#The unpopular black sheep

[phoenixcatch7]

Looking through the batman wiki on Jason Todd (I'm not writing anything, I'm not writing anything, no writing anything -) and to my absolute SHOCK, this boy wasn't killed off for shock value, or even fridged!!

He was killed off by 💥TELEPHONE VOTE💥!!

EXCUSE ME?!!!

Nightwing Robin had had an uninterrupted 43 year run, doubling batman sales when he was introduced, and then when the now famous Jason came along, he lasted a mere 5 years before losing his life to a vote of 10000 people by 62.

Like, I get that he was the outsider 'stealing' a treasured role that nearly two generations would have grown up - and that would have infuriated a great many people, since this was before Robin became a legacy title that was passed on but I mean... Ouch.

He didn't get resurrected till 2005, 17 years later.

Killed off by ~popular vote~ no wonder he's mad.

[thyandrawrites]

Seeing the panel where the todoroki family is gathered in the hospital and seeing everyone except Natsuo with Enji because it seems like Rei, Fuyumi and Shoto is ready to forgive but there's a panel where Natsuo was far away from them and standing alone because he would never forgive Enji...I just want to say how I admired Natsuo for staying firm and not letting his hatred to let down. That kind of behavior I want but people always tell to forgive the abusers because they are your "parent"blabla

Were you referencing this scene?

I'm not the best at commenting on panel composition, but the choice to draw Natsuo far enough away from the group that his expression is cut off is deliberate enough to be striking. Then there's an entire panel just focused on him, and his gaze is downcast, his expression contrite and conflicted, and there's all that white space around him. He's not looking at his father, and the next panel shows why: he's thinking of his big brother, the one who should be there, and yet is still missing.

I really like that Natsuo's allowed to be angry, to be distrustful, and to be unwilling to forgive. That speaks to me, and I bet it does to so many people. Sometimes, reconciliation isn't the best option, not even when it comes to family. Sometimes especially when it comes to family. And that's okay.

I like that Natsuo's character challenges the idea that lack of forgiveness equals unkindness, because despite his anger, despite his hurt and his grief, he's not unkind. He doesn't want reconciliation for himself, but he recognizes that Fuyumi needs it for herself and makes an effort to support her regardless of his personal feelings. And that makes him so, so kind.

Yet, at the same time I don't really read the scene above as Natsuo being different from the rest of his family, the odd one out that is drawn far away because he just can't let things go. That would frame him as the same scapegoat that Touya used to be, and I don't think the Todofam plot needs to end on a repetition of that cycle, necessarily.

Yes, I hope Natsuo will get to stay angry and not forgive his dad even when Touya comes back eventually, but that blank space right there, next to him...

Honestly that always looked to me like the space naturally filled by one more person. The one notably missing. It makes for neat visual storytelling imho. It's not that Natsuo's the most impacted by that loss, but Natsuo was the closest to Touya, used to room with him, was his confidante when Touya had no one else to turn to, and spoke on Touya's behalf after his disapperance, playing the role—in Touya's absence—of the one continuously reminding Enji that there's more to atonement than playing the hero. That cleaning up your act for your pride isn't the same as doing it to make up for your actions to your victims.

So yeah, I think Natsuo's purposefully drawn slightly off to the side because of this: more than anyone else in the fam, Natsuo still makes space for Touya's memory. He still makes it a point at every turn to honor it by doing right by him, standing up to the things Touya would've stood up for himself if he were there.

"I'm bringing him up because Touya would want us to talk about it. About what it means for us that the world sees his facade of heroism and glorifies him, while we are here, with mom, to see the damage he's done to us to achieve that fame."

Or again,

"Touya would see right through how performative your determination to atone really is. You never really gave a crap about his pain, either. Neglecting us and calling that worry over Touya's health."

Times and times again, Natsuo reminds everyone that Touya might be gone, but his presence isn't. His influence on them wasn't, shouldn't be, as worthless as Touya seemed to believe it was in life, and they ought to respect who he was. And that means not betraying what he would've wanted.

Touya wanted accountability. Natsuo wants it too, for his brother.

I think that's why, when Enji starts ugly crying and the others feel bad for him to varying degrees, he's the only one unaffected by his father's tears. I also reckon that's why he's the one reminding Enji that this truce doesn't mean forgiveness. It's not mean spirited. If anything, I think it shows in full Natsuo's kindness.

Tl:dr; I like to think that Hori drew Natsuo slightly far away not to underline that Natsuo is hellbent on not forgiving, but rather because Natsuo's just... The one consistently acting like Touya is still part of the family unit, still present, still alive, if in memory or in spirit. And he's the one constistenly making room for him, physically and metaphorically, because to him his brother was never truly gone. Let alone now

[didsomeonesayventus]

Hey Brodia fans do we think there's a nonzero chance some fuckhead noble ends up thinking the Morion Incident was a covered up/conveniently timed coup so Diamant could take over

(This is, ofc, Bullshit™️, and it makes both Diamant and Alcryst understandably incredibly upset)

[ducklooney]

Unpopular opinions:

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of the stupid jokes about the Quack Pack being locked away in a vault of oblivion, like they're some black sheep of Disney or something. That's just stupid to me, and Quack Pack deserves better, and even if that series had some mistakes, it's definitely an ok series. Let me just say that the Ducktales reboot wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the OG Ducktales or Darkwing Duck or the Quack Pack (especially if you look at Donald's nephews). And yes, it is an unpopular opinion, but I prefer the Quack Pack version of Donald's nephews to the Ducktales reboot version. And I don't mean the Ducktales episode "Quack Pack" which I still dislike to this day, but the original Quack Pack series. Sorry!

I would also point out the displeasure with Disney's decisions that ignores the canon from the Disney comics as well as the fact that it is still not in the US itself to this day, featured series The Legend of The Three Caballeros. Okay, there are mistakes in there, but the series itself is ok (for me its great) and it's really stupid that they didn't show it so it wouldn't be like a competitor to Ducktales in 2017. That's it for now.

And these are just my opinions, if you mind, your problem. Sorry!

[cirusthecitrus]

Can I ask Entrapta and Hordak for the character ask meme?

First impression: with Entrapta, she caught my eye even before the show premiered, when I saw the promo art. I fell in love with her design right away, though i didn't care much for her character at first, just didn't get the hype. It is only after she showed her vulnerable side, when she thought her friends abandoned her (but we knew it was not true!), thats when I got invested. Tuned in for the drama, stayed for the purble mad scientist

Same with Hordak. Didn't care for the character, loved the design. And I loved it specifically because he looked similar to the demon characters from my original story I was working on with a friend at the time. The long pointy ears, the nose, the glowing eyes, the clawed hands and sharp teeth, they also have wings just like Imp!

Oh and I always loved his relationship with Imp, it was so fun to watch these two interact :3

Impression now: to me personally Entrapta and Hordak are the real heart of the show. They are both integral to the story, they're interesting and fun in their own ways and their relationship is simply the best thing the show has to offer. Plus their personal journeys are so exquisitly tragic, love me some good angst

They're both my lil scrunklies, my beloved chew toys, one of my fave evil power couples. Though I gravitate more towards Hordak, he got that melancholic sad doe eyes rizz. And older brother issues (hes just like me fr🤝)

Favorite moment: oof but there are so many. 'Imperfection is beautiful' and 'I am Hordak' are obviously in my top 5, but I also want to mention some other ones

From entrapdak scenes - the one where they chat while sitting on Hordak's throne, the one where Hordak protects Entrapta from the portal explosion and the iconic "What have you done to me?" scene

As for their personal moments, I still giggle at Entrapta's "Do I need to explain math to you?🤨", also I can't get over her soft hum and lil smile when she remembers her lab partner in the portal reality

And with Hordak, again, love all the scenes where he's so casually adorable with Imp, also s4 moments when he's being obsessed with Entrapta (can't deside between the blushing scene and the 'crying over her' scene)

Idea for a story: For Entrapta I've been thinking about an au where she gets consumed by the Island before her friends find her, turning into this scary powerful monster who still has some of her free will. And she either escapes the island herself, becoming a threat to both the Horde and the rebellion (but eventually she and Hordak save each other with the power of love~), or she stays on BI and has this emotional fight with Adora and Bow where she gets to voice all her fears and grievances, but in the end gets defeated and comforted

For Hordak I have this idea about him meeting another clone with the same defect as him. Maybe he was just fresh out of a pod, and his condition only took a toll on him after the fall of Prime. I imagine Hordak being so gentle and protective of him, giving him all the love and understanding + recourses he was deprived of. I also imagine him finally not feeling so alinated when he's around his own kind, like a black sheep among his "perfect" able bodied brothers, because now he knows he's not the only one

Unpopular opinion: Entrapta's trauma should've been treated more seriously and not forgotten right after the Beast Island episode. S5 felt like s4 events were erased from everyone's memory. Also, it should've affected Entrapta more. Again, where are the conflicted feelings towards Hordak? It was never established that she found out the truth about her exile, that Hordak was lied to and had no idea about it. And where are the conflicted feelings towards Catra? The more I think about it, the more I hate that dumb apology and the fact that it was enough for Entrapta to forgive her, after everything Catra did to her and her loved ones

With Hordak... those are not quite common, but it is still tiring to see some fandom opinions where ppl critique this version of Hordak by calling him a loser and a lame villain/character, because he's not "badass" and "threatening" enough and is bad at his job as the leader of the Horde. Cause like... that's the point. Hordak was bad at this because he was not suited for this role, he is not a leader and thats not bad/contradicting writing, thats just his character trait. He was only trying to mimic the only role model he ever had in his life, trying to fit into Prime's shoes and obviously failing at it, because he's not Prime. He was also programmed to be an obedient slave with no wants or ambitions, not a dominant power hungry ruler, and I can only imagine what it took him to become as powerful and threatening as he is in the show. He did not belong on that throne, not because he's incompetent/useless or stupid or a bad warlord, but because choosing to become Lord Hordak, choosing to go all this way to try and prove himself worthy to his uncaring god was,on itself, his biggest mistake, not the right path for him. The Etherian Horde is like that because it's existence was a mistake

Favorite relationship: romantic? with each other. Platonic? Also with each other, but also -

For Entrapta - her friendship with Adora and Wrongie (also Scorpia, but only pre s5 Scorpia, like girl what happened...)

For Hordak - his bond with Imp and his relationship with Horde Prime (i just love how tragic and messed up it is okay?)

Favorite headcanon: idk if a have a favorite, there are all sorts of hcs, so i'll just focus on a random one I like

I do find the idea of Hordak being creeped out and lowkey haunted by Entrapta's cat painting hilarious, but I also like to think that the cat was her real pet, maybe a childhood pet even, and by keeping the painting she honors the memory of her old friend

[saotome-michi]

Another unpopular One Piece opinion:

Carrot and Yamato not sailing with the crew after Wano did not feel like a cop out to me. The two are clear parallels to Nekomamushi/Inuarashi and Oden, who were also part-time members of Roger's crew. Carrot clearly has her part to play as leader of the minks and Yamato as "Oden". Sure, maybe Oda could've done a better job of building that up and saying "goodbye for now" to these characters at the end of the arc, but "too much to do, not enough time" has been One Piece's MO since the time skip.

I guess that's all easy for me to say though, since imo neither Carrot nor Yamato felt like full-time strawhat member material. There's a certain template that all the strawhats mostly follow and it can be summed up in three steps:

1) They're shown to be a loner, the "black sheep" of their village (or whatever environment they're introduced in).

2) They're saved and/or inspired by Luffy.

3) They have meaningful interactions with the other strawhats before they officially join the crew.

All of the strawhats tick these three boxes, except for Jinbei, who was never shown to be a loner or the "black sheep" of Fishman Island. However, he is introduced as the only Warlord who is strongly against the War, as well as the only Warlord who's a fishman. Plus, he's the only fishman who agrees to give blood to a human. So, maybe he does tick that box.

(Oh there's also Robin, who doesn't have that many interactions with the other strawhats before she joins at the end of Alabasta.)

Now, let's look at Carrot.

Carrot is not portrayed as a loner or the "black sheep" of Zou. There is nothing really that makes her distinct from the other minks... perhaps her strong desire and daring to leave Zou and explore? But other Minks also expressed their desire to leave with the Strawhats and it doesn't seem like Carrot's wanderlust is seen as a bad thing by the community.

Carrot is not saved or inspired by Luffy. Yes, she likes and admires Luffy, but there is no particular moment where he saves her from her personal demons or inspires her to keep going, live, or to fight for him. He plays no pivotal role in her character growth, that's all Pedro.

The only box that Carrot ticks is that she has meaningful interactions with the other Strawhats throughout Whole Cake.

So 1 out of 3 for Carrot.

What about Yamato?

Loner? Sure, he's def the black sheep of Onigashima.

Saved or inspired by Luffy? This is an interesting one, because while Luffy does in effect save Yamato by taking off his handcuffs, it's not a scene with a lot of emotional weight to it. If anything, Yamato's savior and "light" was Ace. Yamato and Luffy only interact for a little bit before Yamato's assigned to Momo for the rest of the battle, so they don't really have much of an emotional connection either. Compare Luffy and Yamato's interactions during Wano to Luffy and any other strawhat's during their introductory arc and it's lacking. Yamato's desire to sail with Luffy feels more impersonal, because so much of it is tied to Yamato's background knowledge of Luffy, knowledge that he got from third party sources (Oden's logbook and Ace) than from Yamato's own interactions with Luffy. So while I understand why other people might tick the box, for me it's a no.

Meaningful interactions with the other strawhats before they join—a big NO. Yamato literally only meets the other strawhats after the battle is over. Sure he spends time with them post-battle, but we see very little of it.

So Yamato is also 1 out of 3.

I think from this comparison, we can see that neither Carrot nor Yamato really build up that special connection with Luffy that the other strawhats have, and that's why I'm perfectly fine with neither of them fully joining the crew. Personally, it would've felt odd if they had.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Salomé Sibonex

Published: Dec 5, 2023

Until just a few years ago, I didn’t feel like I had a place in this world. That’s over 25 years of wondering why my life didn’t look more like the lives of people around me. Even my thoughts were different from the thoughts of people around me, for better and for worse. Before most people were using social media for anything besides posting pictures of food, I was accusing people of cultural appropriation. Insecurity, naivety, and intelligence are a dangerous combination. 

In the last few years, I’ve lost my naivety, improved my insecurities, and kept the intelligence (this too, is a dangerous combination). Where I once played along with destructive leftism, like using any political disagreement as an excuse to attack people and consequently suppress my underdeveloped sense of self, I now follow a different compass. 

Something changed in me after watching people who endlessly argued that words were violence suddenly defend real violence–mobs ganging up on individuals–if it was done in the name of BLM. The leftist ideas I previously scooped up on social media had gone from fringe to mainstream and were playing out in front of me; now executed in the real world, they were spilling blood with no remorse. The familiar feeling of being the odd one out returned. I knew this was a situation where I was compelled to do the unpopular: voice an opinion no one else seemed to hold. But this time, I was driven by my values instead of my insecurities. 

I couldn’t see it from the peer group and media landscape I was in, but I wasn’t the only one finding lines they wouldn’t cross. Speaking out against people misusing the pursuit of racial equality to justify destruction led me to others who were also willing to go against the herd. I discovered principled individualist thinkers like Ayishat Akanbi. But there were many other people still finding the strength to speak up.

The years 2020 and 2021 will be remembered for many reasons, but perhaps the most inspiring is that many people found their voice. I started to notice a pattern: a unique type of person willing to bear insults and isolation rather than go along with bad ideas. These people are the black sheep and they show up any time a group starts going off the rails. 

We saw doctors like Jay Bhattacharya speak out against vaccine mandates and lockdowns; we saw black intellectuals like Ayishat Akanbi and Africa Brooke speak out about anti-racist ideology and cancel culture; we saw academic biologists like Colin Wright speak out against the spread of a gender ideology that denies the existence of two sexes; and we saw a surge of people calling themselves “politically homeless” as a rejection of the rigid political identities being pushed on them. My years of always feeling like the odd one out ended when I found other people who weren’t afraid to be black sheep too. We’ve been too caught up in the madness to notice, but we’re living through a renaissance–not just of the individual–but of the individual who dares to defy the group. 

In a time when destructive collectivism threatens to steamroll over individual freedom, understanding the psychology behind the black sheep concept will help us overcome it.

One of the earliest and most famous psychological experiments about the black sheep effect was conducted in 1988. Researchers had Belgian students rank four distinct groups by their likeability: likable Belgian students (in-group), unlikeable Belgian students (in-group), likable North African students (out-group), and unlikable North African students (out-group). Who would offend you most: an offensive person who’s more or less similar to you? This question adds a crucial element to the equation: identity. It wasn’t the unlikable North African students who the Belgian students found most unlikable, it was the other Belgian students. The black sheep effect explains some of the ugliest group behavior around. It’s how you end up with leftists calling liberals “nazis” and white “anti-racists” diagnosing any black person who challenges them with “internalized racism.” 

The black sheep effect is dependent on another concept: social identity theory. This theory explains how our group identity informs our individual identity. When your group is challenged by someone from within, it isn’t just your group, but your sense of self that’s challenged. Research has found that people are more likely to lash out at ingroup members who deviate from their group’s norms than outgroup members. It isn’t men who challenge a feminist’s identity the most–it’s women who don’t agree with the feminist narrative. 

The key to understanding the black sheep effect is understanding the motives that drive people to hate deviant ingroup members: it isn’t you, it’s them. Even if you’re correct in pointing out that “anti-racism” contradicts the humanistic philosophy that made the civil rights movement successful, as a black person who rejects “anti-racism,” you’re a more dangerous threat to the stability of the anti-racist movement than actual racists. This dynamic is crucial to understanding the black sheep effect today: punishing black sheep isn’t necessarily motivated by people deeply caring about their cause or simply having another perspective. The black sheep threatens the ego of people who gain their identity from that group–often at the expense of progress.

Destructive groups pursue the same, singular goal above all else: self-preservation. Unlike a group of gardeners, a group of feminists is more likely to become destructive because their individual identities are more deeply informed by their group identity. It’s a bigger statement about who you are to label yourself a feminist than it is to label yourself a hiking enthusiast. This might be the most dangerous and yet least recognized element in today’s surge of collectivism. 

The stated goal of a group is not always the true goal of that group. The best way to discern the true goal of any person or group is to look at their actions more than their words. People do what they are most motivated to do; people say what they think is most expedient. When we saw anti-racist activists say that they were concerned about the hardships and inequality faced by black Americans, but we also saw them encourage and praise riots that led to arrests, death, and community destruction for those same people, the stated goals of the group didn’t align with its actions. 

Similarly, neo-conservatives claim to care about protecting Americans, but consistently send Americans to die in unnecessary wars; feminists claim to care about empowering women, but push women to adopt cynical, victimized outlooks; leftists claim to care about the poor, but insist the only solution to poverty is destroying the economic system that’s lifted the most people out of it. In all of these groups, the gap between stated goals and true goals isn’t just hypocritical–it’s blatantly counter-productive. More than ever before, it needs to become common knowledge that actions speak louder than words, especially for political ideologies. 

A lot of the groups that are fighting to control us are primarily fighting for nothing more than their self-preservation. And when a group is more interested in its own existence than the achievement of its stated goals, chaos follows.

These are the foot soldiers you’ve met online today who will attack anything endlessly. They are the people you’ve seen in viral protest videos who rabidly yell about a problem while offering no reasonable solutions. These symptoms reveal a group has entered a death spin of self-preservation for its own sake. 

Healthy groups are genuinely concerned with the variety of perspectives their members have on how to achieve their stated goals. You can see this in any productive business where leaders engineer ways to get honest feedback from employees. Anyone who cares about effectively achieving a goal isn’t just open to criticism, they’re hungry for it. They know about concepts like Johari’s window, which explains that every individual has blindspots other people can fill in. When people are searching for solutions, any input on how to better solve the problem is welcome. 

A group that tolerates its black sheep is more effective because it avoids becoming an echo chamber, where new ideas are kept out and stagnation is inevitable. Because the black sheep is a part of the group but tends to be a person with a unique vantage point or an unusual background, they can offer the most accurate and creative suggestions. The black sheep is a treasure to any effective collective: a genuine member with insider knowledge who’s different enough to fill in the crucial blindspots that members too immersed in the group can’t see. It’s why conversations between feminists and liberal women who reject that label could offer a fountain of insight into women’s needs today, but it’s also why that conversation is rare.

The black sheep’s strength isn’t just the unique perspective they offer to their group, it’s also the red flag they raise when that group attacks them. Any group that can’t tolerate constructive criticism from those who share its goal is no longer primarily pursuing that goal–it's pursuing self-preservation at the expense of that goal.

Black sheep are the canary in the coal mine. The treatment they receive from their group reveals if that group is doing the necessary reflection to hold rational beliefs and stop destructive beliefs from spreading. 

Leftism today is the perfect example of a group that’s lost its mechanism for hitting the brakes on counter-productive ideas. Instead, many leftists hunt for the nearest heretic to punish for minor deviations, like mixing up someone’s pronouns, not using “inclusive” language, or failing to perform the correct level of collective outrage over the latest issue. This practice has been going on for so long in online leftist spaces that most of the heretics being picked on aren’t actually black sheep–the genuine black sheep with considered differences were pushed out long ago. Today’s targets are merely making naive mistakes, but are picked apart by other members desperate to reinforce their own in-group status. When a group has run off all its black sheep and is finding stand-ins for ritual punishment, you can be sure that group is on a path of destruction.

When I started publicly criticizing the destructive elements of leftism, I had no other political group to call home while doing so. I knew the ideology was wrong, but I still felt the pressure to mince my words and tread lightly enough to avoid becoming the next target of a social mobbing. I’d seen how individuals were torn apart in the virtual public square by anonymous attackers joining together to fuel a fire that would burn its victim in 1,000 different ways, 1,000 different times. While I’d much rather be attacked by a cyber mob than a real one, there’s something uniquely freakish about watching a digital effigy of yourself be spit on and ripped apart for all the world to watch. 

For a while, I was torn between truth and fear; I wanted to speak clearly, but I knew that would put me clearly in the crosshairs of people with nothing to do but ruin my life. Once I realized that safety at the expense of integrity is a hamster’s life, I felt ready to bear the consequences of fully pursuing my values. Suffering in service of something meaningful didn’t exactly feel nice, but it felt powerful. Suddenly, bearing the emotional tantrums and attempted abuse from strangers was the obvious choice.

When I learned to see myself as a black sheep, it felt like the missing piece of a puzzle. A life that had always felt unusual suddenly made sense. I was exactly where I belonged all along–the odd one out who held a mirror to the others. If you want to develop your own perspective on life, you have to stand in places that few others are. Humans have created symbols since the beginning of our history. We look to them for meaning to bring it to our own lives. The black sheep is a powerful symbol; it encapsulates both the problem of our time and the solution. Perhaps more people would trust their gnawing sense that something’s wrong and push back on destructive groups if they realized they aren’t just the odd one out–they’re exactly where they’re meant to be.

[twothpaste]

For the meme!! Duster :D

First impression: I remember liking Duster a lot when I first played M3. The way the game gets you into his perspective at the start of Chapter 2 is really impactful… Wess shouting at him and degrading him, while he just loyally stands there and takes it without a fuss. And the care with which he's animated - always limping (even in his Pigmask disguise), takin' a deep breath before using Wall Staples, spinnin' his bass around when he performs - was endearing & impressive from day 1. I don't recall having any profound thoughts or headcanons about him, but I was glad to play with such a unique party member!

Impression now: I fuckin' love him. A man of such humble highs and lows. He goes from being a cooped-up undersocialized abuse victim to a rockstar celebrity to a world-saving hero, and does it all in the most gentle unassuming manner imaginable. What I think is most special & sad & remarkable about Duster is how painstakingly selfless he is. Dude who will drop literally everything on the spot to do what's asked of him, to help a neighbor in need, to look after a kid who needs him. Putting everyone else first, to such an admirable extent - and to such a dramatic fault. He was denied any sense of self worth growing up, which creates this fascinating & tragic double-edge. He doesn't know how to be kind to himself, but by god, he'll do right by others even if it kills him.

Favorite moment: When he plays with DCMC one last time at New Pork City. It's loads of fun, and so fucking sweet. His bandmates are overjoyed to see him, Lucas & Kuma are delighted to hear him perform again, everyone's gathered to listen. OJ tells him afterwards they could never replace him - DCMC's not complete without its bassist. I imagine he starts to realize here how genuinely loved he is. That he's not just a vessel for positive action, but a crucial part of the communities he loves! And a beloved & worthy person in his own right!!

Idea for a story: There is something very existentially haunting about how Duster's the only Tazmilian who's had his memories wiped twice. Dude's lived three separate lives - four if the post-amnesiac epic adventure Duster we play with from Chapter 5 onwards counts as another. I gotta wonder how he reconciles his identity, especially after (presumably) recovering his White Ship memories sometime postgame. I like to imagine he's content to settle down as a musician first n' foremost, donning his stage name when he performs. But god knows what kinda horrors he witnessed, growing up in a world on the brink of apocalypse. And how he might convey this to his bandmates, who must have their own wild timetravel backstories to grapple with. And how he settles back into a village where he used to be a total black sheep. And how he carves out a new life for himself as an independent adult, after Wess deprived him of agency for so long. Just seems like there's a quite a few disparate Dusters for future Duster to sort out!

Unpopular opinion: My man is thirty or forty years old. Can scarcely fathom him younger. I put him at 37 post-timeskip, myself.

Favorite relationship: Hard to place which is my favorite, so I'll do a few. His situation with Wess makes me ache so bad. Some folks interpret Wess more charitably, which I can see & respect, but I personally read him as pretty explicitly abusive. The fact Wess does have commendable traits too, though, and that he & Duster do seem to care for each other deep down, complicates things in such a realistic way. Duster's not the sorta person to write off his aging father, despite how badly Wess has hurt him and let him down. Wess does love his son, but might be too stubborn to truly change his ways. Where do they go from there? Who's to say, but it makes my chest hurt. I love to imagine the way Duster treats Lucas & Kuma is in stark contrast to his upbringing. That he's endlessly patient with these kids, even at their weakest and worst. 'Cause he knows exactly how it feels to be berated & chastised for failure. I also think his time with DCMC feeds into that. Like, they taught him to play bass n' perform n' everything - surely it didn't come easy for an amnesiac with no prior social skills or musical talents. He learned patience and care from them. The thought of his new friends treating him gently for the first time, and Duster not remembering any other life, is so fuckin' sweet to me. Agh.

Favorite headcanon: He likes wearing Hawaiian shirts. He's dating OJ - let these gay men be mundane, middle-aged, and schlubby as hell. His postgame hobbies include sailing and, yes, again, smoking mad pot.

[gruesella]

I don't know when it became a common misconception that the Munsters are a bunch of sad conformists trying desperately to fit in bc they're ashamed of their monstrous nature while the Addams are not only aware of how different they are, they are proud of it. Which is really just Addams stans' way of going "neener neener, our fav is better than yours" but misses wholly that the entire joke of both shows was that neither family actually knew they freaked people out; both thought they were normal and kindly treated outsiders like friends. (tho the comics were more satirizing blueblood aristocrats and how creepy the rich are, a point they also miss.)

Under the cut for length and some possibly unpopular takes that need to be said about privilege.

Yes, including the Addams. Gomez as much in the very first episode of the series:

Truant Officer: Mr. Addams, surely you want your children to be like other children? Gomez: But they are!

Just as few people can actually explain how TAF is aware they're not normal, even less can tell me how the Munsters worry about fitting in. Especially because in my experience, people who drag the Munsters have not usually seen many of the episodes, making this claim even more confusing to me. At best I can only guess they mean that episode where everyone but Grandpa is excited to be named "America's Average Family", but that's more because they're hyped to be on a nationally recognized magazine than anything else. Who wouldn't be? There is no evidence the Munsters ever try to fit in with their white picket fence neighbors; they believe THEY are the white picket fence neighbors and do not understand why their friendliness and- in their eyes- harmless customs and hobbies bring out the rudeness in guests or neighbors. Being ordinary is not something they TRY to do; it's something they already think they are. That. Is. The. Joke! They're horror icons but want their kids to get a good education and have nice family dinners every evening! They SHOULD be disturbing and disgusting, but they're nice people with reasonable values!

But the humor in TAF comes from how confident they are that they are THE norm. They are the true Americans and assume everyone must think the way they do. This was and is an accurate attitude from the wealthy elite and even just financially well-off middle class families unaware of life outside their sheltered bubble. This doesn't make the Addams bad people btw, it just means they're naive (and in fairness, so are the Munsters, just for different reasons).

Related to that, I'm going to say something that a lot of people won't agree with but it's true. The Munsters do not "try to be normal" or are "ashamed" of their heritage; what they DO is try to assimilate. I think this is lost on many viewers but the Munsters are a working class immigrant family; frightening appearances aside, they do not meet the status quo. Millions of immigrants, since America was founded, have assimilated. Americans themselves will generally assimilate when they move. This is just a thing those living in a different culture do because it's not seen as correct or considerate to ignore cultural norms of the place you are staying in. More to the point, the Munsters very obviously represent what real life minorities went through in the very racist and xenophobic mid-20th century. They would try to balance their own culture while following what the majority (white, middle or upper class people) or adapt entirely to it... and STILL faced prejudice.

The part you won't like: the Addams meet the status quo FAR more than the Munsters. They are rich, white, straight, closer to their aristocratic status (the Munsters technically have nobility but seemingly left it behind when they immigrated, with Herman dismissing it outright as unimportant in the US), and above all, are normal-looking. Add that to their somewhat condescending pity (and Gomez' disgust) for Aunt Ophelia, who is the black sheep of the family, showing that they DO value some sense of normalcy; it's just different from an average person's. Even thinking the Addams were this edgy, rebellious goth family a lot of their fans think they are, they can afford to be quirky because of their privilege. It is not necessarily bold to "be yourself" when "yourself" is already closer to what society says you should be. I am not saying they don't do anything progressive, they are in ways of course; I'm saying this is a very tone-deaf, first-world outlook that takes for granted the fact that the Munsters as both foreigners and minorities and don't get the luxury of flaunting their MUCH MORE ATYPICAL appearances and culture to WASP America. To say they as a marginalized group are just sad conformists compared to the brave and self-loving Addams who are by contrast easier to swallow with their normal appearances and attractive wealth is... naive to say the least, and an offensive disregard to how privilege works IRL, at worst.

But it's not founded in any of the source material. In truth both families are happy the way they are; that's what makes them funny, because they enjoy abnormal things and don't see that this disturbs their neighbors and ultimately their odd ways aren't harming anyone (usually). IDK how this got lost on so many people's heads but I largely blame the fact that viewers (mainly millennials and zoomers) were weaned on the "I'm not like other girls"-y 1990s Addams remakes without ever seeing the Munsters, and as some of them have based their identity too much on the former and see the latter as a "rival" or "other", they assume the Munsters must operate on the opposite end of the scale, I guess? If that makes sense.

I personally think all of this just boils down to classism and (some) Addams fans- mainly those who are most familiar with the edgy 90s films- having this deep individuality complex which comes out not only in their resentful takes and spiteful jokes about the Munsters, but many other franchises and characters too. Like. there's a reason there's a million Addams memes on r/notlikeothergirls and maybe 2 of Lily. There's a reason most of their insults towards the Munsters are about how "trashy" and "poor" they are (NM that these are counts & countesses living in a freaking mansion in one of the richest states in America with 2 expensive custom made cars, ijbol) and much praise for TAF seems to come from how much cool stuff they have or their old family name. There is obviously a need with a good chunk of their fanbase for the characters they identify way too much with to be more special and cool than any others and I've said for awhile that some fans of the 90s version def have this rich, beautiful goth fantasy projected onto TAF, as seen quite grossly by the racist and body-shaming hate Luis Guzman received for daring to be a pudgy brown guy playing... a pudgy tanned guy.

And as someone who greatly enjoys deep dive analyses on seemingly simple fiction like these shows, I won't begrudge anyone for taking their fav fiction seriously... but if you're going to try to act like the Addams are a complex and philosophically deep franchise who did more for fiction than Munsters and then tell Munster fans "bro it's not that deep" when we point out the Addams' absurd socioeconomic/racial status protecting them from societal judgment or how it's much easier to digest nonconformit with when it's coming from a group who is already Have some perspective is all I am asking and stop being so "how very dare you" with angry blocking/downvoting when you face people who appreciate the Munsters as much as you appreciate the Addams. Like... I enjoy both but I am tired of seeing baseless criticism of the Munsters from people who never analyze TAF to that same degree and NO nuanced takes about either side, or being gaslit when I complain about that hate. (Yes, I've been told it's not a big deal and I am basically the real problem to shoot back against people who have harassed or bullied me or my moots for defending the show... seriously.)

Also, I'm putting this in the Addams' tag and I don't want to hear any griping about how I'm "tagging hate" from fans because I'm not; this is not hating them at all, this is a fandom problem with Addams fans that has gone on way too long and I want people to see it (and there is constantly negative stuff put in the Munsters' tags or spaces as well). If you're just gonna do what I said in the above paragraph, please DNI; I am venting but open to good-faith responses.

[captain-ed-tucker]

Unpopular opinion but Diana Giabaldon needs to stop villanizing Hal. It's clear he cares about his brother, if he didn't, he could easily have had John hung forever ago, family name shaming be damned, he didnt have to get John a job in the prison to get his head on straight, he didnt have to do anything to help John clean up his act, becuase most of the time, the black sheep is ignored, alienated and disowned from the family, regardless of social status, instead, Hal did a lot to make sure that John found a purpose again after the Jacobite Riots and Hectors death (and yes he more than likely knows John is gay, he's not stupid). The unaddressed parentification issues that Hal has is contributing to who he is today. Us eldest siblings make the world go round and the author better stop shitting on Hal given that the DeVane Brothers are completely worthless and are a pathetic waste of carbon.

[mllelaurel]

I’m a little over 50% through Glacier’s Edge. I’m noticing that the newer books are less likely to get liveblogging out of me. Which is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, honestly. I don’t 100% know why that is the way it is?

At any rate, my opinions so far:

I don’t know how much of an unpopular opinion this is, but I’m actually really digging the Menzoberranzan civil war intrigue. I don’t know (or even know of, in most cases) most of these characters, but what’s going on with them is interesting. I like Big World Consequences and changes to status quo, and hope this pays off. 

Dinin is adorkable. And the Actual Worst at coming up with a fake name. What a dumbass (affectionate.)

Nnnot sure how and what I feel about Yvonnel’s age. (Hell, I’m not even sure if it counts as ‘very, very old lady,’ or ‘actual kid.’ Mostly, I think, it’s coming off as ‘supernatural entity who, if you asked her the age question, would sigh and give up.’) But if I don’t think about the age too hard? Congrats, Jarlaxle. Finally, a Baenre you can relate to. ‘Help, I think I’m into Drizzt. And also his wife. Would love a threesome. Please send help. Also I wish my mom loved me.’ ...Actually, no, I completely sincerely want her and Jarlaxle to interact. I think it would be good for both of them, weird affection-seeking Baenre black sheep that they are. 

Still unimpressed with Azzudonna’s extremely underbaked feelings for Zak. They’ve had enough interaction for her to go, ‘oh no he’s hot,’ or even ‘I like him and want to get to know him better.’ Love? Not buying it. 

Also, while Azzudonna’s desire to protect her city makes all the sense, it ALSO makes all the scenes of everybody trying to get her to tell them what happened to their friends repetitive and roadblocky. Her reasons are valid and sympathetic, but she has murdered the pacing in a back alley, and that murder was premeditated. She’s fine on the Watsonian, but I am starting to deeply resent her on the Doylist. 

We don’t even get much Dab’nay on the page, but I still love her and want more of her. 

Jarlaxle alone, on the back foot, and kind of desperate is pretty gripping. I’m here for it.

....Yeah, okay, now I’m seeing where y’all are getting Kimmuriel being kinda madly in love with Jarlaxle. You’re getting it right around here. Because holy shit, Kimmuriel is kinda madly in love with Jarlaxle. 

I do wish, given how attached Kimmuriel is at this point, and how much he now acknowledges that psychic intrusion can be a horrible violation, that the book would actually address on-page the fact that that’s exactly what he did to Jarlaxle in the past. And there really does seem to be a throughline between Kimmuriel’s moral growth and his attachment to Jarlaxle. I 100% buy the progression from ‘oh shit, I like this guy’ to ‘why do I feel bad?’ to ‘Oh, maybe I feel bad because I hurt him.’ to ‘Oh. That thing I do hurts people and I actually care.’ But I still want it on the page. And also feel like there’s a beat of Jarlaxle being angry about it instead of instantly forgiving, which would be the character arc clincher here. (Also also I don’t know that Kimmuriel would just Get It and grow on his own, without a catalyst like say Jarlaxle being angry at him right as he’s starting to realize how much he cares about Jarlaxle.) 

Wow, Kane (and the monks working with him) are the actual worst. Actual fucking worst. You know a guy trusts you and finds peace and safety at your monastery. You also know that he has major trauma about losing his friends and is a young parent understandably worried about the safety of his daughter. So, what do you do? You make him think that a friend of his has been violently killed and his kid is in danger. And you claim it’s for his own good. To control his berserker tendencies. Which you fuckers deliberately set off, by hitting at least 60% of the triggers he’s got. Amazing. About all I can say for them is they didn’t actually endanger Drizzt’s kid. If they had, Drizzt would be well within his rights to start stabbing. No jury would convict him.

PS: No. You cannot ‘cure’ someone’s anger issues/uncontrolled fighting style, which seems to be rooted in some amount of trauma, given that trauma sets it off, by deliberately re-traumatizing that person. Yikes. 

Also:

“Let me go with you.” 

“I have been begging you to—” 

“No, within you. Let me in. I will help you find the balance.” 

“Just come beside me! My daughter—” He stopped when he felt Kane let go of his hand and grab at his mind instead...

You know what’s missing here? Oh yeah. Consent. 

When Kimmuriel has officially outstripped you in his understanding of meaningful psychic consent? You should be very, very ashamed of yourself. (And Kimmuriel should be very proud of himself, to be fair.)

[dunmer-pussy]

the crow for the character ask meme

Send me a character, I'll do the prompt.

THE CROW

Favourite Thing About Him

This one's another thing to which I'd say his design! I love the bird motif on his chest combined with the monochromatic color scheme.. And also he's cute LMAO

His character's intriguing to me and he's someone I'd love to learn more about!

Now for Uldren because I'm also going to double down and talk about him here too (even though they are technically two separate entities) I don't know enough about Uldren to really say much but I think he's pretty neat. Like Crow I wanna learn more about Uldren too, and based on what I do know Uldren was a fucking victim.

Least Favourite Thing About Him

The direction Bungie is going with him in Defiance. Just. This whole season has been somewhat of a trainwreck to the point where I don't even want to complete the story, just. Gimme my items and cosmetics, my emotes, and let me go. And Crow is especially where the writing for him is starting to fall flat.

As for Uldren, I'm not really too sure because I don't know that much about him yet, and "He killed Cayde" seems too straightforward and reductive of me as someone who enjoys learning about the lore and the characters within said lore.

Favourite Line

I don't know it exactly, but his quote about how he could "Never replace Cayde," and how he wants to see if he can organize the Hunters a bit, etc etc is one of my favourite little morsels from him. He would be pretty cool as a Vanguard I think!

As for lines from Uldren, I haven't been exposed enough to him and his dialogue to really choose one in particular. But what I do know about him is that he was one kick-ass antagonist in his time.

BrOTP

Amanda!! Why ship them when they can be best friends instead?

OTP

I don't have one.

NoTP

Also don't really have one yet.

Random Headcanon

Crow is a regular at all the Last City's goth clubs. He's there whenever he has time, mingling with others with similar interests to his own, or just lurking in the corner. But when it comes to it, when his favourite song comes on, he can absolutely kill it. Want to learn about goth dancing? He would be glad to show you. Ask him for goth music recs he's full of 'em.

As for Uldren, again I don't really have one.

Unpopular Opinion

I think that. Crow/Uldren is unfortunately one of those characters that attracts Really Weird (See: terrible people) Fans. And when I say "weird fans" I'm not referring to the innocence that is shipping OC/Canon, making fankids, fanfic, etc etc. What I mean are people who just. I can't describe it other than they're obsessed with Crow/Uldren but in a way that distinctively feels off. The type of person that likes [x character] and also falls under the demographic of people that are Why Fandoms Suck. (Some other examples of cool characters that attract The Worst include characters like Starscream from Transformers. If you know I'm sorry and you deserve compensation. If you don't, stay ignorant for your own good.)

I know Crow/Uldren isn't the only character within Destiny that has a following of a Certain Group Of People (I.E Cayde-6) but it's still something worth pointing out, and it also Answers The Question. I don't know what's with characters like Crow/Uldren, Cayde-6 and Starscream (among countless others) that very quickly become the black sheep of their respective community because of the behavior of certain fans (either the vocal minority or the majority) but man it's. A problem. To my knowledge Crow/Uldren fans have been chill so far but I've also heard of absolute horror stories LMAO. and i say this because I've seen both "Uldren/Crow Haters DNI" and "Uldren/Crow Fans DNI" about a dozen times now.

Song I Associate W/ Him

For Crow;

another character I need to build a playlist for! This one I think is like. Ugh. I don't know, it feels like something my Titan would send to him on a bad day.

"When we grew up, our shadows grew up, too. / But they're just old ghosts that we grow attached to. / The tragic flaw is that they hide the truth, / That you're enough, you're enough, you're enough, / I promise you're enough, you're enough, you're enough. / I promise you're enough, you're enough, you're enough."

For Uldren;

It's the general vibe and atmosphere of this song that does it for me I think. Another candidate was The Mind Electric.

"All / For nothing at all. / All, for nothing at all, / With something to prove. / I was in the forest looking to see the trees, / But none were there."

An honorary mention is King Volcano by Bauhaus. Another one that's mostly vibe-based.

"King Volcano gave me numbers / King Volcano is clean. / Lonely people burn like candles, / Only we are clean."

Favourite Pictures

For Crow;

LOOK AT HIS FUCKING FACE. HE LOOKS SO FUCKING SWEET. HE CAN TRY HIS HARDEST TO LOOK SCARY LIKE ULDREN DOES (so effortlessly mind you) AND HE WOULD. JUST GKJDNSDKFNLFHND CUTE GUY ALERT!!!! and look. he's an absolute dork in this scene. crow my beloved my DARLING

For Uldren;

this image is cold as HELL. uldren looks so badass so effortlessly. holy fuck. work it girl.

and there's something abt the shot here specifically that. hoo boy scratches something in the back of my brain. i love antagonists that are so effortlessly cool as FUCK

[mayskalih]

liking a character and liking the personal idea of them don't necessarily need to be connected. a lot of people like a design and then twitch the character from canon best example being naruto women. a lot of people like someone's design and some aspects but then create an alternative reality of said character in their heads.

that's what I meant for you and the unpopular characters you draw, since it's not common to hyperfixate in them like you do. it's also a common practice to pair them up with popular characters and shit on other more popular pairings with them along the way.

I don't mean it's you. I was simply curious about your opinion about it since you're like... how to say it? a black sheep?

say for example gojohime. utahime is very unpopular and looked down by the satosugu or fandom, yet you draw them. you also opt for utahime rather than nobara, shoko or maki which is impressive.

you draw less sakuino/inosaku compared to inohina or even sakuhina despite the best friends sakura and ino being incredibly popular but looked down by the small ino fandom compared to the sakura fandom or general fandom. sakura with kisame for example another example.

your art and asks sometimes pop up in my feed from my moots liking your posts and you get inosaku/sakuino hate or at least I've seen. a lot of preferences stem from personal headcanons rather than canon or common sense in people's heads so you get the weirdest asks.

you also draw plenty of kakashi or kakarin, obirin. sakura with other popular characters such as sasori or kakashi too. so it's balanced sakura-kakashi in popularity.

so yeah, it was simple curiosity.

Wow, that's a big analysis of my shipping choices, except for inosaku - you failed on that, they're canon for me.

What you mentioned about 'liking a character' are just two extremes of the same thing, in my opinion.

The only algorithm that my braincell uses when it comes to shipping is answering the question: 'do I like the two (or more) characters?'. If yes, then I will ship it. This is why stsg never appealed to me - I'm simply not a Geto fan.

Utahime is a very 'real' character: she fails, she likes to hit on booze with friends, she can't hide her emotions and is just a fun, simple teenage girl in her 30s. With Shoko it's harder, because I would end up exploring her alcohol addiction and I don't need more of it as I have plenty of this shit irl.

I don't care whatever the so-called collective fandom thinks or finds popular. I try not to interact with fandom at all when I'm enjoying new show, as it often ruins the whole experience. Shipping is not about 'common sense', it's about having fun and since we are all different, we will all have different preferences.

Finally, thank you for calling me a black sheep of the fandom <3

[evilwickedme]

Reverse unpopular opinion on Stephanie?

I presume we're talking Stephanie Brown cause my mom generally doesn't have that many haters lmao

Anyway yeah I adore Stephanie. It actually frustrates me to no end to see how badly she's treated by the fandom - not that it's a phenomenon unique to her in any way, but my God, have y'all tried writing her as a person? It's like she's either flattened to waffle girl or she's not there at all. Steph has had a really hard life and has shown dedication to the cause and more than anything, hope. I love what I've seen of her Batgirl run - the fact that she came back from the dead and was actually better for it rather than worse off. Like she's just... A good person who won't take no shit from anybody, especially not little gremlins like Damian, who really needed that during her Batgirl run. I love their dynamic pre-52 and I wish we could see something like it in more recent comics. Also, I think canon should make Steph and Jason best friends and I mean this unironically. Like, okay, I love me some Tim&Steph post-breakup friendship moments and whatever's going on with Cass&Steph's friendship is the gayest thing ever, but she deserves someone who both understands her and has zero romantic tension with her - in canon, cause actually they have nice potential as a ship for the same reason they'd make such good friends in canon. Like they have so much in canon. I know every batkid has been the black sheep of the family at some point, but Steph was treated like crap because she reminded Bruce of Jason; they're from the same part of town, grew up with douchebags as parents, and I think probably share a lot of the same worldview. I'd read a team up comic for them for sure.

I just think Steph had immense growth in pre-52 and was this really cool character and then like everyone else n52 fucked that up and I've heard nothing but bad things about batgirls until the newest issue which apparently is extremely gay but that doesn't make up for the character assassination. At least Robins: Being Robin and Batman v Robin finally acknowledged that she was Robin, that retcon was one of the worst things DC has done to the batfam and that's saying something

Also, and this isn't an unpopular opinion in any way shape or form, but I read Those Panels from batgirls #14. She is straight up in love with Cass it's unreal

[blackautmedia]

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love (Ganondorf please?) 🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love (Ganondorf please?)

Imani Barbarin aka Crutches and Spice. I honestly started learning so much about communication and writing from her and some of my favorite activist writing.

For Non-fiction, I'm still fairly new to fanfic sites where before I had dabbled in them on and off. I'll come back to you when I'm ten miles deep and can't get out the quicksand.

But now I really want a fanfiction that's written as Ganon writing a self-indulgent fanfic about himself as a story within a story. Could you imagine?

Ganon will also spend time as a leader ensuring the Gerudo have documented events of their battles and disagreements with Hyrule to so doesn't entirely control a propagandized event of what happened…and in his spare time he's also writing fics about himself.

I started an AO3 account because I wanted to get back into writing stories again, but I haven't found the time to finish one I had in mind.

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

Muhammad Ali is my dad…or so I like to joke.

My mother's career allowed her to meet a few celebrities when she was working. She has a photo of her and Muhammad Ali together and they look like a couple, so I have it on my phone and like to see if I can get away with convincing people that he's my dad before spilling the beans.

I shared it with a friend of mine who genuinely thought he was my dad even after I told him it was a joke, so…yay? I'm pretty tall if you see me in person (6'3-4 or about 191 cm tall) and about the same height as Ali, so it helps sell the illusion.

Part of the reason I also try to stay quiet about my personal life with most people is because some of my family members are publicly known people for different reasons and I don't want to draw any kind of social attention when I just want to be some TV/gaming nerd on in peace. I'm already very much a black sheep within my family, so it's fine if I stay in the unknown territory.

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

I have mobility! Life is fragile. Very fragile. It's easy to forget that, but I'm thankful I can still move about easily. I'm lucky that I can feel at relative peace in my body. I haven't felt that way for most of my life, so it's nice.

It's a combo of getting older and unmasking, but it's nice not being bothered by things that used to be a pain, to not care and move on. Whether it's work or a bothersome comment, it's much more tolerable. The ability to stop caring is a virtue.

I got a copy of Sonic Frontiers! I haven't had time to play any new games lately, but I'm looking forward to it. Little things.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

This one is Ace Attorney related!

I don't love Miles Edgeworth. I don't think he's a poorly written character and there's a lot to enjoy, but I mean more I feel he doesn't bring as much energy and fun to the cast except when he has the right and very specific selection of characters to bounce off of.

I also wasn't really so wild about his friendship with Gumshoe because so much of it is just him insulting Gumshoe, constantly docking his pay or threatening his salary when he himself is obscenely wealthy and Gumshoe is dirt poor in a way that I never found that entertaining. As far as anime men go, I don't even think he's that fine.

At least he had a lot of fun bouncing off of Ace Attorney's equivilent of Ganondorf in Damon Gant. (I JUST LEARNED THERE'S A DAMON GANON MOD LOOK AT HOW GLORIOUS IT IS)

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Pretty much any of the stuff to fall under the proship umbrella (ex. incest, age gaps, etc)

There's also a specific writing pattern I notice in a lot of fanfics where there's a lot of transition between dialogue and the writer can sometimes feel strained in trying to not have their writing be repetitive, but they change the words around rather than the sentence structure. It ends up sounding both repetitive and awkward with the random word choices that don't address the root issue.

It looks something like this:

"The air seems to have chilled. I haven't felt this excited in a while. This will be a glorious battle." - Ganon said.

"Do you really think so?"

"I do." - The king of evil replied.

The demon king sat down and began tending to his weapons carefully for battle.

"This time, I will be ready" - The demon king chuckled.

It becomes really apparent when there are animal characters and they sub in things like "The fox said" the "vulpine said" and it just gets to me. I get why it happens! But for some reason it bothers me specific to fanfiction.

[olderthannetfic]

I feel like this is an unpopular opinion, perhaps just in my fandom, but I think it’s totally okay to ship canonically aromantic characters— as an aromantic myself. I also think it’s okay to make alloromantic characters aromantic, straight characters gay, and queer characters straight in fanworks. As long as it’s tagged properly and you’re not insisting your non-aromantic version of the character is canonical and/or being aphobic and confrontational to people, I don’t give a shit what you write or draw.

I’m aware there’s a history of fans attempting to erase queer (and especially ace/aro) character’s identities, but I don’t think making a version of a character where they’re not aro and fan content of that version is some sort of unreconcilable aphobic crime. It’s also important to understand that people can be on the aromantic spectrum and still be in a relationship.

…but anyway, I encountered this discourse recently. I already feel like sort of a black sheep when it comes to being ace/aro person in fandom because most/all of the ace/aro people I know (which are a decent number, we tend to flock together for some reason) dislike romance in media, but I find it hard to enjoy a piece of media that doesn’t have some sort of romance arc. The majority of my fanfic tends to be romance-related, because that’s what I like to write. I think it’s becoming common knowledge that ace people write smut all the time, but I’d be curious to know if other aros like a good romance, too.

--