#conversations with fictional people

[gildedmuse]

So, I just know all of Tumblr was wondering, "hey, you remember that really weird ZoLaw fan with the annoyingly overly stylized post? I wonder if she's seen this and if she has any theories or thoughts, an observation or two?"

Well, allow me to set your wandering mind at ease, fictional Tumblr fan. The answer is: No. No, I really don't.

I have like three hundred.

[I also spent time just trying to track down as many translations as possible. Is Tera A Criminal's Daughter or The Daughter Of Thieving Bandits! These are CLEARLY separate things and can ENTIRELY change how her utter nonpresence in Zoro's life shaped him! Though I can take comfort in knowing that, regardless of what kind of crimes her father was committing they were more important than anything his daughter ever did in her entire life.]

And, hey, as might as well jump right into that whole mess.

1. Wait, Zoro's mom is dead? Thank goodness, I was worried Oda forgot one!

(AKA: Stop. Murdering. Moms.)

I'll go first, I don't mind saying when I was wrong. True, in the past I may have suggested that the vast majority of female characters in One Piece come off as ever so slightly, "leaning into sexist tropes with unadulterated joy; it's the misogynistic tropes equivalent of a child running naked through a grocery store. It's right there, everyone sees it, yet people shut up and continue shopping in part because, well, these days you just expect most people to cover that junk! What would you even say? And if you DO speak up and call out the inappropriate, be prepared for blank stares and tantrums; but THEY don't mind! THEY don't think it's wrong! You're just being mean!"

More or less a direct quote.

However, I see now that I rushed to judgement and the reality of the situation is far more nuanced. With that in mind, I was just wondering if someone could help answer some of the questions I have.

Like: Why does Oda believe that it's illegal for (maternal) female characters to survive other character's backstories?

More importantly, why hasn't someone just reached out to explain the misconception!? It can't be that difficult. If nothing else, just have a lawyer or judge or other expert in censorship on hand. Or is the one of those cases where back in highschool his friends made something up and then kept pretending it was real to see if he'd believe you and not only did he fall for it, it took over 20 years before he learned that, what, no that's not illegal. That would be crazy if it were an actual law. Cause you know, after the first 10 years I think yeah you have to just lean into it. Pretend it's a creative decision on your part and definitely not because you were terrified of being sentenced to a slow and humiliating public death.

Just to be clear that's definitely what's up, right? I mean, I'm struggling to think of another reason....able excuse why a story that I really enjoy keeps playing the same old sexist tropes cards again and again to the point of absurdity. It would just help if I had a valid excus- explanation. I almost mistyped the word explanation.

....

....

So I imagine it went like.

"That's the third mangaka they've had to Publically Execute this week!"

"They've started taking this law way more serious lately."

"This one really deserved it though! I heard his main character has a mother in her late forties!"

"That does seem old to have your first child."

"No, he's the middle of three and 22 years old. The story even has flashbacks of defining moments in his childhood and never once did she try to sacrifice herself for him, get murdered by his enemies, or die in meaningless unrelated accidents."

"Damn, that's cold to be there for all the protagonist core moments and not die and help him develop and grow a character? They must have a very antagonistic relationship. Is she actually the villain."

"Not that we know, and when they asked about this being a possible plot twist since - obviously if she's evil no laws are being broken."

"Well, of course, that's the whole reason Statue 2-dash-57 exists; if creators can show they have consistently been building up to a surprise twist then the female character in question can continue to live so long as she continues to be unrepentant and unlikable until the resolution of her arch by the protagonist."

"That's the thing! Under oath not only did man present no evidence to support her identity as a secret villain, he went on the record stating he wanted to depict their relationship as one of a normal modern 20 year old and his mother."

"That can't be true! What publishing company would even print that!?"

"It gets worse. I told you he was a middle child? Well, according to those who've read the actual manga, his younger sister was really sick as a child."

"Oh, well, at least-"

"It was just a fish allergy. She's perfectly fine."

"Sometimes I feel this law is unnecessarily harsh but.... Then you hear stories like that, and you realize that some people really are monsters."

#So this was going to be one post three parts (because obviously) then I remembered even people who have purposefully followed me hate that #I took into consideration that not everyone wants a unmountable wall of Zoro meta analysis on their dash so now its gonna be 3 post style #keeping in mind I've already written it all up and will just be posting them one after the other so effectively the same result #only with the illusion of my empathetic nature #I do have a lot of thoughts on what amounts to a very small amount of scribbled lines and a couple doodles #he literally didn't even bother giving Kuina's mom or grandmothers a name like they didn't even have a identity #In fairness there wasn't a need for them to have any kind of identities or individuality or identifiable features #everyone knows only one trait really matters when it comes to adult females: they go down #into the ground....as a corpse. After ensuring that their death would be the best way to help their children grow. As characters. #I'm joking cuz its funny. It's obvious why Zoro's mom got a name & description: she gave birth to a protagonist and not a human sacrifice #But have considered why those specific qualities are what he chose to define her by - she's fictional he could have made up anything! #I'll have to talk about it in the other posts I'm wasting precious tag room #one piece #roronoa zoro #one piece meta #one piece sexism #this post is not for everyone; actually its pretty much just for me #conversations with fictional people #more opinions than anyone asked for about subjects they don't even care about #Oh! I found the blogs new subtitle! #author gets sassy then preachy then sassy again and then swerves sharply to the weird #oh these tags are way too much #Zoro's backstory #Zoro family history #amusing musings #why am i the way that i am #three post style: part one!

[phoenixcatch7]

Lmao I'd love to see a fic where batman like. Doesn't talk at all. He just 'hn' and 'hrm's his way through the story like a Minecraft villager. All the bat kids understand him perfectly.

I actually know people irl who can do this, and I've done it myself during bad migraines, it's practically a second language, so I know it's totally possible to have full conversations between two speakers XD!

It'd be another degree of separation between Brucie Wayne, the ditzy, breathy playboy and batman, who used up all his vocal spoons for the day and now communicates solely through unintelligible grunts and sharp hand gestures when he doesn't need to talk to strangers.

Unfortunately, the best way to learn grunt speak is the same way most languages are learned, and there's no written word (outside of emoji, of course): immersion. And the justice league are no longer considered strangers.

This leads to:

Hal: which way do we go, spooky? Where's the tracker pointing?

B: *grunt*

Hal: what?

B: *insistent grunt*

Hal:..... Can we point?

B: *dour look* *slowly raises arm to point left down the street* *sharp, insistent grunt*

Hal, dryly: don't strain yourself.

-

Damian: greyson. I am calling because father has had an injury and is bed bound for tonight, however Alfred is downstairs and the rest are still on patrol. I am still in the early stages of learning father's intonations. Please translate.

Nightwing, eldest, regularly called for exactly this reason by just about everyone Bruce has ever spoken with since he was a kid, ranging from arkham guards to jl members: *heavy sigh* put him on.

Bruce: hrng...

Nightwing: He's telling you to close the curtains and keep the noise down, he's got a headache.

Damian, over the sound of footsteps and fabric rustling: it truly is just like another language.

N: nah, it's a lot of probability. I've known b for years, I can guess pretty well. There's a lot we can say. For example, that grunt actually carried a lot more meaning, I just trimmed it down.

Damian: truly?

N: yup! If I had to be pedantic, it actually meant 'I am in quite a lot of discomfort, the cause of which is my head, and I am struggling to manage it on my own. Please aid in my cause, my darling sons whom I love dearly -'

Damian: *muffled noise through the phone*

N: that'll be him telling us to shut up. But you can see why I asked you to close the curtains.

Damian: fascinating. I shall take this under advisement.

-

B, exhausted after a long day of board meetings as Brucie: *moody silence*

Gordon: Batman, how's it going?

B: *glower* *drawn out grunt*

Gordon: that bad, huh?

-

Supes, during a briefing: I believe it would be best if we attacked from the north, we've enough flying members to crest the mountains and ambush then that way - Batman?

B: *quiet grumble, with pointer fingers moving in semicircles*

Supes: ah, I see. You're right, we'd be too visible if the sun rose behind them*turns to see the other members standing behind him* what?

Flash, bowing at the waist, palms together over his head: teach me your ways, oh mighty bat-speaker.

#I see a lot of 'haha b grunts and rarely speaks when distracted' but I never see people actually taking it further #There's a lot of unrealistic things that happen in dc but having conversations in grunts isn't one of them!! #It's not a secret fictional human hybrid language lmao it's perfectly understandable #Once my friend told me to get an ice cream and a flask of hot water without opening their mouth once lol #Bruce can be semi verbal. As a treat. #batman #dc comics #bruce wayne #Brucie Wayne #1k #2k #?!

[gojonanami]

Uh? It’s CANON Gojo and geto saw each other as BROTHERS.

alright I’m gonna answer this now lmao — I think with fiction everyone is entitled to their own take on things but with gojo and geto I believe the two to be soulmates — whether it’s platonic or romantic —

I personally see it as romantic, but if you don’t that’s completely fine and I’m not here to force my opinion onto you — it was in the tags — you don’t like, don’t read it! That simple.

I mean I could explain to you why I see it as romantic —

gojo calls geto his “one and only,”

the button left behind when geto defects is his second button that gojo ends up with — the button often given in Japanese culture to romantic partners / interests,

gojo literally says, when he sees kenjaku in geto’s body, “I know in my soul you’re not suguru geto” even in the English dub they localized is as “in my heart and soul,”

to add to that, kenjaku’s whole plan hinged on gojo freaking out upon seeing geto’s body — gojo is someone who is always very calm — he only gets emotional when it comes to geto. literally itadori dies and megumi got taken over Sukuna and he stays completely calm (for the most part), nothing in comparison in his reactions to geto’s defection or kenjaku

geto’s body literally fights back against kenjaku when trying to hurt gojo — and kenjaku has been alive since the heian era at least, and he says he’s never seen that happen before — what that says about their connection is pretty clear cut in my opinion.

the whole theme of jjk 0 is that love is the most twisted curse of all — where did gojo learn that from? Obviously there’s more than one type of love — but this movie was focused on romantic love in particular (between yuta and rika) but also was reflecting on geto and gojo’s relationship

gojo’s last words to geto are allegedly three words according to the VAs and what else could they be? Other than the theme of the entire movie — “I love you???” and then Geto literally blushes in the manga and says, “at least you could have cursed me in the end” — which gojo kinda did.

there’s a whole bunch of other things I could analyze and I’m not here to debate with you or anyone else! it’s fiction — it’s up to us to interpret things that are vague. And you are entitled to your opinion — but what I don’t like is you telling me that my opinion is wrong when it’s not!

It’s vague in the manga for a reason. never did they call each other brothers, nor did they call each other lovers — all they said is that they were best friends. And a lot of people are best friends with their brothers but also a lot of lovers are best friends so

you are allowed to have your opinion friend, just don’t tell me mine is wrong — if you don’t like the ship, read the tag and don’t read the fic!

#sab [asks] #sab [anons] #bruh I never thought I’d get told this #guys we are all entitled to our opinions #but doesn’t mean we can go around other people are wrong #I never will hate on another ship #because it’s not my place to hate on someone else’s fun or like #also guys #if you don’t like what you see in the tags #just don’t read the fic #or if you read it #don’t send me an ask saying you disagree unless you want to have a genuine discussion or conversation #don’t read a dub con fic that’s clearly tagged that #and say I didn’t like it because it’s dub con #yes I have tags for a reason don’t read it babe #no one is making you #sorry I’ve just been getting a lot of comments like these and it’s frustrating 🫠 #no hate to this person but just let people have opinions about silly fictional ships

[thedreadvampy]

every time something from Neil Gaiman's tumblr crosses my dash I'm so concerned about the people writing and to him like. why have you outsourced your imagination to this man? asking shit like 'what does Morpheus sound like in this scene' or 'what does this dialogue mean' or 'what's the backstory to this moment' like BABES. THIS IS WHAT BARTHES WAS TALKING ABOUT. YOU'RE MEANT TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS YOURSELVES THAT'S WHAT MAKES ALL ART A COLLABORATIVE CREATION OF MEANING. if the author wanted something to be explicit in the text they can make it explicit in the text and if it's not explicit in the text YOU CAN MAKE IT UP.

what really gets me is I 100% prommy these kids regularly use 'death of the author' to mean 'i can enjoy works by problematic creators' which 1) yes I agree you can and should (using some discretion re who it profits and what's replicated in the work) but 2) THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS LITERALLY WHAT IT MEANS IS. NEIL GAIMAN'S POST HOC OPINION ON SANDMAN OR GOOD OMENS IS A NO MORE LEGITIMATE FACT ABOUT THE TEXT THAN ANYONE ELSE'S INTERPRETATION. the text has left his control it belongs to the reader now, you get to decide and debate what it means.

#red said #i know i keep making posts like this but IT KEEPS HAPPENING #like you are not toddlers you do not need daddy to hold your hand and walk you through the story #if you're mature enough to meaningfully engage with a story for adults then you are mature enough to interpret it for yourself #and to understand that ambiguity or vagueness or an invitation to imagination are features of storytelling not bugs #hmmm actually I'm gonna tag this #neil gaiman #sandman #good omens #bc. some of you people need jesus or more relevantly literary and critical agency #like you understand that a story isn't a partial view into a reality that's as 3d as our own right? #the play doesn't carry on backstage #you're not MISSING OUT on a fundamental truth of the fictional world that's obscured by the shape of the story it ONLY exists in the story #you're SUPPOSED to construct the context and detail out of the clues you're given in the text and build your own world #and draw your own conclusions #it's not a Real World That Only Neil Gaiman Can See Into it's a STORY he wrote SPECIFICALLY TO INVITE YOU TO IMAGINE #like it's YOURS. YOU'RE meant to fill in the gaps. ART IS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE TEXT AND THE READER. #THAT'S what death of the author relates to #what part if any the author has in that other than what they put in the text

[werewolf-transgenderism]

listen you can have complicated feelings about historical fiction and the treatment of historical figures that were absolutely horrible disgusting irredeemable people irl, that's an absolutely valid line to draw about fictionalizations of awful people. it's a problem with historical fiction in general because there is always going to be a question of how much real-world trauma and violence you are going to include and what you're going to center in your story. but can y'all stop acting like watching one tv show that includes said historical figures over another is some form of activism that has literally anything to say about your commitment to queer/trans and POC liberation in real life. like brother this is tumblr dot com. put the energy you're wasting on picking fights on here over your favorite fictional characters into something that has actual value for queer/trans and POC liberation in the real world

#like yeah there are real issues with historical fiction and eliding racist pasts #that's a real conversation that's ongoing and several Black fans have made very thoughtful posts about #but trying to stir up fights with people who literally have not been involved with this manufactured infighting AT ALL #makes me think that you're not ACTUALLY trying to have that conversation. for some reason. idk #also like. I have watched and enjoyed both shows so I don't know why I'm even getting dragged into this other than my url. lmao

[sidewalk-scrawls]

Actually Izzy did not "want this," and it's weird that people keep saying that he did!

#ofmd #izzy hands #also... god have people on this site ever had a conversation with another human person and if so.... how did they survive it? #if you always imagine people mean the worst possible interpretation of what they say then you're in for a bad time in the real world lmao #and yes i know these tags are putting way too much weight on a fictional interaction but good god #don't you all get tired

[strangewiggles]

You were spilling all my will out I was bleeding my last brains It's nothing like the nothingness That normally numbs one's pain

Goodbye, oh goodbye

some closeups for you

#almost forgot to put tags #pathologic #pathologic 2 #my art #pathologic albino #albino pathologic #ill keep my ramblings IN THE TAGS this time . #oomf finished patho2 and we had a long conversation about how the albinos feel like. wasted potential for what they SEEM to symbolize #in the nocturnal ending anyway #this art is of the diurnal ending if that isnt. clear #because TO ME #what they symbolize is. a dying culture. and that seems. like its true? and not just “oh this is how i felt about them” #but some people are bigger pathoheads than me so idk #but they had been presented as fictional or a part of artemy's mind #as theyre first shown in the tumbler human #then the dream #but yknow when things get so unbelievably desperate they have to get out of hiding #and come out of hiding i mean literally cuz i like to think they went into hiding deep in the abattoir #sorry if i am just explaining stuff that is very blatantly in the game . ive been thinking about this for the last few days #let me feel smart okay #“give the albinos a voice” is very on the nose #IN A GOOD WAY!!!!! [SPONGEBOB ROCK FALL IMAGE] #in a WONDERFUL way actually. when i think about the kin too much i start crying #HENCE #THIS DRAWING #i wanna draw some herb brides soon. maybe nara

[waterberry-strawmelon]

just gonna go ahead and say this in advance—

if Riz does indeed come out in junior year, and he says, “I’m ace” or “I’m asexual” when referring specifically to his lack of romantic attraction, aromantic people are allowed to be upset about it.

#because yes of course some people irl say ace to mean both bc that’s how they personally identify #but in fictional media the distinction is necessary. especially with how few canonically aromantic characters even exist in ANY mainstream/ #popular media. #I assure you I’m not invalidating anyone who is ace and they mean that to include lack of romantic attraction. #But to look at this from a MEDIA PERSPECTIVE its irresponsible to do this w/out clarification that they also know the word aromantic exists #because otherwise that’s just a conflation of asexual and aromantic without any nuance #and an erasure of aromantic people who are not asexual. #Plus—name a single fucking time a character in mainstream/popular media has said the word aromantic. #Because I can name several instances where they say asexual. But I can’t think of ONE where they say aro or aromantic. #(Maybe that Isaac kid does in season 2 of Heartstopper? But I haven’t seen it so I’m not 100% sure.) #anyways. #the way this fucking fandom—and ANY fandom with a canon aro character—discusses the aromantic spectrum #is blatantly just to remove their own personal guilt for shipping that character with other characters and erasing their orientation. #because yes aromanticism IS a spectrum!! But when people talk about fabriz and say ‘he can still be ace!’ (Which is aro erasure) or #‘he can still be aro!’ They never SHOW riz still being aro or having any kind of complex relationship with romance. #I’m angry and I’m allowed to be. #I get that a ship you liked may be hard to let go of or something #But I’d be much less mad if all the fabriz fans said ‘yeah I know Riz is aro in canon and he and Fabian would never get together. #I just like to imagine it sometimes in fiction/fanon!’ Then that would be a WHOLE different conversation #Because then they’d at least be acknowledging that riz doesn’t feel romance in canon. That fabriz is something that actively #Goes against the canon characterization of one of those characters—and that’s fine. Just fucking ACKNOWLEDGE IT. #But most of these people either WANT fabriz to be canon/believe it WILL BE canon #OR I guess feel uncomfortable confronting the fact that they ARE erasing riz’s aromanticism so they don’t even acknowledge it at all. #fhjy #fantasy high #d20 #dimension 20 #riz gukgak #aromantic riz gukgak #fhsy

[notbecauseofvictories]

I never want to read about people having healthy, loving relationships in fiction. Not for any particularly noble or logical reason, I just hate it.

#I have to make friends in reality! I have to date and have emotionally honest conversations with my mother in reality! #I have to fucking self-actualize with my goddamn stupid self #IN FICTION I NEED YOU TO NEVER SPEAK OF YOUR EMOTIONS AND BLOW SOMETHING UP TO AVOID DEALING WITH THEM #have terribly ill-advised sex with someone who you feel complicated feelings for! and then #and this is key ABSOLUTELY DO NOT ADDRESS IT #no one ever gets therapy. everyone represses the hell out of everything they're feeling and then they die. #......maybe MAYBE you get a dramatic deathbed confessional but that's only if you've been viciously repressed enough to earn it. #anyway I need these characters to live the life I cannot because apparently I want to be ''fulfilled'' #and not ''viciously repressed and an unknown cipher to the people I love'' #......................................................I'm drunk and annoyed. #from the bookshelf

[mixedup-sideblog]

On ‘Moral Panic’ - reviews of Captive Prince

Just re-reading the trilogy and noticed the terrible reviews of people saying it glorifies abuse, trauma, torture etc - I don’t know if it’s about individual perception but I certainly wasn’t reading the first book thinking I was supposed to be enjoying/revelling in any of the trauma - the whole book sets up how grotesque and awful the society is.

I genuinely think if you find yourself thinking the book glorifies any form of the depicted abuse then I think you probably need to have a look at yourself and how you are reacting to it….

Just my two cents.

Side note - I would be extremely interested to know if any of these reviewers liked/happily consumed Game of Thrones, it would be an interesting double standard.

#The reviews also speak to a much wider conversation about freedoms of fiction/policing fiction but that’s too deep for right now #I just couldn’t get past how many people seemed to suggest the book glorified the behaviour #I genuinely cannot see how it was glorified when I was consistently disgusted - as the author intends us to be #with the society #Damen #laurent #captive prince #lamen

[crimeronan]

i keep reading thinkpieces and critiques of current mainstream fiction & how fandom has influenced mainstream lit and vice versa, n some of them make salient points about how fanfic does and doesn't prime a person for writing original fiction, etc. and some of them are very "fanfic has poisoned and corrupted the youths" and "we are rotting our brains" and "old man yells at cloud." and throughout all of this i just have the unshakable feeling that no matter what side of the "culture war" (if.... it can even be called that....) u fall on, these thinkpieces are typically missing two of the most important explanations for Why The Mainstream Market Is How It Is. which have very little to do with fanfic.

1. publishers are looking for books that are easy to read, easy to hype, and easy to mass produce. great insightful well-crafted works of subversive literature are not this. cute romcom tropey fluff IS this.

and perhaps most importantly,

2. most professional writers are not very good.

#please embrace 2 and it will make u feel much better. books have never needed to be good to get published. #there is an oversaturation of books that are easy to read and fun and shallow because. most people. dont like reading #most people do not like laboring to get thru a book. they buy stuff that does not require this #therefore the market for shallow fluff is 10000000x bigger than the market for the really meaty shit. #i mean. my quickly-written humor fics get way more hits and mass appeal than my painstakingly crafted ones #and i Promise theres fanfic with all the depth worldbuilding and characterization that ppl usually look for in original fiction. #conversely i Promise there are people who started in fanfic who uh. know how to... tell a story. #been thinkin about it as i poke at my original fiction draft today

[leonardalphachurch]

okay last thing i say about this but. i do want to be clear that wash and carolina are not canonically siblings and if you call shipping them incest you are also incredibly fucking annoying and i don’t want you here either.

like honestly i love carwash siblings but i don’t actually see their canon relationship as familial i think they’re just. friends. i think that kind of goes into the whole issue of like… men and women can’t just be friends you need to explain it away in some way. they’re dating or they’re siblings etc etc. i think actually they are platonically best friends and that this is awesome actually.

#also to be clear i genuinely truly could not fucking care less what you ship #it matters so not even a little bit to me. i don’t care. leave me alone. #that doesn’t mean that i can’t and won’t analyze and criticize harmful elements of your ship/fiction #actually if you can’t understand that someone can hold criticisms about something while not caring if other people partake in it i also don #want you here #we have critical thinking here. we have dialectics. we talk and analyze things instead of just saying #‘well i like it so it’s fine’ or ‘well i dislike it so it’s bad’ #this is a different conversation than the post. oh well. #i just don’t want people to be annoying about like. ‘shipping wars’ or some bullshit #this isn’t about shipping it’s about. analysis of characters and relationships and stories #i don’t even ship carolina and wash with anyone else LMAO

[maddie-grove]

One time I was taking a creative writing class where someone had written a story in which a character had a dead older brother and their dad was shitty to the surviving son while putting the dead son on a pedestal. And one girl was like “why would the dad do that? Wouldn’t he be nicer to his son who was still alive?” And I was like, “Have you seen Ordinary People?” And then I felt pleased when the professor brought up Ordinary People later on. And also I was relieved after the class when someone told me, “Until the professor brought it up, I actually thought you were harshly telling that girl that she had never interacted with ordinary people. Like in real life.”

#granted I often want to say this to people #in fiction writing classes and book reviews and fandom discussions #I don’t think I’m a person with a great breadth of experience #but I watch movies and have conversations with people and google things #I really don’t wanna be a dick #though

[datastate]

you guys know you can critique people who dramatize online communities/discourse and exaggerate its real life impact without being ableist. right.

#jestersvaguely #i volunteer in events & am friendly with people. but my irl friends i can no longer meet up with due to the distance #& i am also disabled! some days i cannot get out of bed so my only irl human contact is in calling someone to ask for food/water #having online communities if you are bedridden is invaluable. #which of course. you must know. people being idiotic online does not hinge on how chronically online they are or how well-liked they're #perceived by the general public. people struggle to find irl connections due to being visibly nd (autism & psychosis in particular) or fat #or scarred or being a person of color -- your social life (or lack thereof) does not indicate some sort of inherent relation to #online-specific discourse... some people are just entrenched in circles that encourage using downtime for dramatics or. you know. trolls #they can have irl friends and be ''well-adjusted'' and still waste their time away in the hours they have to. idk. be fictional racist #many people who work real life jobs and are well-liked by the community are racist in fact. it's wild i know #idk i just find it an inane conversation. some people are just going to be stupid. it's not through some inherent trait that they are

[squorttle-pox]

I would just like to aggressively kindly remind fans that harassing other fans, cosplayers, or actors in ANY WAY is totally uncool.

#hazbin hotel #but it applies to all fandoms!! #in this case tho im referencing how ppl go after anyone #mentioning or liking the character (not personality or actions of) or taking part in the creation of the character #valentino #as in #hazbin hotel valentino #HE IS A SHITTY PERSON #HE IS IN HELL FOR A REASON #but that is fiction #you mustnt harp on people who enjoy his character in a meta sense #and you CERTAINLY mustnt harp on all the wonderful talents who worked so hard to bring him to life #enjoying ≠ condoning #yes im referring to everyone harassing the valentino cosplayers at cons #juat stop it #please get a grip #and learn to differentiate between fiction and reality #if you refuse to even mention him or have a conversation about him because youre so scared of the idea of liking/accidentally supporting him #then please do some internal reflecting #because its characters like valentino who allow us to explore these VERY REAL VERY MUCH EXISTING IN OUR WORLD peopl #and avoiding the topic entirely is not how anyone should approach it #dont bury your head in the sand #and dont assume anyone who doesnt bury their head or calls themself a valentino fan/says hes their fav character #is at all condoning what these characters do in-universe #theres a difference #please learn it #thank you for coming to my ted talk #fandom etiquette #anti harassment

[brittlebutch]

finding a character that grates against your nerves and eventually thinking, well, that's not fair, you haven't done anything; why do i dislike you? and then you dwell on this for a while and discover 'oh! you are like me when i was younger' and decide well, i'll simply learn how to love the both of you. power in this.

#N posts stuff #'what are you talking about?' fuck if i know. #but also i'm talking about penny from 'the 7' -- nosy little control freak determined to find Some foothold into Every conversation #it's interesting bc sometimes when i watch i'm like 'this character is played on the Border of metagaming' but the more i think abuot it #the less it Feels like metagaming bc penny Genuinely seems Exactly like the kind of person who just Is That Determined to be #some level of involved in Every situation; 'yeah i know that show you were in' 'Yeah i was listening into this scene from a different hall' #equal parts her being a Rogue character to her core AND her borderline pathological need for control in Every situation #w/ None of the social grace needed to temper this impulse into something more broadly 'palatable' -> very autistic to me in a way #'i don't Get It but if i'm Always Right then that's good bc it's Bad to be Wrong so i just have to Know Everything so that i'm Never Wrong' #or like 'no i don't understand the Rules right but if i can just Be In Charge of the Situation at all times then i'm the one domineering #where this is going and how it unfolds; like if i'm in charge i understand That at least so i will just Always be in charge' #and sometimes this starts fights with your friends and they call you a freak for it and you're like 'hm. i don't know what's going on #but if You said it and You Get People then you must be right so. i will alter this immediately' but penny doesn't have that interaction #because her friends are just like 'yeah i love you And that batshit way of interacting with the world that you embody' and there is a #temptation of sorts to be like 'penny you HAVE to stop that; you NEED to learn that lesson please' but then like. hm. does she? #much to think about. i don't interact w/ people enough anymore for this to impact my interactions with real people lol #but it Is interesting to peel apart a fictional character and find a Younger You in there. i can change how i think about Them at least