#also i'm writing and posting this kinda distracted which may be for the better lmao I think some of my like more specific petty shit didn't

[tonyglowheart]

what other misinformation did xiran post, if u don’t mind saying? I assumed they knew what they were talking about lol

sdfskdn okay first off listen: I know my shit is like, at least one part petty-level, personal one-sided beef shit, like I’m not trying to pretend I have some kind of moral high ground here. THAT being said okay here’s wonderwall

First off, I did follow Xiran once upon a time. Their thread that single-handedly had me unfol and also launched my ire was their “idk why Chinese ppl have a reputation for being docile when we’re so salty” which, okay cool, I’m down with that. But then it launches into a thread of “here are some Chinese folklore, mythology, etc stories, about Chinese ppl being salty.” And it had characters/stories such as Yugong, and Meng Jiang Nv. And all presented in a “see omg they’re so salty” light. And I took that personally lmfao, bc these stories are about persistence and loyalty and perseverance? Not saltiness, or pettiness, for the sake of being salty. It wasn’t “saltiness” that enacted the change or action, but for Yugong it was about persistence and keeping at something even though people laugh at you and tell you it’s impossible, and you can move mountains (also for the record, the version of the story I heard wasn’t a “the gods were so moved that they moved the mountains” it was “and so Yugong and dug and then his sons dug and eventually they moved the mountain. And Meng Jiang Nv is about loyalty, it was her loyalty and perseverance that moved the gods which caused the segment of the Great Wall to collapse and so she was eventually able to recover her husband’s bones to take them back to be laid to rest properly.

And it’s just a pattern of behavior by them? They’re the same brand as like... you know the like tumblr of old - and honestly they’re on twitter now lmfao - fo the BUCKLE UP KIDDOS, WE’RE GONNA TALK ABOUT XX-HISTORY-THING *proceeds to say stuff that is patently untrue* and okay what Xiran says isn’t 100% wrong, but it’s the kind of stuff that is paaartially right, but then partially wrong, or of just like... a completely unreliable context or weird recontextualization (anything for meme, right?) and people take it as truth and also are like “oh they’re like a historian” except they’re not because they absolutely lack the scholarly rigor and like. due diligence towards being informative and educational and truth-finding and also caveating the MISSING context in the info they’re presenting. So no they’re not “like” a historian, imo, their priority seems to be for the memes and viralness. And people thank them for educating them about Chinese culture and Chinese things, and meanwhile I’m like. o(--(

Again yes I know this shit is subjective and whatever, and I’m like, extra salty right now just because you asked and also my ideal is to never have to see or think about Xiran again after muting and blocking them? But because they’re “big” or something and also non-CN/non-Asians love them, I can never seem to be free of them. Plus, also ppl will ask questions like - okay ppl don’t ask me questions bc ppl don’t ask me things lmao, but my friend was like “I think I’m starting to see see why you have beef with Xiran?” bc someone came to them and was like “I saw this in a Xiran tweet, what do you think about xx?” and it was a weird situation bc it’s like... a thing that’s kinda chill if we’re joking about between us Asians, but really weird when a non-Asian is trying to co-opt into it (I think it was some joke about “the dantian is in the ass” so like the spinoff was sth to do with like anal sex or something and the golden core) (lmfao yeah if Xiran wanted an example of Chinese ppl being salty, ya just have to throw ppl who I like want to never have to deal with again in my face. twt being the way it is, every so often there’s a couple ppl whom I dislike Greatly that I can never get away with. Another is Cuchullain, while I’m being salty lmfao, ppl just keep retweeting his shit bc he reposts but he does it without sources (which I hate) and often presents info thot is... wrong.).

Anyway I’m like. annoyed also bc this misinfo shit is literally stuff that ppl have gotten called out about and bullied off twt fandom for, and I agree with some as far as the “this is wrong” not the bullying part, because those ppl are presenting info badly, but like, because Xiran’s whole idpol thing is “omg 12 years ago I didn’t even know English but now I’m a published author who wrote PacRim meets Handmaid’s Tale but poly and Wu Zetian” or whatever other confluence of reasons, people don’t call them out for the shit they do. Because they co-opt into the whole “oh but I’m a REAL Asian” idpol shit, and ppl lap that up. 

Plus, and again, YMMV and this is personal-level, but their shit seems like they write jokes for non-CN/non-Asian ppl, instead of jokes for the ingroup, and it’s like the difference between me going to another Chinese person and going “Asian parents, amirite?” and a white person coming to me and going “oh my god Chinese parents are such tiger moms” the latter of which, as the kids say in their hyperbole, is just like.. making me experience a hate crime lmao.. And the stuff Xiran churns out just feels like it’s pandering more for that crowd, and ppl take it as like, “oh it’s okay for me to joke about x or do whatever,” and meanwhile I’m like...... Big Uncomfy lmao.

Like okay my ire level with Xiran probably hovers at around, like, a 5.7 out of 10 usually, but this just is a confluence of “more mxtx anti shit” and also “big accounts spreading misinfo and then getting no flak for causing garbage in the fandom bc ppl are like oh it’s okay you couldn’t have known whatever whatever, meanwhile ppl who aren’t “big following” accts have literally gotten like harassment campaigns against them for less, so like, I’m more at like a 8.3 or a 8.9 right now. 

Edit: another petty-level shit (if you imagine that one fic of why batman is the way he is and he has an excel sheet and it’s like big stuff and then smaller stuff and then the petty-level stuff) is, she made her mulan 2020 thread into a youtube video but it basically repeats the shallow stuff she put in that thread with no other detail or depth and also the thumbnail is ugly, like it’s not even ugly in a meme way it’s just ugly.

[tundrainafrica]

You haven't read the manga?..... If you only read the cherry picked levihan moments then let me tell you (not sending this with ill intend btw) that for every small Levihan moment there's a big eruri one. Like that convo where he shuts hange out after it was said about her crush on shadis? Levi actually talks afterwards about how he wants Hange to take over the rots mission and for Erwin to stay tucked in safe.

When Hange was hurt during the uprising the moment he sees Erwin he's just nonchalant about? And yes she said she was okay and he was mad about her being hurt in the first place, but the looks he gives erwin not only this moment but throughout? Not really platonic tbh...

Or the falling debris scene where he seems distracted? Yes he's thinking about hange's safety but the worried look is at Erwin's direction on the wall.

And also in chuugaku, there's a chapter about Erwin and Levi's relationship, exposition provided by Hange herself, where it's pretty much implied that Levi has the hots for him (complete with a bottom levi joke). Like he's the only member of the "home-making" club headed by Erwin where he basically cleans and cooks for him while erwin reads his paper like they're a couple and they've put marks like: don't search eruri on tumblr/ao3 haha.

Point is while levihan is a ship that's MAYBE canon, there's a lot more concrete evidence for eruri. The only thing that throws it off is there's no discussion about Erwin's feelings nowhere that could be interpreted as romantic. And combine that with his crush for dok's wife back in the day maybe he wasn't into Levi the same way/ maybe bi, we'll never know.

But Levi legit was in love with him.

What strengthens levihan on the other hand is that hange is transparent about her feelings for Levi. And if you take the last chapters into consideration then levi could have reciprocated them. It wasnt framed as clear as his feelings for Erwin though imo.

I'm not against either ship and think they're both precious, but levihan is a lot harder to read into and it makes me sad their romantic relationship wasn't more developed if romance was what Isayama hinted yo towards the end. Maybe yams left levihan up to interpretation deliberately? Maybe we read too much into it and it's not really there? Maybe eruri was queerbaiting? Maybe both are canon and Levi's just swings both ways? Idk the answers to any of that and unless the author comes clean we'll never be sure about levihan a hundred percent. Less doubts about eruri though...

Anyways, no hard feelings and I really LOVE your fanfics! Hope you have a very nice day and continue writing!

I have been looking for the right time to go through this ask because this ask just kinda made me think but not like about anything against the eruri ship. Like go ahead, ship eruri and feel free to meta eruri in my anon inbox but like the arguments here are a bit wishy washy.

Like that convo where he shuts hange out after it was said about her crush on shadis? Levi actually talks afterwards about how he wants Hange to take over the rots mission and for Erwin to stay tucked in safe.

Well, of course he would ask Erwin to stay tucked safe. Erwin is literally missing one arm and Hange was the most competent person to lead in the field at that point in time. How is this related to romance? I mean, if you wanna play the romance game, remember that Levi was legit injured, he could barely stand and he still forced himself to stand up to talk to Hange.

When Hange was hurt during the uprising the moment he sees Erwin he's just nonchalant about? And yes she said she was okay and he was mad about her being hurt in the first place, but the looks he gives erwin not only this moment but throughout? Not really platonic tbh...

Levi literaly gave the most poker 'pokerface' in this scene and I do not understand how it could be seen as not platonic. If we're talking about non platonic looks then maybe we should look for a scene where Levi's biting his lip seductively because let's face it, all the looks Levi gave Erwin, Hange and Petra could all be interpreted as platonic, we're all just a bunch of shippers trying to find the romance and the canonicity for our favorite ship lmao.

Or the falling debris scene where he seems distracted? Yes he's thinking about hange's safety but the worried look is at Erwin's direction on the wall.

Yeah, because people like to stare at someone else while worrying about a particular someone's safety. I dunno but what if Levi was worried about both of them? Why do we have to blatantly disregard the fact that he explicitly mentioned 'Hange' in that scene and shoehorn Erwin's position in that scene.

And also in chuugaku, there's a chapter about Erwin and Levi's relationship, exposition provided by Hange herself, where it's pretty much implied that Levi has the hots for him (complete with a bottom levi joke). Like he's the only member of the "home-making" club headed by Erwin where he basically cleans and cooks for him while erwin reads his paper like they're a couple and they've put marks like: don't search eruri on tumblr/ao3 haha.

Levi is literally an implied minor in chuugakkou and Erwin is a teacher. Nothing else needs to be said.

Point is while levihan is a ship that's MAYBE canon, there's a lot more concrete evidence for eruri. The only thing that throws it off is there's no discussion about Erwin's feelings nowhere that could be interpreted as romantic. And combine that with his crush for dok's wife back in the day maybe he wasn't into Levi the same way/ maybe bi, we'll never know.

But Levi legit was in love with him.

The flawed evidence above will only make for a flawed conclusion.

What strengthens levihan on the other hand is that hange is transparent about her feelings for Levi. And if you take the last chapters into consideration then levi could have reciprocated them. It wasnt framed as clear as his feelings for Erwin though imo.

As someone who has watched the show and read the manga and discussed this with people, none of my casual watcher friends even noticed Eruri crumbs. A lot of them didn't notice Levihan crumbs either so hey, we both lose here I guess.

I'm not against either ship and think they're both precious, but levihan is a lot harder to read into and it makes me sad their romantic relationship wasn't more developed if romance was what Isayama hinted yo towards the end. Maybe yams left levihan up to interpretation deliberately? Maybe we read too much into it and it's not really there? Maybe eruri was queerbaiting? Maybe both are canon and Levi's just swings both ways?

My personal take on this and the takes of a lot of casual watchers I have talked to is, Levihan has more crumbs than Eruri but maybe it only got development given the circumstances post season 3 since Levi and Hange were working closely together. If Erwin didn't die, maybe there could have been more Eruri moments. I haven't seen enough though and I cannot so hastily conclude that Levi was in love with Erwin.

Levi could have in love with both of them. Or just one of them.

And yeah, maybe Levihans are reading too much into it. But so what if we read too much into it?

I like them. I will continued reading too much into relationships which I believe could have been healthy and could have had a great dynamic if they pushed through as something romantic.

The point of getting into a relationship is for two people to come out of it better people and I will continue to ship a couple which I think is sending a good message to others regardless of whether or not it was framed clearly enough for people to see the 'romance.'

'Living together' with someone may not be as clear as sex or a kiss for a lot of people but I think it runs MUCH MUCH MUCH deeper. Sex and kisses are a dime a dozen. Commitment and Cooperation are diamonds.

[taesthetes]

Hi cat, what advice do you have to keep a writer's inspiration/motivation up and going? Your masterlist has me in awe of how many fics you've written (they're all written very well btw 👌🏽) I've barely written anything all this year, I've finally started something, and it's really messy but I'm excited and yet kinda scared because I've never written something this long 😅😭 Thank youuuuuuu *hugs and kisses* 💓💓

Hello there, sweetpea! 🌸 First of all, thank you for reading my fics!! The thought of people actually wanting to read my writing still seems surreal to me even now haha 😅 And secondly and more importantly, congratulations on starting your first writing piece of the year! 🎉🎉 I’m so proud of you! that’s a huge accomplishment in itself already because the first step (in this case: starting to write) is always the hardest to take, in my opinion.

Pertaining to having constant writing inspiration and motivation, I’ll divide my advice up for the two separate topics. Personally, I constantly have ideas roaming my mind, but I simply lack motivation to write them all. But here are some things I learned about inspiration and motivation.

My advice for inspiration:

Use your personal experiences. I frequently formulate storylines about the things that have happened to me, and in my point in life right now, I’m in college where I have gotten a bunch of crazy experiences. That’s why my recent fics are mostly college au. Sobriquet was written almost identically to my own experience, whereas Caprice stemmed from me seeing a guy in my chem class regularly playing pokemon go instead of paying attention to class and grew in my mind into a fic idea. You can embellish and fluff up your life experience if you don’t think it’s interesting enough, thus whipping it up into great fic inspiration.

Use your dreams. Not everyone remembers their dreams when they wake up, but I remember a lot of the ones I have, and I use them as inspiration for writing. The majority of the dreams I wrote about in The Universe of Us are ones I actually had and then altered them slightly to fit into the storyline. I also have a lot of bizarre dreams that can actually turn into some very interesting fics lmao

Embrace the fangirl life and use it in your stories. Do you like Disney stories? Harry Potter? Anime? Find inspiration within other fandoms you enjoy. Write a hogwarts au, write a hunger games au, write a fic based on The Little Mermaid, etc.

Listen to music. Music is a huge source of inspiration, and you can think up fic ideas based on lyrics for example. Taylor Swift songs always help me when I’m trying to write a angsty scene, like a break up.

Check out prompt blogs. There are many blogs (ex: @/dailyau or this post that compiled a lot of au’s) out there that have writing prompts, which is super handy, if you lack inspiration. You can read through some of the prompts and see if any of them catch your attention.

Read. A lot. Writers get inspired by other writers. A wonderful way to fuel your imagination and inspiration and make them widen their horizons is by learning from other writers.

Be observant. Observe your surroundings, and you might just spot some inspiration. See the two baristas at your local coffee shop always bickering? Or perhaps, notice the boy who made a very creative promposal? Pass by someone and overhear them say something very interesting? You can turn those observations into fic ideas.

Be open to requests or suggestions. Your readers may have interesting ideas, and if you lack inspiration, you can open requests. You are by no means obligated to write them all, but they can spark up some inspiration. You can hold a drabble game, such as having them send in a song to write a song-inspired fic or picking a one-liner prompt. There are a lot of prompt lists out there that you can use for drabble games (ex: here, here, and here)

Daydream. Honestly, just relax somewhere with no distractions that makes you feel calm and stress-free. And let your mind wander. I get inspired as I daydream during car rides or whenever I’m simply sprawled out on my bed, doing nothing except making up ridiculous scenarios in my head.

My advice for motivation:

Be excited about writing. You certainly aren’t going to get any motivation if you’re not excited at all about writing. And, you said you’re excited and a little scared about your writing? That’s great! You should definitely feel excited about what you’re writing. You’re eager and happy to write then. And feeling a little nervous and scared is also good because that adrenaline rush and the feeling of butterflies in your stomach also adds a bit to the excitement, right?

You have to love the idea you’re writing. If you don’t like the prompt you’re writing, you aren’t going to feel very satisfied with your writing. You might even start to dread writing it and lose motivation. So, make sure that you actually genuinely enjoy the idea you’re writing.

Set the mood for writing. Is there a certain time you write best? Is there a certain place that you enjoy writing in? Do you write better when you listen to music? You will feel more motivated to write if the setting is ideal for you.

Write your short fics all in one sitting. This is just something that works for me personally. I have a super short attention span, which leads me to losing motivation quickly. This is why the majority of my fics are 1k to 4k oneshots because I write the entire fic at once. If I get an idea for a short fic, I write it immediately whether it be on my phone or my laptop because I know I won’t be motivated to write it in the future.

When you think of an idea for a long fic or series, wait a day before you write it. This is another thing that personally works well for me, but might not work for others. With long fic or series ideas, I want to know that I will finish it. I know I won’t be writing it all in one sitting since it’s going to be a long af fic, but I don’t want to write like 10k and then suddenly be like “I’m throwing this out. I don’t like this idea anymore.” I’m a very lazy person, and I don’t want to trash 10k of writing that I had spent hours on. So when I want to make a series or simply a long fic, I think of the idea and mull over it for a bit for a day or even weeks. And then, the next day or week, I ask myself, “Am I still interested in this idea?” If it’s a yes, then I begin to write it.

Make an outline of your fic before writing it. I only use this for long fic ideas that I have, but it works with any fic idea. Having an outline is sort of like seeing a schedule or a to-do list, which is quite motivating because of the sense of accomplishment and pride in yourself that comes when you check off something on the list (or checking off a scene you just completed writing from your outline). And studies show that people are more motivated to do something if they have it written down somewhere and see it daily.

Share and talk about your fic ideas with a friend. I never realized this until now, but having a friend hype up your ideas really boosts up your motivation to write them out. I tell all my fic ideas to fae and she’s always super supportive of them. I sometimes ask if I should do this or that, and she gives suggestions (oh, look at that, more inspiration courtesy of friends!!). I also give her various excerpts of the fic I’m working on, and she yells at me about them, so it’s like constant motivation throughout the writing period. So thanks, pablo, even though you show your support by screeching at me in all caps @zephyoongist​

It’s okay to take a break from writing. If you are feeling unmotivated for a certain idea, don’t force yourself to write. Take a break. Go write a different scenario or make a snack or hang out with friends. When you come back, you will feel refreshed and ready to write. You can reread your writing with fresh eyes and may have new ideas or inspiration on how to continue the fic.

Just write. Let out all your emotions and everything you want to say or convey. Don’t be afraid that it won’t make sense. It’s okay for your fic to be messy during the writing process. You can always go back, cross things out, move sentences around, revise it, and fix it up until you think it’s perfect.

I hope these tips are helpful to you! It’s like 3 am for me now, so I should go to bed, but this is also my prime time for writing, so I’m a little conflicted lmao but anyway, once again, CONGRATULATIONS ON STARTING YOUR FIRST WRITING MASTERPIECE!!! ☺️❣️Best wishes for your writing journey, and I know your story will turn out amazing! And I hope you send me a link to your writing if you do publish it because I’d love to read it 💞💞 And, here are lots of hugs and kisses being sent your way from me to you as well 💌