#not really about anything in particular just observing a trend

[leezuhh]

it feels like the population of people online who understand that sometimes people watch stuff that is not technically "good" simply because they enjoy it is getting smaller all the time

[gmanwhore]

The inhabitants of Sunshine Terrace/Apartment Block 5598: Personal notes by The dOOrman! You know. The doorman. Of Sunshine Terrace.

Roman Stilinsky: Pleasant. Like no real stuff for him. We rarely ever talk. I mean, like. We talk enough for me to know him I guess? He hates the taste of black tea and he likes jazz. That’s all I really know. 

Lois Stilinsky: She’s a bit of a gossip, and is probably the best at makeup in the whole apartment! She’s not a huge fan of having to keep her looks the same all the time. She loves the smell of grapefruit and her favorite perfume smells like it. 

Robertsky Peachman: He doesn’t talk much! He’s not stupid like some people think, he’s just like that. He’s a hard worker and I can respect that. He can’t stand loud noises.

Albertsky Peachman: He can be just a bit rude, but it’s ok. It’s not often. He just wants to get home. I just don’t think he likes people all that much. He always shuts the door to the front lobby behind him even if it closes on its own. 

Angus Ciprianni: I don’t have mush to say anything but he is so fake. He also throws a lot of parties to literally everyone’s annoyance. Especially me! His shoelaces are fake, he can’t tie them and he hates birds. 

Selenne and Elenois Sverchtz: They are the faces of the “sameness is beauty” movement, a new trend encouraging people to stick to particular outfits and looks and not change them. As twins they were deemed the perfect candidates for this. They are a bit uncanny as they do in fact. Just act like the same person just reflected in a mirror. They also have cats. Two. They are twins. They are pleasant to be around, but tend to leave other people out of their inside jokes. One of their jokes is laughing at palimdromes. 

Arnold Schmicht: He used to be a horror writer before. Ten years ago. He is not trying horror writer anymore, he tends towards more domestic pieces generally inspired by our neighbours. I’ve read a few of his books, both old and recent. I find his new pieces also have a certain sense of dread built into them, like he wants so desperately to explore those darer topics again. You also wouldn’t clock him as a horror writer! He loves jokes, and is a very bright, talkative man. He’s also just great to hang out with. He loves being asked about his latest project, and he likes eating lemons like oranges. 

Gloria Schmict: She isn’t as done with everything as she looks! She’s just usually really tired after a long day of helping people at the bank. She has quite the dry sense of humour, but that doesn’t mean she’s not fun to talk to! She’s one of the most observant of my neighbours, which also makes her slightly paranoid. I definitely get it, though. We have a sort of solidarity I think. She’s afraid of spiders, but she likes snakes. Her favorite colour is yellow. 

Izaack Gauss: Despite his general air, he’s actually really easy to talk to. While I’m not close with him at all I get why people like him. He swears by using Gerome’s Hair Gel, it’s the only brand he uses. He also can’t stand the taste of mint unless it’s mixed in with something. 

Margarette Bubbles: Her favorite things to sew are dresses, and she actually specialises in bridesmaid’s dresses though she does do general repairs for people. She always has her bag of sewing materials on hand, and has a great eye for colour. She actually can’t really see out of her lazy eye, though she has horrible depth perception because of it. She’s a gossip QUEEN and knows quite a bit. Her house is really comfortable, and she has a lot of hand-sewn dog stuffed animals there since she loves dogs but can’t have them. She has a bias for St. Brenards. She makes the BEST turnovers I have ever eaten and she refuses to tell me her secret to them. Her favorite colours are burnt orange and royal purple, and she loves the smell of pine. 

Nacha Mikaelys: She almost always has something sticking out her hair, things just get tangled there! She says she’s been meaning to cut her hair for a while but she’s worried about getting mistaken for a doppleganger so she’s waiting until we have to get new ids. She’s really loud, but in a good way! She wears jewlery usually, she says she has a little bag for her earrings and bracelets for when she’s cooking. She owns a chef hat for home but doesn’t wear one at work. She collects her daughter’s broken slinkies and keeps them in her purse and she has a locket she refuses to tall me what’s in. She loves banana bread and her favorite animals are pigeons. She also has lovespoons hanging up in her apartment!

Anastacha Mikaelys: She doesn’t really like people, she gets overwhelmed easily in social situations so she avoids them. She likes slinkies, and the smell of normal household soap. She actually has a huge slinky collection, but she only lets you see them or play with them if she trusts you. She wants a hamster, and Nacha told me not to tell her but Nacha is saving up to suprise her. 

Mia Stone: She doesn’t believe fully in the dopplegangers and can be quite rude when coming through! She almost always “forgets” to tell me when she leaves so I can’t add her to my list. She is curt and to the point when she talks, and tends to overexplain things. Then again she works with small kids so I can let that slide. She knows how to tango. 

Dr. W.  Afton: He also thinks having a doorman is stupid, but he’s a bit ruder. He doesn’t really say hello to me and tends to turn his whole body to the door when I say he’s cleared to go. I think he doesn’t like the wait. His favorite colour is olive green. 

Francis Mosses: He isn’t all that interesting. He doesn’t hate his job, but he doesn’t like it. He jokes about just sleeping in his car a lot, and sometimes he just. Randomly breaks into scared ranting about our situation. He tends to stay alone, and when I went over to his house once it was. Kinda depressing, it didn’t feel like he actually lived there at all. He likes ribbons and collects them off the street, and he says his favorite colour is scarlet. 

Steven Rudboys: He’s much less serious than he comes off. He speaks quietly and mumbles a lot, but he gets loud when he’s excited. He has a passion for the history of planes, but not really of flying. He only really became a pilot because he struggles with doing matinence on the planes. He likes puns, and when he realizes he has an in he lights up a bit. He likes cats and birds, and he’s really good at making a duck call. 

Mclooy Rudboys: He called me “sweetheart” once and I tried blowing him up with my mind. He makes jokes about his son possibly not being his??? He’s divorced at least three times and told me “he’s lost count” and apparently he fought in World War 2 and retired from being a pilot after that. He likes eagles and only smokes cigars. 

Alf Cappuccin: He’s sort of hard of hearing and tends to not like. Understand what I’m saying so I have to use cards so he gets what I’m saying. He’s a few years younger than McClooy. He likes his porridge with brown sugar and raspberries and he likes the smell of brown paper bags. 

Rafttellyn Cappuccin: Rafttellyn tends to be quite nervous and timid, she doesn’t really talk much. She has the highest voice by far. She dyes her hair, it’s actually grey but she gets a bit nervous about it. She loves apples and always has them in a wooden bowl on her table. Her perfume smells like old roses.

[misscammiedawn]

"Your mind makes it real"

So I was watching the new Folding Ideas video on meme stock and how a cult formed around a number of ideologies regarding financial systems and short selling.

I like watching videos like this. Dan Olsen does a number of good videos on different online conspiracies such as Flat Earth and NFTs and then you have HBomb doing the same thing with anything from Colecovision to the war on christmas and alt right grifts.

And whenever I research these sociological trends I become uncomfortably aware of the fact that I exist within one of these little closed circles. (Well, more than one given the communities and support groups around psychology and mental health, but I'm here to talk about Kink today)

Hypnosis, especially within our community, is entirely held up by a series of beliefs with an internal language that creates a massive divide between those in the know and those out of the know and it literally only works because we believe it works.

In many ways what we do is as much sociology as it is psychology.

And I kind of that it's okay for that to be true so long as we all occasionally remind ourselves of that fact and never abuse the power we each possess as authors of that shared narrative, because much like under hypnosis our hypnotees are suggestible and need to have care in what we provide to their open mind, educators within the community have an eager and open audience that stretches further than we know and regardless of intent, our beliefs and teachings will become their facts and reality as surely as had we have programmed a hypnotee to believe them as they wake on the count of 1--2--3!

Okay. Let me break this up a little.

Does this mean I think hypnosis is fake and we're all just going along with it?

One of my partners and I have had conversations about subjectivity in both hypnosis and mental health spaces before and we hate that one of the most approachable quotes comes from an author that leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

"Of course it's all happening in your head [...] why on Earth should that mean it's not real?"

One of the big differences between the online erotic hypnosis community and the NGH (National Guild of Hypnotists) who rue our existence is that we do not require legitimacy to function when they themselves exist in a half-truth state where when receiving both of my certifications it was impressed that we needed to perform an uneasy dance of providing services without practicing medicine because hypnotherapy is not licensed psychology in the same was that chiropractors are not performing medicine.

Within *certain portions* of hypnokink we are perfectly okay with the idea of being wrong and of sharing ideas.

Wiseguy said it best in his class "The best induction is the one that works" and what works works because it is effective in that moment between that particular hypnotist and that particular hypnotee.

Likewise, the more educated a person becomes, the more effective hypnosis becomes. Understanding trance is a tool to achieve it faster. Even a cold hypnotee who is being introduced for the first time receives an education via pre-talk which we tend to believe is more important than the induction itself.

You know what I mean when I talk about pretalk, right?

"We all go in and out of hypnosis multiple times a day" "Highway hypnosis" "Flow state"

These are all real and observable things and we can view hypnosis impacting a mind on an EEG.

Hell even Oh No Ross and Carrie (a podcast where they join insular communities with intent to learn if they are cults/grifts) did an episode on hypnosis and conceded that the principals of suggestibility, hypnotic state and conditioning are all just... how the brain works... and that you can't really dive into fact/fiction when it's essentially telling a person to do something and they either do it or they don't.

It's not mind control. It's suggestion and even within our circles we all agree that mind control is a fantasy.

So I guess... it's as real as we all agree it to be.

The issue is that group agreement of all the little elements is held up by The Community as a whole and... maybe we should talk about the vulnerabilities at play there.

What do I mean when I talk about insular communities?

Recently I read a REALLY good line on a quote on Twitter that speaks to what I mean here:

And this is what I mean when I talk about belief systems inside and outside of the community. It's a good post as I firmly agree with what it communicates.

The Online Hypnosis Community is a term with no specific borders. In my reality it's the orbit that happens to take place around those who are known, trusted and teach at the primary US erotic hypnosis convention circuit.

However I know that in reality the online hypnosis community contains multiple pools and factions that I either strictly ignore, such as ones surrounding dangerous figures like NeuralNets and Nimja or ones I am not close to, like local kink scenes for cities across the world including those where English is not a first language or mlm communities where I do not really have a place, to niche pockets such as the furry hypnosis community, dronekink and even the tiny little subniches such as Empty Spaces and HDG which have splintered off into entire little separate universes with their own language and core beliefs.

For the most part this is a beautiful thing. What I'm describing is no less a divide between interests as being a member of the "Video game horror" scene and not visiting the niches of Indie Game Horror, Japanese Horror, creepypasta mods and such.

Every community has pockets like this.

But the more specific and tight a community becomes, the more "insular" it is. Language and widely held beliefs begin to gather in tighter pressurized windows. One need only look at how brainwashing and conditioning are viewed collectively in darker corners to see the difference and this is to make nothing of things like political and social beliefs in certain corners.

In those dark corners "You can't be hypnotized to do anything you don't want to do" is an essential lie WITHIN their insular community so that they can maintain a degree of plausible deniability and power over their people.

So what's your point?

That is the question, isn't it?

I guess the answer to that is... "always question what you believe, why you believe it and don't assume everyone around you does or should think the same thing."

When discussing red flags in the community on Discord and Twitter with other educators, I've always said the biggest red flag an educator can have is teaching that there is believing they have all the answers.

ALL OF US are working in this space from a belief system. An organic and living one which is impacted by our interactions with the kink, with one another and with the world around us.

No one individual in our community holds all the answers. Not me, not the authors of the manuals that we push, not Richard Nongard, Milton Erickson.

It also means we need not be defensive about our hobby and beliefs. Many will never accept what we do as actually having any basis in reality and that's okay. We're making spaces for play and some will just see us as overactive roleplayers who are tricking ourselves into believing things and to that I always say:

"You're dang right we are. That's the point."

It's not magic. It's not hard science. It's just belief, confidence and a willing to play along.

I could bust out the EKG studies or describe the altered states of consciousness and I will ALWAYS preach how suggestible a person is in and out of hypnosis and the dangers of what we do because those dangers are real and present. But at the end of the day, I want to take a moment and evaluate "what if I'm wrong?"

And the correct answer to that is "will I or someone else be hurt by my ignorance or misaction" and act accordingly.

But that's me. That's my belief system and I am aware of the fact that what we do is entirely built upon our belief that it works and that we are being safe and sane and fun.

That doesn't make me right. That doesn't mean I didn't learn some bad lessons.

It just means I want to keep doing better and I trust that the people around me are all doing the same. With hope of growing. Learning more about individuals and the community as a whole and trying to make this place better.

Because... if I stand in front of a room and teach a class that carries some bad ideas. They'll take seed.

And let me tell you something...

This community is FULL of bad ideas

I've been here since the early days. I was there when Warp My Mind and Wendi.com were the two sites that popped up when you went searching for files. I was there during the implosion of Inraptured and the transphobic meltdown of Isabella Valentine. I have witnessed hypnocon board after hypnocon board fall apart. I've seen scandals and dramas and chaos.

I was there when Bimbopolitic was outed as a CIA plant for fucks sake. Please don't ask follow-up questions. My head is still spinning from that saga of events.

and that inevitably means I have internalized some dumb shit in my day. I've been unlearning it as much as I can over the past 5-6 years. But it's there.

Likewise a lot of the books I read and grew up on are based on the beliefs of less than wonderful human beings. Milton Erickson is no rolemodel, but damned if his theories aren't worth looking at.

This is one thing I respect about sleepingirl's NLP Book. The conceit was to study what PUA instructors taught and see what could actually be used from an objective standpoint. Actually interrogate the beliefs of NLP from a "I don't know anything" standpoint.

If I have any point in my whole ramble of a post it's that. Approach learning things with the curiosity of someone who is willing to learn and doesn't know any better but with the wariness of someone who has been burned too many times and knows that there's bad actors all over and everything needs to be turned over a few times to examine.

At the end of the day I just want a safe community full of positive ideas and if there's one thing I've learned about hypnosis it is this "positive associations stick, negative suggestions are harder to ground"

Both in the good way and the bad. Unlearning things is hard.

Let's just be aware that we're all playing in the same sandbox. Share our tools and try to build something beautiful.

and never stop asking "...am I sure about this?"

*Shrug* Or don't. It's just a suggestion <3

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hii Miss Raven! I have been wondering and I have come asking for the help of a twisted wonderland specialist (you, your blog is an oasis for those who crash into wonderland and know nothing about nothing, like me, so thank you). Do you know which are the most popular characters in the game? Thank you!!

Character popularity varies based on the region (JP vs EN, or even by irl geographical location ) or the platform (social media, magazine, etc.) you’re sampling; there is no such thing as an official popularity ranking. This will naturally occur due to differences in culture and the types of audiences certain platforms attract. Please note that it is also extremely easy to manipulate the votes in unofficial polls, especially casual ones put out there by individual fans. Any observations made in this post are just that: observations, nothing cut and dry.

The trend in JP has consistently been Floyd, Riddle, Azul, Jade, and Leona in the top 5 spots (usually with Riddle and Floyd trading places for the top 2). In EN, we see a similar trend with Octavinelle and Leona being in the top 5. Malleus is also extremely popular in the English-speaking fandom. Heh, Octa sweep—

If you were to sample just (EN) Twitter, there’s a good chance that Idia would be high on that list as well, since he’s seen as “relatable and cringe” by many TWST Twitter users. He just fits into that particular cultural niche very well.

I would recommend checking out this post (which has links to further readings) if you want to hear more of my thoughts about the variance in character popularity across cultures.

Please note: going forward, I will not respond to general questions about character popularity; they inevitably lead to the same kinds of responses, and that doesn’t really add anything to or expand on the discussion 💦

[ladamedusoif]

It might be the cold meds talking, but I feel like I need to have a ramble about writing - partly because I’ve seen a few “you write for YOU and whatever you WANT” posts over the last few days, some of which have been spot on and some not so much.

To clarify: this post isn’t about me. Or at least, it’s MOSTLY not about me. It’s just some observations about fic.

This is a lovely and important message. Ultimately, we do all write for ourselves. Of course we do.

But saying “write for you and only for you!” is easier when you’re someone who routinely gets hundreds of notes on a fic within the first couple of hours. Or when you’ve got a massive audience already. Or when you write something that seems to get more attention than anything else in terms of popular characters and tropes (ahem Joel age gap smut ahem).

Trends come and go in literature of all kinds, whether properly published works or fics. That’s par for the course.

But the problem is when it feels like only a certain kind of story gets any attention. When stories with real heart and love and care and feeling seem to be routinely ignored because they don’t fit the bill: they’re slow burns, they don’t involve popular tropes, but they’re proper stories that could exist without any connection to the fandom they’ve been written for.

And, worse, when the people writing those stories start to feel deeply disheartened and as if it’s just not worth it.

We talk a lot about anon hate (spoiler: don’t do it) and nine times out of ten that seems to be based on the idea of people writing potentially triggering or taboo topics saying they’ve received “hate”. (Sometimes this is actual hate and sometimes it’s genuine, considerate questioning around warnings etc.)

Thing is: the people writing the ‘unpopular’ stories get hate - genuine, real, nasty hate - too. This post isn’t really about me, but as an example: I’ve not turned on anon asks in months, because of the last shitfest. And I’m not alone, because I know what people have had sent into their inbox in response to the most inoffensive, sweet stories. It baffles me.

All this is to say - I wish people would be a little bit more open in what they want to read, and would recognise that “anon hate” isn’t just about puritanical prudes trying to “tell people what to write” as seems to be the general assumption. People keep trying to put a bit more diversity out there in the fic buffet, to write loving and carefully crafted stories, and for all the “write it for you” posts it still feels like it doesn’t matter. Like no one wants it. And that’s when writers start to think they’re awful, their ideas are bad, their style is weak.

Worse? They get shitty, mean-spirited asks and comments. (Even if it’s not “hate”. I’m still baffled by the people who say they couldn’t finish a one-shot of mine because there wasn’t a significant age gap between the Reader and the male character… but I don’t think that’s strictly hate, as such. Dispiriting, though.)

And what happens then? They stop writing. The stories cease. And the fic buffet becomes more and more one-note, more and more dictated by prevailing winds and a particular kind of purple prose style. And the readers - who might have found those stories if more people had engaged with them and reposted and shared them - wonder why no one seems to write for them.

A while back I wrote a tag that was something like “there’s room for everything”. Unfortunately, that “everything” remains a little limited, at least in terms of what actually seems to get picked up and gain traction. And “there’s room for everything” doesn’t mean that all writers are above reproach, either.

Try something new, people. Give a soft story a go. Who knows, you might like it.

[mothbeasts]

hi. going to speak on something that's been bothering me for the past... however long, since it seems like complaint posts have been cropping up lately. putting this under the cut.

Maybe I'm reading too far into things. Maybe I'm wrong. But I feel like there is a massive difference in how this fandom treats the women versus the men.

Again. Maybe I'm wrong. I sincerely hope I'm just wrong. It's hard to think that, though, when I see the differences in how people treat the major antagonists of the series.

John Juniper is a fandom favorite. I feel like people have talked about him more than any other character I've seen, save for Agent Phoenix and perhaps the Handler. I see people come up with any reason for him to not actually be as bad of a person as we see in canon - despite the fact that he wants to launch nuclear weapons. He wants to kidnap and impersonate public figures. He's having a good time playing the villain. I've seen his actions excused in any number of ways.

Meanwhile... When people do talk about Solaris, it tends to be to remind people of very surface level information, rather than to do any sort of in depth analysis style posts. I see information that's incomplete or just not really true passed around a lot. The Fabricator is flattened down so incredibly often to just one character trait - her anger, typically exaggerated to be comical hatred of John Juniper in particular or just... Violence in general. And yes, she gets angry frequently, but I never see her given the same depth to that anger as John Juniper is given to his. And Prism? An antagonist that gets as much screen time as Juniper, if not more? I hardly see her mentioned at all these days. And even when she was talked about, I don't recall seeing many people analyze her character. Or talk about her motivations. Definitely not in the same way Juniper gets talked about, at the very least. All three of them are mischaracterized often, from my observations, flattened to pave the way for... John Juniper, mostly.

And that's not even getting into the background women who aren't talked about at all when compared to the men with similar story roles.

It's... Frustrating. I surround myself with people who enjoy the characters I do, who find it interesting to talk about the women in this game. I make the content I want to see. But the last time I said anything outside of those close circles, I was told to... Make the content I want to see. To engage with the content that's out there. And that frustrates me, too. Because I'm making it. I had been making it. I was actively working on Biomechatronic at the time. I was drawing, posting my art, and ever since I entered the fandom I've focused mainly on the women - The Fabricator, in particular. And I don't make art just for views or internet points or what have you, but it is discouraging to feel like the fandom doesn't care about what I have to offer.

Like whatever characters you want to like. I'm not trying to tell anyone to stop making the art or posts they enjoy making. But... I have noticed a trend, and it's one I find somewhat concerning. That's all.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

So, noticed something of a trend with your AUs, and had a question. Many of your AUs have Mirabel harmed, whether beheaded (Ride the Cyclone and Reincarnated), abused (every AU where she isn't the giftless grandkid), or violated (Miracles Plus). Is there a reason she is your whump muse? Not meaning to judge, just an observation.

This will be a long one.

But in short, it’s coincidence. I guess?

Ride the Cyclone is based off a musical off of the same name, with the same premise. Mirabel just happened to fit the beheaded character of Jane Doe the best. And was the only who worked in that small town setting as she had to not be identified (that’s the whole point of Jane Doe) - the others were too well-known.

Reincarnation was intentional. All of them suffered through death though and have their own issues. She is just the youngest of the group, died young and never got to live long enough to solve any of her issues the first time. She also struggles with talking about her emotions, as seen in the film, so it would be wrong to make her willing to do so and eager to take up therapy.

She isn’t abused in every AU where she isn’t the giftless grandkid - nobody really asks for the others, so you don’t get to see her having a better time. The giftless ones in particular wouldn’t be interesting if they followed the entire same plot as canon, so I tweak them a bit to give some originality. And as I’m not limited to the same condiments as the film, I can afford to play about more.

Fracture, Luminous and Imperfect were all spawned of the same idea, which is why you’ll notice some themes and gifts are reused across the three. Having the extra two was to explore Isabela’s dynamic (in the same scenario as Luisa in Fracture) in and out of the family home - I couldn’t have one punishment in one and not the other, which is why Fracture and Imperfect Mira are so similar and both were abused.

Miracles Plus is also intentional. There’s a lot of fics where Mirabel is violated (usually at fifteen) and sometimes ends up pregnant - most of which, I don’t think are handled well. I wanted to write something heavier and play about with the more complex emotions/thoughts of such an experience, especially in a realistic/relatively historically accurate setting.

As for any of the other AUs… I can’t think of anything in particular at the moment or I’ve not had the chance to talk about them much.

Though some of the AUs are suggestions from other people, in which case I can’t take entire credit. If people want to see something different, you only have to ask. I’m happy to give any AU idea a shot.

To be honest though, I think Luisa and Isabela got the most whump across my AUs.

[divinekangaroo]

Slightly itchy about this trend for comments on fanfic which go on about 'they're so in character' / 'this feels like part of the canon'. Not that it's necessarily a bad comment, particularly if the author's intent was to actually achieve that outcome, but I keep coming across on fics where....they are absolutely not in character and the story doesn't feel like part of the canon, so...why use that comment?

And the fics are still good fics: the author's usually honing on one angle of the character/s and leaning hard into that to suit the particular narrative they want to tell or the area they want to explore, and the characters are then in character and believable within the context being written, and the story is good, it's really good -> but the trend for this specific comment being applied in situations where it's....not applicable....makes it feel as if fandom has managed to contrive yet another false dichotomy: 'could be canonical' = goodfic and 'anything other than that' = badfic.

It's absolutely a false dichotomy. Some of the fanfics I've read that lasted with me over years and years definitely could not have been canonical. But they played with elements in the canon/characterisation, emphasised some and downplayed others and it made me see the characters in a new light, and the stories were usually diverse and *had* that transformative element, to take an element, appropriate it, transform, replay it back through a different lens or frame, and it resonated, at times in way the canon didn't, and they were just, at the core, really *good* stories.

So it's not as if I dislike receiving those sorts of comments in my current PB series, because I *am* trying to slot things into canon gaps, but these comments have made me more and more nervous the more I get and the more I see how it's applied on other good, yet not 'canonical-type' fics: because it feels like it's not actually making an observation on the fic at hand but rather applying that false trending dichotemy that attempts to moralise different kinds of approach to fanfic as better than others.

[d0d0-b0i]

i do not often talk about stuff like this, but i am now!! setting my bases on this one extremely particular feeling i have about something i see commonly enough to be confused by (will be talking about transmen in explicit fanfiction, put under a readmore in case any1 don’t wanna deal with that which is perfectly understandable. also obv disclaimer please don’t read this if you’re a minor. personal preference):

alright. i think it is weird how often transmen in fanfiction end up being the bottoms.

this is such a weird thing for me to talk about hence the read more, but for anyone wondering, in case it wasn’t blatantly obvious, i am a trans man myself and am basing this biased opinion on my life experience and not anything else really. my blog, my rules baybee B)

but anyway back to the topic at hand. whenever i look through a fandoms ao3, any fandom at all, whenever a trans guy is involved in an explicit fic, he almost always is described as the bottom whether it be in the works tags or be shown later on throughout the fic. i just. don’t understand why??

what is the idea here. that transmen are bottoms by default? that we will automatically be fine with using our genitals to satisfy a partner? i get confused. don’t get me wrong, there are many guys like that out there(nothin wrong with it either), what i am pointing out is the near constant of this trend wherein that is the assumption.

it reminds me of the abo conundrum i have talked about once before. why must the dynamics be so simple? hurrdurr alpha big strong top who protect weak omega mate. hurrdurr cisman big strong protect weak transmate who’s oh so small and fuckable and defenseless. do you see where i am going with this? i’m not going mad am i? to see that some authors just want to use transmen as stand-ins so that they don’t have to tag their work with abo?

please validate the words i spew. it feels almost perverted the way people write about us. as if we’re not real? goes all the way back to yaoi dynamics too. some people cannot fathom a relationship where it’s not just a simple top/bottom dynamic. idk man. shits weird and i see it wherever i go. (tragically even in the sonic fandom while scrolling through the ao3 tag. I DO NOT READ IT FOR IT IS ABOUT MINORS, OBVIOUSLY. THE OBSERVATION IS MADE THROUGH THE WORKS TAGS. prefacing that because i am paranoid <3

anyway. last paragraph because otherwise i will go mad. i feel deranged typing this out honestly. there are probably a thousand different explanations as to why certain authors write transmen the way they do in explicit fiction, but i just. cannot unsee the world the way i view it. cannot unsee the unspoken thread of if a man in a gay relationship is more “feminine”, whether that be by being an omega, or not being cis, or being short or whatever else, is automatically in the position of “bottom”. it just boggles my mind. feel free to add on to this. i’m sorry for going insane live. it just feels so weird, how many characters will be headcanoned as trans men just so they can get pregnant :/ feels weird tbh. that’s all you see us as? men that OF COURSE want to get impregnated and give birth why wouldn’t we? it’s not like there’s usually crippling dysphoria. oh wait lmao

[robthegoodfellow]

I was thinking about Billy and Max and how an abusive parent can affect sibling relationships and then I just so happened to scroll past a post about Zuko and Azula because tumblr knows my love for AtLA will never die.

What follows are some rambling thoughts fueled by an amount of wine.

Aside from the sudden need for an AU wherein Billy and Max are fire-benders, the parallels really struck me: how both Billy and Zuko were belittled, verbally/physically abused by their fathers in ways that made them feel like outcasts in their own families, that pushed them to hone their bodies into something that would lend them power, that led to their lashing out against others (Neil sending Billy out to find Max is a miniature version of Ozai banishing Zuko to find the Avatar). And then I thought of how their mothers abandoned them in abusive households. The only difference is Zuko had Iroh (and writers with souls. and brains), whereas Billy had no one (and shitty ass writers).

It’s been explored by others more effectively how Max showed signs of mimicking the abusive tactics she observed at home and used them against Billy in the fight scene in season 2, and that reminded me of how Azula perpetuated Ozai’s abuse of Zuko (obviously to a way more extreme degree). But then it made me rethink some assumptions I’d been making about Max… like Azula, she’s blunt and outwardly confident (or at least… abrasive?? which can read similarly!) when we meet her in season 2, using sarcasm/insults as her main mode of interacting with peers. And she’s a tomboy, seeming to reject “girly” hobbies and style of dress in favor of “boyish” ones… and if you compare those traits to Azula, and consider why Azula embraced and honed particular traits, it opens up the potential for a different read on Max.

A lot of people assume Max would have gotten flack at home for not being girly enough. But what if the traits we see in Max are ones that Neil had a hand in fostering, both by being a snide jerk role model himself, but also because Neil is a misogynist. (Like Ozai, he throws his weight around with his wives, demanding obedience and submission via sadistic assholery) Because there’s a reason why “girl power” trends of the 80s/90s involved girls/women acting more like boys/men, up to and including padding the shoulders of their powersuits to look like a linebacker... and it’s because femininity was perceived as weak and inferior. In that sense, it would track that Neil would approve of Max being a tomboy and being assertive and being snide… because Neil disdains anything feminine. Max being a tomboy is therefore good, but Billy exhibiting any weak or “girly” behaviors is cause for mockery and insults. Max is rocking that internalized misogyny that tells her she’s not like other girls, and Neil would have undersigned that shit.

JUST LIKE AZULA. Ozai groomed her to be just like him.

Max tells Lucas in season 2 that she doesn’t want to be like Billy. And that line hits a bit different when you consider the possible effect that Neil may have had on her perceptions of Billy and herself. That in order to occupy a position of power, you must act like Neil, or how Neil approves of… and whatever you do, don’t be like Billy.

But of course this only applies to season 2, because as usual, there’s approximately -5 continuity between seasons re: character development. (see: steve. robin. eleven. the other people)

[icecoolcryodude]

humanistic value.

hey slay queens, kings, and other royalties this is not my first fic ever but this is my first cross-posted ao3 fic! read it here<3

I couldn't help but explore the dynamics between my team (esp Shenhe and Ayato!) and mixing that with the trend on tiktok ab ur genshin team sleeping together so... why not!

also fair warning, I impluse wrote this at 11pm and tried to make it as pretty and poetic as possible so pls dont judge too hard LMFAOOOO p.s.: the implied isnt rlly like a... thing. can b romantic or platonic idc.

A moonlit night shines upon the inside of the teapot, a wanderer and the face of a clan already asleep; they've kept each other close, sharing their bodies' warmth. A hand brushes over the blonde wanderers face, brushing back the strands of hair that cover their dozy eyes. The blonde shifts ever so slightly, closer to the other as the hand retracts, almost frightened about what it had done.

"Shenhe?"

A voice beconds from the doorway, the eyes of the commissioner locked onto the woman standing before the others as he continues forth. 

"...What are you doing?"

The hand of Shenhe clenches at their newly acquired "tee-shirt", her eyes stuck on the two slumbering bodies. "Merely observing." The words crumble from her lips, her muted words hitting the commissioner, Kamisato Ayato, easily. "I see." Is his only response. He soundlessly shuts the door, his eyes going from the two to Shenhe.

"Is there a particular reason for your observation?" Ayato asks, his eyes drawn to his sister, the face of his clan; and his friend, the wanderer. Shenhe shifts slightly, her hand shaky as they reach for the sheets. They tenderly pull it up over the other two, leaning in before they release the covering. "...I've never seen mortals sleep."

"Oh really?"

"...Yes. I… They look so... peaceful; maybe I should sleep on the floor…?"

Her words are poised like a factual question, but Ayato has seen this type of thing a thousand times. It wasn't fact, or logic, or anything of the sort. It was feeling. The blossom of expression that Ayato couldn't help but admire from this woman.

"No, don't." His words are effortless, but they pierce through Shenhe like her own polearm. They stand there silently, as if... nothing had been said at all. "...But my-" "Aren't you tired?" He'd soon find that her expression had intensified, her brows furrowed as she held the ropes around her wrists. She stayed silent, Ayato soon turning to tuck himself in before…

"I'm cursed, yet you don't care?"

Her words ring out to him, his eyes slowly dawning back to the taller woman as he comments, "No, should you?"

Her hands are trembling, the expression on her face unwavering as they stare down at their painted nails. They couldn't speak, they couldn't find the words to describe the emotions soaring through their head as Ayato slowly caressed her hand.

"You have nothing to fear, one night isn't going to hurt us."

Shenhe looks back to the commissioner, her mind surging with thoughts before muttering, "I warned you."

Their hand slips away from his, slowly lifting the abundant cotton covering and slipping under it next to the wanderer. Their back is turned to the hydro-vision man, staring at the other two as the wanderer sleepily brings Shenhe closer. Her hands feel frigid compared to the others, and they can't help but think about the calamity they'd bring to the others. That is until they feel the commissioners body press against their back, his arms wrapped around their waist as he rests his head on her shoulder.

"Isn't this a little close for your comfort, Ayato?"

The blue-haired man chuckles, smiling as he replies, "Maybe… but I don't mind." His breath tickles her neck, but they don't react at all. They try to just… relax. Almost as if meditating within the strange comfort of everyone's touch. But oddly enough… they feel the commissioners cheeks still pressed again their skin, grinning.

"Ayato?"

"Yes?"

"...Why are you smiling?"

The smile falters, the exorcist can sense it. But now… his eyes link to her again. His lips only slightly parted before he whispers, "...This is nice. I'm happy I've gotten to experience this with you."

The exorcists hands now rest upon his arms, eyes slowly shutting as they finally whisper back,

"...Me too. Thank you."

[13uswntimagines]

Yeah I would love that tbh :)

I found out yesterday that to do the internship I’m required to take for my bachelors that would line up with the observation hours I need for PT school I’d have to change my concentration and basically re-do my jr year bc while our core classes overlap for my major none of the concentration specific classes do. And I’m already in the process of re taking one class and I’ll have to re take another. So I was looking into alternate programs I could do with the classes I’ve already taken bc I’m struggling so much rn and with my pre-reqs for PT. I found that there was a new AT grad program but I’d have to stick it out here for however long it takes me to get my BA or I could go back to juco and do a PTA program where almost all my credits will transfer so it’ll just be what classes I have left in that 2 year program. I just feel like while yes that’s probably the smartest thing to do considering how much I’ve been struggling with my upper level classes (which admittedly are very hard at my uni according to who I’ve spoken with) that I’m just failing myself and disappointing my family for backing out of what I’ve already dedicated 3 years too.

Damn… that’s a very difficult situation. I know things look bad now, but I promise that it’ll get better eventually. Everything gets worked out in the end, and I have faith that you’ll do what’s right for you.

To cheer you up, please enjoy 627 words from the center of a fic with zero context.

*****

“Do I have something on my face?” She asked toward no one in particular as she pulled off her boots and socks. “Or are we starting a new trend where we stare as people undress,”

“Kelley’s right,” Sofia said, her voice breaking through the murmurs spreading around the locker room. “You’re fuck-“

“No,” Emily interrupted the young defender, with a small shake of her head, looking more tired than Lindsey had ever seen her. “Y/n doesn’t want us to fight,”

“Let her finish Em,” Lindsey spat back, annoyed even if she didn’t really have a right to be. Even if she was in the wrong. Being angry was easier than facing the truth. “Get it off your chest. What is Kelley right about?”

“That it would feel more fair if you pretended to give a fuck,” Emily said softly before Sofia could answer, and Emily saw recognition in the other defenders eyes.

It was the least inflammatory thing Kelley had said. The only thing that didn’t indicate malicious intent in Lindsey’s actions. The only thing that was true that hopefully wouldn’t cause Lindsey to dig her heels in more.

They weren’t sure how much more digging you could take.

“I do give a fuck,” Lindsey hissed, accentuating the irritation she felt at the jab.

Sofia scoffed. “Yes, because kissing your boyfriend just feet from the edge of the tunnel you knew your soulmate was going to walk down is totally giving a fuck,”

Lindsey finally looked up at the young defender, meeting her burning glare.

Her lip curled at the implication. “That wasn’t planned,”

“And you were trying your hardest to stop it weren’t you?” Sofia bit back sarcastically, ignoring Emily’s hand on her arm. The warning to slow down. “That’s why you were pulling him closer to you instead of pushing him away,”

Lindsey's eyebrows furrowed. She hadn’t been expecting the venom in those words. The disdain. Maybe from Kelley, or even Alex, Tobin and Christen, sure. She expected the vets to be upset, because they understood the history she had with you.

She never expected someone new to the team to butt into an already complicated situation. One they clearly didn’t understand.

“What the fuck is your problem,” Lindsey bit back, squinting at the defender. “I don’t know why you think you have the right to comment-“

“Because no one else will,” Sofia growled. “We’re watching Y/n destroy herself and no one will say anything because she cares too much about you to let us. Someone needs to care about her, and it certainly isn’t you,”

“Soph,” Emily attempted to interrupt her, to cut off the building anger crackling off of Lindsey’s form, and to stop Sofia from saying something that you didn’t want Lindsey to know.

“No. Don’t Soph me. She needs to know!” The defender bellowed, her chest heaving as she finally ripped her eyes away from Lindsey. “Fuck whatever conveluted chivalrous act Y/n wants to pretend she’s comitting. You’ve seen the-“

“That’s enough.” Emily snapped, authority filling her voice, silencing Huerta before she could finish her sentence.

Huerta met her eyes, and an unspoken conversation passed between them.

Lindsey’s eyes widened at the sentence. What had Emily seen that she hadn’t. She knew you were in pain, that was obvious, but was there something that she wasn’t seeing?

She needed to know.

“No, let her continue since she thinks she’s knows Y/n so well,” Lindsey said, purposefully raising her eyebrow. Trying to get a reaction. “it’s been what 2 months since you’ve met her?”

Emily’s blue eyes darted back to her. “Enough,” The defender said, gesturing for Sofia towards the bathroom. “Go take your shower. Vlatko wants you for media,”

Sofia frowned. “But,”

Emily shook her head. “Go,”

[newjenns]

i have a random q 4 u, do you know anything about jpop? i am not in the kpop or jpop scene but i just heard the song mascara by xg a jpop group and i was suprised that it was all in english?? which i assume is not common for jpop or kpop. but it got me thinking, why has kpop blown up in the usa but jpop hasnt? are kpop and jpop super different? i originally thoght they were pretty similar bc of the similarities in idol/fan culture?

hmm so this is all going to be based on my own personal opinions and observations also i’m much more knowledgeable on kpop than jpop but i’m going to try. so firstly yes all english songs are not that common but they’ve definitely had a jump in popularity probably right around 2018 which was about the time that bts was still new but was absolutely dominating the american music scene (award shows in particular). since then i’d wager most established kpop groups have put out at least one only english song. but also putting out songs in another language that isn’t korean is normal in kpop. prior to the 2018 english surge kpop groups put out releases in japanese (both original jpn songs and re releases of korean songs into japanese) and in chinese because japan and china were their biggest potential music markets for a long time.

anyway in my experience jpop idol groups tend to be a little more like. cartoony ? like when i think of jpop i think of akb48 and babymetal

it’s comparable to early hallyu where you had psy and gangnam style being super popular in the us bc the styling and music and performance felt absurd compared to american artists. nowadays jpop groups aren’t really like this, they’re definitely taking a lot of influence from the kpop machine but they 1. haven’t been doing it for very long and 2. just haven’t had any break out groups to show on the world stage they’re capable of more than what they’re already known for the way bts and blackpink did that for kpop.

japanese music in general tho (not idol music) seems to be doing well. i feel like there’s a new japanese song trending on tiktok every week and anime openers have always been given their flowers. i think all jpop needs is one break out group and they’d very quickly get on the same level as your average popular kpop group

[firerwolf]

First I don’t like Basim/Hytham as a ship. I think it’s abusive and bad but it’s the other issue with the ship that I want to talk about. And it’s not even really about the ship, it’s more about Basim in general and a trend I’ve seen a lot of online. This isn’t an attack on anyone that ships those characters, ship them if you want, I’m more the sort of “if I don’t like it I scroll on” sort of person. But there is a good bit of people who ship those characters and there’s just something I’ve noticed about them, their headcanons for the ship, and it extends to really most fans of Basim and their view of the character. It’s all not based in canon.

There’s this thing with Basim where for some reason people ignore canon about him, make up random things and actions they ascribe to him, and none of it is supported by anything in Valhalla, or Golden City(I’ll get to mirage later). Like fans of him for the ship, really most ships with him, or just fans in general of the character either straight up make up things and interactions that are out of character for Basim and then treat them as canon or they ignore half of actual canon and context to view the character as a super nice and sentimental character. He isn’t and he never has been in canon.

Really this ignoring of canon is only an issue when it comes to Basim because of Mirage where the character seems to have no connection to the one from Valhalla and was just chosen because of fans liking Basim, even if a lot of the positive reaction was just character design. So everything from that game seems like it’s about a completely different character, maybe more in line with fan headcanons but not Valhalla or Golden City canon, that’s just named Basim as well. It makes it feel more like a completely different character was made and his name was just changed to Basim to try to pray on fans who thought Basim was cool just from looks.

And observing this disconnect between fan interpretation and canon evidence just got me thinking about just fandom in general. It feels like there has been an increase in this view that canon just doesn’t matter. And don’t get me wrong, I like a good AU or reimagining or characters, but those are always in the context of them still being very rooted in examining the actual canon, not ignoring it. But the recent trend has basically been that canon is irrelevant which has made fandom honestly a bit more annoying. Like if a person likes a character in a book, movie, or game they’d hope searching for content would provide content of that character that is canon accurate if it’s not marked as an AU. But instead there has been basically a wash of people completely changing the personalities of characters, treating their headcanons as canon, and it makes me ask a question. Why not find a character that’s actually like that instead of changing a character? Why not find a good man who is a bit mysterious but has a soft heart and cares deeply for others? Why change a cold and calculating man who repeatedly manipulated and abilities those around him? Like there’s nothing wrong with liking dark of villainous characters, but if you’re not looking for a dark and villainous character why not find what you’re actually looking for?

I suppose the reason why this is something that eats at me is that I’ve seen this fan rewriting of characters ruin a series I loved. Halo. And I’m worried about it ruining other franchises I love. AC in particular already has the issue of players liking Ezio so the series acts like he’s the greatest assassin to ever exist and the games changing their format to try to pander to the worst of fans, the nostalgia only fans, they’re just walking down a familiar path which I’ve noticed more series following. This is arguably also an issue for movies and tv. They also are chasing nostalgia and what people think they remember old shows being like. Hell arguably the worst bits of the later seasons of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic we’re because it was pandering to the briny community rather than just making the show what it was at the start.

It’s just troubling and confusing. Why do people not seek out the characters they’re actually interested in? Why do they change others so much? Is it all because the Onceler fell out of fashion?

And to be clear I like Basim. I like him for the manipulative and abusive ass hole he was through all of Golden City. I like him for his ability to not give a shit about the people around him and have his own motivations like in Valhalla. I like that he’s a character you’re torn between trusting and being wary of in the game and when the turn comes you look back and see truly how you should have noticed how much he was manipulating him. And maybe that’s why I’m frustrated. Because so many who seem to like him don’t want that Basim. They want a completely different character. It feels like it makes it harder to make connections. If you like a character for canon and another likes them for the headcanons they’ve made up you don’t actually have an interest in common.

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

391 of 2023

What's the first thing you usually do when you get off work or school?

Get home, most likely.

What trend do you hate?

Skinny jeans, especially on men. I don't care who wears them, but I wouldn't do it even for a million dollars.

What's your stance on christmas?

It's my favourite holiday and the only bright point of winter.

Are there any particular sounds that really grind your gears (like nails on chalkboard?)

Knives on glass and scratching the pots.

When eating or drinking out, do you have a preference for selecting a table?

I prefer sitting by the wall and in the corner.

Do you enjoy dressing up in fancy clothes?

No, it's not for me. Unless incorporating goth style things to my outfits counts as fancy.

What's the nerdiest thing you like?

Electromagnetic waves.

If you could star in one movie, what would it be?

No, thanks.

If you can restart your life, what is the thing you most want to change?

That stupid brain incident that has left me disabled.

What's the weirdest thing in your recent search history?

Nothing. Just a song meaning and an address of the Polish shop in Roeselare.

What does your bedspread look like?

White and red, with cat pattern.

Where is the place you find the most peace?

The beach in Westende and the street I was growing up on.

What do you do to calm down,when you feel stressed?

Hug my older cat and pet my younger cat. They both purr a lot.

Your aesthetic?

Grey skies, thunderstorms, the sea, black and green colour, a bit of cyberpunk, hospitals, cats, sunrises and sunsets, books, abandoned buildings, typewriters, big rooms with equally big windows for lots of light in, a bit of hip hop, a bit of metal, post-it notes, planners and journals, foggy mornings, autumn leaves, cityscapes, high buildings and more.

If you could be famous for anything, what would you choose to be famous for?

No, thanks. Fame is not for me.

How do you usually style your hair, if at all?

I put some hair wax or gel in it.

What's your eye colour?

Grey.

Can you knit?

No, I can't. You need two hands for that.

Do you crack your knuckles?

Yeah, a lot actually.

Are you a meticulous person?

I had to look that word up, but yeah, sounds like me.

What is your favourite thing about yourself?

I'm not judgemental.

What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

Check my phone for the time.

Who is your favorite youtuber?

Molly Burke and Nik Nocturnal.

What's your go-to comfort food?

Rice with vegetables.

What do you do for fun?

Travel around, observe trains and take photos. Also read.

What's your least favourite color?

Brown. Such a boring colour.

Do you have any pets, and if so what animal and what breed? if not, do you want one?

Yeah, I have two cats, one tabby (probably a mix of European Shorthair with a forest wildcat) and one tuxedo.

What is your favorite plant?

Tulip for a flower, aloe for a plant, palm tree for a tree (even though it's not really a tree). Ooh and also pine tree.

[fabulivonline]

Can Floor Lamps replace Ceiling Lamps?

You should always remember that you never judge any book by its cover as there are many pieces of furniture that are different when you look at them and the same furniture will shock your mind if you will use them. The furniture piece that we are going to talk about today in the article is just a great solution for rooms and this is also the piece of furniture that doesn’t require more space. Also, they can be hung on ceilings as it gives another effect to your whole house or a particular room. By using or placing this particular piece of furniture, you will always be able to get more functional and general light that too with the large lighting surface in the whole house or the particular room. 

Particularly, if you have any playroom or children’s room, suitable and the best lights are always very important and this is just because any type of lighting should not harm children’s eyes or skin. This is also the furniture that is becoming a hot new trend in the whole home décor and designing industry. Nowadays, living a luxurious life is a dream of most people and for that dream, people can do anything by going anywhere.

There are many types of lighting and there are also some types of lamps that should always be kept in mind while designing or renovating any playroom or children’s room. There are many different types of charm and other ambiance that can be very easily added to your house. Many people used to fight for the thing that they have decided that they want. The majority of Indians usually shift or transfer abroad to some other country for the sake of just money. You should always make sure that many things should eventually be kept in mind at the time of designing any children’s room.

The very first and the most important thing that should be kept in mind at the time of designing the children’s room is to decide or select some types of floor lamps and ceiling lamps as lighting is considered to be one of the most important things that need to be considered. If you select or buy this particular piece of furniture, it will blow your mind and will change the beauty of the whole room or the entire house.  Also, if someone wants to live a luxurious life they need to start working hard and focus on their goals. Also, some people at the time of deciding on the lights and certain lamps, usually decide or select the lights according to the model and the design as per their children’s choice.  

They are pieces of furniture that can very easily lighten and brighten up your mind along with the whole area where you decide to keep these lights. Many houses have very costly and luxurious interior designs, they might also have many other properties other than their own house. Also, nowadays, there are many types of lights or lamps that are available in the market as per the age of the children. Like, depending on the children’s age, the lights or lamps are preferred and according to the work or activities they do sitting in their room the whole day.  We should not totally say that floor lamps have replaced ceiling lamps but yes, sometimes it is observed that they are being replaced by floor lamps as people are getting updated and the generation is getting modernized. 

There are different types of lights or lamps that are considered at the time for studying and doing homework. Similarly, some different kinds of lights or lamps should be selected for them at the time they play and watch movies. You should always make sure that any type of light and the light fixture can really be mounted to the ceiling and should always hang down from the ceiling with the help of rod chains and other materials. Also, many things are included in the luxury home décor, some of them usually include hanging pendant lamps, luxurious wall photo frames, some branded sofas, beds, lighting, and many more.

Designing and renovating the room for your children is not at all easy. Also, there should always be maximum lighting in your entire house so that it can make your house look brighter and more elegant. This style of interior design emphasizes such high items and some of them also include high-end linen furniture, sumptuous antiques, and also opulent artwork. You also should be very clear that some basic lighting is always attached to the ceiling and that should not be changed. Every one of us will always need our house or the entire bedroom to have maximum lights so that it can also be more attractive and will give a better impact as compared to the room that has fewer lights. You should also remember that if you are investing once in a lifetime that too for making your own house you should always select and design your entire room with the facilities that you have dreamt of.