an engager in conversation. She's a decent conversationalist when spoken to, piercing the person in question with her bright blue eyes all the while. There is a certain kindness there, shrouded from the world at large in the shadowy fog of snark and sarcasm; kept safe from those who would use and abuse it.

Despite her quietness, there's an overwhelming aura of confidence and power about her. She's blunt, and by her own admission is easily annoyed by those who prevaricate or don't speak their mind. She does have her moments of frustration that can turn into fiery outbursts, but it is not a common occurrence.

Want to know more? Interact or RP!

「personal information 」

HOBBIES: Whittling, blacksmithing, drawing, reading

SKILL(S): Archery, trapper, tracker, survivalist, sharpshooter, bounty hunter.

RESIDENCE: Elwynn Forest

BIRTHPLACE: Quel’thalas

AFFILIATIONS: The Unseen Path, Glove & Gauntlet

「 relations 」

SPOUSE:

None.

CHILDREN:

None.

PARENTS:

Erzaen Ith’valin, father.

Sylrise Ith’valin-Duskfeather, mother. †

SIBLINGS:

None.

OTHER RELATIVES:

None

PETS/COMPANIONS/FAMILIARS:

Her drake, a black dragon named Avoth.

A blue hydra named Ire.

「 habits & vices」

SMOKING: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

「 other/ooc 」

FACE REFERENCE(S):Katherine Mcnamara

VOICE REFERENCE(S): Janet Varney as Avatar Korra

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

SERVER: Moon Guard - Alliance

OTHER:

Although this is an Alliance-aligned character, she won’t outright attack those of the Horde; she is currently far more preoccupied with what’s happening on the Dragon Isles to be bothered.

I will not interact/roleplay with minors or anyone under the age of 18.

Though I am fine writing characters in more intimate situations if it is appropriate, do not try to force ERP or expect it in any way when writing with me. Should you do so, it will likely end in a block.

I will not write with godmodders (ex. never misses a hit and never gets hit, their character is so overpowered that they’re basically a god and can’t ever lose, etc).

#looking for contact #lfc #looking for roleplay #lfrp #world of warcraft original character #wow rp #world of warcraft rp #wyrmrest accord #moon guard #alliance #horde #cross faction rp #marsira ith'valin

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suspicious-whumping-egg · 6 months

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Hi I really want to write but I don't really know how and I don't know how to start but I'm also really worried that people would judge me can you just help me and give me some tips

Hey anon! First of all there’s no right or wrong way to write! Good writing usually shares common characteristics like figurative language, literary devices, a strong plot, characters, and theme, etc, but different people like different things and if you write what you love, you’ll find your audience. There always may be people who judge you but that doesn’t mean their opinions are more relevant than those of who enjoy your writing, and those people may just not be your target audience. What’s important is that you genuinely enjoy writing it, because if you write to cater to an imaginary audience (or even a real one), you might find yourself losing passion or interest in the project while becoming more and more stressed, losing the audience your writing may have attracted if you’d just written what you enjoyed. Expanding your comfort zone is good, of course, but do it on your own terms, and know that you don’t need to treat all online writing advice like a rule, but a guideline. Writing advice, good, mediocre, and otherwise, can be a good tool regardless if you use it, because analyzing why someone might have come up with this advice or what they were going for can also lead you to develop more of your own helpful processes. I.e. back when people tried to avoid using the word “said” nearly at all because they didn’t want to repeat it— the goal ofc was to keep from being tedious and repetitive, but sometimes it’s best to keep it at “said” instead of trying to use different or more complicated words that don’t fit the point of the advice makes sense, even if the actual advice doesn’t.

Now, if you’re interested in having more detail or (literary) strength to your writing I definitely recommend researching literary devices, plot structure, character development methods, how to develop and communicate a theme, etc. What’s also very important is making sure you know how people in general work, if you’re looking for realism in your characters, so looking at some general psychology concepts can be helpful. If you’re looking to write with some type of structure, it can help to plan plot diagrams, write out character bios, etc. If you prefer to just let it all marinate in your mind and dump it out on the page, that’s great too! Discord can also be a nice medium because it gives the record keeping of the former but instead of structured documents, it’s just unhinged rants to your friends that still give you more concrete ideas. Personally I’m a bit more of the second type, although my avoidance of making documents or diagrams for my plot and characters does mean I have to do a lot of thinking, remembering, and planning in my head in order to keep a strong plot, proper character development, etc.

Last but not least, don’t be too hard on yourself! Many people you see writing, including on tumblr, have been doing so for a long time. I’ve been writing for maybe three years, and the first things I wrote were for my eyes only (and maybe those of a select few) and I certainly didn’t post it. Writing is a craft, and like any other, it takes time to develop and grow. There may be some rough spots at first, and that doesn’t mean you should give up. And if you do post it, remember that numbers do not equal worth. Many of us know the feeling of working super hard on a piece to only get a scatter of likes, maybe a reblog or two. But if you find yourself writing as a way of getting notes, or feeling like notes dictate the worth of your writing, it can be a good idea to keep writing but not posting it. Although taking a break can also be good and healthy! The best writing doesn’t often come when you sit down and force yourself to write, and trying to forge yourself to write when you’re not vibing it can sometimes just be more frustrating and can exacerbate burnout. Personally, when I have writer’s block, or anytime I’m trying to write, I spend a lot of time just thinking and daydreaming about scenarios until I feel that excitement and motivation to write again.

If you’d like more advice, feel free to send another ask or dm me here or at blue.e on discord! Happy writing <33

#writing advice

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natelotl · 9 days

Text

Open letter to the interactive fiction community

Personal opinion that doesn't represent anyone's but my own.

First of all, I will clarify that I'm just a reader, not a writer of this genre (I do write conventional fiction though), but here's what I noticed:

I'm someone who went away from the scene for about a year due to other interests and found myself reading my favourite titles again, as well as some I've never read before. I love this genre, so as a reader I enjoy reading various titles, but I always feel a sense of dread whenever I open most development blogs, with the exception of some authors that I know don't take fans asking stuff that personally. I will not name specifics, but if the shoe fits, you can wear it.

The sense of dread comes from whenever I try to open dev blogs. I'm always happy to know more about the plot and the characters, but I personally feel like I have to tiptoe when reading asks, and a bit scared to find out how authors react to other people who are asking seemingly innocuous questions and in return get answers that are... very defensive? of the work being written, and a lot of the time the ask is not even criticism of the work by whoever is asking.

I also get the impression that some authors in the community seem to enjoy looking down/dunking on their audience or think of their audience as more morally inferior for coming to different conclusions to their works? I get that fans 'not getting the point' of your plot and/or characters can be frustrating, but that's the risk of putting your work out there, isn't it? Even people who like your work in its entirety might not align with you personally.

To build up on the above point, as someone who enjoys other genres with romance elements or straight up romance games like dating sims/otome/BL/yuri/galge is that there's a sense of looking down at their audience who choose to play because they mainly enjoy the romance and/or are solely there for the romance/intimacy aspects, as if they're lesser than people who can enjoy multiple aspects. There's a sense of 'romance/sex is lesser' and I know there's a reason romance isn't compulsory to include as many players as possible, but it feels a bit puritan/sex negative to me, as is scoffing at players who find NPCs or antagonists/villains attractive enough to want to date, but you can always ignore/ delete those asks instead of openly antagonising your audience for wishing something that you have the power to include/exclude from your canon, no? All it does is make your a part of your audience resent you and/or refuse to engage with the work (it's happened to me before).

Last commentary: There's a sense of "I have the moral responsibility to write only morally correct fiction" sometimes, and so not enough creative freedom in general in especially how character flaws and especially villains are written? Are you guys limiting yourselves? But maybe that's my personal taste, I like leches, lol.

Small note for fellow readers: I know I just criticised how authors handle things, but in our part I think we can all start from reading FAQs and do away from asking things that might be out of their boundaries. we can always do fanart and/or fics, headcanons etc of things authors disagree with somewhere they cannot see.

I think that's all I have for now. I won't answer back, but I'm curious what the rest of the community thinks.

*EDIT: this was directed ONLY at western-style text-based IF community. If what you make is closer to dating sims, VNs or otome/galge/BL/yuri: feel free to ignore this post, you are not its target audience.

#interactive fiction #interactive novel #interactive game #discourse

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mdhwrites · 1 year

Note

You know, I think Dana didn't plan Belos at all in s1.

The whole eating palismen wasn't even a thing till s2. And what frustrates me about it the most is Lilith, most of her actions in s1 created a huge plot hole in s2 with that decision. He confiscates and eats all the palismen yet she's allowed to keep hers while Hunter is on a stress marathon at the idea of Belos finding Flapjack, and I couldn't care much since Lilith was right there. Same about the coven sigils, why does she not have one????? She was the freaking E.C head not just a regular.

And another plot hole about the sigils brands, one coven scout mentioned switching covens (Severine was her name don't remember the episode), was that meant to be a silly joke? Or considering that Dana voiced her, people assumed she did it to poke fun at Disney's decisions. It still creates a contradiction to the brands being permanent tho, people did consider a possibility that there's a way to debrand someone, and there should be in this case right?

Sometimes I feel like Dana cares more about hating Disney than writing sense in her story and I'm tired to pretend it's not like that, which pisses me off. Can you forget about that mouse for a damn second to consider that maybe you shouldn't write some things that make no sense? Or be aware of your time limit to not write certain things, like the freaking collector? But god forbid you'd be mad at her in this fandom smh🤦

So... I could talk about each of these subjects on their own. Belos/Philip as just a complete mess of a character and inconsistencies, Palisman and how they're a good concept that got fucked over by what this blog will actually be about and the EC/Coven system which... Holy fuck. HOOOOLY Fuck S2 fucks it up sideways.

And because I've talked some about some of these topics, here are three different blogs covering

Belos' asinine rise to power and TOH wanting to mirror historical fascism in his rise.

Talking about why people are mad about Stringbean is the closest I've actually come to talking majorly about Palisman.

And I did some talk about metatext and plain text to do with the magic tracks in TOH that is about to become VERY relevant to this blog.

It's actually your last paragraph I want to talk about though. Because... The problem isn't that Dana was too focused on hating Disney. That would only explain, realistically, the problems with S2B and S3 and the jokes at the Mouse's expense take very little time and don't really detract from the show. It is not a major issue about her as a writer.

Now before I get into what her biggest weakness, at least as you can tell from TOH, is as a writer: Don't attack creators. I am attacking her writing and criticizing it but I am not attacking her as a person or getting mad at her. Her creation does nothing offensive, nothing cruel, etc. like that. Are there problems with it? Yes. Do I have issues with how she has used excuses to shield herself and TOH from criticism? Yes. But we still need to be good people and I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone about that.

Anyways: I've talked at LENGTH about the fact that TOH has a focus problem. That it is effectively three shows at once. I even just yesterday talked about how this lack of focus damages its ability to have coherent themes because nothing is given enough time, attention or is actively contradicted eventually.

As the show runner, it's Dana's job to keep focus. To not let writers do whatever they want and keep the show consistent and in continuity with itself. Her job, effectively, is to follow a line I ADORE:

A great piece of art knows as much what it isn't as it knows what it is.

The problem is... Dana quite obviously doesn't agree with this. She appears by her writing to have a mentality that there is no idea she doesn't like. There is no statement, regardless of the contradictions it makes.

If you want to talk about how early this happens, just look at Covention. Dana, as the creative lead, should know that the covens are a very serious thing, that the nine covens are important to Belos' plans and she should know about glyph magic.

That is the episode that introduces there being potentially HUNDREDS of covens simply for the sake of a job fair joke and setting and also the power glyph EXISTS. Yes, the power glyph is used to make Amity more impressive in the fight, cranking up the spectacle, but notice how it has NEVER been brought back up? And Construction magic explicitly isn't what was described when we were first told about it? Almost like witches using paper goes against Amity's shock at seeing Luz use a piece of paper to cast a light spell.

Dana also should be the one most acutely aware of how dangerous it is for a witch to be a wild witch. How much deciding to use multiple forms of magic is hazardous to them. Well... Dana was on the writing team for First Day (linked in the metatext blog) and Reaching Out was SOLELY written by Dana. You know, an episode where Amity treats joining a coven like going to college, Alador has no objections about this and the twins both get a bad girl coven shirt like it's something to purely celebrate for them.

And if we look at what Dana hasn't explicitly written, she still doesn't appear to be willing to say no to anyone. Hollow Mind was written by other people and includes the line that the Titan was believed to be dead when Belos rising to power. In King's Tide, an episode Dana DID write, Belos talks about Luz must having been blessed by the Titan in order to have already gotten glyph combos despite Belos being the LAST person who should think the Titan is alive, especially since he's been in the things skull and made a fake religion around it.

Worse yet is that while Dana has never met an idea she doesn't like... She's never met an idea she likes enough to commit to. So much of the show is about presenting potential, even with what I've described above, but then doing nothing with it. In fact, more often than not, ESPECIALLY WITH THE COVEN SYSTEM, it will be discarded, ignored or changed for the sake of a different concept. Amity's parents are like this where Alador seems 90% on board with anything Odalia does in his first two appearances but then he's only a little neglectful but still moral come Reaching Out. We can have Luz and Amity try to have a healthy relationship and agree to not lie to each other but that would make the reveal of Luz's dad being dead so much harder so just... ignore that. It's okay that Luz is still blatantly lying and breaking her girlfriend's trust.

Remember: It was Dana's FIRST solo episode, Eda's Requiem, that setup how important the coven heads were for the sake of the Day of Unity. That even one going missing at this point would be a MAJOR problem for it.

Buuuut that is a problem that a lot of prophetic fantasy faces and usually doesn't have an answer to. It's a hard thing to have an answer as to why the heroes don't just keep one mcguffin away, let alone what TOH did with three of them being on the side of good. So what did other writers do with it when they actually had to deal with what Dana had written?

Throw that shit out in one line that implies replacing coven heads is as easy as replacing paper plates.

The show is, to put it lightly, a disaster. And you know a better show runner can do better than this because Amphibia doesn't have these contradictions. Gravity Falls doesn't have these contradictions. Hell, we go to less renowned media, to stuff like Randy Cunningham Ninth Grade Ninja or Danny Phantom and THEY don't have the same sorts of inconsistencies despite being about as serialized as TOH just not touting that as some sort of revolutionary aspect of it.

And the worst part? At least to me? It... It's a fanfiction writing problem. And in fanfiction, it's fine. Fanfiction is meant to use a piece of media to explore every potential part of the world and characters it wants. A professional piece of media, that takes so much money and effort to create, is meant to have greater focus and coherence so as to actually have a point to its story.

And if you want a comparable example for professional work, look no further than 50 Shades of Grey. I'm not saying TOH is as bad as 50 Shades but they both suffer from whenever the writer loses interest in an idea and just writes it out or has it vanish for no reason. Both go on tangents when the writer has some new idea that comes into their brain.

It reminds me of when people would ask while I was writing Crises Girlfriends, "What are Gus and Willow doing in this AU?" Because I am more of an original writer than I am a fanfic writer, and Crises Girlfriends was a story that I always planned to convert to original fiction, I'd never even considered them. Not for even a second.

Because... Could I have given them a role? Yes. But like TOH, it would have been performative, dilute the point and focus of the story and just felt like a waste of word count. So I didn't include them because they had no point.

But it was also fanfiction and Willow and Gus probably mean a lot to the people who asked. That's not their fault. That's part of fanfiction. I didn't get mad or anything, I just described what I just did as to why they wouldn't show up.

Because I knew what Crises Girlfriends was. I can make a one sentence pitch for it. It's about two girls who find love through the person they are with, but find help through the place they're in. It gets across how the two give support and care for each other but that love isn't the answer to mental health so within the story, you can actually expect some treatment of their mental health issues.

For Amphibia, you can say "It's the story of how another world helps bring light to the flawed friendship of three girls and makes them better people" and that works for explaining the main thrust of Amphibia.

What the hell is the main thrust of TOH? I can say what its main theme is, that self expression is king, but that's even an awkward placement when it clearly wants to be about reality versus fiction. But then it also is way too much wish fulfilment. It wants to be subversive of the fantasy genre but it uses too many of the tropes and excuses of it.

It doesn't know what it isn't, which doesn't let it know what it is. And that's such a shame. =======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead,

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

#The Owl House Criticism #Rambles

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