#but for one the main person hurt by a a teen who's internalized a negative view of sex is that teen themself

[r0achlezbian]

i'm sorry but i refuse to view kids being weird about sex as an actual societal issue. like the whole "puriteen" bit i've seen around here, i really don't think it's that big of a problem or that deep, teenagers are gonna have weird opinions about sex and sexuality because on the whole it's new and intimidating and complicated to them. + teenagers really do not hold that much societal power and it's batshit to imply or outright state that the recent wave of conservative outcry and legislation against lgbt folks and sexual expression is like, the fault of teenagers who don't like bdsm or think puppy play is weird.

[many-but-one]

Things I didn't realize would happen as I started trauma therapy

To preface, this is written by Vivian (he/him), the current "main" host of the Many but One system. I am a trauma holder for childhood and teen trauma, but I am also highly functional despite this due to the fact that most of my really severe trauma is even further compartmentalized--I am one of those "alter with alters" type of subsystems.

So, this post is going to explain some of the things I didn't realize would happen to me, Vivi, as I progressed in trauma therapy.

I had to re-learn how to say "no." This was very hard to do in the beginning. My entire "purpose" was very heavily focused on "just let it happen, just let it happen, it'll be over soon" regardless of what the actual circumstances were. Even in a non-SA environment, I found it difficult to say no to people or to remove myself from situations I felt were uncomfortable. When my therapist helped me realize that I had CHOICES and could make them freely (within reason) that was...seriously mind-blowing. Intrinsically, I know that I am allowed to say no. I know that I can make my own choices. However, when faced with the actual situation or if I think too deeply about the freedom I have I actually lose my fucking mind just a little bit. It's like my internal wiring is so deeply set to "NO! You sit there and you take it, it doesn't matter how uncomfortable you are, you just let it happen." Going against such deeply ingrained beliefs about myself has been a doozy, but it's been such a relief to finally have some freedom from those lines of thinking.

I am not as apathetic and hateful as I thought I was. Don't get me wrong, when I get into a "mood" I can definitely be this way, however, upon working on healing myself I realized I actually, genuinely, enjoy helping people or taking care of them. I was never like this before because I was so deeply focused on keeping MYSELF safe, that I didn't even have the capacity to think or care about others. I was incredibly self-centered, and not in a bad way, in a survival way.

I don't have to let myself suffer all the time. If my body hurts I can take care of it. If I am hungry, I am allowed to eat. If I am uncomfortable in any given scenario, I can leave. I don't have to "just suffer through it." Suffering is not a virtue, and it doesn't make me stronger. It only makes me weaker.

People aren't as bad as I thought they were. From my limited experiences in the external world as a child and teen, every single interaction I ever had with someone was typically highly traumatic. Such is the way of a trauma holder who kind of "specializes" in the SA side of things. So as you can imagine, becoming a host and having to interact with people on a daily basis made it very hard to trust anyone around me. However, the more I interact with genuinely good people, the more I realize that "Humanity is Okay, actually." Yeah there are some really fucked up people, like our abusers, but there is so much genuine GOOD out there, and having my walls up at every second made it literally impossible to even see it. Learning how to trust and be vulnerable is still something I am working on. But I am doing it, and it hasn't backfired yet. Knowing who to trust has been hard because I typically just go "NOBODY," or at least, I used to. So I am very careful about who I put my trust in, and it has paid off immensely.

I am a genuinely good person, even when I do "bad" things. When I say bad things, I don't mean abusing others or things of that nature. But moreso, things that myself, our system, our brain, has ingrained in us as "bad." Such as coping with negative coping mechanisms (alcohol, drugs, impulsive spending, self harm), engaging in trauma reenactment scenarios, or being overly reactive (or the opposite, apathetic) to others around me. Just because I relapse into bad behaviors doesn't automatically make me a bad person, that just makes me human. And thinking that I'm going to get through this hell called "Trauma Therapy" without relapses is just ridiculous. Being kinder to myself has been a good step.

I am allowed to make mistakes. Kind of with the above, mistakes don't automatically mean I need to punish myself for making the mistake. Making mistakes is part of life, no matter how big or small they are. Showing myself grace when I do these things has been life-altering.

I am a human being. This one is kind of sad. A lot of our trauma holders feel very detached from being a person, including myself. A saying we have to remind ourselves of constantly is "We Are Human." We are a person, not a thing, not a demon, not a monster, not a faerie, not a statue, not a robot, not a doll, not an angel, not a god. We are human, and we deserve to be treated with the kindness and grace of one. That is the LEAST we deserve, is to be treated like a human. Unfortunately that has not been the case for a lot of our lives. But things are different now. And we are finally starting to understand that.

I don't have to live with one foot in trauma time and one foot in the present. This might be a bit confusing, but something our therapist noticed with a lot of us is that we often have one foot in the present and one foot still in trauma time. We often feel like we have to hold on tight to those experiences. During trauma anniversaries, we HAVE to relive them, that's our job. This may just be a personal system experience, but we didn't get closure when the trauma ended, so we never knew when it would happen again. There are so many parts in our system that are so sure it's going to start again even though it ended 15 years ago. They are still certain that "this year is different, this year they will come for us" which leaves us panicked and paranoid. Something we did to cope was essentially relive the trauma or reenact the trauma internally during those trauma times because we were so used to being traumatized the same ways all the time at the same times of the year, that when we suddenly weren't, we panicked. However, in therapy we have slowly started learning that the cycle is OVER and we don't have to live like this anymore. It's so hard. But we are making it work.

I hope by sharing these few things it will instill maybe a little bit of hope for those of you who are working through trauma therapy. I truly never thought I would be where I am today. I was considered one of our most self destructive persecutors for a long time, I would burn every bridge I could to keep people away from me, I would self harm and drink alcohol excessively, I would be reckless and impulsive to the point where there were many times that our gatekeepers had to frantically yank me out of the front so that I wouldn't end our life. The levels of pain I felt (and still very often feel, I am not "healed" yet) were so fucking immense that I just didn't want to be here anymore. But seeing where I came from versus where I am now has given me a lot of hope for where I could be in the coming months and years. I don't think I've ever truly had hope for the future, but now I am at the very least curious what it will bring. I think even just a mere curiosity is enough. You don't have to be excited for what is to come. Simply being curious is good, too.

I hope you all have a blessed day,

🪷Vivi👑

Many but One

[loading-excuses]

Marie’s top media and writing tropes that need to die in a ditch

Fridging 

The trope of killing off, hurting or “damaging” the female (usually the love interest) character in anyway solely to progress the main male character’s story arc. Used only as a plot device it is made to depose the female character only so to “trigger” the protective qualities in the male character. 

This term was coined in 1999 as “Women in Refrigerators” by comic book artist Gail Simone, the origins of the phrase are from Green Lantern #54 where the current Green Lantern Kyle Rayner comes home to find his then girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt had been murdered by the Major force and stuffed in a refrigerator. Simone and a group of feminist comic book artists compiled a list of fictional female characters who had been “killed, maimed or depowered” in peculiar ways to move forward the male character’s story arc rather than further develop them as their own characters. Simone also stated to make a point that: "If you demolish most of the characters girls like, then girls won't read comics. That's it!"

Pick Me Girls/Boys / Not Like The Other Girls

The “I’m not like other girls” type of girl who “doesn’t dress preppy” or follow any of the stereotypical high feminine trends which in turn means the male character needs to “pick her” since she’s “quirky and not like other girls”. This is describing a female who craves male attention and does it by making herself “stick out” from the “normal” feminine trends. This trait testers on the edge of internalized mysogony in acting as if one gender is superior to another. In this particular case, the pick me girl acts as if being a man or acting masculine is superior to being a woman or acting/presenting feminine or as they will put it “girly”. 

Alternatively there is another type of pick me girl who acts as if she is frail and dainty and weak and needs a big strong man to help her. Her only discernible personality trait is being cute and small and needing a boy to confirm these traits to give her male validation. 

This is actually a quite toxic trend that pits people people against each other due to the attention seeking nature of th pick me girl who is always in need of male validation by going about things in the wrong way.  

The trend came to rise in popularity in around 2019 has people in real life began to adapt their personality more to this concept due to media such as movies, television, books and video games displaying this type of female character. 

The concept of a pick me girl is no where near new to hit media tropes, as seen in Not Another Teen Movie (2001) in which using satire, the movie mocks this type of trope in saying that the female character is “so unlike other girls” that no boy could possible want to pursue her romantically simply because she “isn’t girly”.

There of course is a male counter part of the us trope being the pick me boy which is just as toxic. The pick me boy uses self deprecation as a form of emotional manipulation, trying to encourage the female he is pursuing to counteract negative statements he makes about himself. 

Sexy Lamp

The strong on paper female character that lacks any discernible personality traits of distinguishing qualities. Her existence is completely irrelevant tot he story or plot as a whole. This is another case in media where a female character is objectified for no reason. Most commonly this trope is thrown in to change the feel and combat the stereotype of female characters being dainty or high feminine but could be seen as just as objectifying.  

There is also a Sexy Lamp test which tests the relevancy of a female character in a piece of media. The sexy lamp test was established by Kelly Sue DeConnick and came to rise when DeConnick brought it up during an Emerald City Comic Con panel titled "From Victim to Hero".  

Manic Pixie Dream Girl 

The whimsical quickly eccentric female character that appears out of the blue to show the male character “a whole new world” and “opens his eyes to everything”. She enters his life solely to “change is worse view” before disappearing at the end without a trace. 

This term was coined by film critic Nathan Rabin from Kristen Dunst’s character in Elizabethtown (2005) in which he stated that the manic pixie pixie dream girl “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to each broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and it’s infinite mysteries and adventures.” 

While it is not as common as the manic pixie dream girl, there is also the male counterpart being the manic pixie dream boy in which the trope is exactly the same but the genders are swapped. 

Other examples of the manic pixie dream girl phenomenon are Grace Van DerWall as Stargirl in Stargirl, Mary Elizabeth Winsted as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgram versus the World and Cara Delevingne as Margo Roth Spiegelman in Paper Towns

Magical Negro

The back character who seems to exist only to provide spiritual or mystical help to the white savior protagonist. The character has no discernible inner life usually existing only to to provide life lessons to the protagonist. This is a harmful media trope that chalks black characters up to being nothing more than some kind of guide to the main usually white protag that appears only when the protag needs a quick lesson on the things happening in the world around them. 

With the rise in more and more people of color in the media this trope has become less relevant and common but is still just as harmful. 

It's a racial stereotype that I feel like gets overlooked because people will argue things like "well they're a powerful character how is making them powerful racist?". Continuing to use this trope is continuing to put marginalized people in tiny boxes to fit a story narrative and to seem like the story is diverse because not all the characters are white.

White Savior Protagonist 

The overused main character protagonist in which the main character is usually a cisgender straight white male with a savior complex dead set on “saving” everyone. Not only is this degrading for other groups of people but it is demeaning because the protag’s savior complex makes them feel the need to do good not because the people around them need it but because it makes the protag feel better about them self. 

Not every person in the world is a cishet white guy hellbent on saving the world because he has no other choice. By using only the same person as a protag over and over and over again, you're writing to the same demographic over and over and over again. As a woman of color, I'm honestly kind of sick of seeing the same actors playing roles that all feel the same in every movie or show I watch. Diversity not only gets different demographics of people invested in a story but it makes them feel like they're being seen. Like they can final put themselves in the main character's shoes and feel like the hero.

Bury Your Gays 

The media trope that portrays the death of LGBTQ+ characters due to them being deemed more expendable then the heterosexual characters. Often times rather than writing the character out of the show or allowing them to continue on in the story, the LGBTQ character is killed off. The portrayal of this trope makes it appear that queer characters are more likely to die over heterosexual characters. Many people have speculated that this is meant to show that queer characters have less of a purpose than their straight counterparts. It’s unfortunate to see writers continuously choosing to kill of queer characters, especially since the spark of queer fans speaking out on wanting to see more characters like them on the big screen or in books. It’s eerily similar to people of color speaking out on never seeing characters that look like them or characters that are only ever portrayed by harmful stereotypes. In recent years the trope has slowly became less popular but still is very much alive unlike the characters. 

One of the best examples out there is death of the beloved character Castiel from CW’s fifteen season live action series Supernatural. Castiel was introduced in season four of the show and fans immediately recognized how chemistry with the male lead Dean Winchester. For the next ten seasons of the show fans called out the queer-baiting of The CW’s portrayal of the characters until in one of the final episodes of the shows fifteen year long run in which Castiel declares his love for Dean which results in him being sent to “super hell”. Another example of this trope that sparked much backlash is show Lexa from the post apocalyptic science fiction drama The 100 (which also originally aired on The CW) in which the character Lexa is fatally shot in the same episode in which she and the female lead Clarke Griffin are shown spending the night together for the first time. The very act of killing Lexa in such a way sparked fans of the show to donate to LGBTQ charities all in Lexa’s name.

It is no secret that The CW is no stranger to Bury Your Gays. 

Interestingly enough, when actor Ruby Rose was forced to leave behind the lead role of Katherine “Kate” Kane in The CW’s Batwoman, show runner Caroline Drier decided to write the character out of the show leaving the potential death ambiguous due to the Bury Your Gays trope on account on her own sexuality. According to Dries the character is not dead and "As a lesbian who's been working as a writer for the past 15 years, I’m well aware of the 'Bury Your Gays' trope and I have no interest in participating in it,"

That being said, Rose was apparently forced off the show by the show runner as well as, executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, and The CW itself. Rose added onto this that they were unable to continue going on due to injuries and other medical complications from stunt work working on the show. 

TDLR; These are my takes on media and writing tropes that I see way too frequently and I find harmful as they continue to be present in media and writing today influencing people who don't know any better.

[aliceinteyvat]

Genshin Impact Idol AU ideas

So we all know the groups Veechu made with 4nemo, DCKZ, L/yue and, TVT DREAM however, I thought it was a crime the actual idol Barbara wasn’t in a group so, I made my own! I do not have the skills to draw this so, I will be including concept photos by actual groups(older and newer as well as the time in those examples i think suits them just for an example bts run era - dope era for a boy group) for the general vibe. Click on their names for a link to the kpop wiki about them. I also won’t include Lumine because many fans have made their own headcanons for that I like.

Feel free to use the ideas I added to this in fanworks just please credit me for the idea of the groups I made myself if you do. All will be under the read more so mobile users don’t break their fingers trying to scroll past. Wiki links are included for each real world inspiration. If looking for a specific character use ctrl+f on PC to search for them to make your life easier.

Note: their stories can be changed if you would like to make it different for your art/writing/whatever. I just think a bit of drama makes them feel more real. None of the stories are 100% based on any real group even their inspirations aren’t direct copies. As new characters are released/shown in stories I will be adding onto existing groups I made up or, making new ones so if you like my ideas save this and come back to it.

                             7evelUp! [pronounced Level Up!]

A rookie girl group created from the top seven trainees(voted by judges & public vote) in a survival show that quickly gained international fame from their debut single and, performance. No one doubts their talents however, some question how legitimate the voting/ranking was in the show.  No one blames the girls themselves for this and, there is no real evidence to prove this. All of the members believe the show to be real due to their own experiences too although, a few of them due to their low self-esteem believe other trainees would’ve been better suited in the group even if they are thankful for the support. It will take a while for all of them to adjust and, have it all feel real. Will they rise to super stardom or, crack under the immense pressure?

- Members

Amber (leader, main dancer) 3rd place(got the leader position because she is the one who brought every team she was in together to usually win the challenges showing her leadership skills not from ranking)

Barbara (main vocalist,maknae,center) 1st place

Noelle (lead dancer,visual) 6th place

Sucrose (lead vocalist) 7th place

Xiangling (lead dancer, lead rapper)  5th place

Yanfei (main rapper,oldest) 2nd place

Yoimiya (lead rapper, vocalist) 4th place

- Real World Inspirations

Weeekly(Tag Me era - 7Days Tension era)

Girls’ Generation(Into the New World era-Gee era)

TWICE(Like Ooh Aah era - Heart Shaker era)

                                                                                                         SYZYGY

An unconventional girl group with a unique sound. Despite their enormous amount of talent/skill , they haven’t been as successful as their small company had hoped. However, they continue to invest everything they can into this group much to the displeasure of the other idols under the company. Will their burning hot passion find success with the masses or, will they disband early leaving their company in complete ruin?

- Members

Hu Tao (leader, main rapper, vocalist)

Fischl (lead vocalist, lead rapper, maknae)

Mona (lead dancer, vocalist, visual)

Rosaria (main dancer, vocalist, rapper, oldest)

Xinyan (main vocalist, dancer,center)

- Real World Inspirations

Dreamcatcher (Chase Me era - Odd Eye era)

1NB (Stalker era - Once again, Winter era)

                                    1MP@CT [prounced Impact]

A previously underrated boy group that seemingly appeared out of thin air on the #1 spots of all major top music charts. Most attribute their overnight success to their newest song going viral on social media but, some who work within their company secretly wonder if it has anything to do with the CEO’s private life and, the new anonymous investors. Regardless, they have made a name for themselves. They have a work ethic like no other and, will do whatever necessary to rise to the top. Even though fans are starting to worry their agency is pushing them too far. Will they become legendary performers the kind that future generations remember by name or, will their boss’ dirty little secrets make them guilty by association to the press when/if the time comes?

- Members     

Baizhu (leader, lead vocalist, lead dancer)

Dainsleif (main rapper, lead dancer, maknae)

Scaramouche (main dancer, lead rapper, oldest, center)

Albedo (main vocalist,visual)

- Real World Inspirations

Big Bang (Fantastic Baby era - Bang Bang Bang era)

ATEEZ (Wonderland era - Fireworks era)

B.A.P (Badman era - Hands Up era)

                                                    DoDoCo

A junior girl group for kids/tweens made(and managed) by Alice to promote her daughter Klee and, have her gain experience for her dream of being a real idol. Although they perform, act, model and, release music similar older groups they still are children so, their concepts are always wholesome feel-good things to appeal to kid’s even younger their age or, younger. They also don’t have the same restrictions or, work hours due to their age. This group is very popular with Elementary schoolers and, sometimes even their families but, can be annoying to anyone older due to how cheesy it all is.

(Note: I don’t personally agree with kids being idols irl especially some I’ve seen that look like older teen/adult idols it’s scary. However, since it is a thing that exists and, this is a fictional head canon let’s pretend this is a world where none of them get hurt and can live pretty normal lives during & after their time as idols if they choose to do so. I just didn’t want to leave a playable character/important story character out of the AU entirely. Also, Sayu would be here but since she’s not officially released yet and, we don’t know any story about her I think it’s best for her to join later.)

- Members

Klee (leader, main dancer, vocalist, maknae,center)

Diona (main rapper, dancer)

Qiqi (vocalist, oldest)

Yaoyao (main vocalist, rapper)

- Real World Inspirations

RE:KIDS ANGEL (Ocean era) note: also their only era so far it seems but, apparently RE:KIDS is a larger thing with many other kids kpop groups so I assume others would have a similar concept.

CutieL (Debut era - Jungle Journey era)

                                                Dandelion

A girl group that has stayed at the top for the past 7 years known for their elegant concepts although, they have had other concepts in the past(sexy, cute, etc.). Not only is Dandelion super famous but, each member has their own solo careers just as successful. Outside of the group Jean is known for her solo albums and, charity work. Lisa is known for her modelling career and, secretly is a successful author under a pen name. Eula is known for her many wins on dancing contest shows and, the many important roles she plays in dramas. Since this year marks the dreaded 7 year curse fans worry they might disband or, go on a permanent hiatus. Before this year they seemed inseparable to fans but, something happened during their last tour. Jean and, Lisa who were known to be best friends suddenly won’t even sit next to each other. Eula who was usually more reserved during interviews is having to do most of the work since they’re just awkwardly sitting on the opposite sides of her. Eula has never been the best at public speaking and, her blunt responses are causing antis to go on huge smear campaigns on social media. Jean who previously wanted to renew her contract is thinking about starting her own company. Lisa who previously wanted to renew her contract now wants to leave and, join a modelling agency. Eula still wants to renew her contract but, she doesn’t want to be solo yet. She is trying her hardest to get the group back together but, her harsh personality is only making the problem worse she feels. Will they stay together or, will they split? And if they stay together, will it be the same Dandelion fans fell in love with or, are some bridges burned forever?

- Members

Jean (leader, main vocalist, center, dancer)

Lisa (main rapper, visual, sub vocalist, oldest)

Eula (main dancer, vocalist, maknae)

- Real World Inspirations

IZ*ONE (Violeta era - Panorama era)

GFRIEND (Sunrise era - Mago era)

TWICE (Fancy era - Alcohol Free era)

Solo Idols

- Ayaka

From a wealthy Inazuman family Kamisato Ayaka (known as Ayaka) shocked the entire nation when she decided to stop pursuing traditional dance(which she had earned many honors and, was famous for since she was a small child) and, instead go overseas to become an idol. Due to her connections it wasn’t long after becoming a trainee that she was put on the same survival show that formed 7evelUp!. However, her good luck ran out when after filming she got into an accident in her company’s car on the way to her company’s trainee dorms. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured but, she sustained an injury to her ankle that made her unable to perform for the rest of the show and, therefore was disqualified. She was a fan favorite and, everyone was heartbroken that she couldn’t compete. Due to her popularity, her company decided that if she could prove she was able to work after being healed they would let her have a solo debut. She far surpassed their expectations being even better than she was before, resulting in her debuting the same time 7evelUp! did. She doesn’t have any negative feelings towards those girls but, she views them as her rivals. She is quickly gaining popularity for her insane talent in singing, dancing, acting, modelling and, song-writing. She is known to the media as “The Idol Princess” for her family’s wealth, her talent and, her graceful demeanor. Don’t put her into a box though, she can pull off any concept with ease. The question is though, will her company allow her the freedom to express herself to the fullest?

- Real World Inspirations

Note: I am not saying she would be super similar to these artist’s work but, I am saying she has the range and, the potential to reach this level of fame. Since I can’t pinpoint a single solo artist that has what I think she would do I’ll put the ones I think have the insane talent and fame I think she would have as well as a similar feeling although it will take a while for her to get to their level

- IU

- Taeyeon

That was all of the Genshin Impact characters that I know enough about currently to feel comfortable making headcanons for them! Let me know what you think and if you make fanfic of or fanart of these ideas please credit me for these specifically and veechu for the idea of the idol au in general! Feel free to spread this post around if you want to or repost it too with credit. I also would love it if you tagged me if it’s on here or would be kind enough to send me a link to your work/work you find of it.

[differenceonlyyoucanmake]

12 Dancing Princesses Thoughts/ Headcanons/ Assorted Stuff that Came to Me in a Dream

I’m kind of tired, so this may be incomplete. I wanted to put it out there, though. My dreams have mostly been from Courtney’s perspective, not an omniscient one. Because of this, there may be some gaps.

Ashlyn:

- Deserved so much better

- It actually makes me upset. I woke up from one of my 12dp dreams in TEARS because she deserved so much better.

- After Isabella passed, Ashlyn took on the role of being a maternal presence to her sisters. She did this extremely well, but it’s also heartbreaking how she pushed herself to grow up.

- Randolph was not a capable father during the lowest periods of his grief, and Ashlyn definitely had to compensate for this.

- Randolph... could have been kinder to her, especially after the queen died. He couldn’t look Ashlyn in the eyes. She reminded him too much of his late wife.

- Isabella wanted Ashlyn to inherit her belongings and position, but Randolph had his own favorites (I promise I don’t think he was an evil person, but he could have done better).

- I think Ashlyn would identify as bisexual.

- She knew several instruments, but was most attached to the flute. Her most treasured memories involved Isabella giving her flute lessons.

- She was expected to be the mature one all the time, so she repressed a lot of her own frustrations in favor of caring for others.

- She was closest to Blair and Courtney.

- She was a little soft spoken, and one of the most “ladylike”; Ashlyn was one of the sisters who struggled least with Rowena’s lessons.

- The younger sisters had a hard time remembering that she was a person capable of all sorts of feelings. They expected parental behavior from her, and got really confused when she expressed negative emotions.

- Some of the sisters assumed Ashlyn didn’t care for sweets, because she would offer hers to the others whenever they got any. In reality, she thought this was kind behavior. She showed sacrifice in several, seemingly inconsequential, ways.

- Despite seeming so mature, she always felt as if she stopped growing up after her mother passed.

- As the sisters grew up, Ashlyn really struggled with finding her purpose. She didn’t get the power her mother promised her. She put her own ideas and prospects aside to care for her sisters. She ended up floating from kingdom to kingdom, with varying success in several different courts. She eventually came  to live with the other eldest sisters.

- Despite being (in my view) cheated out of her kingdom, Ashlyn seldom expressed frustration or resentment. She adopted the attitude of a retired noble early in life, spending a lot of time on composing music and serene hobbies.

Blair

- horse.... horses..... sleeping in the stables...... with the horses

- I’m kidding! Mostly!

- Blair was bold and opinionated. She also loved witty conversation and comedy.

- What else did she love? Horses.

- She would sneak out all the time to ride.

- Her favorite horse was black and very tall.

- She was closest to Ashlyn and Courtney.

- Blair was sick in childhood.

- Though the older sisters were known for being more refined and elegant, Blair pushed this notion plenty.

- She loved adventure.

- All of the sisters missed the golden pavilion, but Blair struggled with this a lot.

- She didn’t have as many problems with Randolph, but sometimes she would CAUSE problems on purpose (mostly defending Ashlyn and calling out his favoritism).

- She turned her own estate later in life into a close replica of the pavilion. The grounds were massive.

- She was intelligent, but struggled with many academic tasks. If she needed to read something that was challenging, she would often hand it to Courtney for help. She would only have motivation to read if it was about subjects she loved.

- This is ironic, because she later came to be a published writer. I believe these were short works, similar to pamphlets.

- Blair enjoyed throwing and attending large balls and gatherings. She was still chasing the thrill of the magical visits she’d make with her sisters.

- Blair was considered extremely beautiful, and drew admirers wherever she went. She accumulated many pieces of ruby jewelry this way.

- She also liked wearing capes and cloaks.

Courtney

- Generally shy, Courtney made an exception when she stood up for Ashlyn.

- Courtney longed to travel, and books provided her with a form of escapism until she was able to.

- She had a health scare after the events of the movie, and this somehow tarnished her standing in society??

- She wasn’t straight, probably a lesbian.

- She was well read on political matters and the history of their kingdom, and would often be the first one to noticed Randolph’s incompetence in certain areas.

- She was a young teen when she first started rewriting her father’s treaties in her spare time. She learned after the first time not to bring her drafts to him.

- When Ashlyn and Blair left home, she grew closer with Fallon. Both had a streak of wanderlust, and gravitated towards the romantic.

- Courtney published poetry under a pseudonym starting at a young age. This probably helped her somewhat. As she grew up, her poems grew in notoriety, and many debated who their true writer was. A significant portion focused on love between women and feeling trapped.

- I think she had been to Apollonia (Antonio’s kingdom in Island Princess) several times, and knew both Luciana and Antonio from an early age. I think this was the case for many of the older sisters.

- After their mother died, the girls traveled less, and met less new people. Courtney was bothered by this.

- She was generally thought of as calm and quiet, but she felt emotions deeply ( even if she didn’t always express them).

Delia

- Athletic and spunky

- Delia enjoyed more structured sports.

- She was prone to sunburns.

- Delia was enamored with the sun and light. She would hang prisms next to her windows to watch the light refract.

- She was closest with her twin, Edeline. They enjoyed playing croquet together and (though it was usually harmless) gossiping.

- Delia had a temper. She would deal with guilt afterwards if she lashed out at someone.

- Her emotional regulation issues came to light after her mother died.

- Delia dealt with a lot of guilt in general. She didn’t feel as put-together as her older sisters, or as carefree as the younger ones. She felt guilty for not fitting in, and expressed feeling like an inconvenience to those around her.

- Outsiders thought she was dim-witted, and she internalized this.

- Delia often had a problem of interrupting people or speaking loudly, so it was advised that she stay quiet when visitors came. This really hurt her self esteem, since she was always happy to make new friends.

- Rowena had offended her when she was a young girl, and Delia never forgot this.

- Delia liked birds, and hummingbirds fascinated her.

- She had to learn to accept herself later in life. 

- She discovered people who appreciated her for who she was, and finally left her inhibitions behind. 

- After that, she became known for her charisma and charm.

Edeline:

- Edeline shared a lot of interests with her twin, such as sports and outdoor activities.

- She enjoyed making others laugh.

- Once Genevieve married Derek, Edeline took it as her cue to BULLY that poor man.

- Seriously, it probably warded off suitors for her other sisters.

- It was usually in good fun, though.

- Edeline disliked rules and structure.

- She was closest with Delia.

- She often stood up for her twin.

- Edeline had a good ear for gossip, and had her own methods of fact checking stories she’d heard.

- Something happened with her at Genevieve’s wedding?? Maybe she broke something??

- Edeline traveled some, but found her way back home eventually.

- She DESPISED Rowena. None of the sisters liked her, but Edeline couldn’t stand her from the beginning.

- Edeline would have loved to know about the concept of roast humor.

- She liked to have sleepover-like setups in their bedroom. She would build forts and encourage the others to come tell ghost stories. When the memories of her mother came to her, she felt the need to DO something, even if the action wasn’t necessarily related.

- She became known for her humor.

Fallon

- Fallon was pretty much independent, until she and Courtney bonded.

- Fallon always wanted pets, and was jealous that only Genevieve was allowed to have one (besides....bugs and the horses, who were kept outside).

- She would try to befriend wild animals, and nursed some injured animals back to health.

- I don’t think Fallon was straight.

- Fallon was sensitive, and had a hard time dealing with Rowena’s harsh treatment.

- Fallon had nightmares, and would often go to her older sisters for comfort.

- She enjoyed the company of others. She would spend time with servants and other people considered to be below her station.

- Fallon played the harp.

- She loved the softer aspects of life. 

- She devoted time to charitable causes.

- I just know that she did that classic princess trope of posing as a commoner. That’s such a her thing to do.

- She gained a reputation for being eccentrically kind. She had a large family of animals, who she took EXCELLENT care of.

Genevieve

- You may have noticed that the older sisters were generally closer with each other. Well, Genevieve wasn’t, and she made it that way.

- She.... liked to act like she was in charge. She often undermined Ashlyn’s efforts.

- She was Randolph’s favorite.

- Genevieve got along better with the younger sisters, especially Lacey.

- She probably did have leadership skills, but a lot of them came from acting like she did.

- Like I’ve implied above, she got a lot of power after she married, instead of Ashlyn.

- Derek wasn’t a bad person, but he was a COBBLER. How did she get more political power by marrying a COBBLER?

- She butted heads with Blair and Courtney quite often after the events of the movie.

- Basically, she had Main Character Disease dsfghjk

- She traveled less than the other older sisters.

- Admittedly, she wasn’t a poor leader.

- I have a feeling she adopted a lot of children later in life.

- She and Derek had a pretty long transitional period after they married, meaning they spent more time really figuring out who they were as a couple rather than jumping into their duties right away.

- Genevieve kind of symbolized the cutoff for the sisters who had lots of solid memories about their mother and those who didn’t.

- She was one of the best dancers out of the sisters.

- She was brave and self-assured.

- She knew what she wanted, and she would get it.

- After Twyla, she got some other cats. They were mostly orange and/or long haired.

- She never quite shook her habit of being late.

Hadley

- Hadley was closest to their twin, Isla.

- As Hadley grew up, they became more comfortable being gender nonconforming. They may have been trans, but I don’t remember.

- Hadley enjoyed fencing.

- Stilts were Hadley’s first love, and led to appreciation for other daring activities.

- Hadley also loved the ocean. Many of their adventures involved being at sea. They spent years sailing longside their twin on a ship Genevieve gifted them.

- Rumors swirled that they were a pirate. Though these weren’t true, Hadley didn’t mind.

- Hadley was energetic and intuitive.

- Hadley was an athletic risk-taker. They enjoyed acrobatics and other feats of the human body.

- Hadley became known for their adventurous exploits and fencing prowess.

- Though Hadley initially idolized Genevieve, she eventually sided with Ashlyn and the other older sisters once she learned the whole story.

- Hadley stayed with the older sisters after whatever scary thing happened with Courtney.

- Hadley mentored people, and may have been a teacher.

- She really missed the times when all of their sisters got along.

- There were rumors that Hadley was affiliated with darker forces, when in reality Hadley was one of the most well-adjusted.

Isla

- Isla was closest to Hadley.

- Isla liked adventure, but she was less daring than Hadley.

- Isla stayed our of most business involving the older sisters, preferring to spend time with her twin.

- She loved swimming.

- Isla had a collection of maps.

- She was known for being easy going. 

- She sometimes had to bring Hadley down from an idea that seemed too dangerous.

- Isla was the voice of reason in some situations.

- She never lost her passion for dance, and learned new styles through their travels.

- Isla had pet birds.

- She was admired for her grace and acrobatic talent.

- Isla enjoyed circus-like acts.

- She was more bothered by the pirate rumors than Hadley.

- Isla enjoyed researching magic, and trying to find a way back to the magic pavilion. 

- Isla was non-confrontational.

- She tried many forms of artistic expression, from writing to painting.

- Isla was loyal to Hadley, and would be there for her twin no matter what.

Janessa

- Janessa maintained her love of insects.

- Since they were so young when it happened, none of the triplets remember details of the magic pavilion. If their sisters weren’t there to confirm their memories, they would have thought it was a dream.

- Janessa grew up to be very interested in science.

- Janessa found the proper way to care for insects, and took pride in how well she did it.

- She was prone to worrying.

- She often lamented the fact that she was so young when they visited the pavilion.

- Janessa was considered obedient and passive.

- Janessa heard how much she looked like her mother (though not as much as Ashlyn). She had mixed feelings about this, because she couldn’t really remember what her mother looked like.

- Janessa was closest to Kathleen.

- She became close with Edeline and Delia when she got older.

- Janessa knew she wasn’t Randolph’s favorite, and took this personally. She tried, especially in her youth, to gain his approval.

- She also knew that Genevieve preferred Lacey, even though all the triplets looked up to Genevieve.

- Janessa balanced her love for science with her royal duties, and used what power she had to provide exposure and resources to research institutes.

Kathleen

- Kathleen was creative and unconventional.

- She was closest with Janessa, and became close with Isla later in life.

- Kathleen was known for her paintings.

- She started out painting things like landscapes, then moved into less traditional subjects.

- Her royal portraits were renowned in particular. They captured royalty doing activities that were important to them, or in significant fantasy settings.

- She painted portraits of her siblings and father. These became their favorites. She captured: a relaxed Ashlyn writing music, Blair on horseback in mid-air, Courtney in her library, Delia in the sunlight, Edeline in a fantastical outdoor scene, Fallon with her animals, Genevieve dancing, Hadley fencing, Isla swimming, Janessa surrounded by flying insects in the sky, and Lacey at work.

- Though she tried many times, Kathleen was not satisfied with her attempts of painting her mother. She felt like she was simply copying pre-existing portraits.

- The only painting of her mother she was somewhat pleased with was one of Queen Isabella walking away, her back to the viewer as she walked into a golden pavilion.

- Kathleen tried to paint the magic pavilion, and these painting had a fuzzy, dream-like quality.

- Her art gained a significant following.

Lacey

- She was Randolph’s second favorite.

-Lacey was unshakably loyal to Genevieve. She didn’t understand why the older sisters were upset about her being given power and land.

- Lacey struggled with illness as a child. She was inspired by the healing water at the pavilion to study medicine.

- Lacey struggled with muscle strength and coordination well into adulthood.

- Despite this, she continued dancing.

- She looked very similar to Randolph’s relatives.

- She felt the need to defend Genevieve, and would often challenge her older sisters because of this.

- Although Ashlyn never challenged her, Lacey harbored resentment towards her. She blamed Ashlyn for the fact that Genevieve’s approval wasn’t universal.

- Lacey was interested in scientifically based medicine, as well as magical remedies.

- Lacey was always closest with Genevieve, and lived with her for a long time.

- Lacey idolized Genevieve and Derek’s relationship, often heralding it as the pinnacle of romance.

- She searched for a way back to the magical world, believing it contained the key to eternal youth and immortality.

- Lacey didn’t care for travel as much as some of her sisters, but she usually enjoyed when she did leave her own kingdom.

- She grew up to be Genevieve’s closest adviser, and an accomplished healer.

Canon Noncompliant Things

- The sisters left the pavilion by dancing in birth order. Although Derek did leave by dancing with Genevieve, they weren’t responsible for leaving in the first place. Once again, Ashlyn doesn’t get the credit she deserves dfghjk

- Genevieve had an actual wedding, not whatever that was that was shown at the end of the movie. It was smaller than a lot of royal weddings (because Derek didn’t have many connections or people to invite), but it was a serious affair. 

[bixqueen]

so thanks to hboMAX my pretty little liars obsession has started up again and when i watched pll the first time all the way thru (yes sadly it’s been more than once i have a life but also don’t) my favorite character was alison. as i’ve watched it more it changed (emily or spencer is prob my fav now) but going through tumblr, instagram, and even pinterest, i feel alison gets too much shit/hate from the fandom. so here i am, making a justification for her. if you really don’t want to see my side or pov then just keep scrolling because i don’t really want to see negativity in the comments (unless you’ll actually say something, a rebuttal?)

so let’s start off with alison being a small child and her household/family. we know how her parents would manipulate her and tell her lying is better than telling the truth. she’s had these really bad influences on her at such a young age (with secrets overflowing her house) and when you continue to have these influences on you as you’re mind is maturing, of course you’re going to eventually go through with them. now yes i know the other girls also had lying parents but were any of them as bad as alisons? i mean some things spencer’s parents kept and arias but they were also older at that point (middle of high school and up). i’m not saying it’s okay but they knew at that point in their life what’s wrong and right and for the most part they had been raised to not lie. alison wasn’t. eventually her lies caught up to her as well so even though she learned the hard way to tell the truth, she eventually did.

now we’re getting into the high school stage where there were MANY points as to why she would’ve ran away. if the writers wanted a better redemption arc for her i feel they would’ve shown her a little more broken in some scenes and such but anyways. freshman year isn’t absolute hell but it’s not fun either. having the mindset of making sure you’re not the one who will get hurt obviously forces you to have this wall and makes you a lot more mean than you really are. (i really feel this was a wasted potential by the writers not going more in depth about her mental pain but shit they didn’t do it with anyone tbh). her whole life kinda had build ups to her being so secretive and closed away (again if the writers went into more depth on this we would’ve seen maybe some trauma that causes her to be closed off and push everyone away. not wanting to show weaknesses) from everyone so it definitely wasn’t hard for her to find that bitchier side and let it off on everyone, not that it’s right, it just made her feel safe and protected. a main factor of this was probably being closeted. i myself am a bisexual girl so i know how it feels to question yourself the way she most likely did. it’s scary. really fucking scary. because you don’t know if there’s something wrong with you at first or if it’s just a stage and you’ll most likely pass it. it’s why i believe her relationship with emily was why she had no big deal leaving rosewood. yes we know she was being tormented by A before the girls were and she wanted to leave so she could be safe. but even with that there would need to be some other factors that kicked in to her actually leaving. A in the beginning for JUST alison was kinda like a bully right? i mean a little more extreme than that but it wasn’t as bad as it was when it started hitting with the other 4 girls. so if alison THE alison dilaurentis was being bullied by someone too scared to show who they really are, wouldn’t she just laugh some of it off? alison WANTED to leave before mona gave her the option. she was scared. and not just of A, but of who she was. and who she loves.

if we’re looking at what alison does for emily versus the other girls while they’re being tormented by A, you can tell she cares for her more. she saved emily more than anyone else. she said leaving emily was the hardest part of it all. because alison was in love with emily, just like emily was in love with her back. obviously running away and faking your death isn’t the best option for having internal panics, some people just don’t know how to manage it. especially being the bold person everyone sees and talks about. imagine seeing her walk out of some therapy session teary-eyed. she’d feel so weak in that moment, so vulnerable. isn’t that one of her biggest fears? people seeing she’s not as strong as she comes off to be and they can use that against her. her fear for being vulnerable also brings me to her being SO scared coming back to school after faking her death. ali, the queen bee, is terrified. this kinda brings to me childhood pain (personally this is why i thought of it lol rip). maybe her family thought showing emotions was weakness you know? and when you open up they kinda laugh at you and they’re like “you think you’re life is hard?? you’re a kid.” (i’m sure i’m not the only person who’s heard this mf bullshit bedore). where i’m going with that though, is it could’ve been placed in her head at a very young age (also this is so dehumanizing and traumatic damn but it makes sense) that you have to shut out all feelings and emotions. it really makes people numb and being emotionally numb as a child and teen is dangerous for brain growth and development. makes sense why it took her forever to feel safe and okay opening up to emily about her feelings and showing emotions around the girls. when you’re seen as this “bitch” who doesn’t make down from a fight, it forces you to turn emotionless.

so the way she acted out the night she went missing and her freshman year wasn’t ideal and it really wasn’t okay. but the audience never saw what she was going through mentally, hell even after that. we see it a little when she comes back and talks about the night she went missing. imagine your own mother burrying you alive. god the trauma that must STILL have on her. being under pounds of dirts, unable to move or talk. your own mother doing this to you to save someone else. i’m not trying to put it as she’s only been through things and no one else has cus of course that’s not the case. i just think people often dismiss her pain and trauma and just say “she’s a bad person and deserves the shit she’s been through.”

i’d also like to add her type of crowd she was around wasn’t the best sort of people. imagining being a freshman and hanging out with college kids who would throw some girl down a flight of stairs. i feel like that also had an impact on her mental health and what she believed was okay to an extent because i mean verbally bullying isn’t okay but at least sis never pushed someone down the stairs 😭 (worst thing she did is definitely blinding jenna. i really don’t know how to defend her actions for that one. you could say she didn’t know anyone was in there? or that she didn’t know she had- it was a firework right?)

last point i can think of: paige vs alison. of course i have to add this lol but my main point with this is both girls were mean to each other. did alison start it by calling her names and such? most definitely. do i think paige should’ve retaliated? to an extent. but she went as far as teaming up with others to have alison go to jail for a crime she didn’t commit. their revival wasn’t just one sided and again i think people often forget that. they’re continuously like going against each other at every chance they got. it was funny but also got annoying. ali would shit talk to paiges face then paige would go whine and cry about it to emily to turn emily on her side. i mean did we forget paige manipulated emily against alison? (yes ik alison was the manipulation queen when she was younger). really what i’m going with this is that they’re more alike than they’ll admit to an extent. me personally, i like alison and emison more. i never really liked paily but paige grew less annoying in later seasons. but when comparing them, i believe paige had more damage on emily than alison did. even when alison was ‘dead’ she still saved emily’s life at times (including the other 3 girls) and did things to protect them. i don’t remember paige saving emily just trying drowning her because she was a little jealous. another thing i know someone will try to bring up about them is how “alison was never happy for emily” well shit bro neither was paige 😭 i’m on season 7 right now and there were some times paige took a liking into stalking emily while she was dating that girl who worked in the cafe (sorry i can’t remember her name rn). and when emily talked about being with that girl she was kinda like 😐 k. alison is the type to speak or show her mind while paige seems to keep to herself then shit talk others behind their back. both qualities aren’t exactly the best so both ‘sides’ can go against each other for years on this. they’re just more alike than people realize.

anyways, there’s that. if you have any opinions (WHERE YOU’LL ACTUALLY ARGUE SOMETHING AND NOT JUST SHIT TALK ME!!) feel free to leave a reply. and if i left out something you want me to add in i will :) have a good day <3

[anotherfandomok]

The emphasis on coming out in Love Victor (and pretty much all queer media aimed at teens) is bad, actually.

I was having a conversation with a Baby Gay this morning who had just finished Love, Victor, and they wanted to talk to me about the ending. (Disclaimer: I did love the show, but I also know that we need to criticize the things we love when they deserve it.) I was super excited to have a conversation about it, but then they asked me, and I quote, "Do you have to hurt the people you love when you come out?" And I've been thinking about that all day because that fucking broke my heart. This kid told me that watching Love, Simon and then Love, Victor scared them because of how similar the two stories were even if the circumstances were different.

And as someone who watched both the movie and show after having already come out to those closest to me, I didn't even consider that perspective. But I've been thinking about it all day. I have been saying that the emphasis on coming out in media for queer teens is dangerous and harmful. We know that for some (read: a lot, unfortunately) people, it is not safe for them to come out. Every pride month I see amazing posts circulating that tell people not to feel pressured to come out if they aren't ready or if it isn't safe. Other people have spoken on that topic, so I want to specifically discuss the movie and the show and their implications.

In Love, Simon, he is outed after being blackmailed. His friends abandon him after he is outed because of what he did while he was being blackmailed. They never apologize. Simon's 'coming out' is made into a mess of drama to advance the plot. In Love, Victor, he means to tell Mia but hasn't yet worked up the courage when she finds out. The situation there is a little more nuanced because she obviously has a right to feel upset at being cheated on and not informed (however, the fault does not entirely lie with Victor because we've established that making coming out mandatory is problematic and harmful). The thing about both of these forms of media is that the main character's coming out is surrounded by drama and negative emotions from those closest to them. (This is also completely ignoring the cliffhanger of Love, Victor where he comes out to his quite possibly homophobic parents, which is a different but related issue depending on where the writers take it).

Introducing these kinds of conflict around coming out to advance the plot of a movie or show centers cishet people in queer narratives. It implies that the experiences and opinions of straight people are more important to consider during someone's coming out than the actual queer person's internal struggles to get to that place of trust. Now, obviously, coming out is sometimes bad or doesn't go well. However, by only portraying coming out as something that negatively impacts your life in the incredibly small amount of queer media made for teens, this narrative claims that you also always have to overcome even more unnecessary and scary things because you came out, aside from coming out!

Coming out is scary enough! We need diverse representations of coming out in media! I know so many queer people, and I do not know a single queer person who's experiences even come close to mirroring Simon's or Victor's in that way. They may have one or two of the aspects, but not all of them. Some people choose to not come out to their parents! And it's hard, and it sucks, but it is an option (obviously not always, but let me generalize for a second). You can be happy without coming out, and coming out does not always have disastrous results!

These types of media are pushing completely opposite assertions! 1) that you Have To Come Out or you can Never Be Happy or valid or fulfilled or loved (clearly not true, and very dangerous!) and 2) that coming out will always uproot the most important areas of your life and cause emotional distress to those you love (also not true!) The pressure of these two expectations put together is more than any queer person should have to deal with.

We need queer media for teenagers to do better. I am eternally grateful that I was able to have this conversation with the kid who messaged me this morning, but so many queer kids don't have anyone to turn to or ask about stuff like that! So if you're a queer kid who has similar worries after watching these movies or shows that everyone says you have to love and relate to, you aren't alone. I am here for you, I support you, and I love you. If anyone needs to talk please feel free to message me.

tl;dr Love, Simon and Love, Victor are part of a narrative that tells queer kids that they have to come out while simultaneously telling them that coming out will always go badly and cause pain. This is wrong and harmful.

[muffinlance]

Hi Muffin! I rlly want to write, & love writing character interactions, but whenever I go "ok brain, it's time to come up with a Plot" my brain is like "I can offer u a vibe, mayhaps a character arc you'd like to see, but No Specifics! Only vibe" :// I rlly admire your Powers of Plot; do you have any advice or tips on How To Make The Plot Exist? If you've already answered something like this/don't want to, I'm so sorry, just take my well-wishes & dw abt it 😅 Sending good vibes your way!!

Okay, so! A good character arc can be a plot. I'll focus on that type of story, since it seems like your style already leans that way.

I'll be using Salvage as an example, 'cause that's my most character-arc-focused story. The plot is unashamedly "Hakoda adopts one (1) prickly Fire Prince". People know exactly what's gonna happen going in, but I'm still getting compliments on the "complex plot". No. No, the plot is not complex, the plot is dead simple. Let us examine how I window dressed it so it feels complex.

Multiple Simultaneous (But Out of Sync) Character Arcs: Everyone on that crew is going to adopt Zuko, and Zuko is going to kick and scream and be adopted. These are givens, no particular tension there. Generally when you're running a character arc focused story, the reader already knows the outcome; the trick to keeping them engaged is the timing. By having the crew accept Zuko at different times and after different triggers (Kustaa is pretty much on board as soon as this half-dead teen starts grumping at his "Uncle", Toklo falls in love at first warm bath, Bato through burn bonding, etc), it feels like I'm doing a plot. Hakoda and Zuko themselves are saved for last, because that's what people most want to see.

Have you ever read a fic where the writer gets to the "good part" too early? AKA, the thing you really wanted to happen finishes in like, chapter two, and you're sitting there with a vaguely unfulfilled feeling because it was too easy? That's what you want to avoid.

On the other extreme, there's the "we're 40 chapters in and it doesn't make sense that they still hate each other" fics.

Whatever your key character arc is, make sure you're only drawing it out as long as it makes sense. And don't be afraid to sprinkle sweet sweet breadcrumbs of progress. In my story, that would be Hakoda realizing more and more that he is dealing with an Actual Child and adjusting accordingly.

EX: At the start of the story he almost guts Zuko for accidentally bending; by the time Bato comes aboard, he's ready to talk the kid down from a just-burned-someone panic attack. I maintain tension not with Hakoda unrealistically clinging to his assumptions about this kid, but by having him and Zuko out of sync--Hakoda trusts Zuko not to intentionally hurt his crew. Zuko does not trust Hakoda not to hurt him. Note that Zuko himself is also progressing, though--his actions show he's much more relaxed around the crew, and is starting to trust that when Hakoda says things he won't just change them.

Which is exactly the problem in the Bato chapter: Zuko trusts Hakoda to follow through on his word. Meanwhile, Hakoda made that "firebend and I kill you" rule back before he knew Zuko. Natural tension! Natural tension based in character growth!

External Driving Events (positive AND negative): Character arcs are internal affairs; external events help prod them along. Think to yourself what events--positive and negative--will help push things in the right direction. You want to roughly alternate these, as a general rule, though they can be weighted differently in the narrative.

EX: in the early chapters, Zuko aggravated the crew A Lot over multiple consecutive instances. Then I did the laundry scene where there was relatively pleasant bonding and This Explains So Much. Narratively, there was about equal word count given to all the small aggravations as the laundry scene, so even though it was one positive event v many negative, it felt "in balance" to reader!brains.

Mind you that events don't need to be action-packed: "doing laundry" is not exactly a chase scene. But it was emotionally satisfying, which is what a character arc story needs.

Background Noise: The size of your story (short, novella, novel, series) will determine how much you want to play with this, but background noise is key for making a world and character interactions feel real/lived in. These are the little things like having a ship dog--Scuttles/Sokka/Seal Jerky is not plot necessary. But having him there fleshes out the personality of scenes in small but "this feels authentic" ways--like the crew teasing Hakoda by calling him "Sokka", and later the crew siding with Zuko on calling him "Seal Jerky" to tease Bato, the OG Dog Namer. Background noise, as a general rule, should not revolve around your main characters--its a natural consequence of the background characters also being people who are living their lives with their own realistic character dynamics.

TL;DR: have multiple character arcs that progress naturally. Keep them out of sync to maintain tension. Use external events to prod development forward; make sure to alternate positive and negative events. Show that the minor characters are also Real People by incorporating background noise.

Now go write something, 'cause that's the only way you'll ever actually figure this out.

[legends-live-in-memories]

I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1

lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.

im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.

Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.

So… a disclaimer before I begin… 

I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…

If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)

This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion, 

which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.

Now onto the fun stuff

I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing… 

AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).

So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.

The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.

 i don’t give a solid fuck. 

Not one. 

Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically. 

And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.

This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss. 

AND BOI is it a miss. 

SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)

25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story, 

24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,

28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,

37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,

41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,

44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,

47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,

48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,

51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,

66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,

67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,

68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,

69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,

70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,

71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,

73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)

 77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,

New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,

That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because. 

Too bad it means nothing.

Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)

Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.

Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing. 

I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time. 

How’s that for a ‘first’ post?

[chillin-at-partys-bar]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme

fill out & repost ♥  This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO (Though he’s only in a few panels, I think he ends up being many people’s first fave?)

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO 

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO

Are they underrated? YES / NO (I think he’s very nicely rated, but also parts of him need more attention)

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL 

How strictly do you follow canon?

I try to follow what is known at the moment. I’ve done math to figure out when people would be joining his crew, and I try to stick as close to canon as I can. However, we don’t know a lot about him or his crew honestly, so I end up supplementing a lot of my own things. I do have an intense, crippling fear of being wrong so I try to only make safe headcanon guesses even though I know most people won’t care. Also, I'm not a huge fan of no women seen so far on his ship so I just... adjust some things and stick my OCs there. I have a feeling I know part of why there aren’t any women, and I don’t like it even if it fits in with sailor and pirate lore, so I’m just gonna fix that bit. Shanks is so decent otherwise. 

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

Shanks has a lot of different parts to him. He’s great because he can get along with most everyone for an evening of drinking. He doesn’t care who you are, and he’s really hard to upset but he can definitely troll other characters very well. He’s kind and will rescue your character from certain death if need be, but he’s also strong and will challenge them if they threaten those he loves. He can be a really fun character to ship with as he loves very hard and people mean a lot to him. So if someone writes with him he is guaranteed to have strong thoughts on yours and will be more than likely to call them a friend by the end of the day. He’s also very attractive and good with kids, so that’s nice. He’s very much a pirate too, so if you want a pirate for your story but you don’t want the kind that will strike you down, he’s a great option. He’s forgiving too so you can screw him over and he’ll find a way to forgive you. Maybe. Depends on the kind of screw up. He’s also got a long range in terms of moments to play in his life, some really dramatic canon moments and some headcanoned ones. So it’s very possible to write with kid, teen, young adult, and adult Shanks. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?

It can be a bit difficult to create conflict with Shanks. Although it lets him pull off some great crack moments and have some great fun chaos, it also means that even powerful antagonists are hesitant to challenge him or fight him. Or even bring harm to him as canonically it means starting a fight with the Red Hair Pirates - which it’s also canon that not many are eager to do. This means a lot of the threads end up being talking or verbal threats as the opponent may make threats or Shanks will threaten but he doesn’t feel action is warranted unless action is done against him or a friend (if that makes sense). And even then circumstances mean a lot. I’d love to be able to play more physical rps and put him in more harrowing positions, but it’s difficult with how powerful he is and his reputation. 

What inspired you to rp your muse?

I actually really, really like pirates. I have some books on pirates and I’m really drawn to stories about pirates. A long, long, long time ago I had just read a cheesy romance novel called To Catch a Pirate and I really wanted another book where the pirates weren’t necessarily the bad guys. I was volunteering my summers at the library at the time and they had the first volume of One Piece. I set my sights on Shanks and never looked back. He’s just everything I crave in a pirate story. The dashing rogue with a heart of gold, you know. So I was sold. 

What keeps your inspiration going?

I think just the character and the new interactions that we get to come up with. Also, he’s a really unique character to rp culture as well. He’s insanely powerful, which is something that is more frowned upon with creating OCs for better or worse. Also, because he really won’t abuse this power except for like, something silly, I get to really play with him. I feel I also get to help people play with versions of their characters they haven’t been able to play before. Characters who are used to strong-arming and violence to get their way suddenly can’t do that, because Shanks is too powerful. So they have to come up with another way to express themselves and seeing these muns work with their characters to figure that out is really fun. 

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you do your character justice? YES / NO

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO

Do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

I’m going to be honest. I really need to steel myself for criticism. I’m a perfectionist to the point where it’s really, really bad sometimes and I have walked away from a character because one person said they didn’t like how I played them. I try to go back to that character but I just can’t really. RP is fun for me, and I want this world to be a place where I can feel free to do what I want. So I prefer no feedback here. 

In before someone says “but criticism is how you grow” - okay. I get that. I really do. I’m a graduate student so I’ve had feedback from teachers. I have a few writing groups where I get feedback on my creative work. I get feedback on things that are meant for a larger audience and I get the feedback often. It hurts a bit but I am getting tougher. A few weeks ago, my group ripped apart (in the nicest way possible) a comedy sketch I was proud of. It took a bit to get over but now it’s better than before. 

So here I might not open things up for critique. I don’t really want to hear it (I accept positivity because I’m a jackass like that). If you don’t like how I write Shanks, that’s fine. Please don’t tell me and leave me be and let me do this my way. If you want to critique something of mine, let me know and I’ll give you a short story, some character notes for a book, one of my sketches, my sitcom pilot script, or my full-length movie treatment, hell I have a 2500-3500 word reflection essay for my grad program due next week so read that. Those- feedback, yes please. I need them to be stellar. This? No. Shanks is my toy and I’m here for fun not to worry and stress and get anxious about posting.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?

I accept questions! I also accept questions asking about my decisions. Those I don’t view as criticism and working through my thought process can be helpful. Some answers might not be as complete as others but I definitely do accept them!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

Not really. I don’t even want to know they disagree unless it’s a huge problem. I had a disagreement over a headcanon once get super out of control and the person got angry with me so... I really don’t want to know. Unless it’s something significant I guess? But I can’t think of anything that would be of that magnitude. I just want to have a good time. Please just let me have fun my way and if you really hate it, just write Shanks yourself and let me be. 

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

I don’t want to know. This is the theme here. Just don’t tell me. I don’t see the point in telling me you don’t like how I write. I am very sensitive sometimes and I’m working hard through therapy and my own work to not be so sensitive, but I’m just not prepared for that sort of feedback here. In my writing groups, yes - definitely prepared for disagreement and push back on decisions. Here? No. Please no. If you hate my version of the character that much, please just block me. Or just vanish into the abyss. Don’t tell me. I will try to avoid being sad about it but I will not be successful. I know it’s not great and I really don’t want people to try and tell me to get over things like this because I know I need to and I’m working on it but gyah. Now I’m upsetting myself, haha. i cry easily guys. 

Some people: i don’t care if the truth hurts. I’d choose the truth over a lie any day. 

Me: no just fucking lie to me if you have to tell me something. let me be ignorant here.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

I’m sure some people hate Shanks. And that’s different from hating my portrayal. He’s not my character, so whatever you want to do go ahead and hate. I don’t like a bunch of other characters in the world. Just remember whenever shitting on a character, and this is something I learned while interning at Marvel this last year: every character is someone’s favorite. So in Marvel that meant you had to treat every character with respect. Even if it’s like, Electro in Spider-Man - he’s someone’s favorite character so treat him with respect. That doesn’t mean let him get his way, just don’t treat him like junk or a filler. 

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

See above with “trouble making mistakes.” Also, but why?

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?

Wow, this whole thing makes me look difficult - doesn’t it? I’m really just here for fun and to enjoy myself and have a good time writing. I do think I’m pretty laid back about things, I don’t have triggers and I’m really forgiving about mistakes. If someone needs to talk to me about something technical that’s fine and I love hearing ideas. I just also want to keep this as a place for fun, you know? I want to make sure I’m not afraid to come on here and write some things, so I just try to make it a space for me to be comfortable. 

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

➸  Tagger: @godlivesonthemoon and @seraphiixa ((thank you guys so much!!))

➸ Tagging: u and ur face

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - O Maidens in Your Savage Season

Mari Okada’s finest work to date, potentially her magnum opus, and the most complete treatise on teenage sexuality I’ve seen in the medium to date. (Eat your heart out, Darling in the FRANXX.)

Here we go with a very heavy show about which I have thoughts. Very rarely is an adult able to connect with the teenage experience in such an intimate way as Okada has managed with the cast of this show, and it’s the most honest depiction I’ve ever seen. The beautifully developed and nuanced cast, in-universe a group of friends experiencing their “Spring Awakening” together in very different ways, are a vertical slice of the diverging paths that people (particularly women) take to get to a point in their lives of being comfortable with sexuality. I’m going to invoke some spoilers here, but only because I really want to do a deep dive on this in order to really do it justice.

Starting with the simplest one, we have “I’ve never thought about it, but now that I am, there’s this guy...”, our main character Kazusa, who starts the series off with a bang by encountering her best (male) friend next door masturbating in his bedroom, and is forced all at once to process the evolution of her childhood friend Izumi, from kid she grew up with, into a man with physical interest in women, even if he doesn’t really have that part figured out for himself yet. Izumi, for his part, doesn’t quite know enough about his own body to know that a physical reaction isn’t necessarily an emotional one, and spends the story grappling with what it means that he gets turned on by a girl who isn’t his girlfriend, even if he is firmly committed not to cheat on her. These two are only the beginnings of realistically-confused high schoolers who don’t understand their own bodies (and the subtext of Japan’s woefully inadequate sexual education practices).

Second, we have “trying very hard not to think about it, to the point of shunning men entirely in order to remain pure”, our Literature Club president Sonozaki is utterly ashamed of herself every time physical intimacy so much as crosses her mind, demonstrating a very firmly-rooted Madonna-whore complex that is fairly easy to understand once we see her strict parents for the first time. Outside influences, particularly family ones, can affect the way a person thinks in a very toxic and negative way, and we can tell right from the beginning that her internal (and then external) judgment and slut-shaming of her more extroverted classmates is not doing her any favors and is actively keeping her from being able to make friends. It takes a boy so innocent that he stays away from stimulating thoughts while he’s around her (because he wants to take it slow) and really put in the effort to take her walls down to finally get her to admit that she’s trapped herself in her own head.

Third, Momo, is in a particularly complicated spot as her feelings don’t really start materializing until well into the story, because she has the biggest hurdle to clear - the idea that she is not straight, which in Japan, is not particularly welcomed. Her friends are not able to catch onto her inner emotions and end up creating a pile of massive errors in judgment that lead to her nearly having a breakdown because the enigmatic girl she likes keeps talking about how much she wants to have sex with boys, and a series of miscommunications only making her feel like her sexuality is wrong and inappropriate, when the reality is that she just doesn’t have an appropriate target to point it at and basically nobody she can talk to for advice. Ultimately Momo doesn’t see quite as much of a conclusion as the others, which makes sense - not only would it be difficult for her to find closure in the environment she’s in, but her struggle with sexuality is bound to last her much longer than high school,

Said enigmatic girl, Niina, has an even more uncomfortable set of problems - she’s a former child theatre actress who was victimized by her director, a repeat-offender pedophile, and is now fighting mentally against the trauma that he inflicted on her. Her feelings are a crazy cocktail of spite towards him for putting her in a compromised position - even if he didn’t rape her - and disappointment that he doesn’t see her as interesting enough to pursue any longer, because she’s grown into “womanhood”, and she’s terrified of the idea that nobody will ever love her the way she imagines he did. The director coerces her into kindling a teenage romance in order for her to vent her emotions, and that manifests as a sexual attraction towards Izumi, a feeling she knows she shouldn’t have but can’t help but want to act on, getting herself tangled up by insisting that one can fully separate emotion and sex when she clearly isn’t able to do so herself. Her story finally culminates in her moving on from her past when she truly begins to understand just how badly her former director really hurt her.

And, most complicated and delicate of all, the girl who wants to badly to be sexually mature that she pursues an inappropriate relationship with an older man in a position of power over her. While it’s certainly not a stretch to say that Hongo’s story is an exaggeration, it’s not as much of one as we would hope, and indeed her insistence forces her teacher - a man with whom she had been anonymously roleplaying online before they discovered each other’s identities - to essentially play chicken with her in order to get it through her head that she’s not as much of an adult as she thinks she is. I want to commend Okada here for the incredibly risky balancing act she took on with this storyline, as we do understand the entire time that Milo-sensei is not willing (or able) to actually engage with his student, despite how far he’s willing to go to demonstrate the reality of the situation Hongo is pursuing. It’s uncomfortable to watch, and that’s a deliberate decision on the part of the creator of the show; she’s going so far to pursue her idea of what sex looks like that she isn’t properly registering the reality of the situation and the lasting damage she could potentially do to both of them.

All of these storylines collide in a nine-car pileup that finally forces the cast to communicate what they’ve learned about themselves with each other in a way that seems a little bit forced in the context of the story - they essentially wind up playing Symbolism: The Game - but the scene that comes out of it works well enough to salvage the situation and get most everybody on the track towards putting their hangups behind them that we’re able to end on a note of hope for the future of these characters after a long build-up of complete adolescent confusion, a violent chemical reaction that’s caused them all to spiral out of control and make rash decisions, a very Savage Season indeed.

Okada never seems to take quite the direction you expect towards her thematic conclusions, and even sometimes doesn’t present them at all when it’s appropriate - these kids are, well, kids, and they have a long walk ahead of them on this particular road - but they’ve been handled with so much care and verisimilitude so far that you can expect them to be okay someday in the future. These teens were a lot of us when we were younger, and they’re a lot of kids that are out there today - and I hope that they manage to figure things out, too.

9/10.

[lightsandlostbells]

Hi! This was prompted by people excusing the Williams’s behavior as “realistic,” but I really hate when the remakes do problematic things and people excuse it as “realism.” It’s like when Nico said the n word and people said “it’s realistic to Italy and that’s what Skam it all about. Skam is supposed to show people being problematic because it’s realistic.” While that’s true, the characters usually learn from their problematic behavior (sometimes they don’t, but that’s another story). (1)

Skam is supposed to educate and help teenagers. Also, as you’ve pointed out before, Skam is very idealistic and it annoys me to no end when people excuse problematic aspects of the remakes by saying “it’s realistic.” I’m telling you this because you’re one of the main accounts I know who understands this. I’m just tired of constantly seeing this excuse whenever there’s some kind of discourse about a remake. (2)

Agreed completely. I feel like it’s especially transparent when people are quick to use “realism” as a defense for criticisms of the show, like characters being racist or sexist, but will similarly downplay or tell you to get over the less “realistic” aspects of various remakes - things like casting actors well into their twenties to play teenagers, or Italian Sana’s casting, or scenes that simply feel more out of a dramatic Hollywood fantasy of high school rather than something that would actually happen to real teenagers. It’s also telling to me that people talking about Skam’s “realism” are usually referring to the negative features of the characters or show, the clips that spotlight anger and misery, the dialogue that shows off casual bigotry, as if reality is constant ugliness. Happiness and empathy and kindness are rarely lauded as “realistic” even though they do have a place in the world. 

I have seen people genuinely say things like “Skam isn’t supposed to be educational, it’s supposed to be realistic” and I have no idea what show people watched, because Skam has been educational from the beginning. It has been since the series was conceived. It may not always be successful at it but the educational aspects are baked into the characters, the dialogue, the stories Julie chose to tell. And Skam’s idealism is very, very clear. I could list tons of examples. I mean … listen to Jonas’ speech in the finale. The last words of the show are Fear spreads, but fortunately, love does too. How do you hear that and think the intended message of the show was anything but idealism? It acknowledges that things suck, but encourages viewers to strive for the best parts of reality.

I feel like we have to recognize that Skam meant a hell of a lot to many fans, not just as a piece of entertainment with twists and drama and copious amounts of people walking in slow motion, but as something personal and touching, and much of that impact came from its educational nature and idealism. Is it fair to ask that from the remakes, too? Well, I certainly don’t think it’s unfair. They are borrowing the Skam brand name, the stories, the characters, the dialogue. Of course it’s totally fine for them to adapt the shows to the different settings and to make changes big and small - but I have to ask: if the remakes were not interested in helping teenagers of their own cultures the same way that the original show was (no matter Skam’s flaws - I don’t want to put it on a pedestal) - then what’s the point? Why recreate Skam instead of coming up with their own juicy teen drama? You can’t help but think they’ve missed the heart of the original show and are just producing a shallow copy. Or you end up with a more cynical interpretation, that a remake uninterested in educating or helping youth is being made primarily to profit from an existing success - and honestly, all of the remakes were probably hoping to score some of Skam’s popularity, but at least you can hope that the production teams do have more benevolent intentions. Is that naive? I don’t think so. I think Skam, whatever its flaws, did have more clearly altruistic motivations behind its creation than the majority of television series (which also affects how people engage with it, but that’s perhaps another topic), so it is possible, and I definitely think that on the whole, there are a lot of people involved with the remakes who listen to teenagers and want to reach them and help them. But it’s OK to speak out when you think there’s been a misstep.

And I do get that a lot of backlash comes from clashes in an international fandom consuming multiple versions of the same stories from different cultures with different standards for what is or isn’t problematic, and I get that a lot of people really just want to have a good time with a TV show they enjoy and not be made to feel guilty about it or to wade through 1000 angry posts about a throwaway line that offended other people. I don’t know about everyone, but Tumblr is most definitely a Fun Time thing for me. When a fandom ceases to be fun and is just all rage and bitterness, I tend to dip out, because I don’t need to fill my free time with those negative emotions. But at the same time, I recognize that people can be hurt or angered by media and that it’s not my place to tell people to suck it up and stop complaining.

(Also, just because something is realistic does not mean you need to like it, either? Skam Austin could have been set instead in a very white area of the US, with all the characters written as Trump supporters. That would be very realistic for parts of the US. That doesn’t mean I have to be OK with that choice.)

(And … it’s not a documentary. Despite whatever research the teams have done, these aren’t real people. These are characters who have writers, directors, and actors putting words in their mouths. The writing can be technically “realistic” but still playing into tired, offensive tropes - if Even had killed himself at the end of S3, that would have been “realistic.” Depressed people can commit suicide. But should we have just accepted that? Should we have been OK with the typical tragic Bury Your Gays ending with the mentally ill person whose life ends in suffering? Or maybe, just maybe, there was a point to Julie Andem deliberately subverting those expectations, and maybe the intent was not just to create a TV series that would make the audience cry but to uplift and heal them?)

Anyway. I feel like we need to move beyond just using “it’s realistic” as a shield for criticism. Like if a character uses a racist, misogynistic, or homophobic slur - is there a point to it in the scene? Is it being called out? Is it being used to critique a racist/misogynistic/homophobic environment? Do we see how the slur affects the marginalized characters it refers to, or is it just tossed around by the privileged characters who are unaffected? Does anyone react to it at all? If the slur is presented without objection or commentary, does it come across as if the show is normalizing the word rather than condemning it? Could the scene have functioned just as well without the slur? And so on. Just stopping at “it’s realistic so people shouldn’t have a problem with it” is lazy and simplistic. We can ask better from our media, especially a show like Skam that is intended to not just to depict its target audience accurately, but to demonstrate positive messages and solutions for tough situations.

[taenys]

“does it bother you that i’m still friends with *insert ex’s name here*”

oof. wasn’t ready for that one. my brain shut down the moment he said it. the way it shuts down whenever he mentions talking to her. yes, it does bother me that he’s still friends with his ex, but not for the reasons he probably thinks and not for any reasons i felt i could share during the car ride home (honestly probably a better discussion to have in writing, i might cry in person lmao). it’s not because i’m stupid and jealous and feel "threatened.”

it’s because a few weeks ago i made the grave error of snooping deeper into her facebook, and seeing a link to her personal writing blog. i too am a writer, a poor one yes, but still. and so i wanted to see her own work, torture myself and see what kind of romantic sonnets she may have written while she was with tom. i figured they’d be beautiful. and what can i say, i love to suffer.

anyways, i went back to 2010 on her blogspot, to when they first started dating and i saw?? nothing about him? nothing about her feelings for him? which freaked me out because why wouldn’t she document her journey falling in love with tom. i mean, i certainly have on my own blog. all she wrote about was about her ex. romantic stuff about missing said ex. did i have my dates mixed up maybe? no, no. because then there was a post where she literally says she’s still in love with her ex while she’s with tom and how she knows that makes her a shitty girlfriend. um yeah. very fucking shitty. did tom know this going in? i know tom dropped everything and moved across the country for her (he told me that before), but did he do that knowing she felt this way? did he sacrifice so much of himself knowing she loved someone else? if so, why? i have to assume she was tom’s “great love,” you know? that one “epic” love of your life that presumably only happens once. which is why he was willing to do seemingly ANYTHING for her.

when i think about it now, i can’t picture tom being that way. he’s too mature and sensible now. i have to assume he learned a lot from that relationship, and a lot of his outlook on dating has shifted over the years as a result. his dating profile had something like “i’m not looking for someone to ‘complete’ me” and emphasized that he’s perfectly happy on his own. that’s definitely not the same person who dropped his whole life, school, work, family, friends, and moved across the country to be with the girl he loved...that’s the kinda shit you read in cheesy teen romance novels and corny movies (that i love, btw). but still, it was a lot. and he did that for her without hesitation. and just purely based on her personal blog ramblings, she didn’t show a lot of gratitude for it. maybe that’s just because she only chose to document the negative, i don’t know.

there was one post that she wrote like a year into their relationship where she writes about feeling like she made a mistake by being with him.  because of how affectionate he was with their cat, it made her jealous and that those affections should be for her only because they were promised to be. really? SHE made a mistake being with him? HE’S the one left it all behind to move out here and be with her. my god. it made me angry. and then months later she wrote another post saying that she doesn’t deserve tom, because of all that he did for her, and how little she’s done in return. he did his best to support her, financially (since she didn’t work) and emotionally. and she, in her own words, admits to being an “ungrateful bitch.” well, at least she was self aware because HOLY FUCK.

and then in the next few posts, just months after admitting that tom deserves better (can’t disagree there!), she’s writing about how she’s “through” with him. she insults his body/weight (which made me so fucking angry and disgusted) and then she openly admits that she’s no longer in love with him. and i look at the date on that post: 2012. they didn’t break up until 2015. i mean, fuck. there were like no posts in there about how much she loved him. little to no posts about how hard he was working, how deeply she loved him, it was like she was never actually in love with him? or if she was it wasn’t long lasting. i mean, she definitely didn’t express it in her writing. she wrote plenty of deep romantic shit about her ex before tom. but nothing for thomas, who she was with for 5 years and who he devoted so much to. and it just...killed me to see that. to think that he wasn’t loved the way he deserved to be. why did they stay together so long. how did he survive. giving so much of himself...and perhaps getting nothing much in return? it just...made me hurt. but that’s my own fault. those words were never meant for my eyes. who’s eyes were they fucking meant for, i don’t know.

she was very clearly going through a lot emotionally, she was very depressed, which i understand. fuck, do i understand. depression is the worst fucking illness. i still struggle with it every day. but it became very clear to me reading her old posts that tom’s purpose in her life was....to fix her. she wanted him to fix her. she demanded him to fix her. and him moving out here for her with the purpose of “taking care of her,” must have meant that he went in thinking he could? god, that just made me sad. using someone else to...make you better...fix your mental health...make you “whole,” relying on them completely and becoming so overly dependent on them that if they aren’t EXACTLY PERFECT ALL THE TIME, you grow to resent them and blame THEM for your mental health issues...it just...my god it was so wrong and it was so unfair to tom. 

but it’s all in the past. this is all shit from 2010-2015. it’s been 4 years. they’re still good friends! cool! but not really because i guess after reading all of that, i just came to really...dislike her, to put it mildly. yeah, i’m okay with him being friends with his ex, as long as he’s okay with me not really being her biggest fan. i’ll probably make the :/ face when he mentions her, just as a reflex. but i’m okay with that. i’m sure she’s a better person now. she’s stable, happy, married, mature, etc. but i’ve been tainted. and it sucks. ‘cause what if someday he wants me to meet her or something? i’m going to be screaming internally the entire time. when i hear her name i just think about all that stuff. i think about how much work tom put into their relationship, how much he sacrificed, how much emotional energy he poured into it, physical energy working non-stop to support her, and she was in the meantime writing about being in love with her ex, writing shit about his “belly,” and getting pissy because of much he adores his cat.

i think to myself, my god...i would never want to be friends with a former partner after going through that. if i read my ex’s blog and they had stuff like that written about me i’d never want to speak to them again (though knowing me, i would’ve been reading their blog from day one and would’ve ended it as soon as i read “yes i’m still in love with my ex”). but maybe tom never read that stuff. if so, GOOD. it’s vile and depressing and he doesn’t deserve those words. but if he had read them and he’s okay with it? then, WOW. he’s a much stronger person than i ever could be. maybe he wasn’t okay with it at first, but they’re both better now in their own separate lives and it’s been years so he’s over it? i don’t know. maybe it doesn’t matter. 

i’m caring too much about things that don’t matter anymore. i just. fuck. i love tom. so much. and reading about that part of his past made me sad. i can’t help it. i love him, i want to take care of him. i’m feeling the hurt that i (assume) he felt. the weight of all of that. i’m feeling that pain on his behalf. it’s the “empath” coming out lmao. curse my empath superpower!!!11!!1 my main thought after reading all that shit though was...tom...i’m going to love you so good. i promise. the last thing i want to do is drain you emotionally or make you feel unappreciated. because i know what it’s like. to pour your heart and soul into something, someone, for a long time, and have them take and take and take from you and give you scraps, if not nothing, in return. it’s takes the life out of you. and i never want to do that to you.

i know sometimes i get quiet. cold. distant. i’m too in my head. i’m dealing with my own depression and trauma. but it’s me, it’s not you. it’s never anything you said or did. it’s me overthinking. assuming the worst and then feeling the worst. but it doesn’t last (it might seem like it lasts longer than it does just because i am too afraid to come back to your arms for fear that you’re annoyed with me. exhausted by me. i’ve pushed you and now you won’t want me back). the quiet space i use is me talking myself down. coming back to reality. coming back to where you are. because that’s where i want to be. i’m trying. so hard. because you deserve that. i won’t ever ask you to fix me because that’s not your job.  i will work hard, okay. it won’t be easy because i’m a mess too, riddled with flaws, but i love you. that i know. you won’t have to doubt that. but we’re a team. you can trust in that. we’re in this together. i promise that i’ll always support you as much as you support me.

[tyrus-time]

my perspective on TJ’s story (as of 3.13)

Over the past few days, I’ve gone back and forth several times about whether to post my response to, yknow, the Gay Angst. OBVIOUSLY I’m heartbroken, as a Tyrus shipper and someone who is deeply invested in their characters as individuals, to see the two of them hurting. But I know this drama is a plot device and that Tyrus, one way or another, will be endgame. 

Currently, I am feeling anxious about how much development we will actually get to see for them... but that’s in the future, and I’m trying to focus on the now.

No, there’s some other stuff that made me feel angry and disappointed and honestly, foolish when I first watched the episode.... I wrote out a rant on my phone, and then I added to it later, and now I’m trying to make some sense out of it... now that I’m calmer (but still sad) about it. 

This is a pretty long, critical post, so feel free to keep scrollin! 

(I reallyjust need to get this out of my system so I can move on.)

I know some people are actually glad that TJ’s storyline is addressing homophobia, but I gotta be honest with yall: I, personally, am not. I’m honestly devastated that this is the route they took, especially since it still seems the gay themes are mostly subtextual. 

As of now, there is a LOT of room for interpretation regarding what is going through TJ’s mind and what Kira’s implied threat was actually implying. I don’t interact with children, like, at all... so I really have no idea how much they’d be picking up on.

And I feel kinda uncomfortable with the show using themes of homophobia/the threat of being outed/etc... just to create drama and conflict between characters? Using homophobia as a plot device in this way, without even beginning to deconstruct homophobia, comes off as semi-exploitative to me?? Which is probably because I’m just so tired of Gayngst, which is really my main issue with this storyline...

I am exhausted of the pattern of gay characters struggling with homophobia (internalized or otherwise) and this then causing them to hurt/betray their (gay) love interests. 

Being gay and having relationship angst is one thing. But always having angst related to being gay? It is a well-worn trope that I am do not like.

It’s “realistic,” yes, but it’s frequently been done before — hence the TV tropes page on it.

While it is important to portray the affects of homophobia upon LGBT+ and questioning individuals, there must be a balance! 

When Gayngst-y representation is the main representation you see, it feels like that’s the ONLY narrative. You are left with the idea that being LGBT+ means you WILL suffer, that you NEED to struggle with your sexuality/gender because that’s how the identity development process is ‘supposed’ to go. And it shouldn’t have to be that way.

(I speak from personal experience)

This is why I’m so passionate about studying LGBT+ media representation. Media informs us of social norms, scripts, expectations; what is acceptable and what is appropriate; how we’re supposed to think and feel and behave. It’s often very subtle, but all of those images and narratives become internalized and affect how you understand yourself, the world around you, and how you fit in to that world.

Media images shouldn’t just reflect society as it is today; it should offer images of a brighter future.

There’s this resonant quote from the musical Hadestown:

“He could make you see how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is.”

And that’s what I so dearly want to see in LGBT+ representation. 

It breaks my heart whenever people say things like, “it’s unrealistic for a young gay teen to be comfortable with their identity.” It truly breaks my heart and makes me want to change the narrative.

We should have stories that should how the world CAN be, not just how it often ‘realistically’ is. 

I want to see worlds that AREN’T heteronormative, because I’m hopeful for a future in which we truly do dismantle heterosexism. 

I want to see queer relationships that go through the “normal” difficulties of dating someone, such as dealing with typical awkwardness and learning to communicate better... instead of dealing with external and internalized homophobia. 

Perhaps I’m asking too much, and shouldn’t be this hopeful in 2019, but I will continue to assert the need for joyful, celebratory queer stories that diverge from the trend of queer tragedy.

And I really was hoping that Andi Mack could show this radical possibility that gay people can just be HAPPY sometimes, but.... this is Disney channel.... So I guess I’m not really surprised, but I am still disappointed.

Disappointed not just because I was hoping for an unashamedly gay character, but also because I could see TJ realistically having little conflict over his gayness. (I made a post about this months ago, and I’ll probably be repeating those points now.)

TJ’s concern about how people perceive him has been well-established, re: the dyscalculia storyline. However, I’ve always had an affinity for the concept that because he cares about Cyrus so deeply, he is able to come to terms with his gayness without as much turmoil as one might expect. I think this concept is even more valid after the gun incident, with TJ standing up to his previous friends in order to do the right thing, and admitting that Cyrus is the best thing in his life.

“But ash, this is just you being a hopeless romantic!” you might say. But wait! I have more evidence!

I now realize just how much I was projecting myself onto TJ in regards to his insecurities, and it really had nothing to do with romance:

I have always had this complex duality of “I don’t care what people think!! I gotta be true to myself” and “Oh my god, I care so much and I’m so socially anxious.” (I bet some of you can relate.) 

The thing is... while I feel self-conscious about my transness on a near-daily basis... I’ve been pretty unapologetically queer since I realized that I actually had a gay crush. 

Granted, I was already a big ‘ally’ with several LGB friends in a fairly liberal area, and this gay awakening was in high school (not middle school). So TJ wouldn’t have all of that going for him.

But my thought processes (regarding my insecurities) has always been: 

If people don’t like me for who I am, then they’re not worth my time... 

But if people negatively judge me for my abilities? Game over, I’m an insecure mess. THAT’S what I’m most insecure about: seeming dumb or weak or incapable. 

And again, maybe this is just self-indulgent projection, but I think this fits TJ, too.

In S2, TJ clearly is so insecure because he thinks he’s stupid since he struggles with math. And since he’s a jock, perhaps at first he can play off his bad grades with the whole “Oh, I’m a athlete, and getting good grades is for nerds, and I’m cooool” (or whatever rhetoric is used nowadays but middle school boys). BUT having a learning disability is far scarier, because it solidifies (in HIS mind) that there is something inherently wrong with his brain.

I could go on and on, analyzing TJ’s inner psyche, but the point is: 

I could see him being insecure about his physical and mental skills such as basketball and math, yet being self-assured of his sexuality. 

This would also be a realistic option for his character — in my opinion at least, because my own life experiences align well with this interpretation, and well, that’s gotta count for something because I’m pretty sure I’m a real person, even if my experiences aren’t widely shared?

TLDR; The way that they ended taking TJ’s character is a “realistic” option, but it’s not the option that I would’ve chose — both for personal reasons (personally relating to TJ, and wanting to see Tyrus be happy) AND social reasons (believing that children should be able to see a character who isn’t show to struggle with self-acceptance, especially since we already saw Cyrus be scared of himself for being gay).

This isn’t to take away the validity of anyone who DOES relate to/support TJ’s current arc! This is me just sharing my own perspective (and trying to get the sad feelings out of my system). 

My whole approach to media representation is challenging the “good representation” vs “bad representation” binary, because doing so is incredibly counterproductive and oversimplified. Instead, we should be constantly asking “What is the context for this representation? What is valuable about it? What are it’s flaws? How could be possibly do better in the future?” So I can see advantages of this particular storyline, but I also have some criticisms that I believe to be substantiated.

[seraphshot]

» character development meme

REPOST, DON’T REBLOG

TAGGED BY: stolen from @frozenparadigm​ 

B A S I C S

FULL NAME: Uryū Ishida NICKNAME: None AGE: 15 - 18 BIRTHDAY: November 6 ETHNICITY: Japanese / German GENDER: Male SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

PARENTS: Kanae Katagiri ( deceased ) Ryūken Ishida ( regrettably not deceased )  SIBLINGS: None SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Sado Yasutora CHILDREN: None

P H Y S I C AL  T R A I T S

HAIR: Black and kept short save for asymmetrical bangs EYES: Black HEIGHT: 5'7" WEIGHT: 127 lbs. BODY BUILD: Ectomorph

Q U E S T I O N  T I M E

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE YOUR CHARACTER’S STRONGEST TRAITS?

Ultimately he is mind over heart, even his own heart if he believes he’s taking the best course of action. He’s able to take himself out of a situation and look at it through an analytical lens to determine what moves to make, what the best outcome will be, regardless if it’s a battle or every day life. In battle he has a strong sense of justice and along with looking for the best way to win he will do everything in his power to spare lives, unless absolutely necessary. He doesn’t procrastinate and puts a great effort forward to succeed in everything he does, overall.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE YOUR CHARACTER’S WEAKEST TRAITS?

Uryuu struggles with trusting others and allowing them into his life at any more than a surface level. It doesn’t help that he’s introverted to a fault and tends not to reach out for help from others, even if he needs it and he’s aware that he does. The pressure of perfectionism put on him by his father also left him with an at best faulty self-worth that’s easily broken down. Similarly he holds onto negative comments he gets, whether they’re intended to hurt his feelings or not, and lets that negativity fester without trying to talk about whats bothering him. All of these things combined lead to frequent self-isolation. 

WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER LIKE WHEN THEY’RE IN LOVE?

Mostly.....embarrassing, at least in the crush stage. He likes to put on a show of confidence and ego so he tries in his own ways to get their attention, through gifts/showing off/etc, but at no point does he actually make his intentions clear so it would taking knowing him well to understand that he’s trying to accomplish something. Best case scenario he’s interested in someone who does know him well and who is fine with making an effort to ask him out because that’s the only way things will get done in a timely manner. 

As a boyfriend Uryuu is chivalrous and generally just loves to do things for his s/o. Making dinners, buying gifts, sewing things for them, things like that. They would be one of the few people he could relax around and not be so high strung, ideally someone he trusted enough to confide in about how he felt rather than keeping it all to himself. 

WHAT KIND OF UPBRINGING DID YOUR CHARACTER HAVE, AND HOW DID THIS AFFECT THEM NOW

He doesn’t remember much of his mother and what he does recall as an early child is mostly dodging around his dad to spend time with his grandfather, learning about Quincies and their culture from him. They were extremely close and after dying to a staged hollow attack, Uryuu was left with his, honestly, kind of verbally abusive father who more often than not left him to fend for himself and seemed to never run out of things to criticize him for. 

As a teen this left him very much reclusive and closed off with the only form of parent he has being not someone he trusts, but a huge source of anxiety and self-doubt. He’s constantly torn between loathing his father but being too afraid to openly defy him, and also still pining for his approval in anything. Once again all of this has lead to Uryuu often doubting himself and also putting a tremendous amount of pressure on himself to succeed in school and anything he attempts to do really, so any time he does fail it’s catastrophic in his mind. Besides that, the values his grandfather instilled in him and what he has learned about Quincies are still very much present and important in his life, but with it being a sore subject with his father he tries to keep it away from him.

WHAT IS THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR FAMILY LIKE?

Very very terrible, it’s just Ryuuken. At best his relationship with his father is strained because Ryuuken has never allowed himself to be relaxed and emotionally vulnerable in any way around Uryuu, even if it’s just to have a genuine conversation about how he’s doing or if everything is alright. In return Uryuu remains very close off from him and at this stage in his life probably wouldn’t open up to him even if he did ask because he’s too worried of just being criticized or having his emotions invalidated. 

IS YOUR CHARACTER RELIGIOUS? WHAT RELIGION DO THEY PRACTICE, IF SO?

Kubo was never very clear about the connection between Quincies and religion so?????

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER DEAL WITH MISTAKES?

Badly. He berates himself internally and hammers in what he did wrong, how to improve in the future so he doesn’t repeat the mistake. Even then it stays with him for days or even weeks depending on how grave it was, usually weeks when it was something in battle that lead to him or even worse, someone else to get hurt. 

WHAT KIND OF FRIENDSHIPS DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE?

Uryuu is a difficult friend to make but once you do he’s. definitely there. He’s best for one-on-one conversations and hanging out like that, as he tends to be quieter in groups. But overall he’s happy to help his friends out if they need someone to vent to, need somewhere to stay, and in those more intimate scenarios he is much more relaxed and its the best time to get him to actually talk about himself. He’s also the kind of person who won’t hesitate to buy his friends things/make them food/etc. (unless it’s Ichigo in which case he’ll pretend he’s not going to but. Still would.)

DOES YOUR CHARACTER FORGIVE AND FORGET OR DO THEY HOLD A GRUDGE? WHY?

It really depends, he tends to be forgive and forget if it’s a one time offense, like a poorly made comment or something, he’ll eventually get over it. But when it comes to shinigami especially he’s very much inclined to hold a grudge over the slightest thing. In his mind he needs to be wary of what they say, though, as with them it’s very easily less of a thoughtless comment and more of a look at how they might actually feel about him. The only other different case is his father, as the strain between them has lasted as long as Uryuu has been alive. 

HOW DO THEY VIEW THE WORLD THEY LIVE IN?

At least in the human world he views it as at worst lonely, at best just the place he..lives in basically. No matter what he spouts off to try and sound cool, he’s not really a philosophical type. The only significant observations he has are about Soul Society, and to summarize he views it as an extremely dangerous place, just for him. He avoids visiting at all costs and is constantly on guard for fear of Mayuri or someone else deciding to act on their hatred towards him for his Quincy title. 

DOES YOUR CHARACTER THINK WITH THEIR HEAD OR WITH THEIR HEART?

I mentioned above so this will probably be brief, but head 100%. He tries to ignore his heart even if he hurts himself in the process, as long as it is for the greater good. 

IS YOUR CHARACTER WELL-SCHOOLED? WHAT SORT OF EDUCATION DID THEY HAVE?

At least in my main verses he just has a high school education and I assume is a junior or senior? He’s top of his class and in “””canon””” becomes some kind of doctor or practitioner, and I believe that he would excel in medical school despite, you know, hating it. In my post-war verse he goes on to attend design school and pursues fashion instead, something he actually enjoys. 

TAGGING: @fatedefies @fornicaras uhh anyone else 

[eregyrn-falls]

I remember this old post about if Ford's hands are normal and if Stan was the polydactyl. How does the elder Pines twins personalities change if that was the case? Is Stan more violent or shyer? Is Ford more protective of his twin. Does he develop an interest in the supernatural?

Oh gosh, this is such an interesting set of questions!  Apologies for the late reply on this, Anon, I didn’t mean to seem like I was ignoring it; I was giving this some time to percolate in my head.

I haven’t actually run across any posts before that discussed in depth the idea of Stan being the one who was polydactyl, instead of Ford!  (The main post I can think of that I saw mentioning it was this one here, and I don’t recall seeing follow-up discussions?)

I guess the first question is just: how much of Stan’s and Ford’s personalities are innate, and how much were influenced by their circumstances (in which I’m including the polydactyly as a circumstance). There’s reams of other meta out there about the natures of both elder Pines twins, and some of the assumptions in some of that meta, as well as just the “general consensus” popular in the fandom, undoubtedly influences how I think of them.

For example: I’m firmly in the camp that thinks that both Stan and Ford are very smart; but, I think that they process information and express their intelligence in different ways.  Ford seems to have a natural affinity for “book-learning”, by which I mean traditional schooling and research. The way Stan is portrayed as a child makes me think that he isn’t so great with traditional learning, and that’s what led to him being an under-achiever, because in the late 50s and early 60s, schools were not as good at identifying when a child was falling behind or acting out because they needed a different learning style to thrive.  I’ve always though of Stan as a more “kinetic” learner, good with physical tasks and also better at learning by demonstration than by lecture/reading.

(The usual sidenote applies here: if this is true of Stan, then it makes his teaching himself to get the Portal working again that much more impressive.  Just because he might be more comfortable with non-book-learning doesn’t mean he can’t learn from so-called traditional sources.  It just means that it’s a different kind of challenge for him than for someone who meshes very well with that form of learning.  Both Stan and Ford are very stubborn and tenacious.  In my view, Stan slacked off as a child, and cheated in school, because he was rebelling against school not giving him what he needed; and, I feel, because it was a vicious cycle in which he was being told by parents and school authority figures that he wasn’t good at it, and he internalized that and stopped trying.  When it came to fixing the Portal, he put aside doubts and preferences and single-mindedly devoted himself to that goal.)

In ATOTS, we’re told that it’s Ford’s polydactyly that creates his interest in science fiction and anomalies.  And yes, that’s an easy answer, but… I’m not sure that necessarily has to be completely true.  You don’t need to have an unusual trait like that, to be a very smart little kid who becomes deeply invested in scifi/fantasy and all of that stuff.  I do think that his unusual trait created for him an additional feeling of connection to those subjects, and I do think that he used that connection as an additional means to cope with the anxiety that his unusual status, and the teasing he received because of it, created.

So, if Stan is the one who’s polydactyl – well, I don’t think that changes the fact that as a little kid in the 50s/60s, he wasn’t as well suited to the style of schooling he was forced into.  He’d still have those unaddressed learning problems in school, and that would probably still have caused him to receive negative feedback from his parents and teachers.  It’s just that little polydactyl Stan would have the additional problem of being regarded as a “freak” by classmates (and maybe by adults too), as well as regarded as “lazy”, and a “cheater”, and a “class clown” (which seems probable; we’re not told specifically that he was, but, it seems pretty likely given everything about Stan’s personality, and the principal does refer to him as a clown).

On the flip side, little Ford may be “normal”, but he’s still abnormally smart, and his excelling at traditional schooling wouldn’t have changed.  And as many people know, that alone can become a cause for being ostracized and bullied by classmates.  He may still have developed an interest in scifi/fantasy and the supernatural, as a sort of intellectual/emotional “escape”.

But, the further thing I think might happen is that little Stan may also develop more of an interest in that direction (maybe with Ford’s encouragement?).  In ATOTS, when they were little, we saw monster-movie posters and that monster mask around Stan’s bed; and even into adulthood we find that he’s interested in things like taxidermy and stop-motion animation and stuff.  Might little polydactyl Stan have gotten into that even more, if he (like Ford in canon) felt like he “belonged” among the “freaks” and side-show attractions?

Going back to similarities and differences between the two of them – Stan is obviously the more outgoing of the two, the one with the “big personality”. And he does seem like the more aggressive of them – but, they’re actually closer in that regard than it seems at first glance.  There are plenty of moments in the show where we see that Ford has a temper and becomes aggressive towards threats.  Both Pines men have a tendency to turn fear into anger (think of Stan yelling at the kids when he’s fighting the zombies; think of Ford threatening Probabilator when he’s tied up).  Stan still seems to be the more extroverted of the two, and Ford the more socially awkward.  But Ford’s aggression likely isn’t a completely learned behavior (i.e. a survival mechanism only learned while dimension-hopping). It’s probably just a Pines trait that he had all along, but as a small child wasn’t confident enough to rely on.

So I do feel a bit like little polydactyl Stan might not have needed quite as much standing-up-for as little Ford did.  Even from an early age, Stan seems to instinctively turn attacks back on his attackers.  Crampelter calls them losers, and Stan’s response is basically to say, “takes one to know one”.  Little Ford’s response to bullying was to let it get to him; Stan’s is to turn it around and throw it back in the bully’s face.  What I can easily imagine is little Stan doing just that to anyone who teased him for having six fingers – turning it into a joke, or just a belligerant “yeah? what’s it to ya?” I don’t think he would have been unaffected, deep down – just as, in canon, he clearly was affected by all the people who called him a loser and said he’d never amount to anything.  That got to him, even though he tried to cover it with bluster and over the top confidence.  

Little Ford is harder for me to figure out, just because I’m not quite sure why he was so passive as a little kid, since he would develop that Pines pugnaciousness once he got to adulthood.  He took all that bullying really hard, it’s clear; and he needed a lot more support and reassurance than little Stan seemed to.  Or is that the point?  Did little Stan (in canon) also really need that stuff, but he just covered up the need with bluster, while little Ford didn’t?  Meanwhile, in this AU – if little Ford isn’t being bullied for being a “freak”, and is “only” being bullied for being the typical too-smart little kid, does that result in his being a little bit more outgoing and willing to stand up for Stan?

I could go either way on that.  I’m having a hard time seeing little Ford playing the belligerant, “get lost, bullies!” role in defense of his brother; just as I’m having a hard time seeing little polydactyl Stan NOT standing up for himself (even if it does hurt deep down).  I could see a little bit of both, perhaps?  But I do see little Ford trying to be supportive of his brother.  And if little Ford is still a scifi nerd – and especially if that’s an interest his brother shares a bit more – then I could still see him being interested in the anomalous, as a way to keep trying to prove to his brother that being an anomaly makes Stan cool and special, rather than “a freak”.

At least, that’s a dynamic I’d like to *think* would happen.

Let me insert a sidenote here about the boxing lessons.  In canon, Filbrick signs both boys up for boxing lessons, after little Stan is shown being picked-on by the older bullies.  There’s an implication that the boxing lessons gave little Stan confidence, and caused him to blossom from a nerdy, dorky-looking teen, into one who gets the girl.   Meanwhile, Ford is hiding his face in a book rather than paying attention to practice.  While adult Ford appears capable of handling himself, the boxing lessons don’t seem to have given little Ford as much confidence.  One thing that interests me about that, going back up to a point I made above, is that if Stan is a “kinetic” learner, that might explain why the boxing lessons worked better for him.  So this too may not change if Stan is polydactyl.  I don’t see any reason why being polydactyl would have a negative effect on learning to box. (I don’t think that’s why Ford didn’t take to it as well.) Plus – when you’re boxing, if your hands are in gloves, nobody can see that you’re polydactyl?  It sort of evens the playing field, as it were.

(This leaves completely aside the slight timeline difficulties of that sequence, as well as the question of whether some of the details were Stan, telling the story to Soos in his memories, deliberately conflating details of Ford’s and his childhood experiences.  Tiny glasses-Stan being bullied in Dreamscapers could be true; and little non-glasses Stan standing up to bullies in ATOTS could be post-boxing-lessons, having gained in confidence.  The part that bugs me is why he would then go from more-confident little non-glasses Stan, to nerdy/dorky glasses-wearing teen Stan at the movies, punching Carla’s attacker.  But, ehn.  For purposes of this discussion, let’s just go with the broad strokes of what that sequence conveys.)

So, where does that lead both of their lives, though?

Does polydactyl Stan come to rely even more on his brother as his only friend, the person who makes him feel like his unusual hands aren’t just no big deal, but are in fact special?  Does that just make Stan even more reluctant to see Ford go away to college?  Unfortunately, I could see that happening.  I’m not sure that reversing the circumstances does anything to address the problems that led to their falling out – the lack of good communication that arose as they became teenagers, or Stan’s dreams of leaving everything behind to pursue a dream career.  

Plus, I don’t know that it affects another innate quality that Stan seems to have – like his mother, for some reason, Stan is drawn to performance and to conning people.  He has a talent for it (at least, he does some of the time, since we have to remember all the sales pitches and cons he failed to pull off).  In that context, the polydactyly is both a curse and a blessing.  A curse, because it makes it less easy for Stan to blend in and become anonymous; he’s always going to attract SOME attention, and he has a trait that he can’t easily hide, the way he can grow out or cut his hair, or grow a mustache.  But a blessing, if he took it that way, because used correctly it could make for a great distraction, as well as a great prop in certain kinds of cons.  

Meahwhile – with the connection to anomalies being through his twin, rather than through himself, does Ford still become as motivated to pursue that study as a life’s work?  In particular, what happens to that interest if/when he and Stan have a falling out?  Would Ford still continue to pursue that line of study when it would be a constant reminder of his twin? Or, bitter at what he thinks of as Stan’s betrayal and untrustworthiness, does he also bitterly reject the subject he once loved, and once wanted to pursue out of love for his twin?  Does he wind up going into some other field, like quantum mechanics or engineering?  

I guess I’d conclude that whether their lives go off on substantially different paths, or not, comes down to many different decision points, not just that one difference.  Ford could wind up on a path that never takes him to Gravity Falls or brings him into contact with Bill.  Or, you could still find a way for that to happen, even if some of the details proceeded differently.  Stan might have somehow used that extra motivation / sense of identification with the weird to propel him into a still shady but viable career path earlier (inspired by his mother’s similar career; that is, himself starting something like the Mystery Shack elsewhere, and earlier, a kind of carnival barker / P.T. Barnum showman). …Or, Stan might have been just that little bit even more dependent on Ford for a feeling of validation, and still messed up, resulting in a rift between the two.

Personally, I think that changing a detail like that becomes more interesting if the results are markedly different from canon.  But basically, I’d be happy to read it, either way.  :)