#... bc i still don't have any valid answer for that =3=

[nightydraws]

. . . I'm in my jojo fixation, do not expect anything better from me =3=

[witherby]

two completely unrelated asks

bc of the 'littlest villain au' ask, what about the opposite, where in kon goes villain-mode (but mouse is alive, i can see mouse dying as a villain origin for him) how are they dealing with that?

and second, bc i just got back from my last final exam this term, how do the batfam handle mouse failing a class or exam? do they try and find the issue and fix it immediately, by helping study even in a slightly overbearing way, or do they let mouse learn to work thru failure/just listen to them if they need to vent without trying to fix it right away? (if that wording makes sense, i'm brain fired)

If Kon decided to become a villain, it could go either way for Mouse I think. One of those ways is for Conner to become a yandere, which I don't write, so let's assume he managed to convince them to join his cause legitimately.

He's spitting straight fax, no printer. All of his reasons for crashing out seem perfectly valid for some reason. Mouse is throwing question after question at him and he's got every single answer locked and loaded. With the help of some puppydog eyes and a quiet "you don't have to like it. I'll understand if you have to see me as an enemy now, but I will never hurt you," Mouse sighs and nods their assent. As long as he swears off hurting any of the bats, they're in.

From here, we have to make a choice. Is Conner trying to take over the Earth, is he trying to conquer other planets, or is he only "evil" because he isn't obeying the No Kill rule? That'll determine how much resistance he's facing from the JL and general civilian populace. He'll find the most success by ignoring the No Kill rule. If Jason gets a pass, and the JL is comfortable slaughtering invading alien species coming to earth, why doesn't he get to snap a few necks?

"If you kill a killer there's still just as many killers in the world!" Shut up. Just kill more than one killer and your reasoning falls apart. Besides, how many people will he really have to off before Earth's quality of life sees a huge increase? Ten? Twenty? Kick the Joker and there's already a significant improvement. Pop off Lex and 3/4 of Superman's problems vanish immediately. Stop giving these idiots ten thousand chances to amend and take the goddamn shot.

So, in short, he'd play fast and loose with ending lives vs sparing them much like Jason. But I don't want a Jason copycat, so Mouse is the true villain between them and Conner is the loyal lapdog.

Oh, unless we think he might want to make a Krypton Vers. 2. The first planet's downfall was because of resource mismanagement. He could do better. Yeah, that's an interesting idea...

And, to your second question, they'd do their very best to help you, perhaps overbearingly, but overall they want you to know that your academic weaknesses do not make you less worthy of love and adoration. Just do your best! That's all they can ask of you! Whatever the result, they're proud of you for trying!

[iixiori]

If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

HI OMG IM SO SORRY FOR THE VERY LATE REPLY, IVE BEEN VERY BUSY BUT SURE! And since I'm a multishipper, I'll just list my top 5 ships out of fandoms I've been in

FengCui: Feng Xiao x Cui Buqu (Wushuang/Peerless) - The reason I love this ship so much and is my top 1 out of all the shows and books ive read and watched is because I'm so in love with their dynamic, development, and interactions with each other. They first start of as rivals then gradually start to fall for each other with each case they work and time they spent togther. I also loved the fact that the author didn't use stereotypical tropes with the main cp. While its enemies to lovers, to me, it's enemies AND lovers because when they do get together, their dynamic didn't change and they still remained the same. And that's one of the reasons why I love this pair so much.

2. Cezhou: Shen Zechuan x Xiao Chiye (Qiang Jin Jiu/Ballad of Sword and Wine) - I honestly debated if this should be my top 1 but I ultimately decided this would be my top 2 mainly bc I prefer fengcui's dynamic more, But of course, that doesn't make this ship any less great and amazing! In my opinion, this is enemies to lovers with sexual tension done right. I used to hate the trope enemies to lovers because of experience and personal things... But this ship changed my perspective on it a lot. Even though they got together early in the novel, they're still the ship that has the most amazing development and growth I've seen in such as a long time.

3. Hualian: Xie Lian x Hua Cheng (Heaven Official's Blessing) - Ah yes... the classic. I had to put them at my top 3 because TGCF and hualian is what mainly got me into danmei and to this day, I still adore them with all my heart and I'll never ever forget how they made such a huge impact on me... They're like romeo and juliet but done right. They're also the couple that made my standards so unrealistic to the point that I think I'll never ever be able to find someone to love as much as how much they love each other... As much as they're unrealistic, they also made an impact on how I view love in general. I also relate to hua cheng when it comes to appearances because dawg... I am also so insecure of that as well... and when Hua Cheng is insecure about it and Xie Lian is just telling him that he's gorgeous and not ugly like he thinks he is just makes me want to cry because that validation and comforting words is what all of us insecure people need. Just having the reassurance that we're perfect just the way we are...

4. Lucathy: Lucas x Athanasia De Alger Obelia/Athy (Who Made Me a Princess) - I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Athy is so precious to me and I will protect her at all cost! And I love how their relationship just naturally progresses on the time the spent together and isn't just immediate love at first sight. And I also love how lucas went from "I'm going to watch this bc this is entertaining" to "If you ever hurt her, I'll destroy all of obelia" and bro... LUCAS IS SO WHIPPED FOR ATHY ITS SO FUNNY AHAHAH (Also reminds me on how Xiao Chiye is so whipped for Shen Zechuan but that's another time). And not only that, but I love how Lucas got back from his quest, heard about how Athy got humiliated, bro was like: "Should I kill him?" like bro did not care if it was her father, if someone did shit to her, he would deal with them.

5. LoidYor: Loid Forger x Yor Forger (Spy x Family) - BRO I IMMEDIATELY FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS SHIP!! Assassin x Spy? OH HELL YEA! I've honestly been waiting for this kind of trope for such a long time lol. Not only that, but I low how yor is such a girlboss and protects her family even if it isn't real. I honestly really like their progression so far and I hope that they honestly become a family in the end... I have nothing really much to say about this ship because I haven't been keeping up with SXF but I really love them and they're trope because I haven't seen Assassin x Spy trope in fandoms I've been in.

So here are my ships! There are a lot more than these but I just decided to pick which ones that I really love the most and rank them by that. Anyways, thanks for reading this blog!

[onigiriforears]

After approx. 2-3 months of studying Japanese I started to read free graded readers online and then graduated to a collection of short stories that I purchased off of Amazon. I thought that the reason I was starting to have trouble understanding sentences was because I didn't know enough vocabulary but it was because I neglected grammar completely. It was sorta drilled into my head off of Youtube creators to just study kanji, vocab and simple sentences as much as possible before even touching grammar. I feel absolutely lost, dude. I am at the 5 month mark now. I can "breeze through" kanji for the most part. (as in, I can actually retain it in a decent amount of time) I decided to study grammar about a week ago. It is SO FREAKING HARD. I don't know if there's something wrong with me or what. I don't know if it's supposed to feel like what I thought I knew is being ripped apart at the seams, stapled together, and then torn apart again....but it does.

Do you have any tips for learning grammar? Is this feeling normal? Can you tell me when the pressure in my skull will subside? I am using Bunpro's free trial but I'm unsure if this tool will actually help me. I write tons of notes to flip through but I still fail to give them the nuanced answer they're looking for. I really enjoy the setup of Bunpro and I want to like it since it's similar to WK but I'm not sure if I'm going too fast or there's a better way to learn. I stopped learning 5 new grammar points a day and started doing only 2. (I also have Genki I and watch GameGengo. He explains things in a way that's easy for my brain to understand.) Sorry for the long post but any insight would be appreciated. I'm a bit nervous asking people in the language learning community for help or insight because a lot of them treat it as a way to show how fast they learned/1-up others. Tumblr's langlearn community is a lot different with what I've seen (or maybe I'm just following the right ppl lol)

Hi! Thank you so much for waiting for this response--I'm sorry it took so long. Your message was one of the ones that popped up when they locked my ask box (they actually still haven't answered me on why it was locked so 🤷‍♀️). To make up for that, I'm gonna be longwinded because I think that this is a super valid and important question that others may also want to know the answer to!!

Pls pls PLEASE DM me if none of this is helpful or if you'd like to talk more about what you think you need help with!!

I think that sometimes when we're learning a new language that we know is so overwhelmingly different from our own language, we focus on the things that we think will be the main hinderance and sometimes we forget the key points. You might be thinking "how did I forget grammar?" but I would say don't beat yourself up about it! Many of us focus on the things that we think are our problems(--the last time I studied for the JLPT, I focused on my weak point too much and then was frustrated with myself during the exam bc I neglected the other areas.)

I don't want to lie to you and say that learning grammar is going to get easier because that's not the case for everyone. Think of learning grammar vs everything else as learning different types of math or science--have you ever had a friend that was absolutely phenomenal at algebra or calculus but couldn't do geometry? Or a friend that was wonderful lab partner in chemistry but struggled in biology? They're struggling in biology because it requires a ton of rote memorization in comparison to practical application and math that's present in chemistry and rote memorization may not necessarily be their strong point. Personally, I think that's also why a lot of us struggle with certain grammar points. There are some that just click with us immediately and then there are others that we have to see over and over and over and over and over--you get the point--just for us to find a single sentence with it that we understand. If you're math oriented, we need to figure out a way to no longer make grammar points rote memorization for you, but to turn it into a formula of some sort. I actually write my notes out in ways that are like that--I use plus signs (+) in my notes not because the textbooks use them but because my brain genuinely reads it as "noun + particle + grammar point = a sentence that makes sense" because, for me, formulas don't fail. Your weak point doesn't have to be your weakness--you can turn the weakness into a strength that works just for you.

I've been going at this for years and every single professor or Japanese friend (or even people from the discord server) I have can tell you that I've struggled with pretty much any grammar point that included ~ように--and it wasn't because I wasn't trying, but because I couldn't find myself using any sentences that with those grammar points because I found the alternatives/similar ones to make more sense. Surprisingly, it wasn't until I was reading 夜カフェ for our book club that I was actually able to start grasping the meaning (ngl, I still haven't used it myself--I'm notorious for using alternatives); I was finally witnessing it being used in a way that made sense in my brain.

The frustration you're feeling when you encounter a new grammar point or overload yourself with too many things in one go is completely normal and I promise that a ton of us in the Japanese langblr community have definitely experienced it too! It probably feels like everything you know is being ripped apart because your native language may have a SVO (subject-verb-object) format while Japanese has a SOV (subject-object-verb) format--your 1-to-1 translations for your notes may not be helpful in the beginning because you're still trying to wrap your brain around the fact that your words still need to go in another order than you're used to. And then you add the new grammar points and concepts on top of that (like particles and other things) and it can become overwhelming and frustrating. Sometimes, you're going to find some grammar points just downright annoying--especially when you find that there's no equivalency to it in your own language. But don't give up!

I know this is a super cliché thing to say, but practicing them will help. If you can, I would make note of the grammar points that you're struggling with, try to make sentences with them, and ask somebody to check them and explain exactly why (or why not) they're working and then ask them for examples because they may have an even better way of explaining it to you than what you've come up with for yourself!

I can look back at old notes and see when I wrote a sentence as an example just because a textbook/professor used it but I didn't actually understand why it worked at the time and then I can also find notes where the sentences written as examples were added once I finally found something that clicked for me.

You've already done yourself a favor by learning a lot of vocab, kana, and kanji because now you'll be able to try out an array of ways to pick up grammar instead of just a textbook. (I will make a note that if you're looking to take the JLPT, I would recommend having a list of grammar points that you would need to know for the level that you're planning on sitting for because there's no guarantee of what will or won't pop up on the test.)

Another important thing while you're practicing: be comfortable with making mistakes. We all make them, but when you're learning a new language it's important to be ready to make mistakes and to welcome them with open arms because it gives you a chance to experience and learn in real time.

ALSO: for you specifically--because you're interested in reading, you might enjoy learning grammar through tracking the different grammar points through what you're reading and using the sentences as your examples because they're all going to be cohesive. And if reading books or other things totally turn you off right now, maybe games? Animal Crossing and Pokemon are very nice games to play in Japanese for people that are just starting out! You may also enjoy using Lingo Legend--it's an JRPG language learning app that I beta tested and I think that it's a nice way to review (it has some fun incentives). I'm not a big gamer, so I struggle with learning through games, but I've been picking up a lot of grammar through reading because I focus on finding things that I'm interested in, rather than things that are "at my level." When I start a manga, I will scour a ton of websites and forums and bug a ton of people when I come across a grammar point that I can't wrap my brain around because I want to be able to understand what's going on.

We have book clubs and gamers in my discord server, as well as places for people to post what they're practicing or to ask for help. We have people of all varying levels and different skillsets that love to share their wisdom with others.

I haven't used Bunpro, but I know that @sammilearns has, so she may be able to weigh in on that! And @tokidokitokyo @nihongoseito @chouhatsumimi @kanpeki-bekki @burgeoning-ambition probably also have even more tips that me--I'm trying to tag people that I know we all learn in different ways, so their tips and tricks might be just what you need!

Please weigh in, fellow langblr members! How have you been learning grammar? Are you game-ifying it? Have you turned it into math equations? Have you managed to tie it in with your special interest? I can't wait to see what people add to this post!

[my-castles-crumbling]

Anon Advice Asks - May 18

tmi anon (new), AVPD anon, trans imposter syndrome anon (new), grounded anon, mirrorball anon

tmi anon

don't answer if this is tmi but

i haven't gotten my periods since like mid feb and im FREAKING OUT im a minor so im not pregnant or anything so its probably just stress but im so scared..

my mom isnt taking me to the gyno for a few more weeks and i just akjhfdjks im so scared theres something wrong with me

Hi! <3

There's a lot of reasons why this could happen and I am DEFINITELY not a doctor, but most people don't have completely regular cycles. The first time I got my period was in september of 7th grade, and then i didn't get it again until june. I found out the reason was because I have PCOS, which is SUPER common, and one of the many reasons your cycle might be irregular. It's also not deadly or anything like that. You have no reason to be nervous, everyone's cycle is different. I would just say that in my experience, a lot of times, gynos jump to putting people with irregular cycles on birth control without figuring out the reason behind it or like...thinking about the consequences. If the gyno suggest BC, I'd talk about the pros and cons of this, the side effects, and if you want to be on BC longterm. Some people LOVE BC because it makes their cycle regular and it has side effects that they like (it commonly helps with acne and lessens body hair). I was talked into BC at 13 and didn't realize that a lot of the things I experienced as a teen might have been made worse by my BC. I wish I had asked more questions before agreeing to it, and being on it continuously for over ten years. I'm not saying it's a bad thing AT ALL, I'm just saying make sure to ask questions and do what's right for you!

Feel free to ask me any questions you want about my experience, just remember I'm one person and not a professional!

___

AVPD anon

Hi <3

Honestly, it sounds like you don't have a very good support system. Your friends don't sound like bad PEOPLE but they don't seem to be acting like good friends to you right now. You've got a lot going on, and you deserve the support that you're giving others. You deserve love, you know?

Do you think it might be a good idea to try to branch out and find some other friends? You don't have to leave these ones, but maybe looking for some people who are more supportive could help you cope with these really stressful things.

Sending love <3

___

trans imposter syndrome anon

hey cas

do you ever feel

like not “trans enough”

like i’ll look at my trans friends and trans people on the internet and i’ll just be like

my identity

isn’t as

valid?

like ik it is

everyone’s identities are valid yesyes but like…

trans imposter syndrome

is that just me?

like i can have all the dysphoria and euphoria and issues and yet still be like maybe im not trans enough for this

like ive never felt like a cis person

or like

what a cis person feels

and i’ve never felt what any other trans person feels

and what if like i’m not actually trans and i’m just cis and i just don’t know what it’s like to be an actual trans person

lmao does that make any sense

if not i’m sorry!

Hi!

Um YES. Every day. All the time. I think a lot of people feel like this about their gender tbh. It sucks because there's a lot of stereotypes when it comes to trans-ness and you don't have to fit into those stereotypes to be trans!

I promise you, there's no such thing as being 'trans enough.' and if there was....you're 'trans enough' for me <3

____

(un)grounded anon

Hello again!

So I have less family drama, but a hell of a lot if school drama (end of the year, am I right?)

Anyway, so I have 2 (ex) friends that were SPREADING RUMORS ABOUT ME and talking shit about me.

Context: so back in like febuary this HUGE rumor got out that me and my bsf were dating. Now, I live in rural Texas so I was being constantly harassed. I'm telling g you, at least 5 people woukd walk hl to me and be like 'are you and (insert bsf name here) dating?

And for a while, I had no idea who spread the rumor. I had suspicions, but I never acted on them. So, come this week. In talking to my friend and don't ask me how we got here, but she was telling me that friend one and friend 2 had been talking major shit about me (especially friend 2) and had been he ones spreading rumors about me. She also said friend one hadbee making fun of my DISABLED big brother. I did confront him about this, and instead of APLOGIZING he deflected onto friend 2 and refused to take accountability for anything.

I haven't gotten to speak to friend 2 yet, and im not sure what to say. I considered her one of my bsf but instead she spread rumors about me and talked shit. She apparently said she actually didn't like me as much as se like my REAL bsf. And the worst part? She was the main reason I got kicked out from my old friend group and lost all my friends

Yeah, sry for the yapathon. Family isn't so great either. My mom is mad at me for having reasonable reasons to support abortion and keeps sending me Facebook vids of MEN talking about how bad abortion is.

Thanks for your advice,

-(un) grounded anon

(P.s. you don't have to remove the word thingies. Half the time i don't remember what I wrote lol.)

Hi <3

Honestly, I would not wish school drama on anyone. It's awful, and I'm so sorry you have to deal with that bullshit. It's one of the great things about growing up...you don't have to deal with that shit nearly as much. Those people sound like shit.

Also I'm sorry your mom listens to men...like at all (joking) (maybe)

____

mirrorball anon

Hi Cas! ^_^ Yes mirrorball anon is fine I just for some reason thought you already had one lmao

Anyway

I try not to let the prior mentioned shitty people bother me but my brain keeps telling me it’s all my fault, to the point I’m convinced I’m crazy and caused all the issues myself

My brain is also constantly trying to convince me no one will actually stay, because no one has before

I just want to feel like a person again yk? Without constant worry of being a fuck up and ruining something else I care about

And btw you give really good advice

-🪩

Hi!

Not listening to your brain is one of the hardest things to do, tbh. Because like....it's always there. Have you tried looking at yourself in the mirror and saying positive things that are the opposite of what your brain says?

It sounds stupid, and it IS a bit cringe, but it can be helpful. It's also strangely emotional and like...cathartic.

Also remember it's okay to ask for reassurance from time to time. People who care will give you the reassurance that you ARE loved and you DIDN'T fuck up.

[vacantgodling]

Happy STS! I'm a big toponymy nerd, so can you tell me a bit about how you decide on names for places? Lathsbury, for example, meaning "loathsome + fortified town" in Old English, or Argos meaning "shining/bright" in Ancient Greek, do these hint at what those places are like to live in? Does it describe something in their history instead? Do the linguistic roots help give an idea of the kind of cultures/clothes/food you'd find there? Or is it more how the names look/sound on the page? (all valid and interesting reasons for naming a place)

happy (belated) sts! this ask ended up getting done now because it was a long answer and so i couldn't finish it in one sitting when i first got this ask so eosdj thank you for asking sm and making my brain churn <3

i quite love etymology in general SO i totally get where you're coming from and i'm happy to answer for a few of the major places that i (currently) have in the extensive world of terrae :> (i was gonna do all of them but then these explanations started getting long asf and depression is turning my brain to shit lmaooooo) but, 2 caveats before i start rambling: (1) i've had this wip since i was 12, and this is relevant to my second point (2) as i've gotten older and continued to flesh out this story more and more i've kept some things the same (such as place names) and retroactively added explanations after as to why things are the way that they are lol. because of that, some of these won't be as "deep" and thought out--or seem like they don't make much sense BUT with many of these names, it was child-vacant taking the reins on what was being named and now it's adult-me's responsibility to make it make sense LMAO.

but anyway, without further ado, have the toponymy of 3(ish) major places in terrae:

LATHSBURY

i'm actually very fascinated as to where you found the definition of lathsbury because in all my years of having this wip, i've never been able to stumble across any succint meaning like that - its really cool! but, to be fair to myself, lathsbury is more a story relevant name and not much real world consideration was taken in naming it (meaning that this is one of the place names where kid me named it and now adult me is like, how do i make this name make sense lmao)

as to why i decided this should be the place name as a kid--genuinely i couldn't tell you. it was one of things where i thought of it, it sounded good, so decade and some change later, its still stuck.

the IN WORLD explanation is that both the people themselves (the Lathsburians) and the main kingdom of this world (The Kingdom of Lathsbury) are named after the Guardian of the first age, Lath of Argos, Guardian of Valor--as he directly helped save their ancestors from certain extention in the years before the creation of The Labyrinth (though funnily enough in a meta sense, i chose lath's name as lath because the city was already named lathsbury lmao). anyway, to learn the backstory about that, i made a handy little powerpoint about it HERE (and i have yet to make a part 2 about The Nomads specifically, but those will become the Lathsburians tm).

regarding the actual meaning; because i have a whole system of how i go about naming people in this wip (which is a conversation for another day), when i went looking for name etymology for lath, the meaning i found that i enjoyed the most was "lion" (though the bamboo meaning is also nice bc that can tie into perserverence or relentlessness)--and so to tie that back to everything regarding lathsbury, and the lore and all of that the technical toponymy of Lathsbury would be (the) Town Fortified by Lions; Lathsburians pride themselves on being "Lion People" as they model a lot of their behavior and vaules on the attributes of Lath: fearless, brave, relentless & working for the greater good of their people (as lions have prides and they work together and all that shit).

EROS & ARGOS

the citadel of Argos was the first city ever constructed in Terrae and was the one safe haven that Terraneans had before The Day of Fissures (see afore-linked powerpoint lol). i mostly picked the name Argos because Eros as a city already existed; and i liked the fact that the names are similar (because of their Greek origins they have similar sounds /shrug) because essentially, these two cities cannot exist without one another (in modern Terranean history tm). in fact, the two cities used to be combined under one banner in the years after The Day of Fissures & before The War of Lathsburian Succession--in that couple hundred year period, Eros/Argos were referred to as "Aegos" which is essentially a combination of the two city names (by adding the 'e' for Eros as all the other letters are p much the same) & this is also why some characters - as a tidbit/fun fact, have the surname Aegos (ie: Lady Illiana Aegos).

because of that coinjoinment the people from Eros/Argos call themselves Aegean even to this day--and in their world Aegean means something akin to "first people" -- this is because of its relation to Argos being the first city of Terrae, so thus, the Aegeans are the First People. so Argos doesn't necessarily mean shining/bright in this context--though you could argue that the attitude of Aegeans (generally) make them feel as though they are the shining light of the Terranean people and that the rest of the mainland has gone astray from their true purpose, which is liberating Argos from the clutches of chaos and restoring the old capital to its former glory. tm.

edit: also also, eros means “love” and shit. so eros existing is sort of “for the love of argos” because they want to reclaim it. tm.

HYTRÖTH

last one i'm gonna do for this giant ramble lmao. tl;dr this is a name that i also picked as a kid by throwing random letters together and adding an umlat on top bc i thought it looked cool, but then in retrospect i realized that little me was really onto something with this and i literally didn't even know it. let me explain.

so, Ö has a sort of "ouh" sound, with more of an emphasis on the uh. this makes the name of this place sound more like "High Truth" instead of "High Troth" (though if you call it either its literally fine lol, i misprounounce my own shit allllllll the time just look at he who smites the sun anyway tho)

the reason High Truth is REALLY genius is because Hytröth is considered to be the birthplace of the goddess MUINENS--who, among other things, is a goddess of justice (she's kinda similar to Athena if you want a sort of real-world comparison though of all the gods she's the only one with a specific inspo in mind and even then as i've developed this wip, she's grown so much as a deity. i should also mention generally speaking that its the proper way to refer to deities by putting their names in all caps unless they're minor deities such as Palanthia, The Lady of the Mist, or Nitarr and so on). so her birthplace being known as "high truth" you can see why i think that's really fucking cool.

--

i'd love to do more of these sometime in the future but like i said earlier, i just kinda don't have the brain for it. but if you (or anyone) were curious about the naming process for any of the other major places in terrae have a little handy list:

Lathsbury, Eros & Argos, Hytröth, Snake's Canyon, Mordiga (Diisai), Kiskkaddon, Marthveil, Easthollow, Koss, Kingsburrow, Silverkeep, Bass Landing, Ubwyn (The City of Sorrows) & Wish of Palanthia C:

[specialgradefckr]

I really love your work. I've read all of them, more than once, and you've inspired me to make my own! I really like your profile, and if I'm not mistaken, you're the only one I know with a "search keywords" feature. I also think it's very clean to look at, easy to navigate for new users. I really hate the idea of bothering you, but I'd really appreciate it if you could give tips and advice for new users like me. I'm still new to tumblr, sorry and thank you in advance.

asdflkhjldfgh that's so sweet of you to say!!! i'm really glad you love my stuff, bc looking back, i'm super proud of almost all of it. like, i think i had a lot of bangers, and it's so validating to hear that you think so, too <3

and don't worry about bothering me. i won't lie, i've been getting a BUNCH of asks, but it's so, so encouraging to have all this engagement. it really motivates me to write bc i'm like,,, look,, all these friends in my inbox who want to read my work 🥺

i hope your inspiration goes well! i haven't been great about reblogging other people's work lately, but i do actually read a lot of stuff, particularly in the gojo/yandere gojo tags.

that's my number one piece of advice btw - tag the shit out of all your stuff. tumblr tags can be forgiving or a bit stiff depending on how a person is searching for fics.

literally search for an example of the kind of fic you're writing. take a top example with a whole bunch of notes. look at the tags on it. often it'll be something like:

fandom, fandom x reader, fandom x yn, fandom x you, char, character full name, char x reader, char x you, char smut, char x reader smut

and just go. slap on all the tags. make sure you don't include anything inaccurate though! i do also know some writers, particularly yandere ones, who write fics and then tag all the applicable characters, which is a great way to show up in a log of searches.

basically the fic won't contain a character's name - if it's for a male character, the character will just be "he/him" in the story. and then in the tags (or in the body of the fic) the writer will list character who they think fits the archetype.

@yanderenightmare does these really well (they also write fics with specific characters in them), and as fate would have it, they've also given out writing on tumblr advice:

https://www.tumblr.com/yanderenightmare/762144865228357632/heya-do-you-have-any-more-writing-tips-for?source=share

on search keywords - i've always found searching on tumblr to be spotty, so those tags are kind of my attempt to have some organization.

there are other blogs that do it (tumblr's huge, there's always someone doing something) but it's not necessarily common. #lemon as a smut tag and #answered asks and #BYHTD as filtering tags are kind of things that just came up when i was thinking "how will i find this if i want to look back on it later?".

i will also mention, i am by no means some particularly great tumblr power user or anything. i just started writing my silly little fics way back in june sjkfglhsg honestly i'm surprised by some of the attention i've been getting! i figured a lot of my stuff was kinda niche!

more advice. make a masterlist pretty early on and update it like... every few weeks or so. try to make a schedule to post and keep to it - for this blog i try to post a fic/content every wednesday, although i'm thinking about doing twice a week or an odd middle update every now and then.

do not be scared of other tumblrs. make friends. reblog their stuff! people really like it when you do that! if you see a fic you like, reblog it, and leave a comment in the tags or the reblog, even if it's just "my favorite part was X". they may never interact with you (such is the nature of online socialization), but you gotta be the change you wish to see in the world.

writer friends are a super valuable resource. they can help you come up with ideas, cheer you on, workshop stuff with you, and just generally make you feel good about writing when your juice is failing you.

i know MANY writers who go through periods of just thinking they're bad writers and all their work is bad, etc. it's a struggle and having other writers to tell you "i don't think it's bad" does a LOT.

in any case, from one writer to another writer (hopeful), good luck!

[jade-of-mourning]

sooooo I’ve recently stopped being dead to the world

I had to backtrack and reread down to your answer to my last ask (which,,, thoughts,, when you manage to beat them into submission pls pls pls pls share everything) because I haven’t touched tumblr in a hot second but then I saw your post about lok s1 (and specifically s1 korra) and,,,

okay so this is me and my dumb hyperfixation talking but how do you think the rest of tlok would’ve gone if makorra wasn’t ruined. like just in general, what do you think would’ve changed?? if anything??

keeping this short but like. brain worms are munching. cuz the way their characters developed and how they each influenced each other. how would that have ended like. romantically. like what if korra burned bright and bright and bright and offered her soul and her strength and every one of her fingernails in love and mako bit his lip hard enough to offer blood in a kiss. what if they were a little bit insane by the end of everything.

sorry that doesn’t make any sense!

love

🐌

hey snailon!!! i've missed you <3 i've been hella busy myself (cough i have four ap tests in a row next week) but it's always lovely to see you around haha

hmm there are definitely a fair share of really well written meta regarding a not-slanderized makorra, but i don't really have any specific links on me rn. i'll just give you my sparknotes version of what i'd imagine, which might end up combined with stuff i've read from other people that i don't remember reading

i'd probably postpone them more than the series did — which, granted, they did write it with one season in mind, so i'll give them that. (i would argue that it's still a valid explanation for certain writing choices, because even though the books were commissioned before the release of their predecessors, it's not like the writers get to just rewrite the ending spontaneously bc episodes aren't constructed chronologically lol) okay ignoring that tangent

i'm okay with the love triangle in season 1 as it is because even though it's insane, it also checks out on all parts for korra, asami, and mako in terms of backstory and personality at this point in the story. korra is socially unaware because she never interacted with people her age or really Society, asami is desperately lonely and values good intent above all else, and mako is also impressively socially stunted and has the pressure of financial concerns as well. (if it were up to me, i would either just commit to korrasami or makorra from the start and add in the third if going in the throuple direction. i'm going off on a tangent again)

i have conflicting feelings about endgame. on one hand, makorra is so full circle by concluding the way they do here — mako's first encounter with korra he treats her like he doesn't give a shit that she's the avatar, the first person to ever do so; yet, by the end when korra's absolutely devastated and believes her only value was as the avatar, mako tells her straight up that he doesn't care if she's the avatar or not, as he has all along. it's genuinely so cute and i could honestly write so many more words about it than i did. but at the same time, i just would like to think that after the shitshow love triangle, they would put off getting together, perhaps as an overcompensation upon recognizing how they hurt asami.

since the latter route is the au i've decided to follow, so be it. in endgame, korra and mako still have their full circle moment and spinny-hug, but instead of kissing in front of naga they just longingly pine into one another's eyes. excessively so the viewers know. okay cut

season 2 they are rekindling their friendships with asami and asami is tired of watching them dance around their feelings for one another and also maybe pining just a little bit for korra but huh what. i would actually have to rewrite the entirety of lok to shift s2 into a readable mess. korra is still amazing as always and saves the world as always. oh also throw in some korrasami with the family betrayal theme. yeah i don't want to think too hard about this

see the struggle is that i love krew!friendship in season 3 so much but at the same time i feel like end of season 2 is the perfect time for a makorra get-together instead of a makorra breakup, seeing that korra has literally changed the entire world all by herself because she is so amazing. so alas, we'll go with end of season 2. mako no longer lives under his desk to hide from korrasami and in the two weeks between s2 and s3 they are done with their honeymoon phase so they'll just be as they are through s3 tbh. honestly there was so much makorra shipteasing throughout canon s3 that i don't really think there'd need to be too much rewriting. they're still the level-head/kick-the-door-down-subtlety duo within the krew dynamics and they're still clearly very important to each other specifically. the makorra hug before korra goes up to face zaheer might be drawn out even more and maybe something sweet couples say idk. (i have so much rizz i know wht i'm saying)

korra gets even more trauma for a lifetime (again), and three years pass. korra writes to asami once as in canon because by the time she feels human enough to pick up a pen, she doesn't even know how to talk to mako, let alone try to address the guilt of ignoring the guy who devoted himself to her so thoroughly. asami understands what it is to lose. mako (& bolin) has lost more than anyone else once perhaps but i think that the trauma repression means that that was never processed and he would be terrible to talk to about any of this. he's been there, but he doesn't understand it, if that makes sense.

okay so korra comes back, makorrasami dinner (ig the shitling that canon wu is is there also), makorrasami train fight, then we have remembrances and beyond the wilds — y'know, the korrasami/makorra episodes respectively. korra is now experiencing feelings for both of them Oh Fuck. by default i would say that masami has been hooking up through these three years but since makorra was a thing through s3 then i retract that; however, their friendship has rekindled very deeply as the only two members of the krew left in the city. and mako & korra have not discussed what they were or what they want to be at all, just been adamantly dancing around the subject.

blah blah kuvira blah blah city blows up then the wedding then bam!!!! mako's love confession to korra is actually a love confession to korra (wdym "i'll follow you into battle no matter how crazy things get; i've got your back and i always will" ISN'T a confession of love). korra is joined by both mako and asami after tenzin leaves, asami grieves, and the three of them have a moment together that has very heavy implications for throuple-ism. then bolin pulls up very devastated that he has missed the final krew party. cue the laughter, cue korra's final delivery of "i'll always try to restore balance" bc it should've been here instead as the three of them stare at the changed city before them, and cut.

(yes krew should've had the final scene together. i've said it before that i don't think korrasami was particularly well written, but i still like them and the ending is still very sweet. however, i hate that they completely disregarded the rest of the cast for the final episode instead of giving them a scene together, even if not the very last one, bc of how that translated over into the entire fandom… i mean what. and the spirit world vacation is a sweet sentiment but also i feel that korra would never immediately go leave on a vacation immediately after everything that just happened and her declarations of duty. i don't think i articulated that very well. but yes.)

[dykehelly]

i don't have experience in poly relationships but i feel like that's something i want for my life. i was wondering if you could recommend any resources for learning and talking to partners/potential partners? or just any general advice

ty and i really enjoy your blog 🤍

hi!! that's great I love that for you! the good news is that like EVERYONE on dating apps rn, at least in my area, is poly (more like 50% or so but that's still a Lot).

as far as resources, check out the book polysecure, which has a lot of good info on how to healthily be in a poly relationship. (it hinges on attachment theory so ymmv, but I've found it to be a good resource.) also check out r/polyamory tbh. it can get a bit repetitive and annoying but most of the community consensus points are pretty valid.

my biggest piece of advice is DON'T get involved with people who are dating as a couple. I think this is something that can MAYBE work if you are very experienced with polyamory, but generally couples explicitly looking for one person to be with both of them are called unicorn hunters and kiiiinda shunned because it's just a bad vibe. (basically because if a couple is a package deal, what happens if you like one of them but not the other? what happens if you want to break up with one of them but not the other?) (this specifically applies to romantic relationships imo. like if you wanna be a third for a threesome now and then I don't think that's as big a problem.)

it's possible you will date someone and find you are also interested in their partner, and as long as that happens organically it's generally fine! this is often how triads happen, this is how I ended up in a triad myself! in this scenario you should read about couple's privilege, which I believe is discussed in the r/polyamory FAQ. in my triad I was part of the established couple initially and I know that even though we did our best to make our newer partner feel like an equal in the relationship, it was hard for them at times, especially before we were "out" as poly, because essentially in certain environments they were the "secret" partner. (exacerbated by the fact that they lived farther away.) (we later worked to rectify this and make sure everyone important knew we were a triad, but this is something that absolutely came up.)

other than that, every relationship is going to have its own issues and boundaries and it's really just about communication. my relationship rn (I currently just have one serious partner, with a couple fwb type situations) is very very chill but we still have to talk about boundaries (e.g. "please change the sheets after you have someone over") and we frequently check in with each other just to be sure things are all good (e.g. "do you mind if I start spending 2 nights a week with x?") (the answer is pretty much always "no, you're good," and some of these questions/issues only make sense bc we live together!)

there are lots of things to check in on, so just make sure you do so as things come up! for example, some people might not want to use sex toys that you've used with another partner. most people will probably want some form of the sheet-changing rule, I think, plus it's just polite. some people want to meet their partner's other partner(s), and some people would rather be "parallel," where they don't meet at all. some people are happy to hear about your other relationships or sexual partners, and some people would rather you keep discussion minimal. lots of things are a matter of preference, so you want to figure out what you're comfortable with and make sure you find people that are roughly compatible with those expectations, but also expect to have to compromise sometimes, as in any relationship.

anyway! that was a lot! hopefully some of it is helpful <3 good luck!

[jamesunderwater]

Love seeing that the bloody, stabby queer antiheroes are still holding you hostage. (D&W was my go-to lunch special for a month because my local theater has $5 tickets.)

I’ve been thinking about the film’s soundtrack and how central music is to fandom and creative processes. Are there any songs that fandom or fannish spaces or writing have ruined for you forever?

(Right now, I’m still sitting with how Stephen King’s ‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone’ turned a romance song completely on its head. I had to code it as a song about death, murder, and friendship when the song is about a shitty cishet marriage, because that’s what I remember when I hear it. The song is ‘Stand By Your Man’ by Tammy Wynette, of all fucking things. He tosses in so many song recs in his stories and fucks lots of them up for me. 😂)

Blèèèèèèèine this entire ask is music to my EARS (pun entirely intended). I could talk about this stuff forever, thank you for sending this! <3333

Okay first -- dude I really think the bloody, stabby queer antiheroes have nestled into a permanent hyperfixation spot in my brain... I'll be in the middle of a conversation/work task/whatever and my brain will randomly just vaguely bring up the emotions I feel about deadpool & wolverine, and I'll involuntarily smile and get all warm and fuzzy over it. It's wild lol. Also, you told me early on that you saw the movie like 12 times in theaters and this gave me all the validation I needed to watch it....I would say roughly every 2-3 days in the last month. 😂 So thank you for that! Because I have no regrets. They've honestly been such a comfort to me <3 (also, yeah, the soundtrack is seriously so good. i'm addicted.)

Okay now to the music! re: your example - I haven't read a ton of Stephen King so I didn't know that about him dropping song references a lot! But I listened to 'Stand By Your Man' and I can kind of hear how it could be twisted to a darker meaning? 😆 When you "recode" the songs, do you do that by changing the meaning of the lyrics for yourself, or is it more like you kind of shift the way you hear the music to make it feel right without worrying about the lyrics? Does that even make sense?

& re: your actual question - Music really is SO interwoven with fandom/writing for me, so the answer is definitely YES; it was hard to narrow it down to just a few songs. I tried to pull from some different fandoms/phases over time, so here we go (below the cut bc I'm wordy):

1. Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas - Ruined by Supernatural. That show really did have such a banger soundtrack (another song ruined by them - Renegade by Styx, because the scene they use it in is SO ICONIC), and I was a huge fan when it first came out. The fandom, rightly so, used this song for sooo many edits etc. so I will never ever hear it and not immediately think of SPN.

2. Losing My Religion by R.E.M. - Ruined by the Marauders. This is my obligatory "this doesn't really make sense except that it does in my brain now" song xD I can't even tell you when or why but at some point I decided this song emotionally felt like the disillusionment that the Marauders would've gone through during the FWW, even though the lyrics don't...really make any sense for that? But they're still what I think of every time it comes on lol.

3. Everything Changes by Staind - Ruined by The Marauders/Wolfstar. So I was a wolfstar shipper for like 12 years before I got onto my prongsfoot bullshit 2 years ago. I wasn't a wolfstar shipper yet when I first heard this song as a teen, but to me it perfectly captured the disintegration of the Marauder's friendships, especially S & R, during the FWW. Ughhh, it still gets me listening to it now. Once I started seeing them romantically it was even more gutting, bc it also speaks to the regret they'd feel after reconnecting in PoA. </3 "I am the mess you chose / The closet you cannot close / The devil in you I suppose / Because the wounds never heal / But everything changes, if I could / Turn back the years, if you could / Learn to forgive me, then I could / Learn to feel" COME. THE FUCK. ON. KILL MEEEEE. 

4. Slide by The Goo Goo Dolls - Ruined by Prongsfoot. My BOOOOYS <3 My repressed BOOOOOYS <3 I have loved the goo goo dolls for a really long time so this is one that fandom truly ruined xD Because it was only last year that I put this song on a playlist for a prongsfoot smutfic I was writing, and now...it's so done for, this song is about those two idiot babies in love and nothing else. (okay i say that but it's also on my poolverine playlist but....i mean, that still applies lol)

5. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day - Ruined by Deadpool & Wolverine (and sort of the X-Men). Aaaaand now, the obligatory DP&W shout out to bring this full circle. I've been listening to this song since I was in the single digits so I truly never thought it could get stolen by a fandom thing, but GOD. The video they play at the end of the movie with all the BTS clips of the Fox movies over time!!! I cannot hear this song without picturing that and getting emotional about it now. And I can't imagine that changing now that I've watched the movie 10+ times in a month. 😆

Thank you again for asking about this!! It was really fun going on a musical stroll down fandom memory lane :D

[bigenderteruki]

1 3 6 mob psycho

Hi sammiii

1 - the character everyone gets wrong

See this is the kind of question i feel a bit Hmm answering bc in this fandom the characters ive gravitated to for whatever reason are like. incididental characters with very little canon characterization that its kind of impossible to get them wrong bc there's so little that's "right" to begin with.

I will take this oppertunity to say one thing that's been on my mind re minegishi that doesn't really answer the question but is kind of tangentially related: I don't think plants actually really interest them that much? Like yeah they have plant powers and they work in a flower shop but honestly i get the feeling most of it is out of obligation and "well i have these powers so i might as well do something with them". They have stopped viewing them as tools and obviously now do have an interest in keeping them alive (you know. for their job) but I still don't think they're like an expert or research actual plant biology, like how some people depict them. they know the basics for their job and powers and the rest of their attention is elsewhere. Honestly i think they'd get kinda frustrated with the idea that they must love plants.

3 - screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Man idk i go into the mp100 tag daily and see so much stupid shit i can't think of anything in particular rn. sorry

6 - which ship fans are the most annoying?

Tbh i don't really get annoyed by ships if i don't like it im like well whatever. honestly i can like any ship if its done well (besides like. the weird gross ones. so if that's a valid answer then those guys. i swear to god.)

Choose Violence Ask Meme

[aydaptic]

Sorry if you've already answered this before but I'm new to the fandom and I found your account through your web-comic and I was wondering what is it about Gavin that you like so much? Why is he one of your favourite characters in dbh? (I've noticed that he isn't much of a fan-favourite in this fandom 😔)

This'll be a long post, but you asked (...and I'll happily answer!) I'll add some descriptions for context. At the top of my head, I can think of 21 reasons why I like his canon equivalent.

1. He's charismatic

Gav gives off an energy that makes it easy to hang onto his every word. I can quote all his lines by heart and I like listening to Neil Newbon (in this specific role) talk. I remember some of Kamski's lines as well -- also mo-capped/voice acted by Newbon -- but Kamski doesn't have nearly as much charisma as Gav does.

2. He's expressive

Ppl who 'talk with their hands' are more charismatic. Gav is all over the place in the break room if you stick around. Hand gestures capture people's attention as they emphasize what is being said.

3. He doesn't think androids are alive (...so in his eyes, the way he treats them isn't wrong)

"Could always try roughin' it up a little. After all... it's not human." - Gavin Reed, The Interrogation

That means he wouldn't rough up a human suspect. This alone justifies his unpleasant attitude towards androids. Hank -- who treated Connor way worse than Gav ever did -- changed his mind. Nothing says Gav can't do the same.

If Alexa suddenly said she was alive, the vast majority wouldn't take it seriously (if any at all.)

4. He's sarcastic

"Congratulations on last night, very impressive." - Gavin Reed, Waiting For Hank...

5. He has dark humor

6. He looks down on people that pay for s*x

Quote above. You don't call someone a "pervert" if you agree with their actions. The Eden Club, in particular, is immoral AF... bc those androids don't have a choice. Gav doesn't care about them being androids, but he still looks down on the guy who paid money to get laid, and I applaud Gav for that. Especially when said guy also had a wife and kids.

7. He has valid concerns about androids taking jobs

Anyone who says differently is either in denial, uninformed, or never had a job they were scared to get fired from. There's already been an uproar about ChatGPT and that's nothing compared to how advanced Detroit: Become Human androids are. The unemployment rate in this game is 37% -- higher than it was during the Great Depression and C*VID -- and androids are the main cause.

I've seen a lot of ppl ask this question:

Q: Why not just buy an android and have them do your job for you, then? You get the money anyway bc it's your android!

A: Bc, believe it or not, the vast majority of men want to work. This is a strange concept to grasp for a lot of ppl. I admire Gav for being one of those men who wants to do it themselves. Letting someone else do your job is taking the easy way out.

8. He's a hard worker

Gallery: "...Ruthlessly ambitious, Reed will do anything to advance his career, even if it means treading on other peoples’ toes."

9. He's ambitious

See the quote above.

10. He doesn't sleep well

This isn't just a headcanon. He has literal bags under his eyes. Just knowing he doesn't sleep well already has me asking, "why?" It's interesting.

11. He puts his feet on the table

After Connor interacts with him in the break room, Gav will go to his desk and do this. I'll go into detail about why this contributes to my liking his character in the very last point.

12. He calls Hank out on his alcoholism

As much as most of us love Hank, he's not in a good space mentally. Showing up drunk/hungover to work should not be tolerated. It not only puts coworkers, but also civilians, at risk. Hank should be in therapy instead of working at the DPD until he gets his life sorted out.

13. He calls Fowler out for giving Hank special treatment

"You won't get away with it this time." - Gavin Reed, The Interrogation (after Hank pulls a literal gun on a human coworker AKA Gav)

So Gav has brought it up to Fowler before and is about to do it again. Ties into the point above. What Hank does -- like assaulting a literal FBI agent -- shouldn't be tolerated.

14. He's a control freak

I gravitate towards ppl and characters who take charge. Those who like being in control and know what they're doing. I'm a control freak myself, but I'd prefer to let someone else take the reins as long as I agree with their methods. I like it when ppl know what they want and act on it. Gav does both.

15. He's protective of his coworkers

I was unsure whether or not to add this as I guess it can be seen as a subjective theory and not an objective fact.

Gav only ever steps in with the gun in The Interrogation when Con uses aggressive force on Chris Miller by tearing him away from the deviant. Con did this after disobeying Gav 3 times. So yeah. Gav is justified for stepping in. Hank, on the other hand, isn't justified for pulling a gun on a human coworker. I see this scene as Gav protecting Chris from Con who is showing signs of deviancy.

16. He can't wink

Endearing.

17. He pouts a lot

Again, endearing.

18. He swears like a sneezing kitten

Same as the two points above.

19. He doesn't like Connor

I don't like Con, either. Yeah. We exist. Personality types like Con's "let's be friends" attitude and constant positivity pisses me off. Before anyone comments that the player decides Con's personality... no. Only to an extent. There are several instances where the player has no say whatsoever. Some of Con's pre-determined responses annoy me.

20. He has great fashion

Big fan of leather jackets.

21. I like him bc I'm a narcissist at times

He's essentially the male equivalent of me to the T. I'm only an asshole internally, though. We love (or hate) characters we relate to. I relate to every single point except 17 and 18 on this list.

There you go :)

His OOC fanon equivalent has a huge fanbase -- especially on Twitter/X and Tumblr turning him into a blushing teenage girl -- but it seems like I'm the only person who can't stand that OOC portrayal of him. That said, I adore his canon equivalent in all his asshole glory.

[indecisiveenby]

~~Rant~~

I hate the argument about how queer is a slur and an off-limits word/label. because like it's the only label I've found that really truly resonates with me. I'd been trying to find something that fit right for about three years when I started using queer.

first I was bisexual, bc I was very new to queerness, in the sense that I knew about binary trans people, gay men, and lesbians, and that was like it. and my close friend had just come out to me as bi, and I was like "holy shit, there's a word for being into both genders? that's allowed??" something deep in my being snapped, and it was like I could see the world correctly for the first time. bc this was how I had felt my whole life. I was crushing on girls and either suppressing it or mistaking it for a platonic love. and I was making up extra crushes on boys, to overcompensate.

so then I dove deep into queer culture and learned about all these orientations, but also found out about the gender spectrum and fluidity. so here was this huge gender thing crashing down on me with the realization that "wait, I can be feminine, but I don't have to be a girl? and I can embrace my masculinity without being a boy?" and I was a little in denial for a bit and said I was gender fluid bc I think I was too nervous to admit that large of a change to myself, that I wasn't what I had thought I'd been my whole life, so I decided to just pretend I was a little bit that. (THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT ACTUAL GENDERFLUID PEOPLE ARE IN DENIAL ABOUT THEIR GENDER. THIS IS JUST WHAT I DID. ILY GENDERFLUID PEOPLE, YOU'RE COMPLETELY VALID <3)

and this gender thing took for-fucking-ever to figure out, but I'm settled on transmasc nonbinary. so where did that leave me for orientation? I kept thinking things like "maybe I'm a lesbian. idk if I like guys all that much," or "well actually idk if I like girls," or "what if I don't like anyone. I think I'm aroace." and eventually I said omnisexual/romantic, but I was still thinking these things.

because here's my deal: if I find myself attracted to a girl, I'm like "this is a gay ass feeling." and if I find myself attracted to a boy, I'm like "feeling real fruity rn." and any other gender, I just feel gay if I am attracted to someone. never do I look at someone and think "wow I wanna spend so fucking much non platonic time with you in a fully heterosexual manner."

at the same time, I often think about all those crushes I made up, and the way that I go so so long without having a crush and how I am content with not having a romantic relationship and how my past romantic partners never clicked right. and I think "perhaps I really am arospec."

and I think of how I've never been sexually attracted to someone, with like two exceptions ever, and those two people were people I knew very well. and how the idea of having sex seems like something I could participate in, but only probably for someone else's sake, not something I'd initiate. I think of how sometimes I feel like I never ever want to have sex ever bc I just don't want someone to touch me like that, or to touch someone else like that. I think of how sometimes I actually am really into the idea of sex, hypothetically. and I think "is there a spot on the ace spectrum for that?"

and so I look at all of this and I am faced with the question: "how the hell do you put all of that under a label?"

there are two answers here; 1. I don't, and I go unlabeled. I hate this answer. my autism loves to sort and label things. (of course there's an exception for other people. if someone else is unlabeled I'm not gonna say "actually you're this." this only applies to myself and my own things) 2.

Queer !!!

queer is the only label that can encompass all of that, for me. obviously, I could use a bunch of microlabels, and I love microlabels, really, I just would probably lose track of everything quickly.

so yeah, I have a huge fucking issue with people saying that I am not allowed to use the only label that's ever felt like a home to me, the only label that's ever fully covered everything that I am and everything that I feel.

if you don't want to be called queer, good, I won't call you that. but I will not stop calling myself queer. if you have a problem with that, then like actually fuck you

[wakaposting]

I don't know if you have any strong opinions on them but either Shizuku or Tokitsugu :3

I DOOOOOOOOOOOO. looking at you with my big eyes

Shizuku

First impression: I know that Matsui-sensei gives all his characters their time to shine, so I was excited to see how he'd treat her as the story progressed. Her deadpan delivery was really endearing to me.

Impression now: I really adore Shizuku!! Her arc is such a beautiful example of so many themes that are important to this story. I can't wait to see her grow into herself and become more outspoken, and fight for her desires...! and also just experience the pleasures that life has to offer!

Favorite moment: "I want to feed your eyeball to a snake ^_^" is one of the first things she said that really made me giggle hehe. Her gambling battle against Mima is so insanely iconic and I think about it all the time.

Idea for a story: If I had to write about her... her having a vision and talking to shige post-timeskip (similar to what happens during the mima boat battle) would be interesting. whatever i wrote would probably be very quiet and introspective. i do also want to keep working on the role swap au where toki is a god of a shrine and shizuku has known him since they were very small!!

Unpopular opinion: I can imagine people would get up in arms about her relationship to toki bc she calls him 'nii-sama' lol. It's very clear that she does have romantic feelings for him. unpopular opinion i suppose is that i love her love for him, and i think it's as beautiful and valid as mima and ayako's, too, but it's also important to me that they do NOT end up together. the only answer is for him to marry all three of them or none of them tbh, lol. this is an opinion that is exclusive to nigewaka and matsui's writing bc i literally detest harem/love triangles in any other media.

Favorite relationship: I like her and Ayako trying to navigate both having crushes on waka tbh, lol. which again is a testament to how good matsui-sensei's writing is because as I said before i usually Hate this angle.

Favorite headcanon: she's weeeeeeird bro. let her be weird. i can't remember if they actually make this joke in the manga or if i made it up but she's a kid who would sit and squish ants or drown them a little bit fr (sob). i think we need to let her say strange unknowable and slightly unhinged things more often

Tokitsugu

First impression: tokitsugu freaked the hell out of me when i first saw him because at the point where he showed up, i still hadn't been able to figure out if shizuku was shige's biological daughter or not, lmao. so i was like WTF DO YOU MEANNNN HE HAS ANOTHER KID. he sent me into a tailspin trying to figure out how old shige was, too, lmfao.

Impression now: I LOVE HIM. i love him. i freaking love the suwa family so much. beautiful man and his horrible son. i love them

Favorite moment: I love when he cries a little bit and blurts out that everybody ignores him when his dad is around. it's so freaking funny. more poignant answer is when he admits to yorishige that he snuck into his bed as a child... cries forever.

Idea for a story: I really really REALLLY wanna write modern AU answer to the 'kunitoki meets shige' fic where shige introduces tokitsugu to tokiyuki. i think he'd want to be supportive. but he also is like. this is..... unusual...

Unpopular opinion: More people should pay attention to him. GIVE HIM ATTENTION!!!! I love you forever Tokitsugu

Favorite relationship: I think about him and Yoritsugu a lot. i can't imagine it was easy raising a kid like that, haha...

Favorite headcanon: in modern AU i headcanon him as not being fully blind, but having a degenerative eye disease that has been slowly getting worse as an adult :( he's a single dad and lives with yoritsugu in a rural little area maybe 45 minutes away by train from where shige lives, but his health problems have been making it harder for him to come and visit his dad.

[writers-get-biters]

hii! i have a bunch of questions. i tried to trim down the list a bit, i hope it's not too many :p feel free to skip any!!

☕ - what is switching like for you?

🪐 - what is headspace like for you?

🌧️ - how does the system cope with stress?

🎁 - have you ever bought your alters/headmates things?

💬 - free space!! tell me about something! (if you want :3)

omg hello!

we love answering questions abt our plurality so dw at all :]

"☕ - what is switching like for you?"

we have varying ideas/theories/experiences of it (some of which contradict), but generally switching feels a lot more like 'becoming' each other than fully letting someone else 'take over' in an external-to-the-current-fronter way if that makes sense bc of our mediple[flux]ness & our particular type of quoiconsciousness. most of us like switching quite a bit bc it feels validating and good to experience our plurality at its most obvious(?). we don't really [someone is saying "sometimes" but i cant remember the last time one of us recognized it] experience any of the "common symptoms" of switching like headaches or similar, so we usually know by a shift in beliefs (especially those abt our plurality [such as how distinct we are or what consciousness label is "correct"]) and identity and sometimes behaviors/instincts(?) (we have a few people who are the "main selfshippers" so if we're suddenly in the mood for that we can narrow it down to them).

"🪐 - what is headspace like for you?"

it's quite cool imo! we're between a dreamway & gateway system, and we've had/have been working on our headspace since we were like 8/9/10 maybe? though back then it was just like the thing that we used to connect our daydreams and stuff, like we had this street with all these doors and different doors led to different daydreams and stuff. later, it expanded beyond that to become a whole fantasy world/planet. it's pretty unique bc instead of the different lands/continents being on the central planet, theyre actually on the ring made of natural glass around the central planet. we have 15 realms/layers that appear as different lands/continents embedded in the ring.

aside from the physical structure of our innerworld, they also work in ways unlike shared reality [supposedly] does. events can happen there that are not considered "canon" or blur the line between "canon" and "noncanon." most of the time, the headspace itself tries to adhere to "canon," sometimes causing small timeloops in order to nudge us towards it. [almost?] all of the ceters [<- the term we prefer to headmates/alters/etc; sysmates is also fine tho] can still remember "noncanon" events though. 3 of the lands are uniquely/inherently fuzzy wrt "canon" in a way none of us are sure of quite yet.

we also have developed some understanding of the history of this world. the planet was created when two smaller moons that were essentially made of geodes/gemstones [let's say theyre called "derse" and "prospit" ;) ] crashed into each other causing them to merge and create rings of sand and larger landmasses around them. i believe this happened due to some sort of explosion of one of the planets the moons were circling, so the whole area was very hot. after the collision, though, the temperature dropped rapidly, causing the glass ring to form with the lands inside. we also have many tales about how people began to appear here, which i'll simplify as "there was a rock that burst open into a tree and when the first leaf fell, it broke into many tiny pieces which became people."

there's a lot more we could say lol, but we wanna answer the rest of the questions :] feel free 2 ask more abt it if u(&) wanna know more!

"🌧️ - how does the system cope with stress?"

um. not well? we find that we usually naturally become less distinct in stressful situations and have a much harder time communicating. trying to combat this by focusing more on our plurality generally helps with stress i think but the degree to which it does varies and usually depends on how big the stressor. ("we shld probs work on our coping skills ngl.." "i don't even know what coping is..." "um,,,,, thats not good.")

"🎁 - have you ever bought your alters/headmates things?"

sorta! our financial situation is a bit complicated rn bc we're a dependant, so we usually ask for things rather than buy it. when we ask for things, we (usually?) want it for everyone's usage, but it often has like associations with certain ceters. sometimes the association is with whoever asked for it, but other times it's intended for someone else to use, even if anyone who fronts is welcome to it. recently, jake got a book that was mostly intended for helix to read, but it's been mostly me in front for a few days now so ive been reading it.

"💬 - free space!! tell me about something! (if you want :3)"

ooh...

ok i dont know so ill j show off a draft of what our planet looks like and the flag we made for our system!

planet draft:

it's only a draft but it gives an idea of what it looks like. the lands arent visible in this one though :/

we're gonna put our personal system flag under the cut bc it's very much eyestrain! also, thank you(&) for asking stuff!

cw: eyestrain!

:)

thank you(&) so much for the questions! we had a lot of fun answering them!

[my-castles-crumbling]

hello cas! how are you?

i just wanted to ask something, i dont know, maybe have a little validation? im not sure

i have and regularly use a tumblr blog, and im an active ao3 author who will often project onto characters, both because its easier to write what i know and also because it makes for good storytelling. theres one thing though that i never talk about, not on my blog and not in my writing, but i feel like i should be?

i dont remember the silly medical word for it, but theres some condition on my dad's side of the family where weve got a higher chance of going blind, and usually earlier in life than most. my aunt has it, my grandfather had it, my older brother has it, and i have it. i didnt know my grandfather bc he died before i was born, but i know it only started affecting my aunt a little into her 50s, though it was much earlier for me and my brother (hes 27 and has about 50% of his vision, and im 20 and have about 70%, and for both of us what we have is also very blurred)

again, its not really something i talk about. ive been learning braille for when the inevitable comes (so far ive learned the alphabet and common conjunctions i can expect, so now im moving onto becoming more comfortable and confident feeling it all out) and honestly im pretty okay about it. its not that ive given up, im just... neutral? i have my peace with it. im working with what ive got or whatever, i dunno

but i feel like i should be... doing something with it? like, sharing my experience or using my writing to create representation. im always reading about people projecting their disabilities onto characters (especially remus, in place of his lycanthropy in muggle aus) like deafness, or epilepsy, or chronic pain, or migraines, but i rarely read about blind characters/sight impaired characters, and i just wonder like... should i be writing that? should i be doing something?

i dont know if this even makes sense haha. i just feel some sort of obligation to talk about it, but especially because i already project onto my characters with my mental health issues etc it almost feels like id also be writing about myself *too* much? it feels like theres no winning

im also sort of nervous that if i *did* bring it up on my blog now, that people might think im just making it up or something because ive never mentioned it before. i also dont know everything about it, and if people asked me something i didnt have an answer to, im afraid of that too. as though just because im losing my vision i should know every single thing there is to know about blindness. its silly and i know that, but it still makes me nervous to talk about it after all this time

Hi! <3

I understand why you feel this way, but please know that you don't owe anyone anything just because you have a disability. You're not obligated to be an activist or educator, in any way, shape, or form. There are plenty of aspects of my life I choose not to talk about and boundaries I draw when it comes to talking about my life on tumblr, and that's okay! Nobody who is part of a group that needs representation has to be the person to create that representation. For example, while I work to create trans representation in my writing, I choose not to address a lot of my childhood trauma. Sure, I could write about having a parent who is an addict, but I choose not to, and that's a choice I'm allowed to make, just as you are!

However, if you DO choose to talk about it and someone accuses you of faking? 1. Ew. Block them. 2. Send them to me. That's horrible and they need to be yelled at.

Naming you validation anon