#(kinda good at interpreting stories/characters tho so maybe that helped)

[izzymalec]

biggest mystery about hannibal is how i understood anything when watching it 10 years ago

[dxscxndxnts]

My Thoughts on Descendants Canon

I was thinking about it and wanted to share. I’ve noticed everyone from screenwriters to this fandom over the years has brought a LOT to the canon (including me) and this last movie…kinda doesn’t fit that canon.

We’ve always perceived these characters to be continuations of the OG Disney Movies. Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, etc all happened as they did in their animated movies and the next thing was Descendants. It’s likely Descendants Canon doesn’t even consider sequels (Little Mermaid 2, Cinderella 2 and 3, etc)

Now, lots of us (myself included) do nitpick some other Disney canons for fanfiction or theory purposes. For example, I roll with The Little Mermaid: The Musical Canon that Triton and Ursula and Poseidon’s kids. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that’s never mentioned in the OG cartoon movie. Another example I’ve seen is folks accepting Maleficent (2014) as canon, which led to a lot of King Stephen is Mal’s father theories. Also, Greek Mythology? We all love discussing the complexities of D3 Hades being…D3 Hades.

Then there’s the books, by my guess written retroactively to the movies. I love them, I love the depth De La Cruz gives to this world. Unfortunately, I’m not sure book canon is heavily considered when writing the script (tho shoutout D4 for making Castlecoming a thing).

All of this to say: the Descendants Cinematic Universe (yes, this is DCU now) was originally thought to be based on JUST The original animated films.

Except now all those characters are in High School together? What?

I’ve said this once already, but it reminds me of The School for Good and Evil. All the Heroes and Villains went to school together and then after graduation went off to be in a fairytale. I think the DCU could be interpreted as something similar. Hear me out:

First thing: Let’s assume for a minute DCU is separate from the original movies it’s based on. The blue-haired Ella and the blonde cartoon Cinderella are different characters. A little trickier: Teen Maleficent and Maleficent (D1) are the same person, but not the same as Sleeping Beauty (1959) Maleficent.

Second thing: Take exact copies of all those Original Animated characters and put them together in the same place at the same time. Now they all go to high school together. This part is the SGE-like part, but the difference is there isn’t such a strict distinction of heroes and villains. Merlin teaches everyone. Their fairytales are their choice.

Which brings me to the third: ALL OF THE PLOTS STILL HAPPEN, and in their world it’s just common place and also translated differently. Ella still has an Evil Stepmother, a dance to go to, and a prince to see, but it doesn’t look like the cartoon at all.

Other examples:

Hades is indeed a teenager, and just casually a King of the Underworld and a God. That’s just how this place works.

Jaladdin. JALADDIN. If they’re together, their story already panned out, but maybe in a way that’s more DCU-like. Maybe Princess Jasmine needed to have a date to a certain royal event (instead of picking a suitor). Maybe good ol Vizier Jafar sent a skater punk in detention to a pawnshop for the lamp. Yes, Genie was a Genie, but maybe also a thriftstore owner who helped Aladdin get the girl with some thrifty style and a dusty magic carpet. I’m spitballing here.

My point is: all the fairytale stories will still take place, and all the characters are the same BUT separate from Original Animated Disney Canon. Aladdin already happened. Cinderella is currently happening. Alice in Wonderland is SO FAR in the future. Peter Pan may happen soon. Captain Hook already lost his hand, so he already blames Pan for that. (Can yall imagine its his twerp cousin or something, lol)

(I can’t explain Morgie. Morgana La Fey is from Once and Future King (King Authur’s story). She was not in Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, which is only 1/4 of OFK. The main villain in Disney’s movie was Madam Mim.)

This explanation also makes it a little easier to digest the fact that Beast was able to unite the kingdoms and banish the villains. If DCU was straight outta Disney canon, he would have to unite 1920s Louisiana (Princess and the Frog) with Aladdin’s Agrabah (just not real).

So yeah, that’s how I’m somehow wrapping my brain around all this. What do y’all think?

[shera-dnd]

So to pass the time lately I played through Lies of P for the first time

And of course, me being me, I proceeded to make everything about the game gay

Tho what started as just "I think Carlo and Romeo are exes" and "Eugenie needs a girlfriend" turned into an actual honest to fuck queer reading after that final boss fight

tl;dr: Lies of P is to trans femmes what original Pinocchio is for trans mascs

but to explain my insanity I'm gonna have to spoil the shit out of the game soooooo you've been warned

Okay so for the sake of simplicity I'm gonna refer to Geppetto's son as Carlo and to the protagonist of the game as P. I know they have literally the same soul, but they don't share memories and don't seem to share a sense of identity, so I'm gonna treat them as different people here

Also it's important for The Symbolism, so bear with me here

So our dear P is this new person who is slowly building a sense of identity for himself, this being represented by you slowly growing more human the more you do certain things in the game

Like enjoying music, and lying to people

You know, normal human stuff

This eventually leads to one of the first big changes in P's character design. P grows his hair out, much to Geppetto's frustration.

Because P no longer looks like Carlo. He's starting to differentiate himself from the person Geppetto expects his son to be.

This tension between P's growing sense of self, and Geppetto's expectation for P to just turn into this image he has of Carlo, just continues to escalate

Culminating on the final boss fight against The Nameless Puppet

Carlo's corpse being used by Geppetto to claim back his son's soul

And that's when the old man says a line that makes me rethink who P and Carlo are

"This freedom isn't for you. It's for Carlo"

and you know, there's something about how to claim your freedom and keep your soul, you have to fight and defeat your own masculine body, which is being puppeteered by your controlling father, who has very strong opinions about who you're supposed to be

ESPECIALLY when said father keeps calling you a male name that is no longer yours

ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY when the very first thing you do after that is sacrifice yourself so that your soul can be reborn in a feminine body

And like okay maybe this could be interpreted as kinda bad, because the way you unlock this ending is by lying through your teeth repeatedly, so it could kinda imply that P's new identity is a lie

But you gotta remember that nearly every lie she tells are just white lies to help people deal with a miserable fucking situation. And the only lies she tells about herself are all for the sake of self preservation

Like her first lie is her trying to get the security systems of the hotel from killing her

And her last lie is her telling her dad she trusts him

In the end P feels like a transfemme with a very strained relationship to her father, who still only sees her as "Carlo", the son he insists she should be.

Honestly there's probably a lot to be said about P and Carlo's relationship to Romeo, as well as Sophia's role in this story, but I'd need to play through the game again to get all the specific interactions aaaaand I don't feel like playing a video game twice back to back

fucking sue me

Anyways Lies of P is good and very easily read as queer, and you guys should definitely try it

[thoughtspresso]

Hello, sorry I just need someone to voice my op to since none of my circles read or watch OnK :'(

It's so weird to me how Akane's fans interpret that scene when the girls are filming an MV as Akane only having good intention and care for Kana, 'cuz imo even if there is, what she said was still one of her attemps to get Aqua to stay with her. Look at how things played out to her: her business bf wanted to break up, he even straight up refused sex when she offered, and now she found out that right after that he took Kana on to a proper date, Akane's chances were close to zero. She was grasping at straws when she said that and played it under the guise of being considerate about Kana's safety, just like how she said she's okay with breaking up with him yet cried - showing that she wanted the opposite. Because if she only cared about Kana's safety, then what's with the side comment about how actors have it easier? It's like she was saying "Choose me, I'm the safer choice!". I'm not saying Akane didn't have good intention, but it's more like a two bird one stone typa thing where she wanted Kana to be safe and Aqua to continue with dating her (her own selfish want). It was kinda a dirty move from Akane, consider how she knows very well what happened to Ai and how much that'll affects Aqua. Akane always strike me as a good in nature yet also self-absorbed character: She decided what's best for both Kana and Aqua that also benefits her selfish wants regardless of how the other two would feel (& we all know how miserable both Aqua and Kana was during that ghosting period); She decided what to do to Aqua's father without thinking about how he might feel (again); The signs were as early as the LoveNow arc where she tweeted the apology thinking it was the right solution without consulting with her manager first because she thought she knew what was best for her to do in that situation. Even her acting method also kinda reflect this, where if the character's portrayal clashes between her and the director/scriptwriter, she already has a concrete image of the character from her own interpretation and thus has difficulty compromising and adjusting with the production team.

I might even take a wild guess that she was in love (obsessed) with the idea of saving prince charming rather than Aqua himself because to her, their story literally went/was gonna go like the old classic story of prince charming saving the girl -> the girl learns about the prince's past, decides to help him to repay him saving her -> prince charming defeats the bad guy (his dad in this story) with the girl's help -> happily ever after. Akane being a teen + Aqua saved her + it's her first dating experience caused her to have an idealistic view of dating and probably why she tolerated Aqua dating her despite having his eyes on Kana for he did act like the perfect bf on the surface, and that to her was enough to fulfil her prince charming fantasy. Akane is, actually, not that mature in her relationship with Aqua like how her fan keep praising her for, tbh imo it's more akin to what teens think "being mature" is. I know this is one of the appeal of her ship with Aqua, even though some might deny it. As oppose to Kana who might be a potential obstacle to Aqua's revenge whether good or bad, Akane is narratively there as a bonus reward for Aqua after finishing the main quest of avenging his mom if the ship ever be canon again. Akane and Aqua have unfortunately became perfect self-inserts for those who are into revenge and/or trophy girl fantasy (nothing bad about this itself tho). But perhaps because of looking into those fantasy fulfilment rather than the actual context of the manga/anime, they accuse Kana of not understanding the "real" Aqua (I have alot to say about this, maybe 3 paragraphs at least lol) or how she's useless for not helping him kill a person and ignore the entire other half chunk of the story about showbiz problems, where Kana's own story entangle more.

If you've read this far, thank you so so much.

P/s: My wild guess no.2, rather than being a damsel in distress (being Kamiki's target) for Aqua to come rescue, Kana already has a close relationship with Kamiki prior to reuniting with the twins (maybe a mentor-student relationship?). I've always find it weird how Aka just glossed over Kana's past, like he's holding back important info regarding her past that he can't show the readers too soon. So that's why I have this guess. This explains why Aka's been keeping her out of the revenge plot for so long + better than Kana just being a damsel in distress + raises the stakes for Kana (will she choses the mentor who helped her through her dark days being abused by her mom or the twins who she can see the light and bright future in?) + makes Kana a key player in the revenge plot.

Hey Anon! I'm happy to talk to you about some OnK Character Analyses anytime. Sorry to have taken so long to respond, I really wanted to sit down with your question. I've been thinking about this a lot. And I'm afraid my response might be even longer than your ask hahaha!

I want to summarize your main points for everybody else, so that we're all on the same page:

Akane was manipulative when she reminded Aqua that Kana was an idol, and pushed him to choosing her.

Akane wants to reverse the damsel-in-distress and Prince Charming trope, and decides on behalf of others.

Akane fans accuse Kana for not knowing the "real" Aqua

(Bonus) There's a possibility that Kana already knew Hikaru Kamiki.

So, my responses:

#1 Was Akane being manipulative in Ch. 76?

Well, yes. And no.

I actually had a short discussion (argument?) with Skania (who I will not tag for the sake of their mental health, but mentioning here to credit them.) about this very topic. (And I want to thank them for their time and also apologize to have annoyed them!) We have really different interpretations and disagree each other on this part.

To get the fast answer out of the way: Yes, I believe Akane was wholly aware of what she was saying.

She already knew from the Tokyo Blade arc how badly Aqua can get triggered on the topic of Ai's death.

Put it this way: imagine being a teenage girl who was depressed or bullied, and the boy who saved your life started dating you but admits that it isn't because he likes you that way. You start offering him sex if that would fulfill his wants in a relationship, but he tells you that your relationship is about to end soon. You find out from another girl that they went on a date--shopping for suitcases and Brazilian barbecue--a kind of date he never did for you. Then when he invited you to go on a trip, most of what he did was walk you around his hometown to look for something else, and then watch this other girl be really cute in a dress he was stunned by.

Akane is allowed to be a teenager who would want to nudge her boyfriend to stay with her and away from his other crush.

Akane fans like to argue that she was being completely selfless, and was just looking out for Kana's safety too.

I really dislike this reading of Akane's character, because it strips her of agency. Of course she has personal goals, wants, and flaws. She's allowed to be a teenage girl who wanted her love to be reciprocated. She's allowed to be a teenage girl who gets a little jealous, and try as she might to be professional and civil because all of these people are her work colleagues too, she still does things that fulfill her goals. She is allowed to be self-interested, and act on opportunities that align with those self interests.

I also think that if Akane's fans want to believe in her intellect and her masterful ability in understanding people's psychology and detective work, then it stands to reason that they should also believe that Akane was deliberately aware of the effect of what she said to Aqua. She doesn't always make 100% correct bets, but it's reasonable to conclude she made this bet hoping that it could get him to stay.

Akane and everyone else is already aware that Kana is actually not a person who needs scolding on the dangers of being under public scrutiny:

Under any normal circumstance, if Akane simply cared for Kana's safety, she would have simply responded to Kana when she was bragging about the date. Like, "hey be careful about dating in public spaces okay? I dont want you getting in trouble." Or, if she would talk to Aqua about it, she might say, "Please remember to book a private room next time you eat in a restaurant."

But no. If Akane would remind them of safety tips of dating as public figures, it would just lead them to the advice to do Home Dates:

And she doesn't want that now, does she?

She didn't say something as straightforward as that, and neither did the author write it in a more neutral tone. It was deliberately written with Akane implying that if he didn't want Kana killed, he should just date a fellow actor. (Preferably one that the public is actually cheering on to be together, because they were already in a Love Team due to the show.)

I just don't like ignoring what the Author and the Illustrator clearly put on the page for me to absorb the way that it was. I think pretending she was being wholly selfless is an insult to the writers.

#2 Is Akane motivated by the want to Save Prince Charming?

This is the "and no" part of my answer.

When I think of Akane, I don't think of an outright evil person who manipulated Aqua into doing things, wanting to be a hero for that reason. And just like how Tokyo Blade serves as a parallel for the show, it in turn informs us that it is an incorrect interpretation of Saya-hime (or Akane) to think that she outright wants the violence herself.

This part I agree with Skania on: Akane's main flaw is her low self-esteem.

Akane doesn't personally believe that she is inherently worth any value, and any value that she holds is attributed to her hard work.

People have taken notice to the fact that, unlike Kana's experience of abuse and abandonment, Akane had a really good support system behind her when her suicide attempt happened during the LoveNow arc. She had a loving mother and a really kind-hearted manager that believed in her. Yet she clung onto the validation from the agency President more. She ascribes her personal value to the approval of other people, especially positive feedback from her superiors in the industry, her theater troupe calling her a genius, her fans applauding her.

And, on the opposite side of the same coin, she has immense Rejection Sensitivity that makes her extremely defensive when she received cyberbullying, leading her to want to make a public apology right away and appease people.

This leads Akane to be an extremely hardworking person, but also seeking validation and direction from other people (like the LoveNow crew), unable to voice out her views unless it is supported by an authority figure (like when she wanted something changed in Tokyo Blade), and also why when meeting her personal hero and idol Arima Kana in person, when Kana lashed out at her, instead of simply thinking, "okay she's a terrible person, I'm done with being her fan forever", she rejected that idea and went on to study Psychology in the hopes of understanding people like Kana.

All of this manifests in her relationship with Aqua being okay with receiving bare minimum from him, not complaining when she realizes he has feelings for someone else, and also doing anything and everything for him, whatever he needs whether he asks for it or not.

I'll go a little further into my interpretation of her (which I know Akane fans might be resistant to or disagree with, but I hope you stick with me here.)

I also think Akane has a co-dependency on Aqua, and herself has Inverted Narcissism, with Covert and Cerebral Subtypes.

I agree! I sound nuts! This interpretation is crazytown.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) has several subtypes, including Inverted Narcissism, which is a subtype where the person craves the co-dependency on another narcissist. They are self-sacrificing to their primary narcissist, feel they are not entitled to anything, but seem emotionally level-headed and highly attuned to the primary narcissist's needs but not much empathy for anybody else.

Because of how little they think of themselves, it gives them a feeling of power and control to be with a person who believes himself to be so special, to have a crucial mission whose victory she can partake in. In a sense, Aqua was someone Akane looked up to so much for having saved her from her suicide attempt, and for turning the public's view of her from negative to overwhelmingly popular.

Akane definitely thought, "I want to be useful to him! I want to make him happy!"

And this man had his own amazing detective mission going on in his mind and trauma to solve. And so Akane thinks, "Let me solve that for you! Let me be useful to you even if it kills me! Use me as you need!"

They say true love is unconditional and self-giving so I will aide my enabler in patricide to prove my worth to him!

According to Professor of Psychology Sam Vaknin, the DSM gives us 9 criteria to diagnose an Inverted Narcissist, and you need to have at least 5 to qualify. Here are some that he mentioned that I think fit Akane:

The inverted narcissist is emotionally stable, but her self-esteem is very low. The inverted narcissist devalues herself as an offering, as a sacrifice to the narcissist in her life. The inverted narcissist is compelled to filter all her narcissistic needs through the primary narcissist in her life. The inverted narcissist feels amplified by the primary narcissist's own accomplishments. The inverted narcissist is pre-occupied with fantasies [...] of an ideal love to be accomplished through the narcissistic partner.

The inverted narcissist feels like she is undeserving and not entitled to anything.

The inverted narcissist is indistinguishably selfless. She is sacrificial. She is anxious in her interpersonal relationships. She avoids assistance of others at all cost. She can only interact with others when she can be seen to be giving, supporting and expending an unusual effort to assist. So she is sacrificial, she sacrifices herself, but ostentatiously, in full view.

The inverted narcissist lacks empathy like a classic narcissist. She is intensely attuned to others needs, but only insofar as it relates to her own need to perform the required self sacrifice. She needs to self sacrifice in order to obtain her narcissistic supply from her primary narcissist. But to do so, she must be attuned to his needs. So this is her restricted use or leverage of empathy.

The inverted narcissist displays extreme shyness, lack of any real relational connections, is publicly self-effacing, is highly moralistic and critical of others, is a perfectionist, engages in lengthy ritualistic behaviors that can never be perfected.

I also mentioned that Akane has Cerebral subtype, in that she believes she has superior intellect, and the Covert subtype, where she seems altruistic and selfless on the outside but internally she is driven by a self-serving need to be useful, to be wanted, because she chases after this external validation to fill in the gaps of her own self-esteem and call to perfectionism.

There is room to argue that Aqua is actually the inverted narcissist and she's codependent on Akane who is the altruistic/communal narcissist subtype. I reviewed it, but it seems she's the codependent one in this scenario.

I think this answer entails that Aqua himself also has NPD, and I think he does have Vulnerable Narcissism with Cerebral subtype. Kana actually picked up on it pretty well:

He does tend to think that he is the sole person who can accomplish this mission of revenge, even though it took him 4 years to crack a passcode and he actually didn't solve anything himself. Like, ever.

He thinks that he has some superior ability to read people and manipulate them (and it's not necessarily true, he just believes so).

And he likes bringing it up out loud a lot, like I used you, or haha she's so easy to manipulate, regardless if he actually did anything.

When Ruby points out he hasn't made any friends, Aqua deflects and becomes defensive.

He also initially thought that he was going to make it big as an actor after the one time he did well as a child, and entreated Gotanda to take him in, but when his PTSD was getting in the way of his acting, he just chalked it up to saying no actually I was never talented in that, because he doesn't want to admit to others that he doesn't have the supernatural inhumane acting skills he thought he did. (Note: He's not comfortable showing those old acting videos to Kana, but is okay with showing it to Akane for this reason.)

He truly believes he's everybody's savior. Unprompted he just thinks he's some main character that caused everybody's suffering. His Behavioral Self-Blame (BSB) about the death of both of his mothers is a manifestation of his wish for control over the situation, which is a known coping mechanism for those with PTSD or Major Depression Disorder (MDD)

Vulnerable NPD subtypes also feel uncomfortable being praised, which is why he reacts that way with Kana.

Vulnerable NPD subtypes also hate being asked to compete, which is why during both LoveNow and Tokyo Blade arcs, he keeps out of the way.

Vulnerable NPD subtypes really really hate rejection, and that's why Aqua says that he can't confront Kana without a Pieyon mask because he's too weak to be shot down by her again.

Vulnerable NPD subtypes are quite anti-social, but again if you confront them about it, they'll just deflect you and say things like they had no intentions to make friends or they're busy observing or something like this.

I mean, look at this dumbass intellectualize having feelings for girls his age like Akane and Kana:

Kana gets it though:

ONLY A NARCISSIST WOULD (half-joke)

This is of course a reminder that people with NPD aren't inherently bad people, they also don't come in one shape or form as there are many subtypes, and they can swing in severity. Most of them are a by-product of either a traumatic childhood or an overly doting one. Akane and Aqua just simply happened to be both of these.

I just came to this interpretation when I kept thinking of why was it that it felt like both Akane and Aqua were using each other. They both felt miserable and yet felt necessary and dependent on each other's emotional comfort. They both lie to each other too. I think a lot of people have picked up on the "feeling" that the two are using, manipulating, abusing each other, there's something dysfunctional about them together, and yet they also genuinely care about each other a lot. And people couldn't pick the right words to describe that. Co-dependents and their primary narcissists can heal together into a healthy relationship, they don't have to stay that way forever. But for the most part, nobody really recognizes that that's what was happening, because the dance they do together looks completely synchronized as a relationship. Who ever says no to a sweet and completely self-giving girlfriend? Who would leave their boyfriend to die alone in a revenge plot?

ONLY A NARCISSIST WOULD (not joking)

#3 Does Kana know the real Aqua:

I think a lot of Akane fans love to cite that Akane knew about the revenge, the trauma, the using, the manipulation etc. She also knows what he's like when he's being silly and playful.

And I don't deny that Aqua and Akane cared for each other.

But I also think that Kana knew Aqua even when he was being unpleasant, making crude jokes about her when they were kids. Kana observes Aqua's acting meticulously and understands the fine details of his style. Kana also has actual conversations with him about his interests too. They read the same books and they jog together, and they're very comfortable arguing with each other about anything.

Most of all, of anybody, only Kana has pointed out that Aqua has chuunibyou/grandiose thinking, narcissistic tendencies, and that Ruby has a co-dependent relationship with him (even when she didn't know about their past as Sarina and Gorou, she just picked it up as the core reason for their clinginess).

#4 [Bonus] Does Kana know Kamiki?

I don't think so.

When Kamiki opened his production company/agency, Kana would have been about 11yo. It was around this time that she had been recording Full Moon and her other songs, and her career had been on a decline. Then her company left her and she started freelancing instead.

Kana's acting style is also diametrically opposed to Kamiki's acting. Which as Akane has pointed out is similar to Ai's acting style. Kana's acting is very emotionally honest and is rooted in her personal understanding of her own emotions, whereas Kamiki and Ai act to deceive others based on the calculated perception they know the audience wants of them. Given this, it's unlikely that Kamiki mentored her in any form.

Lastly, I think Kana would have been the first person to point out that Kamiki looks like Aqua if they knew each other, even if he was acting as the Miki-san persona.

But I did joke before that I think if Kana and Kamiki met each other, they'd just traumabond and be friends until the cops haul Kamiki away. And that'd be the funniest thing ever.

That's it! That was a very long rant. Thanks for the question.

[hauntingjasper]

How did Gumball and Marshall meet?

What did the two think of each other?

Most fan stories I've read show that they hated each other from their first interaction.

I love your version of this beautiful couple 💗💗

Ooooooo I was just thinking about their story together! I think I still have some tweaks to do with my own interpretation of them but I have some ideas.

I believe they met when The Candy Kingdom was giving its baby steps, maybe as a simple candy village or something, and Marshall Lee just stumbled across it one day. Marshall never did anything to actively harm it, but he didn't interact with anyone there, he was probably interested in something else, like the founde- I mean, the food there.

I think the candy citizens would be terrified seeing a dark shadow passing back and forth rapidly near their houses and stealing their candy, and he'd become some kind of boogeyman or the chupacabra to them lmfao (I like to think that some older candy citizens would still use his "legend" to scare the younger ones and make them behave)

They kinda start off on the wrong foot in this too, sorry anon 🙏 But it's just because Gumball now wants to catch this candy stealer and help his poor citizens have a peaceful night of sleep for once after weeks, and gets incredibly frustrated on the way. He finds a way, though. Either by setting a trap to catch Marshall Lee himself when he's shapeshifting, or by catching something else that unintentionally lures him... like a zombie cat who keeps showing up at the crime scene. (Or both too, I guess that works.)

Okay so now Marshall is mad (picture a small bat fuming that he has to be in a cage), his cat is mad, and Gumball is freaked out by the fact that there was a zombie cat wandering around his village and he didn't even realize it, potentially putting his citizens in risk of infection (Schwabelle wouldn't infect anyone tho, she's a good kitty), so now what? This nerd is going to study them, ofc. Especially Marshall Lee once Gumball finds out he's a vampire.

Vampires are practically extinct since Marshall Lee also became a vampire hunter in this universe, but I believe that the people who managed to survive their attack long enough also managed to leave behind records about them, stating their habits, their abilities and whatnot.

I know that, due to canon events, this would probably be out of character in insane levels but,, , I like to think that Gumball would be thrilled to have met Marshall simply because he's a vampire. He's read the records and would've liked to study more about the vampires (both out of interest and because he'd try to figure out the most effective ways to take them down but that's for another day-). The only reason he stayed was because Gumball offered him food and somewhere to stay during the day so he wouldn't burn to death, and because Gumball wouldn't give his cat back until he was sure she wasn't dangerous. If she was safe, he'd give her back and Marshall Lee could do whatever he wanted after they were done.

Marshall Lee would be thrown off by all that because first of all, stranger danger, and second of all, what the fuck.

Marshall Lee was more suspicious of Gumball than Gumball was of him. Gumball just kept asking questions about his vampirism and studying his physiology. Stuff like checking his abnormally low temperature and slow pulse, examining his shapeshifting, reading the records all over again and playing checklist to see how many different skills Marshall Lee could score... It was weirdly amusing for Marshall to see Gumball so fascinated over things that had become normal to him.

I think they would start bonding once they find out they're both immortal, and they'd cling to each other because of it. Gumball would listen to Marshall Lee's stories and Marshall Lee would listen to Gumball's. He was still a little weirdo to Marshall, but a weirdo who's passionate about his interests and managed to create living sentient people out of food, that was impressive. Gumball thought of him as one of a kind. No pun intended. Maybe.

I think that's all I have to say about them right now :P Thank you for the ask! 💖🫶

[hotluncheddie]

I absolutely love your chubby!Steve series!

I think partly because it challenges the fckng fatphobia my family has raised me with, acting like anyone who doesn't "fit" into their clothes anymore is fat and that's bad. Which *i* think is fckng stupid. I'm personally more at ease with my body. While being skinny (always was) ... ever since puberty or hitting my 20s I'm not a stick figure. I have some curves and while that's really nice if you feel comfortable in a woman's body - i've been struggling with gender and my little tummy fat, my thighs, my ass and always felt too feminine. I know I have a nice body (I feel strange about saying that) but in my eyes it's a lot of femme sexy not masc sexy. If it makes sense. But to get to the point 😂 I think your series has helped me too with reevaluating my depiction of whats masc and what's femme. And also how curves on men are hot and good and beautiful.

I'm obviouely not 100% there and probably won't ever be. But it helped a tiny bit! So pleaaaaaase never stop!! It's so good!

I really hope this all makes sense

(at first I wanted to make this anon but I'm gonna be brave about it! And yes it would be okay posting this publicly. But you can also answer if you want, privately)

hello friend!! ty for being brave and sending this! im so so so glad you’re enjoying them!!!

sorry i’m only just answering this too i kept thinking about what i wanted to say bc i never expected these stories to cause these kinds of thoughts. but it’s so cool!!

there is something so interesting about the way androgyny is so connected to thinness. and curves with femininity. like i saw an insta reel and this girl was doing butch outfit inso but she was a bigger, curvy woman and it kinda blew my mind like id never seen it before! they looked great!!

like masculinity and femininity is performance but i totally get the frustration of like having to counteract your ‘base’ in order to perform the way you feel most comfortable. if that makes sense. like i so often want a t-shirt to fit me like it would a skinny skater boy but i also think i look pretty hot naked haha and i know that’s me with my traditionally ‘feminine’ body shape. so i feel like i get what ur saying? sorry if i’m way off

but yeah i’m also sorry you’ve been struggling with your gender i hope it hasn’t been too dysphoric for you!

its just really interesting that you’ve sent me this tho. when thinking about like, how everyone interprets art differently. like, i honestly just started writing them bc i find bigger people really attractive. i wasn’t really trying to say anything about fat phobia but i totally see how it’s all connected. like i just think bellies are hot and i find peoples chests hot, like, boobs or pecs, whatever, its just a really nice, beautiful area. so i kinda wanted to just get that attraction out in writing because im trying to be less embarrassed about what turns me on. maybe that's why i write eddie so goofy, thats me still being a little embarrassed but also just maybe makes it all more accessible to people. idk.

but yeah i guess it’s just nice to talk about different body types, especially with such a traditional american male character like steve. i’ve just never found like a six pack very attractive, personally. i find strength and curves and softness and bigness really nice so idk i hope i’m giving a little more representation to that.

[quetzalpapalotl]

Kinda a hot take but I feel like mtmte megatrons arc would have been so much better if he had stayed on cybertron, like if he had to stay and was around Optimus and starscream, people who arguably know him best, so he is always staring who he hurt directly in the face, bc to me while Rodimus is great for giving megatron a mostly impartial view, I think megatron redemption works best when he has to constantly confront his sins and magnus and rodimus feel to distant as characters to really be brutal with how much megatron has hurt people bc he doesn’t know them as well, tho megatrons arc in mtmte is really good I think this would have not made the rest of the story not so bogged down (sorry if this doesn’t make much sense)

You're making perfect sense to me, anon. And you're not the first person to tell me this. I do agree with you on some level, but the thing is that Mtmte Megatron's arc is Mtmte Megatron's arc. It cannot exist in any other story. I feel like this kind of what-if is runs into too much of an hypothetical for me to make any actual meaningful commentary. It's hard to explain but let me try.

I feel like saying what if Megtaron had stayed on Cybertron is not the same as saying something like "what if Drift had returned earlier" or "what if Pharma had stayed on the Lost Light" or even imagining ways in which his character could have been better integrated into Mtmte's narrative in that if Megatron had not gotten in the Lost Light, his character would effectively not exist.

I have told myself fanfiction where Megatron stays on Cybertron many times and there's lots of fun possibilities there., but there's a difference between a fannish idea and what it would have been in an official capacity. The key here is that the Megatron I'm incorporating into the exRID/OP narrative is still JRo's Megatron. He still has character traits and a backstory defined by that comic, even if I try to take as much of all IDW1 as I can in my interpretation of him.

Mtmte/LL, exRID/OP and Windblade/TAAO are all part of the same universe, yes, but they're all different stories, with different genres, tones, ideas and most importantly, different writers. I mean just look at what a different character Starscream is when written by Barber vs Scott. If Megatron stays on Cybertron then either Scott or Barber would have been his main writer and we just don't know what kind of character he would have been then.

Would they have tried to do a "good" Megatron? Well, the idea of Autobot Megatron was thrown at the brainstorming table for Dark Cybertron as a possibility and the JRo said that he wanted to do that. But the idea was there, maybe they would have picked it, maybe not.

I feel like, much like with Mtmte, Megatron just has too much gravity for Windblade/TAOO and the best way for him to be incorparated in it would have been sporadic appareances while he's in jail or something, probably to taunt Starscream, knowing Scott. This is double-edged for me, because I feel like the way the idea of Megatron was incorporated into Starscream's arc needed more buildup so this could have helped. At the same time I already feel like Starscream's character was too much reduced to being a reaction to Megatron's actions, which is no fun to me, and Megatron's inclusion in the narrative feels like it would highlight the aspects of Scott's writing I don't like as opposed to the ones I do. But again, I can't now. Maybe she would have tried to reform him as well, I have no idea how that would have looked like.

As for Barber, well, everything post DC was based around the fact that Optimus is just too big to not change the game completely, so the entire story became about that theme. It doesn't sound like including Megatron in that would be that. In fact, it's kind of a no-brainer, this is a story about the weight of Cybertronian history with is stuck in a cycle of violence riddle with war and colonization. The guy who did war an colonization better than everyone else should be there. It would be very satisfying to see Megatron, who rose up against the legacy of the Primes, be confronted with the fact that all he did was uphold their ideas of Cybertronian superiority. How does he handle the Decepticons? And then there's the mirroring where Megatron is trying to do better while Optimus is on the verge of losing it and everyone is worried he's gonna pull a Megatron. But again, who knows what kind of character Megatron would have been under Barber, maybe he would have played him as a villian until the end like he did before Dark Cybertron. He would have still been a thematic fit.

You know, I like exRID/OP a lot and I feel like Barber is more willing to take certain risks than JRo, so I think I would have liked the hypothetical version of his story that would have included Megatron but really, maybe he would have fumbled the bag, who knows how much the plot would have changed if it had included Megs, maybe he would have gotten a different idea, maybe it would have costed the Optimus and the Arcee I so adore. Also, a lot of people aren't that fond of Barber's writing so the general response to this non-existent story is another matter altogether.

Despite everything, I don't really begrudge Megatron leaving with the Lost Light in itself. Like yes, it removes him from the more direct consequences of his actions and is not fair that he gets to drop the Cons and go on a roadtrip of self-discovery. But Mtmte is a roadtrip story, there just isn't any way around this. Also, I don't care about what is fair because none of these stories are about fairness or people getting what they deserve. And finally, it makes sense in the way I read Megatron. One of his key traits for me is how his experiences led to him disregarding life and only finding worth in fighting, his arc is about peeling off layers of self delusion and it starts with giving him a place to chill so that he can see value in life again and be in a mental state to appreciate how badly he fucked up.

Problem is how much he bogs down the rest of the story as you said, and other minor things I can more easily ignore.

Side note, but you know that part in Combiner Wars where Windblade and Optimus are like "We cannot allow Starscream to have his way, but we can't just pull a coup?" I think it would have been really fun to have Megatron for that. No, Megatron you cannot beat the shit out of Starscream to solve the issue, you have to respect him as the president. Hilarous. I need to pay someone to do a short fic of this.

[alexturne]

2, 4 (about 'sit next to me before I go'), 30, 41, 48 for the fic asks 🥰

Ooohh this is fun!!

Fluff (10)

Friends To Lovers (7)

Established Relationship (5)

Sexual Content (5)

Alternative Universe (4)

I feel like this is VERY representative of my stories 😂😂 fluff all the way!! And friends to lovers and au is really what I'm all about too!!! (Sprinkled with sexual content ofc)

I'm kinda surprised that I have 5 stories with established relationships because I feel like the majority of my ideas have to do with meeting and then falling in love OR realizing feelings after years of friendship. Those are definitely the stories I'm mostly drawn to write. But it makes sense that my three established relationship milex fics are the kinda sad ones 😂

Uh, first thing that pops into my head is definitely the bath scene! The way the scene is set, the ambiance, the way I can almost smell the bath products, see the flicker of the candles, feel the soft humidity on my face, the healing waves, the soft comforting darkness, it just exudes the exact vibe I was going for. I love incorporating all of the senses when I write and this felt so alive to me, I could feel it, smell it, see it all so clearly.

Also I really liked leaving in the details about Miles' clothes. In my head he was so clearly wearing the dark blue jumpsuit and those heeled boots and I enjoyed how I managed to show it in the story by having Alex help him out of it 😇😘

I think maybe my most out of my comfort zone is "you just ain't the one for me" mostly because it's told from Taylors pov and it generally features her, the sex scenes, having someone else witness Alex and Miles and not being inside either of their heads. It's just very different but I feel like it made sense for what I was trying to do. Even if I'm fairly unfamiliar with her as a person, I feel like the character I came up with for her made sense.

I feel like it made me braver in terms of what I can get away with. And to know that a lot of things can be shown instead of said or told explicitly. A lot can be left up for interpretation. Even if some people would've liked to know what happened next, I liked leaving it up to the readers. (I feel like it was fairly obvious tho😂) I also just like that it was something so different and people still liked it, so I know not to box myself in. I can be free and experiment with my stories and tell them in the way I feel makes sense, and still have people enjoy them ❤️

Oh, that's too many to count! I'm constantly in awe of the pure skill and talent of the writers in this fandom, and I'd love to pick up something from all of them. I love how @yellowloid is so good at the deeply intense romantic stuff, just diving so deep and making us feel it too. I love the absolutely insane level of detail and expertise of @elorianna s writing and the way she incorporates real life elements, I love the world building and the cutting edge characters of @thranduil-aran-edhil. I love the humour and ingenuity in plot and character in @girlinthepictureframe s stories, I love the way @stereobone sets the vibe and mood of the fic and how they say so much with so few words (something I'll never learn 😂😂), I love the absolute heart wrenching gutpunch @blacktrickle is able to write, I love seeing you use your real life profession as inspiration for the very best sickfics.. and so many many many more!!!

I love how people characterise our boys, I love how they come up with so many amazingly interesting settings, the level of detail in their aus and canon compliant stories, I love the fluff and the heartbreak.. and most of all I love how different they all are. And how I'm different from all of them too. And there's room for all of us, and so many more that I've forgotten to mention, and how we all learn and evolve as time goes on. My heart is full.

It's not a new one, but it's SO GOOD. The last fic I read was "Hotel Room" by weirdchick333 and it's just amazing. Their works are some of the very best I've ever read and I always find myself going back to read it when I've got a bit of time to myself. Highly recommend all of their absolutely incredible stories as they're just fucking class (but I assume most of you know that already 😂❤️)

Thank you so much for your lovely questions !!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[blairsanne]

Hi bb! 💗 I'm curious to know who are your top 3 favourite Deano characters and why? (To watch or read or write or just look at 😉)

Ahh, what a nice question, bb! 💛💛💛 I always need to form an emotional connection with the characters, so... while Deano is always nice to look at, this is really based on the character themselves.

This was honestly kinda hard to answer.

1. Anders Johnson (The Almighty Johnsons)

This was probably an obvious answer, haha.

I love his sense of humour and desire to have fun. I love how cunning and cynical he can be, despite clearly having his own ethics and hopes for the future. I love how protective he is of his family/Dawn - especially when they don’t realize/appreciate it. I love when he’s confident and self-assured, but I also love when he’s vulnerable/we see his pain points (which all seem to revolve around his bros and Dawn? This is a man who loves certain people quite fiercely even if it’s not a romantic love and even if it's not always realized).

I interpret him as someone who has spent a lot of his life appeasing people to get by (whether his toxic childhood, or PR work in general, or Bragi powered interactions) but that desires to be more open with a few closer people. He both “trusts” them with his snarkier side and uses it as a shield to keep them from getting too close lest they hurt him with rejection. A bit of “well I don’t even like you anyway so there” at times, even tho it’s bs lol and only Axl ever seems to fully buy into it.

I feel like he needs some unconditional love in his life because it certainly didn’t happen with his parents, and it’s a bit touch and go at times with his bros. (Though Olaf seems very unconditional-grandpa-love? Maybe that’s why he and Olaf get on so easily.)

I think of him as a character that both represents aspects of myself and aspects I find attractive in others.

So in short, he’s my favourite because I think he’s very lovable and interesting and in need of love and he’s in a story where I love the concept and all the characters and it’s very easy to write him and imagine lots of scenarios for. 💛 (Also I find him very attractive in this role, even if he hated those absolutely magnificently tailored suits.)

2. Iolaus (Young Hercules)

Also probably not much of a shock, given he's the other Deano I have a sideblog for! This was the first role I actually saw Dean in, and I loved Iolaus so much back when this was on air, so it was wild to realize this was the same person who played Anders after I got into him haha.

Iolaus is once again a very funny, cunning, cocky character who has some insecurities that I find rather endearing. Iolaus is very charming to me, with his playfulness and heroics. I don't think the other characters see him as heroic necessarily, but he clearly cares about his friends and has many moments of being just as protective of others as Jason and Hercules. 💛

Also I'm always impressed that Iolaus seems to be able to keep up with Hercules; I don't know that he gets enough credit for that. He also should, by all rights, probably get with girls easier than he does since he's such a flirt. (He does have a bad habit of lying, though... Insecure bb.)

Basically I want to be in that world and give him all the love he deserves! I think it helps that I like the universe/world building/conceit of the show already, so I enjoy all the other characters and how they interact too.

Plus: Leather Pants? Those curls? Come on. 😩

3. Jon (Pork Pie)

This is where I got a little stumped. I also considered Barnaby and Will Johnson for third spot. Even as I write this I'm second-guessing my choice haha.

I really root for Jon. He's a fuck up, but he's trying to fix it. He's trying to make amends, and he gets caught up in a crazy situation, but he's so good-hearted. He means well, and you want him to succeed.

I love that he's a writer, but like, clearly not able to write because of what's been messing with his head (and then the shenanigans of the movie). His behaviours are just so funny at times, like how he orders his burger, his rapping along to the radio, etc. Even though I feel like Jon isn't funny in the sense of like, trying to be funny, he's really endearing and makes me laugh.

Mostly I think what I like about Jon is how "soft" he seems. Like, not in a weak way; he certainly powers through a lot of messed up situations and pulls off crazy things! But the motivation for all of it is this deep love he has, and I feel like he shows that love to his cohorts as well. He can be quite vulnerable at times, even when he seems to believe he will be rejected. The way he seems so touched by every kindness, his attempts to be supportive, and accepting...

I just really want to give this man a hug, haha.

Although I haven't formally written for him, I have a sequel to Pork Pie outlined in my WIPs that feels a bit daunting; both because of the plot I have in mind and because of how great the movie itself is. I feel like there's a lot to live up to, there, so we'll see if I ever end up writing it out haha.

-

Ahh thanks so much for this ask, bb! 💛💛💛💛

[fareehaandspaniards]

Okay, since you said that you don't like Laurence very much because you still don't understand his character (mostly what EXACTLY he wanted), do you want my thoughts? But yeah, he is complicated. Canon left such a HUGE void about his story and character that you'll never love 'a' Laurence, you can only love 'the' Laurence (so, your own interpretation, or someone else's)

My personal vision of him isss not very elaborate? Not elaborate at all? I like @fantomette22 sweet headcanons about him, I must say, they are matching with my hcs! So some of them:

I have strong headcanon that he was that "bully" kid in his teenage years, being really mean to all other kids from lower class. But as it often happens IRL, those who were bullies, pass their teen age and unexpectedly you look at them after years and booom! Completely different person, calm, reliable and maybe even feeling sorry for what they did. Like from an ugly duckling to a beatiful adult duck, I mean, swan. Same to Laurence. Bully in childhood and teenage years ------>hot-headed young man in early Byrgerkinght years, when he meets Rom and Micolash. Kinda stubborn, not nice in communication, ambitious, attention-seeking, a bit shitty, but wants to have a True friend ----> a serious, trustworthy man in late Byrgenwerth era, he suddenly becomes the one who is ready to lead others. He is self-confident and has a lot of soft skills which help him to win any heart (in a political or a social way. I headcanon that he offered Rom to be his gf few times, but she refused. No heart-breaking stories. Laurence tried to find ANYONE for himself, who worth him, be equal. And tried to play with Rom kind personality. They still remained friends tho). Also same time he became more manipulative and cynical. Laurence is a strange one for me. That kind of character I can't accept, but Really want. I don't know why. Maybe something in my memory prevents me from accepting person like him? (Even if I don't remember it) But as it happens PRETTY often, believe me, more I hate character in the beginning = more I like them later I can't imagine Laurence after Byrgerkinght. Yeah, he must be a really good doctor, philosopher, historian and etc. Even excellent. But what made him start all that way? Why blood, not eyes? If he wanted good for people, why didn't he stop when curse appeared? If he wanted progress - everything is fine then! xd I don't understand his motives... Laurence is a strange combo of sincere kindness, eager for progress and curiosity for mysteries, I suppose? Mhm that's all. It's hard. Help. Wait for my ask, Katy...

[crackedpumpkin]

Ohmygod bro good job getting your coffee cause I would’ve barely survived that too!!! Good looking people in general really just be paralyzing people for some reason 😭

Cafe hopping really is fun tho, now that I think about it I have a similar story too with fumbling words. I went to this craft store for the first time and was tryna look for string cause I wanted to make those necklace bottle things, I asked the two people working in English, and since they had a hard time communicating with me they literally ran to another working person then running back to find me in the small shop! I didn’t get string in the end but I got the bottle! Could’ve avoided that if I just spoke my native language- but I didn’t cause adults (the older ones in my family) usually made fun of me for it 😭

The little moments really make the big things!! Both of you, amazing writers, no lie. I’ve been thinking of writing too so is it okay if I ask what the advice was? /nf

Michael gets arc’d! No more chip docking! But genuinely based of you to put that much care into your characters and stories 💖

Yes please I didn’t even know fruit-ade is an actual word- I was just making things up-

i aspire to one day be that pretty.

Please the way I wheezed- fr though, never be afraid to speak your own native language! My second language is Chinese and I am horrible at speaking it under pressure. I even got laughed at by my boss - that's how bad it was lmaooo, but honestly i don't really care. I'm just happy it makes people smile and laugh at it alongside me^^

As for the advice given by blake, it was focusing about the small things that led up to the big moment! This is purely my own interpretation though, but essentially always justify their actions. For example, if i make babes fall for miles outta nowhere then it's a little sudden, right? There's gotta be some form of catalyst that caused it in the first place.

Especially in the situation theyre currently in. Neither are entirely sure what they are yet, besides employer and employee. Before even progressing to being lovers and stuff they gotta form some kinda bond first, right? So the main thing for me was how to justify each step in their relationship.

Aka, is it reasonable for them to warm up to each other by this stage?? Or are they still on rocky terms with each other? It's honestly a fun challenge for me to write, because it gives me a chance to put myself in their shoes more thoroughly.

Even irl, there's gotta be a catalyst to make you fall for someone in the first place, right? Maybe one day you notice their eyes are really nice, or maybe you like the way their laugh sounds. Even before that, it's the little things that they do to make you feel safe in the first place :) relationships dont form overnight, after all~

"i would need to read the full thing through but a good rule of thumb for progression is either feeling it out and reasoning through if their reactions make sense or making it clear that time has passed between chapters and giving it a little suspension of disbelief" - @buthowboutno-spamming

bro, when you start writing please tag me in it!! I would love to read your work, and i know you can do it!! Honestly take it from me - dont take things too seriously. Writing is meant to be fun, not stressful. Like, when blank canvas started out it was just for shits and giggles and goofy and fun. thats what i was aiming for the whole time, and i wanted people who read my fic to hopefully smile or even do the lil nose huff thing we all do when we find something on the internet funny ^^

I'll add on a little advice of my own - feel free to ignore it lolol, but essentially:

I find it really helpful to have some form of plan or outline for your fic. Mine s constantly being adjusted, but it helps so much when you write your chapter and maybe realize oh wait iwanna do this here and do that there, and you know where everything should go like a puzzle piece! Something else I'd say is that there doesnt always have to be drama lmao, sometimes a sweet heartwarming fic is enough. You're enough.

Again, the little moments matter, right? That's why in chapter five i just kinda did a little hangout session :)

And omg when i say i am thrilled to write michael's character arc fr. an eureka moment hit me outta nowhere and immediately i RAN to tell @theblindhag because she has been honestly nothig but supportive and an absolutely lovely human bean. Which also kinda reminds me: having a good friend listen to all the crazy ideas in your head is so amazing fr, and i hope you have/will find that friend. Honestly, feel free to send in asks whenever - id be more than happy to have a chat or chill out!

I'll make a post on the fruitade soon, its like 1am where i am rn lmao. keep your eyes peeled for it anon!! it's the actual easiest to make, trust.

As a little bonus extra, allow me to share a little moment from upcoming chapters :)

[yahargulian]

im gonna send you a bunch of these fic asks xgxbdhnxjs SOOO 7, 27, 41, 43, 58, go!

Catch me kicking my feet excitedly hehe here we go!!

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

"Satisfied that, for the moment at least, they were in no immediate danger, Leon let his stance loosen just a touch, the hand hovering over his pistol falling away to his side. He took a deep, steadying breath.  That was his first mistake.  Because the thing that this line of work never prepares you for – never could prepare anyone for, really – is the visceral nature of shit like this. Sure, logically it makes sense that if flesh burns, you’d be able to hear it, smell it. And, it also makes sense that such an experience would be... unpleasant.  But they had just melted a body – a very large body at that – in molten metal.  Unpleasant didn’t quite cut it. " This is also the last thing I wrote for any of my wips! This is one of the two fics I'm actively (slowly) working on - the other one being the key fic, which I've posted a snippet of before - and I'm so excited for them both honestly. This one in particular I'm trying to make like.. As Visceral As Possible. Just go absolutely ham asgjkdhasg it's gonna be fun!

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

I'm trying to figure out how best to word this, but like.. Structuring sentences and things to help get the Vibe across. I've always typed exactly like I talk, even in messages, so I'm always like. Kind of thinking about how to best express myself using not just the words, but also the way the words are gonna be read and, hence, interpreted. Or, well, that's what I think anyway ashgkjadsjg tho I got told recently that I have a distinct voice when it comes to how I type and that it's present in my writing too, so hopefully I'm doing something right! (And I'm still not over it like.. I have a writing voice? Me? For realsies?)

41. Who’s your favourite character you’ve written?

Leon! And maybe I'm biased, because he is literally just. One of my favourite characters ever, I love him. And also maybe this is influenced by the fact that I hadn't actively written much for a good year or two until I fell into RE fandom all of three months ago. But anyway, I love to burrow my way into his head and poke around and see how he works and take stock of all the emotions and vibes, and then absolutely put him through the wringer ahdjkgahjgsdj It's an expression of love, promise! But a very close second would be Wanderer from Genshin Impact - and for pretty much the same reasons. His whole situation is way, way more complicated than Leon's, but he fascinates me in the same way. There's a lot to consider with them both. A lot of 'what if's and regret and guilt. Trying to do some good for the world. Both stories of a young, bright-eyed and naïve guy who gets thrown into a situation way beyond his control, and comes out of it as one of the only survivors. A situation that kills a part of him.. I think I have a type.

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

Soulmates and time loop fic - and these both come to mind immediately because I'm planning to do them both in one go sometime soon! Yippee! I really want to finish a sex pollen fic. Or just anything in that specific kind of trope. I have one wip (in a document titled 'eeby deeby') that's sitting at like 4,000 words and has been for two years now and one day. One day! I will finish it adshgjkh And, not a trope, but I want to write something that's just a little unhinged. Just in general really, not even in a specific circumstance. Sometimes the best way to fully express an emotion in writing is to take it to an extreme, I think

58. Do you have a favourite piece of figurative language you’ve written?

"Through Azar’s hand, the path of Sumeru’s future was cut in cursive." Now like. I am kinda happy with just this as a line, but the context for it is what makes it my favourite. Because this is a wip (that I really need to finish for a friend omg) where one guy kinda gets off to this guy having really good handwriting? There's more to it than that, but something about having this line in this fic - which I wrote based on a joke that got out of hand - just brings me so much joy ahdgjkhgd

[arttrampbelle]

Ok huge vent ahead.

Cw:vent

If you dont wanna read vents or hear me being pissed at NRS and some fans. Plz scroll. Plz ignore. Thank you.

Srry your fave being edenian,a lover of that particular part of mk lore. Really don't make you special. In fact it makes you look like a haughty asshole.

Look they are great. Dont get me wrong. But.....acting like they are the best,greatest shit since sliced bread is kinda irritating.

Especially recent iterations of that part of the lore. Urgh .

That was supposed to be a mysterious and not in the forefront of mk. The forefront being the tournament itself.

The realms are a minor background flavor.

And there is more realms than "eDeNia" a small part in outworld (which is huge and made up of other smaller realms btw) and earthrealm.

Plusno offence. Kitana isn't you special uwu princess. She is a warrior and heir to a kingdom first and foremost.

It isn't some dumb western biblical story. That pisses me off. Idgaf what nrs is feeding y'all.

To me i would rather take it more as eastern myths and legends n beliefs of heaven,the nine immortals,mythos,etc

Because im sick of y'all thinking eurocentric shit when it comes to asian cultures. Even fictional based ones.

Like idgaf if edenia isn't based on one group or is fictional. The fact y'all defult to Christian-europian type of religious imagery is disturbing.

Like if we dont get enough implications in canon that edenia was colonized.

Like srsly tho. I'm kinda sick of some peoples stupid hot takes on kitana. Like my girl is asian. Deal with it!!! Mileena is her cloned sister. Also asian.

Sindel? Asian. Shao kahn? Part Dragon AND ASIAN! Maybe Mongolian if you wanna be specific.

Hell even the shokan can be asian cultures based. They are part dragon. No not the "typical" western European dragon. (Sick of people thinking that thats the only kind)

Jade? A beautiful dark skinned Indian woman, WHICH IS ALSO ASIAN BTW!

Skarlet? She is half edenian,so part maybe part asian. Either way. I want edenia to be a hodgepodge of ALL asian cultures and based mythos. Because fuck you,we need more positive asian cultures representations thats why!

Nor is it palatable or likeable in a story. It's 3rd grade lvls of writing to a point where i find better shit on wattpad then in canon. some fans(not all) dont help the matter.

Like they could be done so much better. The characters within that part of mk could be done so much more justice. And make it less nauseatingly and eyerollingly typical.

I wont apologize for being pissed. Because it is a problem. And has always been a problem in mk. 30yrs and they continue to ignore it. Fans and game writers alike.

But like can't edenians be better? Like making them like elves or the "special people" isn't good writing nor is it likable.

It's boring and making them mary sues of mortal kombat isn't helping. Like nothing was corrupt before shao kahn? Bullshit. Yiy know damn well there was. They aint pretty perfect. So stop acting like they were or are. Its not realistic even for a FANTASY world! Like canon and fans alike do not write world buliding very well. I know,i know what you're gonna say. "But thats not the point of mortal kombat,its a fighting game" yes true. But it established lore and a story for years and then took a huge dump on it because $$$. And fans buy into it anyways because they dont actually wanna properly give a critique where it is needed. And if we are gonna actually call out the bullshit,and the bigotry,and the sexism. ACTUALLY CALL IT OUT WHERE IT IS. AND ACTUALLY ADDRESS THE ISSUES. you can still love mk,WHILE ALSO calling out the crap that the company nrs,boon,and the writers pull.

Look not all fans are like this. Most are great. But it grinds my gears when i meet or see a few that miss the fucking point of why 11's "interpretations" of the characters were so assbackwards. And why it pisses long time fans off

[withered--s0uls]

Ok guys uhm so 👉👈 what if I told you I had this idea for an original project since I was like 15-16 but never actually went through with it fully (I struggle w/ storytelling long, ongoing stories,,, especially from scratch)

I'll put more details under the cut, please go read that and then come back up here to vote!!!

Okay so as a kid I loved this book series that I don't think has an English localization?? The first book was "Wie weckt man eine Elfe?" (How does one wake up an elf?)

Basically the way the existence of elves, fairies, unicorns and other fantasy creatures is justified in this book series is that "If a human made it up using fantasy, then it'll become real". Due to fading belief and imagination of certain ones, they basically fell into hibernation. The protagonist girl finds out about an elf named Hummelbi (Hummel means Bumblebee) and they try to wake up Hummelbi's friends.

ANYWAYS, getting side tracked here...

I loved the concept of humans fantasy becoming reality, and paired that idea with my experience as someone who had many imaginary friends as a kid; what if those imaginary friends were real? What if they felt left behind as I grew older and stopped engaging with them? What if they felt betrayed?

It also is supposed to symbolize my own struggle of letting go from childhood fantasy, the guilt I felt for "forgetting about my friends" as I became a teenager. Something that at the time of coming up with this idea was a very big problem of mine. I didn't want to forget them and leave them behind. I felt like I was terrible for it.

The story would follow Ashley, a girl who at the time was supposed to be 16-17 -- I'll need to decide whether or not I'll change that, because it feels like these characters in my heart aged with me. But it makes more sense to have them be teens -- who used to have many imaginary friends as a kid. As she grew older, she played less and less with them. By the time of the main plot, she has friends in her school and hasn't thought of her imaginary childhood friends in ages.

Unknown to her, they weren't actually "Imaginary" at all. All those characters she made up, the floating island magic forest, all their adventures, very much were real.

And the vast majority of those friends felt severely betrayed.

They attempt to trap her in the fantasy world, and the story would have followed Ashley & her allies (who disagree with the other imaginary friends!) trying to get Ashley back into her world.

Oh also did I mention there was supposed to be a Sapphic romance going on?

Idk how much that'd be in the story if I do pick it up again, considering I'd want to mainly focus on plot. But since relationships & the individuality of the characters plays a major role in ths story, maybe there might still be room for it.

If I DO decide to work on it, I might need some help from others due to my struggle with world building from scrap and problems with ongoing long stories, let alone connecting certain scenes I like.

Back then I settled, with the help of friends at the time, on the title "Out of Sight" for the project. Back then the idea was just "oh, the island is invisible to others so she's out of other peoples sight" --- but that doesn't really feel like a good reason lmao.

I still like the title tho, and got attached to it.

I think it can also be interpreted as how she was unaware of them being real people, and lost sight of their development over the years and how they grew up and changed alongside her. It could kinda be a nod to the phrase "out of sight out of mind". Just that this phrase of blissful ignorance can't be applied to this?

Idk I had a better interpretation 5 minutes ago but already forgot 😭

[writerfae]

Hi! So I had an angsty idea. I am sorry!

We all know that baby Aiden used to be sick a lot. What would happen if a few months after Henry left, Aiden gets sick. Really sick... and he kinda doesn't get better (i am sorry)

Would Henry find out? How would he find out? What would he do once he did?

Also, I am sending this in the same ask, or else I will forget again: Can you tell us more about Aiden's dad? You seem to be really fond of him, but I also remember him hitting Henry(or at least that's how I remember interpreting Henry's character spotlight/intro).

Me sipping tea and eating biscuits with you in a fancy castle in a puffy dress:I need the details of the family drama!

Noooo this is so sad 😭 great angst idea though!

The saddest thing is that Henry probably wouldn’t even find out? I mean, he never dared to come back and he was quite literally a world (well, a realm) away

Though maybe he’d learn about it through Kara, Aiden’s crow, if I decide for the version where she’s actually sent by Henry to look after Aiden for him and give him updates (not sure yet if that’s canon tho)

If that would be the case, he’d drop everything to run to Aiden. He’d bring a ton of healer too, to try and help him. Or he’d just be there for him. All fears and regrets be damned, if Aiden would let him, he wouldn’t leave his side till he gets better or doesn’t

(You know, Aiden getting sick like that would be pretty possible, he had quite some people in his village that died of the flu or something similar. And with his weak immune system due to his early birth and minor heart problems he’s at a higher risk than others.)

It is true that I am very fond of Aiden’s father. I gladly tell you more about him! (Putting this under a cut cause it will be spoiler-y and probably VERY long)

Milan is eldest child of a pretty old and well adored family in their home village. They’re the village’s hunters, have been for generations.

Milan learned the craft from his father (who in turn had learned it from his own) and passed down the family’s generation old knowledge about hunting to both Henry and Aiden.

He is (or rather was) a very talented hunter, who liked his job and absolutely loved spending time in the woods.

But he loved spending time with people, too. Usually, he is an outgoing, friendly and warm-hearted person. The villagers adored him.

He was charming and funny and polite, and there were quite a lot people disappointed that he married an outsider instead of one of their daughters xD

Growing up he loved archery and fairytales and spending hours in the woods. He adored joking and fooling around.

You could say that he was a little bit childish, even as a grown man. But he could be serious and responsible too, having to take responsibility at a pretty young age.

You see, Milan has experienced many losses in his youth. His little brother died as a toddler. His grandmother passed away when Milan was still a child and both his parents died of the flu when he was sixteen.

All family he had left then was his younger sister, who he has a very good relationship too and who he took care of for nearly four years before she left the city to marry a merchant she fell in love with.

After that, he adopted a cat to fill the silence in his house.

At twenty he then received a great honor due to his archery skills and his honoring of the old ways: he was allowed to go to the faerie realm and join the wild hunt for their yearly great hunt.

At that festival he met Ranva and they fell in love. Like I said, he was very charming and nice and handsome so he caught her eye.

That’s how their story began and it soon led to Milan taking Ranva home with him and marrying her. And he was very happy about it.

He loved her very much, she was everything to him. He was a good husband to her. And he was (is) a good father.

I know it may not sound like it, given the fact that you are indeed right, he did hit Henry once. Which was really really bad and wrong, but you have to keep in mind that up until his wife’s death, he did everything for his boys. And he still loves them, he just can’t show it that much anymore.

You know by now that Henry is not Milan’s biological son. Milan knew that all along but he was like fuck that, I’m gonna love this kid to death anyway.

And he did. Really. For him, Henry was his son, as much as Aiden was.

He made him toys and taught him all kinds of things, he dried his tears and sang him songs and gifted him the fairytale book that he once got from his own father.

He was very happy when Aiden was born, but he never treated him any better just because he was his biological son.

Henry and Aiden had happy childhoods. They both love their father. Aiden grew up to look a lot like him, just that his hair wasn’t as curly and his features sharper.

And a lot of values both him and Henry have were shaped by Milan, because he has always been a good man.

Losing his beloved wife however, broke him. Like I said, he was no stranger to loss. (Only a year or so before Ranva died, his best friend Levin had passed away. And with him and Ranva dead, Milan had lost two people who he loved dearly.)

You see, Milan isn’t really himself anymore. Part of him died with Ranva, they were soulmates after all. He never got out of that grief, completely withdrawing himself.

There are days where he’s completely lost in his mind. He doesn’t eat, he doesn’t speak.

He has mental breakdowns out of nowhere when suddenly reminded of Ranva. There are good, more clear days too, where he’s almost back to normal. But not quite.

To put it simple, his heart is broken and he lost himself when losing his wife. Sadly, it meant that he was lost to the boys, too, in a way.

Instead of him caring for them, like he would’ve done if he wouldn’t be prisoner to his own grief, they had (in Aiden’s case: have) to care for him.

To come back to him and Henry, the problem was that there’s been some sort of tension in their relationship since Ranva’s death… well, not really tension, but they had a hard time being around each other.

Because while Aiden looked like his father, Henry looked like his mother. And he reminded Milan of her like nothing else in that house full of memories and it made him miserable. And Henry hated to see his father like that. Sometimes, on bad days, they would argue.

What triggered Milan hitting Henry, which luckily was a one time thing btw (even though one time is one time too much already) was when Aiden broke their mother’s favorite cup and Henry said it was him.

Milan was furious when he found out (cause he kept holding on to everything that was Ranva - every day he sits in her armchair) and that’s when he lost control over himself. It’s his biggest regret.

I’m not gonna excuse his behavior in that situation and if you only know that about him I’d understand if people don’t really like him.

But he’s really not a bad person once you learn more about him. He’s what becomes of a good man when tragedy strikes one too many times.

What I really like too is his relationship to Aiden. I loved letting them interact with each other in chapter one, cause you can see how despite everything Milan loves Aiden a lot.

When Henry left, it was the first time Milan lost a person and it was his own fault and he knows that. And since everyone else he loved is gone too, he’s horrified of possibly losing Aiden as well, even if he can’t show it.

[justanotherbeggar]

I’ve recently heard a lot of people say that the reason people don’t go to therapy is their lack of time, the cost of therapy, or not wanting a therapist they relate to. And they’re not incorrect, but those are only factors, not the main reasons.

No, the main reason people don’t go to therapy is the social taboo of therapy and “being broken,” and how the media interprets people who need help.

People don’t want to be seen as broken, they don’t want to oust themselves, or make others think they need “fixing.” Taboo says whenever someone goes to therapy that means they are broken, undesirable. That mentality can destroy people, and distance them from people that can help them. Also think of how many stories on social media or TV shows or anything that feature corrupt therapists, or therapists being stupid, or therapists making you stupid.

It also doesn’t help how media handles therapy and topics like depression and anxiety. How many shows feature characters stricken with all forms of mental problems, and how they are almost portrayed as…good? Almost? Like the cool, powerful character is a brooding teenager. They don’t *need* therapy, because they are *strong.* like heck, look at sasuke, who kinda had his whole family murdered. And what happened? He became this cool hero (and villain) with awesome power and only a little angst to show for it. (Disclaimer: I haven’t actually watched all of Naruto, so maybe he does get therapy later idk. My point still stands tho)

This all leads to people being afraid of therapy and spreading that fear, so much so that even people in desperate need of help are resistant to going.

Of course, I’m no psychologist or therapist, nor am I some expert on social taboo. There are so many other factors and variables contributing to people not going to therapy, but sayings it’s primarily due to scheduling and cost undermines the real problem.