#as in create your own post. don’t send me your essays about why you don’t like this adaptation or these characters

[thefact0rygirl]

Hi Vee, the last few anons about engagement have really resonated with me and I want to add my own feelings. This is not directed at you, I just appreciate how you answered those anons and thought you would be the safest person to say this to.

Everyone is a lot busier now as we are forced back to the pre-pandemic 'normal'. Readers don't have the support system that writers do, so they're less likely to stay. And I think your point about fandoms growing and shrinking naturally is also true of this fandom. It is simply something that happens.

Writers responding to previous anons that they're not getting notifications of comments and posts not appearing in the search again is annoying. Readers have had these problems for months, but it is never considered in posts about engagement. They just do not have a platform to talk about these issues because readers follow writers, not vice versa.

I find other fandoms to be more welcoming where readers can discuss with writers in separate posts, but this does not seem to be the case here. Reaching out to writers through asks or DMs is almost never reciprocated, so advice for people to do so falls flat. Some writers are on discord where they have their own discussions, but readers are not included and there is nothing similar just for readers. While it's not the writer's fault, there is a perception of a hierarchy where readers are only that: readers. They're not people to include or interact with, they're just the people whose job it is to reblog and that is all they are good for. The writers who say 'cherish your writers otherwise they'll leave' could take a step back and ask themselves how they're treating everyone else. Do they cherish their readers? If so, do they communicate that? Do they engage with/reach out to readers, or do they stick with other writers? If readers feel like they're not actual members of the fandom, why would they stay?

A previous anon said that posts about low engagement are off putting and I agree. There are writers, who I have reblogged, posting about how current interaction is not enough which has made me feel incredibly unworthy. I might make a shorter comment than others do or add only tags, but that plus the time spent reading it in the first place is time and effort I could have given to someone else. It is this, and the difficulty in making connections, that make me seriously consider deactivating. After all, what is the point of me being here if all I am is an outsider? I'm here to talk about Star Wars and make friends with like minded people but I'm not good enough to create and it is very clear that is the only thing that matters here.

Sorry for the essay Vee

Hi babes 💜 There is no need to apologize! I’m honored that you felt safe enough to send this. The previous anons brought up what a lot of people have been feeling (myself included). 

Interaction is a sensitive topic - one without a clear and definitive answer - and that is frustrating. It’s not a comfortable conversation, but it's still worth having. Especially when so many people are feeling the same way.

You brought up so many important points, especially from a reader’s perspective! Thank you for sending this in. I’ve been thinking about this recently, and you articulated it so well!

We always say that fandom is a community, but there absolutely is an emphasis on writers. More often than not, we stress how readers should be interacting, but rarely is the opposite discussed. It's presented almost like a one-way street, and that doesn't exactly promote a community that is inclusive of both readers and writers. I can see how that might make a reader feel that they are only good for reblogging. That sounds really unfair, especially when many writers know what it feels like to be treated like writing machines.

And you're right. It's discouraging to feel like you're not good enough. If you always feel second best then why stay? No one wants to feel like that. I don’t blame readers for leaving or stop reblogging. 

Interactions are a complicated thing, and to truly understand it we need to look at it from everyone's perspective. It's not to assign blame to anyone (tbh I don't think that is helpful), but to understand what is happening and look at our own actions. Everyone's experience in fandom is valid. Thank you again for sharing this 🤍

#vee answers #anon

[askthefuturegleeks]

Thank you for joining the campaign to bring the arts to future generations, NICK DUVAL, we’re happy to have you! If you want a refresher on what to do next, feel free to look at the WELCOME CHECKLIST. Please send your account in within the next 48 hours so that you can get started.    

ooc information

NAME: Bee

AGE: 40+

PRONOUNS: She/Her

SHIPS: Nick + Chem

ANTI-SHIPS: Nick + No Chemistry

basic ic information

NAME/AGE: Nicholas ‘Nick’ Dean Duval

BIRTHDAY/ZODIAC:  July 20th, 1994, Cancer: You are the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Zodiac. Family means everything to you. You watch over your brood with determination and zeal. You can be counted upon to be at every graduation, wedding, surprise party or barbecue that has anything to do with your relatives. They are definitely your tribe and you are very generous with all of them.

CURRENT OCCUPATION:  App developer.  Co-creator of Social Byte, a new app for finding, reviewing, and booking all types of social engagements- from restaurants to movies, golf courses to amusement parks, concerts to sporting events.

CURRENT LOCATION: Just moved to NYC from Silicon Valley.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single.  It's complicated.

FC: Curt Mega

twitter post

@technicky: Anything is possible if you have faith and don’t stop trying.  #learnfromyourmistakes   #failsbeforeprogress

in character questions

Answer these in character, and feel free to add gifs into your answers.

1.) What did you want to do with your life when you were younger? What would the child version of yourself think about the path you paved for yourself?

There were so many different things I wanted to be when I was younger.  It was constantly changing and being influenced by media and experiences.  I wanted to be a astronaut, a fireman, a doctor, an actor, a teacher, a military pilot, a rockstar, a chemist, a banker....but when it was time to make decisions about life after Dalton, studying computer science seemed to make the most sense as a jumping off point.  I was thinking web design, maybe programing.  We barely knew what apps were back then.  

Did I see myself leaving Northwestern with my roommate and moving to Silicon Valley to work in a tech think tank?  No.  But California was such an adventure and I loved it.  And as great as the think tank was, leaving it to develop something of our own, just ours, was the best.  Deciding to come to the East coast once the App took off and to go off on my own, is a little daunting, but honestly, it’s time. 

2.) What is your proudest accomplishment? Don’t be afraid to  talk about what it took to achieve it and how you feel about it as well.

Hands down- having created Social Byte.  I don’t know if other creative types get this paternal/maternal feeling over the things they create, but Social Byte is like my child.  

I’m also pretty proud of myself for having decided to branch off on my own now, and come east.  A new adventure.  Even if it's taken me years to do so.

3.) If you could do anything you wanted for one whole day, what would it be and why?

I would do anything.  For me, it would be less about the what and more about the who.  Or who’s.  Spend a whole day with someone or someone's that it’s always easy to be around.  And do whatever, but bask in the enjoyment of their company.  I’ve been away from the people I grew up with, some important people, for too long.  I’d try to fix that.  I’m going to fix that, now that I’m on the East coast.

where are they now? 

Even after the steroid scandal that rocked the Warblers in his senior year, Nick was able to turn that into a real learning and growing experience by making it the topic of his admission essays.  He ended up getting accepted to several schools, including Northwestern University in Chicago, where he ultimately decided to go.  Not going to New York, or the East coast, like it seemed like so many of his friends were was a hard decision for Nick. 

Computer science ended up suiting Nick, and he went on to complete an Master of Science in Information  Technology.  Nick was also lucky that right off the bat he met Ryan, his roommate.  For the second time, Nick found himself with a roommate that he clicked with almost instantly.  They were in the same program, they were roommates, study buddies, sounding boards, and the best of friends.  It made missing his Warbler and Dalton friends a little more bearable. And because it didn’t feel so bad,  Nick was more easily able to try and keep his friendships going with his Warbler and Dalton friends all across the country.  Nick was constantly sending cards, sometimes letters, post cards, emails, posts on various social medias, trying to keep any bits of communication open with everyone.

After completing their MS IT at Northwestern, Ryan convinced Nick to go West with him- where he was from originally.  18 months with the think tank they left it to pursue their own project, and Social Byte was born.  Despite the closeness of their friendship, being roommates for years, moving across the country together, it was strictly platonic.  Which suited Nick just fine anyway.  

Once Social Byte hit the market and exploded, Nick decided it was time to branch out and go off and try something on his own.  This was also influenced by his want to move to the East coast and Ryan’s desire to stay in California.   It’s his birthday week and Nick Duval can’t think of anything more fitting than starting a new adventure, in a new city, closer to quite a few of his high school and even college friends.  

#glee rp #atfg admin #accepted

[manonamora-if]

As someone who really tries not to speak online without having anything relevant to a conversation or post, I am definitely guilty of quiet consumership. I really do enjoy the work that you and others put forth. But I do try to avoid interaction because I am scared of becoming the sort of entitled that comes from being strangers behind a screen. Like, so many people will just say whatever and not even try to at least be nice or polite about it. Like that person who asked if you were butthurt and hiding behind anonymity while they did. Literally could’ve just asked why you were passionate about that post. Or at least could’ve asked under their own handle. But too many people are content to be rude and nasty or even just inconsiderate on the internet. I don’t understand why they felt the need to try and belittle your message, it was a good freaking message, no matter what motivated it. They seem to forget that they can just mind their own business instead of coming into your space and being a douche. Anyways, sorry for the essay. I just wanted to say I appreciate you and really enjoy your work. Also that anon can literally go get wrecked.

Hello there,

You get an essay in response :)

First, your feelings are totally understandable. Can't say I haven't been guilty myself either. And I get the feeling of entitlement that can come with interacting with a piece of media you enjoy (I remember the fan wars on Tumblr...).

I still think there is a large space between interacting with a project and entitlement of that project/author's attention. It all depends on how you communicate/act. Asking politely the author a question is miles away from demanding the next update. Sharing your love for their work is widely different from asking them to include your headcanon in their work. Interacting with their work in a way that considers the author's wishes (fan art, reviews, etc...) is much more effective then spamming the author for attention. There are a lot of degrees. As long as the line is not crossed, you're good!

And yeah, being polite and nice goes a long way!

Side note: I was just so happy to get (lovely) asks for TTTT yesterday, I still ended up answering questions I would usally just ignore.

On the topic of anons, I'm not going to touch on that specific one (and not answering them either, they're not adding anything to the conversation anymore). But that won't stop me from leaving the anons enabled (for now). It is both a blessing and a curse.

Sure I get hate sometimes, and it sucks. And they get to me, otherwise i would just ignore them. They're just looking for attention (like me, lol) and getting a reaction from me.

But they are also not the worse I have seen in the IFs circles. They are not blatant attacks to who I am as a person or deny that parts of me are real (i.e. gender/sexuality/illnesses/etc...). And I have lovely people who let me vent when I get a nasty one. Right now, I'm good.

Still, I get enough love and interest for my projects that leaving it on is worth it for me (right now). I still want to give an outlet for people who are not comfortable sending a message with their handles or creating an account. Most questions/interaction I get are from Anonymous. I would love to put an avatar behind the question, but like I respect their need for anonymity. (I use anons sometimes to gush at authors I am too chicken to interact with otherwise)

Finally, thank you. I really appreciated your message ❤.

#ask box #rambling

[kingofdarkness00]

I posted 12,002 times in 2022

That's 7,787 more posts than 2021!

26 posts created (0%)

11,976 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@pinkdiapers

@reaperlight

@cher3pakha

@dykeboyking

@cielores

I tagged 1,077 of my posts in 2022

#delicious foods - 91 posts

#ns//fw - 91 posts

#plushies - 85 posts

#fanart - 48 posts

#delicious sweets - 45 posts

#eremin - 43 posts

#sam and dean - 30 posts

#9-1-1 - 30 posts

#sebaciel - 24 posts

#wincest - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 94 characters

#i usually dont like at all it but if its incorporated into a dessert well then im okay with it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

With the stress brought on by the Noah's Ark Circus case, and the added stress of illness, Ciel's mental state begins to fall apart at the seams; revealing a side of himself that neither he nor Sebastian never knew existed.

Reblogs are dearly appreciated 💛

9 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

#4

It's Ciel's seventh birthday.

Reblogs are dearly appreciated 💚

9 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

#3

If anyone is looking for an editor for your fanfiction or original stories, I'm available for hire. I charge $20 dollars an hour, and all transactions will go through Cash App. Whether you have trouble with English, or just want someone to do the annoying part of writing for you (trust me, I know the feeling lol), I'm here to help.

I do have one condition: I won't edit anything that has non-con in it. I don't mind a bit of dub-con, but for personal reasons, I don't do the hardcore shit. Other than that, I'm game for anything.

I'm currently trying to create a steady income so I can afford to pay rent on an apartment for me and my best friend. We're both in our own shitty living situations at the moment, and we're desperately trying to find ways to earn enough cash to financially support ourselves in a place of our own.

So please, if anyone sees this and needs help, or knows someone who does, send me a massage. If neither of these apply to you, then please give this post an reblog. I'll take as many reblogs as I can get lol.

16 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

#2

Attention Prodigal Son fandom: I’m going to start writing an essay soon on what the show means to me and why I believe it deserves a second chance, and I would love to have some of y’all’s own thoughts and feelings to add to it.

If you’re interested, please email me by Friday at [email protected] . In one or two paragraphs, tell me why the show means so much to you. I probably won’t be able to put everyone’s in, but I promise I’ll put as many of you as I can. Also, at the end of the email, please add whichever social media @ that you’re comfortable with so I can credit you.

If y’all could also RT this post, that would be awesome. Thank you. <3

I don’t know if this essay will do anything at all, but I can still try. I haven’t given up hope that we’ll get this amazing show back. I refuse to give up.

23 notes - Posted August 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

It fucking baffles me how there are antis in the Rick and Morty fandom. Why tf are you even here?? Have you even seen the show??? It's not exactly a wholesome fucking watch. Rick is the farthest thing from a good person, and Morty ain't exactly a sweet angel boy, either. Rick has quite literally destroyed civilizations (including his own), and both these mfs have killed a shit ton of people and aliens (some who did shit all to deserve it), but you're mad that people irl ship them?? Just shut the fuck up.

Nobody in this show is what's considered a good person. Nobody. They either have toxic traits, or are just straight up toxic af. But that's the fucking point. This show isn't meant to be Steven fucking Universe, ffs. It's an Adult Swim cartoon that's about an old alcoholic asshole of a scientist and his horny naive 14 year old grandson who go on or get sucked into dangerous adventures every episode. So if you're gonna be that pressed about people shipping them, or literally any other characters together, then maybe you should stop watching the show entirely, since everything that's said and done is SO far from being the "uwu I love my family and feel nothing but wholesome love for them" good morals that you fantasize every show and movie catering to.

🖕🏼

24 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[themelancholyhill]

How are you doing? I hope summer has been kind to you so far. It hasn’t been too hot here, which I am very grateful for. I wanted to reply to you sooner than now, but I had to take a few days to focus on myself.

I am an overthinker, it has been the root cause of a lot of my relational issues, and knowing a friend who is online but is actively not replying back to me creates a lot of unnecessary doubt and fear. Due to my past, I don’t value my presence in other people’s lives, I believe I am very replaceable, to the point where when people verbalize their affection and love for me and I either ask “why” because I seriously don’t understand or I shut down. I am in constant anxiety over the quality of my friendships, which in turn, makes me try very hard to keep up with my friendships. I think us being friends in this manner (anon asks) is an unconventional way of building a friendship. I choose to reveal what I want to you when I want. I assume you do the same. And there isn’t this expectation to reply to me/you when we are online. Sometimes I only have the attention span and energy to reblog/like posts and not enough to reply to dms. I also want to read a dm (or a string of dms) and let it simmer a bit before I form a reply. I want my reply to be well-thought-out and succinct, not just a fleeting reaction, but a meaningful response.

I do sometimes wish I could just send you something quick and easy lol. I’m not saying I don’t love us communicating in this way. I think how we write back and forth is basically pen palling in the 21st century. But sometimes something reminds me of you and I just want to send you a quick message with the desire for a quick reaction. Maybe this is how people back then felt. They couldn’t really send their penpals something quick, so when they do write to each other, they end up writing essays about their days since the last time they spoke. Kind of romantic honestly.

Your friendship with Ray and the fact that it is both online and irl definitely has a different dynamic. I believe every relationship one holds with another person has a different dynamic. Everyone is unique in their own way, no one is the same, so it makes sense that every relationship you have is different, with its faults and graces. Distance makes one see things with clarity. I agree with you though, that online friendships are easier in a way. When it breaks, the rupture isn’t as loud. I’ve had past online male friends before and when I talk about them, I never nearly break down. We as a society really REALLY need more representation of how devastating it can be when a friendship breaks, in every way, whether that end is mutually decided upon or not. We need more portrayals of what a healthy friendship looks like between a man and a woman. We need men to be willing to open up to women emotionally even if he is not in a sexual/romantic relationship with them. We need women to verbalize love/affection to the people she platonically loves, without the assumption she wants something more. I’ll be honest, ever since my therapist told me what she told me, I’ve been second-guessing everything I say to M, to the point where I don’t even want to initiate a conversation anymore. I don’t think my therapist knows what the consequences would be of her words. I want to say that your words: “I have no regrets concerning what I did or said to Ray, how can I regret being authentic and showing genuine concern and emotions?” really resonated with me. Regret is an easy thing to claim, being authentic and genuine is infinitely harder and with inherent risk involved. To do something even though there is risk, is to be vulnerable. And being vulnerable is how human connections are made.

Being codependent on anyone within a relationship in any way is toxic (unless you are an actual infant). I was mine before I was anyone else’s, and having friends who I’ve met through my writing hobby is one of the ways I keep connections to myself, the person I am before I became a wife and a mother. I’ve always wanted to write since I was young, and what I write is mostly for myself, unless it is a gift for a friend or something for my partner.

I realize now that to most people, friends (in general) are quite disposable, they do not put in the kind of effort I do into a friendship. I offer something not many people want to have. I have to choose my friends wisely, as a one-sided friendship is taxing and draining with little to no reward. I wish our societies valued platonic love as much as romantic/sexual love. This is why so many people feel lonely, even though they surround themselves with “friends”. I know this sounds stupid coming from a married person, but you don’t need to have a romantic partner to feel “complete”, you don’t need a person (in that way) besides yourself to feel fulfilled in life. I chose to love my partner and build a life with him even though I was/am very content to have my life all to myself. My partner knows this as well.

I want to address the phrase you dreamt of: “Absence is freedom”. It is. But in blocking out pain you also block out love. As I said before, doing things with risk is being vulnerable, and being vulnerable is asking to be loved even though you know there is a risk of being heartbroken.

Here are two quotes I want to share with you:

“Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we’ll hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Love according to M. Scott Peck is ‘the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.’ Love is as love does. Love is an act of will - namely, both an intention and an action. Will also implies choice. We do not have to love. We choose to love.” - bell hooks.

I hope you feel loved today.

V✖️

Hey, uhm, I didn’t intend to reply to your ask this soon, but I need to sort out certain things; besides, I miss talking to you.

First of all, the weather is starting to get pretty humid and warm here, but as long as I no longer have to go to university and I’m staying at home, it’s kinda cool with me. To me, the only redeeming quality of summer is the wide variety of fruit. I love winter, but I have to admit that fruit-wise, it’s rather boring hehe.

Taking time to focus on yourself is very important, and I don’t mind your long asks because it keeps me company in a way. It’s like we’re having a long and thoughtful conversation, which is peculiar because when you think of it, I don’t know you, but I also know you. I’m sure that you feel the same way, and as unusual as it sounds, it’s endearing in a way. I believe that being 21st century pen-pals makes the situation rather Romantic, and I’m talking 19th century level Romantic: the time when poets roamed around, looking for the true meaning of love out in nature and art.

I’m also a victim of overthinking and, as insane as this might sound, I feel like Ray sensed how much I was overthinking things and that’s why he decided to walk away. I can’t control how much I think of certain situations, especially when it comes to understanding why my friendship with him came to an end. I know that it’s useless to question certain things and we have to take the L in order to move on, but when so much time and effort had been invested in one person who ended up leaving with no clear explanation (not including the silent actions from them), one can’t help but try to find solace in any semblance of explanation from that person, no matter how tough it might sound (it might be tough to swallow but at least it’d be true.)

When I’m interested in someone in particular, especially friends, I go all my way and show how much I care, by remembering small details (sometimes things I notice in them) or by making them feel special through valuing what they’re interested in without being overtly affirmational. I guess when they can’t take all this display of kindness and genuine concern, they just walk away with no clear explanation (since they don’t have anything to complain about) leaving me speculating what went wrong, coming up with dozens of scenarios based on all the actions I’d made or words I’d said. I’m not denying that after what had happened with Ray (I think I’d already mentioned this), I’m becoming more self-aware as to how I deal with my friends or even people I sometimes talk with. I can’t help but be kind and nice to people, which can be problematic most often (referring to that creep I talked about last time). Kindness exhausts me. I’m not implying my close friends (you included) or my family, but casual friends with whom I can’t help but show genuine benevolence towards them. I can send something to someone I follow (and they follow me) on IG just because it reminds of them and I know this because they posted about it at some point and my brain stored this minute detail. My closest friends compliment me very often, and my response is always the same: an exaggerated reaction which is awkwardness in disguise. I say to myself: are they really talking to me when they say all these good things? It feels weird to be treated the same way you treat others, and it feels, more often than not, out of place.

Coming back to overthinking things, I wrote something about the possible reasons why Ray left. I’ve noticed that everything I listed is positive. I wondered about how many last straws did it take for him to call it quits, how many minute details did it take for our friendship to end. Maybe the way I complimented him every chance I got? or all the small details I still remember to this day: details that I remember seeing from his socials and my brain automatically registered?  All of this is pretty positive, but maybe I wasn’t a good listener when he needed that, just because I’m not comfortable asking precise questions for fear of being too nosy! Now to think of it, I sense that he misunderstood my true intention towards him (being platonic friends) and everything got lost in translation. I still miss him very much, and I’m even slowly forgetting how I used to talk to him.

I tend to unintentionally rely on codependency since I had a rather sheltered childhood. To this day, I’m treated as a teen despite being 30. I remember my teenage years distinctly as a black hole. From the age of 19 to 25, all I remember is me being anxious, borderline depressed, most of the time; and I must admit that I felt as if I had a second chance as a young adult again when I was around Ray. I was genuinely surprised when he sent me a dm and we started talking online before when met in person (because of Covid, we didn’t get to see other students in person). I thought that he wasn’t the regular type of guy I usually talk to, but I slowly found myself expecting texts from him and slowly getting used to him being around. I think this one of the reasons why I see him as someone very special. Now, the hypothesis that he’d been faking the whole thing is worth taken into consideration, but I’d rather not think about it because I don’t wanna think of him as this despicable and malicious.

I love the quotes you sent my way, especially the first one which makes me want to read The Little Prince again and pick up on everything I missed the first time I read it. When we have something, we don’t consider losing it, or we lose it ironically when we try our best to keep it. Being genuine is risky, having good intentions is risky, and choosing love is risky. This is random, but I met a guy a month ago at university. He noticed the way I dressed as well as the music I was listening to and we exchanged our IG accounts to talk, and I guess to know each other better. I sent an invite and we started talking. I replied to a text on Sunday and he left me on read. I’m not thinking too much about it since I haven’t established any deep connection with him (I don’t even remember what he looks like), but it’s making me exhausted to see this type of reaction.

I know that my answer is all over the place, but I needed to talk about it because I feel like I’m on the edge of a nervous breakdown.  You can send anything you want, even if it’s just a couple of words, or maybe a great quote you find and I’ll give my opinions about it? In any case, feel free to send any ask, be it one word or a nearly 1000 words long.

I leave this text I found online and I think it’ll speak to you on some level!

#asks #V✖

[writing-with-olive]

How to write essays fast

I've been writing a lot of papers, so that's what's on my mind.

So this mostly applies to your standard 5-paragraph paper, though it's fairly straightforward to adapt it to longer (or sometimes shorter) assignments.

One of the main things to note is that essays are VERY formulaic, so knowing the formula and being able to write down your ideas in a way that fit into the formula is probably the number one way to get stuff done fast. Because of that, most of what I’m covering is breaking down the formulas so they’re more accessable.

Also this got very long. If there’s anything you want me to expand on just let me know in the comments or send me an ask/DM and I’ll make another post that goes more in-depth about it.

Structure (I hate this step, so I’ve figured out how to do it very fast becuase it’s still important)

The first thing to consider is prewriting and structure. To start, there are two major paper structures I usually consider. The first goes

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Main point #3

Conclusion

This is good if you have a lot to say on the topic, or if it's something closer to a summary essay where there's not really an opposing side. In something where there are distinct sides, (or if you have less to say to support your own side), you may want something that looks like

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Why the other side is wrong

Conclusion

The "why the other side is wrong" side is involves thinking through the MOST credible arguments the other side might make, and methodically breaking them down to show how they don't work. The stronger the argument you choose, the more effective this is.

Since I personally hate prewriting with a passion, I usually do this step very fast and end up with an outline that looks like

Intro [insert thesis statement]

P1: [three word summary]

P2: [three word summary]

P3: [three word summary]

Conclusion

(thesis statement, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion tips are all below the cut)

Usually, this is enough so when I look at my outline, I can see what I'm trying to focus on for each paragraph - and do so without straying from my main point.

For the prewriting, the main things to do are identify with basic structure of the two will serve your purposes better, and write a thesis statement that solidly supports your argument.

Thesis Statement

There are so many guides about creating thesis statements that are powerful, but I'm just going to quickly go over how to be fast about it.

The first thing to know is that a thesis statement is usually a complex sentence: it's your entire essay distilled down to a single line. The general formula I follow goes something like this:

"In their [media type] [name of specific piece], [creator's full name] explored/demonstrated/other verb [theme you're going to be arguing about] demonstrated/using/as evidenced/as shown by [example 1], [example 2], and [optional example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“In his short film Job at Place, David Davidson explored the manifestations of human stupidity through the absurdity of the main character’s home, school, and office.”

Or, if you're writing a historical piece, it might look something like this:

"In [place/time period], [thing you're arguing was happening]: they had to/the conditions were such that/other thing to set up a list [example 1], [example 2], and [example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“During the Tusken Invasion of 32nd century Tatooine, it was the lives of the children that were most affected, from their social development and connections with others to more personal struggles they didn’t yet have the tools to overcome.”

The examples you give are going to correlate to your paragraphs - example 1 is for body paragraph 1, and so on. 

Introduction

I like to think of the introduction as a funnel that gets more and more specific.

First, write a broad statement that touches on whatever theme you’re referencing. 

Job at Place is about human stupidity, so something like “while great minds have flourished throughout the ages, so have the not-so-great.”

Tatooine is about war, and about child development, so something like “children’s development has always been impacted by the state of the world around them.” or “war has many effects, many of which impact those not directly involved with the conflict.”

The idea is that it’s a broad statement that can almost be looked at like a universal truth.

Next, you’re going to go deeper - two sentences that narrow down the time and place you’re talking about specifically, and how that time and place fit into your universal statement. 

The fourth sentence gets even more specific - introducing how the thesis sentence fits into your first three sentences.

Then the last line is your thesis statements. 

Body Paragraphs

Your three main body paragraphs all follow the same formula. (I’ll get to the “why the other side is wrong” paragraph in a minute)

The first sentence you’re going to want is a topic sentence. For this, you’re going to want to look at the example you gave in your thesis statement that corresponds to this paragraph, and see how it relates to your central claim. 

If we’re going with the Job at Place example from above, for the second paragraph, you might open with a line like:

“A striking characteristic of Davidson’s short film was the abnormality of the main character’s school, used to showcase exactly what happens when poor decisions get taken too far.”

Everything within the paragraph will then back up the claim you’re making in the topic sentence (which in turn is backing up your thesis). 

For each paragraph, you’re probably going to want about three pieces of evidence, either in the form of direct quotes (plucking words directly from the source) or paraphrased quotes (summarizing what happened in your own words). The quote should be used to directly support your argument.

After each piece of evidence, you’re going to want about... twoish lines of analysis (this number can change as you need it to, but two lines is something solid to fall back to). 

While analysis can take all kinds of forms, one pattern you can use if you’re stuck is

evidence sentence 

what it means

how that meaning ties back into your main point

Following this pattern, a piece of analysis of Job at Place might look like:

“One of the first images of the private school is that it’s a tall spire with creaking stairs and loose floorboards. Despite this, the principal has eight personal cars parked outside on full display. While the first glimpse of the school might indicate that there is little money to care for the structural integrity, the notion is directly negated by the principal’s actions. By using these two images, Davidson demonstrates what can happen to the youth when those in power let greed carry them away.”

After you write your analysis, include some kind of transition phrase, and go onto the next piece of evidence.

The last line of your paragraph is going to transition into the next paragraph while also summing up the main point of what you talked about in the current one. (This line can also get moved down and tacked onto the beginning of the next paragraph, before the topic sentence, but I have found it tends to look less cohesive that way).

You might choose something like:

“While the school was a disaster in its own right, it wasn’t the only example of human folly.”

If you’re writing a “this is why the other side is wrong” you’re going to want to think about the MOST compelling arguments the other side could make. Take the top one (or two), and figure out ways to crack them apart using evidence from your source material.

In this case, your topic sentence might start off with something like

“While opponents might say [insert compelling counterargument], their reasoning breaks down when one takes into account the evidence.”

At this point, you’re going to follow the same formula as above. The main thing to keep in mind is that for the duration of this paragraph, your point is that the other side’s claim of X is wrong.

Conclusion!

If you know what you’re doing, this is actually the easiest part.

(wait, what??????)

The thing is, you NEVER want to introduce new ideas into your conclusion. Instead, you’re summarizing your main points.

The formula I follow per sentence is:

Thesis statement but reworded (you can change the sentence structure too)

Topic sentence for paragraph 2 or 3, but reworded (I’ll explain why you shouldn’t do the sentence for P1 in just a sec)

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 3 but reworded

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 2 but reworded

Wow sentence or question (i’ll get to this too)

The idea for the middle three sentences is you don’t want them to read as repetitive, so you’re going to mix up the order so it doesn’t match the order of the rest of the essay. This will help to keep it fresh.

The wow sentence is basically the last impression you get to make. I find it’s usually a good idea to go just a tad dramatic (it sounds dumb, but it has never failed me). If I can’t think of anything, a declarative statement on whatever major theme was being discussed throughout the essay usually does the trick.

Examples:

All of this shows that in the absence of friendships and platonic love, humanity will falter.

Fiction may seem far fetched now, but if the world falls into those same mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a reality.

Art has existed for as long as humans have populated the earth; it’s not going away any time soon.

A lesson everyone must understand is the most powerful weapon isn’t anything physical or tangeable: it’s the ideas that exist in the minds of those who care.

(I told you they were going to be dramatic) A way I look at it is if you can’t imagine dropping the mic on the last line, it needs to be stronger (yes I found that plagiarized with not even a whisper of credit on Pinterest, but it works).

If you wrote a SOLID essay, consider ending with a question aimed at the reader (this will push your essay in the direction of either the positive or negative extreme: a strong essay will become stronger, a weak essay will become weaker). Questions can be a call to action or rhetorical as a means to drive home your final point. Becuase they’re more nuanced to the content of the essay, I don’t really have great examples to give you though (sorry).

Hopefully this is useful to at least some of you - good luck!

++++

Tagging:@candlemouse

If you want to be added to or removed from any of my taglists (found pinned to the top of my blog) just let me know :)

#writing #writing advice #writeblr #studyblr #writers on tumblr #essays #how to write essays #school papers #english #history #social studies #theme statements #thesis statement #conclusion #introduction #body paragraphs #homework #school #essay tips #writing tips #olive's writing vibes #long post

[fireemblems24]

Why I Never Really Talk About Claude

Because there's nothing to say. As much as I hate to say it.

NOTE: I love Claude, and this is in no way meant to say anything bad about him, but Verdant Wind and how it handles him. I didn't tag him, but I want Claude fans to give me their amazing meta analysis and help me indulge in his character. So if you see this - no hate. Please send love.

Gronder Field was obviously a huge turning point for AM and Dimitri - and trust me, I'll definitely get to that - but ironically it was also an eye-opener for VW.

This game is four routes, and at first I tried to give all four their dues, but lately I've talked almost exclusively about CF and AM. With CF on hold until the other routes are also at their final chapter(s), it's become more apparent how little I mention SS and VW.

SS is obvious. It lacks a strong central figure. Rhea is MIA. Edelgard has no presence. Claude and Dimitri weren't supposed to be big characters here, and they aren't. Byleth is too much of a non-character (by design) to pull the weight of a route on his own (my SS is M!Byleth).

But what about VW? What happened?

Initial Impressions of Claude

Claude's writing, before any other character, got my attention. Edelgard I was already biased towards before even opening the game, fueled by her stark difference in design/unit type than other FE leading ladies and knowledge that her route had a split. Hilariously, Dimitri's the one I paid little attention too. But once I actually started the game and heard the characters talk and such, it was Claude who stood out the most.

Claude was witty, promising, and mysterious in a natural way and not the "yeah, sure" way I felt towards Dimitri's "darkness." 😅Edelgard turned out exactly how I expected (and not in a bad way); it was Claude who proved unexpected. It was his prologue dialogue I enjoyed the best, his class introductions that made me laugh.

But sadly that interest burned out.

Edelgard continued to demand my attention throughout part 1. I didn't always agree with her, but I did stay invested in figuring out what her deal was, what she'd do next, etc . . . She surprised me, intrigued me, made me want to discuss her ideas.

Dimitri blindsided me. He tore at my heartstrings without even trying. Ever since the Lonato rebellion, Dimitri got my attention and never let it go. His empathy and stark contrast with his revenge, the truth about his darkness, and so, so much more took him from "there's a third guy" to hands down favorite.

But what did Claude have going for him? Looks? Sure. A fun personality? Definitely. But what about plot, conflict, growth? Throughout part 1, I wanted to know more about what Edelgard planned behind the scenes and her ideals. And during that time, my heart ached for Dimitri as I watched a battle he kept losing and felt so conflicted about his desire for revenge.

What did Claude feel? What did he want? I still kind of don't know. Lack of prejudice between borders? Me too! But what does that have to do at all with what's happening in the game? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Gronder Field

Gronder Field made it just how apparent Claude and VW feels like an awkward third wheel.

During the cut scene, Dimitri and Edelgard had parts that made me (or would've made me) desperate to know what on earth was going on with them. Why is Edelgard invading everyone and, once again, trying to kill her classmates? If she's sad about it, why did she start this war? WTF happened to Dimitri? WTF is going on in the Kingdom? If I wasn't in the middle of it, I'd plan to get to CF and AM asap.

Claude says nothing interesting. Nothing intriguing. It's a throwaway line any character could've said about how this is such a bad class reunion. Honestly, it feels like he got dumped with the lines they needed for advertising because the other two were too caught up in having an actual storyline.

Throughout the game, there's moments that would've made me desperate to play CF and AM, but Claude really hasn't gotten the same treatment.

Claude Deserves Better

The thing is, I like Claude. Writing this reminded me what a fantastic impression he made initially. I love his drive for knowledge, the almost idealistic world he lives to create despite his world-weary character, and how he seemed far more mysterious than the other two (and still is frankly), and didn't get used as a tool to pander to the player self-insert nearly as much either.

But he's been given nothing to work with. Rhea, Edelgard, and Dimitri all have desperate stakes in what happens. Claude doesn't. Or it feels like he doesn't. Even more of the students and faculty have more going on than poor Claude. Things are desperate, emotional, full of conflict, growth, and action. This is what makes someone connect to a story, but Claude feels so disconnected that it's hard to invest.

VW feels less like a cohesive story that could stand on its own and more like a series of battles strung together. Claude has neither Edelgard's strong motivations and active presence nor Dimitri's strong motivations and dynamic development.

It's in the details too. In CF, people are fighting for Edelgard and the Empire. In AM, people are fighting for Dimitri and the Kingdom. In SS, people are fighting for Byleth, Rhea, and the Church of Serios. In VW, people are fighting for . . . Byleth.

I mean, even in FEH Claude doesn't get special treatment. It seems Legendary Edelgard got a giant advertisement video for her release, and Legendary Dimitri got his own mini-foreging bonds with full voice acting. Legendary Claude got nothing. Maybe he's not as popular are the other two (I've stayed out of the fandom outside of my blog for obvious reasons - so I don't really know), but maybe the reason he's less popular (I'm assuming) is because there's a lack of emotional resonance compared to the others.

Honestly, it makes me irritated. Claude has so much potential as a lead character. There's so much to work with, but the game just doesn't play to his strengths, doesn't connect his desires and goals to the plot, ignores Almyra, and has him remain distant from everyone - including the plot. He deserves better.

Claude Fans, I Need Your Help

That said, I know, for fact, I am overlooking parts of his character. Claude fans, please help! Send me your analysis of his characters, what you admire, what his faults are etc . . . (please just no spoilers post Gronder, if you let me know I need to read it later, I'll like it go back to it).

I'm playing all 4 routes at the same time, which means I'm doing monastery weeks back-to-back-to-back-to-back - which means lots and lots of supports all at once. It's impossible for me to retain all that information. There are definitely Claude moments I've overlooked and forgotten.

I also know, for fact, that when you love a character, you can write an entire essay off of one line of dialogue/scene (yes, I've done it 😅). Please send me those essays. I want more Claude love on here, because I'm quickly remembering how much I loved Claude.

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #fe16 #not tagging him because I don't want anyone to see this and think it's hate #it's not #I really like Claude #but I don't want anyone to see the title and get upset #after the game I'm going to ask everyone to send their opinions and meta and essays on all 3 leads plus rhea anyways #and I'll def tag there because it'll be a totally neutral post

[lisinfleur]

How love looks like

The request:

Author’s Notes | I hope you like the result, love!

Universe | Vikings

Pairing | Ivar x Reader, Reader’s daughter

Info | Viking Age AU, requested by anon for 5CW Ivar vol. II, posted for HTGI event

Words | 1619

⁑ Warnings: Mentinos to pain, possible incorrect quotes or informations about Ivar’s condition.

She was trembling when she came into my hall for the first time.

"King Ivar."

Even her voice was trembling. I could bet her fingers were cold, although the package in her hands was made of warm blankets. Her dress was ragged here and there, and her hair wasn't properly braided. But her beauty was undeniable.

However, what caught my eyes wasn't her pretty face but the way she approached my throne, bending enough so I could see the little face contorting itself, essaying a cry.

"I beg you... Please help me," she said, eyes teary.

Her hands unfolded the blanket making my eyes large. It was only a second before she folded the blankets around the little girl once again, hiding the twisted bones of her legs from the cold that made the child start cooing, annoyed.

I saw that woman clinging to that package as if her whole life was inside those blankets. And, for a moment, that scene made me remember my mother.

"You lived through it," that woman's voice woke me out of my memories, allowing me to notice the obvious difference between her and my beautiful mother. "I beg you mercy, my lord. Teach me, please. I want her to live. I know she can live! Her father doesn't believe the gods enough, but I saw what they did to you. You've done it. Please, my lord, teach me how to help her."

She didn't want her daughter to survive. No. Mother wanted me to survive. She wanted me to be there for her. That woman wanted her daughter to be like me...

She wanted her daughter to live.

"This Thing is over. I have matters to solve," I said, dismissing the other citizens.

My eyes on her, seeing how strongly she was fighting the tears. Her fear that I wouldn't help stamped on her face.

An expression that vanished completely when I caught my crutch, getting up to walk towards her.

"Bring the girl inside, woman. First lesson you need to learn: it is never warm enough for her."

Her tears broke down, but she nodded. And I could see the determination in her eyes, shining with hope and gratitude over me.

We placed the little girl inside my room, and she slept on my bed while her mother and I sat for a talk.

I discovered her name was Y/N. The little girl she named Eira seeking Eir's mercy over the little one. The bastard she once called a husband expelled them when she refused to leave the little girl to the wolves telling him king Ivar was a great man even being like her.

I was great in her eyes. I was the reason why she had faith her little girl could be someone. Something more than her father's shame...

She asked me for a place to serve in my castle since she had no place to live. I gave her the servant room beside mine and offered to serve me for a payment she could use to sustain herself and her little girl.

She accepted those crumbs as if I was saving her life.

The next day she had her little girl tied to her chest, cleaning and organizing everything I told her to.

During her work, I observed how lovely she was towards that tiny thing tied to her chest, sometimes dancing, sometimes making unnecessary rounds with the broom, everything to keep the little child entertained. The twisted little legs tightly kept against Y/N's chest as she restrained her own movements to avoid hurting her little girl.

That woman was different from anything I'd ever seen. Even from my mother - who would do nothing but care about me, neglecting my brothers, and sometimes herself, to keep me alive. Y/N was doing everything for her daughter, but as soon as the little one was asleep, I saw her brushing her own hair, messing with her clothes to find out the holes and sew them, eating properly from the portions I send to her; ensuring to be healthy and strong to care for the girl she carried around like a little treasure.

It touched my heart one day at a time.

And when the pain came and I saw Y/N in despair, lulling the little Eira trying to make her sleep, I came into her room sitting on the simple bed she would spend her nights on, and extending my arms towards her.

Her eyes were full of faith when she delivered the little Eira in my hands, observing as I gently placed the little one on the basked, moving her legs as little as possible until they were well supported and warmed by the blankets around her. With my fingers, I mashed some of my own herbs letting drops of the bitter juice fall into the little one's mouth, observing as it slowly did its job, relieving the pain and allowing Eira to fall asleep.

It was the first time I saw Y/N crumble in front of me, bitting her lips to cry in silence the anguish of her little girl's pain but also the relief of seeing she was finally tranquil.

I would see that several times. I would help Y/N to immobilize Eira's broken little legs properly to prevent them from healing the wrong way. I would help her to care for the little one's wounds when they came. And when nothing would help Eira's pain, I would help Y/N's to hold on to her faith that the gods had granted her daughter a better fate.

Whenever that little child slept after my touch, I felt a little like Harbard, taking away her pain like he'd done for me when I was younger. But, unlike me, Eira had my knowledge to help her grow better. To help her suffer less.

I didn't see when that little girl and her mother invaded my heart. Y/N learned from me to care for her child, but I saw her using what she'd learned several times to care for me instead.

She was the one providing my teas, helping with my wounds, sewing protections to make my braces more comfortable...

Relieving my pain. My loneliness.

Standing beside me even in my worst days, Y/N became someone I couldn't see myself without. Someone I didn't want to see myself without. And along with her, Eira also became a part of my life, making my heart melt when she started dragging herself around my hall like I used to do, imitating so soon the ways I had fought so hard to learn by myself.

She would come to me full of trust and laugh at me so easy!

Sometimes she wouldn't sleep if I wasn't near. Sometimes I would hear Y/N telling her my story, painting me as some kind of hero Eira was starting to follow.

And it would make me proud.

Y/N made me proud of what was once my worst shame. She made me feel I wasn't incomplete, nor half of a man. She made me feel my whole life had sense, meaning.

I'd come like that, with my twisted legs and pain, cause the gods knew my mind was gifted. The gods knew I would create ways to live.

And now, my ways were making Eira's life possible.

Better.

Easier.

Slowly, I took Y/N more and more from the service of the hall. Soon, she was something like a personal servant to me. She would go anywhere I would go, and I wouldn't want anyone but her around when I was moody or living a bad day.

She became my relief as much as I once was hers.

It was inevitable to fall in love with that woman. To bring her into my life. To want her as my queen.

"I want you, Y/N. I want Eira. And I don't want to ever hear about your ex-husband once again. He's nothing but past. He's nobody. She's my little girl, and this is how I want things to be now."

She didn't argue. But I could see it wasn't the initial fear that prevented her from arguing with me or trying to contradict my arguments. Y/N's fingers touched my face that night and she touched our foreheads with tenderness.

"I wouldn't want any different," I remember she said.

Her nose nuzzling against mine in a caress I would discover it was my favorite sensation in Midgard.

"Eira is my gift from the gods. And they've decided to bless me again with you."

Now my little Eira was twelve years old. Her little braces were reproductions of mine, in a smaller size. She couldn't run around with the other children, but she would spend hours playing hnefatafl with me, making me the best company I could ever want.

She was definitely better than I ever was. Always filling our hearts with joy whenever she would play with her two little brothers the gods had blessed me with.

I'd noticed her blood-father walking around sometimes, looking at her at the market or observing as she would easily walk with her crutch around, sometimes trying to go a little faster than she really could just to show me something she wanted or giggle with her usual playful tone. I could see he regretted his mistake, but I never gave him a chance to approach, always looking at him with blues icy cold. A warning that it was too late for his excuses.

Y/N and Eira were mine now. My little princess, my queen.

They’d become my treasures.

And his time to claim back what he'd left was long gone.

#history vikings #imagine vikings #ivar #ivar the boneless #ivar x reader #ivar ragnarsson #daddy ivar #ivar’s heathen army #sister wives #shot #htgi

[deanwasalwaysbi]

I've gotta say, I find the concept of Bedlund trying to Ben-Hur Jensen absolutely hysterical. I'm just imagining Jensen getting a script and being like "Ben?? What's this? Is this gay? This seems gay????" and Ben just soothing him like a frightened horse.

Hahaha - Look it wouldn't be the first time. What is this verb we're working with? Okay. Strap in everyone. The Multi-Oscar-winning 1959 movie 'Ben Hur' had a bunch of gay subtext. The writer, the director, and the second lead actor all knew that Charlton Heston's character, Ben Hur, was gay. However, one person didn't find out until the 1990s: Charlton Heston. The consensus on set was "Don’t tell Charlton, because he’ll freak out." and when Heston found out in the ninties, freak out was exactly what he did. (x) [the movie may have gotten a reference from Misha back in season 6 (x)]

Whether this happened with Jensen on SPN depends on two things.

Was the character of Dean intentionally written as Bi and, if so, at what point did that become true?

Did anyone tell Jensen? Did he figure it out? if so, when?

I personally DO believe at this point, I really do, that Bedlund - Ben Hur'd Jensen. I think it was part of the writers room but not all of it, until it was. (Which RN I believe finally happened under Dabb.) I think Jensen wasn't in on it, until he was. So for me? I think he really was in the dark at one point. But at what point that changed? Probably only he can answer that question. and RN? He ain't talking.

In the meantime we can only look at things Jensen has said on the subject - Like this unbearably ambiguous GIF set from @nikadd. Was this tongue in cheek? Legitimate ignorance? You're killing me, Jensen. That cheeky lil smile, Jensen. Nvm - I'm going to kill you instead. It's for my own survival. No hard feelings right? You understand.

UH OH HERE COMES A CUT TO HIDE A LONG DERANGED POST...

We can look at the text for number 1 - and I do that uh - a lot - see the blog name #Dean Was Always Bi

For number 2 we can look over some points when we got clues from what Jensen thought was going on [regardless of whether they make sense based on his jacting or directorial choices I guess] and get left wondering whether at any point he felt pressured to lie for his career, for self protection, or to protect the narrative from the network: 

2010 - 'We're missing the gay angel' (x) (Season 5 gag reel) (x) “Sorry man, not what the show’s about.” Jared: One of the good and bads about playing the straight [non-comedic] character on the show… Jensen: What wait? I’ve been playing him so wrong

2012 / S8 - Trenchcoat - Jensen talking about how sometimes they change the lines because they're way too gay. Calls Cas a third brother

2012 - "What's Destiel?" Ben Edlund: That’s some weird shit. Jensen: Is this something that you created, Ben? Ben: You don’t want any part of that.

“Don’t ruin it for everyone now” “I still don’t know what the question was. I’m going to pretend I don’t know what the question was.”

2013 @ JIB, re Dean’s reaction to Aaron’s flirting in the season 8 episode Everybody Hates Hitler,  (x)

“And the scene wasn’t written to be that kind of - I mean - It was written to be awkward.  Ben Edlund wrote the - my favorite line in that scene was ‘carry on . citizen’ that was - I almost couldn’t say that with a straight face I was laughing so hard.  But it was - you know - it was comedy. It was a comedic moment in the show and fortunately Dean gets a lot of the comedic moments in the show and it was just, you know, Ben was poking fun at the fact that - you know, how can we make this very kind of manly, heterosexual guy uncomfortable - uh -you know, or  or have him back on his heels and throw him off his game a little bit.”

The thing is - Bedlund and Phil Sgriccia made very clear on the commentary track that THEY saw this scene as a 'romantic comedy kind of fluster' "This potential for love in all places."

Ben Edlund calling the writer’s room a boy’s club in 2013 (x)

Misha Collins telling Destiel fans they aren’t Crazy in 2013 after some executives said they were (x).

2014 Jensen says he was glad there wasn’t much Dean and Cas in season 9  - HA Hah HAH (x)

“I think the whole Cas and Dean thing has gotten out of hand”  “I don’t think there’s anything secret to their relationship even though a lot of people wish there was” REMINDER - that season we got the nightstands acknowledgement and “play him like a jilted lover” and the “he dumped me James” cut and -

I certainly know that Misha and I don’t play that. SIGH. they Ben Hur'd Jensen.

2014 - the fan fiction joke - 10.05

“I didn’t have a positive reaction, The first time in I think 200 scripts I went and sat down in the showrunners office and said, ‘What in god’s name are you doing?! Why? I need to understand why this is happening.’” “[Carver] gave very eloquent answers and did a great job of explaining why we were doing what we were doing, I guess I had been aware of this ‘fan fiction’ for a while and I felt like maybe if I ignored it, it would eventually go away. When I read it in the script that is what I do for a living and is my work—I’m very protective of these characters and the story and I think we have a right to be—I wasn’t angry. I just wanted to understand why and what was the message we were ultimately sending with this script and story. By the end of it, I felt good and it gave me all the confidence I needed. It was better than I could have ever hoped.”

But then there's Jensen in 2015 talking about all of Dean’s bromances. (x)  [gifs at the top] Could go either way - starting to figure it out? or No?

What had changed if anything? the entire Crowely season 10 story line?  This was July 2015 - the same day as the SDCC 2015 panel where Misha talked about Destiel   (x @ 13) Carver and Dabb were there - 

By this time Jensen and Misha were nominated for a teen choice award for best chemistry against various tv couples (and one ensemble cast, but the award nomination did NOT include Jared) .... Misha and Jensen would go on to WIN this award one month after the panel.

At the Panel Rob and Rich ask the question: “You two have branded yourselves as TV’s greatest team since, ... idk who.... Ernie and Bert so.”  [Misha says to Jensen & Jared, half not on the microphone: “I really didn’t expect them to throw us under the bus.”] “are we going to see that continue? Is the Castiel Dean relationship still aflutter and still growing as we move into season 11?”  Jeremy Carver: “Ish.” [mocking from panel ensues] “Yes. Of course. I mean Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. There’s no doubt.”

Jensen Directs 11x03 and the choreo mimics Goodbye stranger (x)

2016 - Jensen: Dean could have a huntress, but you’d kill her.

Jan 2017 Con the infamous - no hedge - harsh - “Destiel doesn’t exist.” (x)

I would hope that if he knew he wouldn’t have been so harsh with it.  So by that point either he still didn’t know - OR - to him ‘Destiel’ was specifically about internet porn/sex and not like - the potential for feelings / a relationship.  It makes me think about something Misha had actually said, around 2013, “It’s called ‘Destiel’ and it’s about the romantic interludes between Dean and Castiel.” (x)

2017 - jib8 Jensen called Dean a lover of the ladies

May 2017 - After filming the end of season 12:

2018 - Misha confirms he and Jensen have talked about Destiel (x) - also 2018: The Bisexual Dean essay "? No." (Oh god was this really this recent?! I can't deal with this.)

Well. SOMETHING happened in 2019. cuz here it comes

2019 - "Dean has no taste, clearly." 2019 - 'So, tell us just a little bit about what you're most excited to tackle with your character this final season.' "Cas. Just like a full football form tackle."

Look at this face he gave Dean when Cas told him he loved him and tell me he wasn't playing into it here. You can't. (x)

#jackles long con #unparalled media experience #desticule #dean is bi #spn tinhatting #ben hur treatment #dean was always bi #jackles sexy silence #jensen ackles #spn meta #spngate #spn bts #spn behind the scenes #ben edlund #ben hur #bedlund #spn metacanon #i went off #I really do believe that bedlund ben hur'd Jensen #spn gaslighting #JENSEN WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL #my asks #caslighting #original content #long post #this has been stewing for a long time #reference #oh do help me this is somehting other people know way more about. #deranged #spn homophobia

[miscelunaaa]

disclaimers | miscelunaaa

Please read the following carefully before interacting with my blog or sending an ask. Help keep this a safe space by respecting not only my boundaries, but the boundaries of others as well :)

Also, if you’ve found yourself here, consider reading “soft-bodied” reader-insert characters and inclusivity. It’s an essay I wrote after trying to approach writing plus-sized, or soft-bodied, reader insert characters with a different mindset. I think it’s a valuable read. 

I: All of my work is intended for mature readers, which means that you should not interact with it unless you are 18 or older. I am within my full rights to block you if I find out that you are a minor and that you’re here when you’re not supposed to be. This policy is not just to protect myself, but to create a safe environment for other writers wherein we can talk about adult things as adults. If you’d drag me on Twitter for being “to old to stan,” get the fuck off my blog right now.

Note that for me, this includes liking my fics and following me! If I see your age in your bio or otherwise, I’m going to block you! This is to protect myself and my space here! Don’t be stupid!

II: My work is only found on this blog and on ao3. Note that I have multiple pseuds: the only ones I am currently active on are powderedsuga and miscelunaaa. Do not repost, translate, or use my work for any unauthorized purposes. You DO NOT have my consent to repost ANYWHERE, even if you credit me. This includes sites like Wattpad, YouTube, and Instagram. Because apparently posting shit on insta is a thing now and honestly why the fuck is that a thing??? The same goes for all banners, which were created by me unless otherwise stated. They’re pretty plain so like ... idk why you’d want to steal one but I digress. Should my blog for whatever reason disappear off the face of the planet, I crosspost everything to AO3 and can be found there. One simply never knows what’s going on in the background with this hellsite, so if you want to make sure you can continue to read my work if I leave Tumblr or get booted or whatever, subscribe to me on AO3.

III: While we’re talking about blocking, this is not a safe space for fatphobia, xenophobia, ableism, racism, or ANY manner of phobia based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Full stop. Discriminatory conduct gets an immediate block. If you follow me with your main and it’s something like a thinspo blog or is filled with any phobic content whatsoever, you will be blocked immediately and you’ll stay that way.

This include self-harm blogs and blogs that mention eating disorders. Do not interact with me. Instead, please seek the help you need and deserve. You are worthy of care.

IV: Unless otherwise marked, all of my work is written from the perspective of a female reader. Moreover, unless otherwise noted, most of my work takes place in a nondescript US-American location. If this is not the case, or if there is something important about the reader you need know (i.e. reader is plus-sized, disabled, etc), I will be sure to leave it in the warnings or notes for the piece.

It bears mentioning that I myself am a fat, white woman. I try to keep my readers as inclusive as possible for this reason. I want others to be able to enjoy my work. This will most evidently manifest in smut scenes, where it a very unlikely you’ll ever read about an insert-character being tossed around like she’s a toy. I find that language radically exclusive, at least personally, though I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. It really pulls me out of a fic, depending on the context, so I avoid it in my own writing. This also means I avoid flowery discussion of underpinnings, extravagant clothing description, mentions of breast size, overuse of “you’re beautiful,” etc. Some of us read fics to escape reality, but when you’ve lived with internalized fatphobia all of your life, some realities are hard to escape from. I try to accommodate that for myself, and I hope that it can in turn accommodate you as well. See the essay linked at the top for more on this. 

V: Be sure to read all of the warnings and notes that come with each work. I aim to be thorough and I will sometimes reference something that happens in conversation between characters that can be triggering or frustrating for some (think language around a character’s own body, antiquated views on sexual desire and virginity, etc). Please note that just because a character does or says something doesn’t mean I agree with the character or view it as an acceptable behavior. ALWAYS READ THE WARNINGS BEFORE READING.

VI: Which, by the way, practice safe sex. Make sure you stay educated on current forms of birth control and for the love of god, use them. Make abundant use of condoms. Have conversations with your partner or partners about possible infections, and then of course communicate about the boundaries that everyone involved has. My fics are about people. They are meant to have a certain sort of reality to them, but they are NOT INTENDED to be manuals, blueprints, examples, or function as advice for how to behave around your sexual partners or how to engage in relationships with potential or extant romantic partners. Just because you read about it in a fic or in a book doesn’t mean that it’s a healthy or realistic depiction of what romantic relationship should look likes. Fanfics contain elements of the fantastic; this can be positive or negative. Please keep this in mind when engaging with them.

For historical fics, this is especially important to note. Condoms as we know them did not exist before the early to mid twentieth century, and even then, did not reach wide availability until later. Thus, condoms aren’t used or depicted within the sexual encounters in these relationships. My advice remains. Use contraception and have conversations. Don’t use fics as a model for your own relationships and make sure to maintain a healthy mindset with the medium. Protect yourself by having knowledge at hand. Your personal safety is more important than erotica written by a stranger online.

VII: This is not a safe space for solos, antis, mantis, sasaeng/fansite content, or anything of the like. Simple as that. That Twitter shit stops at the door. Sasaengs are stalker fans and most fansites are stalkers so congrats: that pretty picture taken with a super zoom lens on a dslr was taken by a person with no respect for boundaries or consent. These people are legitimately dangerous for the health and well-being of not only BTS and other k-pop groups, but fans as well: they are extremely rude to fans and often get physical with folks at concerts. They endanger others by crowding airport entrances just for a fucking picture of member getting off a plane. A lot of y’all haven’t spent enough time lurking on Twitter and it shows. These people are bad. I refuse to support them. Do not slide into my dms or asks with fansite pictures, nor any other dubiously acquired content (leaks, private schedule stuff, content that looks like it was taken from a tree, etc). Even if you don’t mean anything by it, I don’t think this content is good or appropriate. We should respect the privacy and safety of all artists and their fans. Cell phone content is a different matter, for the most part. Like if they’re on stage at a concert, great! It wasn’t taken for financial gain. Clout maybe, but good luck monetizing a pic of Namjoon on his hands and knees barking like a dog at PTD LA.

VIII: As for biases: most people have biases simply because nature has gifted us the ability to have preference and connection. If you take that shit further than intended, I’m fucking blocking you. This blood runs purple to the core and each member is beloved will be treated as such in this space.

A note on this in combination with the Twitter shit: This includes romantic shipping of the real people that constitute BTS. I read a lot mxm on AO3, but never in a way that posits the pairings depicted as reality. The members of BTS are their own people and they should be treated as such. I find it grossly inappropriate to ship real people; we don’t know anything about their personal lives! I think it’s foolhardy, if not verging on idiotic, to ship based on the interactions we’re shown in things like Run!BTS and Bangtan Bombs. Their friendship is special. Let’s not take things out of context and make assumptions about their personal lives to begin with, but especially with regards to possible romantic pairings. It is not fair to them to assume their sexuality or identity; they will share these details with us if and when they are ready. This is all to say: If I use a ship pairing name, I’m using it to refer to fic pairings or friendship pairings, and it is never intended to romantically ship them in reality.

IX: Lastly, the characters in my fiction may bear in some way the likenesses of real people, but are not intended in any way to speak to how these folks exist in reality. The real people are heavily inspiring for me; I make absolutely no claims to accuracy in their depiction nor do I claim to have any knowledge of their personal lives. I don’t know them. None of us know them. That’s okay and emphatically important to keep in mind while reading fan works. Remember that this is fiction and that it’s meant for entertainment. 

This is something I’m going to comment on because I’m seeing an uptick in this sort of fic, and I want it here on the off chance that someone comes to this post wondering if I've talked about it (though I doubt anyone reads this shit anyway ... I digress). I do not write nor do I read idol-verse or idol!au fics. For me, it toes a lot of lines with reality and such content very VERY frequently oversteps a lot of very clearly set boundaries for the members. I can count on one hand the number of idol fics I've read that didn’t feel like massive, unhinged, obsessive oversteps. They’re buried somewhere in my AO3 bookmarks if you’re curious. If you’re a mutual, I’m sorry, it’s just not something I'm comfortable with reading or interacting with at all. I’ve watched people get overzealous and petty about me not reading such content and it’s just not something I want to have any part of, and I'm not getting myself sucked into that shit now or ever again. I’m not here to speculate on their personal lives and/or invade their privacy. They’ll share what they want to share when they want to or when they think they can. I don’t need to know everything or fill in any blanks just to feel like I've got an up on other folks in the fandom. I don’t want that shit near my blog and if you’re a mutual I will merely tolerate seeing it on my feed. Do not expect me to read it. Do not ask me to read it. This is a boundary I'm not willing to cross for myself or them. If you’ve got a problem with that, go fuck yourself :)

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To use the wording in this post to help formulate your own set of disclaimers, please reach out to me via dm or in an ask! We’re in this together and I’d love to help you establish boundaries on your blog if you feel they’re necessary :)

©miscelunaaa 2022

last updated: 10.15.2022

#miscelunaaa #disclaimers

[xxtha-blog]

Hello, I have an announcement to make. I will be calling out myself today.

It’s been brought to my attention something that happened just over 2 years ago has been brought back, so I’d like to talk about it:

So here’s a story. If you follow my blog you know I’m very critical of a lot of things, especially surrounding Dreamtale AUs. Now, I believe in one very important thing when I criticize things: No one deserves unsolicited criticism. Thus I tag/warn/hide all my stuff so those who continue reading it are prepared and I NEVER send my stuff to the creators of the work. EVER. If they’re in a server and I want to talk about it with someone, I move to DMs. If I get asked an opinion on tumblr I tag that shit with warnings, put on a read more label, and keep my criticism as constructive and analytic as possible.

So what does this have to do with anything. Let’s go back to November 2019. It was just prior to Dreamtale being continued, and a peak everyone hates Dream and knows nothing about his character. So if you think I dislike Dream alts and AUs now, it was a lot worse back then. Especially about one particular AU: Shattered Dream. One day I sat down and wrote a very long vent/rant essay on Shattered Dream, put all my emotions into it, then put it down and promised never to touch the AU again. I had it written down, it was done. No more would I rant about Shattered Dream. I had already put every opinion I could think of in a stupid document to get it out of me. The only people that were supposed to see that rant essay bullshit were my friends. It was meant to be private. It wasn’t constructive criticism. It wasn’t nice. I put all the frustration I possibly could into that thing. And I absolutely NEVER wanted it to be read by the creator. Why would I, it was me being an asshole for like 10 solid pages. It was just every problem I personally had, written down for me to get tf over it. I didn’t post it anywhere but my dms/private server. For any of my followers on this blog, you’ve probably never heard about/read this thing for a reason. I never posted it here, and if you do read it now, know I certainly don’t stand by the things I said in it.

However, me being a dumbass, I thought it was fine where it was. Discord. There was no possible way it could get out there. It was in a google doc. It was tagged with a big content disclaimer at the top for my friends (because a few of them did like the au). I did not post it anywhere beyond my own private dms and discord channels.

And the worst possible thing happened to that document.

Someone sent it to the creator. And they read it. And I was fucking mortified. I don’t know how they found it and I don’t know who sent it to them and I immediately asked to talk to them in discord so I could apologize. I also disabled the link for it to remove access since it had gotten out.

They sent me a message something along the lines of: I don’t want to hear your apology, what’s done is done, just take it down. And I was blocked before I could send a single message. I obviously had taken it down. The link they currently have posted it is a copy of it, the original was deleted.

So shit. I felt terrible. I believe very strongly in the idea that you should make things for yourself and nothing but yourself, I’d never want my opinions to genuinely affect someone’s ability to create, that’s terrible, that’s not what criticism should be ever. And then they quit their AU and I felt even more abysmal. And the situation was essentially the equivalent of someone screenshotting or copy pasting some shitty rant you made in a discord server about an AU, and having it sent anonymously to the creator. I had a false sense of security it was safe. I shouldn’t have. That was stupid. That will forever be on me.

Now, present day, they post a copy of the essay on their blog and say it was sent anonymously to them. I can promise you I would never send that to them or anyone connected to them. That’s insane. It was not me who sent it, but I am genuinely so fucking sorry you had to read that. I am so sorry for the pain it caused you, for the demotivation, for the loss to your followers of an AU they loved. It was not meant for you. It was not meant to accuse you of anything. it was solely a vent, full emotional bs rant keyboard smashed onto a page. If I could go back and redo things, it would never have been written in the first place. I wish you had continued your AU. I really wish none of this had happened.

I have been waiting 2 years to be able to say that. @shattereddreamsau I know nothing I say can make up for the two years, but if you’d be willing to talk about anything, I’m fully open to making up for this in any way I can. I know I can’t take it back, the internet lives on forever, but know that I will do whatever it takes to make it better if you’re open to that. If not, and I totally understand if you want absolutely nothing to do with me, but I do hope you see this and know I am truly sorry. If you do reply, I ask we continue it privately so we can sort this out away from tumblr.

I avoided making this type of post on tumblr for the last two years to avoid other people getting involved and to avoid causing you more problems, but since the essay has now been posted here, I am here to take responsibility for writing it.

I appreciate the effort people put into AUs even if I don’t like them. I hope you know I appreciate different opinions on AUs. I’m glad to see people find enjoyment out of things I do not. I do not ever want to take that away from someone, and I hope in the last two years, you have seen me make an effort to keep my criticisms properly hidden/tagged and short/respectful. AUs are supposed to be fun. I never want something like this to happen again and will do my best to make sure it doesn’t.

#shattereddreamau

[immortalpunz]

don’t be fucking weird in twitch chat/dono - a motherfucking professional essay

okay listen,

I have seen so many people post and answer asks and address this shit already and i am FED up, so I have a couple of points that I would like to talk about  (ahh, yes, professional essay format) I’m done being nice, and apparently yelling/bullying is the only way to get through your thick skulls

1. for the love of god, STOP CALLING CC’S BY THEIR REAL NAMES or trying to get other cc’s to call them by their real names on stream,,,, it doesn’t happen very often, but the fact that it happens at all after they’ve expressed discomfort with it, is unnerving. they create their names (sapnap, punz, dream, technoblade specifically) to BE CALLED BY THAT AND NOT THEIR REAL NAMES. stop spamming it in chat/sending donos, its not cute, no one thinks you’re quirky for using their real names. NEXT

2. If you don’t have money, don’t donate, PERIOD. stop trying to guilt the cc’s by telling them that you are giving them your last little bit of money,,,, what are you trying to gain from that? when I see that shit on screen, I literally mute the stream because I cannot stand listening to them awkwardly dance around it bc it MAKES THEM UNCOMFORTABLE. stop sending donos if you cant afford it. STOP. next.

3. “you ignored/missed my last dono.” OKAY? AND? you are sending it to them because you enjoy their content, not because you want something in return. a DONATION is a free contribution and you are not BUYING something from them. you are not obligated to send them a donation, just as much as they are not obligated to interact with it. NEXT.

4. “can you say hi to___” “can you say happy birthday to___” YOU ARE HERE FOR THE STREAM, this is not a fucking meet and greet, you are here to watch them play. most of the cc’s don’t seem to mind this very much, but like dude, this is cringy im sorry. you’re basically trying to pay them to notice you, which doesn’t make sense bc they are just saying a random name that millions of people probably have and there is no meaning behind it for them and they will just forget about it 2 seconds later. NEXT.

5. why are y’all asking these sweaty white boys to name your pets? why is that a thing? are y’all okay? sapnap has covered this before. but this IS weird right? im not the only one who thinks this is messed up? maybe this one is just me being me. NEXT

6. STOP SPAMMING CHAT/ SENDING DONOS ABOUT OTHER CC’S - this one really gets to me. I hate seeing chats flooded with information about other streamers, especially dsmp lore related. why are you sending a dono telling them about another cc’s lore stream while they are currently trying to build on their own characters lore? like, maybe their character doesn’t know about said lore? and now you just shoved it in their face and they have to dance around it. or when people send tubbo “ranboo just made us cry” LIKE OKAY? how about say something nice about the content that he is currently creating and streaming for your entertainment? not about another cc’s stream. ugh, fuck y’all piss me off. 

If i missed something, please feel free to add on to it, i just wanted to get this off my chest. maybe ill read this later, realize how rude it sounds and delete it but oh well. 

#tw critical #tw negative #long post #dream smp #mcyt #mcytblr #dsmp

[interact-if]

I’m sending this in because it seems like I could get good opinions from not only you but also the people who follow you. I have an idea for an IF, and I’m very excited for the story. My question is, would people be offended if I made the playable MC physically female that identifies as female and all the ROs physically male that identify as male? I have seen some out there that are strictly M/M or F/F, and I’m so happy they exist because I feel that population is underserved. I just feel, not having the experience, I could bring justice to writing LGBTQ+ (and I don’t want to offend anyone in that community by writing something incorrect), mostly when it comes to sex (which I plan on including in my game). I support games that have those relationships in them and admire them, even play those games, and I don’t care who plays my game. The more the merrier! I still want the characters to be diverse. One of them will be of a descent that is based on Japanese culture and many others, based on Persian culture. I also want the playable MC to have any skin tone/features the player wants. I just want to know if this…will have people coming after me? I want to tell my story, but I don’t want to be attacked for it, if that makes sense?

I really don’t mean to offend anyone. I just don’t want to cause trouble, and I just want to respectfully ask for people’s opinions on this.

Hello! So, before diving into our response, we’d like to emphasize that we are but five individuals running a blog devoted to interactive fiction. We are neither the end-all-be-all voice on this matter nor necessarily a representative mouthpiece for the community.

First off, you can write whatever you would like to write; as the author, you have absolute control over what you produce, so nobody is going to stop you from writing what you want to write. It’s also important to write what you enjoy.

That said, the community is, in our experience, very inclusive, and largely devoted to providing a space for the queer community. We can understand the desire to have an appropriately inclusive and diverse game, and why you particularly want to turn to characters of color to bridge the gap; however, substituting characters of color for queer characters to claim diversity in a project is possibly something that will receive the wrong kind of attention. Furthermore, assuming that writing characters of color well is any less complex than writing queer characters potentially suggests that said characters could end up underdeveloped or tokenized. (See Nines' and Roast’s response below for more context)

All of that doesn’t mean you can’t make a game that’s genderlocked and restricted to M/F romance, and I don’t think anyone will be offended by such a game, but it might limit your audience. At the same time, there are (many) other visual novels that have this format, so it’s not something unheard of. As far as CoGs and text-based games go, as far as we’ve seen, they are rarely genderlocked unless for plot reasons, etc.

There is also a chance that you may receive feedback requesting that the MC be un-gender locked, or for additional ROs to be added of different gender, or for the ROs to be made gender selectable. These requests may be gentle, insistent, kind, or aggressive, and they may only occur at the beginning of your work, or may occur throughout your game development. Maybe they’ll never happen at all. It’s impossible to predict the future, but in our experience, we have often seen this occur to games in the past with RO gender imbalances, locks, etc.

As for searching for feedback, if you’re looking for feedback but you’re not pursuing the CoG format, may we suggest the Reddit subforum? It’s a little difficult for you to get the feedback/dialogue going here that you’d likely like to get, so Reddit’s format may be more conducive to your needs.

In the meanwhile, those who would like to provide their thoughts are encouraged to respond in the comments of this post. Please remember to be polite with your discussion!

— — —

The above is our general mod response; a few of us wanted to offer some individual thoughts as well, and those can be found below. These are personal opinions and reflect each individual mod’s thoughts, rather than a collective response.

While it can be a little daunting to write about something you’re not familiar with, writing often broaches topics with which we don’t personally have first-hand experience. Additionally, queer relationships are ultimately still relationships between people—they’re not all that different from heterosexual relationships. If you’re worried about the way you’re portraying your content, that’s something well-curated beta readers/testers (from the population you’re trying to represent) can help test for, and give feedback on. And on top of all of the above, that’s not to mention the potential issues associated with substituting in POC to replace queer people, which is perhaps not what your intention is, but is what it feels like your intention is (see Roast and Nines for all the ins and outs on why this is an issue). Ultimately, I stand by the opinion that on the most basic level, most will not be offended by a game that’s about a straight, cisgender female MC—yet some, or even many, may be off-put by such a game. I know I, personally, am. (P. S. Also consider that the MC has to interact with the other ROs that she isn’t romancing, as friends, enemies, acquaintances, what have you—having selectable ROs, for example, also allows the player to “diversify” their acquaintance group, if they so wish.) — Dani

I understand that this ask is coming from well-meaning intent but I would just like to state that writing characters of color is not easier than writing queer characters. One of them isn't a substitute for the other. Writing characters of color and writing queer characters are separate matters entirely, and both come with its own difficulties. Wanting your characters to be diverse, while admittedly lacking the perspective to back such identities, is still a murky water to navigate.

Personally speaking, and I really do have to be transparent about this, the way certain sentences were phrased in this ask rubbed me the wrong way. Still, I understand that this isn't malicious, just someone who is asking for guidance, which is something I can't fault. We all have to start somewhere, you know? That being said, if you really want to write diverse characters, my general advice is to do research. Lots and lots and lots of research. No author is exempt from that, honestly.

Find helpful articles, journals, studies, video essays, etc. to aid you in writing your characters. If you still feel like that's lacking in some way, which is a valid concern, being open to feedback from the appropriate people is also a good way to improve. The integrity of a project is important, but so is reasonable criticism against, for, or about it. Keep an open mind, educate yourself, and don't be afraid to ask for help or clarification should it be needed. — Nines

Nines says it well that queer people and poc are not interchangeable nor any 'easier' than the other. The fact that you're willing to do research and include characters of color yet not include queer characters tells me that you're afraid yet misconstruing how much effort actually gets put into cultural research.

There is a 'purity culture' that goes around tumblr that claims that diverse characters have to be perfect, have to have no flaws, cannot die, cannot have trauma, cannot face adversity, they must be perfect and good and happy.

I think this is bullshit.

I also think the backlash from this 'purity culture' community is what is creating so much fear in authors (including queer authors!!) in making characters with different backgrounds and identities than their own. In making queer characters with flaws and tragedy and negative characteristics.

If we only ever wrote what we knew, what we've personally experienced, fiction would be a very boring world.

Being afraid of representing a community wrong is a valid fear, but it shouldn't stop you from trying. You can write what you want to write, but it shouldn't be limited by fear.

Do your research. Get sensitivity readers. Be open to feedback. Be willing to be afraid, but do it anyway.

If, in the end, you decide to gender lock, make it an informed decision at the very least, and if you are including characters of color, know that that is a heavy amount of research too, and should be handled with the same care as what we've said on queer characters.

And like we've said before, we are not the voice of the community, we cannot give you permission or our blessing or flawless feedback, we are just five people running a blog. — Roast

Alright this was already mentioned a bit before but I wish to add my two cents: M/F relationships are the norm anywhere else in real life, and if you feel like there's no space for you and your relationships in a mostly-queer community then you might want to recheck if this is the community you wish to have as your target audience.

No one's going to be offended if your story is cishet, as we said, but you are extremely reducing your audience by doing such. The appeal of interactive fiction is that a good bunch of us have played female-mc-straight-love-interest visual novels in the past, having to endure being misgendered or romancing people we might not be attracted to.

The current interactive fiction community we're trying to promote has opened a million doors for everyone to explore themselves, so don't be surprised if your story, no matter how good, is ignored due to this aspect. Most of us have no interest in being forced to play as something we're not.

Again, we cannot tell you what you can or cannot do. We don't speak for the community, we speak for ourselves and for this blog. Maybe every comment we've made was incorrect and your game turns out to be successful, really, but it's what we believe you should keep in mind. — Cruz

Honestly, I don’t have much to add since everyone here mentioned and discussed important facets of this ask! At the end of the day, we are not a group who can or will ever dictate what you can or cannot write. That is not the purpose of the blog or the reason why we’re working as hard as we are. 

There have always been games with this specific set of characteristics: gender locked MCs and/or ROs. Some people may enjoy it, others may not, for whatever reason. 

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee anything in terms of how people will respond to a game, because people will react to content differently. All we can do is offer our perspective and the potential things that may happen in the future based on the experience the lovely devs above have had. (fellow interact-if mods, my beloved ❤️)

It’s always admirable for people to reach out when they’re unsure, and I’m sure there are infinitely more opinions that vary or are similar to the ones in this response. But there you have it, some of our thoughts! 

Goodluck with your project! — Mars

#interact-if asks #anonymous #long post

[purple-ktj]

What happened to your curious cat???

Update 31 Dec 2021

Happy New Year!

I will no longer be returning to the old cc and continue to disable unregistered users from sending messages. This is the new link I’ll be active on: https://curiouscat.live/9370db. 

There were far too many trolls and antis in the previous cc, and I realised that word filters and such were not working well. This is hopefully a stronger deterrent so I’m very sorry to the kind anons I’ve chatted with so far who’ve been affected as well. 

I realized that there are no options for you to post anonymously as a registered user on CC. Here are some solutions:

Please unlink your cc account from your main and link it to a dummy twitter/facebook account. 

OR

Go to your settings and uncheck like below: 

Please make sure you’re using an unidentifiable (from your main twitter account) username.

Once again, I’m really sorry for the extra trouble. If you have any further issues, you can send in messages and request for me to not post them. I’ll try to address them if I can either here or in the new CC. 

Update: 27/12/2021

Due to some technical issues with Tellonym, some users requested I go back to CC. So... this is a brand new untainted CuriousCat: https://curiouscat.live/9370db. I disabled unregistered users from sending messages so you’ll still need a CC account. Sorry for the second move within a week! 

Fair warning, I learned that I can’t differentiate between a baby army or a troll so if I deem the message meaningless, it’s an instant delete/block. (Sorry to the baby armys, please do your own basic research or watch original BTS content to try to satisfy your curiosity. I can’t answer the same question fifty times.) 

Besides that, if you created an account just to ask me “Why is Tae’s friend Wooshik only following JK out of all the members and not Jin?” it’s an instant block + delete. 

(Tellonym will be disabled in a day or so)

Second round of meow chaos, here we go!

Update: Merry Xmas!

Thank you for giving me your suggestions, I have decided to go along with Tellonym for now. 

Link: https://tellonym.me/9370db

After a lot of consideration, I’ve decided to turn off anonymous asks. I know it’s extra trouble and probably not worth the trouble but for my sanity and safety, I’ve decided to turn it off. If there’s anything curious cat taught me, word filters aren’t enough, I need to be able to block certain users/trolls. 

Pros/cons

- Your account username will not be visible after I reply to your ask so you're as good as anonymous to other users. Only I will be able to see your username

- Create a dummy account or a few dummy accounts if you’d like (that way I wouldn’t know if you’re the same anon

- I can and I will block at my discretion (again, for my own sanity) 

- Cosier and safer community (I hope)

- No popping veins over annoying toxic Taekookers or other shippers (I hope)

- I can edit the bio! :D so I’ve linked this blog over there so if even my tellonym link gets circulated in weird places, they have no excuse, therefore I am free to delete any asks from people who clearly have not read this blog  

Cons

- I don’t know if there are word limits and if you can type a whole essay expressing your love or confusion about Taejin

- I turned on language filter to the highest level but the app doesn’t specify so I don’t know what sort of profanities will be filtered (don’t even try)

- Sorry you’ll have to fumble with logging in especially if Taejin happens and you’re dying to scream about it but still gotta log in 

Well... lets see how this goes. Happy Holidays! <3

:)

Hellooo

I've been informed about my broken curious cat and seems like the entire site is down. Curious cat itself isn't working, not just mine. I don't know if it'll get fixed. If it's getting fixed, when it'll be up or if it's not, then the platform is forever gone.

I don't have any alternatives in mind so if you would still love to communicate with me about Taejin casually, feel free to hit the comments or DM me with suggestions. I'll see what I can do. (Preferably equally low profile and non-attention attracting options. Anonymity might be compromised but we can work around that, hopefully.)

[vvanini]

whats your favorite obscure hc about each of the losers?

Fucking perfect thank you

1- Mike he reads books or articles like “how to understand woman”, “why women like jerks”, not because he wants to woo woman or is a nice guy or anything but just because he thinks it’s interesting

I don’t think he’d date anyone

Gives great dating advice tho

Reads manga Likes Junji Ito

“The manga/book was better” kind of guy

I don’t know why but I feel like he’d be this ENTP-ish dude who likes to gather information about a lot of useless things and likes to debate He likes film and game theories Watches MatPat for sure

Also he likes The Walking Dead and… zombies in general

Also I’m sorry but he likes Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson

He likes grindhouse movies and appreciates the gory details but is chill about it Likes cinematography in general

Watches video essays about movies

2- Richie

Unlike Mike, Richie isn’t chill about gory details and whenever someone gags while watching a movie he goes “You think that’s disgusting??? Lmaoooo that’s nothing.”

He’d be the type of guy who brags about being immune to disturbing shit

Google searches include “top ten disturbing movies of all time” “scariest movies ever” “movies worse than a serbian film”

Still likes pink guy and thinks Joji is a genius

Unironically loves the song “I Love Sex” by Pink Guy and listens to it at least once everyday

Uses Discord a lot

Always starts studying on the last day

I think he’d like history

Not like Mike tho, he just likes textbook history and world wars etc

Plays Hearts of Iron and League of Legends

Also :) he likes to code

he is a Linux >>>>>>>>>> Windows kinda guy

Likes breaking bad

And Rick and Morty

Understands politics really well

His music taste is… anime opening songs

Evangelion especially

Likes science fiction books

Pretends to be a flat-earther/conservative/anti-vax for the meme

3- Ben

LIKES BACKSTREET BOYS

and boy bands in general

he is old school and still carries an mp3 around

Doesn’t use spotify, he illegally downloads songs like a champ :D

Likes story rich games

Especially RPG’s. He really likes Planescape Torment and Baldur’s Gate

Kinda lame about women, like he hears Jordan Peterson say something like “the eternal image of the divine feminine” or some shit like that and he goes “wow poetic. agreed”

Doesn’t read “How to woo women” books like Mike but thinks about it a lot that’s for sure

Likes Audrey Hepburn

And Steinbeck

Saves different versions of the same song to his mp3. “The Less I Know The Better but you’re crying in a bathroom” “The Less I Know The Better Slowed & Reverb Listen With Headphones” “The Less I Know The Better Nightcore”

Shares playlists with Eddie

ALWAYS. ALWAYS waits for the person who’s tying their shoes

He notices if someone is walking behind the group alone and walks back to accompany them

If no one laughs at your joke, he does

Bleached his hair once and regretted it immediately Writes poetry in his free time and makes Stan proofread it

Into psychology

Hands always in pockets

Probably owned lots of lego sets as a kid

People go to him for dating advice because he is seen as this “romantic guy”, I mean he is but he gives terrible dating advice

4-Stan

He likes geography

Literally knows all the flags in the world and all the capitals

Blindfold him and give him a country name, he can show you exactly where it is on the map

Also he plays those google earth games where you get a random location and try to find out which country you’re in/ or try to find the nearest airport

Also I feel like he’d like planes a lot

Idk he just likes things that fly lol. Birds, planes etc.

Likes to read classics

LOVES H. P. Lovecraft

carries little poetry books with him everywhere and reads them he’s so cute

Dark academia is his aesthetic

Can play the piano

Likes to read Ben’s poetry :D

Dark humor

His ringtone is Le Festin :)

Has an instagram account but never posts, just watches people’s stories

Very photogenic tho.

He’s a man of culture. He likes visiting aquariums and museums

Hates zoos tho, thinks it’s evil to cage animals

Also I don’t know how to explain it but… He just likes to decorate his place? Like to the clubhouse he’ll bring stuff he likes and just quietly claims a corner as his own and make it as comfortable as he can

Has...beautiful hands

you know how some people cut the cothing labels because it irritates the back of their neck? Stan does that with everything he buys

5- Eddie

Likes Backstreet Boys because of Ben

Replies to texts immediately. Communication and social interaction gives him serotonin

I have no idea why but I feel like he’d have an obsession with Tekken and his favourite character is Ling Xiayou

Big fan of classic playstation games. Loves Spyro, Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet and Clank

He likes wearing long sleeves under t shirts

Listens to emo music, stares out the window and imagines scenarios matching the song he’s listening to

He considers MCR to be emo btw. Loves G note memes

Likes astrology

Can’t watch horror movies, and gets teased by Richie about it

However he likes media that is presented as funky/funny/happy but is actually depressing/disturbing

He likes courtroom dramas

Wears sunglasses indoors for no reason

Probably likes fallout and metro games

Has a collection of finger skateboards

#weirdcore #oddcore #nostalgia #grunge

buys and wears random college sweatshirts

Hates and loves study groups, hates it in the sense that he can’t focus on anything and just wants to hang out and talk, loves it in the sense that he CAN hang out with his friends and talk

Romanticizes everything

6- Bill

Has lots of taurus energy and is sleepy all the time

Has major Leonardo DiCaprio in The Basketball Diaries vibes

Dresses effortlessly

And likes basketball lol.

He just has… boy energy. If that makes sense. Boy next door

Likes to draw his friends

posts his drawings on Instagram

Has lots of OC’s but doesn’t know they’re called OC’s, just refers to them as “this character I created”

He likes being praised a lot ngl

His taste in memes is very similar to Richie’s

You know how they put a random word on top of a random image and it doesn’t make sense at all. He laughs at things like that. Like Richie sends him something like this:

ME WHEN I WHEN

[image of monkey]

BOTTOM TEXT

and he thinks it’s funny and loses his shit im sorry

Like someone sends a picture of Keanu Reeves to the groupchat and texts “g” and he thinks it’s funny???? He sees a picture of a cow in the backrooms and starts choking

He memorized every line in Boneless Pizza and can quote it wihtout stuttering. Like he would be sitting alone talking to himself saying shit like “ya pizza. Watchu want. 2 liter machine broke we got one liter tho. fuck you mean B.”

Never answers calls? Doesn’t like talking on the phone. He just has “Don’t fucking call me when you can text!!” energy

phone is always on silent mode

doesn’t do anything but attracts people anyway

7- Bev

Likes musicals

Theatre kid

Chews gum a lot

And swallows them :(

Likes cottagecore

Buys notebooks with cute covers but can never fill them so she just gives them to bill who turns them into sketchbooks

I think she’d give advice or reaussure people in a way that sounds kinda rude but isn’t really? Like she tells it like it is. Blunt

Likes Avatar The Last Airbender

Sense of humor is:

[Picutre of the fox from Zootopia]

why is he hot help 😭😭😭

wears baggy clothing + long skirts

#headcanon #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #mike hanlon #beverly marsh #bill denbrough #ben hanscom #stan uris #stanley uris #hcs #ask

[vrishchikawrites]

About YZY leaving YMJ/JFM with her kids Post-WWX Arrival

Dear Dee, feel free to delete or ignore this or post it, whatever floats your boat. This just stuck in my head after those posts and I had to blurt it all to someone. Thanks for taking the time to read my word vomit.

So I had to do this instead of an ask because it got long and I wasn't sure how many asks it'd need or how short I could cut it down without losing parts of the argument. And then other things came up as I was writing and, well.  Well..... >_>;;;; 

But you know, after that post/ask you had about YZY fics saying 'Fuck U' to YMJ/JFM & leaving both with her kids, I had a sarcastic 'yeah right' attitude about it. Mainly due to a lot of negation emotions to such an abusive (and delusional) bitch, partly due to how she wouldn't do that since it doesn't seem to be something her sort of character would consider either because she'd think of it as 'losing' (losing what, IDK, it's why I consider her type of person crazy) or she legit wouldn't think about such a viable action.

But then later, in the shower, I seriously went 'Wait, she can't fucking do that' and it wouldn't be about how MXTX uses her as a part of the narrative but entirely about the/their culture in the novel; the actions that have and would be taken in response; and her entire toxic personality as well.

1) We already know that the sects and the cultivation world in general is sexist, elitist and so Capital T 'Traditional' to the point that it's starting to petrify and any deviancy from this is an exception rather than the norm. YZY might be a madame of a great sect (for what that's worth considering how shit of a madame she's been and the titles she's chosen for herself) but she's still a woman even with her high rank and the things she's personally accomplished.

Even if she was in her rights to leave a 'bad' marriage, she'd be the one who'd get scolded more instead of JFM by her natal family, her former husband's family and by their entire society at large even if she had a few singular supporters. Because That's Not How Things Are Done in their society and I do believe that such a thing was rare even when it was accepted method by the upper echelons. Especially since it would have to be done by more than YZY simply deciding that She Wants Out and just- goes and Gets Out. With no serious allegations that would allow her to divorce or separate from YMJ/JFM without the input from her family, JFM's family and, I think, possibly some measure of compensation as well. And no, having or bringing in a 'bastard child' is not a serious enough offence for such a humongous decision. I think something more along the lines of treason or crimes against multiple, high-ranking parties would be more along the lines. Maybe.

And even if she does this, she'd be considered 'Used Goods' (such a terrible comment) and there'd be no other good/proper marriage prospects for a divorced woman with children let alone a woman like YZY with her entire abrasive personality and attitude put off even easy-going JFM.

(If she'd been widowed then it'd be more forgiven but I consider that a Real Bad End since, IMO, it would lead to the sudden and inevitable decline of YMJ either via mass exodus of disciples and/or residents of LP; being merged with another sect due to it's unstable leadership; or create an internal political war 'cause I bet you anything that the YMJ Elders/relatives (if they have any) Would Not Want YZY in charge of YMJ when she's already proven herself such a shit betrothed let alone madame.)

2) Speaking of families, while YMJ/JFM/LP as a whole might be glad to see YZY's back, I don't think her natal sect, MSY, will be glad to see her come storming back after all the effort they put into getting that particular marriage alliance with YMJ. And if she brings her children with her? Oh man, oh boy- mother or not, that could be considered as kidnapping or line theft (is that a thing?) especially if YZY is also seriously considering divorce proceedings and raising them as Yu and not Jiang. That could give leave to, for anyone more unforgiving and maybe JFM if he's pushed enough, disown both JYL and JWY from the Jiangs through no fault of their own (though I'm sure YZY would make it so as well as blame JFM for her own decisions and mistakes).

Therefore, any inheritance or benefits they might gain for being legitimised children of a great sect are forfeited. JYL will likely lose that betrothal with JZX because JGS will drop it like a hot potato and JWY won't be a sect heir because YZY literally decided to remove that by deciding to raise JWY as a Yu, no matter their blood relation to JFM. They leave him, they leave YMJ and everything attached with it. Which is if YMJ/JFM doesn't demand MSY to give back their heir/ess and to punish YZY for her actions. Or send all three of them back for the appropriate reactions/decisions.

Their society would demand no less in reaction because, to them, it would seem like YZY had gone mad and JFM would look weak (or weaker) and imply that YMJ is vulnerable and exploitable if JFM doesn't do something in response to her actions. That's not even getting into what the other smaller sects may try to do in an attempt to curry favour with YMJ or what LLJ or QSW would try in order to destroy or diminish YMJ. And whether JFM chooses to demand his children back or not, it may not change the fact that this may give him reason enough to choose a nephew or niece to be the new sect heir especially if, even after getting rid of YZY's poisonous influence, JWY grows up to be his mother's child more than his father's or even his own person.

Either way, such a thing would bring great backlash on YZY, and MSY as well as the collateral. No one would want to give face to her or her children because it would bring up some very uncomfortable questions and scenarios to the other sects- specifically, what would happen if the female members of their clans/sets decided to follow the footsteps of YZY and leave with their children and heirs. Especially if they use it as an excuse to leave for their own comfort and whims and not some legitimate wrongs and dangers. That would create some more restrictions on women thanks to YZY

3) And lastly, if any one of those idiot YZY stans think that she'd ever give up the status of being a madame of a great sect they'd be as crazy or crazier than her. YZY is all about status and power and face. Specifically, her status, power and face and how people in her reach reflect her or 'insult' her. She is a selfish, terrible, abusive and toxic person and can only see people in regards to how they would benefit her and the elevation of her and in no other way. Especially her family. They cannot be their own person, they can only be an extension of her and gods forbid they go against her.

We can see this in how she treats the people she supposedly loves. JFM? Arguments day in, day out along with accusations and slander of cheating, having one(1) supposed 'bastard' and being 'in love' with CSSR. Which all seems sus as hell. And that's when she's actually there and not out 'night hunting'. Even her 'training' seems to border on unhelpful rather then helpful if my vague recollections of juniors fainting from exhaustion can be relied upon (please call me out if they're not or find proof).

JYL? Berated by not being 'strong' but not helped at all to be 'strong'. It doesn't help that YZY seems to believe in the same standards strength in their society- that is, of martial masculine strength which does not and should not apply to JYL who has been said to be sickly. Which means h should have been learning a different way of cultivation/fighting anyway.  If that was something she wanted and had been offered in the first place- which I doubt. That isn't even getting into her repeated generational trauma mess of a betrothal which was decided only by those 'sworn sisters', accepted by her as a way out of her terrible home life and puts her squarely within reach of JGS who we know to be a womaniser, rapist, predator and a possible ephebophile considering we don't know the exact age of his youngest 'conquest' or the age of MZY's mother when they met which could be anywhere from 14 to 21.

JWY? Gods, so much meta on him and his(non-) relationships with his parents that I don't think I can contribute more to it. It's been all said and done. Unless people want me to stir the pot by saying that, maybe, just maybe, YZY resents JWY as much as she 'loves' him.Either because he's her son and yet never manages to 'accomplish as much' as WWX or because he's a boy and therefore, more benefits and allowances than a girl/woman- more than anything that YZY ever got without either a fight or screaming at someone about. *shrug*

So, in conclusion to this sudden an unexpected essay that I wrote(I'm so sorry about that, I thought it would be shorter -.-;;;;), YZY leaving YMJ/JFM with her kids? Impossible. Not without some sort of personality transplant or a complete AU. She's too prideful, too bitter, too angry, too everything negative and little positive. She's a resentful product of the values and restraints of her society taken to the extreme negative with a willingness to inflict her pain on others to an abusive degree. But she's also too obsessed and reliant on those same values and restraints to keep up the image of her status. So her? Giving those up? You'd be more likely to see WRH as a doting grandfather than that.

---

Dee - All of this is true and yes YZY leaving YMJ is highly unlikely. While there will be consequences if she decides to leave, she does canonically lives separately from her husband. They seem to be in a situation where they are married but living separately, which was a common way to end a marriage (at least in spirit) back then. She essentially had all the perks of being Madam Jiang but fulfilled none of the responsibilities.

Afaik, her training the Jiang disciples is a donghua thing? I may be wrong but I recall she spent most of her time nighthunting.

As for taking her children along with her- that's completely impossible. At that point, children were the property of the father. She could leave but she would've never been allowed to take JC.

#submission