#personal takes

[tarjapearce]

Hey, I wanna say i really really like the way you write fics. It feels??? Natural?? To read it?? Always an adventure everytime I read a fic of yours.

How do you write so good?? I'm a writer as well and I'd love to hear your tips and tricks ^^

First of all, I wanna thank you for liking the crap stuff I write. (Cause I'm genuinely amazed some times that people just like it and I'm not saying this because.)

⚠️⚠️LONG AND POSSIBLE CONTROVERSIAL ANSWER AHEAD ⚠️⚠️

It's kinda funny, ngl. Lemme tell you something, I don't know if you guys struggle with Impostor Syndrome a lot like me, but everytime someone gives a compliment like this my brain just goes into self sabotaging mode.

In the outside its :

But in the inside, my brain immediately goes:

Cause I'm aware that I can do better. (And we will ~) it's weird. I'm always striving to do better.

As for the tips and tricks, I'm surely not the right person to ask advice from 😅, but Imma just tell you this from what I experience and from my perspective (Hopefully won't get backlash from this, if not, R. I. P. me jsksj) Be warned though, it's kinda contradictory cause writing is hard yo!

1. You gotta read. Either books or whatever your favorite genre is, but you gotta read. I consume fan fics and non fanfics cause you learn from other people too. I read fanfics mostly to know new words, how the character develops and the like.

I read more spanish stuff than anything. Which I try to transfer to what I write.

2. I try to keep it as simple as possible. With that I mean to not over embellish words cause it gets boring and weird. Sure, everyone wants to make their fanfics pretty (nothing wrong in that) but sometimes I feel that less is more. Like, nothing wrong if you wanna poet the f- out of your fic. (THIS IS A DOUBLE EDGED ONE SO BE CAREFUL!!)

I mean there is a huge difference in reading:

"The anger and frustration on her way of living was taking a toll on her mind"

and:

"Her nemesism had muddled her mind into an endless spiral of what ifs and what not, and frankly if her mind could speak, it'd beg for a break."

It's hard to pick one style, but as long as you keep it consistent, I guess it's all good (?) (Funny cause I always aim for the second one and end up in the first jsksj and I dont even know myself if I'm keeping it consistent)

3. Get yourself a beta reader that doesn't coddle you. It helps alot!!!! Cause again, compliments sure are nice, but they don't tell you where you could get better. ✨( Unless the reader provides puntual feedback on what they liked and what not. Those are my favorites and a rare gem ❤️)

4. I know this one is hard because everyone at some point have done this. But IF YOU COMPARE yourself to other writers? You'll lose yourself. Not only you'll lose motivation cause you seem unable to write like them, but you will fall into this... vicious circle of self deprecating and burnout. And the self doubt sky rockets nonstop.

Everyone is different. Everyone learns in a different pace. Trust me, I wanted to make great stories with a good looking writing when I had the slightest idea of what I was doing (Still do!) 😂. Writing fanfics is not a competition to who writes more beautiful/good/professional than others. Or who has more notes or the most canon-stuck character, or the cause let's face it, none will get a character's personality to a 100%!!! (And that's ok cause it's fanfiction and we all have a different approach to the character either emotional or mental) .

Personally for me, the cockyest thing someone can do is to claim to know a character more than the creators themselves. Kinda rude for me, if you ask . Like, sure feeling a deep connection with a character doesn't mean it'll grant us instant access to their whole self. Characters just like us evolve. Either for the good or the bad, but they don't remain the same, so knowing them completely is a big fat lie. Unless stated by the creator. (But we're delusional in this site, so~)

I mean, sure characterization is something we all struggle since we guide ourselves by some of the character's most prominent traits and make them their default personality. (I've sinned in this jsksj so don't worry)

5. HAVE FUN AND TAKE BREAKS. I mean it. The favorite things I've written is where Im genuinely having fun writing it. But also after a well deserved rest. Cause if something doesn't feel right, it won't be right. And burnout is easier to get at than we actually think.

6. I recently started to follow writing advice blogs, one of my favorite @heywriters.

@she-who-fights-and-writes. (They have amazing writing resources, so does Pinterest and YouTube. Seize them!!!)

But yeah, I'm still an amateur on this, I make emphasis in the 5th one tho.

Hope this helps you? ;w;.

Love you❤️✨

Thanks for stopping by. ❤️

[thetwofaced]

A little discussion on Ichigo's powers

how is no one realising , that yhwach didn't hold back his quincy abilities- he held back his SHINIGAMI abilities.

What Yhwach did was take the quincy powers and IMMITATE shinigami powers. Which is the reason why Ichigos bankai was so baffling.

Because what it is, at its base is a Quincy Vollständig. with the key difference being that instead of absorbing the environment's reishi it pulled from Ichigo's inner reserves and then concentrated and amplified.

So yes- Byakuya was right.

It was a fake bankai, because it only imitated a quincy's take on it.

Which explains why, well there was nothing really for Ichigo to learn, to master about his bankai unlike other shinigami. Because the only thing too master was just the concentrated amount of spiritual pressure.

I know non manga readers won't know this as this was cut I believe from the anime because of screen time. But the reason Ichigo survived his fight with Kenpachi- aside Kenpachi basically limiting himself, is because of ブルート・ヴェーネ aka blut vene.

Ichigo was stabbed in the chest, bleeding out. When he reached out, when 'Old man Zangetsu' communicated with him, telling him they needed to work together- 'old man Zangetsu' made the decision to activate blut vene to stop the bleeding.

Because as he stated the only thing he cared about was saving and protecting Ichigo.

He only let Zangetsu , Shiro, teach Ichigo the bare minimum. Hell the fact Ichigo goes through the series into the TYBW Arc with only a Getsuga Tenshou and his amplifying hollow powers.

And for once it's not the bloody shounen disease nope.

It's a bloody stylistic plot related choice made by Kubo.

Because up until that point, we've never really seen Ichigo use his shinigami abilities.

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

Personal Take Incoming (Critical Role)

Consider this a diary entry explaining some of my thoughts on a few Critical Role characters. Avoid reading this post if you don't want my takes on Keyleth, Fjord, Ashton, Orym, Imogen, Percy, and Caleb.

So, I've noticed a common trend with my favourite characters across a variety of fandoms. I personally am an individual who gravitates towards characters with integrity, and rules for themselves that they follow. Characters that have lines in the sand that they can draw and then defend. It doesn't necessarily have to be rules put in place by society, it can be ones they made up for themselves. These characters oftentimes end up becoming the moral centre of their party, which adds another fascinating angle as they try to navigate maintaining their morals with a wider group filled with diverse opinions.

I suppose that is why Keyleth was my favourite Vox Machina character from pretty much the get-go! Her integrity was what endeared me to her throughout the entire campaign. She had opinions of what she thought was right and wrong, and she tried her hardest to enforce that view. Were there times when she learned she was wrong, yes. But she kept what she learned in mind and adjusted her internal monologue to see fit. Keyleth's integrity and unwillingness to engage in the overly amoral actions of Vox Machina created a lot of interesting dynamics.

In campaign two, Fjord quickly became my favourite for very similar reasons. He was the one to ask Beau to apologise to Toya and insist that the party help the Schuster kids so that they wouldn't be put in an orphanage. He also maintained a certain level of honesty with the rest of the party about his history and his mysterious dreams. In this case, Fjord wasn't necessarily 'good' (as he was comfortable with doing some pretty shitty stuff), but he still had expectations of himself and rules that he would not break.

I guess that is why Asthon and Orym are currently my favourite members of Bells Hells too. They both have convictions that they will not stray from and a certain level of integrity that the party honestly needs. Now, whether or not they are right is another discussion entirely, but the point is that they have the courage to stick to their guns even when the group is leaning in another direction.

People have been complaining that the takes on Imogen Temult are unfair, and some of those takes are unfair! But I won't shy away from the fact that Imogen is my least favourite member of Bells Hells (I still think they're all fantastic - including Imogen herself). She is my least favourite for exactly the reasons above. Imogen supposedly has internal rules, but we've seen her be more than happy to break them when they don't suit her at a given moment. She's said that she hates to pry into people's minds and that she avoids it wherever possible - but we see her willingly dive into the minds of people like Dorian without their consent. Imogen has stated that Laudna is the most important person in the world to her and that she loves her more than anything - but Imogen cannot look Laudna in the eyes and tell her that she won't side with Laudna's murderer. That doesn't make the character any less interesting, but it definitely makes it harder for me personally to like her.

I've seen a handful people across socials imply that if you like Percy or Caleb, but not Imogen - it's because she's a woman. This is where I wholeheartedly disagree. While the overly negative opinions of Imogen are harsh and unwarranted, Imogen is the first character whose allegiances I am genuinely uncertain about. Percy and Caleb have said and done truly awful things; I think we can all agree on that. And while they have considered leaving the group, it was under very different circumstances. For the longest time, Percy had nothing waiting for him outside Vox Machina, so the only time I feared he would leave the group was when he died (since Tal confirmed he would've been happy to stay dead). Caleb too, had very little beyond the Mighty Nein and he considered leaving them on multiple occasions. But never once did he consider leaving them to join their enemy. Now, had the M9 faced the Cerberus Assembly earlier in the campaign, that might have been different - but I never feared that Caleb would switch sides in the campaign we did get.

The thing is, Imogen does have something waiting for her: Lilliana and Predathos. I'm not sure about her allegiance, and that's where Imogen, Percy, and Caleb are different. While what Imogen has said/done has been tame compared to what Percy and Caleb have said/done - I know that the line Imogen is toeing is one neither of the others had dared to cross. Percy would never have considered joining forces with the Briarwoods, Thordak, or the Whispered One. Caleb would never have dared to join sides with Avantika, Obann, or Trent. But Imogen might.

That is fascinating. And dangerous. The future isn't set in stone, and all I can do now is bite my tongue and wait for episode 50.

[z-mizcellaneous-z]

I've seen a lot of theories on why Deku is afraid/in denial of love, but out of curiosity do you have any theories?

I’m gonna be completely honest, I more enjoy reading other people's theories than making my own up, so I’m just gonna talk about some (probably) already existing theories and add my two cents:

Izuku is simply mistaking his love for admiration. We all know that Izuku is extremely sharp and observant when it comes to quirks, battle strategies, and everything hero related. However, he’s not this sharp when it comes to romance. He’s emotionally intelligent, but only in emotions specific to hero work (anger, fear, guilt, etc). In Izuku and Katsuki’s fight at Ground Beta, Izuku brings up how even though All Might was his hero, Katsuki was the one who was actually there. He’s placing both All Might and Katsuki in the same category—the category of admiration. He’s placed Katsuki in this category his entire life, so he’s inclined to keep him there. He hasn’t yet realized that what he feels for Katsuki runs deeper than the fanboy admiration he has for All Might.

He’s afraid of the consequences of being in love with another man. We’ve seen some situations of LGBTQ+ representation in MHA, but we haven’t really seen how same-sex relationships/feelings are viewed by the public eye. There’s always the chance that Izuku is aware of his feelings, that he knows that he’s in love with Katsuki, but he’s scared. Scared of how people will react if they find out. Would they be open and supportive? Or would they be disgusted and closed-minded? Sure, friends aren’t forever and if they’re toxic he can cut them off, but what about his mother? What if she doesn’t accept him? Or even worse, what if Katsuki becomes grossed out by Izuku and ends their friendship right then and there? Izuku wouldn’t be able to handle it.

He thinks that he’ll only hurt Katsuki the closer that he gets to him. First, Katsuki gets kidnapped by the League of Villains at training camp. Izuku goes after him to rescue him, revealing to All For One that Izuku cares enough for Katsuki to come after him. Then, the war arc. At that point in the story, Katsuki and Izuku have definitely gotten closer. They’re not the best of friends per se, but they’re on much better terms than before. Katsuki then proceeds to get stabbed protecting Izuku. Izuku, seeing the person he loves getting hurt, goes fucking berserk. You all know how well that goes down. When Izuku wakes up from the coma, he avoids Katsuki and only leaves a letter. He knew that if he were to tell Katsuki his intentions of leaving in person, Katsuki would try to stop him, or worse, decide to come with him. Vigilante arc begins. Then you get to the oh-so-infamous apology from Katsuki. Under different circumstances, Izuku would have been more than thrilled at this change of heart and would have tried to actively get closer to Katsuki. However, in the circumstances of the war and All For One, Izuku seems to do the opposite. It’s like he’s trying to distance himself from Katsuki so Katsuki doesn’t get hurt because of him. So you can imagine the pure agony that Izuku’s in when he sees Katsuki’s (at this point still) dead body. He knows that if he lets his emotions and feelings for Katsuki take the wheel, he’ll lose the fight. He’s trying to distance himself from his feelings because he’s aware of how intense they are. 

And yeah, that’s it lol. I’m like 95% certain that these theories have been discussed in much better detail/with much better evidence than this, but this is just my personal take on them :)

[babypinktardis]

My unpopular Doctor Who (2005-) opinions

1- Season 10 is Capaldi’s best season: Bill is a great companion and really relatable! Don’t get me wrong, I love Clara but some of her episodes can get dull. Bill gives the era some freshness and her chemistry with 12 is lovely ♥️ the ending always makes me sad

2- Mickey is annoying: He is 100% treated poorly, I just don’t like him

3- 11 has the best episodes and 10 has the best era: Maybe I just love Moffat’s stories but I enjoyed most of 11 episodes specially seasons 5-6. The 10th overall arc is better but 11 has the best stories

4- The Doctor has fallen in love: a lot of people believe the doctor has never fallen in love, I believe he has MULTIPLE TIMES. The clear examples being Rose Tyler and River Song, a person who has lived 1000+ years has definitely loved and lost

5- The Doctor and Martha Jones could’ve been a power couple: If they had met in a different time, I am certain the doctor would have fallen for her (I mean, who wouldn’t) and they would’ve made a great couple (the chemistry in Smith and Jones is INSANE !!) also, if you are not interested sir, why do you keep flirting with her ?!

6- The Thirteenth Doctor’s historical episodes are great: I overall did not enjoy her era (I love her as the doctor but the episodes were mid at most) but the Rosa Parks and Demons of Punjab episodes are fantastic

7- Thirteen and Yaz have no chemistry: I just can’t see them as an item, I don’t know why people even ship them

I might do a part 2

[sdartistries]

could you tell us more about the fronted confident/real confidence pose thing? as someone who loves details-- it sounds really interesting! how do you read a character's body language like that?

For sure!

For the sake of continuity of this discussion, I'll just go ahead and use the base poses of the TPOF trio as examples. (Characters belong to the wonderfully talented @gatobob)

Body Language = Observable Behavior + Context

Before I go into a deeper explanation of posing characters, let’s explore what body language actually says about a character. In particular:

Body language says very little about a character’s actual personality; 

Body language is reactionary to circumstance (people, places, events, experience); and

Body language does not portray universally across persons of differing ability or culture.

That being said, when you are observing a character’s body language in a story then you are likely only getting as much context to their behavior as the creator has intended to share with you. I’ll include examples of circumstance below to show how it changes the meaning of a base pose. 

Let’s begin!

Posing Plain Confidence

Confidence as a character does not necessarily mean that a character is the best of the best (Ah yes, I am a chef of so many years’ experience that my hands are basically knives and my burps are basically seasoning), it simply means that a character is transparently calm given the circumstance that they are reacting to (Well, I can certainly give dinner a good try and if there’s room for improvement then there’s always next time. No big deal.) which oftentimes can be interpreted as a result of experience. They are fully prepared to deal with a situation as it comes along whether they’ve done it before or not. 

Visually, a confident character does not necessarily have to stand or sit with a ram-rod straight back. That's a trained habit, not a confident habit. Instead, their posture is more than likely going to come off as relaxed and open. Think unhunched shoulders, head resting evenly on neck, legs and arms placed loosely, and feet in resting position. Another visual note to make about confident characters is that they don’t partake in what I like to call “comfort gestures”. They do not distance their gaze. They do not cradle their bodies. They do not have to be touching or grasping something. They do not turn themselves away from an audience when directly addressing them. They are untensed and unbothered. 

Confidence Illustrated: Mason

Circumstance #1: Confidence You Can Trust

Getting back country-certified wasn’t a part of your original job description. There are BEARS in the back country! BEARS and WOLVES and BADGERS and you’re just an events coordinator for a non-profit! And let’s be real... it shows in the nervous jitter of your legs but then your instructor steps out of their truck and their presence immediately puts you at ease.

Here you are, surrounded by endless trees miles away from a proper town groaning under the weight of your company-supplied camp pack, and there they are walking effortlessly over to you on uneven ground with just as much gear if not more. In that small moment between them leaving their truck and closing the gap to reach you, you notice how their eyes scan the surrounding wilderness while they take a lazy swig out of their water jug before turning their eyes towards you on the last step. Their gaze is as even as their breath and they extend a steady hand out for a handshake. You nervously take their hand and they give you a light but firm squeeze in return. You’re locked into their expression - how calm they are - and they break a small smile at you in return.

Circumstance #2: Confidence You Should Fear

So... it wasn’t the bears you should have worried about. Your instructor watched you eat lunch and you KNOW you saw them take a few bites of the same ration. You SHARED lunch, you told them about how excited you were to be out in the woods for the first time especially with such an experienced guide like them, and now what?! They had you strung up by your wrists, that’s what! 

You swivel left and right trying to get a better bearing of your surroundings and that’s when you see them and your blood runs cold. They’ve unloaded their pack somewhere but that only serves to give you a better look at the knife strapped to their hip. It’s definitely not a utility knife. They don’t even skip a beat once they notice you’re awake and walk towards you with that same even stride that had earlier put you at ease. Their gaze meets you straight on and you flinch as they close the distance. They break that now familiar small smile at your reaction and place that familiar light but firm grip on your chin. 

Reading The Next Move of Plain Confidence

Just like their baseline posture, plain confidence doesn’t put on any airs when it comes to their next move. Even if you’ve provoked them, you generally have a clear view of exactly how they’re reacting as it happens. 

Posing A Defensive Front

Where a plainly confident character does not necessarily need to be the best of the best, the defensive character NEEDS their audience to believe that they’re better than thou in the context of perceived confidence. A defensive front comes with a few tells however that points to a more honest need for this character: distancing and self-soothing. Plain confidence plays on an unbothered field but a defensive character plays a clear competition when observed by an audience. If you have ever done a “power pose” to inspire yourself before a meeting, game, or social situation then congratulations, you were building up confidence by building up a defensive front.

Defensive fronts actually start at the feet, or whatever base of the character is in direct contact with a solid surface.  Defensive characters are PLANTED to their position and aren’t likely to make sweeping gestures or postures (unless provoked but we’ll get to that later). Their poses generally live within an elbow-length bubble. Besides being grounded and contained in their postures, defensive characters also showcase a lot of comfort gestures. They look down at their audience. They move their head and torso away from their audience. They try to make themselves look bigger by hunching up their shoulders and/or they create a barrier between themselves and the audience by crossing their arms or holding an object in between them. Defensive characters prefer not to address others or be addressed in a position that puts them at a disadvantage or on equal footing. Imagine this character walking alongside another character in a hallway except you’re already wrong by assuming that they’d walk alongside anyone and not half a step ahead or behind the other person and at least two feet away. Defensive characters are on edge and that edge helps them stay ahead... but it also makes them fragile.  

Defensive Front Illustrated: Celia

Circumstance #1: Defense That Helps

You made it out of bear country... you don’t want to remember how you did it, but you’ve got some serious complaints for HR, that’s for sure. You send an email to their department and you receive a calendar invite in return. You accept and wait for the appointed meeting time before approaching their office. Their door is always closed so you knock and are promptly called into the office. They’re sitting at their desk when you open the door but immediately stand up and close the door behind you before walking you to a chair in front of their desk. They don’t return to their seat and instead choose to lean against the front of their desk while you hand them your report of the incident. They scan the report with their arms folded over their chest. Every once in a while, they look over to you with a gaze obscured by lowered lashes. You can’t tell if they’re taking you seriously or not. You had a lot to say before you came into the office but now you’re just... uncomfortable. Finally, they put down the report and fold both arms over their chest. They tell you that they’ll look into this incident and inform you of any further action needed on your part. They smile at you which puts you at ease and, again, they personally walk you out of their office closing the door behind you. You return to your cubicle and your office computer pings with a very prompt email detailing the submission of your report and immediate action items needed going forward. 

Circumstance #2: Defense That Harms

This is not the settlement you hoped for. Sure, you were excited when your communications with HR started pointing towards something that felt like real closure and, sure, a work lunch with HR to go over settlement details sounded like a good idea at the time but now... now you think you all of this was just a huge mistake. Though... admittedly, you can’t help but think this might be an overreaction on the part of HR. 

You met them in their office to leave together for lunch and they brushed past you after gathering a few of their things, clutching their paperwork in a vice grip. You followed them to their vehicle in what seemed like a hushed, unspoken race. You sat shotgun and for a moment you thought you caught a glimpse of a scowl on their face but it vanished before you could really place it. They started driving in silence to what you assumed was going to be a nice company-funded meal but when you started asking about the details of the settlement, they laughed at you. They didn’t even turn to look at you but they shifted from laughter to badgering pretty quickly. Something was wrong and you felt it strongly enough in your gut to pull on their emergency break while unclipping your seatbelt. You could tell by the sudden flush in their cheeks and a rustling through their briefcase that this was not going to end well for you. 

Reading The Next Move of The Defensive Front

Defensive characters are build-up characters. They have a baseline that they strive to protect which is normally never an issue for their audience until they’ve been provoked in some way. That’s where the beauty of a defensive character lies because if circumstances poke them in a way that consistently topples their base then they will act in a way where it is made clear that the circumstance needs to change in order to conform to their level of comfort or else some unstable behavior is definitely going to happen.

Posing A Poker Face (Bluster)

The poker face is the cousin of plain confidence but rather than being built on a base of unbothered calm, the poker face is built on a foundation of bluster. Bluster is an art form. Bluster is unearned while also being a consistent practice. Bluster applies for the position of executive chef on the basis of having added garlic powder to a grilled cheese once and claiming that it was a work of art despite being incredibly dry and subjective to individual taste and food tolerance. The character that poses in base poker face does, in fact, personally believe that they’re confident as a base line but they have little tells in their posture that attempt to redirect their audience away from the also true fact that they are insecure in their standing. 

In plain confidence posturing, we talked about the fact that standing upright is a trained habit rather than an actual sign of confidence. Well, in a character displaying bluster, they are more likely to be posed in trained positions that they have been told convey a certain air rather than defaulting to a position that they actually feel. Remember this: bluster is largely deceptive in posturing. Confidence posturing is a reflection of the character themselves being at ease, but bluster posturing is meant to put the intended audience at ease.  That generally means that they’ll meet the audience gaze very directly. They’ll even lower their heads and bodies to the level of the audience. Their movement posturing is a massive tell, though. A confident character will assess and redirect as necessary, but a poker face character will move under the assumption that they already have the upper hand. 

Bluster Illustrated: Derek

Circumstance #1: Poker Played Fairly

Working for non-profits has been a... poor experience to say the least and you’ve decided to move on. You swore you would never give in but here you are interviewing for a position in a corporate conglomerate. You’re seated in front of a fairly cozy conference table and you’ve got your list of very oddly specific conditions for employment listed in your cover letter to present to your mystery interviewer. No camping. No undocumented work meetings. Just a desk and duties. You sweat over some other details in your head until you hear a door open and swivel around to see the mystery entering the room. 

They lock eyes with you immediately and you are struck with how widely they smile and stride straight up to you without giving you a moment to rise from your seat. They take your hand and deliver a firm handshake that lasts just long enough for you to notice how warm and soft their palms are. They assure you that you can stay seated while they move to occupy the seat in front of you. They keep their hands in plain sight on top of the meeting table though you notice that they occasionally tap your resume while they talk to you. You feel so acknowledged! Their shoulders inch closer to you throughout your conversation and you can’t help but feel completely at ease as they stand up and shake your hand once again to welcome you to the company. 

Circumstance #2: Poker Played Poorly

“Naivete strikes once again!” You scream internally as you crawl silently out of the bed to collect your clothing off the floor. You’re just about to slip off to change discreetly in the bathroom when you steal a glance back at your... boss, dammit... laying in the bed facing away from you and that’s when you notice it. They were awake this entire time. You can see their reflection in the window and you can see that they’ve noticed you. They lock eyes with your reflection first before casually rolling over and smile widely at your distressed expression. You’re frozen for a moment when you realize that everything they had ever told you, everything that they had ever said to assure you, was a lie. They look you up and down and smile wider before lazily calling you back to bed. You burst and start screaming at them. Their expression empties for just a moment and then you see something in them darken. Your stomach sinks as they start to laugh. 

Reading the Next Move of the Poker Face

Unfortunately, the poker face character is a character of deception as previously stated. Characters that use bluster as a primary source of posturing do not react well to provocation. That means the audience has figured them out and they no longer have the upper hand. Their actions after this realization is largely dependent on their personality which can’t be predicted by body language. 

Thank you for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing out this reply!

[lary-the-lizard]

How would you write jegulus? Or what dynamic do you think they have and don’t have?

This ended up being SUCH a long answer and I am sorry for that. If you make to the end, thank you for investing so much time in my takes 💛

I’m torn between writing them as adults in the real world and writing them as students at an au Hogwarts where there’s no war and they leave Snape alone. The real world adult fics I’ve read they often miss some of the most common life aspects that are so so perfect for drawing the characters out of their hiding spots and connecting. Examples are grocery shopping, house cleaning, long drives, therapy, big parking lots, etc.. With the Hogwarts AU it’s a bit more complicated because I’d have to get them to interact which isn’t as easy as they’re in different houses. I like the idea that they’re both on Quidditch teams and Sirius being Regulus’ brother helps (I’d probably not have the Black brothers fighting because writing them getting along while also having SUCH different personalities is too tempting).

As for the dynamics!! Okay I think I was very unclear in what I meant in my post. I think we all mostly agree on James and Regulus’ personalities and the way they interact and see each other is mostly the same from fanfic to fanfic. James is a simp who loves to tease Regulus about being a self controlled cynic while Regulus likes to tease James about everything and uses James’ own words to get him into self contradictory snares or puts words in James’ mouth. It’s fecking adorable! This ship is actually one of the few sunshine/mudpuddle ships I really like. My problem in Jegulus fanfics is how the characters often act out of character elsewhere in the story. Examples: James being a big hearted softy but absolutely hating Snape and doing everything he can to make Snape suffer and never questioning it, Regulus being a huge introverted perfectionist but easily opens up for James and doesn’t watch how much he’s drinking, Regulus growing up in a homophobic environment and not having internalized it in any way, James having a lot of self control when he’s like… James.

And trauma. Trauma is fecking difficult to depict because it varies so much and it just doesn’t care about how it fucks everything up. That said, a lot of fanfic authors (and it’s not their fault that they don’t really understand how trauma works, or more accurately, doesn’t work. Most people don’t have extreme trauma and aren’t that interested in psychology) don’t depict Serius and Regulus’ trauma very well. They kind of just use it to make the romance more interesting or further the plot rather than giving that subject the care and authenticity that it requires. And I can see why, angsty boys are interesting and writing the whole truth of what trauma does to a person is not only emotionally taxing but trauma isn’t pretty and it’s uncomfortable! Writing someone figuring out how to manage their trauma very much depends on how self aware the character is and how brave they are. Some people cope by focusing outward and blaming others when they mess up and some blame themselves for everything, some logic their way the most they can before dissociating or getting an anxiety or panic attacks (me). Then there’s figuring out how James has the patience for Sirius’ trauma much less Regulus’ when there’s so much of it and he grew up in a safe home where that shit was just sad stories. And being raised to be kind and actually being brave enough to be THAT KIND is VERY different. And depending how much the trauma affected the Black brothers will take a toll on James’ mental health too. If the abuse is as awful as some fanfic authors write then it doesn’t make sense that they don’t have a type of psychosis or personality disorder especially with the type of personality that Regulus has (inward focussed).

So! The story I’d write would prolly be either: Regulus is an academic (historian, psychologist, English/Russian lit) who works at the local college and James is still Sirius’ bestie and is normal (bar tender, vet, woodworker). James and Regulus often discuss philosophical shit (because I’m a nerd) and they one day discover that they disagree on the human condition. Sirius likes to make their discussions more complicated and chaotic because he’s perfect. They slowly get closer as their ongoing discussion becomes more and more focused, start doing everyday life together as they talk it out. The story and discussion come to a conclusion with them deciding what they want their relationship to look like. Or! They’re at Hogwarts and on Quidditch teams. James like to play small, harmless pranks on Regulus (they all think it’s just a James quirk at first but of course Remus notices). Regulus one day finally does a prank of James and James has to start reevaluating how he feels about Regulus which changes how he interacts with Regulus. It angers Regulus because Regulus doesn’t see himself as someone who gets to be treated with this much care. So he tries to push James away and James being James, doesn’t UNDERSTAND, and James being James, HAS to undeRSTAND! They end up fraying each other’s nerves and having to take space. The story ends with them both in their chosen careers, some other romantic/sexual experience, and both are back to playing consistent pranks on each other.

[thenerdycritique]

2022 Musical Review - HADESTOWN

2022 Musical Review – HADESTOWN

WARNING: This is a really long post. Probably the longest I’ll ever write, and DEFINITELY the longest I’ve ever written. We’re veering into dissertation territory here. I need to put this disclaimer here because this is 100% unfiltered unmasked ADHD Will talking about his hyperfocus. There’s more that I could say, but I want people to actually read the damn thing, so it’s just obscenely long,…

[sixtymillionoverdueideas]

Walking-By Original Konoha 13/Sand Siblings Heights (!!)

Shino Aburame: 6′2″. Listen,, Shino is Tol and unlike Shikamaru he doesn’t slouch. He’s Tol and a Protector and it’s Good. Generally speaking though he doesn’t utilize his full height - though he doesn’t slouch he does sort of stand slightly off to shave off an inch or few.  Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze-Hyuuga: 5′11″. He’s Just Like That Now. He’s not short here though short gremlin king Naruto is of course also wonderful. Stronk built Naruto who can lift up the likes of his children or the others on one arm, y’know, like they’re swinging off of it. Sasuke Uchiha: 5′8″. Yes he’s one of the “short guys” of the group despite not being especially short -- yes he gets (lightly) teased and gently roasted over this. Yes Naruto ruffles his hair and Kiba sometimes princess-carries him. Hinata Hyuuga-Uzumaki-Namikaze: 5′8″. She’s a Tol One - no Short Queen Hinata for us today, only Tol Queen Hinata. She’ll stare you straight in the eye and take none of yours. Rock Lee: 5′11″. Well... Shikamaru Nara: 6′0″. Alright so Shikamaru is tallish too. Of course he doesn’t generally stand up straight when he’s casually with friends. He actively tries to get people to forget he’s Tol,, shaped. Neji Hyuuga: 5′10″. Because a Neji shorter than Naruto hits fuNNE for us. Sakura Lee: 5′8″. Well? She’ll yank down on Lee’s shirt to kiss him and she can and has done push-ups with Sai sitting all nice on her back, reading. Stronk Buff Queen. Sakura is Stronk. Sai Lee: 5′7″. Because Sai is darling but he’s not Tol Material atm, and also it’s a little neat to think of him being not taller than Sakura. Ino Yamanaka: 5′10″. Yes, we’d like a Tol Blonde Queen for today, thanks. Also of course she wears heels, she’s exactly that kind of “because I can“ and “you dare dictate what I can and cannot do? Fool“ and “gaslight gatekeep girlboss girl”. She did actually do training/undergo a loose apprenticeship under Ibiki Morino in T&I, and boy howdy you do not want to get on her less than happy side because she will salt your fields and hit you where it hurts. Omoi Yamanaka: 5′8″. Yes Canonically he’s a little more 5′9″ (175 cm) but does it matter? Not going to quibble and dash over more precise measurements, yeah. Tenten: 5′9″. It fits. Gaara: 5′5″. Listen, Gaara is still one of the most intimidating shinobi in the Peace Generation, setting aside his height, age, and general rank as the Kazekage. Though yes, he did work very hard and yes much of his “Demon” reputation/background has been eased away it’s not, y’know, Gone because this isn’t just going to disappear. Gaara is still feared in more distant places for being able to crush your hands, head, he can drown you in sand on dry land and has only become more and more powerful and inpregnable in his years. Temari: 5′9″. Tol Temari very Good. Kankurou: 5′8″. Of course. Chouji Akimichi: 5′11″.  ‘Cause, y’know, it just wasn’t feasible to have Chouji be a n y shorter than, say, Ino. It’s all very Good and Valid to have him be shorter than a lot of people in this group, but hey -- Akimichi were always going to be Giants.  Kiba Inuzuka: 5′9″. Kiba just out here doin’ the Good Life, right, he’s Out There with His Dog Akamaru and Having The Time Of His Life

I’m sorry I don’t make the rules, the Walking-By bunch are just a group of giants,, Both metaphorical and literally and they’re literally looked up to - though by nature shinobi tend to be “very fit looking” and therefore it’s not so unusual, except for some of the older jonin to casually throw jokes around like “what was in the water those days? the ninja-equivalent of steroids?” ...alright so maybe western/eastern culture boundaries make this a little more weird but I contend that we could both factor in/out A) Chakra, which... Could be Doing Things we dunno!! to Elemental-Nation physiology. And B) ...we’re not quite on the level of tying Walking-By, at least in this case, to actual Historical-Japanese RW -- are they Asian-looking or warpedly anime-looking in “The Real World”? (This... we have to consider for one of the Side Branches to Walking-By, “The Residents of 31-A”). Therefore Yes, we can have many Tol Shinobi (though TBF you have to adjust for Villages. We’re currently considering Kumo and Konoha to have the tallest average.)

[sokumotanaka]

my thoughts on the new pokemon direct (they might come off as negative i’m sorry)

now please note, as a long time fan of the franchise, i’ve found myself growing disappointed more and more with the games since the release of pokemon sword and shield. Pokemon X and Y fine, Sun and Moon? Awesome. All the games before the jump to 3D? Addicting as hell. But I was hugely disappointed by how empty Sword and Shield in comparison to its predecessors. In other words, I’m kinda looking at this stuff through the opposite of rose-tinted glasses.

I think my biggest issue right now is the recurring theme of gigs each of the new generations has been adding that never make a return in later games. In Gen Six, it was Mega-evolutions. Gen 7? Z-moves. Gen 8? Gigantimaxing. And now Gen 9, it’s crystal pokemon I guess. Brought to you by Swarvoski! 

  I get that Game Freak is coming up with ways to try and change up things on the battlefield and bring old players back, but I’m also kind of wishing they’d keep some of those gigs back in (particularly Z-moves, since it’s way more equal than say mega evolutions that are given to already powerful pokemon and not the ones that actually need it. Dunspacre, kecleon, smeergle, luckitung and girffarig are three pokes that come to mind that could use any sort of buff to be viable ) Gigantimaxing I can do without , but idk, I’m having mixed feelings / thoughts about the Terastal Phenomenon.

I don’t wanna come off as a negative nancy about the new stuff, I just generally try not to keep my hopes up since Game Freak has really been cutting corners and shit in my eyes.

I’m also on the fence about the designs of Miraidon and Koraidon. I’m thinking I might get Violet because I think Miraidon’s design flows a bit better. I love Koraidon’s prehistoric vibe but for some reason I’m bothered by the fact that the wheels on its body don’t move as it runs-- Also I bet ten bucks that Clavell is gonna be the villain. He just looks like the type of guy who is exploiting the school for his own gain and I’m very suspicious about this “Treasure Hunt.”

Things I like though, because there are definitely things.

FUCKING FINALLY MULTIPLAYER .As long as the game is balanced enough that a player can either do singleplayer or multiplayer without much change, I’m kosher with this. I’ve always liked the tropes in the Pokemon anime where trainers travel together and form little posses, and I’m down to do that with some of my own friends online.

Apparently, it’s gonna be fully open world. No linear paths, no broken up map sections, no individual Wild Areas, completely Open World. I’m both excited and nervous, because the graphics look like a huge improvement from SWSH and Legends Arceus, but there’s both so much and so little you could do with Open World. My biggest fear is that it’ll be a largely empty environment, with very little to do besides capture wild pokemon. BoTW pulls off the Open World aesthetic wise, but unlike most people; I kinda feel like BOTW has alot of issues with it's world feeling very empty; and that's the point. You're exploring the world after a massive tragedy that left the world largely ravaged and empty.But even after 100 or 200 years, there's no signs of reclaiming things.

 sometimes you'll see an NPC and talk to them and they could be a normal person or a yiga clan member. But for the most part it's link alone.I also had issues with how weird they treat the world's races capital towns, being as small as villages.  Like Gerudo town feels so small and this is suppose to be their origin point, there's multiple hylian towns but there's not other zora domains, no places built on islands or under water falls or near the ocean? I digress; my point is that BOTW could of worked better to make the world feel alive, even skyrim has several random encounters with NPCS and stuff and yeah they recycle them but seeing my companions run around slaying monsters, or the cannibal club noticing your ring and giving you a wink or seeing other thieves wander around etc made it feel like; you're not the only one out there.

And Game Freak has all the money and power to make something great with an open world setting. The question is, will they? I can’t speak with confidence given their recent entries.  

I also want to say I like that you can do more than just the gym challenge this time around; personally I never got why they think this is brand new? All pokemon games give you minigames and gimmicks each region, and the motto for pokemon used to be “gotta catch them all and battles” so I’ll never get someone popping in a pokemon game going “Yeah but can I not do the gym challenge? You might as well play a different game at that point. That being said I’m also not against it, I just don’t fully understand it.

More regional forms always get a plus from me, I love seeing old pokemon get new spins. Love that Wooper. That’s a good Wooper. I just hope we get more regional forms for pokemon outside gen one and not another fucking charizard form!

Oh and it seems you’ll be building a bond with the legendary mascot of each game since you get to ride that thing everywhere, that’ll be fun.

[dangerousenemies]

oh, as a frame of reference. i do use specific pronouns for most of the legendaries/mythicals. but. i am going to keep this post confined to DPPT & BW; because they are the ones i have the most opinions on or love for

arceus: it/its for itself, but anyone speaking about it would use their personal pronouns (ex. cyrus would say arceus himself, cynthia would say arceus herself, i would say arceus themself / itself) , neutral titles or femine titles (parent, sibling, etc. mother, sister, etc)

dialga: they/them , neutrals titles (sibling, etc)

palkia: they/them , masculine titles (brother, etc)

giratina: xe/xyr/xyrs or they/them. it/its during PLA , feminine titles (sister, etc)

regigigas: it/its, they/them , any titles

heatran: she/he , masculine or feminine titles

manaphy: she/he , any titles

shaymin: he/they/she , masculine titles

cresselia: she/her, they/them , feminine titles

darkrai: it/its , they/them , neutral or feminine titles

-

zekrom: she/hers , they/them , it/its , feminine titles

reshiram: he/him , they/them , it/its , masculine titles

kyurem: they/them , neutral titles

cobalion: they/them , it/its , neutral titles

terrakion: they/them , xe/xem , neutral titles

virizion: they/them , ze/zir , neutral titles

keldeo: they/them , ae/aer , masculine titles

victini: they/them , fae/faers , feminine titles

landorus/thundrous/tornadus: he/him , they/them , masucline titles

enamorus: she/her , he/him , any titles

meloetta: she/her, they/them , feminine titles

genesect: it/its, masculine titles

[etakeh]

[lazylittledragon]

can't believe we're all adults being forced into the club penguin level of censorship in 2024

[junglejim4322]

I can’t believe “fake gamer girl” was an actual concept guys thought existed literally the most unfuckable guys who have ever lived were convinced girls were faking being interested in loser nerd hobbies to impress them

[professor-pants]

Genre of character: submissive like a guard dog is submissive

[mrtequilasunset]

Listen man, you guys can't be like "you guys need to be normal about asexuality" and then turn around and get weirdly judgemental when you find out someone doesn't have sex by choice. Like that's weird that some of you do that.