#never be afraid to interact at all

[biblicalhorror]

Aroace Riz real but also Fabian is SO clearly in love with him and Riz has no idea

[sciderman]

Wait i just...injust realised something.

Peter and Logan are both self-proclaimed loners, they have both serious anger issues and are kinda assholes who tend to lash out at people, one of their coping mechanisms (if i noticed it right with Peter) is to just leave a situation in anger and self-isolate themselves, they both seem to fall in love with most people around them (poly kings), and alot of people (including multiple villians) have a "God you piss me off so much! I wanna fuck you so bad! I HATE how atractive you are to me!" thing going on. They both lost their fashion style for the most part during the early 200s (70s and 80s were a fashion peak for them), transmascs seem to see them as transition goals, they both had their original love interest they intended on marrying and when that didn't work out (Gwen and Mariko), they had a period of being with a wild thrill-seeking lady in black bodysuits (Black Cat and Yukio), and they're both more skilled, smart and powerful than alot of people seem to think, they're also kinda hypocrites in the sense that they preach what others should be while not exactly being that themselves. They also have a Samurai and Ninja dynamic going on a bit. Like...no wonder i love both and no wonder Logan did that whole native american "blood brother" ritual with Pete, they're so similar in alot of things.

this is called batman syndrome and it effects one in every 5 superheroes. there is currently no cure. one like one prayer

[beloved-child-of-the-house]

i stand with you in the face of a defensive misunderstanding of what critique is.

i think understanding what a critique actually is is a skill that increasingly is not taught. i remember going through freshman art courses feeling the frustration that all negative, nasty, unhelpful, and missed-the-point-entirely feedback is so commonly conflated with critique, and then critique gets a bad name because everyone remembers the time someone said their painting looked like an asshole (true story, altho now i think i would take it as a compliment) instead of the time a teacher or friend or classmate helped them uncover a hurtful bias or think of new ways to explore the same idea or how to connect it to related ideas or how to look up and understand other people's ideas on the same topic.

anyway i think you're great.

ahhh you're so kind to me!! i appreciate your support, and i think you are great also.

i have experience with giving and receiving critique as a student myself, and i think it was the best part of my degree! i majored in creative writing in college, and critique was just a generally accepted part of learning to become a writer. i don't even remember people being especially worried about receiving critique on their work. we had guidance on what kind of feedback was useful, but we were still at liberty to give it as we saw fit as like messy 19 year olds. the standard was that we gave it both written on printed copies of the work AND aloud in front of the whole class, and the writer receiving it was not permitted to speak during the critique. understanding how people are perceiving your work is important!

i don't have any particularly negative recollections of the critique process, although once in a high school writing class, the boys in the class told me that my male characters touched each other too gently and real boys are more rough with each other. in particular, they took issue with me writing that one boy nudged another. nudging is too soft. nudging is for girls. that was more than 20 years ago, and i still think about it sometimes because it was such an interesting perspective! i did not take their advice, though.

i should dig up that piece and see if it reads queer in any other ways. i think that's what they were getting at. (actually i once had a non-fiction class tell me i was in love with my roommate after reading an essay i wrote about her)(i did not listen to that advice either, but having 12 acquaintances tell you that you're gay in 2006 before you realize it yourself is Truly Something!)

i think people have conflated criticism and critique and think that being more openly analytical is the same thing as being negative. but analysis is so fun to me! analysis is why i joined fandom in the first place, and it's why i write fic! can we trust each other to be respectful and to speak in good faith even when we're not singing each other's praises? for me fandom would be better if we could.

oh i also want to clarify that i don't think it's impossible to demonstrate that you've thought deeply about a piece of fanwork while remaining completely positive. people do it all the time and do it very well!

i know i sometimes have tunnel vision wrt my own perspective. in a lot of situations, i wish it were more acceptable to be more direct, and i know people sometimes find the way i express myself to be kind of shocking. i know a lot of people like to be spoken to more indirectly than comes natural to me, and i don't mean to imply that my perspective is the only correct one or that there's no good reason to err on the side of gentleness/politeness in our responses to amateur art and writing. i just think that at a certain level of circumspection, it feels like we're all holding each other at arm's length.

i think for people who can't bear to feel exposed, making and sharing art is always going to be painful and difficult, and maybe too painful and difficult to enjoy the process unless they're sure of a soft landing. but like. the rewards of being loved only come after the mortifying ordeal of being known, right?

[spotaus]

Thinking about Orchid and her connection to my take on Gender (because this was meant to be about her and the Crew but it just devolved into a character analysis kinda??? More trauma-dumping maybe???) This is very much an oc/personal rant so feel free to ignore it 🫡

So, Orchid started off as a character I didn't really think much of (hear me out this is going to be relevant) because I wanted to add a 'girl' character but didn't know what to *do* with her, y'know? She was always going to be the strongest one there, she had the odds stacked in her favor with her parents. She was always going to be the gloomy side-character to match Reset's energy. But I think she's gone through every stage of Generic Woman I could possibly find.

At first she was angry and abrasive (think Fell!Sans) where every other word was a curse and she was likely to throw the first punch then laugh as she kicks her enemy while they're down. This was when Reset was a cartoonishly self-centered villain whose goal was simply to prove others wrong. Then Orchid became a sort of sisterly figure. This was short-lived, but she was the one comforting people who Reset would torment, but would ultimately follow his orders, because at this point he was actually a danger and sadistic. And then there was the phase where the story mellowed out and she became the token Goth Girl who, yes she was strong, but was heavy on the 'whatever' energy. Then there was her Era of deep self-loathing and anxiety about her worth that held her back and made her a much more timid and meek character who would only lash out on occasion.

Now, Orchid is the best of those iterations I've written yet. She's calm, level-headed, and a natural leader. Her father raised those traits into her. But she's very reactive, and can be silly, and when she's comfortable it's likely that air of importance transforms into something more comfortable and familiar. She laughs loudly and grins wide, she likes loud video-games but loves to read in the quiet. She's extremely disciplined, and normally no one can get through her tough exterior besides her best friend, Reset. She does what she does for her own enjoyment, sure, but she's thought of every angle and makes her choice to help Reset and control the others with her whole chest. She still worries she won't live up to her invisible expectations, and that and her loyalty are her two driving forces.

I know that Orchid is important to me because she's the longest-running female oc I've had. I have a rough relationship with womanhood/girlhood and I know looking back that Orchid recieved every ounce of my distaste for being a woman that I could shovel into her. That never made her less of a character, she was actually always one of my favorites, and rarely was she a 'punching bag oc'. I just... projected onto her a lot. And she's a good sign of how I've learned who I am. I've decided that my own femininity is something I could live without. I'd rather not associate myself with it, and I'd like to leave it in my past, focusing on a future where I'm not tied down with any gender roles or expectations. That won't happen, but I've come to terms with it myself. Orchid though? I figured out through her that I don't have to hate women characters. My own distaste for my circumstances doesn't mean I have to push it onto my characters (on God I've never expressed anything rude to actual people, that'd be rude as hell and uncalled for, but I have a bad habit of disliking fictional women in media). So, Orchid is a well-roubded character finally. She has motivations abd goals and a *lot* more depth than I ever expected her to. She's happy with being a woman, she's content. She's not treated differently for it in unfair ways by those she cares about, so she doesn't mind it. She likes to wear pretty outfits and lets Reset add bows to her ribbons. She doesn't let being a woman hold her back in the slightest.

So, yeah. Orchid is one of my babies. If I ever leave this Fandom behind for good, she's one that's coming with (Ichor, Orchid, and Pretender all have human designs I can use elsewhere lol-) but in the meantime I'll just rotate her around in my brain for a while longer.

If I'm right, she's been with me for nearly 5-6 years and I went through a *lot* with her as an outlet. So, she's kinda just like an old stuffed animal. A lil ripped, matted fur, maybe a stain or two, but there's a story there and that makes it important beyond belief.

[bearfeathers]

honestly obsessed with the fact that when trent went to talk with roy, he clearly thought he was about to get hit. and not just that, he was clearly convinced that everyone else was going to let it happen—including himself! like, girl omg!

[chryblossomjjk]

...

[einsvei]

REAL REAL REAL. FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT. some of the twisted wonderland fans be so obnoxious about how a character “WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT” but within the same day they’ll post about how a ship is actually canon. or they’ll make a headcanon that is just them projecting themselves onto the character. like which one is it? do you hate people mischaracterizing or are you okay with people having fun? cause there’s literally nothing wrong with making headcanons, regardless of how in character it is. have fun. write whatever tf you want. but the moment i see you berate people for making shit ooc, and then go onto write the same type of shit, that’s when i have a problem.

Im glad my sentiment is shared. Honestly speaking, writing characters that either don't belong to you or that you dont have a full analytical grasp on isn't a walk in the park. Theres a lot of ways to make mistakes, and that's absolutely fine.

Some writers are seemingly alright with adding their own headcannons to characters, yet will yell at others for doing the same.

If you dont like a certain way a writer wrote/ portrayed the character, you're more than welcome to open a google Doc and try to do any semblance of a better job. However, that shouldn't be used as ammunition against the other.

If a person wants to write azul being a CEO of a conglomerate or riddle as a sheltered young master, so be it. But you know what? You're not better than them because you refuse to broaden your range.

[datastate]

aaaaaa

[disco-lizard]

im gonna fuckin bash my head into the wall lol july is almost over and this year has been utter shit for me and i don't see any end to any of it and i'm sick and tired of harboring so much rage towards the people who have hurt me and living in constant fear that everyone else in my life is going to hurt me too

[starrierknight]

like/reblog ratio goes crazy. literally what

[galadae]

sometimes I think about the last enw fight and how zenos asks if it was all worth it. I think cala told him she just wanted to go home

[meownotgood]

Mags do you ever just… feel so shy because you want to compliment people with the same interests as you and how you like their work, example you being online mutuals… I have mooties who can draw and I get so shy because their works are pretty cool and they are cool as people too, just…. AAAAHHHHHHH!!! Like do you have mutuals who can draw because I’m gonna burst I just want to compliment themmmmm… 🥺

yes!!!!! I feel this way as well, sometimes I am shy to interact with my mutuals because I'm like... you're so cool and have such cool writings and arts... recently, I don't have as much time to interact 🥹 but I try my best to remember how happy it makes me when someone says they like something I made, even if it's simple. or how nice it is to have someone check in on you and just say they appreciate you... when I remember that, I try to show them my appreciation when I can

[iiboronii]

i think that i might've posted about it before but i <3 all the little -ler blogs on here. i'm being so fr. nothing clears my skin more than seeing a -ler blog answering questions. i love you guys please keep making silly little -lers.

[chiimeramanticore]

do you have a favorite character or a favorite relationship to write in potb ?

the obvious answer here is dook and beach bear lol . i think they're both endlessly fascinating characters and I've been enjoying writing them slowly getting close enough to each other for them to finally mesh. close second place is beach bear and queenie's relationship, which is really highlighted between chapters 7-14 so if you're only following the fic via tumblr you're in for a treat lol. i really like writing a dynamic where they both hate each other and yet both care very deeply about each other. they're constantly annoyed by each other's existence lol and they both overstep the line at times but when it comes down to it neither of them actually want the other out of their life despite it all. i think the fact they both go too far w each other at times is part of why they both still care about each other– getting hurt by someone you love can be a backwards reminder you love them, just from it hurting so bad. they don't really have a healthy relationship but that's what makes me so interested in them, more room for drama lmao

[mikashisus]

guys PLSS do not be afraid to interact with me. u can ramble in my inbox, comment on my posts, etc. just pls don’t be afraid to interact, i promise i don’t bite lmao 🫶

[thesmokinpossum]

also tomorrow i need to tell some really nice dude i went on a couple of date with that it's just not gonna work out and not trying to be dramatic or anything but the stress of it kinda makes me feel like a piece of charcoal in a burning bbq