#The characters aren't real?

[creationsabyss]

My thoughts on the Aventurine drama

I've been inactive for a while, I was (still am) busy in real life but coming back online to post and seeing discourse about a newly crowned favorite character is disheartening. Even more so, that people are harassing other writers over a drama I feel is overblown.

I have thoughts regarding it but I'm unsure if my opinion would be appreciated. But if you'd like to peacefully talk it out with me, I'd be happy to lend an ear. I'd like to hear both sides, as meager as my opinion may be.

Oh boy, here we go.

Aventurine is a character, a fictional being born to entertain the players. He is not real. He can not be offended by what you create of him. There is no point getting upset on the behalf of a character and prioritizing fiction over a person who does actually exist.

If we do want to condemn slavery fics, why not also cancel slave reader fics? Or ones that include things such as dead dove (including yanderes in general) fics because those topics are equally terrible to condone and write about from that point of view. Or how about other characters that have similar topics in their lore. Should those also be canceled too?

*There are also folks who make problematic pieces to help cope with their own trauma. Does that mean they should be canceled too? (On that note: making a piece that holds problematic content does not always mean the person condones it in real life. Fiction is fiction for a reason.)

In the end, I think everyone can have their own opinions, but I would like to say that your opinions do not justify terrible actions. Just because you disagree with something does not justify you bullying someone into deleting one of their works, whether it is art or writing or anything else, I do not think that is justifiable. Harassing someone or calling people to harass them is not right either.

*If you did disagree with it, why not message the author about it instead of making accusatory posts? Even when done with good intentions, all it does is cause harm when it's practically inviting people to go harass someone over a fanfiction. A very mild fanfiction at that.

If you disagree with a piece, cool. That's your opinion. Just don't interact with it then. Block that creator or that tag or whatever it is that led you there. Or if you're curious, ask that creator.

Also, to reiterate, in my opinion, fiction is still just fiction. Especially when it's a fanfiction about a fictional character. Yes, his canon lore exists, but people can use that basis in fanfiction, something that will inherently warp canon because we are not the original writers and can not capture him in the exact way he was created. In case that doesn't make sense: Fanfiction does not have to comply with the original lore. Also since some of you seem to be forgetting: fiction does not mirror real life.

If you are truly that concerned over sensitive topics like that, directing that energy towards projects that involve such topics in real life would be much better than attacking people on the internet.

[the-great-kraken]

if you see a male character kiss a male character, you assume they are gay.

if you see a female character kiss a female character, you assume they are a lesbian.

if you hear a character say they don't feel like their gender, you assume they are trans.

so why do a-spec characters have to jump through so many loops?

a character saying they've never had a crush or don't want a relationship or that they don't understand romantic love is so often ignored or used as fodder for other queer or autistic headcanons (reinforcing stereotypes that aroace people are secretly gay or always autistic)

why is it that our stories are always "up to interpretation"? why do we have to wait for the words aromantic or asexual to be said to be taken seriously? why is it that even when characters say they don't want relationships, fans will scream and cry about sex/romance favourable aspecs and qprs?

when it comes to gay and trans characters, even the likes of bisexual lighting is often treated as though it canonises their sexuality. for aroace characters, even the most explicit coding possible is swept under the rug in favour of other "interpretations"

i'm so tired of fighting for representation just to have it ignored and minimised by fans. let characters be aroace. please.

[aregebidan]

i love you goncharov mythos, i love you innate human urge to make things up, i love you tumblr blorbos created By tumblr, i love you meta insight into current internet attitudes toward character archetypes that's inherent to this process of creation, i love you opportunity of witnessing yet another major event for very online people, and most of all i love you katya

[egophiliac]

OH YEAH HIS TAIL ALSO LIGHTS UP

here's a bunch of quick reactions to some of the smaller bits, while I work on bigger things for the bigger bits and obsess over Silver's breakdown some more. don't be fooled -- this is only the beginning of my descent into pure diasomnia hell.

(I also need to figure out how to draw OB Mal better)

[buckleyreid]

The thing with buddie fans and the bisexual arc...

Sometimes I look at certain posts and I wonder what show people are watching.

I've always been a hyper realistic person, maybe that's my own flaw, but I genuinely don't understand how someone could watch Buck coming out to Eddie, and their main takeaways being that 1) Buck is disappointed when Eddie says nothing will change between them and 2) Eddie is upset that Buck went on a date with Tommy.

That scene is about so much more than Buddie as a romantic ship, and I guess people who haven't been in Buck's shoes won't understand how nerve-wracking it is to share a part of yourself you're still not 100% confident in with one of the people that matters most to you. It's so incredibly important to see two men who love each other so deeply be there for one another platonically. Seeing people twist and take things out of context just so they fit their own narrative, while ignoring the meaning of such an important storyline is a little disheartening to say the least. If down the line we see Eddie internally conflicted about seeing Buck and Tommy together, and if that leads him down his own journey that's great (I'm a buddie shipper too), but I think it's important to not lose sight of what the show is telling us in the present time.

Buck starts out episode 7x05 nervous, anxious even, about being on a date with a man. He's looking around, he doesn't want anyone to see him and Tommy together like that. Cut to the end of the episode, and he's setting up a date himself, he's smiling and putting his hand on top of Tommy's and he's grown sure enough of himself to ask him to be his date to his sister's wedding (where his parents will be, where his whole team will see them together). That's important, that's the character development we've been looking forward to and unfortunately I feel like I've seen more people focused on making cheating theories and taking Buck and Eddie's interactions out of context instead of celebrating that Evan Buckley, for the first time in a couple of seasons, actually has a decent (monumentally so) storyline. You don't have to ship Buck and Tommy together, but please don't disregard Buck's feelings for Tommy just because you wish Eddie was in his place instead.

TLDR: Buck's arc is his own, it doesn't and shouldn't revolve around anyone but himself, it doesn't revolve around Eddie or Buddie and it doesn't revolve around Tommy either. Bisexuality in media matters, it deserves time and it deserves to be treated with respect.

[barrel-crow-n]

Do you ever read a fic that rewires canon in your brain?

[bucksbisexualawakening]

the progression from "there's a morning snack and a midday snack" and "20 bucks for pizza" buck looking after his friend's kid to "bobby's famous lasagne: 6 types of cheese cooked to perfection" buck cooking for his family to "that's makes me your sous chef" teaching his kid how to cook is making me go so feral.

[fatedtime]

I know there’s a lot of people talking about the culture conflict between Toshiro and Laios, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the class conflict between them too. Mayor’s child or not, Laios is still from the boonies, while Toshiro is waited on hand and foot by a flock of women his family employs to serve his needs. This has 100% stifled Toshiro’s ability to communicate with others, to the point where acknowledging his retainers and thanking them for their efforts is shown as a huge point of growth.

Meanwhile, Laios’s bumbling nature towards Toshiro’s boundaries is very much informed by his lack of knowledge of other people and places. He knows how much it hurt him to see his sister rejected by people whose insular attitudes made her powers frightening to them, so he tries to express overtures of friendship towards Toshiro by being so interested in him that it comes off as frightening instead. While he means well, his lack of knowledge on how to interact with people who are different from him puts Toshiro in a weird spot, and this lack of knowledge isn’t just the autism — it’s where he was born and raised. And it’s something real kids from rural areas go through when they enter more urban spaces. The sorts of social manners that are appropriate there aren’t appropriate elsewhere, and they get seen as… well. Inelegant. Pushy.

If Laios had gotten Hien’s name wrong, she would have decked him. But because it was Toshiro, whose upbringing didn’t give him any conflict resolution skills (because he’s around people who have to bend to his needs*) he doesn’t know how to sort things out with Laios, and grows to resent him. It’s not just the culture, it’s the place he occupies class-wise.

That’s part of why I love Toshiro’s arc — if this was just a culture conflict where Laios commits microagressions against him, as I’ve mostly seen it put, him ultimately learning a lesson would be pretty weird. But it’s not. His upbringing as a noble lord’s son in a BONKERS family has given him certain issues… and Laios helps him confront that, so he can live without regrets.

(*please note, this is a massive oversimplification of what the hell is going on with Toshiro Nakamoto. i just didn't want to write a book.)

[lgbtlunaverse]

"Nie Mingjue would still have died young even if Jin Guangyao hadn't killed him" Not as in "So it's fine to kill him because people who won't live for much longer have obviously already forfeit their lives" (what) But as in "If you don't get that Nie Mingjue has had an inevitable young and violent death hanging over him since he was a young teenager and has embraced it you can't fully understand his character"

[schmaddi]

So uhm... guess who tripped and fell HARD for Coral Island's merman Semeru. Definitely not meeee~ Anyway, here's a quick sketch because I can't get him out of my head and I really need to share my obsession with sOMEONE.

(also, i know that he's currently rather grumpy, distrustful and not that outgoing, so the expression that i gave him might be a litttttle OOC for him (for now). HOWEVER. BUT. Just imagine him doing his job guarding the kingdom and stuff and keeping an eye on MC-farmer because y'know he still doesn't really trust us and all that quak, but then farmer does something dumb that he finds mildy amusing, which is why he'd have this sliiiight very tiny smile on his face. That's the kinda expression I wanted to give him. Also shoutout to @fyreiswriting because their work on Ao3 is what kept me alive these past few weeks, months? Hi fyre. Love your stories.)

[modwyr]

i love when game companions don't have a positive relationship and they aren't 'found family' (whatever that term means nowadays). to me it feels like it really emphasises the idea of this being a group of characters gathered together by the protagonist for a common goal, and therefore have clashing ideologies, and it makes everything more natural, from big game moments to companion banter, to have them argue or act awkward and stilted with each other because that's how people are

[leupagus]

Okay I've been drinking but I gotta say

I keep seeing takes in the Ted Lasso takes about the various favored pairings — be they Rebecca/Ted, Trent/Ted, Roy/Jamie, Roy/Keeley, Keeley/Roy/Jamie, WHATEVER, with this sentiment of "if this relationship does not turn into a romance, then what was the point of the show?"

And that really frustrates me as someone whose most valued and cherished relationships are not romantic, and who will not likely ever have another romantic relationship in her life. Because there's a point to friendships! There's a point to love in all its forms, in all its complexities. Romance is great, absolutely, but to say that there's no "point" to Rebecca and Ted's trust and respect and affection if it doesn't become a romance, or there's no "point" to Trent becoming a Diamond Dog if he and Ted don't start dating, or there's no "point" to Roy and Jamie and Keeley's complicated dance around each other this past season if it doesn't end up in bed — that just makes me really depressed about the limitations people are putting on how people can love each other.

You can absolutely cheer for your favorite ship and hope that it becomes canon — but to reduce all the rest of the show does a disservice to the show itself.

[figsandphiltatos]

the raw power of gorgug and kristen synchronized second hand embarrassment is unspeakable

[ventiswampwater]

Griffin Dunne as Jack Goodman in An American Werewolf in London (1981)

[tinypuffballofanger]

man you gotta love how people will shout from the rooftops how autistic laois is and then in the next breath call him a little freak that no one can possibly understand the perspective of

[theribbajack]

Just finished G.I. Joe: Renegades for the first time and hoo boy. It's been a long time since I was down this bad for a ship.

Lineart below the cut: