#because the characters in question interact One Time

[permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88]

this. this. yes, it's the state of fandom and fanfiction in general, now. there's no real way of telling whether or not it will change. but my gosh is it ever disheartening, and honestly terribly sad to see that this is the way it will continue to go, if things remain the same as they are, right now.

now, before anyone comes at me with them, I've heard the myriad of reasons why a person might choose not to comment or leave kudos. they're shy. they forget. they don't want to leave a "footprint" on this wild little place known as the internet. they fear retaliation and hostility from authors who misinterpret comments left in good faith, and any number of other reasons, as well. and I want to make it abundantly clear that this is by no means an attempt on my part to dismiss or invalidate those reasons. at the end of the day, if someone doesn't want to interact with a given work, they won't, and as much as that may sadden me, I fully respect it as their choice. a comment that comes organically, because someone feels moved to leave it is far better than one that is forced or pressured in any way, and that is a hill I will die on.

that said, though, we will continue to lose people who are willing to share their works with us, if this trend continues. it's just a fact. while I make no attempt to speak for all of us, there are so, so many people I know that write for themselves, sure, but they share their work in the hopes that at least one (1) other person out there will be moved by what they've created. they share in the hopes that said other person will maybe want to interact with them because of it. whether the interaction leads to an unexpected friendship and mutual discussion of fic plots and characters and new releases of our favorite series, or not, the hope for it is there. the heartbreak is there, too, when we, as creators, post something we're particularly proud of, and receive nothing but silence in response. it's there when we try to make sure we present a face that is receptive to feedback and interaction. when we encourage comments, and ask questions of our readers, and yet still...silence. sure, if we're passionate about what we're creating, and/or the themes/ideas we're trying to convey, we can push on. we should push on, because I, for one, am so beyond tired of a world that tries to stifle people, and drown their voices out because they don't "fit the mold" of normal that is determined by some nameless, faceless majority. but to continue doing so, and to continue to receive silence in response? to be called 'entitled' by some readers, because we dare to ask for something...anything...other than crickets, and the sensation that we're shouting into the void?

it's really no wonder that some may choose to move on to other things.

while I've never experienced what OP's friend has with Discord, I can only imagine that such a situation only makes what I've already mentioned above so much more discouraging. it must make those it has happened to wonder what on earth is the point? if everyone is too busy sharing their reactions in their isolated little groups without ever deigning to let the creator know their feelings, or just mass-consuming it and moving on to the next thing ten seconds later, as if the first thing that caught their attention never even existed, why are we even bothering to do this at all? again, I do not speak for everyone, but I daresay the majority of us are not trying to be the next big name author. we're not trying to 'make it big' at all. this is a hobby, that we do for free, in our (mostly) limited free time, and anymore, we largely receive absolutely nothing in return. we pour pieces of ourselves out there into the world, completely free of charge. we make ourselves vulnerable in ways that are often ugly. real. to many, silence in the face of that vulnerability is exactly the same as the dismissiveness and invalidation we've already received when we're that 'real' anywhere else in our lives. it drives home the thought that our voices do not matter, and thus we should not bother speaking. and no, society and our readers at large are not responsible for our vulnerability and our emotions and our traumas that we sometimes place upon our characters as a means of processing them. but even if we aren't opening ourselves up to our readers, if it's genuinely all in "good fun", we can't legally monetize it, interaction is our form of 'earnings' from this, and by and large that sort of thing is rare, and has been for quite a while. and sure. people can read and abandon fics at will, with or without leaving some trace of their presence along the way. that is well within their right. but I have also seen these same individuals go on to harrass the creators of works that have been abandoned or deleted for doing so, despite never once trying to show any form of appreciation at all. and then they have the nerve to call us entitled for wanting that appreciation in the first place.

the fact that the "social media-ification" of fanfiction (it is not Instagram, no matter how so many may treat it as such) and the quite honestly despicable behavior from a loud minority of touchy authors who have now effectively ruined commenting for so many of the rest of us has made fanfiction what it is today is just...heartbreaking. it really, really is. and while I personally plan to stick around and do my best to fight the demons in my mind that tell me no interaction means that no one cares about my stories so I should just stop writing them, not everyone will. we're all incredibly foolish if we believe otherwise, and honestly, as awful as I feel saying it "out loud"?

if fandom culture doesn't see a change soon, and more and more talented authors continue dropping like flies?

we'll deserve it.

tl;dr? creators are not robots, people. we aren't content-mills, put on this earth specifically to serve the bidding of consumers, on their timeline, and not our own. but what do I know, right?

I'm just a so-called "entitled" author who thinks interaction with our work, no matter how small, shouldn't be a thing that we have to try to pull from behind stubbornly gritted teeth.

A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

[clfixationstation]

ngl I cannot bring myself to agree with the "Catra's redemption was rushed" crowd, whether they like the show overall or not. Perhaps I have a different view of redemption than most. To me, a redemption arc begins when a character experiences guilt and remorse for their actions, which Catra expresses in early season 4 when she has a nightmare about how she threw Entrapta under the bus and activated the portal. Catra's nightmare shows her images of Entrapta and Adora questioning her, placing the onus for her actions on her: "What did you do to me?" "Why did you do it?"

Derailing: Why did she do it? Not because Adora made her. Catra can't use that excuse anymore. "Why did you do it?" Adora also asked Catra this as a child (s5ep3 Corridors) after she hit Lonnie. Back then, it was because Catra was terrified of losing Adora's friendship and thereby being "discarded" by Shadow Weaver. She was scared for her life. But now? Catra didn't activate the portal for safety; she did it to win. She did it to prove to the world she could be victorious, to Shadow Weaver, Hordak, Adora, to everyone who refused to believe in her. Yet after pulling that lever, Catra's true desires were revealed; she wanted to be relatively safe, surrounded by friends, allowed to love Adora, and recognized for her worth. She didn't need to dominate. When that false reality shattered, Catra's hope was shattered with it. She fell back on her sense of injustice, reduced to her own agony, inflicting it upon the world and herself. After the portal, Catra had to face that her goal of ascending through the Horde was hollow.

One could even argue Catra feels regret at the end of season 3 with this look she gives Adora of "ohhh I fucked up, I fucked up big time." Catra looks sickened, with herself and with how Adora now sees her.

From this point in the story, it was blatant to me that Catra was headed for redemption. Catra clearly knows that she went too far and may have completely burned every bridge and ruined all hope of redemption. But she can't yet confront that her ambitions will not fulfill her. So, she doubles down. In classic sunk-cost fallacy fashion, Catra seemingly strengthens her allegiance to the Horde, taking control and commanding operations. Despite herself, Catra's guilt creeps up on her, not only through the nightmare but also in her approach to Adora. Unlike in s1-3, throughout season 4 Catra avoids Adora almost entirely, only engaging from afar. Catra evades confronting the amount of pain she's caused Adora, the seemingly irreparable chasm she's clawed between them, focusing solely on strengthening the Horde. She still cares, but she denies herself that regular interaction.

This suppression poisons Catra's fragile friendship with Scorpia as well. Catra continually lashes out at Scorpia, projecting her own insecurities and frustrations onto her. Her behavior pushes Scorpia away and causes her to leave the Horde, to leave Catra. This is the first time someone left because of her. It almost feels like self-sabotage, Catra pushing Scorpia more and more, becoming crueler, creating reason for her to defect. Catra doesn't feel worthy of Scorpia's friendship, of anyone's. And so Scorpia's kindness enrages her, reminds her of how far she's fallen, and how much lower she will go. Catra also lashes out at her former comrades, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle, further isolating herself from anyone who cares about her, pinning her entire existence on proving herself through Horde victory. She failed in the friendship department; the Horde is all she has left.

But Catra can't fool herself forever, and she certainly couldn't fool Double Trouble. After defeating Hordak, who does Catra have left to prove herself to? Horde Prime? Herself? Neither of those people care. For the first time, Catra is completely alone, and Double Trouble doesn't let Catra hide from how she got there. They read Catra to filth, summarizing what I wrote above: Catra pushed all her friends away in pursuit of a villainous role she didn't desire; her heart laid elsewhere. Now both goals are in ruins. Depleted, with nothing left to prove, Catra asks Glimmer to kill her. Catra's guilt permeated season 4, seeping into all her relationships and degrading her mental state. But guilt is meaningless without action. Which brings us to season 5.

I got soooo off track, so I'll try to wrap it up. So yes, Catra's redemption arc started in s3/4 when she first felt remorse for her actions - not in season 5. Even then, her change took time to develop. Initially, Catra still tried to align herself with Prime, but convinced him to spare Glimmer, indicating her shifting allegiance. The girls begin to empathize with each other and Catra sees how much Glimmer cares for Adora and the life Adora has built for herself. Fully expecting to die, Catra chooses to throw away the small amount of favor she earned with Prime and save Glimmer, therefore protecting Adora. Catra apologizes to Adora for everything. Her body is stolen from her and she dies as a consequence of her actions. She's revived and chooses to join the Rebellion. She slips up but genuinely tries to make amends, not for her own conscience but because it's right. She wants to do better. She accepts ire from the Princesses without retaliation. She defends Adora from Shadow Weaver. She gives Adora the strength to choose to live and allow herself to desire, and together they save the world.

This redemption is not immediate. It was given time, the foundation established across seasons. Catra does not have a sudden change of heart. It builds gradually, even within the final season. Nothing about Catra's arc was rushed and nothing about it was easy. Each day, she fought the harmful instincts cemented in her from years of abuse to become a better person, experiencing realistic regression and growth. Catra was tormented by others and herself for her entire life and all it did was make her worse. She deserves a soft universe, the new world she and Adora created together

[akanemnon]

Hi akane.

So I wanna know how you come up with a good funny comic.

Because I wanna do a comic in the future. But I have a bit of trouble with creating an actual funny and appealing comic.

That is actually something that can't really be taught that easily through a simple explanation. Unlike with art where there are visual tricks and workarounds, this is all writing-based.

This will be a longer read, so answer under the cut.

Humor is very subjective. Everyone finds different things funny. I am someone who enjoys character-based humor for example. I'm also not a big fan of telling easy jokes myself. The kind of jokes that are repeated in the fandom many times. All power to you if you love them though! Can't help but enjoy a good meme. These kinda jokes are actually used in The Other Script however as a sort of love letter to the fandom itself. BUT the way I use them is to explore these charcaters and their dynamics. In a transformative way so to speak. Lemme use a direct example: So there is this scene in The Other Script where Frisk is upset and really sad. Previously they were venting their frustration that Kris wasn't telling them anything about their previous adventures. So Kris circles back to that and as a way to cheer up Frisk they do the "Kris get the banana" bit from Chapter 2.

It is a direct reference, but it is used in a way that makes sense in the story. It's not a random gag. It's used in a situation where it is applicable. So as you can see the way I write is very character-centric in general.

So if you also are most interested in character-based humor, what you can do is explore the characters you wanna write about. Their behavior, the way they talk, what they like, what they dislike, how they react in certain situations. Most of the comedy already comes from putting contrasting characters together. Characters can also just be funny on their own with how they interact with the world around them.

But who knows? Maybe you prefer puns! Maybe you like slapstick! Or silly humor! Or dark humor! There are TONS of different ways to go about it. Find out what you find funniest and play into that. Sometimes a good frame of inspiration is all you need. Maybe there were movies and TV shows you really gravitated towards when it came to the jokes they were telling. In the end, it is about what YOU think is funny. There will always be other people who might vibe with your brand of humor and others who won't. There are probably plenty of people who don't get my brand of humor. And that's okay. I'm grateful enough there are already a lot of people who think I'm funny. Which you might be one of them, since you asked me about a humor-based question.

So yeah, TDLR ask yourself what you find funniest and find the right inspiration to work into your comic.

[cripplecharacters]

in a story I'm writing I have a character that uses a cane for instability and pain mostly in his legs. There is no specific diagnosis because it's magic based. But he is a superhero that gets his power from a separate magical force, and the part of the power is to enhance all physical ability strength, agility, ect. So would it a) be reasonable for him to no longer require a cane while in the super hero form and b) be officive or harmful in any way for him to no longer use a cane in those instances? I don't want to make it seem as though you can't be a hero or anything like with disabilities.

Thak you for you time and help!

Hello!

If the power is to enhance these attributes (strength, agility, etc.), then would it just be enhancing what's already there? If so, he'd probably still have these issues with his leg.

Personally, I really wish people would stop taking away their disabled character's disability when they're superheros. I've seen a lot of series do this (especially with magical girls-style heroes) and it's really quite unfortunate to see.

Why can't your character be a superhero with a mobility aid? Especially in this kind of situation, where his main problems are pain/instability -- which don't exactly stop him from being a superhero.

I also think that keeping his disability as a factor when he's a superhero opens the door for far more creativity and world building.

For one thing, you can consider how the world/city would react to having an obviously disabled superhero.

How does the media treat him? Do they tend to take a pitying or inspiration porn angle? Do they treat him like any other superhero? Does it change throughout the story? How does he respond to it?

How does the general population treat him? How about the disabled community in particular? I can't speak for everyone but I've always loved seeing disabled superheros. There's something about seeing somebody with your same problems being powerful that's really motivating/inspiring almost. I imagine that feeling would be increased if the superhero in question was real.

How do his teammates treat him (if he has them)? How do his villains treat him?

Keeping your character disabled when they're a superhero opens the door for all these different considerations, which can lead to some great character development/interactions.

Maybe your character's disabled fans put him on a bit of a pedestal and that's something he has to navigate. Maybe the media starts by talking about him in a pitying way or questioning his use/abilities and changes the tune after he wins a tough battle (though I think it'd be nice to have somebody acknowledge that treating him that way was kinda fucked up either eay). Maybe a villain doesn't want to fight him because he's disabled -- would your character take advantage of that in any way? How would they navigate the situation?

I'd really urge you to have him keep his disability/mobility aid as a superhero. It makes the story far more interesting to actually find ways to navigate the situation rather than take the easy way out AND it would be very refreshing to see a disabled superhero that isn't cured by their superpowers.

I'd suggest taking a look through some of our posts on #disability erasure and #disability negating superpowers as well as the helpful posts linked in our pinned post. There's some on disabled superheroes and navigating disability and superpowers that I think you'll find helpful.

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

[sicvitaest27]

I’d like to give my two cents on this subject, as an author myself.

Honestly, I consider myself quite a free speaker, and will ask if I have something to ask, just as I’ll comment, when I have something to comment. Also, when I’m done with the story, I’m more than happy to give feedback.

Of course, I understand that one of the beautiful things about writing WIP s is that real time interaction with readers, as the story progresses. But, for me personally, I do find myself waiting for the story to continue, without having the need to input anything. Not because I don’t care about the story, just because I understand what is going on, the direction, and everything else is just explained well, so there’s nothing really prompting me to ask anything, for it would, probably, be spoiler territory.

Now, of course, theories and whatnot are always welcome, but, there’s only so much theories that can be made about a story; and that heavily depends on how vague the story is being written, and don’t even get me started of people guessing and guessing, and then, by so many guesses, finish the story before you even get a chance to conclude it yourself. That’s a totally different can of worms, that I do not want to get myself into at the moment😂

Now, when an author explicitly asks a question to the readers, sure, it is always a welcome thing to answer, but, it should be considered that, unless they have enabled the notifications from a specific blog, chances are, that, if they follow a lot of blogs and people, they simply won’t see it, and for the ones that do, not all of them will feel the urge to respond. Why? I don’t know, that’s just their preference, and the reasonings are their own, and that’s okay. That’s how it is.

I’m relatively close to submitting a story of my own, and honestly, I would love to have interaction with the readers, for them to tell me how did they like the story, the characters, but I understand if they don’t, because, 9 times out of 10, I first, don’t find myself having the need to give constant feedback, and if that’s the case for me, I can’t put different expectations onto others.

But that’s just normal. That’s why you see games on steam, that everyone knows have sold millions, yet have only 300 reviews, or IF s on steam, that have authors on tumblr, and they are writing a second book for their IF, and there’ll still be barely any questions about it, or any theories.

Would I want for the community to be more active? Absolutely, but only because I want people to have a good time, and to feel free to have that good time, without thinking that they’re going to be subjected to whatever. But, if they are still here, following along, then that’s fine too, and that shouldn’t affect the authors, because, I understand that it’s always good to get that engagement, because that tells you that you’re doing something that’s worth doing, worth more than you may initially think, but, as an artist, you should do it because of yourself, first and foremost.

This is not a rant, and this is not a comment made against anyone who feels differently than what I just said; you’re justified in that, and I do feel you, trust me, but, as long as people want to stick around and enjoy your stories, then I say let them! And, if they wish to talk to the brilliant mind behind the story, then by all means, but I don’t see a point in trying to force something to do that. Because, even encouraging can be viewed like that, and I doubt that any of us want that.

So, to conclude this, yes, the community may have gone a tad bit quieter, and the reasons for that are unknown to me, but, should that change? Hopefully, but if not, then hell, it is what it is. There are certainly many factors and reasons that can be taken into account for that, but, what I advocate for, is for people to be comfortable and have a good time. And for authors, to do this because they truly like doing it, and, as Toni Morrison had put it, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.�� That’s how I view my writing. No one’s written this, in this specific setting or this specific way, with these specific characters, and so, I shall write it, and if people like it? That’s just icing on the cake.

Anyhow, to all my fellow authors, I feel you, I truly do, but hey, things change the way they do, but that shouldn’t demotivate you. People will express themselves when they wish to do so, for reasons only they have, and that’s also fine as well. Hopefully, folks will get more comfortable, for the IF community is a lovely community, which offers a safe space for everyone, but, if they just wish to follow along, let them. It’s all you can really do. Cheers to everyone, and love to all🥂🖤

I think a lot of authors have noticed this lately: Likes, comments, reblogs with reviews... everything seems to be getting quieter. Stories go on, chapters come out, but all too often, it's a great silent nothingness that greets them.

Are we at fault, or is it something else? Yet you're there, we can see you raising the view counters on our demos.

I'm not here to lecture or beg for anything. I'd just like to understand, as many other authors do, why ? Because this statement is the result of a growing concern? Depression?among our ranks. To the degree that some of us have come to say: What's the point?

I'd just like to remind you of one thing: a story is alive, yes, but ! It's alive thanks to you, not just to us.

Every word you read, every emotion you feel, every theory you silently formulate: it's all part of the magic of a story, and it needs to be shared. When you share it all, a comment, a reblog with a fews words, even a brief reaction, that's when it really comes together, you're blowing on the story's flame! You fuel it, make it tangible. You give it a life that an author, alone in front of their screen, can't always sustain over time. Believe me, we try... Some are more gifted than others, but I'm all for helping each other.

Because yes, we write out of passion, out of desire, out of need. Yes, we love our worlds. But the impetus, the joy, the motivation, the feeling of really being read, all that is also born from exchange.

So here it is, just a quick note to say that if you like or don't like something, please say so. No need for a big dissertation but there's nothing worse than silence, it's the great reaper of our aspirations and I don't want to let it win.

And to my author friends: you're not alone. 💙

[the-ruby-enchanter]

You're no feminist. You're not only placing blame of Tamlin onto Feyre but you're saying that Feyre's revenge was stupid /petty as if he wasn't @busing her and his ugly lapdog was just watching it all fall apart . Just like that boy did with his mom .

Rhys's sister ain't alive that nasty man's actions caused her to die . Some of you need to know how to comprehend material . Her head was floating down a river , Tamlin is nasty and cruel person . His soulmate is Lucien and only Lucien

"When you only interact with people who share the exact same opinion as you... Same favorite characters, same takes, same echo chamber where you can throw even your most delulu theories around without risking anyone throw free hate... sounds cozy, right?

But even then — even in your carefully curated comfort zone — people still find the time to crawl into your inboxe just to send this kind of messages over fictional characters. 🙃 Wow. How great!"

Let me say it louder for the ones in the back (and I’ll keep saying it, again and again):

The way I perceive a story, its characters, its events: that interpretation belongs to me. Not you. Not your circle. Me.

That’s the entire point of fiction! It’s meant to spark different perspectives, emotions, even contradictions.

We’re human beings, not clones. We think differently. So if you need everyone to agree with your opinion 100% of the time… you’re not looking for conversation, you’re looking for a cult.

And oh, don’t come at my boys just because you lack the imagination or empathy to put yourself in their shoes — especially when we never got to hear their full stories.

You don’t know what Lucien went through in Beron’s house. You don’t know if he exchanged messages with his mother in secret, living under the constant threat of a powerful, abusive High Lord. What exactly do you expect him to do? Stand up and die for rebellion while no one even sees it?

And for my lovely blondie Tamlin — you’re so quick to condemn him while you forgave Rhysand in a heartbeat, even though he actually abused and sexually harassed Feyre Under the Mountain. But I guess it’s fine now because he “had a reason,” right? Because we heard his story.

But what about Tamlin’s story? What if, for just one second, you considered what he went through?

You really think Amarantha, who lusted after him since his childhood, wouldn’t do horrible things to him once she had him caged like a trophy in her court? You think he came out of that untouched?

Let me remind you: it was Rhys who willingly offered his “services” to Amarantha.

Tamlin rejected her for years. And still ended up her prisoner.

Now let’s get real for a sec:

Questioning my feminism because I see nuance in a male character? That’s not only childish, it’s embarrassing.

Real feminism is about advocating for all people — women, men, everyone in between — especially when they’re misunderstood or mistreated.

Sometimes men are victims. Sometimes they’re trapped by the way a story is told. And recognizing that doesn’t make me any less feminist.

If your feminism only supports women who dress a certain way, act certain way, think a certain way, or hate the “right” characters… then it’s not feminism. It’s just another form of control.

(It's just like the kind that supports “freedom” when women can wear what ever she want until she choose to wear a hijab and cover her self, that suddenly doesn’t count as freedom anymore, I'm not saying you do that but the way you persieve things hit the same way)

Also, can we talk about the joykiller you are for a moment?

I adore the theory that Tamlin and Rhys’s sister were old lovers and that she might come back as his mate. I love it. It makes so much sense to me.

You don’t have to agree. But messaging people just to tell them their theory is “wrong” or “won’t happen” , are you allergic to fun?

If you don’t like it, scroll. It’s free. No one’s forcing you to engage.

And lastly, It’s a real shame you messaged me under “anonymous.”

Because people like me? 😇 When we disagree with someone’s opinion, we either ignore, scroll past, or worst case hit block.

We don’t send sneaky little anonymous hate messages like cowards.

Have a beautiful day. Or don’t. That’s up to you. ✌️

[lilyw0lf]

I think I'm missing some context, but I've been seeing a bit of controversy about the LU and LoZ fandom this past couple of days and I'm pretty sure that this issue comes from way back.

And I just want to say that most of the people that I've met in this fandom are so sweet and welcoming. Maybe I was just fortunate to interact with the right people, but I know for sure that those little interactions have been what makes me love this fandom so much. I think a healthy community is even more important than the source material when it comes to shape one's vision of a fandom, at least for me.

I must confess that I've been a lurker for most of the time that I've been here, mostly because my own fear of giving my opinion or asking questions that could seem dumb and not wanting to go out of my confort zone. That said, I couldn't have been more wrong.

If you are new to a fandom, and not just LU or LoZ, any fandom, or even if you've been here for a while and you are just a fellow lurker I want to tell you:

Don't be afraid of interacting with other people

Don't be afraid of giving your opinion

Don't be afraid to create

Don't be afraid to share

And don't be afraid of asking questions

I can't promise you that you won't encounter a jerk sometimes, but mostly you will find great people willing to share their own opinions and knowledge with you. Who knows, you might meet some of your greatest friends that way.

The interactions between people are what define the hearth of a comunity. And that's why I want you to always try to be polite and treat everyone with kindness first.

Don't impose your own headcanons to anyone, hell don't even impose canon, people love to create and go wild with their own imagination and if that makes them happy let them be happy.

You can always share your knowledge about the games, LU or whatever you want, but please do it politely. The other person might not realise that their take on a character or story is not canon or they might know and just want to ignore it. And that's alright too, at the end of the day we are here to have fun. You can share your own headcanons if you want.

If you don't like something or a person is just being straight rude, then you can always block them, you have all the right to do it. But please try to make sure you don't become the one that's rude with others without reason.

Also about the games, you don't have to have played to every game to interact with the fandom, you don't have to have played to any of them if you want. You can just have read the comic and that's totally fine, like I said earlier if you want to know about something just ask politely, really don't be afraid to ask. And to the people that answers please don't be rude about it. Most people don't have the money or the time to play every game, but that doesn't mean that they can't learn about them if they are interested.

Don't assume anything about anyone, for all you know you could be talking with a literal child that just found something that seems cool and is so excited to learn more about it or to share their own stuff with others. And how would they feel if the first reaction they got to their question or opinion was a negative one? And not just children, anyone who wanted to interact with a fandom and just got rude reactions would probably just want to go away and not even want to keep learning about the thing that had them so excited. So please, please always try to be mindful with others, you don't know their circunstances, kindness shoud always be tried first.

And mostly to new users but this goes to everyone, about taging no LU stuff as LU, please if you are not sure try to check the original tags before reblogging. It takes just a few seconds and is the best way to avoid confussion and innecesary arguments. On the other side, if you see someone misstaging let them know, but please do it politely, they might be new and not understand how the tagging works.

What I want to say with all of this is please always try to be kind, everyone has their own circunstances. Don't let issues like these that can be easily avoided rot the core of a beautiful comunity. You'll find some people that are just jerks, is unavoidable on any group of people, but don't let them make you become one of them, just block and keep living your life. Most people are sweet and great and it's a pity if you miss out on everything good just because a few idiots.

[alicethenobody]

List of DMC media newer fans can check out outside of the main games!

(Will be separating canon and non canon media)

Canon:

The most obvious one would be the Madhouse anime, which takes place between 1 and 2. Its 100% canon except for Morrison’s appearance being retconned.

The 1, 2, 4, and 5 novels: These are actually quite lore important and I highly suggest reading them as they delve much deeper into the characters, especially Dante, than the games do. We learn about Dante’s life after the fire, Nero’s childhood, how Nero met Nico, and so much more!

DMC3 manga: A prequel to DMC3, shows Dante’s life after his Tony Redgrave days and what Lady was up to before DMC3. We even see Dante and Vergil’s first meeting since they were kids and why Dante holds so much animosity towards him in 3.

Drama CDs: Now this gets tricky because these haven’t been fully translated into English, however there’s a really good Spanish translation for Spanish speakers. Running it through translate is another option. I can’t seem to find the JP transcript unfortunately. But these are canon, written by Bingo, and explain things like why Dante stopped working with Enzo or why Devil Never Cry went back to being DMC. Plus why Trish left DMC for a while and many other things.

Visions of V: A manga centered around V that retells parts of DMC5 from V/Vergil’s perspective and dives into Vergil’s psychologically even more than the games.

Non canon or questionably canon (aka crossover games)

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne: Dante is a minor character in the game’s story. His appearance here most likely isn’t canon but his appearance is fun and you can even recruit him into your party. Also, ever wanted to know how a demon feels being hunted by Dante? This is the game for you!

Project X Zone: In this game, Dante and Lady interact with many other Capcom characters and their personalities are on point. There’s many funny and wholesome exchanges. We also see the elusive post 3 but pre 1 Dante and Lady, something rarely depicted.

Project X Zone 2: Same as PXZ1 but no Lady this time unfortunately but featuring Dante pre DMC1 and DMC3 Vergil. Some weird time travel stuff happens. If you want silly and angsty Sparda bros interactions, this game is for you.

Viewtiful Joe: Another game by Kamiya himself. Dante and Trish appear in this game as playable characters and we get many humorous moments, such as the implication that in that universe DMC2 Dante is an imposter.

Marvel vs Capcom: Dante, Vergil, and Trish are playable in some of these games. Also, in MvC Infinite’s story Dante has some awesome character moments I highly recommend checking out the cutecenes for that.

Punishing Gray Raven: A very recent collab. This is notable for being the closest we have to post 5 Dante and Vergil interactions. While canonicity is questionable, the characterization is on point IMO and still gives a good idea of how the twins would likely interact post 5.

[kiskivmiske]

I remember reading a doc that called out an artist for "inflation" and muscle fetish. I opened the art where muscle growth fetish is supposed to be and Sunny has exactly one line on her thigh and one on her ankle to show muscles like on the picture (government blocked the majority of non-russian websites so I can't find the exact image)

And the "inflation" turned out to be separate pictures of Umber and Smolder(????) with maybe a little thicker neck than on book reference lineart

But I don't entirely blame people for jumping to the conclusion of fat=fetish art, because fat characters, both in WOF and other fandoms are almost always watered down to "good jokes, always hungry". And looks like few people expect to see fat characters existing outside of either fetish or jokes.

Like 99% of jokes about Clay are food jokes. And even Tui for the most part treats him like that. In the lost heir half of his interactions are eating or asking for food. "Oh I'm gonna meet my parents guys" "Are we gonna eat" "Oh look guys, a summer palace" "Where summer kitchen?"

Even in Jackie Chan Adventures, Tohru, who has one of, if not the most complex character arcs in the series, going from a violent gang member to an emotionally distant ally to basically the mom of the group has a fair amount of food jokes.

That's an issue in many fandoms. A character can be a total asshole as long as they have one redeeming quality "This is my blorbo, he killed 2798317903 puppies because his dad didn't love him. Vote him to be Tumblr sexyman." But god forbid a fat character has a personality OTHER than being fat. That's propaganda, dude. Next time you'll say genocide is okay.

Many animals fatten up naturally. Fat is an energy storage for times of food shortage, stress, long migrations and competition with other animals. So, basically, dragons who are mostly living in the conditions of a war where they're constantly moving, fighting, often going in rather questionable territories like desert, volcanoes, ocean or tundra would eat to get more fat stored when giving an option. We know that it isn't very likely that our society will crumble tomorrow and we will be sent to our death to the North Pole or some shit, so we can skip this meal. You can afford eating regularly. But for dragons that's a normal daily life, as grim as it is.

Morrowseer and Deathbringer who wander the farthest would definitely grow a tummy to make up for life on barren island where you have nothing but carrion and occasional birds. Dragons also fly over the ocean, and that would require a ton of energy with very few vegan no sugar no gluten zero calories food kiosks on their way.

You can be captured and put in a gladiator arena for months with rain water diet tomorrow, and what you're gonna do? Channel the spirit of celery you ate five days ago to start photosynthesis?

Same goes for warrior cats. For them it's safer to collect more fat during greenleaf than die of starvation the next bareleaf.

I'm not saying everyone is fat. Rainwings would obviously be mostly thin, because their life is closer to ours, they are always well fed and live in stability. They don't need to pack extra energy to go. But for an average dragon being chubby when the prey is abundant and they aren't currently in war action, isn't that unrealistic.

Don't get me started on blubber and fat soluble hormones (Which is why caterpillars get fatter before metamorphosis. And realistically Silkwings should also fatten up at least a bit before growing four extra limbs. Like, this energy for transformation isn't coming out of nowhere)

"Hgnhghg good luck dying of heart stroke at 20"

Being so fat you can't bend down, squat, fit in a seat or God forbid walk is unhealthy and will totally cause problems down the line, but having 10-15 extra kilograms, which don't restrict your movements or affect your lifestyle will not immediately put you on threshold of untimely death, if you make sure to exercise and make sure your diet is diverse. And do regular checkups.

You're about as likely do die of cancer at a young age, because ecology is fucked. And especially if you have people in your ancestry who had cancer.

Also if you acknowledge the existence of fat characters outside of food jokes doesn't mean you're fat and projecting your insecurities and living vicariously through the character because you has no life outside of your gaming chair as someone in replies is implying.

Anytime I see art of WoF dragons as fat. It’s always look sideways. Cause like, it’s never in a “normal” way. It’s always in a fetishy way. Why are you making fetish art of minors

.

[scribefindegil]

"super invested in niche character dynamic that does not actually exist in canon" is a special kind of torment. keep thinking "why has nobody but me written about this?" girl it is because you made it up

[cdr2002]

I hate fandom moral police lmao, I get it. Someone tried to tell me like five characters I’m not allowed to like by extension of Gul Dukat making me uncomfortable once. It was annoying.

While I agree, Section 31 are, at least in the way I interpret their DS9 appearances, unambiguously villains, but also outside of the novels they have no coherent arc, so I kinda get why people have a problem with them even if I don’t as much. Later series muddy the waters with characters we are meant to like who are associated with the organization such as Malcom Reed and Ash Tyler, but these can be seen as a bit of greyness shading that particular character, or that character can be interpreted as an antihero, and thus not someone we’re mean to 100% root for.

There’s also a very narrow “they exist in opposition of Julian Bashir specifically and are designed for that narrative function” read of Section 31 but I don’t find that idea interesting in macrocosm or useful to the discussion.

I think the question of the Borg and genocide is in the way that one shuts down the Collective. Janeway’s virus, from what I can tell, largely freed drones or rendered them in stasis. The shit they were suggesting in “I, Borg” sounds a lot more like genocide to me and I’m glad Picard and co chose to abort, and it really shows a dark side of Nacheyev and Starfleet Command when they’re mad Picard didn’t do it later. The reason I have a problem with the idea of genociding is not because the Collective is a culture in need of preserving, but because every single drone is a captive person who deserves freedom and should only be mercy killed if there is no other immediate option. (And sometimes our heroes can try harder than they do, as Lily critiques Picard got with Ensign Lynch)

Individual characters like Picard or Sisko opposing the Maquis because of who those individual characters are make sense, I agree. I try, and maybe this is cope, to interpret the “actually this was always hopeless” thing as Sisko’s personal opinion and see the narrative of Eddington’s final episode as rightfully presenting a tragedy, even if previous episodes critiqued the Maquis for the glory seeking of some of its members. I do think Sisko and Eddington are both equally up in their own pride for most of their interactions and none of their friends on either side will tell them no.

I also view the Thomas Riker episode as a critique of people who join fights to be validated. I like Thomas so I don’t want to say “white guy at a BLM March” but I struggle to think of something else right now. I don’t see Kira as saying the Maquis as a whole are doing it wrong, there’s actually a strong current of Maquis-Bajoran solidarity in the franchise further bolstered by beta canon it might be too much of a side tangent to get into. I think Kira is trying to tell Thomas that he is doing it wrong and is going to get his fellow Maquis killed.

So I for one see the Maquis as flawed but not in the wrong, but I think it’s fair, despite my takes, if someone sees the media as outright condemning them. Like that’s not unreasonable. Main characters as the moral authority is common in fiction. Star Trek is just usually more nuanced so sometimes I notice when I think main characters are wrong or not seeing the whole picture.

Regarding fandom and even certain creators, I think some have an easier time condemning the Maquis than Section 31 because the Maquis fight in opposition to the dream utopia while Section 31 ultimately seeks to preserve it. While I see these things as facets that make Section 31 interesting nuanced antagonists, who believe in an optimistic future, just not for themselves because they view themselves as needing to do the dirty work, and that frames the Maquis as an example that this seemingly utopian future doesn’t always get it right and an ideal society is something we must continuously work towards, others see it as one group opposing their dream and one darkly enforcing it, I think. I could be talking out my ass.

Others still condemn both groups and don’t want to have to deal with the moral implications of either because they can’t handle Starfleet being wrong in one direction or another.

This may have been slightly incoherent but hey thought rambles. Hope this was interesting and I didn’t make an idiot of myself

TNG: The Maquis are an example of governments screwing over native groups and also show an ugly side of the Federation where they are legally correct but morally in the wrong

DS9: the Maquis are disillusioned people, horny for personal glory, fighting for a cause that may be righteous but they’re doing it wrong. Also they’re theatre kids so bombing them for space is morally correct

Voyager: The captain is the most stick-in-the-mud will-always-follow-the-rules Captain we’ve ever had and her first officer is a principled man who left Starfleet to fight with the Maquis for his homeland. Oh god oh god oh god. Girls are shipping them. Abort! Abort! Maybe if we ignore the characters’ canonical devotion to each other while never challenging or explaining it (or the conflict between a rule following Captain depending so much on a man who broke those rules for righteous reasons) the girls will get their icky hands off our cool explosion show for boys.

Picard: Ro betrayed daddy Picard Starfleet when she joined with the Maquis but she’s spent her career making up for that

Prodigy: Chakotay was wrong to join the maquis but his intimate yet undefined relationship ship with Janeway cured him. Remember kids; the government always has your best interests in mind and there’s never a reason to raise up against them or resist them in any way. Don’t read the Hunger Games

[sonknuxadow]

originally had a super long multi paragraph ramble about this written out but then realized i did not have to say all that . anyway . i think that the reason some little animal guy sonic characters have last names while most others just go by (name) the (species) has to do with cultural differences... the fact that the characters with last names are also the same characters who have more human sounding first names makes me think that they were born in an area that had a large human population, or that their parents or grandparents were, so their family was influenced by human naming practices

[annabelle--cane]

saw a comment on a livejournal bh meta post from 2013 that sent me on an internal hero's journey about sexual misconduct and gendered power in being human

[dumbassv32]

he got too silly.... alas

[writeblrfantasy]

my 10 holy grail pieces of writing advice for beginners

from an indie author who's published 4 books and written 20+, as well as 400k in fanfiction (who is also a professional beta reader who encounters the same issues in my clients' books over and over)

show don't tell is every bit as important as they say it is, no matter how sick you are of hearing about it. "the floor shifted beneath her feet" hits harder than "she felt sick with shock."

no head hopping. if you want to change pov mid scene, put a scene break. you can change it multiple times in the same scene! just put a break so your readers know you've changed pov.

if you have to infodump, do it through dialogue instead of exposition. your reader will feel like they're learning alongside the character, and it will flow naturally into your story.

never open your book with an exposition dump. instead, your opening scene should drop into the heart of the action with little to no context. raise questions to the reader and sprinkle in the answers bit by bit. let your reader discover the context slowly instead of holding their hand from the start. trust your reader; donn't overexplain the details. this is how you create a perfect hook.

every chapter should end on a cliffhanger. doesn't have to be major, can be as simple as ending a chapter mid conversation and picking it up immediately on the next one. tease your reader and make them need to turn the page.

every scene should subvert the character's expectations, as big as a plot twist or as small as a conversation having a surprising outcome. scenes that meet the character's expectations, such as a boring supply run, should be summarized.

arrive late and leave early to every scene. if you're character's at a party, open with them mid conversation instead of describing how they got dressed, left their house, arrived at the party, (because those things don't subvert their expectations). and when you're done with the reason for the scene is there, i.e. an important conversation, end it. once you've shown what you needed to show, get out, instead of describing your character commuting home (because it doesn't subvert expectations!)

epithets are the devil. "the blond man smiled--" you've lost me. use their name. use it often. don't be afraid of it. the reader won't get tired of it. it will serve you far better than epithets, especially if you have two people of the same pronouns interacting.

your character should always be working towards a goal, internal or external (i.e learning to love themself/killing the villain.) try to establish that goal as soon as possible in the reader's mind. the goal can change, the goal can evolve. as long as the reader knows the character isn't floating aimlessly through the world around them with no agency and no desire. that gets boring fast.

plan scenes that you know you'll have fun writing, instead of scenes that might seem cool in your head but you know you'll loathe every second of. besides the fact that your top priority in writing should be writing for only yourself and having fun, if you're just dragging through a scene you really hate, the scene will suffer for it, and readers can tell. the scenes i get the most praise on are always the scenes i had the most fun writing. an ideal outline shouldn't have parts that make you groan to look at. you'll thank yourself later.

happy writing :)

[fragmentedblade]

I hate that when I look up the "Kalpas" tag here there's me and then there's me again, but on another blog. Fake moustache me