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artist-issues · 4 months

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Be careful of emotional music in movies and TV Shows.

By "be careful" I mean, when you're doing that thing I never stop talking about—you're trying to figure out why a moment in a story moved you—think about whether or not the story really set up and followed the moment through...or if they just threw a really emotional-sounding track/song over top of a rushed, cheap moment.

Like in the Vampire Diaries, or Suicide Squad, or an animated-streaming-movie. The characters will be saying something normal or maybe a bit cheesy to each other, the scene is about to end, and the storytellers don't have a good way to end it, so some song starts playing quietly under the dialogue. And suddenly you're feeling something, even though a second ago you were not that into it.

In the Vampire Diaries, it's usually The Fray. In Suicide Squad you'll get a punk-rock song as a new villains-enter-the-room scene starts...or several, every time a new scene starts.

In a streaming-budget musical, it might even be an original song with original lyrics that the characters are singing...

But pay attention! Music is one of the very easiest ways to engage a human's emotions. It's why influencers play inspirational piano music or covers of good movie soundtracks over what they're saying when they're trying to send out an encouraging message. It's why motivational speakers have a musical pad under everything they're saying. And yes, it's why movies use music, too.

And that is not a bad thing.

But what is bad is music that is used to try and make a moment impactful...but the story itself, and the characters in the scene, and the context of the scene, and sometimes even the lyrics of the song itself, can't support it.

The lyrics could be total crap—they could fail to fit the characters singing them, or the moment they're being sung during, at all—

—or it's an indie pop song that is actually about a friend with a drug addiction, but it's playing over, like, a scene where a young girl is saying "see you around" to the boy she has a crush on, so you feel all hyped emotionally.

It's cheap. It's silly. It's what Disney did in Wish (you knew this was coming, I've been on this topic for weeks)

Having Asha and Magnifico sing "At All Costs," which is a love song, to a room full of tangible bubbles makes zero sense. The song's lyrics only work if you're a pair of lovers declaring your devotion to each other—or, maybe, if you're a king and apprentice singing to actual people, not a room full of their daydreams. But!

The music is pretty. And it's literally engineered to be inspiring, and play with your heart strings. So you're sitting there going, "oh, wow, what a breathtaking magical song, I love it,"

but try and explain to me why you love it in connection to the story and there's nothing there.

Nothing that makes sense. You've just been emotionally manipulated by music. What you're really responding to is just the way the song sounds, and nothing else.

It's like the song (whether it's a musical number sung by the characters, or a piece of the score, or a pop song playing quietly in the background) is a beautiful set of curtains.

If you hang it up on a curtain rod, or even drape it artfully from the ceiling, it can do a lot for the space. It can make the place look bigger, or more comfortable, or show off the room's depth, or set off other pieces of furniture. It can even be a focal point.

But you know what the curtains need to do all that? A curtain rod. Something to be hung on!

If you just ball up the curtains and drop them in the center of the room, someone might walk in and go, "oh, are these curtains? They're pretty!" But you know what else they'll say? "Where are you going to put them? Why are they in the middle of the floor?" Because they don't belong there. The curtains are wasted on the floor.

Like a song that has no contextual meaning and is just laying in the scene like discarded curtains, arbitrarily playing with your emotions. Doesn't belong there; and what a waste!

So next time you really love a scene that has music in it at all, see what part the music plays.

If the lyrics make sense with the characters, if the story has reached a point where the song is all that's needed to accentuate the emotional depth that's already there, instead of creating it where it was lacking, then awesome. Now you can articulate what made you appreciate the song, so much better!

But if the lyrics made no sense with where the characters or the story was at; if it sounded pretty but didn't fit the scene; if it was the only emotional thing about the context of the scene—then it's not the story that you like. It's just the song, by itself. Add it to your Spotify playlist but don't say you loved that movie or that scene. You just loved that song.

Give credit where it's due instead of letting filmmakers trick you with cheap musical moments.

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justwritedreams · 1 year

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Hello

A headcanon of Kyungsoo realizing he has feelings for the reader

I'm enjoying that you're asking members that I haven't written yet CONTINUE!

KYUNGSOO REALIZING THAT HE HAS FEELINGS FOR YOU

Author: Maari

Warnings: minor errors probably because i wrote it in the break of work

So you and him have been friends for a long time

You have a lot in common

Enjoy having in-depth conversations on a variety of topics

You like to do the same things

And you are each other's excuse to get away from noisy and crowded places

And one day, you managed to escape from a club

How had you ended up there? Ask his extrovert friends

None of you wanted to go but it wasn't like you could say no

Thank you Chanyeol 🫡

So when you accepted his ride, you could finally breathe a sigh of relief as you got into the silent car

Both of your heads ached from the loud music

And you were so sleepy that you leaned against the car window even as he was driving

"I thought you couldn't get away from Baekhyun" he chuckled

And you, of course, laughed along, looking at him

He was so focused and so handsome

"I didn't remember he talked so much, I thought you were going to leave me there" you said and his laugh increased

"Don't think it didn't cross my mind"

And you were like 😲

Your plan had been simple:

The two would take a 5 minute break to go to the bathroom but actually you would run to the door and leave the place

But Baekhyun delayed you because he kept telling you how sad he was because his girlfriend had gone on a business trip

Although far away, you could see Kyungsoo's bored face in the middle of the crowd, waiting for you 🤣

But it wasn't like you were going to argue with him because

You would do the same lol

You just smiled and closed your eyes, too tired to talk

And he not only understood, he respected 🥺

And when he turned to face you real quick

Damn!

He never noticed before how you had a glow of your own

He frowned thinking it was some illusion in his head

Or that kind of intrusive thinking that no one has control

He dropped you off at home and you invited him in

And he was more worried about you because you had worked a lot during the week

And on Friday you looked like a zombie, you were so tired

So he accepted

He felt good in your house, it was quiet, it brought peace

You lay down on the couch and he helped you take off your shoes

As he already knew your house, he went to get a blanket so you wouldn't be cold during the night

And when he came back, you were already asleep

Sounds cliche, right?

But well, the time he put the cover on you

He couldn't help but push the hair that fell into your eyes

And it was only then, watching you sleep so serenely that he felt his heart warm

Anxiety in the stomach that wasn't bad at all

And an involuntary smile appeared on his face

And when he leaned in to kiss you

He was like oH 😳

He straightened up again but brought his hand to his mouth.

Not believing that he had almost done that because

Damn, was he in love with you?? Since when?

He was always very clear about what he felt, what he thought...

And he just now noticed that he likes you?

Poor baby left your house so confused he couldn't even remember where he had put his car keys 🤣🤣

But he wouldn't be the only one confused

Because good luck if you think he's going to leave things the way they were

Expect a very sincere confession 👀

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vampylily · 7 months

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Transcription of Fall Out Boy's interview with Rock Sound

Since I was going to read the article anyways, I thought I'd transcribe in case it'll be more accessible to read for others. The interview with Pete and Patrick goes in depth on the topics of tourdust, evolving as a band, So Much (For) Stardust, working with Neal Avron, and more.

Thank you to @nomaptomyowntreasure who kindly shared the photos of the article! Their post is linked here.

PDF link here. (more readable format & font size)

article in text below (and warning for long post.)

Rock Sound Issue #300

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

WITH THE TRIUMPHANT ‘SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST’ CAPTURING A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF FANS, FALL OUT BOY ARE RIDING HIGH, CELEBRATING THEIR PAST WHILE LOOKING TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE. PETE WENTZ AND PATRICK STUMP REFLECT ON RECENT SUCCESSES AND THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO DECADES OF WRITING AND PERFORMING TOGETHER.

WORDS: James Wilson-Taylor

PHOTOS: Elliott Ingham

You have just completed a US summer tour that included stadium shows and some of your most ambitious production to date. What were your aims going into this particular show?

PETE: Playing stadiums is a funny thing. I pushed pretty hard to do a couple this time because I think that the record Patrick came up with musically lends itself to that feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. When we were designing the cover to the album, it was meant to be all tangible, which was a reaction to tokens and skins that you can buy and avatars. The title is made out of clay, and the painting is an actual painting. We wanted to approach the show in that way as well. We've been playing in front of a gigantic video wall for the past eight years. Now, we wanted a stage show where you could actually walk inside it.

Did adding the new songs from ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ into the setlist change the way you felt about them?

PATRICK: One of the things that was interesting about the record was that we took a lot of time figuring out what it was going to be, what it was going to sound like. We experimented with so many different things. I was instantly really proud. I felt really good about this record but it wasn’t until we got on stage and you’re playing the songs in between our catalogue that I really felt that. It was really noticeable from the first day on this tour - we felt like a different band. There's a new energy to it. There was something that I could hear live that I couldn't hear before.

You also revisited a lot of older tracks and b-sides on this tour, including many from the ‘Folie à Deux’-era. What prompted those choices?

PETE: There were some lean years where there weren't a lot of rock bands being played on pop radio or playing award shows so we tried to play the biggest songs, the biggest versions of them. We tried to make our thing really airtight, bulletproof so that when we played next to whoever the top artist was, people were like, ‘oh yeah, they should be here.’ The culture shift in the world is so interesting because now, maybe rather than going wider, it makes more sense to go deeper with people. We thought about that in the way that we listen to music and the way we watch films. Playing a song that is a b-side or barely made a record but is someone’s favourite song makes a lot of sense in this era.

PATRICK: I think there also was a period there where, to Pete’s point, it was a weird time to be a rock band. We had this very strange thing that happened to us, and not a lot of our friends for some reason, where we had a bunch of hits, right? And it didn’t make any sense to me. It still doesn’t make sense to me. But there was a kind of novelty, where we could play a whole set of songs that a lot of people know. It was fun and rewarding for us to do that. But then you run the risk of playing the same set forever. I want to love the songs that we play. I want to care about it and put passion into what we do. And there’s no sustainable way to just do the same thing every night and not get jaded. We weren’t getting there but I really wanted to make sure that we don’t ever get there.

PETE: In the origin of Fall Out Boy, what happened at our concerts was we knew how to play five songs really fast and jumped off walls and the fire marshal would shut it down. It was what made the show memorable, but we wanted to be able to last and so we tried to perfect our show and the songs and the stage show and make it flawless. Then you don’t really know how much spontaneity you want to include, because something could go wrong. When we started this tour, and we did a couple of spontaneous things, it opened us up to more. Because things did go wrong and that’s what made the show special. We’re doing what is the most punk rock version of what we could be doing right now.

You seem generally a lot more comfortable celebrating your past success at this point in your career.

PETE: I think it’s actually not a change from our past. I love those records, but I never want to treat them in a cynical way. I never want there to be a wink and a smile where we’re just doing this because it’s the anniversary. This was us celebrating these random songs and we hope people celebrate them with us. There was a purity to it that felt in line with how we’ve always felt about it. I love ‘Folie à Deux’ - out of any Fall Out Boy record that's probably the one I would listen to. But I just never wanted it to be done in a cynical way, where we feel like we have to. But celebrating it in a way where there’s the purity of how we felt when we wrote the song originally. I think that’s fucking awesome.

PATRICK: Music is a weird art form. Because when you’re an actor and you play a character, that is a specific thing. James Bond always wears a suit and has a gun and is a secret agent. If you change one thing, that’s fine, but you can’t really change all of it. But bands are just people. You are yourself. People get attached to it like it’s a story but it’s not. That was always something I found difficult. For the story, it’s always good to say, ‘it’s the 20th anniversary, let’s go do the 20th anniversary tour’, that’s a good story thing. But it’s not always honest. We never stopped playing a lot of the songs from ‘Take This To Your Grave’, right? So why would I need to do a 20-year anniversary and perform all the songs back to back? The only reason would be because it would probably sell a lot of tickets and I don’t really ever want to be motivated by that, frankly.

One of the things that’s been amazing is that now as the band has been around for a while, we have different layers of audience. I love ‘Folie à Deux’, I do, I love that record. But I had a really personally negative experience of touring on it. So that’s what I think of when I think of that record initially. It had to be brought back to me for me to appreciate it, for me to go, ‘oh, this record is really great. I should be happy with this. I should want to play this,’ So that’s why we got into a lot of the b-sides because we realised that our perspectives on a lot of these songs were based in our feelings and experiences from when we were making them. But you can find new experiences if you play those songs. You can make new memories with them.

You alluded there to the 20th anniversary of ‘Take This To Your Grave’. Obviously you have changed and developed as a band hugely since then. But is there anything you can point to about making that debut record that has remained a part of your process since then?

PETE: We have a language, the band, and it’s definitely a language of cinema and film. That’s maintained through time. We had very disparate music tastes and influences but I think film was a place we really aligned. You could have a deep discussion, because none of us were filmmakers. You could say which part was good and which part sucked and not hurt anybody’s feelings, because you weren’t going out to make a film the next day. Whereas with music, I think if we’d only had that to talk about, we would have turned out a different band.

PATRICK: ‘Take This To Your Grave’, even though it’s absolutely our first record, there’s an element of it that’s still a work in progress. It is still a band figuring itself out. Andy wasn’t even officially in the band for half of the recording, right? I wasn’t even officially the guitar player for half of the recording. We were still bumbling through it. There was something that popped up a couple times throughout the record where you got these little inklings of who the band really was. We really explored that on ‘From Under the Cork Tree’’. So when we talk about what has remained the same… I didn’t want to be a singer, I didn’t know anything about singing, I wasn’t playing on that. I didn’t even plan to really be in this band for that long because Pete had a real band that really toured so I thought this was gonna be a side project. So there’s always been this element within the band where I don’t put too many expectations on things and then Pete has this really big ambition, creatively. There’s this great interplay between the tour of us where I’m kind of oblivious, and I don’t know when I’m putting out a big idea and Pete has this amazing vision to find what goes where. There’s something really magical about that because I never could have done a band like this without it. We needed everybody, we needed all four of us. And I think that’s the thing that hasn’t changed - the four of us just being ourselves and trying to figure things out. Listening back to ‘Folie’ or ‘Infinity On High’ or ‘American Beauty’. I’m always amazed at how much better they are than I remember. I listened to ‘MANIA’ the other day. I have a lot of misgivings about that record, a lot of things I’m frustrated about. But then I’m listening to it and I’m like, ‘this is pretty good.’ There’s a lot of good things in there. I don’t know why, it’s kind of like you can’t see those things. It’s kind of amazing to have Pete be able to see those things. And likewise, sometimes Pete has no idea when he writes something brilliant, as a lyricist, and I have to go, ‘No, I’m gonna keep that one, I’m gonna use that.’

On ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ you teamed up with producer Neal Avron again for the first time since 2008. Given how much time has passed, did it take a minute to reestablish that connection or did you pick up where you left off?

PATRICK: It really didn’t feel like any time had passed between us and Neal. It was pretty seamless in terms of working with him. But then there was also the weird aspect where the last time we worked with him was kind of contentious. Interpersonally, the four of us were kind of fighting with each other…as much as we do anyway. We say that and then that myth gets built bigger than it was. We were always pretty cool with each other. It’s just that the least cool was making ‘Folie’. So then getting into it again for this record, it was like no time had passed as people but the four of us got on better so we had more to bring to Neal.

PETE: It’s a little bit like when you return to your parents’ house for the holiday break when you’re in college. It’s the same house but now I can drink with my parents. We’d grown up and the first times we worked with Neal, he had to do so much more boy scout leadership, ‘you guys are all gonna be okay, we’re gonna do this activity to earn this badge so you guys don’t fucking murder each other.’ This time, we probably got a different version of Neal that was even more creative, because he had to do less psychotherapy.

He went deep too. Sometimes when you’re in a session with somebody, and they’re like, ‘what are we singing about?’, I’ll just be like, ‘stuff’. He was not cool with ‘stuff’. I would get up and go into the bathroom outside the studio and look in the mirror, and think ‘what is it about? How deep are we gonna go?’ That’s a little bit scarier to ask yourself. If last time Neal was like a boy scout leader, this time, it was more like a Sherpa. He was helping us get to the summit.

The title track of the album also finds you in a very reflective mood, even bringing back lyrics from ‘Love From the Other Side’. How would you describe the meaning behind that title and the song itself?

PETE: The record title has a couple of different meanings, I guess. The biggest one to me is that we basically all are former stars. That’s what we’re made of, those pieces of carbon. It still feels like the world’s gonna blow and it’s all moving too fast and the wrong things are moving too slow. That track in particular looks back at where you sometimes wish things had gone differently. But this is more from the perspective of when you’re watching a space movie, and they’re too far away and they can’t quite make it back. It doesn’t matter what they do and at some point, the astronaut accepts that. But they’re close enough that you can see the look on their face. I feel like there’s moments like that in the title track. I wish some things were different. But, as an adult going through this, you are too far away from the tether, and you’re just floating into space. It is sad and lonely but in some ways, it’s kind of freeing, because there’s other aspects of our world and my life that I love and I want to keep shaping and changing.

Patrick: I’ll open up Pete’s lyrics and I just start hearing things. It almost feels effortless in a lot of ways. I just read his lyrics and something starts happening in my head. The first line, ‘I’m in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now’, instantly the piano started to form to me. That was a song that I came close to not sending the band. When I make demos, I’ll usually wait until I have five or six to send to everybody. I didn’t know if anyone was gonna like this. It’s too moody or it’s not very us. But it was pretty unanimous. Everybody liked that one. I knew this had to end the record. It took on a different life in the context of the whole album. Then on the bridge section, I knew it was going to be the lyrics from “Love From The Other Side’. It’s got to come back here. It’s the bookends, but I also love lyrically what it does, you know, ‘in another life, you were my babe’, going back to that kind of regret, which feels different in ‘Love From The Other Side’ than it does here. When the whole song came together, it was the statement of the record.

Aside from the album, you have released a few more recent tracks that have opened you up to a whole new audience, most notably the collaboration with Taylor Swift on ‘Electric Touch’.

PETE: Taylor is the only artist that I’ve met or interacted with in recent times who creates exactly the art of who she is, but does it one such a mass level. So that’s breathtaking to watch from the sidelines. The way fans traded friendship bracelets, I don’t know what the beginning of it was, but you felt that everywhere. We felt that, I saw that in the crowd on our tour. I don’t know Taylor well, but I think she’s doing exactly what she wants and creating exactly the art that she wants to create. And going that, on such a level, is really awe-inspiring to watch. It makes you want to make the biggest, weirdest version of our thing and put that out there.

Then there was the cover of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, which has had some big chart success for you. That must have taken you slightly by surprise.

PATRICK: It’s pretty unexpected. Pete and I were going back and forth about songs we should cover and that was an idea that I had. This is so silly but there was a song a bunch of years ago I had kind of written called ‘Dark Horse’ and then there was a Katy Perry song called ‘Dark Horse’ and I was like, ‘damn it’, you know, I missed the boat on that one. So I thought if we don’t do this cover, somebody else is gonna do it. Let’s just get in the studio and just do it. We spent way more time on those lyrics than you would think because we really wanted to get a specific feel. It was really fun and kind of loose, we just came together in Neal’s house and recorded it in a day.

PETE: There's irreverence to it. I thought the coolest thing was when Billy Joel got asked about it, and he was like, ‘I’m not updating it, that’s fine, go for it.’ I hope if somebody ever chose to update one of ours, we’d be like that. Let them do their thing, they’ll have that version. I thought that was so fucking cool.

It’s almost no secret that the sound you became most known for in the md-2000s is having something of a commercial revival right now But what is interesting is seeing how bands are building on that sound and changing it.

PATRICK: I love when anybody does anything that feels honest to them. Touring with Bring Me The Horizon, it was really cool seeing what’s natural to them. It makes sense. We changed our sound over time but we were always going to do that. It wasn’t a premeditated thing but for the four of us, it would have been impossible to maintain making the same kind of music forever. Whereas you’ll play with some other bands and they live that one sound. You meet up with them for dinner or something and they’re wearing the shirt of the band that sounds just like their band. You go to their house and they’re playing other bands that sound like them because they live in that thing. Whereas with the four of us and bands like Bring Me The Horizon, we change our sounds over time. And there’s nothing wrong with either. The only thing that’s wrong is if it’s unnatural to you. If you’re AC/DC and all of a sudden power ballads are in and you’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to do a power ballad’, that’s when it sucks. But if you’re a thrash metal guy who also likes Celine Dion then yeah, do a power ballad. Emo as a word doesn’t mean anything anymore. But if people want to call it that, if the emo thing is back or having another life again, if that’s what’s natural to an artist, I think the world needs more earnest art. If that’s who you are, then do it.

PETE: It would be super egotistical to think that the wave that started with us and My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco has just been circling and cycling back. I remember seeing Nikki Sixx at the airport and he was like, ‘Oh you’re doing a flaming bass? Mine came from a backpack.’ It keeps coming back but it looks different. Talking to Lil Uzi Vert and Juice WRLD when he was around, it’s so interesting, because it’s so much bigger than just emo or whatever. It’s this whole big pop music thing that’s spinning and churning, and then it moves on, and then it comes back with different aspects and some of the other stuff combined. When you’re a fan of music and art and film, you take different stuff, you add different ingredients, because that’s your taste. Seeing the bands that are up and coming to me, it’s so exciting, because the rules are just different, right? It’s really cool to see artists that lean into the weirdness and lean into a left turn when everyone’s telling you to make a right. That’s so refreshing.

PATRICK: It’s really important as an artist gets older to not put too much stock in your own influence. The moment right now that we’re in is bigger than emo and bigger than whatever was happening in 2005. There’s a great line in ‘Downton Abbey’ where someone was asking the Lord about owning this manor and he’s like ‘well, you don’t really own it, there have been hundreds of owners and you are the custodian of it for a brief time.’ That’s what pop music is like. You just have the ball for a minute and you’re gonna pass it on to somebody else.

We will soon see you in the UK for your arena tour. How do you reflect on your relationship with the fans over here?

PETE: I remember the first time we went to the UK, I wasn’t prepared for how culturally different it was. When we played Reading & Leeds and the summer festivals, it was so different, and so much deeper within the culture. It was a little bit of a shock. The first couple of times we played, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, are we gonna die?’ because the crowd was so crazy, and there was bottles. Then when we came back, we thought maybe this is a beast to be tamed. Finally, you realise it’s a trading of energy. That made the last couple of festivals we played so fucking awesome. When you realise that the fans over there are real fans of music It’s really awesome and pretty beautiful.

PATRICK: We’ve played the UK now more than a lot of regions of the states. Pretty early on, I just clicked with it. There were differences, cultural things and things that you didn’t expect. But it never felt that different or foreign to me, just a different flavour…

PETE: This is why me and Patrick work so well together (laughs).

PATRICK: Well, listen; I’m a rainy weather guy. There is just things that I get there. I don’t really drink anymore all that much. But I totally will have a beer in the UL, there’s something different about every aspect of it, about the ordering of it, about the flavour of it, everything, it’s like a different vibe. The UK audience seemed to click with us too. There have been plenty of times where we felt almost like a UK band than an American one. There have been years where you go there and almost get a more familial reaction than you would at home.

Rock Sound has always been a part of that for us. It was one of the first magazines to care about us and the first magazine to do real interviews. That’s the thing, you would do all these interviews and a lot of them would be like ‘so where did the band’s name come from?’ But Rock Sound took us seriously as artists, maybe before some of us did. That actually made us think about who we are and that was a really cool experience. I think in a lot of ways, we wouldn’t be the band we are without the UK, because I think it taught us a lot about what it is to be yourself.

Fall Out Boy’s ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is out now via Fueled By Ramen

#fall out boy #fob #tourdust #pete wentz #patrick stump #fob interview #so much for stardust #smfs era #your unemployed friend at 2pm on a monday:#anyways. hope this is helpful i loved the interview!

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obey-me-disaster · 11 months

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Hi i was wonderinf if you could make a fic about ghe om charactess reactind to MC doing sh or sum causr im in teh moos to cry rna nd i cant dind ahy good angstfisc lmqo

/not forsce

A/N:Sorry for the long wait! I have decided to brake it into smaller fics for every character instead of one big fic. I will have to do separate posts for it most likely.

CW: self harm, self depricating thoughts, suicidal thoughts, starving as a self punishement/as a way to cause harm

Disclamier: This is inspired from personal experience, so I may not be able to capture the full depth of this topic or how it affects different people. I may rewrite parts of it in the future.

Lucifer x gn!MC

Mammon x gn!MC

Lucifer, Mammon x gn!MC that self harms

When the exchange program first begun MC's safety was regarded as something vital for Diavolo's plan. No one was expecting the way the human exchange student would become so beloved by so many people.

As time went on everyone was so captivated by MC that they failed to realize that they have put them on some sort of pedestal. Sure, the angel, sorcerer and the demons were observant of the way MC was acting but no one wanted to expect something bad was happening to them, especially when they were quick to reassure everyone that nothing was wrong with them.

There were times when the human would be withdrawn from everyone. Times where they looked like they have no energy left and were lost in their own world or times when they were quick to getting annoyed, wanting to be away from everyone. Excuses such as 'I am stressed because of exams' 'I have not been sleeping enough' 'Just one of those days' could only get them so far with beings older than their entire bloodline.

"I know there is something bothering them but every time I try to ask them, they always hit me with one of those lame excuses!" Huffing Mammon stops pacing around and sits on the couch.

"That's exactly why everyone gathered here today. MC is obviously hiding something from us and it has been going on for longer than it should." Placing down the tray full of snacks Simeon continued. "I would love to think we are just overthinking it and MC is fine, but it has become clear that's not the case."

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat Leviathan decided to join the conversation. "MC also stopped joining me for our gaming nights. They were always looking forward to our nights but now every time I ask them to join me, they just dismiss me.." the last part was barely above a whisper.

"Levi does make a point. MC's mood changes have become more frequent and their body language has also changed. It's like they're trying to hide their body from us." Satan tried to make heads of the whole situation. "We could rule out the attack from another demon. They don't smell of blood and their body doesn't seem to be affected by a wound."

While Satan was mumbling to himself, everyone was thinking of MC's behavior, anything that could give them a clue on what's wrong with them.

"If I stay and think about it, they are also refusing to eat as much as they used to, even when they are clearly hungry. I have left some snacks for them so they won't get hungry, but I don't know if MC ever ate them or not." Beel tried to recall all the times MC refused to eat, but just thinking about it made him lose all his appetite.

"Now that we're putting together all of these 'new' habits of MC makes it clear that there is something going on." Diavolo ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. "Solomon, you're the only other human in the whole exchange, maybe you have a better idea of what's happening to them..."

All eyes turned towards the sorcerer, waiting for a response that would help them understand the whole situation. "I actually may suspect something but none of you will like it.." Solomon waited to see if any of them would make a comment, but when that didn't happen he continued on with his explanation.

"As Satan said, their body language has changed and they are trying to cover their body more. The idea of an attack or a curse can be ruled since that would have been observed by now." Everyone nodded, everything he said up until that point was already established. "I am not gonna beat around the bush but I think they may be self harming in some kind of capacity. It's not to the point where it draws blood so we can rule out any kind of cutting. It still doesn't make the situation good but there is at least that..."

"Now what?! We can't let then continue, can we??" Mammon snapped at them out of frustration over the situation. "Going over to MC to confront them about the whole situation won't help them either." Lucifer said as a matter of fact. "For now we will act as if we don't know until we come up with a way to approach the subject."

Seeing as there was nothing else to add to the discussion everyone decided to end things there. Luke could distract MC out of the Purgatory Hall for so long after all.

Lucifer

After the group discussion he decided to watch over MC more closely. Lucifer would often invite them in his study room to talk about their day or if anything was bothering them and every time MC would try to retreat away from everyone, he would take them out on a walk or on dates.

This went on for a little under two weeks before he decided to finally have a talk with them. While MC seemed to be more relaxed than before it was clear that they were not going to open up with him any time soon, and he refused to sit by and let them hurt themself in any capacity.

"So, what did you want to talk about? I am not in trouble, am I?" MC was sitting next to him on the couch. Lucifer has called them a bit earlier into his room with the excuse of 'talking about some recent problems'.

"You are not in trouble, no." Taking a sip from his cup of demonus. "I am not about to waltz around the subject now that you're here." Setting the glass down he took one of their hands in his own and started to gently rub his thumb over their knuckles. "There is something bothering you and I don't want to hear any of your old excuses. Please, tell me the truth so I can help you." From the look the avatar of pride gave them, they knew there was no backing out of this discussion.

He could feel MC's whole body tense up at his question. They stared at him for a while, opening and closing their mouth every time they would try to come up with some sort of excuse only give up. Lucifer waited for them patiently to find their words. If anyone knows how hard it can be to let yourself be vulnerable is him, so he was not gonna rush them. He already approached the subject in a not so gentle manner, to demand more, at least for now would only push MC away.

Finally giving up on coming up with excuses or trying to find a way to make the situation seem less bad than it is, MC leaned their head against Lucifer's shoulder. "Was it that obvious? The way I've been acting.."

"Yes, it was quite obvious, everyone is worried about you" He didn't need to look at MC to know that they winced at the knowledge that everyone knew. "They won't swarm you with questions, I will make sure of that."

"Thank you, Lucifer, I really don't want to deal with all of that, not yet at least.." Despite being more relaxed they still squirmed in their place every so often.

"No need to thank me, we're here for you after all" Kissing the top of their head, both of them settled into a comfortable silence, mainly to give MC time to gather their thoughts.

"I...I guess for starters you want to know for how long I've been feeling like this." Lucifer merely gave them a nod. "Well...I guess not for long. At least since me coming to Devildom. You see, before coming here I didn't have the best self esteem and wasn't that satisfied with my life. When I got chosen for the exchange program, I didn't mind it that much, I saw it as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf."

MC leaned over, their head leaving Lucifer's shoulder, in an attempt to put some distance between themself and Lucifer "And it worked for a while, I met people that care about me a lot, I got better as a person and I was kept busy by the ongoing shit that happens around." Remembering all of the shenanigans they went through brought a smile to MC. "But it's not like my problems disappear. Sure I made progress, but worries that I had in the past came back, past problems transformed into new ones and little by little I got into bad past habits."

Letting out a shaky sigh they continued. "Little by little I got into self destructive habits, such as refusing to do things I would, hiding myself from other to even starving and doing things that would cause me some kind of pain."

Lucifer could only curse himself for not noticing how his lover felt sooner. He put his arms around MC and pull them close to him, making sure to rest their head on his chest as he lowered himself to lay on the couch. While they still couldn't look at him directly they at least didn't push him away. "How about you stay the night in my room? You can talk about what's bothering you in peace, no one will dare to just walk in my room."

Wrapping their hands around his waist, MC made themself comfortable on top of him. "I'm warning you, it might take a while before I fully open up." Chuckling at their words he tighten his hold on them. "Take your time, we have more than enough."

Mammon

Mammon has always been the one to look over others without being really noticed. When they fell from the Celestial Realm he was the one that looked over his brothers and reminded Lucifer that everyone followed him for a reason. He was the one that decided to look over a girl from the human world and help her financially until she is old enough to do it on her own. He was the one assigned to look over MC, to make sure they are safe and well and yet here he was. Pacing around his room, trying to think of a solution on how to approach them.

He couldn't help but be reminded of the whole attic incident, more exactly how MC hid their true reason on why they were making pacts with his brothers. He didn't know what hurt more, the fact that they couldn't trust him or the fact that MC is suffering and he can't do anything about it.

Frustrated he decided to go see them, he didn't exactly have a plan but he was damned if he wouldn't try something. Even if nothing could be done today he will make sure to at least make their day better.

Barging into their room Mammon tried to call out to them but stopped when he heard MC weakly groaning from beneath their bed sheets "Can you tone it down a bit? I've got a nasty headache."

Frowning, the demon made his way next to their bed. Even when he took a sit next to them, MC made no effort in turning around to face him. "What's gotten into you? Ya look all sick and frail" Mammon tried to put his hand on their forehead in order to check their temperature but they shied away from his touch.

Looking at the state of his human, any and all plans of taking them out to town fell apart. "MC, talk to me, what's wrong? And don't give me the 'I'm just sick' excuse, it won't work." Looking at MC, he tried to see if they would react in any way but they only shifted uncomfortably.

"It's nothing serious, I am just tired from catching up with all the homework from RAD, so I need a little bit of rest." MC tried to explain themself but it didn't fool Mammon one bit.

The last of his patience about asking MC about the truth finally disappeared after hearing their overused excused. Lying in bed next to them he put his arms around their waist. When MC made no move to try and get out of his hold, he pulled them closer to him. While they still faced away from him at least it didn't feel like there was such a great distance between the two of them.

"We both know that's a bullshit excuse.." Mammon's voice, while sounding unimpressed, it held no malice. Still, it didn't stop MC from tensing up in his arms.

"Come on, it's me Mammon, you're first man, you can tell me everything don't you? What's bothering you?" He mumbled while burying his face into their shoulder.

Guilt was starting to eat MC up after hearing Mammon's words. They could feel tears trying to come out so they opted to turn around and burry their face into Mammon's chest.

" You're right, I am sorry..." they said trying to hide the fact that they were on the verge of crying.

Relieved at seeing MC starting to open up he continued to press on the issue at hand. "It's ok, you've got me here, why don't ya start from telling me how you're feeling right now?"

The human took a few moments to come up with a way to explain their situation at the moment. "You see, I wasn't lying when I said I have a headache. It's just that, it's a result from me skipping meals for a while or so. In fact, my body feels so weak that I can barely move..." They internally winced at their explanation but they didn't have much time to dwell on it when Mammon sat up looking alarmed.

"What do you mean by that?! Why's that? Don't tell me you're trying one of Asmo's crazy diets?" Looking down on them, he tried to see if there is anything else he should take notice off, besides their nasty glare.

"Nothing of that sorts, don't worry." Turning on their back they stared up at the ceiling, looking right past Mammon. Being relieved at their words he decided to make himself comfortable in bed next to them.

"You see, it's an old habit of mine to skip meals. But when I get stressed or start to feel overwhelmed I start taking that habit to an extreme." Hearing them talk, Mammon is able to take note of how weak their voice sounded

"I lose all motivation to eat, and when I start feeling nauseous and the pain in my stomach starts to get worse, it pushes me to do it more and more until I am left lying helplessly in bed. The more pathetic I feel, the more reasons I have to skip meals and make this feeling of helplessness last longer." Sighing, some silent tears rolled down from the corner of their eyes.

Kicking himself mentally, Mammon decided to take a mental note to watch their eating habits more carefully in the future. "But what set you off? Was it the workload from RAD?" He asked them hoping to get a better understanding of what was bothering them.

"I honestly don't know...it's a mix of that and some other stuff, but I don't want to think about it now." MC's voice held some resentment as they explained. That was the cue for Mammon that he won't get any more information out of his human for that night.

Still, he couldn't leave them in that sorry state, not as long as he was there to take care of them. "I am going to make you one of my famous instant noodles just for you, so ya better be thankful!"

Just as he was about to leave the room he turned one last time towards them. "Afterwards be prepared to go on a ride with me, I will take you to some places in here Devildom you've never seen before."

MC merely gave him a nod but that was more than enough confirmation for him as he went to prepare everything he needed.

A/N: So, this is getting way too long so I will stop it here for now. I will come back to update it in the future for the rest of the characters, but I don't want it to sit in my drafts any longer.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me x mc #obey me x reader #obey me lucifer #obey me lucifer x mc #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me mammon x reader #obey me mammon #obey me mammon x mc #i don't really like how it came out :/#i may rewrite the whole thing

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gyeomsweetgyeom · 9 months

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[4:12 pm]

You felt like a weight had been lifted off your chest. A month of study groups, flashcards, pages of notes, studying late into the night, and meeting with your teacher for more help was finally done! You had been stressed out of your mind for months, you felt like you understood the topic well enough to pass the test, and then you got the test.

Every question had you second guessing the answers that you knew you studied for days. The questions were so weirdly phrased, the essay questions asking you to go into detail about something that wasn't even covered in depth in class. You crossed your fingers as you handed it in and tried to put it out of your mind on your way home.

But now, you were curled up under your favorite blanket going over the questions of the test and wondering if you had given the right answers. You were stuck in your head feeling the stress of the test that had already happened, again.

You were still staring blankly at the tv, stuck in your head, when Jisung walked in. "How was your test? How do you think you did?" He asked you as he laid beside you.

"It was so hard Jisung, I don't even think I passed," you mumbled, burrowing yourself into your chest.

"Of course you did, my love. You studied so hard, I'm sure you have that text book memorized front to back. Heck, I'm sure I know everything on that test because of you. If you did everything you could to study and studied as long as you did, but you still don’t pass- which you will- then that’s a reflection on your teacher, not you. You're a genius my love," Jisung told you while he rubbed comforting small circles on your back.

"I just feel like I want to lay here and cry my eyes out until the grades come out and have you tell me if I passed," you whined.

"Look at me," Jisung lightly pushed your shoulders until you had enough space to look at each other eye-to-eye, "You worked hard for this, you studied for a whole month harder than I'm sure anyone else in your class did. How is it possible for my little genius to fail when you studied using every method you could? If you still want to cry your eyes out, I'll hold you and rub your back. But if you also want to just chill out, order a pizza, and forget this test forever, we can do that too."

You pouted, your eyed filling with tears as you quickly nuzzled yourself into his chest once again. Jisung tentatively asked, "Did you choose the crying?"

You shook you head, "You're the best boyfriend on the whole planet, I just love you so much."

He blushed, stuttering, "I didn't even do much."

"You don't have to do much Jisung, you do enough for me," you told him before leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, if you want me to do more than just order a pizza, I can find someway to annoy your professor too. I think there's a company that sends envelopes full of glitter, or I can catch a bird and set it loose in his car-"

You placed your hand over his mouth before he continued rambling on about who even knows what, "Just pizza is great. Thank you, my love."

He nodded, voice muffled by your hand, "pizza it is."

#kpop imagines #kpop au #kpop scenarios #kpop reactions #nct #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct timestamps #nct x reader #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream fluff #jisung x reader #jisung imagines #jisung scenarios #jisung fluff #jisung timestamps #jisung blurb

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narcpocalypse · 2 months

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Speaking of that post I hope it's ok for me to send this ask in!

I have some OCs myself that also have NPD(+other PDs as well, like ASPD AND BPD for example) and I was wondering how to realistically portray NPD without unintentionally stigmatizing/demonizing it?

*also some are also POC as well and are my Elder Scrolls OCs also, if this helps.*

Feel free to delete this ask, if you don't feel like answering!

AGHHH MY FIRST ASK!!!!!!!!/pos

Fair warning, this is going to be a LONGGGG ass post and it will mention ableism towards NPDers. I want to make sure I cover as much as possible. If you have NPD and want to add anything, pls do so in a reblog or the comments! I am also super delirious so if what I say makes no sense I'm so sorry 😭

I think a full, completely in depth understanding is the key to not writing something stigmatizing/demonizing. It sounds obvious, but in the case of NPD, there's so much misinformation so I am hoping this post can guide you in the writing process. You never know what little thing can cause accidental mischaracterization.

This is a super important topic for me because honestly, I'm trying to figure out the same as someone with NPD myself, even with all the info available. I feel like there's so much grey area because so much is still unknown about the disorder (fuck the psych system/narc abuse believers). A lot of us have to go from our personal experiences and figure things out on our own, which brings me to my first topic:

Self Diagnosis And The Criteria!!!!!!!!

A LOT of us are self diagnosed, including myself. Whether you're officially diagnosed or not, most of us can agree the DSM5 is booty ass. I bring up self diagnosis specifically because due to the DSM5 being shitty, it's suuuper difficult to get diagnosed or even want a diagnosis. I personally don't want one.

If that's a theme you want to bring up in your work, I would definitely follow blogs here that break down the diagnostic criteria and re-define it in a realistic way. Having this is super important because the DSM5 is MADDD confusing even if it wasn't ableist.

Your characters might resonate with that confusion and even anger. Rage is such a prominent emotion with us narcissists, so its highly encouraged you tap into that. The stigma is so impactful to most of us and personally keeps me hidden.

If you went off the official criteria, you could innocently and accidentally write an ableist trope based off the DSM5. For example, the DSM5 has a very vague and "I do this just because I can blah blah blah and there's a name for it" narrative of narcissists. There's no nuance. They state accurate symptoms but don't accurately explain why we have them. Without context, it makes our intentions ultimately one size fits awful.

Here are some resources that have been super helpful to me!

Some extra specific things I keep in mind when writing my narcissistic characters:

-“Bad behavior” is such an important phrase to emphasize when writing narcissists negative symptoms and being mindful on how you approach the impact. Make sure that phrase is clear, even if they will not redeem themselves and are a piece of garbage. They did xyz because of bad behavior due to symptoms, they hurt john doe because of bad behavior due to symptoms. They make the conscious choice not to change their bad behavior because abc or they make the conscious choice to do better because blah blah blah.

-Depending on what communication style you want two or more characters to have, make sure the outcomes are accurate based off of symptoms. My examples don't explain narcissists as a whole, but they are based off of my symptoms:

Lack of Communication: Increase in superiority symptoms, increase in rage, increase in invalidation and inferiority feelings. Other parties, specifically egotypicals may have a misconception of the narcissist and believe their symptoms are how they really are and can't be redeemed due to stigma. In the situation involving a narcissist however, in my experience when this happens I'm always so confused. Nothing makes sense and nobody is explaining anything to me. I need outside perspective as to why my actions are wrong and lack of communication will sink me deeper into my delusions. Communication is so important coming from the outside perspective to snap me out of my spiral. Lack of communication on my end will cause me to bottle up my feelings, convinced I’m better alone. Not explaining my intentions (or lack there of, to be completely blunt and vulnerable.) to someone I hurt can cause them so much more pain too. I don't want to hurt anyone, and even if I don't FEEL sorry, I can acknowledge I don't want the people I care for to be hurt by my bad actions.

Proper Communication: Honestly in my case, usually the damage I caused isn’t forgiven however rebuilding that trust becomes so much easier accepting that and opening up to the person/people I hurt. The narcissist usually knows they can prevent xyz going forward, and the other party is prepared on how to handle the situation in case it happens again. In my experience, communication is super beneficial in terms of receiving supply too. ESPECIALLY when the other person involved is also a narcissist, they know that pain of not receiving praise/admiration and we can understand each other moving forward.

Other narcissists I encourage you give your experience w this too bc I have seen very diff ones!

-If you want to implement characters who are ableist towards the narcissist, some things I would do are:

Show the narcissists internal monologue after the trauma and put your main focus on their emotions, the ableist person’s actions second. The weight of their words will be shown more in the trauma response, less in the moment (although super important). Focus the context on the narc crash, anxiousness, surprise, grandiosity overcompensation, etc.

Have other characters defend the narcissist, preferably being other narcissists because we are the ones who understand each other the most and back each other up no matter what

Show the importance of proper education and lack of education

Ask yourself how this is relevant to the plot and your character/characters

-Ask yourself, why does/doesn't my character want to be redeemed? Is it a symptom or is it genuine? Do they want to do better but don't recognize it? Why don't they recognize it? What symptoms are holding them back from xyz (social connections, self care etc.).?

Examples of answers to these questions:

My character doesn't want to be redeemed because they are convinced they are justified in their actions. They genuinely believe they did the right thing and need time to get out of that mindset. What's stopping them from getting out of that mindset is the delusion they are stuck in. Working on their trauma triggers can help lessen the blow and onset of psychosis. If they recognize they are wrong, my character is the type of person to crash and have suicidal urges. There is a slow build up before the crash that spirals into madness. What may help is getting supply from their friends/partners reassuring them that recognizing their bad actions are a first step followed by praise for things outside of the situation to bring them back to a solid baseline or narc high.

My character has a hard time socializing because when having an episode of grandiosity, they feel like they are better than everyone and no one is at their level. In episodes of insecurity, they feel like they don't deserve friends because they feel worthless. This is followed by perfectionism and seeking unwanted friendships, only to self-destruct and hurt those around them. Their ego impacts everything they do.

-SHAMEEEE is one of the most important emotions (in my experience) to write about so pls make that an important part of how your character views themselves!

-I know I have been only focusing on negative aspects, but also do highlight the positive aspects. For me, NPD has motivated me to work on myself. It isn’t the healthiest way, but given my circumstance, it is the healthiest I can do right now. Even my most wild and delusional thoughts can lead to great opportunities for self improvement. Thinking I’ll become famous? Gave myself tools to work on my executive dysfunction and be consistent with a project I love. Narc highs are also absolutely incredible. Finding folks who understand me and receiving praise has kept me going. I genuinely feel listened to. Narcissists are some of the nicest people you will ever meet because they know what it feels like to hate themselves. No matter how little empathy some of us have, that doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge one another (even if my symptoms make me feel so singular in my experiences/contradict the point of acknowledging others).

More info to represent different kinds of NPDers:

Some common comorbidities are:

Autism Spectrum

Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia Spectrum

DID/OSDD

All Cluster B Disorders

Eating Disorders and Addictions

So many of us are autistic. SO MANY. This small survey statistic doesn’t scratch the surface but it’s important to look at!

As an autistic person myself, I feel like a lot of the trauma I faced growing up highly contributed to the development of NPD. I was othered, shunned, invalidated and shamed for just existing. Still am. That made me overcompensate with erratic attempts to be wanted and loved and just acknowledged in any way possible. I want to be SEEN.

If anyone wants an in depth post sharing my experiences with bipolar disorder and NPD I will absolutely do so if asked too!

How NPD affects my gender itself, dysphoria and sexuality:

In my experience as a fat trans man, a lot of my dysphoria is rooted in narcissism, internalized fatphobia and internalized toxic masculinity. I want to be the ideal boyfriend that is praised for existing. My male privilege definitely contributes to that want and I can acknowledge and dislike that part of myself. I expect this certain level of respect for being a man without realizing it sometimes and make sure to hold myself accountable when doing so. My dysphoria makes me feel inferior to other men because I don't "pass" and I feel the need to compete against them. The insecurity is consuming me and I do my best to be aware if I cross any lines.

What I have noticed about gender and sexuality in NPDers is that a lot yall are aroace and nonbinary! Like based off of my survey alone and people I know!

I asked one of my mutuals if it wanted to share his experiences of being a POC with NPD and it agreed!! He wanted to stay anonymous (aka super duper awesomely cool and mysterious) so I’ll just be posting the ss of what he said!

I do not have much to say on the response from my mutual because I feel like what it said speaks for itself and because we've spoken in private about the topic already! If you want to write an Asian character with NPD, this is really useful information!!!! One day I will make a post elaborating on being a POC with NPD myself. But, for now, this will help you understand an experience from an Asian perspective.

I hope this post wasn't all over the place and makes sense, if you have any more questions please ask away!

#npd awareness #writing tips #writing characters with npd #writing npd #npd solidarity #ask giles #narcposting #narcissistic personality disorder #npd #actually narcissistic #actually npd #actually cluster b #npd safe #cluster b #cluster b safe #narc

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nutmeg-mayonnaise · 1 year

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If Gregory, Mia and Mel are Phoenix and Maya's biological kids, does that mean Phoenix and Maya have Done the Deed, so to speak? Or were other methods involved?

Hello friend! I feel like if I gave the “quick” answer to this question, it’s going to be missing a lot of important context, and since I feel like the topic of family planning from a queerplatonic/aroace perspective is seldom talked about, I'm going to go more in-depth.

[ID: Edgeworth, Phoenix, and Maya holding or carrying children. Edgeworth is carrying the fan character Gregory Wright as a child on his back, with his eyes closed and a tense expression. Gregory has a happy face with closed eyes with his arms wrapped around Edgeworth’s shoulders. Phoenix has the fan character Mia Fey as a young child on his shoulders and head. Mia has her hands covering Phoenix’s eyes and has a determined expression. Phoenix is gripping Mia’s legs. Maya is holding Melusina Fey as an infant to her chest with a happy expression with her eyes closed.]

This is a little long and I know the subject matter isn’t for everyone, so the details along with a mini-comic are below the cut! (Nothing discussed is above the T rating!)

In my AU, Phoenix, Maya, and Edgeworth are all on different places on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrum (cue "Ace" Attorney jokes). It’s also worth mentioning that they're in a queerplatonic relationship, so their orientations don't really matter that much with regards to the polycule. If any of them wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with someone besides each other, it doesn’t break the queerplatonic polycule. However, their orientations does matter with regards to the kids.

One of the fics I'm writing takes place after Spirit of Justice where Maya is starting to seriously think about the future of the Fey Clan lineage. This makes Phoenix anxious, as he's well aware of the history of disastrous marriages in Kurain Village, and hopes to whoever's listening that it doesn't happen to Maya, too. However, he's not attracted to her in that way, so he doesn't get involved outside of being there for moral support.

Extremely long story short, after Maya's disastrous dating life--where she discovers she does not like romantic attention--soul-searching, emotional turmoil, Phoenix and Maya ask themselves why they couldn't have a family together as friends--especially after Edgeworth lectures both of them on separate occasions that they were viewing the situation too romantically. Fey Clan lineage doesn't care about romance, you see.

Obviously how the kids came to be was a huge hang-up. When Maya lamented that she wasn't fond of romantic attention during her moment of self-discovery, Phoenix recommended she have a chat with Edgeworth, who suggested the very unromantic route of donors (and offered to help pay). On a different occasion, when Phoenix was hung up over the birds and the bees, so to speak, Edgeworth suggests that he (Phoenix, to be clear) could be a donor for Maya. That doesn't involve contact, Maya's kids would have a dad who loves them and their mom, it's a win-win.

Unfortunately, well after Phoenix and Maya were already emotionally invested in starting the family together, Maya learns that known donors require a lot more time and money than unknown donors, as well as mandatory therapy. Did I mention money? So, to put a finer point on it, since they felt very secure with their friendship and nothing has threatened it thus far in this situation, they didn't see why they couldn't give the "free" route a shot.

As you might have guessed, given the lack of attraction towards each other in that way... it did not go well.

It was the straw that broke the camel's back and started to strain their relationship. So much so, that when they were working together in court after trying for a few months, Edgeworth noticed they were irritable towards each other and requested a recess to chat with them...

[ID: Two comic panels. The first panel has Edgeworth, Phoenix, and Maya in the Defendant Lobby. Edgeworth is standing before Phoenix with his arms crossed. Phoenix is sitting on one end of the couch hunched over in distress with his hand over his forehead. Maya is sitting on the other end of the couch, facing away, with her hands together on her lap and a red face. The narration says “After a long vent about Phoenix and Maya’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Time...”. The second panel has Edgeworth with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He says “Why are you two not considering medical assistance?”]

[ID: Two more comic panels. The first panel has Phoenix in the same pose as before. He says, “We don’t have that kind of time or money. I know you offered to help with the expenses, but it’s still too much, and we can’t ask more from you...”. The second panel has Edgeworth adjusting his glasses with one arm still crossed. His grits his teeth as he says, “Are you aware they have............. they sell....”]

[ID: Two more panels. The first one has Edgeworth typing on his rose gold phone with the onomatopoeia “tap tap tap”, looking flustered. There is a speech bubble with several ellipses. In the next panel is Edgeworth showing his phone to Phoenix and Maya, with him saying “Here.” Very small text pointing to the phone says “At-home kits that allow kids to happen with no contact for about $100. :)”. Phoenix looks at the phone with his eyes wide and Maya leans in, also looking at the phone with wide eyes.]

[ID: The same illustration as the first image, with the narration “Seven years and three kids later...”. Phoenix says “Hey, thanks again for the recommendation, Miles!” Edgeworth’s speech bubble has “.....*grumble*........” written. Maya has a speech bubble with a pink heart.]

(And Edgeworth is still in disbelief that he did more research than they did..........but he got a son out of the whole ordeal so it’s okay. :) )

To sum it all up, while it was far from their first choice, they certainly did give Doing the Deed a shot for the sake of saving time and money, but they found it was too much for them so all three kids were conceived with those at-home kits.

Thanks for the question!

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vroomvroommuppett · 8 months

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Hi! Could we get a smutty and fluffy follow up to the Sev x Jay x Reader story as it ended with “let’s put a baby in you”. The fun night and then afterwards about loving being together and having a family. ❤️

yes, yes we can

here is the one anon is referring too

a/n: i apologize. this is the first smut i’ve written in a while

notes: you’re a graphic and interior designer that worked from home; you decided to hyphenate jay and kelly’s last names, and are all severide-halstead (throuples are known and legal), but co-workers will call them their respective last names still sometimes

this was longer than i intended but i hope this is what you were wanting! i don’t mind going more in-depth into any of the topics i covered in this, as well as the other thouples i have listed here

when you finally got home, you were pushed up against the door by kelly while jay locked said door. jay came up behind you and started kissing your neck and you let out a moan when he hit your sweet spot. kelly tapped your legs and you wrapped them around his waist. when you and kelly broke apart, jay was the first to speak,

“c’mon babes, let’s take this upstairs, so we can worship our milf properly.”

kelly maneuvered you so you were thrown over his shoulder and took you upstairs with jay. once on the bed, everyone started stripping. they gave you a few orgasms before alternating coming in you, and once when they were both in you at the same time. the whole night was moans, profanities, statements, and screams.

“look at you, all ready for us” “i cannot wait until these are filled with milk” “i/we can’t wait to make you a mommy” “i can’t wait to make you daddies” and so on.

next shift, they would both get teased.

intelligence

“well looks like halstead got some after defending his wife”

“oh shut up ruzek. i think its sweet”

“what can i say? i love my wife and husband”

“damn severide, you look like you got mauled by a lion”

kelly just looked at casey confused

“your back?”

kelly goes to the mirror and looks at his back. there were fingernail scratches all up and down it.

“this stays between us, matthew”

matt just laughed and kelly sent a text to your group chat.

a few months later you weren’t feeling well and realized you were late so you went to the store to get tests. all six of them were positive. when kelly and jay came home, you gave them a bag each with a test. when they opened it, they both looked at you then your stomach then back up at you. kelly was the first to speak

“you’re pregnant?”

you just nodded, with tears in your eyes. both came and hugged and kissed you. throughout the pregnancy they were at your beck and call. when you went to find the gender, you not only found it out, but you also found out you were having twins, both which were girls. once everyone found out, they were so excited and helped in any way they could.

when your daughters were born, after a very long and painful labor, it was hard to take them away from jay and kelly. they wanted to protect them from the world. they would thank you for giving them your daughters and you were just in awe at how quickly they became professionals.

you named them fallon james severide-halstead and blakely jade severide-halstead.

they loved being at home with their girls and loved helping when you would get clogged ducts and in general. when the doctor cleared you for sex, will and connor took the twins and they went at your pace.

a year later you got pregnant, again.

life with them was amazing, and once your third baby was born, jay retired from working, and helped with them while you worked from your at-home office, and when you were pregnant with your fourth, kelly moved to ofi for consistent hours, and a less dangerous job, and you couldn’t be more grateful.

your last pregnancy you got pregnant with twins, again, and once they were born, you all decided that 6 was enough.

#jay halstead #kelly severide #jay halstead smut #kelly severide smut #one chicago #one chicago one shots #jay halstead x kelly severide x reader

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user-needs-new-hyperfixation · 5 months

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Hello, can I ask what do you mean "in canon it's impossible for Sherlock to settle down with a woman"? Like, as a fan of Holmes and always read the books since middle school, I'm kinda confuse here, I don't mean anything negative. Sorry, do you think Poirot (from Agatha Christie) is also queer?

Maybe because I grew up with very religious mother and lived in anti-LGBTQ country, I'm kinda slow in picking up subtext. Like until now I'm still kinda confuse with my friend who have ships from any fandoms (but I still love to hear and read her headcanons or fics about those characters)....

I really agree with you, I've seen many Holmes' adaptations (cartoon, tv series, manga) but Yuumori is clearly the closest to Doyle's works. Do you think the mangaka also love to read Holmes' books?

Story time! (Welcome to "Hyper answers asks like an old lady going on an hour long barely-on-topic tangent at the slightest prompting.)

I totally get where you're coming from, I was raised in like...knockoff Southern Baptist churches. Growing up, homosexuality was presented to me as a sexual perversion incapable of involving real love. It's kind of silly, but it's true: a ship was a big part of changing that for me. I read Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle as a teenager, and Kurogane and Fai had something that was inescapably romantic and beautiful but never strictly sexual (tho the potential is certainly there). Between that and an online community of LGBTQ+ adults who were incredibly patient and kind towards me even when I was suuuuper ignorant, I started to open up towards queer relationships as...well, just relationships. Relationships that can encompass sex and also encompass love and friendship and communication and partnership and all those other things I'd been taught were exclusive to monogamous straight people. And then, even as terrified as I was, I was eventually able to face the fact that I'd always had crushes on girls just as often as crushes on guys. So yeah, there's a reason Kurofai is my ship of all ships, the actual One True Pairing for me. Because it cracked open a door just enough that I could slowly lever it open the rest of the way. There seem to be quite a lot of anecdotes like this: women enjoying BL/mlm ships is often seen as fetishy (which can certainly be part of it) but for some reason I can't fully articulate it also seems to sometimes be a means for girls and women to explore their own not-straightness.

ANYWAY. SHERLOCK HOLMES. Tbh I'm not gonna go too in-depth because I would bet good money that there are a bunch of scholarly articles on Holmes' queerness. People have probably done their doctorate theses on this! Much smarter and more well-read folks than I have already covered the topic. For me, it really boils down to: he never outright expresses sexual or romantic interest in anyone (we must resist the urge to assume his respect for Irene Adler is romantic just because he is a man and she is a woman). He's almost certainly on the asexual spectrum. But when he does exhibit symptoms one might associate with romantic and/or sexual interest (particularly romantic, imo), it's always towards men (usually Watson, of course). For example, notable flirt John Watson saying that Holmes blushes at his compliments the way a girl does is...suggestive.

The whole thing is complicated by Watson being (in my opinion at least) an unreliable and sometimes downright petty narrator. He keeps going on spiels about Holmes being cold and heartless, only to turn around and describe him greeting his friends warmly and being emotionally moved by music and baby-talking puppies and charming old ladies. It makes Watson sometimes come across as one of those allo people who are so unable to conceive of a life without romantic and/or sexual desire that they start dehumanizing those who don't experience it. Alternatively and maybe more charitably, he just has a big ol' crush on Holmes, is understandably alarmed by it given the time period, and gets bitchy and defensive when he feels it might not be reciprocated.

But ultimately...do I think Arthur Conan Doyle sat down at a desk in the late 19th century/early 20th century and was like "I am going to write some ace queer representation for the tumblr girlies (gn)"? Obviously not. 😅 I do think he might have set out to create a character who very deliberately did not need to have the otherwise almost obligatory straight romantic side-plot. Holmes is never in any way set up as having a life headed towards marriage and children, in spite of how typical that was for the time. The companionship he does express a need and desire for comes in the form of another man. He's "lost without [his] Boswell." He sneakily buys Watson's practice out from under him so he'll be free to move back in and go on more adventures with him. He threatens violence when Watson is hurt. Etc etc. I think it's very fair to interpret it all through a queer lens, the quibble would be more in whether that queerness ever manifests sexually.

I definitely think the Yuumori creators have not only read ACD but also other fiction based on the stories, possibly even including some very old pastiches like this one. I love how seemingly nerdy they are about it haha! The series is full of easter eggs and callouts to other Holmesian works.

As for Poirot, I know very little about the character beyond a few episodes of the show I watched as a young'un, but that is not the mustache of a straight man (I'm joking I'm joking I have absolutely no opinion on that one! 🤣)

Thanks for the ask, and for actually reading this ramble if you got this far! 😅

#acd holmes #acd canon #yuukuko no moriarty #kurofai #rambling #asks

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theladysherlock · 27 days

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talk shop tuesday! incredible coincidence - i wanted to ask you more about your dnd OCs, and you posted a new art piece with one of them! continuing the theme: could you tell more about your dnd OCs and how they came to be?

Ohhhh you have opened Pandora's Box my friend!! I could talk about this topic all day.

Basically there's two parts to this: my approach to DnD in general, and in-depth explanations of the characters. I'm going to put this under a Read More to save everyone's Dash.

Part One: Dungeons and Dragons

So the thing I love most about DnD (and other TTRPGs) is that it's a collaborative game. I'm not responsible for the entirety of the story, I bring my character to the table and everyone else brings their characters and between us, the DM, and the dice, we figure out where the story is going. I enjoy it so much more than trying to come up with everything on my own. And I love that people can surprise me!! @mothmansbigfatass and @ahawkmet (my irl friends and in most of the campaigns I play) can attest, apparently I'm a lot of fun to watch during revelations because I always have a big reaction.

So when making a dnd character, it's important for me to know 1. What the world we'll be playing in is like, and 2. What everyone else is doing. Again, it's a collaborative game, so I want to make sure that I'm playing nice with the DM's world. AND often the setting itself will give me an idea (see Ethan: the game is set at a community college. What's a college stereotype that would be fun to play?). Ideally, the character I make would have a really hard time being plopped into a different campaign and have it still make sense. Secondly, it's more fun for me to play a class that will fill out the party. For example, if we already have a cleric, I don't also need to play a religious character. Those story beats are covered by someone else, I don't want to be competing with another person for cool moments.

Once those two things are settled, character creation is determined by what seems fun to play and what would be interesting aesthetically. I like to keep the backstory light to see what happens as we start playing, and then I can fill it in bit by bit later. Sometimes that bites me in the ass, though (see Ethan: I didn't give him birth parents and then they were incredibly important to the plot). I tend to have a general idea about who they are and what they're like, and then I always get surprised by what they actually end up acting like once we start playing. It's fun for me to figure them out along the way!

The last thing I wanna say about DnD (for now) is that I love everyone else's characters just as much. I just draw mine more because, well, they're mine. I feel weird putting their guys in situations and guessing how they'd react because they aren't my little guys. I much prefer working collaboratively with the other players (like an RP thread) to just writing a story on my own.

Part Two: Ethan

Where to even start with my boy. A bunch of my work friends got together to start a DnD game, and I hadn't played with most of them before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I also did not think the game would last very long, since most campaigns tend to fizzle out after a few sessions. So I made kind of a joke character with extremely little backstory: He's a half-orc, since I hadn't played that race before, he's a bard who is the captain of the local community college's Improv Team, he's "the kind of guy to play wonderwall at a party but you're not mad about it", and I said he's adopted by two men, neither of whom were his biological parents, and he wasn't particularly interested in tracking down his bio parents. This last point is for two reasons: one, I was trying to avoid just duplicating a Dimension 20's Gorgug, a half-orc who was adopted by gnomes and spent the whole first season trying to find his dad; and two, I was pushing an "Adopted parents are not less than biological parents" agenda.

My DM took this personally (affectionate). First session, I was given a clue about his birth parents' identities. From then on, Ethan was dragged kicking and screaming into being the unofficial main character of the campaign. His mom was one of our favorite NPCs, a kickass pirate with a truly tragic backstory who would always jump to help us out of a scrape. His biological dad was the human embodiment of Pride who had took on the form of Fantasy Harrison Ford and was an extremely famous actor in-world. Our BBEG was his uncle, the embodiment of Greed. Every plot point became very personal and it was a lot of fun. I also loved putting him through the wringer, so between me and the DM the poor guy couldn't catch a break.

Part of the dice telling the story, I rolled so bad all the time when I played Ethan. It didn't matter which dice I used, I just rolled really bad, which was not something that normally happened with me. So that was fun to incorporate into his character as we played-- he was insecure about his own abilities compared to the extremely powerful characters he was surrounded by (we had a 20 ft Earth Titan who was an extremely powerful Druid, Emeshka you will always be famous). So he became a more three-dimensional and actualized character the more we played.

He's extremely easy to put in situations and his character design is pretty solid, so I end up drawing him the most. My perfect little guy.

(Anything about him I've tagged either "Ethan" or "Big Yarr Energy" if you want to find more)

Part Three: Mina

After the campaign with Ethan wrapped up, we started a new one in a Cthulhu-inspired setting. My goal with making Mina was to do as close to a 180 as I could from Ethan. While Ethan was a friendly and charming but bad at most things, Mina is a competent and intelligent Druid who's blunt and overworked and doesn't quite know how to meaningfully engage with her party members (but she tries, bless her). Druid was one of the classes I hadn't played yet and I've been making my way through the list of available classes. The One-With-Nature stuff isn't super interesting to me as a player, but I found a homebrew subclass that was based more in Big Cities and as an Architecture Nerd that was much more my speed. Also, I hadn't played an Aasimar before, so that seemed like fun. From all that, I pulled together her whole deal: She was from a bloodline of guardian angels who were sent to protect different villages and towns, and she's gone from her mother's small town to being the guardian of a city of several million people and it's overwhelming. She's lonely and she's jaded and she's got severe Gifted Kid Syndrome and she's got her head on a swivel to make sure her party members are okay even if they don't like her very much and I love her.

I didn't give her a lot of tragic backstory because there are a lot of us playing and I wanted to have a character who could push the plot forward with her actions, instead of having a "now let's stop and talk about my life!!" moment every session that seemed to happen with Ethan. Give everyone else some time to have cool moments, you know? And by GOD are there some cool moments. My fellow players are so good at making compelling characters. Ask @mothmansbigfatass about Nelly if you get a chance.

We're still playing this campaign, although we're nearing the end of it. There's still space for some big moments for Mina in the game, though I'm hoping our DM lets me save hers for last. She's the kind of character to make sure everyone else is okay before taking care of herself, so it feels appropriate. I'm excited to see where Mina ends up. She's definitely a character I'll go back and write/draw a lot afterwards, though. Part of being in a group this size means there's a lot of stuff that just won't get covered. I'll have a lot of material to play with for my own work once we get to the next campaign.

(Anything about Mina I've tagged either "Mina" or "Cthulhu Crimes" if you want to find more)

Part Four: Jess

Jess is a character that isn't from DnD but is a TTRPG character of mine, and I like her so I'm going to talk about her too. Jess is a cautionary tale in Knowing Your Audience.

Jess is from a different group of players than Ethan and Mina. Our DM for that game is notorious for wanting to give us Big, Shonen-Style fight scenes and an insane level of power creep. Character interactions are fine, but his true passion is making us look like Goku.

Jess was... not built to look like Goku. In this world you could identify different types of magic users by their focus, and I wanted her whole schtick to be about deception. She looked like a wizard when she was actually a monk, she looked like a dumb blonde girl when she was extremely smart and good at stealing things, she's a dancer but her primary fighting style was based on capoeira, etc. Also part of why Jess sticks with me as a favorite character is the way I had her powers work was so fun and visually interesting that I haven't been able to shake it. Basically her superpower was that she could snatch bits of other people's powers and use them herself, and you could tell which ones she had because they would fill out spectral stained glass wings with specific colors.

Jess was (and still is, frankly) too complicated for the game our DM wanted to run. Immediately any hope of her being a chronic liar was dashed as her powers did not manifest in a way that could possibly pass off as being a wizard. So instead of being sneaky, Jess became very angry. She was quick to point out injustices in the world we were in. She beat up creeps, she yelled at bigots, she stole powers from macho superheroes trying to one-up her. She had to get a lot less complicated for the story we were in, but the complicated version of her still lives in my head and I like to see what she's up to from time to time.

(I don't think I have anything tagged for Jess, unfortunately)

TL; DR:

TTRPG characters are fun because they let me do my favorite thing creatively, which is bounce ideas off of other people. I typically design them based on the setting, party needs, character tropes that I think are interesting, and just general vibes. Most importantly, though, I don't have a fleshed out character without the input of the other players.

#talk shop Tuesday #good LORD that's a lot of words #I'm incapable of shutting up it seems. ah well #I can tell more stories about them though. I should bring back the story times #I think the last one I posted was over a year ago #ANYWAY thank you for the ask!

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mermaidsirennikita · 3 months

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since we're on the topic former or current mistresses/lovers also get treated weirdly by those readers

Lol dude.

I personally really dislike "Safety Warnings" or whatever, in reviews... Because like, they don't serve the same (important) purposes as TWs/CWs. They often cover things like... oh no, the hero looked at another woman. And exes are always categorized as "OW" (other woman).

Like??? No??????? That lady was just minding her damn business, lol. And the hero is not inherently a bad person for having been with or loved other people before his partner (and heroines aren't either).

I just find the idea that nobody ever mattered ever before the hero/heroine like... it works in the hands of a skillful author. But a lot of skillful author use this fantasy as a way to make up for poor relationship development betweent he leads. "He's never felt this way about anyone else before, all the other women were nothing, just go with it". The harder (better) thing to write and what should be written whether or not the hero has ever loved before... is the believability of the heroine being the only one who matters NOW. The FUTURE.

I mean, Lorraine Heath is an author who showed that it could be done (I mean, Lorraine also just writes without fear 9 times out of 10). In When the Duke Was Wicked (I know lol but it's an amazing book) Lovingdon has a dead wife that he legit loves. And I'll be real--there are many books I adore that have the "my wife is dead but don't worry she sucked" device, and while that doesn't stop me from loving those books... I found Lovingdon being legitimate devastated by the loss of his wife (and daughter) so much more authentic than "well I actually didn't really vibe with her".

I'm honestly more tolerant of "my dead husband sucked", in historicals at least, because it feels more likely. When it's constantly this "MY DEAD WIFE WAS HORRIBLE AND DIDN'T GET ME"... A good author can make me look past it, but I do find it on the misogynistic side. I guess my default is to go "it makes sense that the guy sucked". And it's not that every woman doesn't suck, lol. But I also think it's the sense of the author placating ME as a woman reader, going "don't worry, the other girl didn't even matter". I don't... care if she mattered. In fact, I'd kinda rather she did--it gives the hero added depth.

But I also think that some what all of these reading behaviors swirl around is the idea of projection as a reader versus reading without projection. I don't think there's a wrong way to read, but I do think that when writers are writing with the intent that the reader will project onto a character (usually a woman reader projecting onto a heroine) they tend to sacrifice quality.

I don't put myself in the heroine's perspective. I can tell you right now--even when it's first person, I don't think of myself in any character's place. It's like watching a movie, but I can read their minds (albeit, without any actors in mind because I also don't do that lol). I do not project. And I personally find that this removal makes it easier for me to enjoy stories with moral quandaries and characters acting the way I would not. Morality doesn't really figure as much into your perspective when you're not picturing what YOU would do or how YOU would react.

So yeah. Tbh, I'm not an overly jealous person re: romantic relationships, and I don't think it's ever bothered me, the idea of my partner's exes, etc. But I know that not everyone feels that way, and I do think that if you feel that way and you're a projection reader, you feel reassured by stories where he's NEVER FELT THAT WAY BEFORE and somehow he's so good at everything but he REALLY DIDN'T EVEN GET AROUND THAT MUCH!!! The other women meant NOTHING!!!!!

I do think that there's a habit that has been encouraged by the industry, by RPfic , etc, of just imagining yourself as the character and thinking about what YOU would want, versus what the characters want. And like, you do you, but where I get annoyed is when the industry and writers feel pressured to respond to these desires and do so, churning out low quality work that doesn't offer anything interesting or challenging.

#romance novel blogging #this is also how i feel about the NO CHEATING readers #i mean first off a lot of what they say is cheating is not in fact cheating lmao #second... yeah i know YOU can't get past cheating #but the book is not about YOU.#it is about THE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

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girderednerve · 1 month

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sometimes i remember the afternoon i spent when it was quiet in the library & i was bored on the circulation desk so i read about the law surrounding capital punishment in the united states

i think we all agree that this is a euphemistic term, & what we're really discussing is state-sponsored murder, but what i did not know before that afternoon is that between 2002, when the supreme court found in atkins v. virginia that it's unconstitutional to execute people who are too mentally disabled to understand what is happening, and 2014 when the supreme court intervened, the state of florida had people it wished to execute take IQ tests and applied a bright-line cutoff, such that anyone who scored over a 70 was competent for execution. the relevant case is hall v. florida; it was decided 5-4 (liberals plus kennedy, if you wondered). i had to get a coworker to cover the desk so i could go stand in the back and take deep breaths about it.

i haven't come across legal writing which acknowledges the basic fact here, which is that a bright-line test is no more egregious than the supreme court's remedy, which was to require states to take a more holistic view of 'competence' if IQ results fell within a low, still narrow range. there's probably good disability scholarship about this whole legal situation but i haven't found it. instead, there's legal writing which strategizes around these limits from a pragmatic perspective (understandable) and argues, essentially, that this narrow range of conditions for determining competence, including IQ scores, ought to be broader. but where are we asking about the cruelty of 'competence' as a legal concept? how can anyone be competent to die, and how can any serious person take the decisions in atkins & hall as moral legal instruments? (obviously i do not object to saving the lives of daryl atkins & freddie hall.)

as far as i understand, which is not far because i keep getting upset, the court is interested in mens rea, which is meant to be a core part of criminal law. mens rea was translated to me as 'malice aforethought' (more literally it means 'guilty mind'); in a legal context it's the idea that to be guilty of a crime, one must have intended to commit one. mens rea reform is a hot topic among progressive defense lawyers, because it's transparently clear to anyone who is familiar with the carceral system that most people who are found guilty of crimes did not intend to do anything socially destructive and were instead convicted of "being poor" & related offenses. these arguments require the court to substantially change its approach to legal interpretation & enforcement, & would demand that judges genuinely acknowledge the full humanity of marginalized defendants, so they have gained very little ground. asking the court to acknowledge narrow, quantitative definitions of disability is not in any way destabilizing to our violent carceral system, which is as concise & powerful an argument against the IQ test as i can imagine, although there are many other good ones.

i don't have the clarity of thought or depth of understanding to write about this usefully, but what the fuck! america autem delenda est

#us legal system & every awful thing that implies #capital punishment #ableism #cleaning out my drafts sorry

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razieltwelve · 1 year

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You Can't Please Everybody

I think one of the biggest mistakes that a writer can make is trying to please everybody. This is especially true for genres like humour, fantasy, or science fiction where people can have very different ideas about what is good as well as very different ideas about what is or is not part of the genre. The important thing is to realise who you're writing for and to write accordingly.

Take hard science fiction. Not everybody enjoys the attention to detail and realism present in most hard science fiction. There are readers who enjoy science fiction for the futuristic vistas it presents and its application of seemingly miraculous technology. To those readers, the minutiae of how a faster-than-light drive could work are unnecessary. It's enough for them that such a thing exists. Likewise, these readers probably don't need an in-depth description about how laser weapons would work over large distances in space or how a deflector shield might operate. What they're interested in is getting to see all of those technologies in action.

This is not a bad thing.

People can read whatever they want and enjoy whatever stories they want. As a writer, however, you need to be careful about how you interpret criticism from people who dislike a story because it's not what they're looking for, as opposed to it being poorly written. You could write a story that every single hard science fiction fan loves... but which people outside of that group don't particularly like.

And that's okay.

That doesn't mean your story is bad. It simply means that it has a targeted audience. You could, of course, try to broaden the story's appeal by changing it, but you need to be very careful. Stories are usually written the way they are for a reason, so making drastic changes to them can go very badly. A hard science fiction story will have its plot and characters constrained by the scientific details involved. Relaxing those details or not covering them fully runs the risk of making the story incoherent or nonsensical. In trying to make the story more appealing to a broader audience, you run the risk of ruining it entirely.

A similar approach can be applied to humour.

Imagine you have a story that is built around dark humour. Now, dark humour is not everyone's cup of tea. There are going to be people who read a story like that and simply don't find it funny. You could change the humour to try to appeal to a broader audience, but again, you run a very real risk of gutting the story to do so. A story built around ridiculous humour or outlandish premises runs a similar risk.

This phenomena is also noticeable in fantasy.

I know people who have vowed never to read A Song of Ice and Fire because they don't like how dark the books can get and how it has a tendency to kill off beloved characters. They want to read more traditional heroic and optimistic fantasy. Conversely, I know people who prefer A Song of Ice and Fire precisely because of those things. Can you imagine if George R.R. Martin changed the story to try to appeal to everyone? Good grief. It would be a disaster.

As a writer, hearing that someone doesn't like your story never feels great. But you need to think about why they didn't like it. Was it poorly written? Were there serious problems in the way the characters and plot were constructed? Or was it simply not the kind of story the reader was looking for? Don't tie yourself up into knots if the reader was just looking for a different kind of story.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here. I’ve also just released a new story, Cosmic Delivery Boy!

Also, Cosmic Delivery Boy is now available on Audible! You can get it here.

#writing #writing tips #writing advice #writing technique #improving your writing

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shihalyfie · 2 years

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Hi! If you have to convince someone that 02 and Frontier aren't as bad as people think with one episode, which episode would you choose? (Or just to convince someone to watch it in general)

Hm, if I wanted to try to convince someone to watch 02 or Frontier in general, my answers are fairly easy. For 02, the answer is 02 episode 23 (the one that reveals Ken's backstory). I understand this is a spoiler, but Ken joining the team is a complete sled by this point, and if anything I find it's even more fun to watch 02 knowing what's going to happen than it necessarily is to fixate on preserving the "shock value" of the spoiler. More pertinently, I think episode 23 clearly showcases 02's main premise of being about children being under pressure from societal expectations, and it's not incorrect to say that 02 is a whole is "about" the events described in this episode (02 is a character-driven narrative and is thus about all six in the team, but the biggest points of the overall plot are about what happened to Ken and what he can do to recover). 02 stands out -- and especially from its predecessor Adventure -- in terms of how deeply it goes into this specific brand of social commentary and the relevant mental health problems, so I think it's an effective showcase of what to expect from this series.

For Frontier, the answer is, quite simply, the first episode. I personally think it's one of the most compelling and enticing first episodes we've ever had. The intrigue? The fascination? The fact they tell you right away we're starting with a group of questionably heroic misfits and daring you to have faith they'll be true heroes later? The coolness of Agnimon's first evolution? Beautiful. Love it.

The other part of the question is trickier. I think in the end "bad" and "good" are subjective things, and moreover I do agree there are many things in 02 and Frontier (as there are in any other piece of media, perfect media doesn't exist after all) that will quite understandably rub people the wrong way. And if someone has already decided 02 or Frontier doesn't work for them, I doubt a single episode will be able to overturn their stance. However, I do at least make a point that I dislike the accusations they get of "lacking depth" or "having flat characters", and I think these can be decisively disproven even to people whom I don't expect to start suddenly liking the series. I don't think I can (and I don't want to) get people to like it if they dislike it already, but I can at least advocate that their efforts to cover important topics or make interesting characters should at least be acknowledged or treated with respect.

So if I'm to pick episodes that I think showcase the characters or themes well, for 02 I think it would be episode 26 (the first Jogress, from Daisuke reaching out to Ken and talking him out of indirect suicide). Because 02's biggest strength is in its group dynamic, I do wish I could pick an episode with the entire group, but unfortunately a lot of the best group moments (the Christmas party, etc.) are ones that come out of payoffs from earlier episodes, and it's a big reason 02 is such a difficult series to follow as a casual viewer -- so for now I'd like to focus on an episode regarding Daisuke, who is generally the character most consistently accused of being flat or having no depth. But Daisuke's strengths (and in fact all of the 02 group's strengths) come in what he can do for others, including people like Ken. In particular, I think Kiuchi Reiko's performance in this episode is one of her best; there are so many layers in how she executes Daisuke as a character who's not just flippantly saying Ken should take better care of himself because that's the right thing to do, but because he's personally gotten emotionally invested in Ken's situation and genuinely wants to help him even when others are having doubts about it. I think it's very hard to not appreciate him after that.

For Frontier, I'd actually pick episode 8, or the episode with the Digimon kindergarten. The reason is that I think this is the episode that most clearly states what's behind the kids' social backgrounds and how that influences their behavior in the series -- in fact, Izumi is rather self-aware about her issue, and she very clearly draws the parallel between herself and Tsunomon for feeling outcasted for unfair reasons yet being reluctant to do anything to change their respective situations out of fear of being hurt. That kind of mixed-feeling sentiment characterizes all of the Frontier kids to some degree.

In general, I think it's disingenuous to claim that the 02 and Frontier kids didn't have any depth or nuance just because their ways of executing the little things behind all of their characters were in a less in-your-face manner than Adventure or Tamers (in the case of Adventure, Adventure was so heavily biased towards making everything revolve around their characters that it basically sacrificed any particularly complex plot progression, and I don't honestly think either Frontier or 02 is that less deep in characterization compared to Tamers, it's just that Tamers is very blunt about it). 02 and Frontier are still Seki-produced series, and like the rest of her body of work they still go deep into the characters' personal backgrounds, thought processes, behavior in different circumstances, likes and dislikes and strengths and fears, and all, and to degrees far more than many other TV shows of their caliber -- so I think any episode that sufficiently showcases those aspects should demonstrate that depth more than well enough. It's just that, because a lot of people find it fashionable to dunk on those series, I feel a lot of people don't want to see it that way even if the evidence is in front of their faces, because it's easier to just dismiss them since that's fandom tradition...so in order for any of this to work, it has to be someone who's actually genuinely willing to reconsider their stance.

#shiha's ask box #mysticcatto2 #digimon adventure 02 #digimon frontier #digimon multi series talk

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liliavalley · 7 months

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whats ur hot take currently?

the beginning of s4 e5 tried to set up something with Pigsy and MK and their family dynamic by doing that little "Pigsy's my dad!" "Uh, kid? I'm not exactly your-uhh.." funny haha line about meeting their (jttw/biological) ancestors and Mei thinking MK and SWK are bio related therefore he would see SWK in the scroll. Logically, I'm 99% sure I know what the joke was trying to do. MK says Pigsy's his dad because he was getting annoyed with Mei for calling SWK his dad, and because the context of the scene is jttw/bio ancestors, Pigsy most likely responds the way he does because clearly, he and MK are not bio related and would not have the same ancestor. I don't know why Pigsy would have misinterpreted MK as calling them bio related, but the show jumps between MK acting a little dumb and actually being a little dumb, so other characters can get in their comical "MK.... what a dummy" groan. But here's the thing. To me on first, second, and third watch, it just came off as an "adopted = not your real dad" joke. (Which is really unfortunate, because s4 e4 ended with Pigsy regaining his conscience through a flash flood of memories, all including MK.) And if I'm meant to take it that way, coupled with something Pigsy says at the end of the season, (which I will Get To.) then am I expected to believe that Pigsy -- who the lmk crew in s3 made a point of showing that he gave MK his jacket off-screen because his sweater got ruined -- would have cold feet about calling MK his son? "that's my boy!!" Pigsy? s2 finale "What could have been so important that you leave MK alone to face that-that thing? You're supposed to be his mentor!" Pigsy? pilot episode MK-death-fakeout, "I could have- I SHOULD have protected MK!" Pigsy?

I'll die for them but I think the show was trying to set up some depth for their dynamic through the topic of family, and that is something that they did not have the groundwork for, simply because they decided to wait until season 4 to actually confirm that Pigsy took MK in and raised him as his own. Which, in fairness, may have very well been why they did this set up in the first place! To bring in that depth that they didn't cover before. But, because they couldn't commit early, they didn't have any time left to set anything up properly.

And the thing is, they didn't even really do anything with it either. The joke was just a joke for the audience. MK didn't react to it negatively, he didn't react to it at all. You'd think it would cause a bit of tension. Maybe even result in an tearful argument between the two, maybe MK would wonder aloud if Pigsy ever thought of him as his son. But Pigsy's hesitance is merely foreshadowing to MK finding out he was born from the stone and therefore doesn't have a "real family" (ancestral lineage). And he has a breakdown later, but it's just a secondary issue to his main problem, that being born from the stone means it's one more thing that makes him like SWK, means it's one more thing that could mean he'll make all of SWK's past mistakes/cause even more damage than he did. Despite MK yelling out "I don't have a family", it wasn't really about him and Pigsy. It clearly cuts Pigsy deep, but it's not brought up again until the brief reunion hug they have after retreating from Azure. Which... oh boy.

Pigsy calls MK his son, and emphasizes it heavily. There are two ways to interpret this. Number one is positive, that we were always supposed to have seen Pigsy and MK as father and son, and that it's just a special reassurance because he knows MK was going through it earlier? To make sure he knows he's not alone despite his worries. That is logical. That is safe.

Number two, is... Well, if we're to go off of the beginning of s4 e5, take Pigsy's hesitance to heart, are we supposed to believe it's possibly Pigsy's first time calling MK his son? Because the latter seems to be what quite a few people took from that scene, and if that's the case then it just feels so completely inconsistent with the rest of the show (See again: paragraph 2 examples)

hope all that wasn't completely incoherent but yeah current hot take is that I think lmk writers fumbled the ball trying to give my favourite family dynamic some depth though something that may or may not have been a Not Your Real Dad moment and then never properly talking about it because episodes are only 10 minutes long and they desperately needed to include a macaque version of that tutorial game episode. Hopefully s5 let's the character backstories shine but considering it's an action show, it's so fast paced, and the things that are yet to come, I doubt much more will be done with them so soon.

my real hot take is that they shouldn't have made him embarrassed about his stomach being out. s4 e4 was literally his hottest look i can't believe they took that from me.

#asks #sobs and screams and cries #they could have just left them alone i think about this all the fucking time #they should have at least had a Moment to talk about it one on one. just a heart to heart. it literally could have been the opening.#mk sits out on the porch #holding the broken scroll piece in his hand. pigsy comes out to sit beside him. asks if he's doing okay.#and then mk just says what's on his mind about finding out about his origin. and get a proper reassurance from pigsy that nothing's gonna #make him see him differently. that he'll always have his pigsy (we could have had that s2e1 line but from pigsy and /srs)#sorry macaque got caught in the crossfire i promise i love him too

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