#and just because a character may be more true to canon doesn’t mean the writing is necessarily any good

[renaerys]

Hi, Jo. So, in your latest post, you wrote about canon Sakura and how people write her in their stories. I know you also write Ino, so, how do you think canon Ino was compared to the way people write her?

The people who write Ino as main tend to write her pretty true to character from what I’ve seen, but there are not very many of us writing her as main to begin with. The problem is often when Ino appears as the BFF in multi-Sakura fics. She tends to get flattened down to just the sassy/horny best friend like what you often see in romcoms. She is reduced to a one dimensional caricature who exists solely to further and support the main character’s (usually Sakura) story. This isn’t bad or anything, but it’s trite and boring. I especially hate it when people get Ino “out of the way” for Sakura to have like multiple hot male lovers in a fic. That’s so annoying and a great way to make me back out of a fic and never look back.

But for the most part, from what I personally have read, if someone loves Ino enough to main her, the results tend to be better more often than not. Better in the sense that they are truer to canon and you can recognize that character in the fan work. Not everything is great, obviously, but I think the people who are drawn to Ino like her for very different reasons than why people like Sakura.

Ino is much more difficult of a character than Sakura and therefore cannot easily be flattened into a self-insert, cardboard, YA heroine like Sakura usually is. She is more abrasive, less afraid of being unlikeable, less “relatable” to the average girl. Ino fans like Ino because she has a more uncompromising personality, and she doesn’t fit into a personality-stripping box that is massively appealing to the lowest common denominator of fans so that they can self insert. (To be fair, I personally don’t think Sakura fits into that box either if you’re talking about the actual canon character rather than the bland BAMF yass queen her multi-Sakura fans have distorted her into, but you just don’t see that kind of treatment so much with Ino as you do with Sakura.)

The same logic applies to other less popular female characters with more difficult personalities, like Karin or Temari or Tsunade, for example. When you find an author who loves these characters enough to main them, I think you are just statistically more likely to get something that resembles canon personalities more than not, because it is precisely those divisive traits that make those people love them (while the same traits make others hate them). It’s a matter of preference, and while I think everyone has the right to have their preferences, I do wish more people would try expanding their horizons and try something other than plain oatmeal for a change.

[am-i-interrupting]

Hi! I love your Hazbin Hotel stuff and I wanted to make a request. If you haven’t done something like this, could you write the Hazbin characters, specifically Vox, Lucifer, Husk, and maybe Lute with an S/O (would prefer fem but G/N is fine) who has bad body dysmorphia? Like, they can never take compliments about their body, always thinking they’re overweight, not eating, etc. If this is too difficult/uncomfortable, totally understand! Would hate to trigger anything. Hope you have a great day/night!

If you like what I’m doing consider tipping me for priority requests & access to characters I don’t usually write for such as Charlie, Valentino, Carmilla, and more.

Husk

Husk will never compliment you in public after figuring out that you hate to be complimented.

That does not mean that he’ll never compliment you.

He will because he truly thinks you’re beautiful.

He simply elects to do it in private so he will be able to explain to you in length why he disagrees.

He wants you to understand why he loves every single thing about you.

Maybe you don’t agree but he will let you know why he thinks it’s all so beautiful.

He doesn’t try to make you love it all like he does but he will at least try to make you accept that he loves it.

Lucifer

Lucifer can’t understand why you don’t see your own beauty.

At least at first.

Then he realizes how close self loathing is close to depression and how they can often intertwine and how hypocritical it is to be so befuddled by your lack of understanding of his love of you & your body when he can’t understand how giving people free will is a good thing in any capacity and wow— he was too hard on you and himself.

Hello, something new to unpack with a therapist.

He definitely starts being more understanding after that revelation.

Not that he was ever cruel but he was a lot more insistent on how amazing you are not understanding that his insistence may not help but could make it worse.

It could make you think he was lying, covering up some hidden disdain with an over abundance of praise like he does with sinners who thank him for free will.

He’s not.

Make no mistake. He truly does love and adore you and every single part of you is amazing in his eyes but he understands.

He lets up on his pouring compliments and his combativeness over whether or not he means it.

He still compliments you but he no longer fights with you.

He just says what he thinks and then goes on, ignoring any expression of disbelief with a small, “A difference of opinion.”

Lute

You cannot dislike her partner.

Not allowed. No one can dislike her amazing partner.

Will spare with you when you disregard her compliments.

She means what she says.

Why would she waste her breath with words that weren’t true when she doesn’t have to?

Everything she says is said because she means it.

You best learn that.

Vox

No, no, no, no.

You don’t love your body? Unacceptable.

“Velvette! A photo shoot is in order right now!” “I’m busy!” “Well, clear you schedule!”

Velvette actually has a way of making you feel a bit more confident without seeming like she’s trying.

The photo shoot actually goes well even if you refuse to look at the pictures.

Of course, that doesn’t last long because Vox puts them up in his office, just too large and gigantic to ignore.

He has pictures of you everywhere because he loves looking at you.

Will kiss every part of you in front of a mirror while saying why he loves every part and forcing you to look at yourself otherwise he’ll stop. He records the entire thing to watch back later.

If you like what I’m doing consider commissioning me for canon/canon stories AND personalized canon/reader stories.

[nav-i-nav]

Actually, while we are at it, can we talk about how awful a lot of the fanbase treats Basil? My man can’t catch a break because almost everyone misinterprets him one way or another.

Where do I even start? Literally everything he does is taken the wrong way. There’s the people who characterize him as an obsessive yandere who only cares about Sunny and did everything in his power to isolate him. On the other hand, we have people who just remove one of the basic core aspects of him as a whole and make him an empty husk with no real personality.

Headacanon him however you want, but also try to understand him? I don’t know how people can say he only cares about Sunny when it’s clear he deeply appreciates his friends. He has a stronger bond with Sunny, but that doesn’t mean he’s a possessive and obsessed person who is toxic.

He definitely fucked up along the way, but his actions were never intended to hurt Sunny intentionally. He was in a panic and all he wanted was to keep his best friend safe. People constantly treat him as he’s a disgusting person for simple fact he shows mental illness signs, which is incredibly disheartening because there IS people in real life who act this way and can’t help it! What a relief it is to know people will treat me or my friends like this if we dare show an ounce of distress or panic!

Being mentally ill does not justify your actions, but this also doesn’t mean you are allowed to treat people who suffer from them like scum. People like Basil deserve to get help, to have people who support them so they can start healing. Basil clearly didn’t have that support, the only person that was there for him being his bedridden grandmother who he eventually lost.

And on the other hand, we have people who just choose to get rid of Basil’s personality altogether and characterise him as this character who is all suffering and trauma based off things that are NOT canon. It’s true that Basil’s life doesn’t exactly fit a “normal” childhood (having to live with his grandmother for unknown reasons) but that doesn’t immediately mean he is beyond traumatized? Basil is a little shy, sure, but a lot of people are. Basil used to be a smart and lively kid who loved his friends dearly. It wasn’t until AFTER the incident that he spiralled to the point he is where we see him in game.

People either disregard his trauma and paint him as a villain (let’s make one thing clear, there are NO villains in OMORI), or try to give him even more trauma for no apparent reason. All we know is that his parents aren’t really present in his life, and while that may bring some issues, from what we can see in cutscenes and the photo album, Basil lived a comfortable life surrounded by a loving family member and friends who cared about him.

You are free to explore Basil’s character however you like, but there’s a point where it no longer feels like Basil.

There is nothing wrong with showing his gentle side, just as how there’s nothing wrong to explore his unhealthy behaviour. But focusing on only one of the aspects of his entire self just turns him into a one-dimensional character with no redeemable qualities.

In my opinion, Basil is one of the best examples of a person struggling with mentally illness in media, yet people choose to ignore the complexity of his character to have either a selfish and dangerous yandere or a cute and shy femboy who’s only there to look pretty.

Write him like the mess he is. He is unstable. He is resentful, he is paranoid. That’s what makes Basil’s character so loved. That’s what makes him feel so relatable and human. Ignoring one side of his self takes away all of that. OMORI is a game about acceptance and forgiving. Why shouldn’t we apply those terms to their characters? It’s rather hypocritical for the fanbase to treat Sunny as a poor boy who only did what he did due to stress and trauma and then mark Basil as a psychopath with no redeemable features as if he wasn’t also a scared child who witnessed his very best friend push his sister down the stairs.

[showtoonzfan]

Okay so I saw S1E2 of HH “Video killed the radio Star” so here’s my thoughts on that, ⚠️SPOILERS⚠️

- So once again, the pacing is all over the place. In the span of 2 episodes we have to deal with introducing Adam and Lute, the main characters of the hotel, the three V’s and Sir Pen, and I don’t like how the three V’s are introduced in the second episode of season 1. Like…can we just let the characters we know breathe and get to know them before you introduce new ones?? Told you this was going to be like Helluva lol.

- So hell is freaking out that the extermination got moved to 6 months later, but Charlie of course isn’t the focus of this episode. It’s mainly the three V’s + Angel/Al/Sir Pen. It still bothers me that the reason behind redeeming sinners is not because Charlie is sick of Hell being a damnation but because she doesn’t want them to be exterminated. It’s such a drastic change from the pilot and the character motivation that it still throws me off sorry.

- So, I actually like Vox. I take back bitching about Christian Borle playing him because while his suave voice may not fit the twink design, he does a fantastic job either way as expected, making Vox an intimidating person. I had thought before that Vox was going to just be this dumb henchman, but I actually like how he’s the runner of things. He’d be so cool if he didn’t curse and talk like every other character in the show though.

- Good GOD Valentino. I already shared how I felt about him when the dialogue leaks came out, but I HATE how his character is just this idiot man baby who throws temper tantrums and legit needs to be “calmed down” by Vox because he’s such an idiot. Like…Velvette calls him a piss baby and Vox legit had to talk to him as if he was one, that’s how dumb this guy is. There’s a scene where Vox asks what they should do about the hotel and Val says “just put something inside, that’s how I get the bitches”- like…kill me. The fan interpretations were better. He was actually someone you didn’t want to mess with and had an intimidating voice, here he’s a whiny baby that you have to remind yourself is the same guy who forces himself on Angel. The Addict and comic version of this character is not the same as the one we have now. His voice is too high pitch, it sucks and his accent goes on and off constantly. Viv can’t write abusers for shit, she sees everything as a joke. Again, how are we supposed to take abuse seriously if this is how you portray your abuser. Crimson is more intimidating than this joke of a cockroach.

- Alastor has been gone for seven years, yeah that “Lilith is Rosie and Al is working for her”- allegation is 100% true like it perfectly lines up together since Lilith has also been gone for seven years. Only for Alastor, it makes no sense. Like…wdym he’s been gone for seven years. The pilot is canon and they state he’s been at the hotel for a week. Alastor was literally walking around town when Charlie was on the news. Do they mean that it’s been years since he’s done his radio show? Viv, when you retcon shit you need to specify. You’re just confusing everyone again.

- They need to explain why exactly it’s dangerous to make a deal with Alastor because all this vagueness isn’t helping the story. The whole reason Vox sends Sir Pen out to be a spy was to make sure Charlie didn’t make a deal with him, yet you literally have Vaggie making a deal with him like it was nothing in the last episode. I also fail to see why exactly Vox cares about Charlie making a deal with Alastor in the first place. Is it because he doesn’t want Al to have more power? Is it because he doesn’t want Charlie to have power? EXPLAIN.

- Yay more retconning and woobifying. So Angel Dust is a whiny wimpy bitch in this episode, he’s very out of character. When Sir Pen comes to the hotel, he’s extra pressed about that, when in the pilot he couldn’t even take Sir Pen seriously and was acting nonchalant towards him. Then when Charlie starts getting all giddy and complimenting Pen, Angel gets sad and jealous??? This is the second fucking episode of season 1. I thought the whole point about Angel and the hotel was that he didn’t trust Charlie nor take the redemption stuff seriously. Now apparently he wants her approval? And then when he finds Pen out, Pen insults him and that causes Angel to just fucking lunge at him and start punching. When did Angel get this goddamn sensitive. Why did the wimpy snake character who’s supposed to be a loser get under his skin THAT much? It’s even more jarring because the last episode Angel was literally saying he loves being exploited and in the pilot he’s presented as someone who could give less of a shit of what other people think, now a simple jab at him being a slut made him go off. Remember when Travis called him a slut in the pilot and Angel just laughed it off? What happened to that Angel lol.

- Vaggie has a line that flat out calls Angel a sexual harasser. And yet we’re supposed to feel bad for him and root for HuskerDust. Makes perfect sense Viv, fuck you. She has no idea what sexual harassment even is because she sees actual harassment as quirky funny jokes and paints it as genuine love. Pick a side. Is Angel an asshole who sexually harasses people or is he an uwu baby who deserves to be with Husk. Clearly Viv chose the second option.

- I liked Vox and Al’s song, tho I wish it was more singing instead of talking. Charlie’s song in the end was boring but at least it was short. I still don’t know how to feel about Pen being at the hotel tho. Like I get he’s a loser and not a big threat but him happily joining the hotel now is way too structurally fast. There’s a lot of things that feel like Viv changed at the last minute compared to the pilot and it shows. Pilot was better.

That’s it, not looking forward to the third one which is HuskerDust focused (female centric show my ass)

[oldbookist]

how to make readers think you're an expert on 19th century france

or quick and dirty tricks for writing canon era, because sometimes you just need a convincing historical backdrop for your angsty one shot.

Be specific about your time period! It may seem counterintuitive, but picking a specific year for your fic to take place in actually makes the research part easier. Even if the year isn't relevant at all to the plot and won't be mentioned. Let's say I need to add a political debate to my fic for plot purposes, but I've got no clue what to make them argue about. I'll pick 1828 as my year. I can just pull up the Wikipedia page for "1828 in France" and under "Events" it tells me that there was a new prime minister that year. Wikipedia says he was a more moderate royalist that replaced an ultra-royalist...a perfect topic for debate!

In fact, want to sound really knowledgeable? Sure, you could always have your characters complain about the king, but consider having them talk about the prime minister instead. (eg. Down with Polignac!) The ministers and their governments were powerful but not usually long-lasting or especially popular during this time period. Presumably, Enjolras hated all of them.

...and if you do mention the king, be specific! Louis XVIII, Charles X, or Louis-Philippe? Again, this is easily done by simply knowing what year it is.

Just talking about "The Cause" or "Revolution" (generic) makes it sound like you don't quite know exactly what you're talking about. Luckily, even if that's true, there's an easy fix. Use "the Republic" instead. (That's what "The Cause" is, and what the "Revolution" is for.) Also, unless they're actively revolutioning, it's generally better to refer to Les Amis as "republicans" instead of "revolutionaries," as republicanism is their actual political ideology.

The July Revolution of 1830 is a thing that happened. This is a useful event to reference. Use it to your advantage.

Just namedrop! Look up some operas or books that came out that year. Find some French Romantic authors Prouvaire could be reading. I'll admit it, I'm easily impressed when a fic references Lamartine or Hernani or whatever.

Don't use the word "homosexual." Didn't exist yet. Also, sodomy was decriminalized during the French Revolution...it's a whole complicated thing, but it is not illegal in our time period.

Make them do activities other than writing pamphlets? Writing pamphlets is a time-honored staple of canon era fic. Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t occasionally branch out. Some suggestions: recruitment, mutual aid, posting bail, gathering arms and ammunition, also Les Amis are outwardly a society for “the education of children”!

This is obviously not an exhaustive guide to writing canon era. You might notice that much of this advice boils down to “be more specific,” which is really the trick to seeming knowledgeable. The more specific you can be, the better it’s going to sound. If you do want to do more in-depth research, check out my resource collection!

[quinnyundertow]

Your writing has made me absolutely fall head over heels in love with Yuta! You write him so well that I look at him in a completely different light now in the manga/anime. Also, I'm very excited for the Toji sequences upcoming in WICYG! xoxo

This made me so damn happy you have no idea! I adore him to know it made you love him more just- BE STILL MY HEART!

I’ve always wanted to write out my Yuta!head-canons and this made me go all in hahaha (Sorry bestie but I hope you enjoy them)

If you forced me to pick a fav from JJK it would 100000% be Yuta. He’s so complex and yet simple as a character. He experienced so much abuse/neglect (from parents, classmates, teachers, even Rika) as a young child due to seeing/having Rika in a non sorcerer environment. Gege said Yuta doesn’t have a close relationship with his parents but is close with a little sister. That’s so easy for me to imagine.

Yuta! Head-canon: His parents are both working full time when the tragedy with Rika happens. They feel so guilty but relieved that their son survived. As time goes on however Yuta won’t stop crying at night about this monster version of his dead best friend haunting him. At first they would pour everything into trying to get him medical help but as the years go by and psychiatrists say he’s seeking attention the care turns to frustration. Probably culminating in a, “Get over it! I don’t want to hear about her ever again!” Type of argument.

Yuta!Head-canon: His little sister would have been a safe person to him. Maybe five years younger than him so they really never talked about that girl Rika who “moved away” when they were little. Rika wouldn’t feel as threatened as she’s his sister and a younger child so I could see her allowing him to form a relationship with him. At least at first. Deep down Rika is kind but she’s still a curse jealousy would crop up or a normal sibling fight could have ended with Rika hurting his little sister only for Yuta to further isolate.

Yuta!head-canon: He is hyper aware of others emotions and if there are changes to someone’s regular personality. He remembers tiny details of everything because that’s how he had to survive growing up. He had to monitor Rika constantly for little changes that could indicate she may explode or cause issues. This aspect also causes him to empathize deeply even with those who may not deserve it. He doesn’t want Rika to kill his bullies because he’s seen the kid menacing him is getting bullied by upperclassmen and understands what that means. That said if they fuck with someone he cares about all that empathy goes out the window and he’s going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Yuta!Head-canon: Yuta has a circle of people very close to him and once you’re in that circle he is a true ride or die. Ask him for anything and trust that shit is getting done no matter how sketchy it sounds. He is the true definition of unconditional love (We all saw how Rika got and he still deeply loved her. ) and would support and trust you totally once you have proved worthy of it by actions.

Yuta!Headcanon: He is quick to fall in love and quick to let them go. If you give him even the littlest bit of praise or extra attention he’s going to get a crush on you. He can’t help it. He’s always held everyone so far away from him so any sort of domestic or doting affection would make him melt. That said he has always had to create firm boundaries around himself and others to protect people so if you told him you’re not interested or not to text you he would abide by that completely.

Yuta!headcanon his personality is that of self sacrifice. He could never be a yandere. He understands and thinks that your life would be better without him in it. How could he try and force someone to be with him? He accidentally did that to Rika and it plagued his mind constantly and was willing to die to let her rest in peace.

I had so much fun writing these out and sorry I hijacked your post!!! I’m so happy you enjoy the story and Toji’s entry should be fun!!!! Thank you for the ask love!!!

[688199]

Astruc’s bullshittery: Debunking his tweets

Astruc’s tweets and claims about Felix is something I would never understand. He contradicts himself, for what? To make people hate Felix?

Case 1:

Sure he isn’t referring directly to this “version”. But when the PV was made, the concept of polar opposites was established, even shown through the early storyboards with Chat Noir presenting Ladybug with candles. It may not be a curse here yet, but it shows that Chat Noir was always meant to genuinely love Ladybug.

So it proves that the concept of Felix pretending to love Ladybug is a very “one-off” idea. Heck, even in the PV, you can see Felix being quite eager to transform. Does he look cursed to you?

Lastly, the existence of the 2012 bible is evidence that it’s possible to make Felix/ Chat Noir have an ulterior motive behind being flirtatious yet at the same time not moving away from his love for Ladybug.

Case 2:

In what way is this mysterious and evil? Again, even though Felix has the “Adrien” name in the bible, it’s obvious that Astruc is separating Felix (suit wearing, dark personality boy) with Adrien (the canon one).

It is true that Felix may be a bit evil, with that one singular image of him dropping an apple on Marinette’s head. But it’s a super early concept that isn’t present in the bibles (further supported by the fact they are shown to be able to use powers without transformation, and Felix being a pure misfortune manipulator.), meaning the idea didn’t reach that far into pre production.

That version of Felix is also shown more in Quantic Kids concepts, and even then, he was shown being slightly affectionate towards Marinette (cue that image of him smiling at her).

Instead of mysterious and evil, Felix had been long moulded more into someone who is driven, confident and dark (sarcastic). There’s way more art and descriptions depicting him that way.

Astruc even contradicts himself here when he says he cannot imagine Marinette liking Felix because it’s so clearly stated here why she does.

Not only that, Felix is written to have a soft side which he doesn’t show others. He even has fondness towards Marinette. But he doesn’t allow himself to fall in love. This means he actually sees himself falling for her if he gets distracted.

Overall, Felix might have underwent a very rough patch with him being mysterious and evil like what Astruc says (though in the fandom this version is often referred to as Nathan), but the development of his character shows that there was a lot of focus on improving Felix.

The time where Felix officially “became” Adrien is a few months after the earliest bible we have, where you can see the most changes being applied to the “Adrien” name. He doesn’t have a picture attached to the description (showing how they were still coming up with his design), he’s Papillon’s son, and has the goal of wanting to fit in rather than healing his leg. This is “Adrien” and no longer “Felix”.

Based on what Astruc said, he came up with “Adrien” because blah blah blah, but the Felix we’re seeing in the earliest bible is the same Felix he was dealing with before he came up with “Adrien”. Which, in my opinion, had quite a bit of depth to him that could be written well.

So is Astruc just straight up lying/ exaggerating Felix’s development and character in order to justify his decision to replace him with Adrien?

Adrien is significantly easier to write about as he’s more one dimensional, whereas Felix has a lot more inner conflict happening.

Maybe that’s why Astruc said: “Try writing Felix for 72 episodes”. He’s admitting to being a bad writer :/

[bestworstcase]

Hi, just joined Tumblr earlier today as part of an unrelated thing, thought I'd check your page out on a friend's rec, and... wow. Just, wow. This is practically the nine-dimensional chess of media literacy. I would have so many question, but everything you discuss is promptly explained in such great detail that I can't even say that. One question remains, though: *how?* Where do you get the absurd amount information and brainpower required to connect the show's many, many dots at this high of a level? It's something I struggle with myself (though that may be due to there being over a year between watching V1-V8 and seriously starting to reflect on the show beyond "well, that was a fun sequence of events"—thank you, newish fanfic writing brain—but that's besides the point), and I was wondering if you had any tips for expanding one's thinking in this direction, as the show still means a *lot* to me—there's a reason, however unexplainable, that I stuck with it so long before the reflections started—and I'd love it if the deepest parts of my brain could reflect it as such.

...Unless that's too much to ask, in which case, whoops! Either way, thank you.

really fundamentally the most effective thing you can do to practice is make a deliberate effort to cultivate a sense of curiosity toward the text. and what i mean by that is, get in the habit of asking yourself questions as if you’re in a high school english lit class: what happened in this scene? why did this character say or do that? does this conversation remind you of anything that happened in an earlier scene, and if so, what’s similar? what’s different? what did you learn about the characters from this scene? what did you learn about the world they live in? why do you think this scene was important enough to be in the story? what changed in this scene (something will always have changed)?

it may feel a bit patronizing at first BUT over time if you’re consistent about it, doing this will train you to approach reading or watching as an active participant. analytical interpretation is a skill and like any skill it takes sustained effort and practice.

after that it’s sort of just pattern recognition. this is true of all stories but it’s especially true of theme-driven stories like rwby because they tend to be very deliberate about repeating and refracting their ideas and often develop rich symbolic vocabularies. so you identify a pattern and then examine the text until you can develop a compelling argument for what it means.

one thing to keep in mind if you’re generally familiar with fandom is that fandom encourages a lot of practices that are cool and fun in fannish contexts but will poison analysis because they are (by nature of being transformative) untethered from the text. headcanon, for example, is things held to be true irrespective of the text—one could have as a headcanon that ruby is allergic to bee stings or that qrow is her father or whatever and it doesn’t matter that there’s no textual evidence or that the text says otherwise because the text is not relevant—but analytically, you must be able to back every part of your argument with textual evidence. so it is useful to practice compartmentalizing to keep headcanon strictly separated from the text in your mind.

(that’s also a practice i recommend in general because being able to say “i like this idea and i have it in mind when i create fanworks, but it isn’t canonical” is healthy)

a good habit to get into is arguing against yourself and holding yourself to a high standard of proof. the reason my argumentation tends to be so thorough is that i try to be as skeptical of my own theories as i am of other people’s. if i have an idea that seems right but doesn’t withstand textual scrutiny, i discard it. (or i might toss it into the headcanon/au idea pile, if i’m very fond of it.) i will often develop more than one argument about a given subject and then lay them all against the text before i commit to one. being skeptical will push you to pay closer attention.

cultivate curiosity about your own emotional reactions, too. what did this scene make you feel? why? how do you feel about this or that character? what draws you to your favorite characters? what distances you from the characters you don’t like? what ideas come to mind when you think about the story and what it means to you? if you have a strong reaction to something—good or bad—try to trace that feeling to its root. what sparked it and why?

once you start digging into that you’ll find that your intuitive reactions to the story are non-arbitrary—you’re subconsciously picking up on certain patterns or themes that resonate with you. so paying attention to what the story makes you feel and asking how and why it incites those feelings will guide you to conscious discovery of things you’ve already noticed without noticing.

and another good point of entry is to look for recurring symbols / imagery—for example, silver-eyes get associated with death and reincarnation through a combination of harvest/reaper imagery (scythe, sickle, ‘the grimm reaper’) and butterflies (ruby’s first glare resembles wings, butterflies everywhere when she and maria discuss her eyes, butterflies symbolizing ascension in the ever after). adding this pattern together with the white light in the liminal void between realms (the threshold of life and death!), the implication that silver-eyes came from ozma (who dies and reincarnates cyclically), the stated purpose of the glare (to preserve and protect life), ruby hearing pyrrha’s final words in her dreams (which she didn’t hear in reality), and the glare having destroyed the hand cinder used to kill pyrrha, is how i got to “silver-eyes are psychopomps,” because both the symbolism and the narrative facts about the power line up in that direction.

the one thing to be careful with in relation to symbolism is not to treat it like a secret code! symbolic meaning isn’t universal so you should always consider symbolism in context with the narrative. the first question should always be “what idea does this image appear in connection to, when it appears?” i.e. the burning rose in rwby symbolizes mourning. think of symbols as more like trail markers that the narrative has placed to help you understand the story by connecting dots. we see the burning rose on summer’s grave and then we see it on ruby; she carries her mother’s absence with her. she gives the brooch away in the ever after right after the blacksmith shows her a glimpse of summer, and then in the storm her reflection is summer but ruby doesn’t look, doesn’t see: she’s avoiding her grief, trying to pretend it isn’t there. and then the brooch returns to her once she faces what the blacksmith wanted to show her about her mom: now it’s a symbol for acceptance of loss.

and with a story like rwby that uses allusion to develop its thematic narrative it’s really helpful to read the texts it alludes to! the core narrative allusions are the marvelous land of oz, maiden in tower fairytales (petrosinella, persinette, rapunzel), cinderella, and the little prince, plus alice’s adventures in wonderland & through the looking glass for the ever after. and then every major character has a specific character allusion. both kinds of allusion are symbolic/thematic (you can’t use allusions to predict specific plot events but they help tie together emotional arcs and character relationships cohesively, and the narrative allusions are pretty good weather vanes for very broad-strokes things like ozma’s symbolic blindness being ‘healed’ in the end).

rewatching the show a couple of times will also help, especially if you take notes. i’m not sure how many times i’ve rewatched v1-8 but it’s a lot and i’ve watched v9 in full twice, plus rewatching a lot of specific episodes or scenes for reference. rewatching will help you spot patterns that you missed before and increase your familiarity with the text in general, both of which help tremendously.

[inkdemonapologist]

Thoughts on the BatIM books not being canon?

Originally typed up an answer based on the one TheMeatly tweet about creators being given “freedom to make things their own” when telling stories in their world, and that the games decide the canon. I thought that “the books aren’t canon” would be a bit of a reductive takeaway from that – like, I read it as the idea that the books don’t determine the canon, and aren’t beholden to some grand future plan to make sure they fit with the games, so they aren’t a trustworthy predictor of what’s going on in the games and in the case of contradictions, the games win. Like, the books can’t be counted on for theorycrafting, but that doesn’t mean Buddy or Abby are “noncanon” Bendy characters – just that they’ll never intersect with the games. But recently Mike Mood tweeted that “if it’s in a book, it’s not canon” pretty directly, so I guess Adrienne has just been writing a Bendy AU all this time??? Lmao.

I still think this is sort of not surprising after BatDR. Before BatDR actually came out, I was advocating pretty enthusiastically for little references to book characters – I know this was sort of controversial at the time, because people were worried about the idea of making the books “required reading” and references you don’t get if you don’t READ UP ON THE LORE – but I don’t think this would be necessary. If you give Dot an audiolog that’s like “I may just be an intern here in the writing department, but even I can tell there’s something fishy going on. I’ve got to investigate. Wally’s always losing his keys in [hint for the player], I bet I can find them” then if you’ve never read the books, that audiolog tells you everything you need to know, isn’t tangled up in any Book Lore, introduces the character as if she’s new, while also being a fun chance for the book readers to be like YOOOO MY GIRL IS HERE. Even just a schedule that says Joey has a meeting with Abby Lambert, or Ms. Lambert’s name on a desk somewhere in the art department, or a couple of animation cells on desks with characters from Crack-Up Comics, would be a fun wink to the book readers EVEN IF you want the canon to not be tied up with the books. Heck, you’ve got the non-audio-log memos in this game, you wouldn’t even have to give book characters a canon voice.

But, when BatDR had NOT ONLY no acknowledgement of the books, but also….didn’t even seem to be going in the same direction? I think the writing was sort of on the wall --

-- the people writing the games aren’t taking the books into account and the books aren’t going to be referenced here. The only question was whether the books were written with the plans of the games in mind and… I’m gonna be real. The idea that the Bendy franchise doesn’t really have Plans as such and so the books are just guessing and theorising, but the games reserve the right to go off in a completely different direction if they want to is, uh, not that surprising either. Bendy and the Ink Machine has never really seemed like a thing that had a grand plan, to me, it was just fun to pretend that it did – and then when the books were actually GOOD, it sold the idea of trying to puzzle that world together even more.

So there’s a cynical part of me that’s annoyed about this being mentioned now, you know, after 3-4 different books have been purchased by fans who were interested in learning some lore while waiting for BatDR, and now that BatDR’s out it’s like “oh, well, we’ve never felt this was CANON canon” when before it wasn’t really sold that way. If this has “always” been true, then all the “is Joey gay” questions could’ve been so easily dodged by admitting that the books were doing their own take rather than determining canon, but that fans are free to accept that interpretation. Adrienne answered one AMA question about what would become of Dot in a way that implied she didn’t know, as if she’d created this character who now existed in the world and it was up to the creators of that world to determine her fate. All of this combined with that one clarifying tweet about how EVERYTHING IN THE ORIGINAL BATIM IS STILL CANON before BatDR’s release creates the picture of intentionally selling on original BatIM’s love of theorycrafting and lore-collecting because that’s what would keep fans engaged. Either they were carefully Not Mentioning that the books aren’t canon during a time when they needed the books to sell, or the decision to treat books as “noncanon” is more recent than TheMeatly claims.

But despite my complaining, I do think this is like… wise. BatDR makes it clear that writing a Mystery With Deep Lore isn’t really what they want to do with this franchise now, if it ever was, and so now that BatDR has done reasonably well they can go ahead and admit it. If they want to be able to just hand a comic project to some comics people and not have to collaboratively run every design through their own art department to make sure it’s one they’d be willing to use in the games if that character ever appears, then it’s nice to go ahead and tell fans point blank that these designs are an interpretation by a third party, not The Canon, and should be treated as such. I think it’s not a bad way to run things, to give these other creators freedom to do their own thing with the material.

But, well, as for me and my feelings… I liked the books. I got into this franchise backwards, from a fansong and fanfiction that made me care about characters from a game I’d neither played nor watched, and then finding the concept of Sammy’s ink addiction in DCTL compelling even if I’d only heard bad things about DCTL at the time – I started writing Taste of Ink in hopes of getting this out of my system so I could move on, haha. And then Illusion Of Living came out, this incredible picture of everything I wanted from the franchise, and unfortunately nothing else has ever quite measured up. Maybe that makes sense; a lot of Bendy fans had a hard time getting through TIOL. I think I wanted a different franchise all along, and back when there wasn’t any new content in the True Game Canon, it was easier to play out the thing I wanted in the leftover ruins of this one. But then the original creators came to restore those ruins, and it was a cool thing they built, but it wasn’t anything like the ruins I’d had so much fun in anymore. I’m… genuinely proud of how much I contributed to this fandom, and so thrilled that people have enjoyed what I made here. If you weren’t following me a couple of years ago I really do recommend looking back through my blog because I made A LOT OF CONTENT………. Early on I got an ask of “does ur back hurt from carrying the entire bendy fandom,” which obviously I couldn’t post because there were definitely other creators carrying it with me, but tbh there were very few of us back when I fell face-first into this obsession and I have to admit that ask gives me some warm fuzzies to this day, haha. Like, there was a little stretch of time when the version of BatIM that I imagined helped to keep the fandom afloat! But it, like the books, was never the direction that the franchise was going to go. The BatIM I loved was was collectively dreamed into existence by people who found that game’s premise compelling.

I still love Bendy. I don’t think I ever will stop. This franchise made such a huge impact on me for reasons that are still KIND OF MYSTERIOUS LMAO. I still care a LOT about this world and these characters, but I don’t know if I’ll make much more canon-adjacent fanstuff here. Cthulhu AU is giving me the human batim content I crave and several of the AUs I’m involved in have sort of become their own thing. Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to capture whatever it was in BatIM that took over my brain so intensely for more than 3 years, but I don’t know if I’ll find it in the franchise anymore.

[userhelaena]

The account posting leaks (the Nettles one specifically) seems biased towards House of the Dragon being the “everything is about Rhaenicent/poor Alicent just wants everything to be okay🥺🥺🥺” show, and it’s making me uneasy because they’re clearly ecstatic about the direction they’ve been told it’s going. The leaks themselves may or may not be true; after enduring Game of Thrones leaks for years, it’s hard to work out which are credible and which are some random fan’s shipping goggles-induced fantasy being passed off as legit - but after the terrible storyline for season 8 of Thrones turning out to be very real, I’m extremely nervous.

I should be happy about all of this. I have steadfastly shipped Rhaenicent since 2022, I have loved and defended Alicent tirelessly and enjoyed the more sympathetic portrayal, but now I’m starting to get pissed off.

“Alicent has sacrificed everything and needs to leave her kids behind” seems to be the popular Rhaenicent shipper mindset. I’m sorry, but if she needs to leave her kids behind because they’re too dedicated to the war machine and all-out destruction, then she needs to leave Rhaenyra behind as well. At the end of S1, Rhaenyra’s mindset shifted to that of a furious bereaved mother who wanted revenge. Did the writers just forget? Will Rhaenyra spend the entire season crying, bemoaning her evil husband and pretending she wasn’t imagining herself strangling Alicent and her kids with her bare hands in 1.10? Okay then.

It’s also a fact that Alicent actively contributed to the way her children turned out and I don’t appreciate the erasure of abusive parenting on her part. Otto is a terrible father who gave her the fear but that doesn’t mean the way she went about it was right. She raised her children on paranoia and instilled the us vs them mentality into them and even if she was trying to protect them, her tactics damaged them, and being physically aggressive with Aegon to get her point across seems to have been a frequent occurrence. Being forced to marry a much older man and have his children is an incredibly shitty hand to be dealt, but these kids did not ask to exist - it’s like their very birth is being held against them, not just their bad behaviour as adults. Not to mention her innocent grandchildren (born from a marriage forced on her son and daughter), one of whom is brutally murdered this season, by the way. But uwu childhood friends to enemies to lovers time?

It’s entirely possible the show can manage the nuance of this situation just fine and get it across well that Alicent’s feelings about wanting to be free of duty and retreat back to simpler times with Rhaenyra are perfectly valid without writing off Alicent’s children as cartoon villains who just keep upsetting their poor long-suffering mommy, but honestly? I don’t think the writers can do it.

And why the fuck does it have to be Alicent giving everything up for Rhaenyra anyway? If Rhaenyra’s storyline going forward is how she needs the throne so bad because destiny or whatever, then that makes the pining one-sided, which I suppose sits well with a good number of Rhaenicent shippers who are basically Team Black stans under a guise. It’s like Game of Thrones again when, depending on which of the three main female characters (Daenerys, Sansa and Arya) the person stanned, every other character around them had to bend to their will in order to give them the most ass-kissing storyline imaginable. Hard pass.

There’s also the weird clashing themes going on. The show has all the subtlety of a mallet upside the head when it tells us Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne is just and right, but it’s also trying to tackle the senselessness of the war being fought for it, which just doesn’t gel with trying to argue that one monarch has more of a right to rule over another.

Get your shit together, writers.

And fandom needs to learn that not every ship has to be canon in the most obvious sense of the word. I liked Rhaenicent just fine when it was a “what could have been” type of situation - I don’t want it if it means the integrity of the rest of the story is going to be compromised.

[daisies-daydreams]

This isn’t a request but I like reading your COD fics. I actually just posted my first Simon Riley one. I wanna write more but I’m not sure if I gotten his character right when I wrote it

Hello hello! Thank you so much for checking out my work! ☺️

And now for a little essay about our boy Simon (tw: mentions of abuse and symptoms of PTSD below the cut).

SIDE NOTE: I have not played/seen MW3 yet (sans the major character death that was spoiled to me on Twitter...thanks Twitter), so this is based on my experience with the previous games/comics (2009 and 2022).

MY OBSERVATIONS FROM THE CANON

Simon is level-headed. Calm. Cool. Collected. He’s a military officer after all-he has to have a healthy level of control over his emotions. That doesn't mean he can't raise his voice or get angry, though.

He has a witty/deadpan sense of humor (and isn’t afraid to show it). Just because he’s a serious character doesn’t mean he can’t joke around and have a little fun (we know the banter he had with Johnny throughout the “Alone” mission. Was it so they could keep a level head? Yes, but I think Ghost appreciates jokes like that outside of tense situations as well).

Simon is reserved. He can most definitely speak his mind, but (in the beginning of MW2 especially) he’s more focused on accomplishing the mission(s) rather than establishing a strong repertoire with his comrades. It takes him a bit to warm up to people, but once he does, his loyalty is abundantly clear.

He's patient but also knows when it's time to act quickly. Stake-outs and long missions have made him a persistent (and hardened) individual.

HEADCANONS (LOOSELY BASED ON CANON)

I can see Ghost as being VERY weary of establishing close relationships due to his past experience with abuse. Living in that environment could have conditioned Ghost to keep his guard up at all times. While hypervigilance may be praised in his field of work, it most definitely affects him in his personal life.

He's very strict, both in and out of the field (I can see it in canon as well, though). He enjoys routine and the consistency/stability it provides (when he has access to it).

Ghost definitely struggles with the hedgehog's dilemma (for context: a metaphor for issues with intimacy; hedgehogs may want to cuddle for warmth but hurt each other with their quills when they get too close). He yearns to connect with others, but is afraid of all the risks it may impose on him or the other person.

However, once someone gets past his stern exterior, Ghost is unrelentingly compassionate and an excellent listener. He never wants an innocent person to go through what he experienced, and sees himself as a protector for those who can't protect themselves.

All in all, if you'd like to write more true to Ghost's character, I highly suggest reading Modern Warfare 2: Ghost. It applies to the 2009 version of Simon Riley, but it definitely helped me gain perspective into that version's backstory. One of the hardest things about writing Ghost in-character (for me at least) is that he's a mysterious individual. No matter how many personality traits we pick apart (inferred or fully displayed), we may never know the full Simon Riley.

In that case...don't be afraid to play around with how you think he would act in certain situations based on what you've observed in the games/other material. That's the beauty of writing fanfiction: you get to create scenarios that might have never come about in the main story and elaborate on what's already established in canon.

Sorry for the long-winded speech-I hope this helped!

-daisy

[ordonianhero]

It’s complicated

Warning: game and manga spoilers

CW: Mention of abuse and r*pe/S.A. (avoid if you can’t read said content for your own safety)

Disclaimer: not writing this to invalid people’s ships. Just wanting to make something clear about how toxic it is to normalize abuse. (Despite how in character it maybe that they did said action/behavior)

So I am writing this because I felt something needed to be clear up. In the game of Twilight Princess, Midna shatters the mirror of twilight because for the simple reason of knowing if left open, that everything they did to save both kingdoms would be at risk of yet another attack. This was also shown in the manga. Though the manga creators were given more creative way of telling the story, it is not canon to Nintendo. Nintendo allows it but have made it very clear the mangas have never been canon. Not saying people who are midlink shippers are wrong. Thats the thing about fandoms, you can ship however you like and that is 100% valid for you. Not everyone will ship the same way. Thats okay too. So now that’s out of the way, i would like to discuss something I felt was disturbing.

So in the game midna is very sassy, it just her trying to cover up her feeling of being able to do anything in her current state once Zant turned her into the imp form. So she seemed help, but wasn’t exactly nice about it. Link (twilight) happened to be her tool to getting what she wanted. Taking back her kingdom and giving little care (at first) to what happened to his world. She had an agenda. His agenda was basically to save his home and the people who are in it. The Ordon kids, ilia and the village. He later on found out though the light spirits that his task was much more then just his little village. That he was fated to save all of hyrule. He also even through her sassy ways, could see Midna behavior was of someone who was scared for her people, her kingdom. Though she only saw Link (Twilight) was a means to and end. Her attitude changed after he (despite how she treated him) when he went out of his way to get her help as she was dying. Along with seeing how much both Link and Zelda were willing to sacrifice to help her save her kingdom as well.

The manga story was a tad different and it doesn’t entirely follow the game because the creators were given creative leeway by Nintendo to tell their own version of the game. Yes Nintendo had to approve the manga before it got published. However, Nintendo has been clear that the mangas are just a work of fan content and by no means canon. Other then the one in the Hyrule historia. I actually wasn’t too fond of the creators take on Link’s back story, but that’s just me. Still amazing piece either way. So what is troubling me is the normalization of the way Midna was towards Link (twilight) and assuming that its a healthy relationship (or friendship. However way you saw it) to be physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive towards him. She hits him, calls him names….I mean that’s not okay.

“Oh well she just teasing and being sassy.”

Yeah okay in the game that’s true, the manga really went a lot father then just sass some times. There were other characters in the manga where it sort of implied things far more beyond just abuse, beside link and midna stuff. Manga was far more darker then the game.

At the end of the final manga we come to the part where Midna is about to shatter the mirror and telling Link that no, he can’t go with her. (Manga implied they have feelings for each other) some may assume if they havent played the game she is shattering the mirror for no reason. She is. It cause light and dark can’t mix. That is clear. Thus she is shattering the mirror to once again protect both their worlds from having happened, to happen again.

So now you maybe wondering where I have issue with the manga and Midlink area. Many have gone to say the content in the manga is “Juicy” when Link (twilight) couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just leave with her. Her reasoning was because he belong in the light world. To continue to serve hyrule (completely different from what actually happened in the game). Midna called him “disobedient and rude….” As she has said and told him several time through the manga series. Ever since they met that is how she saw him. “Disobedient” and “Rude”. Then she full on smacked him. A very in character thing for her to do. Yes. Then tells him, “No link, go back”

He replies, “I don’t want to.”

Which then resulted in her kissing him, pushing him away and saying with a smirk, “there’s… your reward.” Followed by “I’m not trying to silence you. That was a GIFT…from the real me.” Followed by her breaking the mirror. Which few speculate once again that this was to stop link from chasing after her. If the mirror was intact. Sure that maybe how it was seen I guess, but knowing all that hyrule went through, midna knew they couldn’t be together and to protect his and her world, it had to be shattered.

So for many people, seeing the kiss is a way to make up for smacking him. People saw this as Romance was confirmed, which no doubt it seems so. However this giving readers the thought that some how the way she treated him during the whole series was completely normal and shows a “Healthy relationship” between two people.

Sorry to break it to folks, but that is in no way “Healthy”. Matter of fact her way of treating him, even if he was was being disobedient and rude, by no means did she need to do half the stuff she did to him. Yes he is stubborn, yes the he sort of got an ego after he got the master sword. But by no means is smacking a person okay or doing half the dang stuff she did. I can’t stand for that kind of message that its normal to hurt each other in a pretty abusive way. Even if it wasn’t abusive…nobody (friend, family, partner) should ever treat another person the way Link was treated in the manga. That is where I have issue is the view that this is normal and okay. Healthy. NO! If you are a midlink shipper and you are making the conclusion based on the Manga that smacking or hurting anyone demonstrates a “healthy relationship” I worry.

So what’s going on in LU, well the Comic creator has made it very clear we wont be seeing midna, that Link’s feelings right now are just complicated and that his heart sort of torn right now, though he is close with Ilia. (Relationship or friendship) she is basing her take on Midna and Link friendship, relationship, its complicated based off the game and not off of the Manga. Not sure of what her take is of the manga it self. But this what she said a long while back:

So in conclusion, i wasn’t midlink shippers to enjoy their ship, but avoid justifying abusive actions as “Healthy”. Though this is about a bunch of fictional characters. There are folks out there who have or do experience this and chalk it up to they deserve this kind of treatment. Which is not true. Everyone deserves to be in a relationship where one should never be physically, verbally, or emotional treated in such a manner.

Now if you saw things differently and I am open to hear you out. Comment below and explain how you saw the interaction between LInk and Midna.

But I wanted to share my upset at the thought people found the ending showing a healthy relationship by abusive behavior.

That is all. I again don’t want other to take this as me being anti midlink or discouraging people who ship midlink. I was just troubled.

Thank you for hearing me out.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

In regards to the 'canonically handsome' ask before, wasn't Sebek called 'handsome' before? Like I seen different translations of the scene (Part 2 - Chapter 13 of Scary Monsters with the Magicame Monsters), that also say he's "dignified" or "cool" as well, but would that also count towards him being handsome or just more them commenting on the way he physically presents himself as a knight in training?

Credit to OtomeAyui for this translation.

I am guessing it's another one of those words or phrases that can have multiple meanings though... Mind you I am no translator nor have a talent for it, but I'd be grateful if you were able to help explain what the person meant if you could?

Also apologies, I like reading the older translations as much as the newer ones and may get some of the names for things mixed up a bit lol.

PSPSPSPSPSPS Big thanks to @curekibouka-writing for helping me fact check 🤓

[Referencing this post!]

(For reference, the image above/second screenshot is the full unobscuredJapanese text for what the NPC says about Sebek.)

I’m afraid that the translation that you’re referencing (in the first screenshot) isn’t entirely accurate 💦 The specific terms that the NPC is using to describe Sebek are “姿勢良い” and “かっこいい”; the former translates to “good posture” and the latter translates to “cool”. So basically, the NPC is saying, “Hey dude, you’ve got such good posture and you’re so cool but still hilarious! You’ll totally go viral!”

It’s true that  “かっこいい” /”kakkoii” can sometimes be used to speak about something that is good looking, but the more common/generalized term is just to comment that something looks “cool” (which, I think, is much more subjective than what is considered conventionally “good” looking). I’d personally lean towards acknowledging that “cool” is the more accurate of the interpretations, just because it pairs better with the comment preceding it (which is the NPC complimenting Sebek’s posture). Additionally, there is no reference at all to Sebek’s face or what it looks like in the original Japanese text.

Context is important to take into consideration! “姿勢良い” /“good posture” and “かっこいい” /“cool” together give me the impression that the NPC is more amazed with Sebek being a diligent guard (and how he presents himself as one) more than being a remark on his physical attractiveness. In this case, dignified/cool doesn’t always automatically equate to also being handsome/beautiful.

Some may say it’s a subtle difference or that it “means the same thing anyway”, but the wording still changes our understanding of what’s being expressed here. In one version, Sebek is being called handsome. In the other version, Sebek is being praised for his presence as a knight. Those are two VERY different things which can and will have an impact on how the character is interpreted in the eyes of a fan. Nothing’s going to translate “perfectly”, so there are sure to be these differences from translation to translation (be it fan translations or the official English localization). Please keep that in mind!

[nobodysdaydreams]

Sticky and/or Marlon for the ask game? :D

Thank you Milk! Marlon is a bold choice given my well known hatred for him. So let’s give the man some loser headcanons.

But first, our boy Sticky. 💕

Headcanon A:  realistic

He had OCD. Yes, his anxiety is canon and this is kind of an extension of that, and yeah, I’m shamelessly copying off @sophieswundergarten because her fic about it is one of the most amazing things you’ll ever read. But what about it? It’s true, it’s canon, it happened.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

He’s a great singer. But because of his anxiety, he’d never admit to it and hates singing in public (this is the exact opposite of Kate who I headcanon as a bad singer who doesn’t care who hears her).

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Watching Constance fall under Curtain’s happiness reminds Sticky of how he acted under the Whisperer’s influence and makes him feel even more guilty for having given into it (when Constance couldn’t control what happened to her). Even long after it’s over, Sticky has a hard time forgiving himself for falling under Curtain’s influence, even though it’s easy for him to forgive others for the same thing.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

He had an emotional reunion and reconciliation with his aunt that was just as emotional as his reunion with his parents in the books. The other three kids in the show all get their moments with their families and Sticky gets an off screen conversation? Unacceptable. I know it’s just because the show can only have so many additional adult actors in the main cast, but it’s so beautiful in the books, my boy was short changed! But not anymore. He had an emotional and fulfilling conversation with his aunt and uncle. It’s in SOS, and it’s canon to me, because Sticky deserved better than “oh yeah I talked to my aunt”.

And now the loser himself: Marlon. I mean what to even say. Jeffers is a loser too, but at least he’s funny. Let’s see what we got.

Headcanon A:  realistic

He’s the only neurotypical character in the entire TMBS universe. I don’t need to explain this. Look at everyone else, even the other villains, and then look at this man. Tell me you don’t see it. To be clear: I don’t mean this as an insult, I have neurotypical friends and family. But look at the way he talks to Jackson and Jillson. He’s that kind of neurotypical. He has “I wish I peaked in High School vibes”.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Working for Curtain is the only job he’s never been fired from. He was frozen, but never officially fired. But at all his other jobs, Marlon was so difficult to work with, that he was eventually fired from all of them. This headcanon is unrealistic, because I don’t think anyone would actually hire him or want him to do anything.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

This is a rather dark and heart-crushing head canon but… the Happiness doesn’t kill him. He survives like the others thanks the to the “real happiness thing”. He gets the opportunity to condescend someone and that wakes him up. It’s a kids show, they wouldn’t murder anyone on screen, and I don’t want to deal with the complications of writing his death and having Curtain go to trial for it, so he survives and disappears into the void.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

After the happiness revolution, Marlon tried to write a tell all book about what Curtain was doing called “Life behind the Curtain: the untold story of Dr. Curtain’s right hand man”. It sells zero copies, and Marlon has to file for bankruptcy.

[palavapeite]

20 questions for fic writers

I got tagged by @nocompromise-noregrets to answer questions about my fic, yay! Thank you, friend!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

49

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

610,514

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just OFMD.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Heart Asks Pleasure First (Captain America (Movies)), 886 Kudos

Leggy Blonde, you got it goin' on (Our Flag Means Death (TV)), 640 Kudos

If my Heart was a House (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling), 612 Kudos

Uphill Both Ways in 5 Feet of Snow (Captain America (Movies)), 510 Kudos

Morning, Moon and Knight (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling), 401 Kudos

…To be clear, this doesn’t really say anything useful. The CA fics have been accumulating kudos for almost 10 years and the HP fics for just about as long (and they were originally published to LJ and only moved to AO3 later), while Leggy Blonde has been up for less than 2 years. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ make of that what you will.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, always. It may take me a bit, but look, if someone takes time to comment on my work I feel compelled to at least say thank you. The joy is in the moment of interaction, not in the hoarding of praise.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably The Fall of the House of Black. If you read the epilogue, that is.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most if not all of my fics end happily and there’s a bunch that are mostly fun and fluff. But only Heartwood ends with a wedding. 😛

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. I got one (1) terfy comment and one that was a bit douchey once, but I don’t think I have the reach to attract actual hate. Or I’ve gotten lucky so far, idk.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

For a long time I didn’t because I didn’t enjoy writing it. I’ve come to be a little more open to experimenting with it in recent years, occasionally challenged myself to lean into it a bit more, and I guess it feels like less of a bother now even if it’s still not my forte. So some of my stuff is either more softcore, or just completely smut-free.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No. I only enjoy crossover scenarios when they happen spontaneously when chatting with friends in an unhinged “yes, and” arms race towards the most ludicrous possible outcome. I have no interest in crossover fanfic, neither reading nor writing it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. But back in the 2000s I translated my first couple of fanfics that I wrote in a German speaking forum into English when I moved to a different space within the same fandom.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@greaseonmymouth and I collaborated on a fanwork for a now extinct fandom in… 2009 or so? It was a true marvel, a thing of beauty, a magnificent stroke of genius. It is no longer associated with either of our names. But part of me still thinks I peaked there.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Johnsquared. Quite possibly.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Unghhh the epic Cjizzy metal band AU. The epic eat pray love Johnsquared. I want to finish them so badly. I really do. But maybe I love them both too hard.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’m really good and efficient at setups, outlines, and occasionally very funny with dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing sincere endings that I don’t hate.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Idk man. Look. It depends. What are you trying to do here? Does a character canonically codeswitch? Fair. But do you speak the language in question or is it just gonna be basic tourist speak? Do you just wanna flex that you know languages that your readers might have to look up? Are you smug that you used google translate? Are you using other languages consistently throughout the fic in all instances, or are you just marking out one character as the non-native speaker? For a bit of ~local/ethnic flavour?

What I’m saying is “it’s complicated.”

Also. Eh. Idk. I wouldn’t do it in my own fic. I have seen some godawful incorrect German in fanfic that clearly came from google translate and that no native speaker would ever utter and I always wonder what the purpose of that is supposed to be. At times it’s jarring my incompatible within a limited narrator’s perspective. Obviously everyone can do whatever the hell they want in their own fic. I just don’t get the why of it most of the time I see it and I wonder if the writer ever bothered to ask themselves “why am I doing this?”

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Officially, on the internet? [redacted]

Before I knew fanfic on the internet was a thing? Star Wars

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Oh man, I can’t choose. Funnily, none of my top 5 kudosed fics would make the shortlist. But 5 that I’m very very fond of and that I really enjoyed the writing process of are:

Won from the void and formless infinite (Taboo, Godfrey/Cholmondeley M/F) 40 Kudos

The doubts that have surrounded me (OFMD, cjizzy F/F) 65 Kudos

Only by the Grace of the Sea (OFMD, Ed/Stede M/M) 270 Kudos

You, who stole my solitude (WWDITS, Vianton M/M) 155 Kudos

Something Brewing in the Discourses (JSAMN, Gatcombe/Tantony M/M) 10 Kudos

(Adding a kudos count to re-emphasise the point that they are a terrible metric for judging or comparing anything.)

I’m tagging… uhhh @greaseonmymouth @pudentilla @thebeautifulsoup and @emmyllou if you should happen to be in the mood.

[pridepages]

All or Nothing: Loveless

I just finished Loveless by Alice Oseman. I have some thoughts.

Here there be spoilers!

Alice Oseman is a gift to LGBTQIA+ literature. She has mastered the art of Jane Austen: writing a book that apparently has very little plot, but is actually a depiction of some of the most important facets of every day life. Her most famous contribution to the canon, Heartstopper, is light, bright, and sparkling in tone. With Loveless, Oseman adds a more nuanced piece of work to her world.

The novel centers around Georgia Warr, a rising first year student at university who is desperate to star in her own romantic love story. She’s imbibed all the intoxicating tropes of allonormative fiction: she knows every meet cute, every slow burn, every AU under the sun. She’s studied up, and she’s ready to go. The problem is that when she tries to take it from fantasy to reality, she finds that she has zero sexual or romantic chemistry with anyone. Worse still, she’s repelled by everyone she tries with. Over the course of many failed experiments, and through an introduction to a lovely friend, Georgia must come to terms with her reality: she cannot find that fabled romantic love story with one person. She’s aromantic asexual.

Asexuality, let alone aromanticism, is a rare study in contemporary fiction. By placing Georgia’s self-discovery at the heart of the novel, Alice Oseman has provided a novelty to a community that rarely finds itself directly addressed. This is a new kind of coming out, and coming to terms, story: what does life look like when your relationships fit no kind of translatable norm? 

The answer provided to us is that Georgia is able to find beautiful, true love stories with her friends. As her new roommate, pansexual Rooney Bach declares to her: “I feel at home around you in a way I have never felt in my fucking life. And maybe most people would look at us and think we're just friends, or whatever, but I know that it's just...so much more than that. You fucking saved me, I swear to God.” 

Because whether we are aromantic or alloromantic, love comes in life in so many different forms. Just because society has prioritized one expression does not mean the others are less worthy.

Just as Georgia must come to grips with how she can give and receive love, so must the others in her life. Some people have been disquieted by the fact that the title of the novel is Loveless, fearing that it represents yet another jab at people on the aroace spectrum. I would argue that the title is, quietly, more nuanced than that: the majority of the rest of the characters may be alloromantic, but that doesn’t mean that they rest easy with the knowledge they are lovable.

Georgia’s friend Pip is an out-and-proud lesbian. But multiple times in the novel, Pip declares that she’s destined to be forever alone. Having been treated as a ‘gay experiment’ in the past, Pip believes she isn’t worthy of anything else. Georgia’s second friend Jason, apparently a straight man, has endured bullying in his life. Because that bullying centered around his being undesirable and unlovable, Jason rushed into romance and dating with the wrong people because he believed that it was his only shot and he didn’t deserve to hold out to be treated well. Newly discovered pansexual Rooney has embraced free sexuality and flirtation, but for her they don’t equate to love. She believes she deserves to be punished for having fallen in love with the wrong person, causing her to have made years’ worth of bad choices and sacrificed healthier friendships.

I think what this book is all about is really that we all struggle with what it means to love. Love comes in so many forms, and those forms shouldn’t be discounted just because they don’t fit preconceived notions. Love in all its forms is so rare in this world. When it comes our way, we need to keep eyes, arms, and heart open. Don’t miss it.

To my asexual, aromantic, or even allo family who dread feeling forever alone: I implore you to stop and ask yourself where you find love in this world. I have had days where I didn’t want to live anymore, but I asked myself who would take care of my dog if I wasn’t here? So, I decided it was worth sticking around a little longer. Calmer reflection reminded me of parents who try their best. Of friends who chose me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Of mentors who pushed me forward. Of kids in my classroom who gave me unexpected hugs and told me I was their favorite teacher.

Sometimes, love feels like an all or nothing affair. Either we’re the heroes of some grand romance or we’re the also-rans. But the reality is so much different. Love can be all around us. If we don’t stop and look around once in a while, we might miss it.