#honestly i would prefer a better source for this if anyone has one

[on-this-day-mcr]

On this day, April 9

In 2002: My Chemical Romance gave their first ever interview. The interview, featuring Gerard and Mikey, was for Snagglezine, a New Jersey fanzine run by two Eyeball Records interns.  Read the interview here, or below the cut!

M: I'm Michael Way, I play the bass guitar. G: I'm Gerard Way, I'm the singer. K: Your biggest influences? G: Iron Maiden. M: The Smiths. G: At the Gates, Brit pop, Blur, Morrisey, shit like that. Like metal, like melodic metal. We're all about it, like Helloween, big influences. M: Oh yeah. Keeper of the Seven Keys. G: You can't hear any of our influences in our music though but it's there. M: It's subconsciously in the music, but nobody else can pick it up unless you're looking for it, you can't really pick on what's there. K: We hear that you just signed to Eyeball (Records). How's it feel to be signed to such a great label? G: We're fucking really excited. M: It's so excellent. G: I've know Alex for a while, I probably shouldn't say that, Alex is fucking great. M: ..and an amazing human being. We've known him and he took care of fucking Thursday and we were psyched about that, but not only that, we were really psyched to be with Pencey Prep because those kids fuckin helped us out right from the start. They gave us their tour van when we needed it, they gave us their fuckin tour van! Hambone gave us the tour van and fuckin cause they're getting a new one and they gave us a spot in their practice studio that we share with them, so we share a practice studio with them. C: Yeah Alex got us our first interview, Thursday. M: Yeah I remember, I was right there. No, but it's great cause it's like a family, we all hang out all the time, it's amazing. G: We can't hang out with Thursday as much as we'd like to cause they're always on tour which is gonna happen to all our bands now. K: Favorite bands to play with and favorite venue? G: Pencey (Prep). M: So far it's just Pencey (Prep) but the Loop (Lounge) was hot. G: But the Loop, even though they don't let kids in which sucks, I don't like that 21 and over stuff, but it had great sound. M: Yeah, there's like a professional sound guy. G: But this place (Garfield American Legion) had great sound. C: CBGB'S had good sound for Thursday. M: Oh the Piebald one? C: Yeah. G: Oh I want to play there. C: It's good. M: So far we only played about 5 shows, out of 5 shows, the Loop was the best. G: And we got an encore there. M: Yeah people were calling for an encore. K: That's awesome, we've never been there. Have you guys played in any bands before? G: Me and Mikey had this band called Raygun Jones and we were like, you know, really young and he was the bass player back then too. We had a female bass player and she just dropped out so we just put a bass on Mikey pretty much the same way we did this time. We put a bass on him and said play. We trained him. M: Yeah exactly. It's like I normally play guitar but like my brother came up to me with the material and I was just so blown away that I had to join. I was like, "I don't care what I play" and "I have to be in this somehow". G: He really filled out our band. We had a good vibe going anyway but then when he was in it, it clicked. And that's why, the way you saw us play out there today, we weren't playing like that until Mikey was playing tight with us and joining. K: How long have you guys been established and what was your reason for starting a band? G: The band, uh, me and Otter really got together in November, I believe, and the real reason we established it was because it has a lot to do with the September 11th attack. I was on my way to get ready for a Cartoon Network meeting because I do cartoons and stuff and he had that option. We saw the plane hit right from the train and when we got there we were all just standing on the pier in Hoboken like right on the edge. There's like 300 people that were friend and family and we all saw it go down. That's when I realized that doing this cartoon was bullshit, I love to draw and make art but it was so commercial, it was just that I felt like having meetings with people in suits, it just made me realize what the hell I'm doing with my life. That's what our 1st song that we always open with "Skylines and Turnstyles" is about. It's about the Trade Center. C: Although I'm a big fan of the Cartoon Network and like 3 in the afternoon in your pajamas... G: Yeah but dealing with them is not fun. That actually got it and everyone like came together through the music. It's like therapy. K: How did you get the name and does it imply that you guys are quite the partiers? M & G: Hahaha Oh!!! G: We used to call Mike "Mikey Party" but now he's "Mikey Romance". K: That's how we met you! M: Yeah it was at a party. G: It's like 11 different meanings for the band. You can take them anywhere. On a personal level, for me, it's about anti-depressants. I was like so depressed about a year ago and I just wanted to cut my fuckin face off. It's also like a reference to Irvine Welsh and his books. M: All his books are like classified as Chemical Romances. It's like love stories where there's like drugs involved. C: Yeah, I went to google to see if you guys had a site and all his stuff came up. M: Yup yup, Irvine Welsh. Now there's only 2 people so far that picked up on that. Two people were like "Whoa, you mean like Irvine Welsh?". But it's a personal level, like we took the name and we brought it to a personal level. G: Yeah it really means for me anti-depressants. Like we drink beer and shit... M: We like to party. K & C: Hell yeah. G: We drink and party, we rock and roll man. K: Yeah, the most "un-edge" name, right? G: We don't like do drugs though. C: You're not my friend then. (haha, he's kidding). M: Yeah we don't need drugs to have a good time. :: Gerard announces slumber party and that guitar player takes guitar to a whole new level because he has a gash and is bleeding:: K: One more serious one, what do you guys think of the sudden outburst of bands on indie labels such as Thursday, Phantom Planet, Hot Water Music, and Rival Schools being played on MTV2 and MTVX? G: I think, I always thought this because I've been an artist with comics from that whole scene too. Anything from the underground eventually makes its way up. It's like something underground, it's new and fresh and it's eventually gonna make its way up to the tv. It's bound to happen, it happens with everything. Nirvana is the best example of it and I think that's what's gonna happen with Jersey and I think it's gonna be great. M: I think it's like survival of the fittest cause like whoever's doing it for the right reasons is gonna survive and whoever's doing it for the wrong reasons is gonna get chopped and fried and we all know who's doing it for the right reasons. C: Yeah we know. Do you guys like Dragon Tales? G: We're Lord of the Rings fans. M: No, he's talking about the cartoon. C: ...on PBS. G: The only exposure I have with Dragon Tales is that little kids come in and ask for the cd @ B & N. C: Best Valentine's gift you ever got? G: I'm about to get one right now but I haven't seen it yet. Shit. I haven't really gotten any. I got roses, I love roses so a girl got me roses. That was pretty cool. M: You know what, I can't even remember getting one because there hasn't been a powerful female outlet in my life to give me a Valentine's day gift. So there's no Valentine's day gift I can remember. C: No little candy hearts from grandma or mom or anything like I usually get? M: No way! K: You got frogs this year. M: You're lucky dude. C: Yeah I got frogs from her. Disney character that most represents you? M: Donald Duck. G: Yeah Mike dressed up like Donald Duck in 2nd grade. M: It was a fuckin rad costume, my grandma made it. G: It was fuckin hot and then the next year he dressed up as a stay puff marshmallow. M: And it was also really hot. G: Mr. Toad. C: Would you guys ever cover "The Lady Is A Tramp" by Frank Sinatra? M: It could be done. G: Could we do that? M: It could totally be done. G: Yeah I could see us doing that. M: Cause Frankie's awesome. G: What about doing a Dean Martin or a Sammy? M: Those guys knew how to party man. C: The Rat Pack. G: The Sans Crew. Vegas man. We want to bring Hambone with us cause he always wins on slots. M: He's the King of Slots. ::tangent on Hambone:: Other members not in interview: Otter (Matt)->drums Ray Toro->guitar, phenomenal

[janearts]

Roisia Lydgate: Character Overview

This is really more of a background introduction to her character, but I'm trying to put as much information in one place for future reference or for anyone who wants to get a better idea of her character. Details underneath the cut!

Meta-Knowledge

Roisia is my Source Hunter from Divinity: Original Sin, but I recreated her in Baldur’s Gate 3 as a way to continue her story albeit in a completely different universe. The story and events of DOS have since become part of her backstory, and tweaked to fit the world of Faerûn.

Name Pronunciation

I’m honestly none too fussed about pronunciation. Her name is an 11th century mediaeval name that would later become “Rose” in Middle English. Roisia is probably meant to be pronounced something like /ɹɔɪːsiːɑ/ (Roy-see-ah) based on other name variants found around the same time. Her nicknames, as given to her by her parents, include: Rose, Rosie, petal, pet, rosebud, bud, so on and so forth.

Personality

Roisia is charming, adventurous, with a voracious curiosity, and a deeply analytical mind. She believes that taking care of the dead and providing a voice for the dead is her life’s calling. She was formerly raised to be a Cleric of Kelemvor, but believes that her god has disowned her since she reanimated her father. She now believes herself to be deemed among the Faithless. She’s compassionate to those in need and is willing to break rules (and the law) to help others. While she is generally a law-abiding citizen, she is dogged in pursuing the whims of her curiosity and will likewise do whatever it takes to solve a puzzle, a mystery, or a murder… or simply answer a question that has occurred to her. She is sociable, prefers when everyone gets along, and will try to talk her way into and out of most situations. This includes charming, reasoning, intimidating, and/or deceiving others to get her desired outcome. Ultimately, she finds solace and comfort in the company of animals, the dead, and books. Her favourite animal is the noble spider, and she breeds and raises some species in her spare time.

Spells and Such

I tried as best I could to replicate Roisia’s DOS character. In DOS, she was classed as a Witch. Witchcraft spells in DOS are a mixture of Necromancy spells and Enchantment spells, and I chose my spells in BG3 to imitate the ones that you get in DOS. As a witch in DOS, Roisia also had the ability to talk to animals and summon a spider. (I cheesed this in BG3 with the Find Familiar spell—technically a Conjuration spell—and having her drink a potion after every long rest.) To be more in keeping with her backstory, I gave her a Guild Artisan background and invested skill points in skills like Medicine.

Backstory

Roisia grew up in Eastway of Baldur’s Gate. Her father worked in the Gray Harbor shipyard as a shipwright and her mother was a Mortarch, running the Eastway Cemetery & Lydgate Funeral Service. She was raised to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a Cleric of Kelemvor, and specifically as a Mortarch, from an early age. She assisted her mother in managing the burial customs and rites for the Lower City’s diverse community (from embalming to ritualistic cannibalism to poisonings), comforting grieving family members of the deceased, and tending to the dead buried in the cemetery.

Her life took an unexpected turn when her father drowned during a sea trial. Grieving for her father, Roisia made her first attempt at Necromancy. She unwittingly used a wish spell in the process and reanimated him as a skeleton. Because it was the wish spell, not her first attempt at a necromantic ritual, that bound the soul of her father to his bones, Roisia is determined to master the School of Necromancy and truly resurrect her father.

She is interrupted in her early studies by the appearance of Eustace, who recruited her into the Source Hunters, an organisation dedicated to eradicating dangerous magic users (like… Necromancers). “We need you,” he said. “… and you need us.” Roisia & Eustace (or Roy & Stacey as they became known to each other) investigated the mysterious murder of a town counsellor and uncovered a Necromantic cult in the process. As they adventured together, Roisia began to develop feelings for Eustace, but as their adventure concluded and they returned to the Source Hunter Academy, Eustace did not return those feelings. Dejected, Roisia left the Source Hunters and returned to her home in Baldur’s Gate.

To “cure” herself of her heartbreak, Roisia drew up a list of lifelong goals for herself. They are:

1. A cemetery or plot of land of her own to oversee. 2. “Tenants”/”Residents” (aka The Deceased) to house and tend to on this land. 3. To master Necromancy such that she can extend indefinitely her own life and the lives of her loved ones. 4. One (1) Spouse (*not of the squeamish variety) 5. Children (*ideally 3-5)

Refocused aggressively on her list, Roisia returned to her duties during the day and her studies during the night. She was abducted by the nautiloid one night while she was off to dig up a new test subject.

Playlist

[sophieinwonderland]

Now, why would you dare me to embarrass you and your pals like that?

I appreciate how you wanted my attention so bad you posted me to not one, but two subreddits.

Makes a girl feel special! 🤣

I have actually never seen Wikipedia cited as a source about endogenic plurality. Though I do see anti-endos all the time, when asked for sources, telling people to just Google things.

Anyway, here's @guardianssystem's document filled with academic papers about endogenic plurality:

I've compiled my own, but honestly, theirs is better organized than mine.

And in the interest of fairness, here are all the anti-endo papers debunking endogenic plurality:

Sorry, I forgot. Those don't exist. Oops. 🤷‍♀️

Echo chamber? LOL!

Weren't you the one spouting a bunch of lies on Tumblr, got totally debunked, posted the people who debunked you to r/systemscringe to have a hugbox where fakeclaimers could assure you how the people who contradicted you are all fakers, and then blocked everyone who disagreed with you?

Weren't you also the one who, when shown a quote from an expert in dissociative disorders who worked on the DSM-5 saying that a disorder isn't a disorder if it doesn't cause distress, argued that the people who defined what disorder are must be wrong about that definition?

You're a misinformation machine who can only find support when huddled in cringe subreddits. Don't try to talk about people in echo chambers.

Also, you know most of psychology is just... listening to people? That's how it's been as long as the field existed. DID (or MPD at the time) was a recognized disorder since long before the first brain scans were conducted on DID patients. It's saying something though when basically every single scientist who has ever researched endogenic plurality has said they believe it's a real thing, or that it could be. While absolutely zero academic papers have expressed that it's fake.

There is also an fMRI study into tulpa systems that's been in the works, but results have yet to be published.

Sure, if that's what you'd like me to call you, Crazy. 😊

Anyway, Crazy, you should know that just because you personally find something scary doesn't mean everyone will or that the thing is bad. Personal preferences are a thing.

In a study of tulpamancers though, most generally reported their lives becoming better after the practice.

78% reported improvements in their mental health, and 91% on overall life.

There are many out there who would jump at the chance to have someone there with them that knows them intimately, and to never have to be alone again.

If it's not for you, then so be it.

But it's certainly not something to be afraid of.

And maybe, for those who are willing to commit to the practice while America struggles with an epidemic of loneliness, it's something worth being open to.

This is actually pretty fair.

But that's now, and I'm looking at course of history and trends of plural acceptance.

300 years ago, any plural would be viewed as demon possessed and end up tortured or killed for their plurality.

70 years ago, all plurality was seen as a mental illness, and it was common to force plurals, as well as anyone else associated with mental illnesses, into asylums.

30 years ago, the first real plural communities were able to connect on the internet and form in small numbers.

8 years ago, the first studies into endogenic plurality started being conducted. 4 years ago, the ICD-11 acknowledged that you could have multiple distinct personality states without a disorder. 2023 marked the first, but certainly not the last, time a system used their system name as an author of an academic paper.

Recently, new plural resources have been designed and put into use. More servers than ever are using Pluralkit. And Simply Plural went from 100k users at the end of 2021 to 210k at the end of 2022.

Progress is happening far more rapidly than you realize. And you had best be ready for it.

BOO! 👻

Oh, hey, I just realized... this is literal pluralphobia!

Liberté!

Egalité!

Fraternité!

And yes, The Future is Plural! 😜

[anewp0tat0]

yea no I lied, I couldn't leave before doing this cause obviously I'm obsessed. obviously.

here's what I could research about the staff highlighted to be working on Black Butler season 4 in the time and patience that I had right now.

Kenjiro Okada: Director

I did some casual gathering on the good ol Wik. I don't recognize a lot or any of the previous works that he has been a part of, but it is a plenty some, so feel free to take a look for yourself. for a better idea, I took a glance at him through IMBD as well. I gotta be honest, not to cause any concern but just to be blunt, it's not the best look. when briefly checking out the works that he's done, a good some of them only make it up to 6 stars. only a few actually make it up to 8. but of course this could be due to a couple different factors, such as the source materials being not well known, or just not that great to begin with. after all he works mainly with adaptation. this could be his big break idk maybe :>

further on that, here's something I borrowed from Wiki.

honestly, this could be a potential concern as well. we all know that an unfortunate part of the fandom, especially over in japan, is into things the rest of us would rather not see in anime. I don't know why else yana would continue to add fan-service time and time again(I'd rather not think of her personal preferences). so if this person is really interested in pandering to the fanbase, it may lead to some scenes being uncomfortable... as usual. but, I shouldn't focus on the negative, all in all this looks like it will be a good thing! all we want from an anime adaptation is for it to be faithful to the manga, and especially after season 1 and 2, I think this assurance is much needed. besides, this could be an indication that he will be working closely with Yana, and projects that do so have succeeded *points to campania*. I'm optimistic, and I sure hope that we're in good hands.

Hiroyuki Yoshino: Head Writer

so unless I'm looking at a different Hiroyuki Yoshino it looks like this guy is a voice actor and singer first... interesting. as far as I can see it, he hasn't voice acted anyone in Black Butler.

oh no yea completely different guy, my bad! very different. the Real Hiroyuki Yoshino(screenwriter) was the screenwriter for Book of the Atlantic! sorry. we're all good here, perfect in fact.

unless he decides to substitute someone else for the double charles :] I still remember that. I don't remember if they're in this arc and personally I wanna keep it that way.

more info.

Yumi Shimizu: Character design

I'm not really jumping out of my seat to research this one, no offense to the designer, but I don't think we'll be seeing much character design other than Yana's. as for the artistic style of the anime, we already saw the teaser, and I think we're happy(I am really trilled that they released the announcement at the same time as the teaser, the announcement alone would not have had the same huge impact. plus it reduces the fear of cancelation ;] not putting that out there).

more info.

Ryo Kawasaki: Music

this is someone I really wanted to look into cause the music will matter a lot to me.

I found it, here's the soundtrack for the upcoming season 4.

with a background of jazz and band(popularizes to fusion genre apparently), this guy doesn't appear to fit with previous Black Butler soundtrack history. but I think that this is an indication that the mood and music of this season may be different of the rest due to it now being a sports show lol. and I think that's good! if done right I think the tone change will be hilarious, or, if everyone hates it, it's easily distinguishable from the rest.

I think this will be fun. here's more. also he looks awesome. impressive guy. man I'm praying for a killer new opening GOD.

I still wonder who the composer for the more classical score that I saw in the teaser is, if not him. it was nice :>

and finally:

CloverWorks

they're doing Spy X Family, did The Promised Neverland, Shadow House, many more that even I know of, we're good!

their page

a lot of y'all are very savvy at research, so if anyone wants to add on or contradict, go ahead! have a very, lovely day, everyone.

[bunytime]

about Kyle and HUMANCENTiPAD

I only feel comfortable talking on this specific issue because it's not solely regarding head-canons or ships and I prefer to avoid infighting over more inflammatory topics to the best of my ability. Also, Tumblr allows for more nuanced discussion so I'm putting it here

This is not an aimed post, it's just my two cents

I want to start by saying I don't think someone is horrible for preferring to draw the most “canon-compliant” version of characters. I follow this in my own way. I'm commenting on why this is a concern to me as one Jewish fan. I don’t speak for anyone but myself. 

While there are exceptions, it is discomforting to see Kyle with these mouth scars for many reasons. I think S15E1 is pretty torture-porn-y as far as South Park goes (I don’t have a better term for this, sorry). No, I honestly don’t feel grossed out or disturbed by most episodes. Yes, it’s a comedy, and rightfully, if you don’t have the stomach for South Park, don’t watch it; to some extent, this also applies to the fan works which explore canonical dark tones. We also know Matt and Trey can take it too far and have in the past. S15E1 just is one of those personal thresholds for me, although this post isn't really about the morality of the episode.

Anyway, there’s a big argument about Kyle’s scars representing his overcoming of trauma, etc. but I disagree with this defense on why they should be there. If we genuinely wanted to talk about Kyle overcoming trauma, we would talk about the primary source of his trauma: how Kyle, even in more recent plots, is constantly harassed for being Jewish. We would also allow for more open conversation about antisemitism in the fandom, especially in the form of fan art. Kyle’s religion is irrelevant to how he wound up in the situation of S15E1. Therefore, the “overcoming trauma” point feels dishonest and inaccurate to me, especially considering the episode is just one long joke (vs South Park storylines which are more serious). It’d be fairer just to claim drawing it for fun.

For comparison: Butters has an eye scar; this is widely accepted within fanon. I have depicted it too. However, the optics of giving a blond-haired Roman Catholic white boy a minimal scar over his eye is way different than giving prominent scars over essentially half of a Jewish character’s face. Plus, it’s fair to say that an eye scar is usually regarded as a “beneficial” character design element regardless of origin.

Butters’ scar, while it would be a traumatizing injury, was accidental. Indeed, the conceit of “Good Times With Weapons” is the shitty way Butters is treated by the people around him. Kyle’s scars, on the other hand, would be from purposeful torture, and it’s lately been depicted not just as two sutures on the sides of his mouth but as large amounts of scar tissue shaped like an eerie smile. If it's to be scientifically realistic, then fine, but by that logic Butters should be blind in one eye or even more likely missing it, and other characters would be visibly scarred in different ways as well.

In addition, Butters’ appearance is widely and commonly depicted as “cute” - for lack of a better word - so adding a comparatively small and pinkish scar to a generally positively-regarded character (at least in terms of conventional appearances) is not the same as adding highly exaggerated scars to a Jewish character that fans generally don’t seem to think of as “soft” or even approachable the same way they see Butters. I draw Kyle with his kidney surgery scar, so I hope I am making it clear that scars are fine on characters. Of course, facial scars are very different. Still, when you stretch the scar tissue into an uncanny smile over half the face of a minority character from a one-time torture porn gag, it’s fair for people to be upset.

From my point of view, it’s off-putting because it’s about how a Jewish person (myself) sees fandom treat a Jewish character in particular; one who is frequently on the end of vitriol from within canon (Cartman’s abuse, most often) AND fans (that is: a whole subset of fans who think Kyle is cruel, heartless, and manipulative, and stress it) and it is arguably a symptom of something more insidious and deeply alarming than folks might want to admit. 

I’ll be the first to say that Kyle’s canon features deserve faithful depiction, even within stylization. Moreover, facial scars don’t carry inherent personality traits in real life. But fictional character design does not exist in a vacuum, and some people are virtually insisting that Kyle be as aggressively caricatured as possible. Please remember that for centuries Jews have been (subjectively but societally) associated with ugliness, weakness, dirt, and disease. Be mindful when portraying Kyle as extremely blemished and essentially inferior or ostracized. It’s not because facial scars are these negative traits: it’s about what they mean in context to certain characters. We all internally moralize what we dislike. As such though, it’s troubling to observe that this fandom scrambles to talk about why “feminizing” Kyle is hurtful to Jewish people, yet there’s no such section defending it as there is one defending Kyle's stigmatization.

[shai-manahan]

hello!!! how are you? :) i was wondering if maybe you could teach me how to make diverse characters? like fr i try so hard to make characters from diverse background but always end up with the same old american or british character when there are so many nationalities to be covered!! if i could learn even a fraction of your greatness i'd be grateful to you for life 😗👉👈

p.s. the last time i attempted to make a nepali character i was almost stoned to death so im terrified of creating new characters incase i offend someone accidentally... ehe

It’s not really something I can teach. I can only offer my opinions, and I am certain that other writers of color will not feel the same way in some regards, so please understand that while I made a long post about this, you shouldn’t use this as the only guide you’ll use for writing. This is not a list of everything you need to know. I can see you’re being genuine about it, but there’s a whole lot of extensive research you’ll have to do based on what you’ve said in this ask.

First of all, I think it would be a better idea for you to take a moment and assess why your readers hated the way your Nepali character has been portrayed. Because I’m going to be honest with you; even minority authors are terrified of writing characters that have a similar heritage with them -- perhaps on an even larger extent compared to when white authors write characters of color -- and that fear never really goes away. We also make mistakes. We sometimes make writing decisions that are seen as bad by the people belonging to our communities. But we do try to learn from them, and that’s what matters the most.

So your first step should be to look back, trace your logic, figure out what went wrong and what you can do to prevent it from happening again, and only when that happens can you attempt to write characters that come from varying origins. 

I know it’s easier to avoid all that effort and make it so that every character in your story comes from one or two backgrounds only, but using that reason, wherein an author refuses to write characters of color because they can’t be bothered to research other people’s experiences... it’s honestly a lazy decision that will make your readers of color to feel excluded. 

But of course, writing a harmful representation of minorities is just as bad, if not worse. I am by no means an expert, but I do have some general tips you can perhaps start with. 

1. Research

I know this is already a given, but I cannot tell you how many writers tend to skip this stage. Make sure that your sources are reliable, preferably written or made by people who come from that culture themself, and gather every single bit of information you can while keeping in mind that not everything you see in a single google search would be accurate. Look at the associated stereotypes, study their culture, read memoirs, articles, studies, etc., and start building a backstory for your characters.

2. Get sensitivity readers

This is very important. If you know people who would be willing to give their feedback for free, then good for you. But take note that whether or not you paid for their services, there is a possibility that there could be some bias existing, so please, if you can, get multiple sensitivity readers. One person’s opinion should not be your sole source of information. People who belong to minorities are not a monolith, after all. 

Also! Please, please never accuse anyone of racefaking. There is no excuse to this. Just because a person doesn’t agree with you, no one has the right to accuse anyone of that. I have seen some authors do this... and it’s highly disturbing. (and no, it doesn’t matter if you’re getting the rudest anons on your blog. it’s blatantly racist)

Just keep an open mind about everything you might hear, because some of them will be uncomfortable to your ears and might even seem harsh through your perspective. It won’t even be surprising if some of your testers simply walk away after an argument or two, as it can seriously be tiring to have to explain to an author what they have done wrong -- much more if the author never took an effort to listen -- but like with everything else, you can learn from your mistakes.

3. Writing characters of color should not be a mere part of a checklist

Look, this needs to be said. A mere mention of your character’s nationality is never enough for a representation. I’m including this because I am seeing countless stories where the supposedly ethnically diverse characters aren’t really... diverse. Regardless of their viewpoints towards their heritage, people’s ethnicities do affect the way they live in some ways (as well as their gender, education, sexuality, religion, and social status) and some authors seem to forget that. 

I hate seeing writing advice being phrased like -- “it doesn’t matter where they’re from! just write them as you would any other character!” -- because while there are some points to consider there, people coming from vastly different cultures would be shaped by those cultures no matter what, albeit in different ways.

As such, even things like answering asks on your blog and describing their favorite things aren’t enough to say that you're properly representing them. If you as an author can't manage to include how the character's identity affects them within the narrative of the game, then what is it all for?

Be careful about distancing your character from their culture too much as well. Unless you have another character with the same heritage that balances that out, this is almost like you’re erasing the identity they had to live with. You are not being diverse by doing this; you are simply stripping away the very thing that has molded your character’s life; and it is such a huge disrespect to the people who have been wanting so long to finally see their identities be represented properly for once. You’re refusing to do the work that should have come with using that background. You are stealing it.

If you want to show that you respect the ethnicities from which your characters come, then make efforts to represent who they really are, not just the portions of their habits that you find interesting enough to parade around.

And I will be brutally honest here. If you can replace a minority character's ethnicity in your head while reading the story and everything remains the same, then I have to say the author has failed. Of course, this will only be assessed when the story’s over, because character developments happen. But they do have to happen.

4. Keep reading works made by people from those backgrounds (and support them if you can)

I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on that. Most of the time, it’s a great way to see the relevant issues the writer themself faces daily within their community, and reading their works might provide you some understanding. And yes, my work does reflect mine to some extent.

Some more points to consider:

Avoid tokenizing your characters.  

Don’t expect praise for the diversity you’ll be including, no matter how detailed they will be.

There are simply some cultures you absolutely cannot touch -- those wherein research and even getting help from others would not be enough. When that happens, back off respectfully. I have an Agta background (some call it Aeta) and I am seriously scared of seeing our heritage in a white author’s work, because there’s too many misconceptions even in actual published books to the point that it’s improbable to represent it well unless you have someone who directly comes from that ethnicity.

Research more into cultural appropriation and fetishization, then learn how to avoid them.

Consider your character’s interactions with those who are not part of the minority. There are huge stereotypes here that might be difficult for some to avoid.

If you have to, you can use tropes and stereotypes for the sole purpose of deconstructing them. But I do not advise you to do this unless you have a good grasp of the implications behind them. I use this with some of the ROs in Hollowed Minds, and I can attest that you have to be very careful.

Be mindful of the privilege and prejudices you have as you write.

There is no one perfect way of representing minorities, and characters should also be portrayed as individuals.

Things you might want to avoid when writing BIPOC unless you are one:

Racism

Slavery/Human trafficking 

Colonization

Excessive violence towards that particular group

Segregation systems

Tragedy exploitation in general

I hope this helps a little. I can share some insights as to how I prepared creating my characters in Hollowed Minds, especially with Alonzo and Jade, but you would have to ask more specific questions. I’ve spent a lot of time on figuring out their identities, and there’s so much I want to share that I can’t include here (the post is long enough).

For some parting words, let me just say this. Be prepared to do a lot of revisions. There will be inaccuracies in your writing, and there will be mistakes. No one expects you as an author to be 100% accurate on your first attempt, but do your part, learn to accept valid criticism, and your readers will be a lot more forgiving. After all, while you have the right to include what you want to write, it would be wise to remember some of these have responsibilities attached. Good luck on your writing!

[princess-of-the-corner]

https://www.tumblr.com/motherofplatypus/722426710461644800/lets-be-real-chloe-shouldve-been-the-next?source=share

Thoughts?

Honestly if Chloé had kept her season 1-3 personality/competence but her Miracle Queen/Season 4-5 breakdown and it was taken seriously? I could roll with it.

Obvs I would prefer her getting better but....

Imagine

Years of emotional abuse and neglect, ignored because she has money and lashes out instead of turning meek like a 'perfect victim'.

She starts to realize things might be fucked, that she might be something better. Only held back by Marinette, one of the kindest people she knows, saying 'no this is right. This is how you're supposed to be. Your mother loves you despite her words, you just have to try harder at mimicking her'.

Even so, Ladybug at first seems to convince her otherwise. That maybe she's worth something, maybe she's good. So despite her fuckups, she tries. She's willing to be Queen Bee, even with the danger. She accepts that she can't because Ladybug tells her 'I refuse to put someone in danger like that', so she still helps where she can as a Civilian.

And then Miracle Queen happens.

Despite Ladybug's words about benching her for her protection, she lets Kagami back into the fight despite the same situation with her.

She's hurt and confused, spurred on by Hawkmoth's words and the fact that he's holding her parents' hostage.

And in the aftermath, there's no sympathy. No asking questions. Just blame and hatred and no explaination of why Ladybug broke her rules for Kagami.

Over the next two seasons, she keeps breaking the rules. Those identities are know to Hawkmoth, but she keeps bringing them in. Bringing them into the danger. Despite having told Chloé that she would never bring someone into danger like that.

Why? Why why why?

Because. Her only worth is being exceptionally mean. It's the only thing she's good at, after all. It's what she's supposed to be. How she's supposed to be treated and how she's supposed to treat others. That's her role in the story. The bad guy. Evil. Why try being nice to anyone and pretending she has a chance?

Ladybug probably knew that. Her platitudes about 'benching her for safety' were just an attempt to not piss her off and make her a dangerous Akuma. Ladybug just never expected her actual choices, the actual Heroes she cares about, would also get exposed. If no one else had been publicly known, Chloé would never found out she was lied to.

So why not go all in? Play the role set out for her? She can't change this. She's been told that over and over.

[anti-endo-haven]

[hey you probably know who this is ;,) feel free to not reply as an ask on your blog or talk in dms or whatever you prefer if you aren't comfortable with the topic, sorry we just. don't know where to go. you don't even have to reply we just. need to speak to someone]

TWs: System doubt, system invalidation Christianity, demons, & cult mentions.

Oh. oh. oh. oh. oh no.

sorry if our wording is jagged or doesn't make sense

despite having some minor religious trauma, we're collectively christian and have a lot of religious imagery headmates, both angels and demons, some in-between etc, sometimes we go to church. but we feel like the black sheep because stereotypical christians feel so judgemental and stuff but we're trying to be good about it because some of our friends and people we know are very kind and patient [we admitted we dated same sex a few years ago and they weren't "YOURE GOING TO HELL" etc but it was still a little awkward].

but. but. that's not the current issue. oh no. nonono. we just saw a short video how a man said he was he/they and multiple people because "we are legion." which is. demon bible stuff. legion is a demon of 6,000 or something i don't know the details. and then afterwards opening tumblr. what do we get greeted with? yes. a fuckinf post saying "Demons refer to themselves as they/them/we/us."

fuck! fuck!!!! we don't have a great relationship with christianity but now parts of our system are like "please don't let me be possessed" and others are "we're christian we can't be??" and others "we have angelic alters how would we be demonic?"

fucking. hhh.. tried to find. a DID christianity blog to vent to and ask for advice how do system christians work together?? because Google doesn't help and stuff?? instead!! great!! a rant about how christianity is a cult.

now i feel like our headspace is in a panic. our religion is invalid. we're not a real system, we're possessed. we don't know what to do or think. why can't we just be normal. why can't we just be a singlet. why do we have to be so ashamed of ourselves to the point of convincing ourselves that we're faking. now some of us are genuinely thinking we're in a fucking cult.

i want to cry so badly how do i calm us down how do i fix this why can't we ever EVER find reliable sources about DID and christianity as one? apparently they can't fucking coexist if its all like this!! hhhhhhggf...

im sorry shining if anything here offends or upsets you or if you don't know how to reply its okay [/gen] we're just. lost. very very. lost.

Okay, so, as someone that does have Christian parts even past religious trauma, you’re not possessed and you’re not faking.

It’s okay to have both angelic, demonic, and in-between alters. It’s not something anyone can harm you over, it’s perfectly okay.

You can still be Christian and be a good person. It’s not unheard of, just rare in some parts of the world or specific countries. It doesn’t mean you’re automatically bad or a black sheep. You’re not the wolf amongst the crowd. We view it as the Christians that are there for everyone are shepherds tending to their flock and protecting a family they enjoy and care for, they’re the ones that someone can go to and have support they need even without religious contexts.

The whole “we are Legion” thing strikes me as fearmongering, as well as “demons use they/them.” And it honestly depends on what you’re talking about. For us, typical “demons” are just trickster spirits or the ones that just want to do things out of boredom. Genuine “demons” are people that do genuinely horrible things.

This is an extremely hot take, especially from me, but just because a religious thing has something that can be cultish around it doesn’t make it a cult. Yes, there can be a cult disguised as that religious thing and can/will cause religious trauma, but that doesn’t make the entire religion bad (which is what we’ve learned to better heal to support friends/family that are Christian rather than just cutting them out entirely). Not every Christian person is going to be related to the disguised issues underneath. It can be hard to see that or understand and a lot of people might find it hard, but it’s also okay to just not interact with the religion but don’t bash it. Also just because people relate the religion to a cult doesn’t mean you were in one, it’s okay to be afraid of it, but don’t harm yourself by thinking that way.

The only thing I can really say is trying to take a break from social media for a little until everything is settled, this is optional. Write down all the reasons you know you aren’t fake. You’re not faking. You’re not possessed, write some positive things down about you and your alters.

It’s perfectly okay to be Christian and have DID/OSDD. A religion doesn’t define you. You’re good enough and you’ll have a place here as well as in DMs. You’re loved.

I’m a little slow on guessing people on anon, but you’ll always stay anon no matter what (even if you DM me). I don’t entirely like assuming who someone is either :)

I’m posting this as an ask for any other Christian DID/OSDD people that also want to have some reassurances regarding things like this.

You’ll always have a spot here, my friend.

[firstkanaphans]

Again, thank you for translating The Eclipse my darlin; I just finished ep2 and I have some thoughts I wanted to share!

Is it just me or is Ayan’s character a lot like him in Our Skyy 2? I remember people thinking Ayan was a little off in those episodes but I honestly think they really went back to the source material in terms of his attitude, after reading this so far! And I like it! He is also so thirsty for Akk that it hurts XD

Kan is so damn delulu for Thua and it’s killing me 🤣 like, I just keep giggling at how he’s like THUA IS GAY AND SCARY but is also HOW DARE ANYONE TALK TO THUA I MUST GO SIT WITH HIM AND PROTECT HIM

Namo is just a poor wee ignored baby and I love him.

Wat is perfect.

Akk has been interesting. It’s hard to think of him as wealthy, and I think it’s a change the series did that has bettered his character? In the show it makes his behaviour and personality make more sense, imo.

Anyway, I’m away to continue my reading! Again and again, thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yes, I much prefer Akk being gay AND poor rather than just gay 😂 Being a scholarship student gave him a motivation for becoming the curse that wasn't just "I hate those gay losers over there," so it's a little easier to stomach.

And I also agree with you that Our Skyy pulled a lot from the source material. The plot with Wat's movie and Namo's crush on that girl are both straight from the novel and I love that P'Golf decided to use that extra time to give the novel fans a little nod.

I was pretty notoriously one of the people who wasn't a huge fan of Aye in Our Skyy, but you're right that his personality in Our Skyy more closely resembles the Aye from the novel rather than the Aye from the series. Of course, I think that might be because the Aye from the novel is a bit of an asshole to Akk lol.

But omg I'm glad you're enjoying Namo because I LOVE novel!Namo. I am so mad at what they turned him into in the series because I would die for novel!Namo. He deserves the world and Akk is so mean to him 😭

Thank you so much for sending me this, Pip. The translation process has honestly been a bit lonely because I have no way of knowing if people are actually reading it, so it makes me happy to know you're enjoying it 💕

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to (the true) Day 14 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Today, my brain decided to be very... resourceful, for the lack of a less polite word, and remake the Cat!Shen Jiu fic from *checks notes* Day 4. Only now, instead of Shen Jiu being the one transformed into a cat, it's Liu Qingge.

The current title for this is "Paw Prints in Your Heart," and I do intend to make it a LiuJiu fic.

The premise is quite simple:

Liu Qingge was injured in his latest mission. He falls unconscious at the base of Cang Qiong Mountain, and, unbeknownst to him, his body turns into that of a cat. Shen Qingqiu is the one that finds the injured tuxedo cat and takes him (he did check; it is a boy) back to Qing Jing Peak for treatment.

When Liu Qingge wakes up, not only does he find himself to be a cat, but also he finds himself in the care of the (surprisingly gentle) person he hates, Shen Qingqiu.

Now, imagine: Cat!Liu Qingge has to stay around the Qing Jing Peak because his paw has a bad injury and ends up being in the same room as Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan have their (admitedly one-sided) argument of the day. And after Yue Qingyuan leaves, Shen Qingqiu, feeling the anger rising, decides to vent to the only creature here that will listen to him and not interrupt - cat!Liu Qingge. So, Shen Qingqiu speaks (read: vents) about his past, about Yue Qingyuan, about all the other Peak Lords, about everything that he can really vent about.

Needless to say, Liu Qingge has a ton of things to think about now with all these revelations.

Then there is the monthly Peak Lord Meeting... at which Liu Qingge is missing. Most of the other Peak Lords don't really find a problem with this as it is well known that Liu Qingge loves to hunt monsters so "he is most likely doing just that" is what they argue. Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, finds it weird since, as much as that brute annoys him, Liu Qingge doesn't miss the Peak Lords Meeting without announcing beforehand.

And so, Shen Qingqiu starts a one man (and one cat) search party for that idiot brutish shidi of his. Their first destination? The Red Warm Pavillion. If there is anyone who knows where esteemed cultivators can be found based on rumors, it is the Madame of the Pavillion - who is also the most trustworthy source of information Shen Qingqiu can find.

Some details to note:

I feel OG!Shen Qingqiu would prefer cats to dogs, mostly because as an orphan on the streets dogs would fight with you for food (looks at Wei Wuxian), while cats - especially in cold/rainy days - would snuggle with you. Not because they like you, but because they like the body heat you can provide for them.

Cat!Liu Qingge definitely gives Shen Qingqiu a lot of snuggles after he vents to him. Both as an apology and as comfort.

Shen Qingqiu tried to talk with the other Peak Lords about how strange it is for Liu Qingge - of all people - to dissappear without a trace or a letter. The other Peak Lords, unfortunately, ignored him. This is why he takes it in his own hands to find Liu Qingge.

Liu Qingge feels a lot of guilt after he learns more about Shen Qingqiu and about the reasons behind most of his actions. He vows to treat him better once he is back to his human self.

This could either take place before Luo Binghe is on Qing Jing Peak or after - like the first 2 weeks after he was admitted. Either way, the kiddo is chugging vinegar - first because his Shizun likes the cat better than him; second, because by the time Luo Binghe arrives at the sect, Shen Qingqiu has a boyfriend.

So what do you think? Good? Bad? Brain has been on crack for far too long? Let me know!

Honestly, this idea just came to me today - probably 2 hours before I post this, actually. The better way to explain the plot would be "Shen Qingqiu vents to his newly acquired cat about his entire life, without knowing that said cat is actually his shidi, Liu Qingge, whom he doesn't like". There is something special about the whole "venting to an animal that is actually a human cursed/transformed into an animal" trope I see in fics. It's soo damn cute and agsty at the same time. I love it so much.

But enough rambling from me. I hope you have a great day/night and that you take care of yourselves!

See you tomorrow,

-TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

[ericmicael]

Can "Frozen 3" get back that more mythology-focused side that they largely excluded from "Frozen 2"?

(https://www.tumblr.com/theartoffrozen/720454408084865024/early-development-sketches-by-brian-kesinger-for?source=share)

The franchise loves to explore mythology in the books, but I honestly have very little hope of them doing the same in a movie. They chose the "cleanest" path for "Frozen 2" and the little they explored of its mythology confused a lot of people so much that there are still people who believe that Elsa became immortal because she got a new dress (if she is immortal, it is a very fragile immortality since in "Polar Nights" she almost drowned because she fell into a river).

The term Fifth Spirit itself is no longer mentioned, practically being replaced by Snow Queen (remembering that Jennifer Lee has already said that Anna is also part of the term Fifth Spirit, which makes anyone who has just watched the film a little confused). The Northuldras have lost prominence, and the only source that explored them after F2, a mobile game, reinforces what we already know and is more concerned with developing Honeymaren's feelings for Elsa, Ryder becoming shipper ElsaMaren after failing to get attention of Anna's sister, and how the two reacted when they met Arendelle (Ryder adapted much more to modernity than his sister).

And maybe it's even better to keep the plot of F3 "clean". One of the main mistakes in "Frozen 2" and one of the main successes of "Frozen 1" for me is character development (although I think the development of Hans's sociopathy in the film is flawed, which was fixed by the book “Frozen Heart”). There is actually a lot less plot in the first film than the second, and also fewer characters, but that's a hit since less things to address would allow for more development. I much prefer that instead of film 3 introducing new mythology concepts focus on the characters, develop rather than expand. And that the mythological plots continue for the extra materials where no child there (which is the target audience of the franchise) will complain about the time of explanations and conversation without a joke from Olaf or music to make the scene more "dynamic", and also in books don't need to summarize things because of a time limit.

Can "Frozen 3" fix this error of "Frozen 2" and introduce new mythological concepts without disrupting development? Yes, of course they can. But I much prefer something safer that has already proven to work than taking a risk again and risking more harm than help (today I like F2 more than F1, but I completely understand who doesn't like the second film at all), and we no longer have Jennifer Lee as director though she won't be leaving the franchise without her oversight.

[captain-astors]

H, J, and P?

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?: It really depends on what I’ve heard, but typically I prefer to read the manga if I really care about the story/want to get through it faster! However there are some cases like Land of the Lustrous or Jujutsu Kaisen where the animation is so good that I start with what’s out of the anime, then go back and read it to ensure I don’t miss any details. Or alternatively, I go to the anime if I just want it as a background story while I draw. I’ve been doing that with Attack on Titan recently, it was a lot better than I anticipated so I presume the general negative opinion I’ve heard derived from its overpopularity not the quality itself? Or maybe it gets really problematic or something, haven’t finished it yet. As for Movies Vs. Books it’s a similar situation, but I prefer books more generally.

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until tumblr: Honestly, I’ve been introduced to a good portion of my recent fandoms by a friend of mine first, and then convinced to actually start them by tumblr art/my mutuals (mostly Quinn) so if I had to think of something that was genuinely introduced to me here… Good Omens? Haven’t watched it but I see them on my dash constantly. Oh also Witch Hat Atelier!

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas): Tokyo Ghoul obviously,

maybe an AU where all the folks pulling strings and playing king (Arima, Kaneki, Furuta, Eto) somehow end up in a very uneasy alliance to take down V for good. They argue over the ultimate goal constantly, they all hate at least two of the others, nothing’s really going well but they do get stuff done… somewhat, but they hate each other’s methods and tend to end up fighting after ever decision, and very rarely consulting each other before. The only thing keeping them united is a common goal and wanting to die.

AU where Haise is sent with the Quinx to deal with Noro instead of capturing Shuu on the roof. Shirazu doesn’t die, neither does Kanae (unless Eto decides to dispose of them?) but also, Haise never stops dreaming. But, a King is needed anyways and thus he ends up tentatively playing the role despite shironeki continuing to insist he be let out. I thought this one up right now and I haven’t considered consequences to this yet, but I like it as a concept.

Don’t think I’m inventing this but, AU where someone, legitimately anyone, comes to rescue Kaneki in time, hopefully helping him steer away from the mindset of “No one is able to help me”

AU where Juuzou and Hanbee are a little too effective and end up actually killing Kaneki (or injuring him to the point where he’s unable to dragon-ify even after taking a bite out of Hajime, leaving him only with the strength to flee) effectively throwing a wrench in everyone’s plans.

Not an AU but do you ever think about the fact that every single crucial event in Tokyo Ghoul wouldn’t have happened if Tsuneyoshi was just actually a good dad.

AU where everyone has actually decent parents (This one’s a joke but I actually cannot conceive of it.)

AU were Hide, Kimi, or someone else is the person to get Ghoul’d instead of Kaneki and the consequences thereof.

Very self-indulgent AU where Koori gets kidnapped by Aogiri instead of/in addition to Amon or Takizawa (mostly just writing this here because I’d like to draw it maybe, thematically I’m not really even sure it would work for him to begin with, but I like drawing theoretical ghouls.)

Also not really inventing this but I’d also like to draw a Pokémon AU some time.

[malobanshee]

Watching the Jude Law & Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes films again, and honestly...they are so much better than any other adaptation. It is a bit more over the top than what I think Doyle was portraying (but let's face it, Doyle couldn't be bothered to really care about continuity in his writing anyway, so what's a bit more fighting and explosions?), but it also is the truest to these two mad lads. Holmes, a stimulant-addicted Autistic wack-a-doodle, and Watson, his gambling-addicted adrenaline junkie bestie, along with Mary, their wife (Watson's romantic wife and Holmes' platonic one). So many of the details included for these two (even lines that are direct quotes) are directly lifted from the stories. It truly speaks to the talents of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce that the cultural understanding of Sherlock Holmes and Watson is so cemented in their portrayal! However, they are quite divergent from the stories themselves. I was also taken in by this for a while! I was not immune! The important bit is that I came around in the end to the Correct Conclusion (lol).

And regarding characterization, why do people always portray Mycroft as super ambitious? He is basically defined by the fact that he is perhaps more capable at deduction than Sherlock but "is not energetic or ambitious." He made himself essential in government simply by being a genius and enjoying retaining superhuman levels of facts and being able to put them all together. He detested fieldwork and somehow became possibly the most essential man in government because of who he is. He is the cloaked driver and conspirator with Sherlock in "The Final Problem." When Sherlock Holmes faked his death, his only confidante was Mycroft. Mycroft even kept Baker Street exactly as Sherlock had left it, awaiting his brother's return. So why do people show these boys as being constantly at odds? Really, aside from the fact that, in these films, they portray Mycroft as being more sociable than in the books, I far prefer his portrayal as a man who cannot fathom why people would get married, who is socially awkward, who cannot be bothered with convention, and who genuinely seems to be without ambition aside from getting caught up in things occasionally. Naked Stephen Fry Mycroft is the superior Mycroft!

And you know? Sherlock is the guy who truly cares about people but is awkward about showing it, so he tends to lecture them. "My good buddies who are quite dumb about all the things, but go us!" He doesn't want to be alone. If anything, he is a clingy motherfucker. I will risk my life on this here website and say that I hated Sherlock's portrayal of Holmes and Watson and Mary and Mycroft (Irene is the only one I loved). I am not fond of Steven Moffat's affinity for writing narrative gods that exclude the viewer from participating in any meaningful way in the mystery/story (here is a video that distills my feelings about Sherlock and Steven Moffat's stints as showrunner: https://youtu.be/LkoGBOs5ecM).

And listen, I don't begrudge anyone for loving that adaptation. I am genuinely so happy for you all. Please go forth and be within your fandom and I wish you all of the best things in this life. I also don't believe that every adaptation has to adhere to the source material. Though, I am saying that I think this adaptation is the ONE that adheres MOST in a sea of adaptations that do not adhere closely at all. Additionally, I simply would rather have the fun romp because my experience of the books growing up was a fun romp in which I saw parts of myself that I didn't understand.

Also, they are adorable, and I want them to kiss. Mary would understand (she knows they're in love).

[bakersfield-row]

Am a Windows user, have never used anything but windows, am comfortable with windows.

Convince me to linux. Explain

I’m going to keep this short because I could make this infinitely long.

In a world where you really cannot trust big companies, windows has gotten very self conscious that they could track and sell every piece of data from their customer and add unnecessary features and no one would notice it, even though it actually makes the user experience worse. If you don’t have a key, you probably also have to over a hundred dollars just for some basic amenities, like changing a wallpaper.

Linux, in the other hand, is free and open source software (FOSS), which, in its simplest form, means that all the code is there for you to change and revise. Because of this openness, most Linux distros usually never have features to sell your data, and if they do, someone’s bound to make a patch to have that not happen. This means that Linux is much more safe and secure than windows by a long shot, and you really don’t have to worry about your information being sold to dubious companies.

Linux, with all its FOSS-ness, also allows anyone to make theirs distro look anyway you want. For instance, I personally prefer the look of MacOS to Windows (I know, probs controversial opinion). On windows, it’s be a pain in the ass to get it that way, especially without a key, while in Linux you can easily do that with relative ease, as long as you have a guide. Linux is just more freedom, something probably over said but still very true.

There’s other reasons why people would want to switch to Linux to. I didn’t really note that it’s less “bloated” than windows, which means that it has a lot less unnecessary features and thus will run way faster on any computer, especially old ones. Bloat has been kinda a controversial word in the community, since people like to argue that some distros are worse because they have more features. However, no matter what you choose, it’ll probably be better than windows.

The biggest drawback to Linux, in my opinion, is obviously app compatibility. I’ve mentioned gaming before, but that’s something that’s seedy vastly improved over the years. However, some popular apps are just incomparable with Linux, most notably the entire adobe suite and (unsurprisingly) Microsoft office. There’s a couple other things you can do to circumnavigate this.

You can try to find alternatives. GIMP works as a nice alternative to photoshop, Davinci Resolve has native Linux versions, and libreoffice is probably capable enough to replace word or PowerPoint.

You can try to install wine and pray to god it’ll work (though it probably won’t).

You can run a virtual machine and run windows with that, thought that’s not GPU accelerated and thus might be laggy.

OR, and this is the best option in my opinion, you can dual boot windows along side linux, so if you really need to use it, it’s there as an option. If you’re going to do this option, make sure to install windows first before Linux (because of some stupid thing where it erases it in grub or smtn) and that the two operating systems are on separate drives. Also try to debloat windows though guides on YouTube, but know that it won’t be as private as Linux.

Honestly, that’s as much as I have to say about the subject matter. Others are free to add on, since I probably missed a few things. You might not like it at first, but I do encourage you to at least try it. Hell, you might even like it so much that using windows is now alien to you (like me, lmfao).

Hope this helped, and remember, never type “sudo rm -rf /” in the terminal. (Aw fuck, I forgot to explain the terminal. Oh well, I hope someone can explain it to you, and if you get stuck on it there’s always guides online)

[icemde]

GRAY FULLBUSTER, BUT BETTER ( CANON DIV. MASTER POST )

STRIPPING HABIT.

I have always had... mixed feelings about how Mashi.ma handled this quirk of Grays. It's not something I'm removing from him, but it's not just something he does randomly. Gray stripping was a habit he picked up when he was learning from Ur, and with how much emotions Gray has tied to both Ur and his magic, it would make much more sense that stripping is a TRAUMA RESPONSE for Gray more than anything.

When Gray was younger and still fresh off of Ur & his parent's death, Gray would typically strip down to his underwear, but as he grew older the severity of it declined a lot. At most, Gray will take off his shirt and honestly prefers to be shirtless around the guild and during jobs. Gray has NEVER stripped down to nude, especially in any public setting.

ICED SHELL SIDE EFFECTS

Iced Shell is heavily implied to be a very dangerous and damaging spell to cast. The fact that the spell requires the caster to be in full consciousness and willingness to cast the spell alone and the cost of it is their life, it would make sense for any failed or incomplete attempts of the spell to have lasting damages on the caster. Considering Gray has attempted to cast this spell at least FOUR TIMES CANONICALLY, one of them being a modified version of the spell he created himself, it would make absolute sense that Gray didn't come out of any of this scotch free.

Gray's entire being is littered with scars looking identical to cracks. The most obvious ones are on his arms, originating from his palms and climbing up his entire forearm before dissipating around his elbows. While the cracks were present after his first attempt on Galuna Island, they became more prominent after his attempt to cast Lost Iced Shell, considering this was the closest he had gotten to successfully casting the spell.

Gray's body temperature has also dropped dramatically. While before Gray would have always been considered cold due to his magic, he was never at a point where it would be concerning to those unknowing. After his two attempts on Galuna, Gray became frigid to the touch, his body feeling colder with every continued attempt. Following his final attempt, touching any part of Gray would be similar to sticking your hand in a bucket of ice, with his hands being the coldest part of his body.

ECLIPSE GATE / GRAY'S DEATH

It's absolutely wild to me how little the source material addressed this after the fact, considering Gray had literally just WATCHED HIMSELF DIE. Like?? Really?? Nothing??

Anyways, Gray has lasting PTSD from this event, even if he refuses to acknowledge it. While never elaborated in canon, Gray still felt the damage of the dragonling's attacks, and knows exactly where they hit on his body and the pain each shot caused. Gray had suffered from phantom pains almost constantly the first few months after the games, namely the one first shot in his chest and the shot in his head. While not as bad as they were, lasers typically are a trigger for Gray, bringing back all the phantom pains at once. He hasn't told anyone about these.

In terms of who know's about Gray's death, he wasn't very vocal about it with anyone. The only people who know of it being Lyon, Juvia, Meredy and Cana, as they were the only people to see it. After the battle was over, he had asked the three not to share it with anyone else, his logic being that because it never actually happened, there was no reason to worry others about it.

SILVER & TARTAROUS ARC

I'll be honest, I've had so many mixed feelings about Silver being Gray's father. While I understand the emotional implications of it all, I feel like it does more harm than good. Gray is probably at a point in his life where he has at least somewhat excepted both of his parent's death ( hell he's made some damn good progress about Ur's death ) then to suddenly have the reanimated corpse of your father show up and give you a mission to kill a demon just seems... wrong.

Unless I am writing with a Silver who does keep Gray as his son, GRAY IS NOT SILVER'S SON. The Silver he fights in Tartarous is not related to him, but is still from the same village as him and probably knew Gray's parents when they were alive. He would still be the one to gift Gray the Ice Devil Slayers Magic, as a fellow victim of Deliora and seeing that there was a survivor who is still fighting against the demons. I'll have another segment on the magic itself ( and honestly it might get it's own post ) but the magic itself is almost like an heirloom of the village itself, so Gray inheriting it still has some connection to his past.

Gray going after E.N.D is still something that happens, although not a request from his father, instead a conclusion he comes to on his own, realizing most if not all the issues they have been encountering are all stemming from this one book and one problem.

ICE DEVIL SLAYER MAGIC & DEMONIFICATION

I love the fact that Devil Slayer Magic has consequences of its use. It's a magic inherently linked to dark magic so it would make sense it would come with a toll for its casting, especially if the caster wasn't properly trained in it. Considering Gray inherited the magic and the only teacher he could have for it died, Gray definitely falls on the more dangerous side of using the magic.

The magic itself originated in his home village of Aneria, where stories of soliders who fought demons was common place. It was standard practice for the magic to be passed down to the villages youth to continue its legacy, but after Deliora's attack, no one had been able to pass along the magic until Gray met Silver.

The darkness that taints his skin upon casting it is directly connected to two things. 1) the strength of the magic itself, and 2) the level of control he has over the magic. Because Gray is still fairly new to the magic, the more darkness is concerning, meaning he has less control over his magic and mental state. While not instantaneous, the magic is known to corrupt untrained users, which is the main reason Gray doesn't resort to using the magic unless absolutely necessary.

Honestly, this section is getting its own post in the future, but for now it's important to know that the cure Porlyusica gave Gray when the markings first started appearing were magic suppressants, to prevent the Devil Slayers Magic from overrunning him if continuous use was needed.

ONE YEAR TIME SKIP

I still have it that Gray and Juvia went off together to train during the time skip, but I will make it clear that GRAY TOLD JUVIA he was leaving. I honestly hate the idea of Gray, someone who has some level of abandonment issues, up and abandoning someone he cares about with little to no warning is absolutely messed up and not him. She knew he was leaving, but neither of them knew how long he was going to be gone, and he knew that reaching out to contact anyone would put the mission at risk, which is why he vanished off the map after joining Avatar.

MORE TO BE ADDED.

[amethystfox4]

Heres my tier list!

Explanations below the cut and thanks to @starrjoy for the blank list!

Note: every ship (excluding Knuxuge bc that is the only ship I have zero thoughts about other than "its canon") will have caveats to it.

Most of them being I do not have enough knowledge of the actual source(s) to have an opinion

My other one being I really don't care about the supposed canonisity of a ship so if you're wondering why theres only one ship in OTP its bc most of the others have some sort of hc attached to it (ex : All of Sonic's parings)

I love them!:

Hey look its the individual ships that make up SonAmyShad! In all honesty, I really like these three ships individually too, but I will gravitate towards the Sonic pairings more than Shadamy on an individual basis.

And I'm going to say it here Sonic as a character has two modes for me in a shipping sense- Hes either a disaster biromantic demiace or straight up aroace (no inbeween)

I like Sonamy in sense that yeah I can see yeah it can be cute but only if Amy isn't portrayed as an obsessed stalker. I know shes infatuated with Sonic and the idea of being with him, as shown in multiple games (I don't think its been a thing in recent years but I still feel the need to mention it), but I like to believe as Amy matures she realizes that putting Sonic on such a pedestal wasn't a good thing to do for either of them. I also like to think that as Amy mellows out her friendship with Sonic becomes a lot more solid.

Also if I was on a computer I would definitely put Sonadow between I love them! and I ship them for comedic value, bc you know those two idiots would not handle having romantic feelings in any normal way

Shadamy is interesting to me- I really like it I think its cute (Gives me Grease vibes now that I think of it) but I cannot see it being a thing in actual Sonic canon (honestly this is with most ship excluding a few). I see it in a "canon but to the left" kind of way.

So the next ship is Bunny x Antoine (I think). So my only and I mean only exposure to this ship (and these two characters) is from the fan comic TMOM (The Murder of Me) by Gigi and if their characterizations in there are anything like they are in Archie than yes!

Please do not comment asking for me to read the Archie Comics, I do not want to touch that monstrosity with a 10ft pole. (It scares me./j)

I purely ship them for comedic value!:

Infitgadet, I think is how that ship is spelt, is a funny crack ship that I just laugh at. Its stupid, its dumb, but I see the appeal.

Sonjet, a petty minor rivalry that becomes a bromance.

Sonic x Elise umm in canon: No. But outside of that...Ha ha, One!

Kinda cute sometimes:

Alot of these fall under "canon but to the left"

Shadilver and Sonilver, could work either way but in a similar but slightly different way to ShadSonAmy, I prefer it to be Sonadoilver over the individual ones

Blazemy, not much to say other than I like it.

Silvaze, I can see it better than the other three but not much else.

Tangle x Whisper, now I have not read IDW and I want to, so I don't much about these two other then sure, I'm cool with it.

Not for me but I can see the appeal:

Shadouge, I see Rouge as more as the older sister/wine aunt to Shadow more than anything else

Sonally, never watched Satam or read Archie but I do know of Sally through pop culture osmosis. If we're talking about how 90s American (cartoon) Sonic was than sure I see it. But for current Sonic (even Adventure Sonic) not really but I do see them as friends if she could exist again.

Espilver, dont know why I just like them a little

Sonknux, just a really good bromance, with Sonic being a little shit and sometimes flirting with Knuckles.

Not on the list but Sonouge is similar where I dont see them in a relationship they just like to throw flirty banter at eachother and it just confuses anyone who knows how Sonic normally reacts to being flirted with (even funnier if Sonic is aroace)

Sonaze, um its there, to me they'd just be friends with just a heavy meaning behind holding hands

I have never watched Sonic X but I can see the appeal of Tails being in a relationship but I really strongly see him as being aroace flat out, with strong platonic love for his brother and friends.

Not for me and I CANT see the appeal:

Shadknux, I see we are shipping the lancers together (Shadow and Knuckles are both lancers to Sonic in the five man band trope while Knuckles is the big guy/lancer Shadow is just Sonic's lancer imo). This confuses me I don't hate it I just don't get it.

Vanilla x Vector, huh? I'm not saying its bad just...

Silvamy, um what? I don't see them having romantic feelings for eachother like at all.

Wait this exist?!:

Metadow, Waveouge, and Blaze x Omega (?)...[Confused Laughter] What? Are these crack ships bc I can't wrap my head around them.

Surgeamy, now I have heard of this but why?

Sally x ???? (explains itself)

Shadaze, I see that picture is from Archie right? Uh...

Ian Jr. x Infinite, now thats a crack ship if I ever saw one!

Rouge x Topaz, uh I can't say I didn't know this existed just that I had no where else to put it since I have no idea what Topaz's character is like.