#(redacted is another fictional man)

[chandralia]

no I WILL read fics of bkdk cheating to be with each other because these are the characters that have proven time and time again that they’ll do fucked up shit for one another so I DO NOT CARE. it’s fiction. you’re mad I’m smashing the wrong barbies together or something?

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: july 2024

full disclosure: I started out July in a bit of a mental lurch, really feeling stuck in a rut. there are a lot of reasons for that, absolutely none of which need to be shared with the general populace of tumblr dot com, but suffice to say that I was feeling listless and reading was not a high priority. I was pretty content to accept that this was going to be another month where I didn't finish a lot of books. I was too busy for most of June, and now too unfocused and bummed out in July.

and then that ended up not being the case. I think I can chalk that up to three things:

very early in the month I realized that none of the reading I had been planning on getting to was grabbing my interest at all, so I did something drastically different: picked up a YA memoir that I bought at pride on the recommendation of a bookseller. not my usual kind of reading at all, but YA is very readable and memoirs grab me fast because I'm nosy, so I figured it might be great for getting out of a rut. and boy, was I right!

Akwaeke Emezi also has a new novel out, and if you don't know then please note now that I'm a person second and an Akwaeke Emezi fan first. their newest novel was a sinister joyride, non-stop twists and turns that I couldn't put down until I saw the characters through to their bitter ends.

and, of course, over in the Dungeon Meshi manga I got to Mithrun. I've only had Mithrun for a couple of chapters, but if anything happened to him I'd kill everyone in this dungeon and then myself. even if I hadn't been able to read anything else, that would have kept me running back to the library for more Dungeon Meshi.

all of which added up to a fairly voracious appetite for books being reignited in my brain, and my second most book-heavy month of the year so far (still haven't beat May, but there's time). sick!

so - what have I been reading?

Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 7-10 (Ryoko Kui, trans. Taylor Engel, 2019-2022) - mannnnn I know I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said elsewhere, but Dungeon Meshi is so. fucking good. the way that Kui starts to raise the stakes of the story and grow the world beyond the core band of adventurers is so conscientious and well-done, timed perfectly so it never feels like having an undercooked heap of fantasy exposition thrown at you all at once. instead everything proceeds at a perfect simmer, leaving me feeling like the frog in that pot of boiling water who didn't notice how dire things had gotten until it was very suddenly too late and I was screaming bloody murder at a book. things have gotten so dire that I'm yearning for the days when fighting a red dragon was our biggest problem - and yet, through it all, every character remains rendered with humanity and compassion, no matter how scary, dangerous, or outright alien they first appear. I'm not naming any spoilers, but I need [REDACTED] to fix shit ASAP in Vol. 11 and [SUPER REDACTED] is on my shitlist fucking forever. also Mithrun sweetie you're perfect, do as many crimes as you want.

Heart and Hand (Rebel Carter, 2019) - my romance novel of the month, as picked by my lovely patreonites! this self-published historical romance promised some messy f/m/m, following a biracial (half Black, half white) young lady, Julie Baptiste, as she responds to a marriage ad that takes her out west to the fictional town of Gold Sky, Montana. Julie's sort of a standard historical heroine - she doesn't care for the silliness of high society and vastly prefers the company of books, looking forward to becoming Gold Sky's schoolteacher - but her marriage has a twist: rather than marrying one man, she's agreed to marry two, a pair of friends who have been inseparable since they served together in the Civil War. this book is charming, for sure, but I can't help be more intrigued by what isn't there than what is, namely: are these men having sex with each other or not? Rebel? hey, Rebel? why is there no DP in this two husbands mail order bride book? that was, like, he bare minimum that I expected. for the love of god, why did those men never put both of their dicks inside Julie at the same time? why did we spend so much time on emotional conflict that could be easily resolved if anyone just talked to each other when Julie's two beautiful husbands could have been having sex in front of her? HELLO?

also, listen, this is such a nitpick, but I am FROM Montana and it feels personal: I know that the general poverty of frontier life isn't sexy, but god these people are WAY too well off. at one point Julie enjoys some fucking BANANAS, something that I goddamn assure you were not easy to come by in late 19th century Montana. a banana. as fucking if.

All Boys Aren't Blue (George M. Johnson, 2020) - as is proudly advertised on the back cover of my copy, in recent years All Boys Aren't Blue has been the second most-challenged book in America behind Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer. reading through All Boys Aren't Blue it was initially hard to see what exactly was so objectionable, until I realized that a queer Black person living their life with compassion and joy is the scariest thing some of these motherfuckers can possibly imagine. Johnson writes about their life growing up in the nexus of racism, homophobia, and masculinity with wisdom and endless compassion, directly addressing young people who may find themselves in similar positions to offer them assurance that they, too, can be okay. more than anything, All Boys Aren't Blue is a plea for young people to live their lives without fear and shame. it's a beautiful blessing of a book that I hope brings comfort to every innumerable kids who need it.

Little Rot (Akwaeke Emezi, 2024) - how do I even begin to describe Little Rot? definitely not for those who feel squeamish about sex crimes, I guess that's an important place to start. this novel starts with the breakup of a long-term Nigerian couple, Kalu and Aima, and follows both of them into a weekend that starts with drugs and sex parties and spirals increasingly out of control from there, drawing more and more characters into a complicated snarl of money and power. Little Rot has the seedy, lurid draw of an episode of SVU if SVU ever grew up and realized that cops don't do shit, reveling in the nastiest that Emezi's imagined city of New Lagos has to offer. cannot say this book is for everyone - few of Emezi's novels are - but god, it's a thrilling study in corruption.

The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader (editor Joan Nestle, 1992) - this is a massive and fascinating historical document, assembled by Nestle as part of her work with the Lesbian Herstory Archives. within this collection are letters, interviews, academic essays, poems, and transcribed oral histories from all manner of self-identified butch and femme lesbians. while some of the contributors are recognizable names in the history of American queer activism (including Pat Califa, who's a bisexual trans man now lmao), others are women who were just trying to live their lives with as much authenticity, comfort, and dignity as was possible in their time. (although, notably, the vast majority of these women are white, and all but a very few are Americans. racial and cultural diversity is not one of the collection's strong suits.)

the personal narratives span all over the twentieth century, and I was really delighted to see the very frank discussions of what would be written off as "bad representation" by a lot of queer resources today: butches overdosing on toxic masculinity and getting in messy bar brawls, femmes committing outlandish acts of adultery, lesbian sexual awakenings taking place between fairly young children, and one extremely memorable instance of a butch getting unexpectedly pregnant and decided to do a little sex work on the side since she couldn't get more pregnant than she already was. I was particularly fascinated by the many, many accounts of "second wave" self-identified lesbian feminists who tried to do away with butch/femme identities and "politically incorrect" expression of lesbian sexuality altogether (that's everything but mutual cunnilingus, btw) in pretty eerie echoes of contemporary radfem arguments. at close to 500 pages it's definitely better suited to skimming and stopping to read whatever catches your attention rather than trying to read cover to cover, but I think this is a really invaluable piece of history.

American Mermaid (Julia Langbien, 2023) - this was a novel, for sure. American Mermaid is a novel about a broke, anxious high school teacher named Penelope whose novel, also called American Mermaid, is a runaway success that gets optioned for film. Penelope quits her teaching job and moves across the country to Hollywood to work on the script with two dude bros who don't really Get what American Mermaid is about, and set to work turning Penelope's weird, unsexy female empowerment novel into an MCU-style action romp with a hot young lead. the novel's strongest when it's deep in the spirals of Penelope's frantic mind, probing the conflict between her fairly desperate need for cash (she wants to be financially independent of her conservative father, she has good reason to suspect breast cancer is in her future, she wants to start a family someday) and the artistic affront she feels at watching her story be disrespected and dismantled. where it's weaker is in the extensive chapters of the story-within-a-story; while useful for context, I straight up didn't need to read that much of Penelope's novel. and the plot overall kind of felt like it fell off the rails near the end once Langbien finishes making her point about how Hollywood sucks. it's not bad, but it's also just... fine. it's fine!

How to Taste: A Guide Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life (Mandy Naglich, 2023) - how do I put this so nicely? this book is for people who are kind of dork ass losers about food, a group that I do very much count myself as a part of. I first became acquainted with Naglich's work when she appeared on a podcast called the Sporkful, which claims that it is "not for foodies, it's for eaters." I'm a fairly devout listener, and after listening to Naglich describe her efforts to become a master cicerone (one of the world's most elite beer tasters, a distinction that is taken Very Fucking Seriously) I thought sure, whatever, that's a book I can get behind. Naglich is maybe a big more entertaining as a podcast guest than a nonfiction author. in places the book can be dry or roughly constructed in a way that suggests another pass by an editor or maybe a co-writer would have helped. and straight up, there are just weird fucking typos in this book that are like. crazy to me, I cannot believe they got through. the cheap-ass cover art also suggests this was not exactly a high budget production.

but having been very mean about it, there are a lot of extremely interesting tidbits about the world of professional tasting here! it sounds awful and you couldn't pay me to do it, but here's the cool thing: Naglich is extremely aware that what she does is insane and she knows that the average reader doesn't want to learn how to identify where a coffee bean was grown just by sniffing the bean from across a room. what she offers instead are really approachable ways to be more conscientious about how you interact with and appreciate food! and she also shares some really cool info about tasting snobbery that IS bullshit, to help you sort out the stuff that actually matters and emphasize that fun and personal taste ultimately trump any "rules." it's a very dorky book but I, personally, did have a good time.

Sex Criminals Vol 3: Three the Hard Way (Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, 2016) - every time I read another volume of Sex Criminals I find myself thinking "man, hang on, do I ever actually like Sex Criminals? am I enjoying this?" but then I end up placing a hold on the next one. I don't know, it's charming! it's like so very VERY 2010s in its dialogue, by which I mean it's like. you know. it's giving Joss Whedon before we all found out how bad he sucked and collectively booed him. but man, I love a story that's down to get weird, and Sex Criminals is sooooo about being weird. and yet also very normal where sex is concerned! considering this is a series all about people having freaky world-altering powers that activate when they cum, sex is treated as an incredibly ordinary thing, warts and all. I like that! I like seeing that! idk, I don't need every comic to be perfect, as evidenced by the fact that I'm actively enjoying Azrael: Angel of the Bat. sometimes the vibes are just good.

[bazpire]

Unpopular opinions about redacted Audio (if I get cancelled, remember me as the sexy, hot, smart little nuisance I used to be)

I do not hate any of the characters that are normally hated, because I just don't care about them.

Kody? Whatever, he was a prop, barely a character.

Adam? Incel vibes, grosses me out.

Alexis? I wish she had more screen time and more development because there is so much potential. She clearly is more than just shitty bitchy vampire princess.

Cutie? To be completely honest, Geordi is kind of unnerving on his lack of action and communication, no wonder they felt like they had to read his mind (not an excuse, still awful behaviour, but fucking hell man)

That doesn't mean that I love them or that I love every character. Of course, there are characters that I dislike! Like Porter and... no, I think that's it, I just heavily dislike Porter for no other reason than because he was mean to Vincent. Vincent isn't even my favourite. Sam also gave me the ick. For no reason, he just did, I go "ew" every time I hear him (lol, sorry, I really don't have a reason. I just randomly got the ick)

Also the whole fandom has a moral problem. I mean that there are people here that ride a moral high horse for enjoying/not enjoying something that's fictional.

You don't like the caller because he's a yandere, but because he's a good character? Perfect! But don't be out here bragging about it feeling better than people that do like him because he's a yandere.

Also people hating on others for simping for characters that they deem bad. Like Blake.

Please, one real problem I ask of you.

I love y'all, but some of y'all have not had an actual problem like ever and it shows. Please, be so for real.

Anyway, that was it! At the end of the day this is all silly goofy and none of the characters are real and it does not affect reality (and if it does, it isn't fault of the creator or other fans, some people can't separate fiction from reality and that is responsibility of those specific people to handle themselves in the Internet. It is not the responsibility of fans that can and do.)

Kisses and be safe, remember that I'm just another person on the Internet and my opinions, as much as you agree or disagree with them, do not change your life in any meaningful way!

[vampirefrumspace]

RUNDOWN ON SOME OF MY FAV CHAR’S/OCS FROM THE ASMR COMMUNITY AND WHY I LOVE THEM BECAUSE YAYYYYY!!! (I have brainrot for them all atm.)

And stuff i associate with them :))

No specific order btw just in the order i have pictures on them on my phone!

1. charlie frommmm…. (yuurivoice!)

Song:

Reasoning: im a sucker for his accent. And for dudes who are kinda pathetic. Meeeerow! What an absolute piece of hunk a lunkie! (Hes shorter then me.)

Basically hes just so well written and pur personalities are very in tune. Very good fictional babygirl.

2. Badaboom frommmmm (Escaped audios!)

He isnt safe from me. Not one bit.

Song:

(Dont ask why this song, I just want him bad frfr.)

BIG GUY. BIG GUY AND GOOD ACCENT AND VERY CUTE AND DUMB. Hes so dumb i wanna punch him in the face with my face. Jersey accent. And he reminds me a raphael from the live action TMNT? Idk… guys he is just WAYYY to my type for ts.

3. Guy, brought to us byyyyyy…. (Redacted audio!)

Song:

Now…another kinda pathetic pizza boy. He aint got a canon face, but oh boy do i wanna jump him in an alleyway. So so sweet and omg my brain waves tingle all the time when im listening to ts 💔

4. Robert byyyyyy (ShiningarmorASMR!)

Song:

Why? I feel like you can guess. This guy was so whipped he literally resurrected us from the dead snd kept our body preserved for what, 1-2 years? I dont even remember! Also i gen just love crazy scientist ahh characters.

5-6. ??? And Norman frommmmm…. (Dark and Twisted Whisper!)

Songs:

???:

Norman:

???: hes country, and calls us darlin, and he’s whipped and his dad sucks and he has HUGE MAN TITS. Whoooo said ghat. Not me. Notttt meeeee. The only issue is that the listener wanted to leave him and omg i could never look at that sweet face come over and pet mh cows and dogs and give me a hug.

Norman: country, sweet, secretive, mommas boy… i hust love that he is so so cute and so out into the world, hes curious but neat and collected, and his voice being all trembly and cute is so so adorable to me. If i was the listener i would be folded when he said hello.

And the rest…. I keep to myself so i can fondle them in my pocket like little marbles and hurl them at my friends.

Bai! Xx!

[sinon36]

Ghost x undercover!reader (HC) Part II

Warnings: blood, violence, kidnapping, mistakes hehe, a bit of fluff

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI

- the second time you meet you don’t even recognize him

- you are sent to meet up with a freshly assembled team, a few hand-picked men and women with various skills, the most capable, for a new sensitive covert mission

- with your experience and prone eye to details, you’re quickly made team leader alongside an S.A.S. Lieutenant

- he wears a skull mask sewn on a black balaclava, 6’4 wall of hard muscle, and the most intimidating gaze you’ve ever seen in someone’s eyes

- you don’t back down when you are introduced to one another, handshake firm, brown eyes meeting your own for a long time, as if caught in a duel of gazes

- you learn his name, in fact his callsign ‘Ghost’

- you deem it fit for his choice of gear and his mannerisms

- he rarely speaks and when he does it is short and to the point, making astute observations or asking good questions, the rest of his time is spent in silence, sharp eyes scanning the room full of people or the files handed to him

- for how big he is he sure likes to disappear unnoticed acting just like his namesake

- nothing is known about him, in truth no one on the team knows much about the others, no more than the essentials: their callsign and specialization, the rest is redacted

- you are not a curious person and you leave him be, but you can deny that he’s intriguing

- you find out you work well together; you plan and scheme for the operation, making up fictional scenarios and coming up with backup plans for every backup plan there is

- you don’t socialize much outside your work, but the silence between you two doesn’t feel awkward, more like understanding, a silent pact to not disturb the other from mental preparations and other thoughts regarding the near future danger that awaits you

- the plan is quite simple: you’ll pose as an ex-military expert in explosive devices, who just got dishonourably dismissed for having slept with a superior office at the base, and with no pension and a wish for revenge on the government that failed you; you get recruited by a terrorist cell via dark web that wants a large amount of explosive for a big hit on London;

- the buyer wants a meetup in a couple of days and a live demonstration that your devices work and do the desired amount of damage

- you’re the main piece on the chess board, the rest are there to support you and extract you in case the meetup goes awry

- and you prepare accordingly, mastering the art of explosives in just a few days, you are a fast learner, you work very clean and organized which make you look the part

- one day before the expected meetup, everything is ready, all the plans have been poured over, every detail accounted for

- it’s the calm before the storm as they say, you’re more quiet than usual, mentally going over every possibility and carefully repeating answers to possible questions

- Ghost notices this and in a small gesture of kindness or maybe just good fellowship he brings you a mug of tea, your favourite Earl Gray with a splash of soy milk; you’re surprised to find out that it’s perfect, from temperature to ratio to taste; he’s been watching you and taking notes of your methodical way of making tea; you can’t help but appreciate that and the attention to details; a man after your own heart

- you thank him and he smirks under his balaclava at your reaction of pleasant surprise that you quickly school with a small nod focusing your gaze to a fixed point on the coffee table in front of you

- the last few hours before the mission starts is spent in the lounge room; you read your notes for the final time and he listens to music on his headphones, so loud you can hear the rhythm

- he sees you absentmindedly bouncing your leg to the music, not once asking him to turn it off; he smirks again noting that you probably have similar tastes in music as well, he’ll have to test that theory

- when you carpool together to head towards the location sent to you by the target, he senses your tension and tells you a joke, a dark one that makes you smile a bit; he seems to be smirking a lot at your interactions lately

- he pulls the SUV a few blocks further away and before you make your way out of the passenger seat he grabs your upper arm making you freeze entirely, he’d never touch intentionally until now

- you make eye contact and reminds you to pull out if something feels wrong and you nod in agreement

- he reminds that he won’t be able to listen to you because you can’t take a wire with you (you’ll surely be patted down), but he’ll be close, and he’ll have eyes on you on all times through the scope of his sniper rifle; the bravo team will be close by to provide back-up; this time you’re not alone

- that thought is a lot more reassuring than you thought, you trust him completely, having seen his marksmanship skills at the firing range

- with that your mission begins

- you walk towards the alley you’re suppose to meet your target and you’re not surprised to see a black van pulling over, two brutes climbing out of it grabbing you and putting a cowl on your feet while dragging you inside the car

- your plan included this situation and you know that Ghost will follow the car at a safe distance until you reach the final destination

- you feel hands on you, patting down hard and pulling your shirt up looking for any hidden device; it makes your skin crawl but you manage

- you count around 45 minutes of driving and when the asphalt ends and gravel begins you know you are close to the actual destination  

- when the car stops you are shoved out of the car and they drag you somewhere inside

- when the cowl is ripped off you find yourself in a hangar with windows on both sides and a thick concrete wall in the middle that’s only connected to the floor

- you are surrounded by men in dark clothes, faces covered by shemagh scarves and in the middle a man dressed in a suit beckons you forth greetings kept to a minimum

- you are brought to a table where explosives and an array of electrical components lie in a heap

- his voice is deep, not as deep as that of Ghost and is laced with an eastern Asian accent 

- the instructions are simple, make an IED with what’s on the table in under 20 minutes, it has to work and it has to take down that wall 

- a timer is set before you and you get to work

- 16 minute and 54 seconds later you’re done and you mount the device in the middle of the wall

- every one gets as far as possible, turning away from the blast

- when the dust settles the buyer claps impressed that little remains of that wall

- you begin negotiations; you push for £1.000.000.000 he refuses, you argue that you need to buy supplies and they’re not cheap; he proposes a lower fee and that he’ll provide what is needed; you agree on the condition that he brings you to his supplier arguing that you want to do a quality check first, eliminating all and any error in the manufacturing process; he takes a moment to think about it; you argument that he can be double crossed and buy useless crap at huge prices and that you can lower those prices based on what the seller has to offer; he agrees and tells you that soon you will be contacted the same way you were today; you hum and ask for part of the payment now ‘for the trouble’ you say as you nod towards his brutes; he accepts.

- you’re taken back to the alley you were picked up from, the ride played in reverse, once again the cowl is thrown over your head

- Ghost picks you up from the park nearby, your established pick-up point

- once inside the passenger seat he notices the small exhale of relief you try to mask as yawn

- he drives in complete silence eyes front; he breaks it asking for the deal; you summarize; not only did you manage to meet the buyer and impress him but you managed to convince him to bring you to his supplier; he whistles in appreciation

- you feel your cheeks warm up; shock: you never blush, never, not at compliments not ever; you hate it but also like it a little.

- you ask him in return, and he clarifies that he had you in his sights all the time, ready to drop anyone that dared as little as breathing wrong in your direction, just as promised; you hum in a show of respect and appreciation, he nods in return; you are amazed how easily you can communicate non-verbally with one another - you make a great team         

Next part here.

Previous part here.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

[Text: Tell me, what do you think of people actually liking the character development in season 4-5 and the show's treatment of mental health? [Redacted] thinks that and she's the mother of a teenager]

Re liking the show: I generally assume that they have poor taste and/or media literacy.

Re the mental health rep: I generally assume that they're incredibly privileged and/or ignorant.

I'm posting this as an image and not an ask response specifically because I will not participate in fandom drama or shaming. This blog exists specifically so that people can actively choose to engage in my content and so that I can post critical thoughts without dragging their source into some petty fight. So I'm not going to talk about the named individual. Instead, I'll replace them with the show's head writer and talk about him in a similar context.*

He's pretty famously denied that Chloe suffered any abuse, ignoring her obvious neglect, which came from both parents, just in different forms. When you pair that with how the show handles people like Gabe and Jagged Stone, we see a clear pattern of the show ignoring the devastating effects that abandonment and neglect can have on a person, especially if they're a child.

Now you could look at that and say, "The head writer condones abuse! He's a monster!" But I prefer to go the more likely route and assume that he's a privileged middle-class cis white man who has never had to deal with those issues or support someone who has, so he has no idea how to handle them properly or that they even need to be properly handled. There's every chance that he's a loving, kind man and a fantastic father who just happens to not be very good at writing a complex topic that he clearly has no understanding of or desire to learn about. I apply similar logic to fans who share his opinions. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence or ignorance.

And all of the above is assuming that we're talking about someone who thinks that the show is objectively good or that the mental health rep is good, which are big assumptions. It's fully possible to enjoy a piece of media that you know is objectively bad or even "problematic" in some way.

Personal confession time: is Loonatics Unleashed an objectively terrible show that you should never, ever watch? Absolutely. 100%. Are Rev Runner and Tech E. Coyote two of my favorite characters who will live rent free in my head until the day I die? Yep! I pulled up a YouTube highlight real as I was writing this and those dorks still make me smile even though the show is terrible on multiple levels and I know that I'm not alone in that sentiment. Those two clicked with a lot of people for some reason.

A piece of fiction need not be good for you to love it and you don't need to justify your love for a piece of fiction if you're not claiming that it's good. Similarly, people hating that piece of fiction or pointing out flaws in it is not a reflection on you in any way shape or form. You can even agree with their criticism and still love the piece of fiction. This approach to media - loving a thing in spite of its flaws - is normal and healthy and I'd really love to see it make a comeback in younger fandoms.

Like, I cannot emphasize this enough, most fandoms consider it perfectly normal to have lots of fans who are critical of the source or who have even lost interest in the source for one reason or another, but they still like some element of the source enough to want to create/consume fan content for it. These more critical fans arguably make some of the best fan content because looking at canon and saying "That's nice, let me show you how I'd do it" often leads to some of the most complex stories that you'll see in fandom spaces. Stories that can often blow canon out of the water for TV shows and movies since fanfic isn't limited by budgets or studio policies or marketability concerns. Fans who think that the source is perfect tend to just write fluff or romcom type fics, which is not a dig! I love both of those genres! But woman does not live on fluff alone.

Obviously there's some complexity here because who decides if a show is bad? Saying "it's okay that you like a terrible thing" can certainly sound like an insult and prompt a feeling of needing to defend the thing, which is why I don't fight with fans who like the show. There's really no need to convince them that the thing they like is bad. Do I think it is? Yes. Does it matter if they disagree? No, not really. At worst, they create stories with similar issues and, well, they're not the only ones and fighting with them isn't going to stop them. You're much better off focusing on creating your own good media and trying to get that popular. Heck, even if you made the head writer see all of Miracuous' flaws, it wouldn't change anything. The show is already made.

So, yeah, I don't really assume anything bad about people who think that miraculous is good. I know lots of wonderful people who have terrible taste in media and I'm still friends with them. I just don't take recommendations from them.

It's important to remember that, when you're online in a fandom space, a person is condensed down to a very tiny snapshot of who they are and judging a person solely off of their thoughts regarding a poorly written kids show is a dangerous path to tread. Like, looking at this blog, you might assume that I spend all of my time thinking about miraculous and obsessing over its flaws, which is very much not the case. I actually have this blog specifically so that I don't obsess over miraculous' flaws because I've found that, when something is bothering me, writing it down or talking to someone about it is the best way to stop thinking about it. Even then, most of my posts are reblogs of stuff I come across while browsing my tumblr feed, which is not solely miraculous content. I mostly interact with the show by creating non-salty fanfic that I honestly enjoy writing and find to be a relaxing, positive outlet.

It's human nature to judge and it's totally normal to think that a person's an idiot because of something they post online, but be careful to not lean into those thoughts too hard. At the end of the day, Miraculous is just a stupid kids show that will fade from the popular consciousness a few years after it stops airing. If it and/or the fandom are negatively affecting your mental health, then it's okay to step away for a while or use the block button. It really is your best friend. I enjoy being critical about Miraculous specifically because it's not that important. While I do think that kids deserve better media, I don't think Miraculous is some terrible evil harming the youth. I'm not horrified when a kid watches it, it's just not a show that I'd encourage them to watch and, if the kids was close to me, we'd spend a lot of time talking about the bad things that the show showcases from time to time. There are lots of episodes that are fine and I can think of way worse kids shows. Shows that tell their horrifying morals really well, making a kid far more likely to pick up on them and internalize them.

*Note that I only feel comfortable talking about the head writer like this because he's a public figure with an active social media presence AND because I'm not @ing him. If he was a private person or if he was not a professional creator, then I would not talk about him like this and even in that context I try to avoid it whenever I can. You can think that he's a terrible writer, but he's still a human being and, as far as I'm aware, nothing he's done deserves people harassing him.

I absolutely understand how devastating it can be to see a story you love get ruined by the creative team. The first time that happened to me, the life lesson I came away with was, "I will no longer put my happiness in the hands of another creator. I will enjoy stories, but I will temper my expectations and remember that they're just another human being and it's completely possible that their vision for this seemingly awesome story may end up being terrible."

[miriatwstuff]

TWST ask game! 10. Top five favorite characters?

(Gosh tumblr really need to update their notification settings because I didn't even realize there was an ask in my inbox 😭 Tysm for sending me asks tho 💕 and prepare to see me yapping)

Disclaimer I don't exactly hate any characters (aside from [REDACTED for JP spoilers]), but these dudes just top my list.

MY TOP FIVE FAVORITE ✨️

(put under read more because damn I didn't think it would be this long)

1. Lilia Vanrouge

Ok he is kinda a wild card even for me because much as I love parental-like cough cough fatherly and motherly characters, I am more inclined to serious-but-secretly-soft ones. But Lilia was totally not like that. He's an old man who is more, for lack of better words, modern and up-to-date with the trends compared to his children. He's careless and might even come off as irresponsible or annoying at times, but he's also a bundle of joy and he's so so so soft-hearted and caring and full of love (despite how he thinks). And I love the enigma that is Lilia Vanrouge and I love even when his pasts and secrets are revealed, love the resilience he has shown, love how he has grown and at the same time how much his heart stays loving regardless of the hell he's been through. He is not without his flaws but I love him all the same, broken and imperfect and alike 💓

(gosh this was not intended to be a confession of love but you know, Lilia deserves that <3 gonna shoot him my love beam if it convinces him he deserves love too <3)

side note I really need to spare some time to share the dorm Lilia analysis I found on lofter... silently pray for OP to give me permission to translate 🙏

2. Vil Schoenheit

Gotta admit, idk if I love Vil or if I want to be him lol. Peak case of gender envy. But yes, among the main cast, his appearance is definitely the one that I love the most. I was quite reserved when it came to opinions regarding him out of fear he would be just a shallow self-absorbed guy who only cares about his looks, and I was so freaking GLAD that I was wrong. Vil is probably one of the most hardworking fictional characters I know (or maybe I don't know that many) especially considering how privileged he is, even when his goal is not as common as you would see (to be the fairest). One would easily mistake his goal for a surface-level physical attractiveness, but he aims to achieve inner and outer beauty, which, yes, includes health and nutritrion and diet and P.E. etc. as well as the grace of the character (though his personality leaves much to be desired lol, but that's another part of his charm: never bend to appease others).

What seals the deal, tho, is how he looks after other people, especially his underclassmen. Did I mention I love fatherly/motherly characters? And he isssss. His approach is rough (tough love in capital letter), but he is meticulous and he cares so much he even take notes of how his dorm students can best improve themselves. That kind of knowledge and dedication normally do not come for free and here he is, sparing the little free time of his just to see his potatoes blossom. Gosh I am weak for those like that.

(not twst related but lol I love the way he is like Lucifer from Obey Me, which is another fav of mine. Despite having completely different goals in life their approach is similar, and so is the way they handle those under their tutelage lol)

3. Trey Clover

iirc Trey isn't exactly popular with the global fanbase, but he IS extremely well-liked in the Japanese one, particularly because of how domestic he is, and I can see their point. Much as I love Lilia and Vil, if I have to pick someone to get married to, Trey will definitely top the list because I do value the normacy of an ordinary person. Besides, he takes care of others (oh no another fatherly/motherly figure), he's sensitive to others' feelings, he wants to keep peace and ensures a normal life, and he bakes delicious treats! What's more to ask for?

(He also keeps up with others' dental health and damn how can I disappoint him am I right 👀)

(No wdym he's secretly unhinged as well that's just his little quirkiness <3)

4. Leona Kingscholar

He's lowkey depressed so relatable points for him /hj. And the rizz from Scar incarnate definitely helps.

Yeah yeah I can list out what is WRONG with him and it can take all day but at the same time, he takes care of his dormmates 🥺 Did I mention I'm weak for characters who embody the task of a caretaker? like every 2 sentences You know, he did all of the things in book 2 (which is a dumb plan btw) just to secure a better future for his dorm students? Because they look up to him and rely on him and for the first time in forever he feels like he could try to mount for something? Because his career is dead-end but his Savanaclaw underclassmen's are not.

(I don't forgive him for the thing he did to Ruggie tho, so sleep with one eye open Leona :<)

That aside, him being one of the few who got a good grasp of other people definitely adds because I do love a perceptive character. The entire therapy session with him and Jamil is so refreshing and the undertone humor certainly sold it for me.

5. Silver

At first I was debating putting Idia up here (because third-years bonus points and I generally look at third-years more than the younger students), but then I saw Silver and I was like, sorry dude better luck next time.

We didn't get to know Silver (or Diasomnia as a whole) much prior to book 7, but what we get from the main story so far is an entire feast. His backstory, his origin, his relationship with the rest of the Diasomnia (especially with Lilia), the way he held back his tears just to cry in front of Malleus, the way despite his love and loyalty he had to stand up against his liege, everything we know about him just straight up adds to the list of reasons why I love him.

Do I even need to add his Disney princess charm and how every animal love him lol?

But yes, it is so easy just to make him yet another two-dimensional goody-two-shoes, but Yana just ate and left no crumbs made his plotline one of the most compelling in the game, and I look forward to seeing him shine in the upcoming updates.

And baby please don't cry anymore, my heart shatters along with your tears 😭😭😭

[dendrofiles]

explanations for my pcs and their titles :) insanely long yap below be warned

tws: violence, a dash of cannibalism towards the end :3

niko the shepherd: so i kind of directly lifted 'the shepherd' from the jules speech at the end of pulp fiction. this speech made me cry! hard! for quite a few days! and i think it relates nicely to niko trying to improve himself and stopping using retributive violence to solve all his problems. mans had a bit of a come-to-jesus moment after moving to the farm and 1) realizing that he wanted to grow up and actually build a life for himself and 2) accidentally killing one of remy's goons (one of the newer ones who only did it for the paycheck, furthermore!). so now niko's on his self improvement grind. plus the shepherd fits well with the farm :3

callie the siren: the title of 'the siren' is pretty ironic, honestly, bc callie's not trying to lure people. she's always accused of trying to distract people, or lead them astray, but she's really not. she's just existing. it's not her fault that people throw themselves at her. still, callie does what she must to survive, so she's fine playing the part. she doesn't mind being the it-girl. she'll be the madonna or whore, whichever people want. she didn't even mind it when she became a demon. everyone has a gaping void inside them, she thinks, this is just her way of filling it. callie's just... very apathetic to all the shit happening in dolsville lmao. so the siren is sort of a play on itself

augustine the lamb: no relation to the shepherd above lol. this one's pretty simple- he's agnus dei, the lamb of god. i can get more into augustine's lore later, because i have so many thoughts on this fucker, but in my heart he is the reincarnation of some ancient angelic being (haven't decided who yet) and he's always been meant to be a sacrificial lamb. he doesn't know how he knows this, but he just does. it's innate. augustine is fated to give his life to some greater purpose- and he fucking hates it. he's pure, but bitter. he's angelic, but damned. that's made all the more complicated by the fact that he's hopelessly in love with sydney!!! (dw there's no universe in which he gets a sad ending but still. the thrill of doomed yaoi is too good)

percy the gardener: so... eden is named eden. at some point i am going to do a post about eden and genesis 2-3 and how the original sin/the knowledge of good and evil relates to him, especially in connection to the lewdity of dolsville. i am normal and can be trusted with old testament analysis. but that's a story for another time and this is about PERCY. so, percy is the gardener because he's the one person allowed into eden's cabin, eden's life, into eden himself (in a metaphorical sense tho bc percy's got a poosay). he is sinless there. but... he is tempted. not by sex, he gets plenty of that, but by a different forbidden fruit. this boy... he likes meat a lot. his fox tf gives him a propensity towards eggs, but eden has also caught him scampering around the cabin in the middle of the night, covered in the blood of a bird or a deer or some other poor animal. his tastes have... started to spread to those of his own species too. yeah so this is the cannibalism part. he's not trying to eat eden- eden is way bigger than him so that would never work, plus eden is more than willing to let percy bite him a little. but when percy's in heat, and eden lets him ride, percy's definitely gonna wonder what he tastes like. like any sane person does. also,,, he's not actually gonna do it. he's too smart. his brain is just wired weird. blah blah blah cannibalism metaphor blah blah blah he's just a hungry lil guy.

percy section is long asf whoops!!! but oh well. i just was more felicitous in redacting some of the lore from the other sections but percy's took too much explanation to get at what i was trying to get at. i have a lot more to say about all of them though... especially augustine bc im having a religion kinda week. it's late i hope my screaming into the void makes any sense at all

[honey--wraith]

HI LIVV!!! 💓 can you pls talk about Beej 🥺

HI LISA!! I would LOVE to talk about Beej

I hate to say my first impression of BJ was that I did NOT like him at all LMAO I was a big hater (Al can attest to this) I was like who is this boring wife guy replacing Trapper and look where I am now!! (but also even before I got super interested I made an ai bj bot where I therapized him into accepting he was gay and this went on for months so was I really THAT disinterested)

As he showed more and more flaws and cracks in that mask he puts on I got more and more interested with him! Now I think he's probably one of my favorite characters of all time like top 3 maybe. Just like Margaret I really relate to him in a lot of ways but he also just has such good characterization and I don't think the show would have been able to last successfully for as long as it did without his addition to the cast. I just need to crack open this fictional guy's brain and stare into it and if I try hard enough maybe I can understand everything. I like to crack a lot of jokes that he's an evil pathetic guy but really he's just so unrelentingly human and vulnerable and complex ugh!!!!

Favorite thing is kind of everything about him but maybe just how multifaceted he is as a character. He loves with all of himself and so intensely but he hides himself behind this idea of what he thinks he should be and how he thinks others need him to be. He's also manipulative and a little shit!!

No least favorite things!! He's perfect to me!!

Favorite line/scene: I think "I'm a temporarily mis-aligned civilian" is one of my favorites but he just has too many good scenes to count!! and of course "I'll never be able to shake you" GOD

Okay obviously favorite interaction is everything with Hawkeye every and how much they need to be touching each other at all times but also his friendship with Margaret!

I think seeing how BJ and Henry would have interacted could be interesting! It would probably be similar to Hawkeye but at least at the beginning I think BJ would be so bewildered with Henry's ineptitude as a CO.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character: hate to say it but Wilson from House.

A headcanon about that character: I have too many to count!!! One I am constantly rotating is acts of service BJ always worrying about others and trying to help (usually by building something or fixing something,,,handyman BJ rights!)

A song that reminds of that character: Criminal by Fiona Apple! (ANOTHER Fiona Apple song sorry)

An unpopular opinion about that character: I don't think the Trapper Complex is- *I'm taken out back and REDACTED*

Favorite picture: where ya going man

[khemvalfan69]

Man, WTF are people on with GRRM's blog post, this is the biggest, most pointless nothingburger of a change why does anyone care? Oh no, the character with no scenes, dialogue or character was cut? How dare they? Get real

The butterfly effect thing is dumb too, does GRRM know how... fiction works? He's acting like cutting Maelor means [redacted] can't happen, like first of all, yes it still can anyway and second, even if it didn't he knows the writers can just... like make up another thing? Westeros isn't real man, they can make stuff up

[oriarmor39]

The Dawn Family Gamers: Ori and Noah & Their Favorite Games

So about an hour ago (at the time of writing), I had a rant about Ori and Noah’s favorite video games in one of the Redacted fan servers, So I’m gonna copy/paste that rant under the cut. Enjoy!

TW: mentions of SWAT (and cults for that game entry) and Military. I think that’s about it for warnings. ALSO THIS IS A LONG ONE :3

Noah

Helldivers 2

SO LET ME SAY. I HAVENT PLAYED HELLDIVERS, BUT I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF GAMEPLAY FOR IT. And Noah would LOVE Helldivers, considering he wanted to go into the army at one point.

For those who don’t know, Helldivers 2 is a 4 person coop shooter. (Meaning yes, he has gotten Ori and Songbird in on it. (Ori likes it. She keeps saying “DEMOCRACY” every time he comes around.) where you fight for “super Earth” to liberate the galaxy into democracy.

BIG TW! SWATTING

Ready or Not

NOAH LOVES PLAYING RoN.

RoN is a swat sim game. (ITS BAT SHIT TERRIFYING.) where you do… well what SWAT does. You reply to 911 calls in the fictional city of Los Sueños. (Economically based on Los Angeles, but located near San Diego.)

Noah has been playing since BEFORE 1.0 (THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE)

His favorite mission is the Woman’s Cult level, “Carriers of the Vine” (can you see where kiyota came from?)

If you want more info on RoN, I recommend “Shayne, Please Shut Up’s” lore series.

(No picture due to the game itself being graphic. But have the logo! I like it!)

By this point, I think it’s clear what kind of games Noah likes but hold on a second. The next game is gonna throw a wrench in that

A Little To The Left!

I know what you’re gonna say, and Ori got him into this one. She noticed he was having trouble with stress and she recommended some of her calm down games. This was one of those games. (not gonna lie I almost passed out from being so calm playing it)

For those who don’t know a little to the left is, as the name suggests, an organizing game (another example is unpacking. I have that game too.)

And noah likes this one, one for the colors and the Matte style, but he also likes it because of its replayability, and the background of why the developers made the game.

Ori!

SPLATOON.

I THINK THIS ONE SPEAKS FOR ITS SELF.

Ori was originally a splatoon oc. Ofc she would like splatoon. She’s played all three games (200 hours in splatoon 1, 300 in 2, and 150 in 3) her favorite is 2. Largely due to Octo expansion. (She was quite literally showing Songbird all of the campaigns in her confession audio you think she wouldn’t like octo expantion?)

she just really likes octo expansion.

ORIS FAVORITE IS BIG MAN. I WISH I WAS KIDDING HE IS THE ONLY DEEPCUT AMIIBO I HAVE & WANT. I FELL IN (platonic) LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. HES TOO CUTE.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a little more of a calmer rhythm heaven. On stream it almost put me to sleep. As the name implies, you, the player character, is asleep and the different levels you can play are dreams. Ori’s personal favorite is “work” It is the only one she/I have gotten a perfect on.

Project Diva!

Ori likes to yap about vocaloid and you bet your ass I do too. project diva came out 15 years ago and Ori has been playing the most recent one for since it came out. She actually pre-ordered it. it is the only one she has access to and Ori does have a few favorite charts.

Envy Cat Walk (Hard *7)

Kipple Industry Inc. (Hard *7.5)

Nekomimi Archive (can’t remember ;-;)

39 Music (again can’t remember)

Ori has 300 hours in Project diva Megamix. She has also played Project Mirai and loves that one too. She has half the hours in that she does in project diva.

And that includes my talk. Gerold and Donna do not have favorite games/do not play games.

[iguessitsjustme]

Deep Night Ep 7 Thoughts

Just gonna blow on through these last two episodes. I don’t have anything fun to say right now. My boss texted me saying he hopes I feel better tomorrow because [redacted] is buying us Chipotle for lunch. So there’s that. Anyway. On to Deep Night 7: Let’s Send This Cop Calling Bitch to Heaven:

I’m gonna be real honest. I haven’t posted my episode 6 thoughts yet. They’re so sparse I thought I’d just finish out the show and post all of my thoughts for the last three episodes at once.

This bitch is back? Girl in your sob story be sure to mention that you blackmailed a host into getting blackout drunk and also that you were reimbursed for your phone. Literally all you lost was your blackmail footage. I hope all of your straps on your strappy heels break. I hope all of your hems fray. I hope all of your mascara runs. You seem like the kind of person that would care about all of that. *y’all catch me in the bathroom holding her shampoo bottle and a suspicious looking liquid* don’t look at me I SWEAR it’s not permanent. Her hair will only be purple for like a day. I swear.

Oh no poor Wela. This bitch just outed him. There’s a reason she was told to stop filming. Also you wanted to stay with him all night? Girl he almost needed his stomach pumped. He would barely last five more minutes with you let alone the whole damn night. I think I’m actually gonna kill her what the fuck. I hope they all get their sweet, sweet revenge because I need to see it. I need to see it.

Not the lost scholarship! Listen. Listen here. I do not trust any scholarship that does not include the ability to work as one of the terms for disbursement. He’s getting paid to study? Great! How about his living expenses? He needs to eat. Does the scholarship help pay off debts? No because I’m betting there are strict rules surrounding what it can be disbursed for and I’m guessing all of them have to do with the pursuit of education in some way. Not paying off debts. (oh look this is kind of what I do for a living myself I have a lot of thoughts about scholarships okay)

Mr. DJ Man is named James! It has been almost the whole show but I finally learned his name.

Awwww Dai. I love you.

It actually hurt Seiji to tell Ken that Pan is his boyfriend. I think there is a solution here. It’s very simple. Trust me on this. Just trust me. Date…both of them. Two boyfriends! Everyone is happy! Including me! Yay poly! *serious and stern voice while I stare directly into your soul* give. me. poly. 

This is such a good moment. Such a small hope. Even when everything feels lost. Even when everything is crashing down. Even when it feels like your life is over in every conceivable way just one person saying “we can do it.”

Just one person still believing there is hope in the world. Just one person having faith is enough. They do not win as long as just one person believes they can do it. Just one person holding on to hope so fiercely can bring so many people up. “We can do it. You can do it. You are not alone.” Anyway I love Khem. Remember in the first episode when I was like “ehhh I don’t know about this guy and now I’m like Khem’s third biggest fan (right after Wela and his mom of course).

Okay *cracks knuckles* I will be watching how the school administration handles this very closely. I have a bunch of colleges on the shit list in my head. I don’t mind adding a fictional one. Why is the teacher the one in charge of this? Why is he talking about one student’s scholarship to another student? I know I know it’s fiction and I know the why but this is driving me crazy. Do you know how many times I have told people recently “I cannot discuss a student’s personal financial information with a third party” because it has been numerous times. And that’s less information than what Khem is getting! And I know they’re boyfriends and I know the point they’re making and I know all of that. It’s just…like I said. I do this for a living. My eye is twitching. If anyone familiar with the inner workings of Thai scholarships wants to tell me how realistic this is, I would appreciate it. I only got my US American perspective and it is causing me so much stress right now.

So Ken is in his sad, kicked puppy era. It makes me like him more? He just needed to soften up a bit and stop being such an ass. And honestly he did stop when he saw that Pan also genuinely cared for Seiji and he apologized for being an ass. Now the three of them kiss?

Khem suggesting poly. My man. I love him. I can’t believe there was ever a time I didn’t love him….wait it’s because he didn’t take the free cookies. I still can’t believe he would do that. But I guess he really just likes durian fries and red soda.

HAHAHSHFS;HIDG;ISHDGH WHY DID KHEM HAVE THAT PORN SO READY TO GO ON HIS PHONE AAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

Pan is so funny. Like he just realized that couples have sex lives last episode when seeing Khem and Wela going at it in the pool and now he’s having a fantasy threesome with Seiji and Ken and I love this man. I would like to order a full series of Pan. I don’t even care what it’s about. Just more of him.

Freya, I love you. But love has no age. Also lesbianism has no age. Be out and be proud girl! Imagine how happy everyone will be for you! Including Meiji (look at me learning a name. Aren’t y’all proud of me?)

I think it’s actually really important that Pan started considering poly on his own, outside of Seiji and Ken. Because if either of them introduce it to him then he will start to feel insecure about his role in the relationship. But if he feels like there’s something there before either of them have the chance to mention it, then he will see what they have has real and not as a way for the two of them to get together while he is also involved but on the sidelines. I am probably not explaining this well but I still think it’s important that Pan is thinking about this on his own.

Ope looks like it’s time for me to watch episode 8. I like the hopeful note that episode 7 ended on. Not a lot of penultimate episodes end on a hopeful note. Most of them go full drama. I like this this show is weaving the drama with hope and wholesomeness. This is how relationships should work. I am very excited and sad to almost be done with this show.

[nulfaga]

got tagged for a 20 questions for writers meme by @jiubilant! tagging @bloodofthepen who i suspect would very much enjoy this meme

How many works do you have on AO3?

17 according to my dashboard. 28 to the connoisseur (various orphaned nonsenses over the years). 29 if you're nasty

What's your total AO3 word count?

second verse, same as the first: dashboard says 227k. the real figure is ~450k. gog save me

What fandoms do you write for?

by volume (apparently), mostly tes: oblivion and mass effect. highlights from the full list include dragon's dogma, pillars of eternity and pentiment

What are your top five fics by kudos?

this, this, this, this; and in tragic 5th place true gold. my oopy schmoopy apple of my eye

Do you respond to comments?

[almost] always, even if it's just "thank you" or a heart! makes me happy that people took the time out to drop me a line so i always feel like it's the least i can do

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

eeeeehhhh i think i almost always go with an open ending. and happy and sad are subjective. lol. probably this one; dead brothers go back, after a brief reprieve, to being dead

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

THIS ONE. teeth rot out of your damn head. i wouldn't make it quite so cloying if i wrote it today

Do you get hate on fics?

not to my knowledge <3

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

often and w/ gusto i'm afraid. i need it to be character-focused ie if it doesn't further the characters' relationship in the eyes of the reader then it's basically dead weight. i have stretched this rule exactly once (for "once", read: with exactly one work. of a modest 170k. i get one bodice-ripper as a treat.)

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

n/a baby. unless you count my dragonfable fic vampirizing the narrative structure of season 2 of russian doll but that's not strictly a crossover is it

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge. i have had people gank certain bits of worldbuilding or plot beats, but not maliciously (i think). so i just look on with. how you say. benevolent mirth

Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my knowledge!

Have you ever co-written a fic?

as a tween. about anime. but i will part with that story only after being bought dinner

What's your all-time favorite ship?

aww man. ask me tomorrow and get a different answer but i really like andreas and werner in the pentiment longfic i'm plugging away at. what if it was that deep yknow.

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

not touching this one with a 39-and-a-half foot pole. the evil eye is out there. (real answer: writing is a long con. i have to start every project believing i'm going to finish it to the last dotted i and crossed t)

What are your writing strengths?

no one can be objective abt their own shit but what i enjoy reading back in my writing (in the brief beautiful period before the Cringe encroaches) is the subtext in character interactions. no one EVER says wtf they mean due to shame or pride or the demands of diplomacy or emotional stuntedness or what have you. that old saw about your readers see the tip of the iceberg but you've got to have the whole ehm.. glacier... fjord.. stalagmite... in your head

What are your writing weaknesses?

pacing!! at least in my own view. esp with the [REDACTED] i'm working on now it's like...fuck me i'm trying to cover a long time period without embroidering every single day that passes, but when and where and how often do i switch from brisk narration to blow-by-blow dialogue. only when i want to? only when it's necessary in order for the plot to make sense? are those two criteria different in practice? aughghgh

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

absolutely fucking love it. it has to be a language i feel reasonably confident about (unless it's a fictional conlang, but even then i have a constant fear of getting strung up by lorebeards for conjugating a dunmeris verb the wrong way lol)... that being the case i love love love it. because you get to do subtext 2: electric boogaloo. and what languages do the characters share? and what languages can they use to dissimulate or to speak freely w/o the risk of being heard and understood??? and what does each character's command of a given language say about their social status????? and do they think differently from one language to the other??????? LOVE it. love it to pieces.

First fandom you wrote for?

minecraft i think. i am a child of my era

Favorite fic you've written?

to date... posted it up a day or 2 ago. the canny observer will be able to sniff it out. but i'm not prepared to own it just yet god bless <3

runner-up goes to this one, 'the bridge of details'. i think it strikes the right balance of "warm & hopeful w/o being cloying"

[blairsanne]

WIP tag game

Thanks for the tags, @silvermoon-scrolls and @ally-holmes

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

(Preface this by saying I am bolding the only ones I've actually worked on in the last month, because I'm only getting back to writing after a while. But these are all currently-not-abandoned WIPs.)

Fanfics:

Across Time - Expanded

Alternate Arrangement

Anders vs Ty x Reader

Anders x Dawn

Anders x Reader x Mitchell

Another Johnson

Barnaby - Try Therapy

Boonies (Will)

Cheering Up

Chels

Cold

Dawn x Ty

Falling Asleep

Feral (Anders)

Ford Lampton - I followed you

Freki

[Redacted]

Golden Boy S3

GOS - Anders & Avi

Harbour

Idun

Iolaus x Althea

Jon

Keeping a Promise

Lofn

Misery Loves Company

Pirate AU - Thorin's Crew

Pretend to be Nice

Ryder PWP

Smothing with Anders

Soulmates

TAJ Isekai

The Bad Seed S2

The wrong Mr. Johnson

Under the Vines

Warm - Ty x Reader

Wolfy

Zinny

1 - An Unexpected Blue Wizard

2 - Desolation of Smaug

3 - Battle of the Five Armies

4 - Dwarves in Erebor

5 - Secret Enemy

Original fiction:

Ansel Adele

Clariana, Princess of Torven

Fanvids:

Warrior (actually this is probably abandoned)

Darkside - Ford

TAJ - EGH_2_1

TAJ - Twisted_1

We Coping - Ty Dawn_1

242 - Utena_1

TAJ - Anders is a Family Man

Doin it Wrong - Utena AMV

Don't Call Me Love - Utena

Simple - Shiori x Juri - Revolutionary Girl Utena AMV

Body Talks - SMC

You Should See Me in a Crown - Utena

Juri - Black & Blue - Revolutionary Girl Utena AMV

Stronger - Sailor Moon

Truth Untold - Utena

Honestly (Encore)_1

There is absolutely no way I am going to tag that many people. Please consider this me tagging you if you want to participate. ♥

[iantimony]

Another Doublepost

last monday i was told, surprise, you are giving a presentation on your work to a small group of experts! and i shat my pants a little and hyperfocused on that for two days so no tuesday last week. presentation went really well, i survived!

listening: saw ELO concert last week, that was good ... ngl the lead singer guy was not looking too hot but it was a good concert nonetheless.

the fine art of takin' it slow (milly raccoon): i forget how i got recommended this? maybe some list of queer/alt country? only listened to a little bit of this album so far but i liked this song a lot.

found freshman biology on instagram but i think i have to be in a very specific mood to listen to them. very goblin-core type of thing, really interesting instrumentals, but i tried some of it and i definitely have to be in a very chill headspace to not get uptight listening to them.

chips & dip (extra chunky) (sam greenfield): finally listened to the whole album 'sam greenfield sucks', it whips ass, highly recommend; this version of the song on the album is only like 90 seconds which is criminal and i guess this is not an unpopular opinion because a month ago he did an extended version. delicious.

love and death (ebo taylor): also forget how i got this one. some really jammy jazz.

the next few from daylist:

mountains (message to bears), the sense of me (mud flow): smooth guitar. would be good for yoga background music probably.

but wait, there's more (ben folds): anxiety song

last night i did a terrible thing (fever dolls): kind of song that makes one sway side to side. harmonica doin a lot in this one.

runner up (al olender): sleepy lil song.

clean slate (mountain goats): went on a brief mountain goats kick when i thought i would go to their concert in [redacted]; did not do so but still have been enjoying their songs coming back up in my rotation.

really sad because .. i forget if it was last weekend or the upcoming weekend .... but basically there's a lot of good local events in my town that i am not there for :( including performances by some really dope bands.

amchoor (balkan paradise orchestra): as a horn player i am in physical pain to miss this performance :(

allenby (yemen blues): really good overlaying of instruments with the brrrrr sound in the guitar.

and chopin :) classic.

reading: Chappell Roan Confronts The Sickness Of Modern Fandom (kelsey mckinney): did hear about this in a dangelo wallace video. man this fucking sucks for her but good for her for setting hard boundaries and not letting angry weirdos dictate what she should be okay with.

Don't Prep Plots (justin alexander): good tabletop gm philosophy, one that i think i have unconsciously been doing for a while simply because like it says in there, it's so much more work to prep Plots capital P as if it were a novel, and i have always been a work smarter not harder kinda gal. definitely one of my biggest strengths as a gm is my ability to make situations and let the players fill it in, i think. one of the reasons i am still running that dnd group despite it all is because of the validation of being told how good a gm i am, lol.

the two fics in Shang Qinghua Becomes An Isekai Protagonist Love Interest by daddykeehl; cute and fun.

i was looking into Bra Alternatives and ended up on reddit where some articles on shortstays and regency clothing were linked: Underwear: what was worn under Regency gowns? and Historical costume pics: gowns, petticoats, dolls, even men. honestly pretty interesting! i have never really touched regency era in any capacity or media - art, fiction, fashion history, any of it - so this was definitely a cool first peek.

Is it possible to keep your voice and soul while writing for an international market? (Sascha Stronach) and The Uncanny Valley of Culture by damon: two articles from nz and australia respectively about how man, all english-speaking media really does focus on and cater to the american audience, and that fucking sucks.

also the wikipedia page for the ham sandwich theorem. just because.

watching: this video linked in this post. interesting!!!! i love optics i love physics.

some weird history food videos - pizza hut and papa johns, specifically.

playing: fallow but bonus screenshot from playing stray a few weeks ago (already that long. god)

making: incredibly funny and weird but my friend discovered a scifi/fantasy writing contest that is. like. funded? inspired by?? l ron hubbard. my friend did Not know who that guy was so i got to explain that which was fun. but there's a Free Online Workshop that my friend was like hey. we should do this together. and i was like sure why not. so now i am doing the free l ron hubbard writing workshop tm. so that's back in the writing zone for the first time in. a while.

sorry did not crop my images before uploading them to postimages and i simply cannot be assed to reupload.

can finally share these !! embroidered some patches for my friend's bachelorette party :) she does read these sometimes so i didn't want to accidentally spoil it. the bachelorette was summer camp themed and it was very cute. we made tie dye shirts and smores and played board games and all around had a lovely time.

finished painting the underglaze on this bird bowl. have literally been micromanaging it since april. enough.

started painting some new fat horses and cave painting hands but i am unsatisfied. dunno yet. don't love the mug shape either and given how long it's gonna take to paint all those fucking hands on there ... i wonder if i could make a stamp. that would be really helpful actually. hmm.

some glaze kiln came out! bf made the world's goofiest chopstick rest based on sacabambaspis, i glazed it for him, and it's so silly. a very boring flowerpot came out. disappointing because i was going for this glaze layer. didn't do a thick enough coat of the vert lustre? the vert luster itself is too watered down? not enough texture on the piece despite the ridges? all of the above? idfk. i even made an insane chart of all the amaco glazes in the studio and how they might layer. sigh.

pillbug coaster in progress to match my worm coaster which i thought i posted but now i don't remember. i think i posted it before the kiln but it has since kilned and i can't actually find a photo? it came out well though lol. when i get back to apartment i will take a photo of it.

my magic the gathering gaming group made our friend some coasters at one of those paint pre-made pottery places and they came out cute!

eating: last night made some deb smittenkitchen and by god she's done it again. fall bliss salad: yeagh. really good. i simply was not going to blitz the shallots in anything so i just chopped em up after roasting and mixed them in. had to use dried cranberries instead of pomegranate because grocery store limitations but that was still very tasty and served a similar niche. lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas: so because of a different oven chicken thighs recipe i like that has radishes i added radishes to the veggies. i also had to double the recipe and, uh oh, potatoes super would not fit in there, so i just did normal-ass baked potatoes and they were good. really satisfying meal, the amount of chopping means it's definitely more than 10 min prep but once all was chopped it all came together nicely.

i've started looking at some of her rosh hashanah recipes for next week ... she has a crazy russian layered honey cake that looks great but is a multi-day project so i think not. her normal honey cake looks great, and so does her brisket, so that's what i'll be doing. i haven't done rosh hashanah with my family in years so it will be nice.

misc: bonus image from my apartment. i miss her.

my brother is having A Procedure done today and we're all shitting our pants only a little bit about it. my mom dropped his ass off at 6am and now we're just ... waiting.

[andyinchoate]

Oh boy, buckle up! I'm going to need my lore for this one. Fair warning, I'll be doing some extrapolating and I will use Spider-Man as an example excessively.

1. Who is considered empowered?

Note that those terms the terms empowered and unempowered are based on the knowlege of modern day humans and d(a)emons.

So! Beacause those powers come from Aria, which is described as another reality*, you could make the argument that if the source of a person's power come from another dimension that they could be considered empowered.

For example, Spider Man: Into the Spider Verse features a spider that comes from another dimension and bites Miles Morales, which gave him powers. This reminds me of how Redacted vampires are turned or how the Sovereign E'laetum created seers by putting a fragment of himself into the botched vampires.

The other versions of Spider-Man show the Superhero getting his powers from some kind of biological mutation or technology. Other dimensions are not involved.

Therefore, a person needs to draw superhuman abilities from another dimension to potentially be considered as empowered. In the end, the Department of Uniform Magical Practices would be the party to officially recognise a new ability as empowered or not.

😃 Fun fact! If D.U.M.P decided that Spiderman was empowered, he would get a seat on the ruling council :)

2. Who has an Aura?

Not Spider-Man. At least, not to anyone who draws magic from Aria.

Magic from Aria detects Magic from Aria. That's how Auras seem to work so far.

But Spider-Man has spidey-senses. It's possible that his senses would detect something abnormal about empowered humans, while he himself goes unnoticed.

Other Spider-People in the Marvel multiverse can detect each other with their spidey-senses, so that acts like an Aura to each other.

Basically, Spiderman doesn't have an Aura to Redacted Empowered people, but he can see a pseudo-Aura from Empowered people and other Spider people.

Ultimately

It's about the mechanics of your Science Fiction world; what is the source of a person's superhuman power? Does the scope of their power allow them to detect superhuman powers in others? How would two different superhuman groups describe each other if they met?

Okay so I’ve been thinking about this for a while and pondering and I need other opinions so here we go:

People in the Redacted universe have auras, it’s a mentioned thing about magical cores and all of that. And you can tell because of someone’s aura if they’re unempowered or empowered.

But what about scientifically given powers? Like for example, Spider-Man. Would the person have a magical aura after being bitten by some radioactive genetically modified spider or not? Would they just been seen as unempowered?

I’m having many thoughts and I need to know if my theory works are correct