#and a lot of people tend to respond to criticisms like this by saying “oh well you need to accept characters are going to have overlap” | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

utilitycaster · 12 days

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@rowzeoli replied to your post “@rowzeoli replied to your post “Do you think part...”:

There's a lot to tackle on this so I'll do my best to cover it all! So I totally get where you're coming from and to be fair yes there are some things in old articles that I don't agree with any more in deeming people having done things "first" which is part of the issue of not having a collective historical memory around actual play as it moves so quickly. Most of the issue isn't that readership is down it's that AI and venture capitalism is destroying journalism

Hey, sorry for taking a bit to respond; it's been a hectic week and I wanted to give it some thought and time.

I'll start off with the good: I really do, again, appreciate you engaging here, and on the strength of that alone I am going to at least give Rascal's free articles a good solid chance for a while; I have been, admittedly, tarring it with the brush of a lot of frustrations (see below) and I know it's relatively new and still finding its place and should get a bit more of my patience. I also should note that while your article did hit on a lot of the patterns that have turned me - and no small amount of others - off of a lot of AP/TTRPG journalism it is by no means the worst example. The things you credited Burrow's End for are, admittedly, more obscure single-episode events within a huge body of work. Or in other words: there are bylines in the space that make me go "oh this is going to be bad" and yours is not one of them.

With that said: I'm sorry, but Polygon's bias is not a matter of time crunch or lack of funding. There is no way that a time crunch or lack of funding would consistently, over years (this was already word on the street at latest when EXU Calamity came out almost 2 years ago) result in a message of "D20 can do no wrong, and Critical Role rarely does right." If it were throwing out harsh criticism or glowing praise for a wide variety of shows, sure, that seems like it could come from not having a lot of time...but this goes beyond coincidence. It's a reputation that long precedes your entry into the field. As some others in the replies have noted, I might have written the most about it on Tumblr, but it's at this point not an uncommon observation. This also isn't an issue for other publications in a similar "nerd stuff" space - there's plenty of articles on, say, Dicebreaker or Comicbook.com that I don't care for, either because I disagree with the opinion or I think the analysis isn't really worthwhile, but those tend to at least have a mix of positive and critical articles about most shows. When I said you could treat Polygon articles like Madlibs, I meant it. And so I think it's great that you are no longer chasing "groundbreaking", for example, is not a solid ground for an article, but this also is showing me that even relatively new journalists are, very early on, starting with this exact formula. In some ways, that's more damning.

I do also want to add that I'm again, sympathetic to the lack of resources and to coming into a field with passionate and nitpicky fans who have been here for years. Not knowing about a single Critical Role one-shot from 2018 is something that I'd have been much more lenient about if it weren't hitting those repetitive notes of "D20 is great/this thing is groundbreaking/look at the production values." But the other article I posted, also from Polygon but not written by you, is, to be honest, pretty inexcusable. I get there's a lot of lost institutional memory...but either being unaware of, or ignoring the fact that there are a huge number of long-running actual play podcasts that play longform campaigns? That's pretty much on par, in terms of whether your audience trusts you, of the New York Times international news desk not being able to locate Russia on a map (though obviously with far less serious real-world ramifications). (The fact that this was written by a prominent actual play scholar meanwhile is like, I don't know, Neil DeGrasse Tyson not knowing how gravity works, but that's a separate topic).

And again, I get these are your colleagues. I have the luxury of being able to run my mouth without putting my livelihood at stake, and that's not true for people within the industry. I do not expect you to say anything ill about them, nor would I judge any specific individual for getting published in Polygon since I get that people are pitching to a number of sites so that they can get paid! But when I say "Polygon's AP/TTRPG coverage is at needs-a-change-of-leadership levels of bad" I am not alone in this, and it's something that has probably been true for easily 3+ years if not longer. Because it's one of the more prominent publications in the space (ironically, due to Justin McElroy of TAZ being a founder, and the fact that its videogame division is quite good and has had some viral videos, it had enviable name recognition among AP fans that it's only squandered since) it really is at a point where hitting that same formula in any AP journalism - claiming everything is groundbreaking, putting an emphasis on high production values, D20 good and CR bad - makes fans go "oh, more of this bullshit." I don't want to say you can't talk about these things - I definitely do not want to say that you cannot criticize Critical Role - but that specific well is has been poisoned for a long time. If someone hits these points it feels, whether or not it is true, that they're trying to be provocative by going against popular fan opinion, but are simultaneously just saying the same thing we've seen a million times before.

I believe wholeheartedly that from your perspective the competition is AI - and I don't want AI articles either. On the other hand, in terms of what I think fans who are in my position are turning to, it's not AI articles (I'm certainly not). If I want analysis, I'm probably, at this point, going to social media; I am not the only person who writes longform meta or analysis for fun, and I'll seek others who do out. I'm not personally a video essay person, but plenty are, and that's out there too. I'm not going there for reporting on news (I think the Dnd Shorts OGL debacle made it clear that actual journalists are very necessary) but yeah, if I want criticism or analysis? I'm going there instead, especially since there often is that missing institutional memory. If I do want journalism, at this point, some of the bigger shows are getting writeups in less niche publications, particularly Critical Role and D20, as is news of more major tabletop games. It's infrequent and it doesn't highlight indie works, but it tends to be, if nothing else, lacking in major errors or obvious bias. If I want to hear from cast members, at least four of the shows I watch or listen to have regular talkback shows, and Dropout regularly talks to AP/TTRPG figures on Adventuring Academy, and a lot of those shows take viewer questions. Which, again, probably not heartening to hear the competition is even tighter, but I guess my point is I hope it's possible, even with very limited resources, to move away from the above "novelty and production values above all" pattern because even that would do a lot of needed work to rebuild reader trust - and I'm going to be checking out Rascal in the hopes that it can.

#rowzeoli #long post

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luigiblood · 3 months

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Game Ownership

In sort of a response to the Ubisoft director of subscriptions where he said that we need to get more confortable not owning games...

Well, reading that interview from GamesIndustry.biz, turns out he never really said that. It's more of an observation of the gaming subscription services, and comparing different views. It's actually a pretty interesting read.

But the negative response to the more clickbait part where the gamers went very much against this from the get go was something that particularly striked me as how I really just didn't feel like I was part of those who responded like this.

I do not care about owning games that much. I may be a owner of retro consoles, games, and about 50 Switch physical games, but the reasons ranges from passion to just practical and economical.

Taking the example of the Switch, what currently makes me attached to physical games are more of how it's usually cheaper in my country (like, first party games day one tend to be 25% off brand new), and the practicality when you live in a household with 2 Switch systems, it's just easier to share the games that way with your family. If I could just buy digitally with the same advantages, I'd just do that.

This view on game ownership has mostly to do with my past of a guy who pirated games and movies like crazy before we got a little more comfortable paying for stuff. But this past also comes with a deeper importance on the presence of data locally. Cloud gaming is something I hate on passionately if the industry keeps going on that as a means to play games exclusively. It would be the kind of thing that would make my heart broken about modern gaming as a whole, but thankfully we're not even close to there, and I suspect we'll never be.

But I could also not need to pay for the games, I don't really see a lack of ownership as a problem on its own. The only thing that matters is if it's practical or not, and that's the part that feels like it tends to be skipped when explained. That's how it went about movies and music.

That practicality is critical, and that is the part that's the most in danger. The big reason why is how companies can decide on a whim what is accessible to suit their needs. That WILL be completely in the process of enshittification due to how companies have to keep growing until it makes no more sense. You don't even need to look very far to understand this, video streaming services are already very good at doing absolutely this, but I also dare say the Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are on a similar boat to a different extent, though.

One of the recent examples of how bad shit is HBO Max's removal of a huge amount of content just for a massive tax write down. There is financial incentive to fuck us all, and I consider the future to do absolutely that in the long term for gaming.

That kind of thing SUCKS. That is what we're actually scared of as a consumer. I hate seeing art being considered as a throwaway product.

I even saw a french article that was so complacent with this and kept saying complete bullshit things like "oh if they remove that game from the service, just take it as an opportunity to play another one" just, fuck off. That's not how I see this kind of service.

I love Nintendo Switch Online, despite a lot of its flaws, and hate on Virtual Console's overall legacy personally. I'm all for ways to allow discoverability and pick the curiosity of people. That's the kind of shit that I love in having some ease of access to catalogs, despite not owning them.

Wasn't it the dream to just access to everything with less money though? Don't tell me otherwise because I wouldn't believe you. I do think there's something nice in this kind of service, but we also need to figure how to keep companies from the inevitable enshittification that will ensue on the constant need for growth beyond any reasonable sense.

#gaming #streaming #opinion #ownership

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cchapsticck · 5 months

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20 Questions for fic writers

@dreamwatch tagged me and I actually woke up with enough time to do things before I need to go into work

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10 - Which is very surprising to me considering my reluctance to release anything beyond my google docs for many years.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

142,085 lord

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things (but Eddie Munson in specific honestly) primarily, but I've got some Baldur's Gate and Critical Role in the tubes right now too. The unifying theme here being I Am A Tremendous Nerd Who Likes DnD

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

UNTITLED RECORDING rcd ca. 1987-1988 in the #1 slot by a wide margin, followed by ANACRUSIS ca. 1987, head line, wait, runner, and sunflower broke.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I sincerely try to! I am bad at accepting compliments or feedback so I always feel like I'm giving these sort of boilerplate platitudes and thanks and I wish I could accurately capture me reading every comment about 15 times kicking my leg under my desk. I try to be loudly receptive to the feedback I get. People took the time to read and respond! They don't have to do that!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

At first when I was going to respond to this I thought to myself "I'm not sure I really have a lot of fics that end with angst- oh its dog." Its dog. Its dog at the door. Its absolutely dog at the door. I apparently forgot I wrote it, but its dog.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I don't necessarily think of myself who writes things with uncomplicated, expressly happy endings. I think a lot of my work that does end hopefully ends with a kind of watery fragile kind of happy. That probably says something about me but maybe it doesn't. But, to answer the question properly, I think head line is probably the least complicated sense of happy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not that I've been made aware of. I'm sure that my writing style and my takes on characters are not everyone's cup of tea, but that's just the mark of a healthy fandom ecosystem. I'm also not a very """""big""""" writer so ain't no one looking at me.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have in the past, but I've never felt very confident in my writing when I do. I don't really feel like I can craft very erotic or romantic scenarios when it comes to physical expressions of sexuality, maybe its my writing style working against me or its just a generalized internal cringe @ me when I do. So these days I tend to skirt around it or speak more evocatively when necessary. I just feel like a total fucking goober when I start getting more direct and descriptive.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Always curious what constitutes as a crossover and what constitutes as an AU to some - ao3 tagging seems to muddy the waters for me. Because if you tag the source material for your AU it looks like a crossover but maybe you're simply using the world's logic but none of its characters? And that feels different to me than a strict crossover where characters from other titles are interacting with each other. Y'know? Instructions unclear wrote a DnD AU, one's mileage may vary if that's a crossover or not.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

That's a thing? I mean. I guess people translating without attribution or reposting fics on other platforms is a thing. I guess that's that. Huh.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sort of? Not really? I definitely have played in the sandbox with @cwstau and their work, and have my own little toenail clipping a thing based on that work. I've done a little art here and there, and served as a sounding board, to a certain extent, in the formative stages of that fic's life but all of the heavy lifting is exclusively L's work. And while none of it will ever see the light of day I've also definitely theory crafted entire character dynamics and, sort of, speculative futures with friends in DMs. A lot of Yes And-ing each other about the threads we'll pull on.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Man don't ask me that. I'm all over the road, I'm in the wind. I'll be hard in the paint on one thing and then something old will reemerge on the breeze and I just go back to places I one dwelled and be insane there.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

lol any of them. Seriously, the fact that I have finished and published 10 things this year is a testament to. Something. I have no idea what. Something, because I have never been this kind of productive in many many moons and that productivity is a fickle thing that could leave just as soon as its arrived. My google docs is a graveyard of fics I've started and stopped and had grand plans for and mostly finished or entirely finished but never did anything with.

16. What are your writing strengths?

hahah bad at this question but I think I am good at research, when the fic in question demands it. I like to think I can synthesize that research into interesting things when the fic calls for it. I also think I can do cool things with character voice? At least, I always want to try to be interesting with that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am very bad at drafting, which is to say I often don't and I get frustrated and discouraged when I can't articulate myself the way I want on the first pass - which is particularly sore spot for me when I always feel like I'm trying to do things very intentionally with character voice and interpretation. I never feel super confident with my dialogue either. I'll write internal monologues for several thousand words but the minute two characters need to have an honest to god conversation I forget how human speech works. I'm also just bad at being concise. I really struggle to just let things stand, it is very hard for me to do those "200 words" writing prompt challenges because I'll start on one concept and my brain branches into a million other places this could go with a lot of detail and intersecting relevance and it can be so so hard for me to kill my darlings.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I think there's a due diligence required when writing for and in languages you, yourself, don't speak. Google translate isn't necessarily a viable solution to your multi-lingual needs, which I think everyone knows so its not like that's a bold stance. Seek out native speakers, ask for feedback, etc. When its my own work I try not to overly complicate the matter, if all parties in the fiction understand the language I'm going to keep writing in the language of the fic itself. There's a fandom I'm a part of that, in canon, uses German as a proxy language for a fantasy language - which is a language I am conversationally fluent in - and even then I find myself hesitant to just indulge in peppering in German words and phrases because that's just, in my experience, not how of multilingual people use language. Authenticity sort of matters in that regard, and there's a weird artificial presentational-ness to just jamming vocabulary words of other languages into dialogue or text that isn't justified by the character or the conversation itself. idk where I'm going with this.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Weeaboo past revealed: I'm pretty sure it was KHR but I cannot be sure anymore.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

This fluctuates based on which one I'm less mad about when I think about it retrospect on any given day, but I think UNTITLED stands as a testament to me writing in long(ish) form, something I've never done before, and was where I really learned a lot about character voice and how to use it. There's plenty I think I'd change or edit now (honestly, was talking to a friend about making a director's cut of some of the chapters of the whole MH series) but it was a big undertaking and I met a lot of really excellent people through the writing and response to that particular fic.

No pressure tags for: @cwstau, @nameslikeguns, @greenlikethesea, @dodger-chan

#tagged in

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urchintoast · 6 months

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I was tagged by @colettebronte and @fayes-fics! Thanks for thinking of me darlings!! 🫶🫶🫶

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

40,668

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently: Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers. But I’ve also written for The Umbrella Academy, Star Trek, Harry Potter, MCU, and Kingsman (though I don’t have any fics on ao3 for the last 2)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ooh by Kudos?

It’s Not Saturday with 565

I See You with 452 (ooh this one’s moved up! TUA had been my top 3 for the longest time!)

Blush with 416

The Last Man with 415 (very close!)

His Everything with 410

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! If someone made the effort to leave a comment for me, the least I can do is thank them for taking the time to read my silly writings 🥹 I have a lot of kudos/likes but the comments are rarer and mean the world to me 🥹

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Milk? It’s in Hawk’s pov and I just find it very hard to not be angsty in his voice. Idk.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I love happy endings (don’t we all? 😜) so I tend to write happy endings for most of my fics. The absolute cheesiest is Pebble, although the relief in Fear is a great pay off in my opinion.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I did. I had some really mean comments a few years ago and that’s why I took such a long break from fic writing. A few people told me that my fics made no sense and told me to stop trying. It’s taken me a while to build my confidence back up after that, and I’m still really struggling with writing smut again after that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I used to write some mlm and omegaverse fics but as previously mentioned, got some hate on them and stopped. Currently no, at least not that I’m comfortable sharing yet.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I’ve never written crossovers, though some AUs are fun!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of 🤔 hopefully it stays that way! Please don’t steal! 🥺

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not that’s been published, but with friends in discords over the years we’ve written some fics for ourselves. Always befriend authors, you get the best riffing!

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I can’t pick just one!! Ummmm. Nope, I can’t even pick just one for each fandom lol. I like different ships for different reasons, I can’t choose just one!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I’m determined to finish it! But right now Surprising seems like it’s not gonna be finished any time soon, just cause it’s been a published WIP since May, and then life happened and I just lost inspiration for it. Hopefully my muse will return soon once work and things settle down 🤞

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh this is hard. I’m so critical of myself. Umm I’ve gotten some nice comments about funny dialogue so I guess that?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Besides finishing them? Length. Smut.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Please just have the translation available at some point (like a footnote) so I don’t have to open a new tab to look up what they’re saying because then I get distracted and forget that I was reading something lol

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter is the first one I published on ao3. No clue what the real first one is 🤷🏻‍♀️

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I don’t really have a favorite? I’m pretty proud of them all for different reasons. Ease My Mind cause it was omega/omega and I’d never seen anyone do that before. Surprising because it got me back to writing. I See You because it’s the longest fic I’ve ever finished. Milk because I was the first one on ao3 to write for that pairing!

Really I could go on and on about why I’m proud of each fic 🥹

Thanks for tagging me!! 💗

#adventures in fanfic writing

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tenebraevesper · 2 years

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Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #36: Chao Races and Badnik Bases (Part 4)

Welcome to the last Issue of The Chao Races and Badnik Bases Arc. We left off with Amy, Gemerl, Cream, Cheese and Belle fighting off Badniks and trying to save the Chao Clutch kept imprisoned, while Sonic and Shadow are given a choice by Starline to either save Tails and Rouge or everyone at the chateau from the avalanche.

So, we start off with Sonic mirroring my own reaction to Starline’s plan (gotta say, this panel is gorgeous). Starline admits that it is a bit cliche, forcing the heroes to choose between the masses and those they hold dear. I think that, while Starline does do well as an independent villain and while his threat might work on someone like Sonic... he obviously isn’t aware of how Shadow works.

Shadow is still pursing Starline, with Sonic trying to convince him to stop the avalanche, but Shadow refuses. Sonic is exasperated, but Tails tells him that he should go and they’ll be fine, with Sonic reluctantly leaving.

Tails asks Shadow to help them,... only for Shadow to step over them, focused on Starline, the latter being surprised that Shadow is going straight for him.

You know, I had been bitching a lot about how Shadow is written and voicing my grief over Team Dark not being a thing anymore. Regarding that, I had been accused of just being whiny that SEGA doesn’t write Shadow the way I want, which is... what? Just, what? I don’t understand where people pulled that conclusion. I mean, I’m already writing my own story, why would I need to demand that?

*shakes head in exasperation*

Listen... I saw and read how Shadow had been written before SEGA started enforcing their “guidelines”, especially in the comics. I also know that this is a soft reboot for his character, and I can accept that. As a matter of fact, I do accept that. I love whenever Shadow appears just to see into what kind of shenanigans he gets himself into.

The reason I criticize some of the writing choices isn’t because I act like I know better, as if I know how he’s supposed to be written, but to try to find a better in-universe reasoning for his behavior rather than the out-of-universe “oh, he’s just a like Vegeta” explanation is being thrown around. I believe that Shadow can be written as a compelling character if put in the right circumstances and that the supposed “guidelines” SEGA have an effect on how he’s written, rather than placing all of the blame on the writers. I read how Ian Flynn and Evan Stanley write Shadow without the guidelines and it was genuinely good.

Now, SEGA does have the right to enforce how their characters should be written, and I respect that. Still, I have some trouble believing that, as shown in the panel above, Shadow would just leave Rouge and Tails just sitting there unless he made sure they could take care of themselves when in Sonic Heroes, the moment he awoke and Omega attacked him and Rouge, he first made sure that Rouge was fine before dealing with Omega. It just feels off and I want to know why.

It also appears that Rouge shares my sentiment, or at least knows Shadow well enough to be aware that he would go for the Final Boss, having managed to cut the ropes through earlier. She gives Omega the codeword, with Omega making enough noise to startle Starline, causing him to fall off.

Shadow looks over, seeing Starline escaping thanks to the Tricore. Before he can chase after him, Rouge stops him, reminding that, even if they both want to kick Starline’s ass for what he had done, there is still work to be done. Shadow responds that she shouldn’t tell him what to do, but Rouge reminds him that this is his choice and that he’ll be then one who’ll live with it.

We can see the conflict in Shadow’s eyes,... and I genuinely wish it was something Shadow had realized on his own. I know he tends to have tunnel-vision when it comes to completing missions, but it is painful to see having Rouge spell it out for him. Hell, maybe he and Sonic could’ve split off, allowing Shadow to free Tails and Rouge and the three confronting Starline. Even if Starline uses the Tricore to escape, Tails and Rouge can fly or let Shadow catch up with them while they warn the people at the chateau about the avalanche.

There were so many ways this moment could’ve gone about, but having a situation where Shadow has to choose between revenge and saving people makes me feel bitter about it. Unlike in Sonic Adventure 2, he isn’t being manipulated here and we know that he cares, yet he puts his pride above everything else.

Thankfully, Rouge has knocked some sense into him, picking Omega up and flying off with Tails to the chateau.

Meanwhile, Amy is still fighting the polar bear Badnik, while Gemerl and Cheese are holding their position. Cream and Belle are busy with the cage.

Gemerl is obviously pushing himself, with an E-1000 Robot resembling Gamma hitting him from the back. Belle is meanwhile working on the last lock, with Cream asking the Chao for help, all of which agree.

Nice!

Just as Gemerl and Amy get whacked by the Badniks, Belle finishes the last lock and Cream unleashes the Chao upon the Badniks. Honestly, it’s kinda badass to see them like this.

Cream quickly checks on Gemerl, who feels guilty for being unable to protect Cream, but the latter notes how they all do their best to protect each other. Gemerl quickly then goes to help Amy.

One good smash to the head, and the Badnik was done. However, the crisis is not over yet, as Rouge, Omega and Tails drop in, telling them everyone’s in danger.

We then cut to Sonic, who looks overwhelmed by the task at hand, namely stopping the avalanche from reaching the chateau, only for Shadow to show up. Looks like Rouge’s words really got to him.

Shadow tells Sonic that this is him repaying for what happened in Sunset City and the two quickly work together to cut down the trees to make a barrier, with Shadow even complimenting his idea.

At first, it looks like it would work, but anyone who knows about avalanches knows that this is a force that cannot be stopped. Shocked and desperate, the two quickly run down towards the chateau.

Meanwhile, Amy, Tails, Rouge, Belle, Cream, Omega, Gemerl, Cheese and the other Chao are stopped by Omochao, with Tails warning him about the avalanche. Omochao notes that they have a warning system, but before he can even end the sentence, Amy jumps in, telling him to get the people to safety or she’ll make a few new exists.

Yeah, she had a bad day, don’t antagonize her further.

Omochao quickly agrees and tells everyone to evacuate, with Omega even helping out: “Run, pitiful tourist creatures. Or face certain destruction!”

Never change Omega, never change.

Then, Starline suddenly appears.

Okay, now I’m convinced that everyone took their stupid pills today (or at least, Shadow, Sonic and Starline did). What the hell are you doing here, you idiot?! There is an avalanche YOU had caused coming directly to the chateau! I get it, you want Tails, but is it really worth risking your life?!

*thinks back to Starline teaming up with Eggman, Zavok, Mimic, Rough and Tumble* Welp, at least he stays consistent with getting himself into danger.

Amy and Rouge fight him, with Starline activating the Tricore and going straight for Tails.

Starline grabs Tails’ twin-tails, so Tails response to it is to grab Belle’s tail. Cue Belle kicking Starline right into his face. He hears a strange noise, only to now remember the frigging avalanche as everyone else books it.

Do they hand out Darwin Awards in the Sonic Universe, because I would like to nominate a certain platypus.

So, while everyone else manages to make it out, Starline gets buried in the snow. Yeah, he deserved that.

Fortunately, everyone is safe, with Rouge looking around for Sonic and Shadow. Amy decides to help her, considering how she has a knack for finding hedgehogs and hears them from the underground. Sonic and Shadow then come flying out, both safe and sound.

Amy hugs Sonic in relief, who is glad to see everyone is fine. Shadow just walks away, calling the whole thing a waste of their time. Rouge informs him that Starline got hit, and I guess this does make Shadow feel a little better.

Sonic also notices Belle, surprised to see that she stuck around and hears from Tails and Cream that she helped him. He then apologizes for being tough on her. Well, I guess that is something. Tails then asks her if she can help him with something, with Belle agreeing.

Back at the workshop, we see Cream with the Chao on the outside...

...and Tails and Belle working on Omega inside, with Gemerl also being fixed. Tails suggests Omega and Gemerl could do a little sparring match (the results of which we’ll see later on), with Cream and Vanilla entering the workshop, and Cream proceeding to tell her mother everything that happened.

Meanwhile, Amy and Rouge are both sweating as they realize that they’re gonna get in trouble and Rouge immediately bails, leaving Amy to deal with Vanilla. Love it!

Back outside, Sonic is walking around with the Dark Chao, and we see that he’s actually talking to Shadow, who’s hiding behind a tree, apple in hand.

Sonic notes how things didn’t go as planned, but that it doesn’t matter and he was just glad Shadow was around to help. Shadow just tosses the apple to the Dark Chao, telling him not to overthink it, while Sonic just replies with a casual “yeah, sure”, knowing well that Shadow does care even if he doesn’t show it.

Honestly, these are moments I really love to see when it comes to Shadow’s character. He can stay the more aloof, rival character, but all he has to do is show from time to time that there is a softer side to him, that he actually cares rather than living up to the depiction of being an edgelord whose only emotion is anger and detachment (not even acknowledging Rouge and Omega as his friends). Hell, Evan Stanley even says that Shadow kind of adopted the Dark Chao, albeit more in the way of him checking up on the latter.

Unfortunately, as of writing this analysis, this is the last time we see Shadow. This is Issue #36 and the current confirmed number of Issues is #56, the current arc focusing on Surge the Tenrec (we’ll get to that one) and her making her own problems everyone else’s. He didn’t even show up in the Annual.

Here’s the thing - my greatest fear regarding Shadow is that due to the SEGA guidelines, he isn’t allowed to develop as a character. Sure, none of them are allowed to develop as characters (well, at least the game characters aren’t) unless SEGA approves of it, but Shadow had the most notes and restrictions tied to him. It is quite jarring, especially when we saw characters like Tails, Amy and Knuckles being re-railed. I don’t want him to just be an angry Vegeta!Clone (as it is implied that this is what SEGA wants), but a character who can stand on his own. He has a lot of potential and with some added depth, I’m sure we could get some amazing stories.

Honestly, I feel that if you had told me that Shadow would eventually dial back on his prideful attitude and arrogance, while retaining his aloof demeanor and strategic mindset, I would’ve absolutely loved the direction they took with writing him. I know he can be reckless and pursue his goals no matter what, even if he suffers the consequences, but I still think he’s smarter than this. Yes, even back in the Zombot Arc - I can accept Shadow losing due to his arrogance, but they still should’ve gone with Ian Flynn’s idea of him removing the Inihibitor Rings rather than continuing to fight the Zombots, as it would’ve made him look less like an idiot.

However, there is one more thing I have to say in the end.

No matter how much I criticize how Shadow’s character has been written in IDW (or blame the SEGA guidelines for how he was written), there is no way I would ever hate him as a character. The one thing I do is offer my opinion on the matter, but I nevertheless still care about him and I always get excited whenever he appears. Hell, my strongest negative reaction to how he was portrayed was in the Zombot Arc, so that should tell you a lot (and even then, it was just that one moment). I also apologize if my rants are too much to handle.

What I said for IDW!Shadow goes for any other media he appears in. For example, I absolutely adore Boom!Shadow and don’t mind him trying to destroy the world just because (admittedly, he did get humiliated by Eggman and then beaten up by Metal Sonic, so I guess that’s reason enough). I’m looking forward to Sonic Prime, just to see why the hell Sonic and Shadow are fighting now (because the teasers imply Sonic was the main offender) and I enjoy their rivalry.

Not to mention, I enjoy the fact that IDW!Shadow is still better written than King Shadow from the infamous “30 Years Later’’ story from Pre-SGW Archie. Seriously, that one wasn’t just character assassination, but character massacre.

As Shadow said, don’t overthink it. If he ever returns to the story, I will try to focus more on his in-universe behavior rather than on what is happening out-of-universe, because frankly, I’m completely done with those guidelines as the sheer mention of them brings nothing but misery. I might mention some stuff, but at this point, I have enough of it.

Also, if whoever reads this wants to discuss Shadow’s character with me, I’m game.

So, moving on, we check on Belle and Tails. Belle is happy that she can fix stuff again, while Tails notes how confused he is that Belle decoded the files only someone like Eggman could decode... or someone he created. Belle replies how Eggman didn’t create her and the conversation ends in awkward silence.

Yeah, at this point we know that her creator is Mr. Tinker.

We then check in on Starline, who survived the avalanche, complaining how the heroes didn’t follow his plans. Still, despite the hurt bill and ruined perm, he notes how he had won, having managed to grab some of Tails’ fur.

Yeah, I have a bad feeling about this.

Links:

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer #sonic idw #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #dr starline #miles tails prower #rouge the bat #e-123 omega #amy rose #cream the rabbit #gemerl #belle the tinkerer #cheese the chao #vanilla the rabbit #dark chao #surge the tenrec #kitsunami the fennec

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thenicestthingiveseen · 6 months

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20 Questions

thanks for the tag! @displayheartcode

tagging @takearisk-ao3, @corneliaavenue-ao3 + anyone else who'd like to participate :)

How many works do you have on AO3?

40 little bitty bits of my brain

2. What's your total AO3 words count? 73,518

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly HP, but I've been dipping my toe into RWRB.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i think he knows (he doesn't) (shoutout to RWRB popularity)

just the (three) of us (the people love canon and sometimes I oblige)

you are beautiful (sweet bi-racial Hallie learning self love in 90s britain as a witch)

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (a personal favorite) (everyone lives but Hallie's still a hot mess sometimes)

oh, and it kills me (first story for several sunlit daylights!!!!)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best to respond to every comment. I love external validation, but also love hearing how people have interpreted what i've written out of the little ideas that come into my head. It's very exciting and I've always been a fan of community so to share that with people in the comments is really special to me. I've admittedly been kind of bad at it because life was really "life-ing" but now that I'm on the other side of my mental breakdown I'm trying to get back into writing and engaging with people :)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

oh - you mean the story that wasn't supposed to have any follow up?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uh.....i think all have fairly happy endings idk if I can pick one that's happier than any other? maybe Crazy Little Thing Called Love?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I got a sorta mean comment on FFN so I stopped uploading on there because why you gotta be mean to Hallie? What'd she do to you?

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind?

I've alluded to it. But I'm frankly terrified to write it. Love to read it though lmao

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do not

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but if anyone feels moved to do so, I'm just a DM/comment away!!!!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I have not. I'm just a baby (fanfic writer)

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Hinny

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

there are way too many that I may never get to, but never say never I guess. Once I finish 'Chaos' there might be time for a lot of the other Hinny fics I have thoughts about.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I answered 17 first so, in the opposite vein while I want to write more prose I do like my ability to get to the damn point sometimes. Like, in the last line game I just did a lot of people really like "Whoever said falling in love made you feel at peace, lied." and like I think that's really powerful and sets the stage for what I want to convey emotionally for the rest of the fic?? idk. I'm really bad at celebrating me and seeing my strengths.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?'

is it a cop-out to say: "lots of things"? I'm obviously my biggest critic and I am constantly working to get better with things in terms of pacing, story arcs, and description, I love reading prose/flowery writing and I want to be able to sprinkle that into my works but I'm a flowery(?) person by nature (I'm working on my whole mindset on things needing to be productive to be "worth it") so if one day i can spend a paragraph or two just describing a single moment and gut punch someone I'd love to be able to do that.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I tend to not do it just because slang, grammar, dialects are all different and I'd be damned if I mess up and say something totally outta pocket lol

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

the two weddings and an owl funeral universe (RIP Pig)

#writing #20 questions #tagged #displayheartcode

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sometimesraven · 2 months

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20 Questions for AO3 Writers

I was tagged in this FOREVER ago by @the-frankenman-writes I'm sorry it took me so long to get to!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

84,067 (my fics are usually pretty short haha)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Quantum Leap (TV 2022) (18)

Dragon Age (Video Games) (17)

Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) (11)

Original Work (10)

Dead by Daylight (Video Game) (10)

The Witcher (TV) (6)

The Sandman (TV 2022) (5)

Doctor Who (5)

Elder Scrolls Online (2)

Critical Role (Web Series) (1)

Torchwood (1)

F.E.A.R. (Video Games) (1)

Mass Effect Trilogy (1)

The Champions (TV 1968) (1)

Baldur's Gate (Video Games) (1)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Cold and Dark (Detroit: Become Human)

Holy, Holy, Holy (Original)

Her Sweet Kiss (The Witcher)

Just A Scratch (The Witcher)

Less Than Stellar Judgement (The Witcher)

(,,, people really like my Geraltskier whump fics huh XD)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I respond to basically every comment I get, even if all I can usually manage is some variation of "sfkgjhsfkgj thank you!!" because I have no idea how to take praise but I want the commenter to know they mean the world to me

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angiest ending?

Ooooooooof uhhhhh probably the little Detroit: Become Human ficlet I did called I Will Go Down. TW for suicide XD But there are a lot of angsty fics on there so who knows lmao

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics end pretty bittersweet but I think Hope (Doctor Who) is one of my happiest endings <3

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, surprisingly! My fics don't usually have much reach tbf. The only time I got anything close to "hate" was an ableist saying my disabled Dragon Age Inquisition OC is unrealistic to the setting and would likely be "with their clan or dead".

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Sometimes! Usually it's abstract (a la Holy, Holy, Holy) or porn with feelings (a la A Tale of Yearning) but I've been known to indulge in a lil PWP on occasion

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Just one! I have an ongoing Torchwood x Quantum Leap crossover 'verse thanks to @chaos-of-the-endless 😂 I also wrote a Baldur's Gate x Dead by Daylight AU recently!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I'm aware

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't believe so (please tell me if you ever do!)

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

no but some of my fics were inspired by other people or based on RP I've done in the past

14. What is your all time favorite ship?

Oh don't even XD uhhhhh right now it's Jenn&Ian from Quantum Leap and Geralt/Yennefer/Jaskier from the Witcher but my shipping loves go so far back I could never name an all time favourite

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Family Reunion :( I've been trying to write it for,,,, basically as long as I've been writing but I can never finish it and then years pass and I hate it and think it's cringe and want to start it from scratch, rinse and repeat)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Taking an impulsive headcanon and running with it. I have so many ficlets just because I thought of a headcanon and NEEDED to put it to the page. I also enjoy angst and hurt/comfort, things that expand on already existing angst and make it WORSE :3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

In fic writing it's definitely description. I tend to get carried away in dialogue and forget to Say Other Stuff but I think I have a good handle on it now. That and smut, I enjoy writing it but I have to be either In The Mood or shut off my brain so I don't cringe so hard I delete it all bc I struggle with explicit content and get embarassed when things I'm writing are at all Kinky bc I have a crippling fear of judgement

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language for a fic?

As a reader I enjoy it! As a writer, just be careful, stick to one or two words rather than full dialogue if you don't have the time or energy to deep-google that shit

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who <3

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

this changes daily but at the moment I'm loving Something More and the rest of my Sandman fics revolving around the dream OC I made for it. I'm in love with them and I enjoy writing their dynamic with the Endless siblings too <3

Tagging: anyone who wants to do this <3

#about #writing #ao3 writer #fanfic writer #tag game #fanfiction tag game #writer tag game #writers on tumblr #quantum leap 2022 #quantum leap nbc #doctor who #torchwood #the witcher #the sandman

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staringdownabarrel · 7 months

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So anyway, I saw Showgirls for the first time and I think it deserves a better reputation.

Let me put it this way. Let's say there's this movie from the '90s directed from Paul Verhoeven that got written off as dogshit at the time, but most of the critics were only looking at it on a very surface level, but anyone who digs deeper would realise there's a lot more happening here.

Most people who read that would go, "Oh yeah, you mean Starship Troopers, right?", and they'd be right to say that. That's absolutely a statement that applies to Starship Troopers and you should yell that from the hilltops if you have time. However, it also applies equally to Showgirls.

Because hey, this movie really does have a lot of social commentary. On one level, it's because the people who are drawn to sex work often aren't in the best socioeconomic positions--which is absolutely true, by the way. They often aren't. Even in the modern era when people are under the delusion that online sex work is the fast track to easy money, most people making content for OnlyFans are only making US$180 a month. Both back when the movie was made, a lot of people involved with sex work are/were probably doing some other thing plus sex work.

But also, I think the other aspect of this is a criticism of the American (and more broadly, the capitalist) dream in general. A lot of movies that are in the "underdog realises their dreams" genre tend to involve a character who has charisma, intelligence, and talent. Nomi doesn't have any of this. She has the bare minimum of intelligence and charisma required to get by as the main character in a movie, but she's never presented as being more talented than anyone else she's competing with.

In real life, a lot of the time when someone becomes successful, it's because they got lucky. I think Showgirls is a really good showcase of that, both because Nomi is marginally better at the nastier elements of the behind-the-scenes politics and because the managers tend to naturally like her a little more on a base level than some of her costars.

I think a lot of the trouble is that the backlash against this movie has been based around the sex. Like, when the movie came out, the critics were saying that it wasn't sexy enough, and that's informed how people think about it ever since. I don't really buy into that, though. I think that because a lot of the sex in this movie is centred around questions of consent--like, is this consensual under these circumstances? how about if they knew this is what would come next?--it's better if this isn't really a sexy movie in the same way some other sex thrillers from this period were.

Plus, I think this lack of sexiness tends to highlight some of the questions about the capitalist dream. If the sex isn't completely consensual for the sex worker who's on the verge of "making it", is it really consensual for the common worker of any variety who's about to "make it"? If you accept it isn't in this situation where the answers are a little more cut and dry than in other fields, what's the difference?

A lot of my response to Showgirls is based around how I tend to like Verhoeven's films in general. Part of the appeal of his movies, to me, is that while you can definitely interpret them through a left leaning lens, the main purpose of them is to encourage you to think a little. I think that's always been the problem with how people respond to this one. Even if they accept this is the general rule for a Verhoeven movie, they don't necessarily apply it to this one or go, "Oh, but this one doesn't count."

But anyway, I really liked Showgirls. I know basically nobody reads posts like these from me, but I'd highly encourage you all to go see it.

#showgirls #rant

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ausetkmt · 1 year

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29 Physical And Emotional Ways Childhood Trauma Can Show Up In Adults, From Those Who Have Lived It

If you or someone you know grew up in a difficult home environment, it can be common for people to develop certain personality traits or "survival techniques" during this time — which can impact their adult lives in the long run.

So when I saw that Reddit user u/ThatRamKid recently asked, "What's a sign of childhood trauma?" I thought it would be helpful to share some of the answers to see if others might resonate. Here's what some respondents had to say:

1."Hyper independence. You can’t be let down if you never ask for anything in the first place."

—u/caseofgrapes

"This is me. A huge stress of mine. People always try to compliment it and say, 'Oh, you're so independent.' It has some positives for sure — but everything is always on me. Everything is on my shoulders and nobody else's. If I fuck up, I have no one to help. It's exhausting."

–u/rippedloser Coroimage / Getty Images

2."Difficulty trusting, low self-esteem, and fears of being judged."

—u/ReynaAllman

3."Completely shutting down when criticized or corrected. It took me years to get past this."

—u/Ambiguity_Aspect

"Yes! I always feel like I have to explain myself because I think people wouldn’t criticize or correct me if they knew what I was thinking."

—u/notthebestusername12

4."In some cases, excessive people-pleasing tendencies."

—u/paul_rudds_drag_race

"Yep, if anyone is interested in this, google fawning. It’s an alternative to fight/flight/freeze. Not an expert, just a survivor, but from what I understand/experienced, it manifests when a victim can’t get out of an unsafe situation and ends up people-pleasing as an attempt to avoid setting off their abuser or minimize the extent of the abuse."

—u/kriscrossroads

"From Pete Walker's Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving:

'Traumatized children often over-gravitate to one of these response patterns to survive, and as time passes these four modes become elaborated into entrenched defensive structures ...

RESPONSE (MECHANISM) Defense (mechanism)

FIGHT (RAGE to be safe) Narcissistic (control to connect)

FLIGHT (PERFECT to be safe) Obsessive/Compulsive (perfect to connect)

FREEZE (HIDE to be safe) Dissociative (no way I'll connect)

FAWN (GROVEL to be safe) Codependent (merge to connect)'

"I'm also not an expert, just a survivor. My personal theory is that each response mechanism maps onto the big emotions (anger, disgust/fear, sadness, and joy deferred).

"A quick lesson from years of therapy: If you don't learn how to respect and honor your emotions by letting them speak in healthy ways internally, then they are bound to morph into pathologies that end up popping out sideways or backward socially."

—u/UberSeoul Morsa Images / Getty Images

5."I am always scared that people are mad at me. Always."

—u/goaskalexdotcom

6."Trouble forming relationships."

—u/CavalloScuro

7."Getting disproportionately frustrated at themselves for small accidents such as spilling things and accidentally breaking something. What happens is a lot of these people were abused as kids for doing these things, so as adults, when these things happen, their brains overload their systems with fear and anxiety, and frustration can be a secondary emotion to that. This is basically a conditioned response because your brain associates these accidents with imminent danger. This is why therapy is so important for people who had shit childhoods, especially during their developing years. I had no idea this was a thing until I went to therapy, but when my therapist explained this to me, it made so much sense. And now when these things happen, I tend to laugh it off."

—u/Mirraco323

"Yep, as a kid, I was never allowed to make mistakes. Received bad grades? I was grounded until the next report card. Dropped a glass? I was berated for being sloppy and careless (exact words). Lost something? I'm also sloppy and careless.

"I went through this my entire childhood and lived with my parents off and on through college. In my first two jobs after college, I had managers who did the same thing, so I just assumed I was the fuckup. I started my current job right about a year ago, and I found a mistake I had made a few months back. I went straight to my boss (it could potentially be a costly mistake) and his response was, 'Thank you for letting me know, and thank you for tracking everything down for me.' I kind of pushed to make sure he understood that I fucked up, and he said, 'Yeah, it's OK. We're all human, and as your boss, it was my job to make sure you understood what was asked. I didn't, and you made an understandable mistake. And now you've done everything in your power to help fix it. I'm proud of you.'

"I held it together for the remaining three hours of my shift, but I burst into tears the second I got in the car to go home. I have never had someone treat me with such kindness and actually recognize that I didn't make that mistake on purpose. And he also recognized that I tried my hardest to make things easier for him and that I wanted to work together to fix things."

—u/Totally_Not_Anna Westend61 / Getty Images/Westend61

8."Always saying sorry. Feeling guilty for speaking up."

—u/Clear-Penalty339

9."Choosing partners who don't support, cherish, or value you. Choosing jobs and relationships that reflect the lack of empathy and neglect that you grew up with."

—u/strawman_11

10."Unable to forgive themselves for small mistakes."

11."Oversharing when you haven’t known the person long. Or the opposite, where you don’t open up to anybody. Two extremes."

—u/agbellamae

"What about both? Oversharing with total strangers but not opening up to friends/family."

—u/Imnotpoopingrn

"That’s me, but not with in-person strangers — only online strangers, where I can be anonymous."

—u/I-love-rainbows

12."Having a hard time showing emotion."

—u/-LavenderFlower-

"This, and sometimes having a hard time even describing how or why you feel the way you do."

—u/jillyszabo

"This is a big one. A side effect of emotionally numbing yourself, or depersonalization."

—u/Randomn355

13."Hypervigilance."

—u/StuEdin

"Survival technique. The kind where you know a parent is going to fly off the handle by the sound the floor makes when they walk."

—u/Ambiguity_Aspect

"Not just parents — I have it from severe school bullying. My parents are great.

"When I eat, I naturally end up facing the entrance of whatever room I'm in; I stand with my back to the wall on the metro; I really, really don't like people standing directly behind me, etc. This probably manifests differently from family abuse stuff, but it's definitely a thing. Mine is because kids would sneak up behind me and stab pencil lead into my back and stuff, or staples, while at lunch or whatever, so I ended up getting horse brain and freaking out when someone's directly behind me."

—u/BlatantConservative Maki Nakamura / Getty Images

14."Scared of conflict to the point where you avoid it at all costs, because you're certain that if it happens, the other person will hate you or it will end horribly. You’ve never seen people calmly sit down and discuss their emotions in a loving way, so that world doesn’t exist for you."

—u/blushbell

15."The ability to stay calm in emergencies or chaotic situations."

—u/Glass_Command_5432

"Ahh, that last one got me. When shit hits the fan, I am almost always calm, but when things are just fine...crippling anxiety about what could go wrong, LOL."

—u/twitchytortoise

16."Peacekeeping. A kid doesn't realize that their parent (mom, in my case) is an emotionally abusive asshole. All I knew is, I didn't want people to be so mad at each other. I think my life would have been better if I hadn't talked them out of divorce."

—u/BridgetteBane

"My parents fought constantly. Verbal abuse at its finest. As the oldest, I was the peacekeeper. Then I became an unwilling 'counselor' for my mom in my early teens and a whipping boy for my stepdad. These two should never have been together, and our lives would have been better had they divorced."

—u/Tiny_Teach_5466 Photoalto / Getty Images/PhotoAlto

17."Feeling bad just for existing."

—u/thatdrunkbetch

18."Perfectionism. This has been a hard lesson for me to learn. I just always thought I was bad at everything or 'lazy,' when, in fact, I deal with a crippling level of perfectionism."

—u/still_hate_pancakes

19."Extreme self-cringe. Doubting if what you said was the right thing. Doubting if you acted the right way, or behaved the right way in a social setting. Asking someone several times if you did something correctly. Zoning out because you randomly remembered a traumatic childhood memory, low self-esteem, lack of confidence."

20."No or few good memories."

—u/HypnoticBurden

"I feel amazed when someone remembers every detail of their childhood, all their schoolteachers' names from grades 1 through 12. My early years are mostly haze."

—u/GREASYROOFTOP

21."An adult acting childlike. People think it's cringe, but age regression is a trauma response. You can especially see this if you've ever been to a psych ward. People are clinging to blankets and stuffed animals. Childhood was probably the last time they existed without being traumatized."

—u/dinosanddais1

22."Childish activities become almost like treats. People can just enjoy watching things from their childhood or playing games independent of trauma, but it is incredibly common for people with trauma to want to relive the childhood they lost when they are in a safer environment."

23."Being an 'empath.' You actually have conditioned yourself to be highly attuned to micro changes that indicate negativity you need to look out for."

—u/OkJellyfish6400

24."Constant dark humor or self-deprecating humor. People might think you're really funny and forgiving, but sometimes they are both just coping mechanisms."

—u/IKickedASmurf

25."Being insecurely attached to friends and romantic partners."

26."Overexplaining."

—u/veronicagh

"Justifying your thoughts and actions in your head as if preparing for someone to pop in and demand an explanation."

—u/Anonymous7056

27."Constantly feeling that you need approval from other people."

—u/StriveForGreat1017

28."No eye contact. I know because even at the age of 45, I always struggle with this."

29."Someone once told me, 'Your parents shouldn't be your first bullies,' and holy FUCK, that rocked me. One sign you can notice in yourself that I didn't realize until I started therapy: You don't have physical sensations when feeling. Everything is just like...mental? It's hard to explain, but happiness is supposed to exist somewhere physically. Not every emotion is supposed to be represented by your permanent vague chest tension. Wild!"

"Another sign: You rarely, if ever, talk about yourself socially. I ask a shit ton of questions of people, and I am happy to listen to them and hear their problems, but I don't share much of myself with anyone. It makes it hard for me to deepen relationships because I don't practice vulnerability. I don't think people want to hear from me."

—u/AmbienWalrusTime

Are there other signs of childhood trauma that weren't mentioned above? If so, tell us what they are in the comments below.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.

Dial 988 in the US to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386. Find other international suicide helplines at Befrienders Worldwide (befrienders.org).

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.

#29 Physical And Emotional Ways Childhood Trauma Can Show Up In Adults #From Those Who Have Lived It #emotional trauma #childhood trauma kills adults #childhood trauma #mental health #nspl

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petrifiedforests · 6 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @lizardberries 🙂

How many works do you have on ao3?

36 right now, 35 fics and 1 mood board

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

7,522, I write a lot of drabbles and no long fics

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Clone Wars atm and there wildly hopping between pairings and OC’s

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A mix of fluff and angst and OC’s and canon characters

A Most Important Question Fluff, Tup & Dogma, Dogma/Hardcase

screams of change Angsty drabble about a cadet changing things on Kamino, but its changes for good

It's all in the hands Tup/Dogma or Tup & Dogma depending on your interpretation, ND Dogma settling in with the power of knitting

They didn't know angsty Wing AU about my OCs

On the Nature of Kisses Fluffy drabble, Tup/Dogma again, Dogma musing

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, I love comments, be it screaming at/with me about angst or fluff and I don’t get too many, so I can keep up and say thank you or yell back a bit lovingly.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending

Uhhhh, I guess Tearable paperwork because while that is three unrelated chapters, it’s got two chapters about decommissioning and everybody dies. So. That’s what I’m going with as angstiest.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That’s a lot harder because is snuggling the happiest? If so, it’s Bed warm, is it getting together? Then it might be A Most Important Question

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I only get good natured yelling or threats to kidnap my OCs. To be fair, but a handful of people read my fics, so there’s that :D

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don’t but I’m inching closer and have actually progressed from kisses to non-explicit sex as topic. I don’t think I’ll ever be interested in writing explicit, explicit smut. Much more interested in the emotional side.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not yet

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, again, too little people know they exist.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, and I’ve got an author’s note that I don’t want translations.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Only in discord brain storming sessions

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

To read, Stucky or the Leverage Trio are high up there. Writing wise, I don’t think I have one (am I contractually obligated to name my OC ship here?). I’m always more interested in the characters and like to explore different ships with them.

15. What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I’ve got one about Waxer and Hics (OC) talking after Hics was named. But it's been fighting me so much.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think emotions and twisty bits of pain or world building.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions. No doubt about that one. I don’t tend to think visually, so I have to go back in a fic to make sure I’ve mentioned the setting or positions of characters. Or how they get from point A to B.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think a bit is fun, but not to the point where it’s not understandable without translation (unless it’s the whole point if the POV character also doesn’t understand). But if you want to include it, have it checked by a native speaker. I’ve noped out of so many critical role fics because Caleb’s german was just… bad. That absolutely breaks immersion.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Witcher which is also the only other fandom I’ve written for.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh that’s a mean question.

I really like the flow of It's all in the hands and I’m really proud of Please, can I?. That also might be because that is fresh in my mind.

No pressure tags: @curls-cat, @elismor and @witcher-and-his-bard

Blank copy/pasta version under the cut

How many works do you have on ao3?

What’s your total ao3 word count?

What fandoms do you write for?

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Do you get hate on fics?

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Do you write crossovers?

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

What are your writing strengths?

What are your writing weaknesses?

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

First fandom you wrote for?

Favorite fic you’ve written?

#fic writer tag game #tag game #thank you for the tag!#This is like deciding which of your children you like best

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screadingchallenge · 2 years

Text

Behind the Keyboard Volume 25

Behind the Keyboard is a series of interviews with different Schitt’s Creek fanfic authors. The series will last as long as there is interest (from authors) and capacity (from me). If you are an author from the Schitt’s Creek fandom who would like to participate, send a DM to this account.

Each author was given ten questions. The first five questions are the same for every author, the last five will vary.

Let’s meet our next author:

@legalgal421 / LegalGal421

How many fics have you written?

24 and counting!

When did you publish your first fic on AO3?

Just over a year ago - June 9, 2021. It was A Year of Home

Describe your writing process from “Oh, I have an idea” to pushing publish on AO3.

Idea comes to me, I will do my version of an outline, I’ll write over a way too long period of time, send it to my beta, review again b/c I can’t let it go and then finally publish. In between, there is tons of research.

Tell me about your most recent fic? What do you love about it? Is there anything you think you could have done better?

Knowing You Can Always Count On Me

This was an idea that was borne out of a personal experience. I received an invitation from someone I had long written out of my life. I didn’t respond. I hit ‘delete’ on the email. I was happy to give that experience to David, on a much more dramatic scale. I really liked that it could have gone either way - David could have also decided to give his old friend a second chance and I still think it could have worked. I wish I had given my original characters a bit more, but I wanted to stick to David’s growth. I also wish I would’ve found a way to show just how ingrained David has become in the community.

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about publishing their fic for the first time?

First and foremost, get yourself a beta. If you don’t know of anyone, reach out to me. It’s so important to see your work through someone else’s eyes.

Also, just have fun and write! Writing is so much fun, so cathartic.

Finally, don’t worry about the kudos and comments. They will come.

Do you use a beta? Why or why not? Do you beta for other people?

I absolutely use a beta because it is so important. I have a few. It’s so important to use one because they catch inconsistencies and grammar mistakes you may miss. They help you make you a better writer.

The author has a responsibility here too. You cannot be closed to criticism of your writing. I’ve had my betas tell me something about a story that is not working. And you know what? They have been right and it has forced me to delve deeper, think more and make the story even better.

I’ve also learned from my betas and built upon their suggestions in fics I’ve written later. It’s made my writing better.

How many unfinished WIPs do you have right now?

I just counted. It’s 7. Yikes! A couple may never be finished because I ran out of ideas or the idea was not working.

In what way are you most like your favorite Schitt’s Creek character?

Not to sound cliched, but I’ve always loved David. Even before Patrick was introduced, I kept rooting for a win for him. I think I identify with David because I also have very specific opinions and can be a bit much at times.

Would you rather find a title or write a summary?

This is a tough question! I stink at both. But, forced to pick, I would say summary.

How much of yourself do you put into your stories or characters?

I tend to put a lot of myself into original characters I create, especially if they are a friend to one of the canon characters. I also sometimes take scenarios and think about how I would have reacted and what I would have done. This is especially true in my fic about Rachel - And You’re Not In Love With Me. I’ve never been in any situation like Rachel’s, but I think this is how I would have reacted.

#behind the keyboard #meet the authors #sc fanfic #schitt’s creek #schitts creek

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taetaespeaches · 2 years

Note

I’m curious too see what the couples fight about the most. Like between each couple what would be a sensitive subject between them two that would spark conflict between said couple?

Ooooh these were all kind of off the top of my head except Mads helped me with Jimin/Dear and Hobi/Petal so there could be other stuff but these are my first thoughts:

(idk specific subjects that would trigger fights for sure but I know certain attitudes and behaviors that would result in conflicts/make conflicts worse)

Jin/Poopsie: anytime she doubts his dedication to the relationship he’d get pretty pissy. Bc he doesn’t like being doubted in that way, like he loves her more than anything so he doesn’t appreciate the questioning of his devotion. And she’d get pissy back bc she’d be like WHY CANT YOU JUST REASSURE ME WITHOUT GETTING MAD AT ME. Also Jin is immature sometimes like this is a fact, and Poopsie is senstive, and he would make jokes at the wrong time and would either make Poopsie mad or make her sad.

Yoongi/Kid: I think Kid is the type of person to misdirect her grumpiness at the people around her sometimes so if she did that to Yoongi, he would get really annoyed with her. And then as soon as he gets grumpy with her, she'd get even more upset and it would lead to Yoongi getting pissed bc he thinks she can handle conflict immaturely sometimes. On the other end, I think Kid would sometimes not react well to Yoongi’s more blunt comments, like she doesn’t like criticism so she’d get really defensive about it. Even if the criticism is valid, she would not handle it well- though she might appreciate it in the long run.

Hobi/Petal: They’re both so stubborn honestly, they both think they’re always right. So even though they don’t argue often, if they get into it, they’re INTO IT bc neither will back down and admit fault. So arguments could get pretty heated I think. They don’t argue a lot though so like this wouldn’t usually be an issue but yeah, fights would take some time to get over bc of how stubborn they both can be.

Joon/Daisy: though Daisy is endeared by Joon’s lack of cooking/cleaning/overall every day life skills to an extent, she’d also get very annoyed when the household tasks fall on her shoulders. Like he would be reading or working or out exploring or something and she’d be cursing his fucking name as she’s cleaning the house and then he’d get home and she’d give him the cold shoulder or snap at him a bit. Cue Joon feeling bad and immediately going to do the dishes or something. Also I am a firm believer that Joon and Daisy feed off each other’s energy almost to a fault so if one of them is grumpy, the other one is grumpy, so they would get in fights during those times.

Jimin/Dear: Jimin can get sassy and Dear doesn’t respond well to it all the time. If he sasses her she’d sometimes get really annoyed and might actually get condescending in response. Like “are you one of my students? Are you five? How about you drop the attitude” and we all know when Jimin is mad he holds onto it- look at the dumpling fight and whatever goddamn fight him and JK got in where he wouldn’t even take JK’s calls lmao. Like the man is petty and Dear would find that infuriating. I also feel like these two have struggled to adapt to each other’s love styles in the past and despite working through that, they still tend to be a bit out of sync sometimes.

Tae/Peaches: I think when they have differing opinions about stuff it could lead to some pretty petty fights. Like Peaches likes when people agree with her lol and she gets a bit immature and pouty when people express negative opinions on her likes and interests or if someone differs with one of her values or takes. Like she’d be a bit like ??excuse me?? so if Tae says something in passing like “oh I don’t like that movie” or expresses a differing opinion than her she’d go into full defense mode, which would then annoy Tae. Like Tae is like “why can we never just disagree on something?” And Peaches would be too stubborn to let it go for a bit. And Tae would get a bit condescending in fights which Peaches would NOT appreciate in any way lol so that would just make shit worse.

JK/Holly: Jungkook would get a bit jealous sometimes and it would be pretty unfounded (bc he’d overthink shit and second guess stuff) which is fine but he would pick fights for attention, which would really anger Holly. She’d rather he just initiate a conversation rather than picking fights. And I also feel like he could be a bit nitpicky about Holly’s habits sometimes like for example: she leaves her dishes overnight to do in the morning and Jungkook would be like “but if we did them at night then we’d wake up to a clean kitchen” and she would get sensitive and annoyed with that. Which that leads to another point of contention which would be that JK wishes Holly was tidier and sometimes her lack of attention to organization and cleaning would annoy him.

#anon #asks #i'm so bad at figuring out what they'd fight about lmao i need to brainstorm it for sure bc i do want to write fight fics #i love that fight and make up shit 👹#longterm-couples

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hella1975 · 2 years

Note

Whats the most 'wtf' threat-message-comment thing you remember getting?

Maybe not a mean comment, but the most like 'why do you feel comfortable saying this to me' thing?

oh to be honest ive never received any actual AWFUL asks/comments but i have received a lot that toe a very fine line to the point i cant even remember all of them. like it's clear there was never any malicious intent but some people just reallyyyyy do not understand boundaries. most of the time i just wont answer but if im in a bad mood i tend to tell you guys off for it lmao so you've actually probably seen the worst ones.

i guess not threatening or mean, but one comment that has always stuck with me just bc of how 'wtf?!' i was about it is this one commenter i had on ao3. they were a reallyyy loyal commenter for MONTHS like every single chapter they'd leave at least a paragraph, and two thirds of the para would always be pure praise for my writing, which was why it was kinda complicated bc i KNEW the rest of the comment wasn't intended to be criticism, they were just the kind of person that clearly didn't have a filter. so what they'd do is they'd say all these compliments, but then they'd say what they DIDNT like about my writing. and my attitude with fanfiction is that unless the work is actively problematic, you just do not tell the author their shortcomings. idc if this isn't a widely held opinion; it's my opinion. ao3 authors are giving us this shit for FREE out of their own time more often than not while balancing jobs and a social life - it is their HOBBY and it's not your place to tell them you dont like their plot or the way they wrote something. write it yourself if it bothers you so much. and so for ages i just didnt respond to this person's comments even though MOST of the comment they'd leave would always be positive, bc the tagged on parts always felt passive aggressive. like they were clearly part of the Annoying atla fandom bc they'd always get annoyed when any of the characters held zuko accountable for anything. they openly admitted that they just wanted zuko to be babied and didn't like it when people were mean to him, a sentiment that REALLY pisses me off, and they were also SUCH a katara anti which, yk, red flag. but it was fine. it wasn't a big deal, i could handle the comments and i genuinely just forgot about them as soon as i read them.

BUT THEN one day they left me a comment being like 'im going to stop reading this fic' which that alone is such an odd thing to alert the author about, but then they proceeded to explain to me why they weren't going to read anymore. like they spent an entire para being like 'this is why i dont really like this fic anymore' LMAO?? and i distinctly remember them saying something about zi se and how they hated him partially because they hate kids but mostly because he was an OC which i just thought was such a fucking funny thing to say like the cheek?? i was flabbergasted and i was kind of sick of their shit at that point, so my response was (para-phrased): 'not to be rude but in future i think you should consider when commenting on fics if your comment is actually necessary. it can be very discouraging as a writer to be told directly by a reader that they don't enjoy your story and don't like the direction you're taking it. i'm confident enough in taob and my own abilities that i can brush it off very easily, but i'm just worried that if you said this to a newer or smaller fic writer it could really impact their confidence. the decision to stop reading isn't the issue here, it's just that you felt the need to explicitly tell me about it' which i thought was very hot and mature of me. like i very rarely pull out the 'taob is one of the biggest fics in a very big fandom' card but when dealing with rude people i have no shame in being like 'i will not miss a single reader like you realise that right i will not notice if you stop reading' so yeah as an experience it was all just very odd JSKDGHKJDSH

#i remember replying to one of their comments bc they'd interpreted hakoda saying he loved sokka and katara more than some random firebender #in a really negative way and i replied REALLY nicely with my own interpretation #and idk maybe this is just me but if the actual AUTHOR OF A WORK replied to me with their interpretation #id kinda assume it held more weight than how i'd interpreted it. maybe #but do you know what this person said? 'we can agree to disagree' NO THE FUCK WE CANT LMAO IM RIGHT I WROTE IT #anyway pls dont go and find this person bc like i said there was never actually any malice i think they were either just young #or short-sighted and lacked a filter #ask #taob asks #also id like to be clear my 'i wont miss it if an individual reader stopped reading' is only applicable to the ones i dont like #i have favourites who i recognise in my inbox and if they stopped reading id be devastated

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pruning-the-minds-garden · 1 year

Text

Layered Best Practices in Erotic Hypnosis

To start with, a lot of people have called erotic hypnosis inherently risky - said that there is always risk of abreactions, of unintended consequences, of things going awry even if everyone does everything right - and I tend to agree with them. The point of learning and practicing safe(r) play is not to take hypnosis from a place of risk to a place of safety, but to reduce the risk.

With that in mind, lets talk about how to do erotic hypnosis better. Lots of other people have, lots of other people will, but talking about it again can't but help so lets. This list is geared toward scenes that do not feature things like consensual non-consent or its technical cousins, by the way. Those are perfectly valid forms of play not meant to be cast aside by this, they just aren't what I am talking about right now.

Best practices are divided into four broad categories, in my mind. They are:

Preliminaries - things you do before a scene ever begins that make it possible to do things more safely

Preliminaries

Most of these boil down to being up front, being honest, and making sure that both hypnotist and hypnotee have the same understanding of and expectations from a scene/trance before it ever begins. Not doing those things may make you feel like mind controlling super-villain, and may even work as well (or, occasionally, better) some of the time, but Ipromiseyou that over the long term they are not to your benefit. If you want to buildgenuine rapport, which is ultimately the Coin Of The Realm when it comes to hypnosis, you want to build trust, and the only way you do that is by being trustworthy.

((Oh, if you are the kind of person who responds to that by saying that your subject is probably going to be discarded in a month anyway when you are done with them, that you can just make a good first impression and that's enough... well that's a pretty fucked up thing to say,innit? Might want to think about your life a bit harder. Oh, and do please contact me so I can warn people about you. You are why we can't have nice things.))

Here are some ways you can do that:

Take time before a scene ever starts, and in plain (non-hypnotic) language describe the things that are going to happen during the trance.

Go over the broad kinds of language (permissive/seductive versus authoritarian/Dominant) you are going to use, the techniques employed (progressive relaxation, eye fixation, confusion, fractionation, etc) and the triggers and.or post-hypnotic suggestions given.

Ask for - and make sure you receive - their straightforward, unreserved consent before the scene ever starts.

Thishasto follow a description of the scene, obviously. If they don't know what they are consenting to, then their consenting to it is pretty pointless (see the note about CNC above). Aside from that, it is useful to get their preliminary consent for two reasons - it will make it easier for them to drop into trance for you, and it will giveyouconfidence before the scene ever starts. Getting them to say, with their conscious mind and full critical faculties intact "Yes I want this" is a powerful signal to their subconscious mind. It means that when you start swinging the pocketwatch, you'll already be halfway there. It is also a powerful signal toyouthe hypnotist, that you are doing something they want and they want you to do it the way you are - so go full steam ahead! That makes everythingloadsbetter.

Do not stray from the plan/description

I know that it's tempting sometimes to go off-script during a trance, to respond to their droppingsowell by taking the next step in whatever plan you two have... but don't. Really. Just don't. They agreed to a certain set of things, a certain list of suggestions and topics and language. They invested their trust in you to not try to slip in some other stuff while their conscious mind is impaired. Violating that trust is anassaultupon them, even if it doesn't seem at all violent (again, see the note on CNC above). Violating their trust is pouring poison in the well, and even if it doesn't ruin this scene or trance, even if it doesn't undermine their trust in you or ruin your relationship... it's an awful, shitty, terrible, fucked up thing to do. Even if you mean well.

If things are going so well that you want to change the plan, then youhaveto get their conscious consent to the change. Bring them out of trance, give them a few minutes to return to themselves / get a drink of water (pro-tip: offer them a drink they don't like, and see if they say no. If they can't say no to you,give them more time), and then ask them to consent to the change in plan before taking them back down. That is time well spent, and if you think I'm lying about that go Google "fractionation".

Extrinsic Safeties

When people use the word "safeties" this is often what they think about. These are the special things that people do to enable them to do everythingelsemore safely. These are things like...

Safeword Suggestions

One suggestion I recommend you nearly always start with is a safeword that someone can use in trance to stop the scene. The standard "yellow/red" works fine here, with "yellow" being a suspension of the suggestions/scene and "red" being a complete deactivation/removal of them. The advantage of going with something common is that there is already an association formed in their mind, and that will make the suggestion stronger. Make sure to emphasize that if either their conscious OR sub-conscious mind objects they can call out that safe-word while in trance, and have it take effect.

Just like a safe-word in any other BDSM context, this is not so much a new scene-stopping super-power as it ispermissionfor them to use powers they already had. Their sub-conscious will already stop a trance in many if not most scenarios where they'd call their safe-word, but you taking the time to set this up gives them implicitpermissionto use it if they feel uncomfortable. I recommend after you install this suggestion, you get them to use it several times to feel the effects - just make sure that they don't "red" themselves out of their own safeword.

Adjusting yourself into trance

One thing that can really mess up a great trance is your leg falling asleep, or cramping, or that old knee pain or back pain flaring up. Some hypnotees pride themselves in being able to "work through" this, in being so entranced that they are able to respond to suggestions even while they hurt... but hypnotists, don't be that guy. Don't ask them to do that. There is a better way.

Instead, saying something as simple as "if you feel uncomfortable, if something hurts or falls asleep, then move to eliminate the barrier to you falling more deeply, and notice yourself disappearing farther and farther into trance" can eliminate the problem entirely. Tying moving or adjusting yourself to falling more deeply, tying comfort to trance, makes your hypnotee more comfortableandmore entranced - everybody wins!

... and isn't that what hypnokink should be all about? ;)

Intrinsic Safeties

There are two main elements to making your suggestions/triggers more safe - avoiding open triggers, and hypnotic word choice. There are some issues adjacent to these as well, but since they generally fall under this umbrella then I think you can reasonably extend these lessons as necessary to encompass other situations.

Avoiding Open Triggers

I read a story on Literotica once that involved the trigger that the subject would get more aroused every time she saw a plane flying overhead. It was a great story, and that suggestions was totally hot.

Well... real life is not Literotica. You should not dothatthing in real life, because it is as likely to end disastrously as stupendously. You might come home to a totally wet, horny, sex-crazed girlfriend/wife/(insert non-female pronouns here also) and that might be the point... or you might come home to a furious partner, a partner crying their eyes out, or something even worse. It's a risk that - unless you can controlallthe variables - is not worth taking. That's where the concept of "open triggers" comes in.

Open triggers are post-hypnotic suggestions that can be (and often will be) invoked by anyone, anywhere, regardless of context. You may think that something is properly controlled by making the key word "papaya"... but what if she goes shopping and there are papayas? You might think only you will touch her left shoulder and right hand at the same time, then whisper in her ear... but for a lot of people, that's called a hug and word of comfort. Be careful with the triggers you set, and if there isanydoubt whether they can wind up being misused, rephrase them. The easiest and best way to do that is simply to add a situational/circumstantial note like this:

"Every time I say/do (x) you will do (y). If you are in a situation that doing so would make you profoundly uncomfortable, put you in danger or risk something bad happening to you, then this will fail. If someone other than me says/does (x) then this will fail."

It pays to take the time to CY(sub's)A.

Hypnotic word choice

There are some words that the sub-conscious just does not process well. The most well-known example is negatives - no, not, won't, don't, etc - and that is often used to craft double-binds or other NLP language tricks for conversational hypnosis. In my experience, some of the others can vary with the subject. For instance, some subjects do not understand high-dollar, 34-point-SAT words while in a trance. Others, whose first language is not English, might revert to an even more basic understanding of the language when some of their conscious faculties are off the table, not grasping things like idiom or even metaphor. You have to watch out for these.

Negatives are easy to deal with - you simply remove them where you can, and where it pays to do so. Include them withintentand with the understanding that your subject may not hear that one word in your sentence. Craft your induction and hypnotic language, including your suggestions, around that notion (Notice how, in the above example, I didn't say "will not work" but instead said "will fail"? Like that).

Other consideration are similar, but harder to predict in advance. That is why your first trance with a new subject should not be an immediate deep dive into their limbic system - don't jump to making them cum with a gesture, believe themselves to have different genitalia, or become a circus animal on command! Take them down, and explore a little bit. Ask them questions, see if they understand you... test the waters. Even after that first trance, it is worth taking things slowly and testing them as you proceed. When implanting triggers, make sure that your understanding of how they should work and their understanding of what they ought to be doing is, more or less, the same. If it's not, then find the problem and fix it before moving on. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to that, and that's precisely why you should be taking things slowly throughout.

Aftercare

Once the triggers are set, the suggestions given, and all your pieces are where you want them... then what? Do you just clap your hands and say "Wake up!" then get to business? Well, sometimes yes! Lots of other times, in fact most of the time... no. You need to ease your subject back to consciousness, and then make sure that everything worked well, that they are feeling alright, and take care of any needs they might have. If this sounds similar to how one acts at the end of a scene of suspension bondage or impact play or some other fairly racy form of bondage or sadism... there's a reason for that.

Like most of the other elements of this list, there are two main parts to aftercare: closing the trance, and checking-in afterward.

Closing the Trance

Nearly all hypnotic training manuals I have read talk about counting up at the end of a trance, and that's often an essential part of closing a trance. As a subject gets more and more experienced with trance it will usually become less and less necessary to do a long count-up, but you still should. It also becomes more important the more deep you go into trance, but depth is a funny thing and lets talk about that for a second.

Because the mind is an inherently subjective thing, "depth" of trance is all relative. Someone who has never been in trance will have, their first time, gone by definition deeper than they have ever gone before. Someone who has been in a thousand trances may only be going a tenth as deep as that time a hypnotist took four hours and a team of others, in an ideal setting, to get them suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper deep. The experience of the subject, the nature of the trance, and the relationship between the hypnotist and the subject will all influence the subjective experience they have of how deep they went. All of that will, in turn, influence how much cognitive recalibration (no don't hit them in the head! That was a joke, people!) they need before going about their business.

When in doubt, give them a count of five. If they still seem out of it, let them sit for a minute and give them another count of five. If you are unsure whether they are fully conscious yet, ask them if their name is something ridiculous - if they are able to tell you "no" then there is a good chance they have heard the Windows start-up sound play in their head already.

It is also a good idea to suggest to them that they are feeling refreshed, revived and ready to go about their day, or something similarly positive. Framing the trance in a positive way will help them to come out of it without feeling groggy or drained. Also, give them permission to move or stretch or do anything else they may need after sitting or lying down for what may have been some time.

Check-In

After the scene is done, after you've finished making them dance to your tune and cum their figuratively-literal brains out, it's time to make sure they enjoyed it. It's also time to see which parts you might change, to make the next one even better.

There is no guide to the questions you should ask during this check-in, but a good place to begin is to ask them to tell you how they feel about everything. Make sure to ask for positives, but also for negatives. Ask if the induction worked, was effective for them, if the language felt right, if the suggestions were fun and in keeping with their kinks. Ask if there was anything they'd rather younotdo in the future, and keep a note of that too.

(Also - a limit is not a thing to be pushed unless they give you permission to do it. Them telling you they hate clowns is not license to slowly introduce clowns, in the hopes that they'll fall in love with them because your voice is just that awesome. Don't be that guy. Respect their limits and listen to them when they tell you what they are.)

After all that is done, talk with them about your thoughts on what your next scene might entail. Ask them what they want to do, what sorts of things they'd find sexy or fun, and go from there. The core of any hypnotic partnership is rapport, and building rapport is about building trust. Trust has to be founded on mutual respect, in turn, or else it doesn't really mean anything.

That is, in purely practical terms, why safeties are important. By using them assiduously you prove that you are trustworthy. That's the best way to have people trust you enough so that they can put their brains in your capable hands, and have lots of sexy hypnotic adventures in future.

Included in my Index of Writings on Safety & Consent. Read more on the topic, by me and by others, at the link!

#hypnokink #safety #best practices #consent

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kidflashimpulse · 1 year

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Hey! I wanted to ask this anonymously first before I embarrassed myself but I just started my first young justice blog and I really need some help coming up with fic ideas, with writing, with a lot of stuff I'm a complete mess, an I was wondering if it's not much trouble, could I get some help?

Hey :)) omg that’s so exciting! looking forward to checking out ur blog :D just saying in advance to hopefully squash any worries and to scale expectations, i’m not the best person with communication and can take a while to respond to messages (also sorry bout the slight delay with answering this one, i do hope u see it i can’t remember if anon questions notifies the sender 😭). I cant guarantee being the most helpful person either but i’d be happy to try to help where/if i can :)

in terms of general advice for fics/writing which i think tbh is the best one (that i use to try to motivate myself to write for fics) is to just start writing! like literally anything, as soon as u feel like even a second of inspiration or motivation just go with the flow. Whether it’s one sentence, a paragraph or 1000 words lol, just putting words on a page is a great start already. It doesn’t need to be perfect at all, my first fic (unposted) ended up being long with multiple chapters and all the writing throughout was so questionable lol but i was and still am so proud of it! It gave me experience and the learning curve was inspiring that i was excited to try to write even more stuff after. I noticed with each chapter i slowly found a rhythm and improved step by step. Even if it’s just tiny things that u learn, it makes all the difference. You 100% learn as u go, even now whenever i post something i’m like damn i could make a million changes or be annoyed/critical at something but ultimately i’m just happy to have posted something to share with others and contribute a little something to a community of people who share the same interests as me :) and that’s rlly all that matters and as u start doing that u can develop more ideas and “what ifs” to explore i.e more fic ideas etc

in terms of structure for working on fics id say it rlly depends on the individual. for me i usually write a rough outline/summary of what the fic is basically about. I usually try to have key details summarised where they all connect until the end of the fic, so that after that’s done, u can then flesh out the individual chapters or paragraphs out better. But things like plot can also really change whilst ur writing! It all boils down to what inspires u to write.

It’s not bad to have no ideas, i think it’s actually super cool for people to start out with a really simple/basic prompt (maybe something like: oh flash family go to a restaurant or zetaflash go to an arcade or outsiders play board games (lol)) something like that and then u can expand on the story with dialog/events/characterisation/description that really fills it up and makes up the chunkier part of the fic where it almost at times feels like it writes itself.

also fics really doesn’t need to be long at all if that’s something u might find intimidating, my stuff tends to be quite wordy because that’s just how i write (as u can see from most of my ask answers where i just go on and on like can i shut up for once? lmfao) if anything, i admire people who can get points/description/stories across through concise writing or short stories! that’s a real impressive skill too

if u want to start writing fics to post, 100% start writing anything, literally anything and eventually u will manage to figure out ur own workflow/style that suits u best :) i’m 100% still learning too, i mean i have yet to finish a multi chapter fic, but by reminding myself that any writing is a good step somewhere, despite the slow progress, i can still be motivated to keep working on it. i hope these general tips managed to help u somewhat 🙏 again rlly looking forward to checking out ur blog <3

#YJ asks #young justice #yj #yja #saveearth16 #renewyoungjustice

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