I see people being so bitter about the PJO tv adaption but like literally if you wanted a 1-1 adaption, that’s okay, but you should’ve known that wasn’t going to be what happened. Not only would that be logistically impossible, it wouldn’t have been good. I love PJO, but a book isn’t going to translate literally into a show well. It would’ve sucked. It would’ve been dated, expensive, and require wayyyy too much CGI and a much larger runtime than they got greenlit for. It’s been twenty years. Things change. That’s okay. But don’t say it’s shitty just because it’s not the exact same. New watchers fucking love it. I’m convinced some of you are letting little details ruin your experience because some of your grievances make it seem like you’re not even watching the show.

“Not enough action!” Boohoo. Fights are hard and expensive and don’t fit the deeper themes they’re going for in this season. And this is just season one. You know, before the actual main conflict of the series even starts. This is entire season is for setting the larger shit up. Including the emotional component of why Luke does what he does, which means exploring why the gods are bad parents. You’ll see more battles in the next few seasons.

“It’s too dark and serious” Percy put on a British accent to make fun of Athena. Mr. D pulled an “I am your father!” On Percy. They splashed him in a fountain like an overheated dog. Percy crashed a taxi. The consensus song. Grover letting animals loose on Las Vegas. The mortals saw the chimera as a tiny ass chihuahua. They played “What is love?” During the tunnel of love. Percy literally thought he was Jesus Christ 2.0 for a second. He was distracted petting a lizard during capture the flag. Ares starts Twitter wars. Grover told him “Thanks for the burgers and emotional abuse.” There’s tons of humor and silly moments. Just pay attention. Or maybe it’s not your humor. That’s okay. But don’t say it’s not silly, cuz it is.

“The characters aren’t the same!” Okay you’re just lying now. Annabeth is complex, they’re exploring her relationship with her mother, and Leah’s onscreen chemistry with Walker is insane. Percy would absolutely sacrifice himself for his mother without second thought. Grover acts as a guide and bridge between Annabeth and Percy. And he gets his character explored more! His connection to Pan and nature is so cool here! I could go more in-depth here but literally the characters are almost the exact same. Little scenes don’t make a character. You either haven’t read the books in a while, don’t critically analyze your favorite characters and what makes them who they are, or are letting minor grievances overshadow how good the actors and writers are. This is so evidently a passion project from everyone involved.

“They’re rushing percabeth/percabeth isn’t good enough!” Weirdly have heard both. Both are due to fandom interpretations, not the actual show. Nothing romantic is going on between the two of them because they’re both twelve and just met. They’re friends, and that’s great! Your knowledge that they’re going to become an amazing power couple is clouding your judgement.

You guys are letting minor scenes from a (around) twenty year old book dictate your experience of a wonderful show that keeps the same spirit and care that was put into it in the first place. I agree on lighting issues, a few odd lines, stuff like that, but the actual substance of the show is amazing and true to character. I love it. It’s okay if you don’t like it. But ask yourself why. Don’t be bitter about a few scene changes because there’s so much joy that you’re denying yourself of because of something as simple as nostalgia.

i want to make the longest post about mike’s queercoding and the development of his crush on will throughout the series but i’m too lazy and i was never much of a writer and i wouldn’t know where to get all the screenshots and gifs i need so for now its just gonna sit in my brain rotting until i die

Well, unknown hero agent man / pen symbolism anon, i hope you're reading this, cos you hit the nail on the head! this kind of symbolic storytelling is not only a fine art of cinema (being lost these days a little sadly, what with the whole netflix speedy turnover etc), but exactly what (good) films of the horror genre aim to do.

horror has long been a way to creatively tell 'normal' dramatic stories through subtext and symbolism. not sure if this is still a way around traditional censorship but im sure it began that way. films like the exorcist, the shining, rosemary's baby... all classics that are filled with subtext. its also an exciting way to talk about things that might seem trite or too bleak when portrayed as a 'straight' drama (this is the term meaning 'non-genre based' or 'non-musical' lmao). So you could say that ST is NOT straight, in more ways than one 😉

but much of this will go over casual viewers heads, so its finding the balance between making a story believable on the surface (another dimension exists! scary government men trying to kill us!) and subtextually (the UD as a metaphor for trauma/AIDS/closeted homosexuality/abuse etc) if viewers are clever enough to see/feel it. i say feel because much of storyviewing is instinctive instead of analytical.

so ST incorporates both - not just metaphorical, vague storytelling, but also real issues too. but it goes one step further, and actually has characters talk explicitly about reading deeper into stuff (murray's behind the curtain speech). it's a very meta show, even for a genre piece, which is why it astounds me that some people think it's not that deep lol. and some people think that only literature can be deep, but never tv or movies - which is an insult to anyone who has ever been passionate about cinema tbh. It's a statement that would probably rip the heart out of the duffers' chests and stomp on it. these guys are super nerds who have dedicated their adult lives to this passion project. as finn said, 'most people make it then just cash in - im so glad they still care'.

I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable talking about the beauty of this storytelling on your main. it really does surprise me that the fandom is so censorship obsessed because sexual metaphors have long existed in visual media, and especially in horror films. there used to be a long post about byler and a potential sex scene at lover's lake on here, but the user disappeared and the post went missing. it was about all the sexual imagery in ST, with a focus on byler in s4. i especially loved how they mentioned mike's introduction, where he was just in underwear: it is both appropriate for the setting, but also gets the audience used to him as a growing lad with a body and draws attention to those uncomfortable, potentially sexual aspects of being a teen. i mean, he was in tiny pants for god's sake. did we need to see that? why did we see it? etc etc

hilariously, they also referenced the always sunny in philadelphia scene where a character is in a therapist office talking about a pen being a dick. he then puts it in his mouth and chews the pen lmoao

i think you'd enjoy @therainscene's rod symbolism post too. I'm personally hoping for some explicit sex scenes with byler, because the show so far has arguably been telling that story metaphorically already for 4 seasons, and bringing it out of the subtext could be a storytelling device in itself. bringing byler's secrets into the light. after all, this is a period piece that aims to shed light on a bygone era. its not a propaganda piece that needs to remain coded; the reasons for staying secretive still exist for mike and will in the 80s, but times have changed since then for us as a global audience, and more importantly, the aspirational message has changed. what message would the duffs want to send to viewers that are still bigoted? clearly one of the beauty of homosexuality, seeing as will, our fav gay boy, has been the darling sympathetic victim of the show since s1e1. the show needs to remain true to both the 80s while also having a strong message for this decade in order for modern audiences to be able to gain something from watching this story; in order for there to be a reason the show exists at all.

so to answer your question, i had never picked up on the pen symbolism until now, but i immediately agree, not least because 1) it must have a meaning that connects to byler's conversation otherwise why does it just interrupt them with no reason? (from a storytelling pov), and 2) because of the always sunny scene lolllll

thanks for the discourse! if you stick around into s5, im sure we will be able to start discussing this on our mains. it'll be a new era and there might even be gifs/pics of byler to accompany our 'spicy' discourse haha!

Amazing/fascinating points! Thanks for adding to the discussion!

"in what way do you express coquette?"

(a tag to talk about our inspirations, icons, basics and blueprints)

what are your main inspirations and in what way do you express your personal concept of coquette?

꩜ im a huge vintage girly, i grew up loving old movies and style, so i took a lot of inspiration from movie actresses and their characters, specially from exploitation or avant-garde movies from the 60s and 70s and cool girls that i saw on 90s tv shows, i would say that 50% of my personal style (that covers not only the way i dress, but also decor and lifestyle) stems from that, the other half ot it is influenced by my passion for gothic motifs, music and literature, which includes religious imagery, statues, a darker color palette, flowers (specially those saw on funerals) and the whole haunted aspect, that i like to mix with more delicate and feminine details to resemble a creepy, almost uncanny doll.

꩜ all those things help me to craft my perfect coquette look, that i would put on the coquette noir category. is also very inspired by aspects of my personality, which i consider to be sullen, sardonic and kind of mysterious but also very sweet, i think this goes too well with the mix of edgy with femininity.

what media and people directly influence your look and lifestyle?

꩜ some of my favorite media that inspires me in the way i dress (also some personal philosophy) are movies like la ceremonie, as meninas, marie poupee, daisies, la belle personne, heavenly creatures, ms. 45, trashy europeans erotic films from the 70s and basically every godard movie from the 60s.

꩜ figures like tina aumont, anna karina, isabelle huppert, faye wong, early 90s mariah carey, strawberry switchblade, rachel weisz, sherilyn fenn, sade adu, hope sandoval, lana del rey, ayo edebiri and françoise dorleac also are big icons to me.

finally, list some of your coquette basic staples.

꩜ i consider my basics to be denim, black or tartan miniskirts, thights (specially dark colored or printed with flowers), lace dark tops, chokers, necklaces with pendants, dark shoes such as boots, loafers and mary janes, mini dresses (either floral, tartan or plain black), lots of mascara with 90s lip combo, berry lipstick, nude or slightly dark eyeshadow,and obviously my fringe.

do it too!: @lovesickbrat @lonelystarlet @iridescentdarliing @dark-nymph3t @miss-mademoiselle and basically everyone that want it

sometimes when i read stuff about people saying “i interacted with this person who liked Artsy, Obscure music/art/film/literature/media/etc. and they were so pretentious and mean and gatekeepy and thought they were BETTER than me just because they like ~high art~ and i like *insert popular thing here*”

based off my own experiences on how i see these interactions actually play out in real life, im like, okay. so did you actually come into this interaction neutrally? or did you start out hostile and condescending toward this person’s “pretentious” taste? did they really just show up and bully you for having Philistine Uncultured Uneducated Taste or did you make smug remarks and smirk and roll your eyes while they spoke excitedly and passionately about the contemporary conceptual artist whose work they’re obsessed with until they snapped and pointed out to you that objectively yeah your favorite avengers film is kind of derivative and shit actually and flipped that switch disney installed in your brain that makes you see other people as human bullet targets?

Hey! Saw your post about deciding what to do for uni. Obviously it's a choice you have to make for yourself in the end (i know how hard that is as im going to uni this year as well, and im having trouble figuring out what to do too!!). Just offering some of my thoughts here!!

Im from a smallish eastern european country and honestly, I've only recently really started to appreciate my culture and language. I've spent so much time on the internet, consuming and consuming and consuming english, and my mative language skills have suffered for it. Like i hate those moments when i need a word and the first one that pops into my mind is an english one.

English is in no danger. English lacks nothing. It has all the linguists and philology students it needs. Does Georgian have that? Idk how Georgian is doing, but i know that for my own native language the situation is quite bad. A lot of young people speak better english than the native language, they sometimes put in phrasss or have entire convos in english, and that really harms my language, because a language has to be used intensely and in every aspect of life for it to evolve and remain truly alive. So like if i had to choose between english and my language, i think I'd choose my language, just because it's in a more precarious situation.

Like people from all over the world study english yk. But do people from all over the world study Georgian? We have to take care of our culture when we know that others won't, because it *is* valuable, even if only to us.

In the end, i think the best advice is to do what interests you most. If that's english, then sure, go for it, but if it's Georgian, then go for that. Make sure that you don't give up on your passions just because of fear.

helloo<33

the thing is, like you've said, I've been obsessively consuming media in English since I was 11-12 years old and at this point my brain Works in English more than it does in Georgian, ykwim?? I completely understand what you mean when you say that when you need a certain word, English translation is the first one that pops up in your head and it's so frustrating, I completely get it.

I also started appreciating my culture / literature / songs / movies lately and I sometimes get so angry at myself for not being interested in it earlier because, truly, who cares about how much information you have about foreign movies and so on if you don't know anything about your own first, yk??

and people around me use English phrases instead of Georgian too and it makes me So Mad and what makes me even angrier is that I also do that?? like?? why. Georgian is the sort of language that does not lack words or phrases, considering that Georgian tribes have existed since 8 century B.C. so, the point is, we don't lack anything that English speakers have.

another thing (which I have talked about here multiple times since I started studying history properly) is that Georgia has always, always been under attacks throughout its entire existence and we were constantly on the verge of extinction but somehow we always survived and people always managed to find a way to pass our culture and everything sacred to us to future generations. when I look back at that I feel so bad about the possibility of choosing foreign language and literature which was NEVER under the same risk of disappearance while my ancestors had to fight tooth and nail to still speak Georgian as the Russian Empire pressured them into speaking Russian.

honestly tysm for this anon because yeah. as a fellow eastern european, yeah you Get it.

my national exams are in July so I still have time to think about all of this but unless the fear of our complicated grammar makes me change my mind, I have a tiny feeling that patriotism might win within me.

sorry I didn't intend this to turn into such a rant

=x=... mmm not sure about a certain post about silent protags in jp media being written the way they are being hinged entirely on buddhism/taoism (it is in big part due to that, BUT)

another piece of the puzzle here is an evolution of literature and media surrounding video game narrative between the east and the west.

japanese literature:

in the 1900s, lots of japanese literature was told in 1st person pov, especially the big influential deeply philosophical ones. im talking I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki, and No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai.

this deep philosophical "what is the self in relation to the environment" thing gets reflected a lot in those works, where they often break down the conditions of what defines a human and their life and how absurd it is. the idea of 1 person being multi faceted was often discussed in these works as well, but it seems to be coming from a butt fuck ton of social anxiety and depression. (especially mr Osamu Dazai.)

this resulted in more works and discussions surrounding the same topic because people very astutely noted that capitalism was making their life rough. and the whole post war reality thing. and then that led to a lot of other writers joining in and making major contributions to the whole.

lots of people were not mentally ok and that resonated deeply. so there was a lot of dialogue going on. at least between the writers.

bc in one of the example above, I Am A Cat had no real spoken dialogue from the main character, who is a cat. it's extremely introspective and cynical.

(and also im pretty sure 99% of modern light novels out there are written in 1st person too, though this comes later and is tangentially related. consider the avg appetite of the anime fan and how it might be related. The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya (debuted 2003). My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU (debuted 2011). That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (2013). etc etc are all written in 1st person.)

for the RPG side of writing:

in one hand, silent protags in both sides started out in early video game writing due to the lack of support for text. english and a lot of other related texts only needed to care for the alphabet and some characters, but japanese had to deal with kanji.

there is more than 50,000 (!!!) kanjis in existence on top of hiraganas and katakanas. theres just no way to fit all of that in a NES game cart. even if we go down to words commonly used, that's still a few thousand too many. so for a long time the trend was to write a silent protag and keep things simple, since complex story didnt start rocketing until more memory could be fit in. robust storytelling started happening around the SNES era, but by then people realized the way to write interesting worlds in games was to build interesting characters with the limitations they had. relational character writing, yes, but a lot of tricks were used to tell a story.

(and the reason why tricks were used, and why people pushed stories as hard as they did was bc in part, lots of people who had a hard time finding jobs with their art related passion ended up in the vg industry. japan's 1990s' economic collapse caused them to really dip into the aforementioned elements of the idea of humans trying to live in self made systems that seem hostile. it's why works like Fire Emblem and Xenogears and Final Fantasy went brrr)

anyway. the story in these games then can be summarized as character driven.

meanwhile a lot of western games ran into the same, but less limitations with far less characters needed to be shoved in the memory. yet, western RPGs seem interested in building a world around the protag, for the protag. as a result robust story telling was way more self-inserty than the japanese variety in the extreme case, like Wizardry, or really any sort of Dungeons & Dragons sandbox variety. Ultima and Runescape too. those were a thing. are STILL a thing.

so western games of the 1980s leaned towards more 'make your own story' kinda deal. so these are more player driven.

combined result:

whoever wants to try their hand at writing any works that hints at any philosophical stuff or ideas or even religion will then use those literature as a reference, and the result is.... Persona. Fire Emblem. Zelda. Final Fantasy. Guilty Gear.

but what im getting at here is that religion is not the sole reasoning for why 'self-inserts' in japanese video games are only hinged on differences in religion. there was a whole movement of literature going on.

all this to say why it's mostly Japan and not the rest of Asia following suit. (As an example, hong Kong films) there just wasn't the same literature dialogue happening on the same scale with the same accessibility, and the same post WW2 economic stuff

anyway i might have lost my line of thinking. im going to bed. @_@ night

im really sorry about my blog Im just too mentally drained lately to put together my old thoughtful mini-essays or literature quotes or what have you. I've been busy bustin moves and being too burnt out to write anything interesting or productive which is fine except I have some interesting topics I want to cover at some point soon. I have book reviews to write and essays to draft and my head feels like road slush from all the headbanging. I think my previous blog was a bit of a failure when I compare it to the writing projects I have in my head, but that's the trouble with mixing passion projects with venting media. It winds up being unsatisfactory either way

i kinda want to get back into writing again, only im not exactly sure how if we're being honest. it's been so long and so much has happened i feel like i've lost the ability to do it. or the idea of writing feels so- distant. any tips on how to get back into it?

hi anon! i absolutely want to say that feeling this way is totally okay and valid! i feel like this a little bit currently, and it is pretty hard to stop feeling this way and to get out of that slump. however, i do think i can give you some tips!

also, i just want to say that it's totally okay if you don't want to write anymore, or if your mental wellbeing comes first. sometimes we get overwhelmed by what we feel we should be doing, and it's hard to just enjoy our old hobbies like we used to. if that's the case, taking a break can be good, but you can also use writing to try and cope with what's going on. (i do this a lot. you don't necessarily have to write about your situation, but you can do that if you want! i write very similar situations with some of my favorite characters - or sometimes i become a little evil and write pure angst to get through it. it helps!)

anyway, back to the tips!

1.) READ. i know this sounds a little silly, but sometimes we lose touch of how much we enjoy fics and literature because we don't have the time to enjoy others' works! reading your own share of fics can totally help, but it's okay if that doesn't apply to you or if it doesn't help at all. i become inspired by others frequently, so it's something that can assist me at times!

2.) try not to stress about it. i know this one is hard, but when we place a lot of pressure on ourselves to write perfectly, to have amazing works out to our followers all of the time, it really drains us of our drive and our inspiration, and it makes writing seem like a chore rather than something we're meant to enjoy.

3.) start out small. basically, try not to rush yourself into writing huge fics again. it's okay to do little blurbs or shorter one shots to get back into the groove of things.

4.) if you do have an idea that really inspires you, go for it! when i come up with an idea i absolutely love, sometimes the words are just easier to write, and i stress less about how im doing and have more fun! if you can do this, i totally suggest trying it!

5.) if you don't have any ideas, try pinterest or other sources. i have a boad on pinterest that's strictly writing prompts, and it's a great source for inspo and knowledge about writing! i know a lot of writing blogs exist on tumblr as well, so using those can be of great help too.

6.) check in with where your interests lie. this may sound strange, but part of the issue could be that you're trying to force yourself to write for characters or a series you no longer are passionate about (or are as passionate as you used to be). this is totally fine! maybe explore some new forms of media to write for, and incorporate that into your blog! (and don't stress, i find that the desire to write for certain series or media can come back in time! especially when/if you suddenly get more content for it!)

7.) if you're swamped with other things, don't force it! try not to stress even more about making your followes happy by giving them content. trust me when i say most of us would rather you enjoy what you post rather than feeling obligated to stress over something entirely and then post it. your health and happiness comes first, and when those needs are met it's so much easier to get back into the swing of things!

these are the main things that help me, i'm sure there are more but my brain isn't really working all that well right now. regardless, i hope that this helps you out anon! sending you so much love and positivity, you got this! <333

ooh i'd totally place you in pomefiore. your writing has a romantic aspect to it. i get the vibes of contemporary with a mary shelley or giacomo leopardi flair to it ??

i'd love to hear about the topics in the arts and the humanities that you're into ! at the moment im graduating high school and likely going to double major in world history as well as literature and then eventually i'll get a law degree.

im an avid reader and writer, but i also delve into art through paintings and sketches. stem ?? idk her bc i cannot with stem-

on the topic of the humanities and arts though , i'd like to point out the 'why the curtains are blue' argument because i personally find it absurd. our english teachers were honestly trying to teach us critical thinking skills as well as opening our eyes to the ideas of symbolism. the argument is just stupid , to be frank.

i like to think that the little bits of symbolism that are claimed to be "unimportant" were subconscious. for example , im writing a drama novel that takes place in tahirid yemen and one of my protagonists furrowed his brows once a mabkhara brushed against his skin in the first chapter. at first i wrote it because he was worried since having the incense burner so close to the table's edge is dangerous, but then i wrote my fourth chapter and accidently gave him more reason to dislike mabkharas.

<3 genie anon <3

honestly it's probably because i go with vibes in my writing. like i'm all about description because my imagination is super vivid and i have super vivid scenes that play out like a movie.

i also don't know stem. we don't talk about her lol. i am a woman in humanities.

YES YES AND YES!! HIT IT RIGHT ON THE NAIL!! ironically enough i actually had a section of my final paper for my victorian literature class about the "why are the curtain blue?" meme. the fact that people look down upon humanities because "we're pulling at threads" is really absurd and it kind of stems from misogyny. humanities is 1. deemed "feminine" and 2. a lot of fears about reading stem from women reading and women becoming passionate about what they're reading. it's also based in capitalism. humanities isn't seen as "successful" and our degrees are seen as "useless" which is the funniest thing ever. in stem, ethics is extremely important so for stem people to disregard humanities as "useless" is super funny.

i personally like symbolism and i think reading into things more is also important for media literacy (which people clearly lack nowadays). symbolism, imo, makes things better (and so does philosophy but i'm apparently one of the rare few that thinks philosophy makes everything better).

i am a literature major actually genie anon! but i am specifically concentrating in cinema studies which means i am studying movies. symbolism in movies is a lot easier to portray than in books honestly which is why i think symbolism improves. i do love what i'm doing so much that i even write critical essays about film in my spare time!! rn though i'm more or less focusing on applications and on making sure i fulfill my undergrad requirements.

music is so transformative i cant even visuals n storytelling paired with music with that environment it creates and manifests into its own and its so vivid like i cant fucking deal i can't even begin to explain this shit i cant put it into words it doesn't feel enough

there is just so much fucking magic when it comes to art be it writing, storytelling etc or music or art or acting editing all sorts it goes on and on and when they're paired together and something so magical comes to fruition is created ? i loose myself in shit and maybe thats just a me thing i'm a sentimental always thinking sometimes to my detriment thinking deeply all the time giving stuff meaning when it doesn't necessarily need to mean much like i'm so in love with the fuckinng mystical concept something so immersive and gripping beautiful concepts that draw you in that feeling can be with anything but when its a full on all sorts of aspects of art coming together in one? to create a piece of work/artwork? i am fucking done u bitches have me going jumping up and down screaming rolling around rolling down stairs rolling down roads setting into the sunset eyeballs pop out of head i'm spinning around someone mistook me for a fucking spring slinky dink or whatever like that dog from toy story and they're pushing me down ther stairs it is so fucking insane and it grips me so deeply i can't even it transcends to me. and when a bunch of aspects/catogs or whatever of art come together? work together? flesh out a gifted product? this is fucking insane i come back to this all the time but i cant fucking believe it

story telling does something to me narratives being explored characters being defined a message being shown or written into a concept something needing or calling for thought anything the atmosphere i hate to say aesthetic but im struggling to find the right word im thinking about just the culmination the spirit and the soul. its hard to believe this shit isn't real because it moves and grips you and ur conscience it brings you into a different realm it transports you and it makes it feel so tangible it makes life feel so deeply precious even if bittersweet even if not peace and love even if its struggles theres room for any and all in tale telling in stories in concepts in narratives in art in concept pieces in something heavily themed in snarky cynical pieces in butting heads in art work in creative pieces and work in creative collaboration artists, dancers, authors, writers, screenplayers, actors, prop makers, music artists, just visionaries, like historians that focus on art, in ppl who's passion in their work is feeling real experiences rawness. like a music video that visual aspect the planning the vision the incredible thought process so detailed intertwining with a narrative telling a story already made or not linking arms together dancing together lifting eachother up making eachother brighter bringing meaning to everything. a song added? that audio stimulance there is so much to music so so so much so much potential theres so much potential in all of art and music has the capability to truly move us to create landscapes in ur mind. actors n dancers. all of it and so much more that i can't name all of them coming a cross incredible work ? seeing that all eb and flow together in a piece of media oh i am go fucking BERSERK dont get me started like this is so beyond anything

i find stories and feelings n just worlds n atmospheres a lot its something i hold dear and like i cant even it grips my heart so tight the love or infatuation is almost too much it feels too much it feels too good to be true like looking around r any of u other bitches getting this like i am are u seeing this because it is incredible how can people create such gifts to the human experience u lot have me fucked up all u artists in whatever field are out there any human on this earth has me fucked up

like i write my thoughts down a lot i love english/literature its a lot of shit that comes together for me but idk what else to call it i write shit down all the time in my notes because random stuff comes to me i plan on going further into english academically its a process like i wrote something not too long ago about grass yeah just grass about lying on the grass sitting on the grass i have to give feelings to everything even if its just to imagine to wonder to think whats the perspective what are the thoughts how would i feel this world is so wild art is so precious the care for something so deeply no matter what it is sports etc or what that need and drive for a matter a love that defines your life or part of your life it sticks to you like glue like gum dont look at me i cant anything

rose quartz and coral <3

ahh hii <33

rose quartz— what’s your love language (romantic or platonic)? ooh i feel like my main love language is physical touch, like i enjoy hugging cuddling and just hand holding in general. i like being physically close to the people i love ykn. the next closest wud probably be words of affirmation ig i need the constant reassurance but also like taking care of others and calming them down

if we're thinking about less conventional ones its probably just telling them about my day or listening to someone talk about smth they're passionate about. i tend to get annoyed really quickly if im bored but when its someone whose company i actually enjoy i can listen to them talk for hours :]]

coral— what’s something you’re passionate about? not sure if passionate is the exact word rn, but when i grow up i wanna make a change. i wanna make the world a better easier place for queer youth. especially queer youth like me who were never really fully represented in media and didn't have much to relate to. as an aspiring writer i wanna write about things that i could've had, experiences that i wanted, needed in my life and queer journey. a journey which is still ongoing.

also im passionate about the english language in general idk ahsdsjfkg. english literature and the intricacies of the language are very intriguing to me. all languages have their own speciality, but somehow english lights this spark in me that makes me wanna dig deep and learn all the tricks and tips to it and how to bend it to my will. even from a very young age i had a flair for the language and knew that i wanted to write and create with it, so yeah probably that ashdjdkgh

Listen up bc I have THOUGHTS

"Stop trying to make Luca gay they're children!!" "Luca isn't gay!!>:[[" have you EVER heard of an allegory???? No? Let me show you the definition

(Definition by oxford languages) allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Listen I don't know if y'all have ever taken an english class but TRY to read between the lines and INFER.

•2 teen age boys in a coming of age story having to hide who they are

•being in Italy (a place obviously influenced by Roman Catholic tradition) and everywhere they look they see reminders that they're not welcome

•their identities being villanized

•"you're not scared of us but we're scared of you"???? Hello

•the whole "HES A SEA MONSTER" scene. Obviously Alberto was tired of hiding bc he was jealous but in the process tried to forcibly out Luca, who as a form of self preservation, acted like he didn't know and threw him under the bus. This sounds a whole lot like scenes in queer literature where they betray their friends out of fear of how others will react if they find out

•the parent tropes: one of them was abandoned by his father and the other has overly protective parents who know that people will be cruel to their son if they find out what he is

•the old ladies living in secret and revealing themselves due to the bravery of the kids from a younger generation

•after the revelation most people dropped their umbrella as a symbol of acceptance and as revealing their own self but others held tight to their umbrellas because there will always be people who are afraid or unaccepting

•them continuously persecuting the sea monsters even though they're clearly harmless just bc of a preconceived notion

NOW ONTO THE "They're children" PART

Firstly, they're teenagers. Around this age or even earlier we start finding our sexualities, and other identities. SECONDLY, homosexuality and queerness are NOT inherently sexual/inappropriate. This is so harmful to assume. Queer kids and straight/cis kids are essentially the same. Guess what? Queerness isn't an illness that manifests the moment you turn 18!!!! The same way that kids are born straight and have their pure little puppy loves, kids can also be born queer and experience the same loves although perhaps less openly due to the hostility of others. Also, we have had lots of media depicting straight kids/teens having crushes and relationships and thats perfectly fine, there's never any backlash or anything. So why is it that only straight kids are deserving of seeing themselves on tv and having their feelings validated in a healthy way? Queerness is always associated in the media with corruptness, villains (queer villain trope), bad fates (bury the gays trope), or sex. This is incredibly harmful for kids who know that they don't relate to the straight chracters but have only this as an alternative. If we want to help queer children feel safe and validated we have to start by letting them recognize themselves in happy and healthy characters. SO LET THEM BE INTERPRETED AS QUEER!!!! Kids deserve to see themselves on tv regardless of their identity.

Anyways ik this was long but im pretty passionate about these things:)

P.S. Luca's uncle is quite literally trans so??? Sea people = alphabet mafia confirmed???

omg did you actually write about that? if you're comfortable can you share more about your essay? i'm curious

ya i cant be too helpful tho bc i really didnt like the end product :( but basically i wrote about in 2016 when i met up w a bunch of tumblr mutuals to see tlsp, the opener was cam avery (also known for touring w tame impala) and he like shouted me out or idk how to describe it but i was like being my obnoxious self so he noticed me and like talked directly to me briefly from on stage while warming up the crowd . and i felt special for a moment but i realized what i really cared about was that the other fans noticed me not that he noticed me. which just made me think about parasociality and fandom spaces as a topic, cause ive been in so many of them but for me it has always been about processing myself .. like i dont rly create transformative fan work or contribute meaningfully in that way , im just making jokes and weaving the music into other interests of mine and my personal life. its still very hard to put into words but the general topic is something im still rly passionate abt to this day! especially the phenomenon of kpop and how fandom is basically encouraged and a separate commodity was so eye opening to discover (after i had already gotten into college lol). not to be cringy but i wish there were a dedicated academic discipline for fandom studies, imo it encompasses a lot of things like psychology, sociology, media studies, music (if its a music fandom), economics, comparative literature, ethics and so much more

oh if ur asking more broadly abt my experience writing the common app, the ppl i sent it to to proofread understood what i was trying to say and liked it but i ultimately used a different application for most of my schools. and that essay was genuinely just recounting trauma hee hee but im glad i at least tried a little to not make my trauma the center of my application

You made some fair points on originality in IF works, but I'd like to ask, what was the intention of putting your work out there? For others to read, isn't it? That means you and other writers are opening yourselves for feedback and ultimately criticism. Whether or not they are what you hoped for, it's going to happen unfortunately. And when there are similarities in terms of specific things (ie. supernatural detective stories) it's natural for others to draw connections. Maybe the author was inspired by another and created their own spin on the story, or maybe they saw how those elements made the story so well received they wanted to do the same for theirs. Either way, when that level of similarity (no matter how superficial or basic) crops up, it's going to be a point of interest, especially when the earlier work is so popular. It's sad when people accuse authors of plagiarism but it's equally sad to be told off for drawing comparisons when you see them, moreso when it's plain to see. You say you're doing this in your free time so you can share your passion projects with others, and that's great, but please understand not everyone is going to like what you put out and, more importantly, aren't obligated to stick around when it's something they believe isn't as up to par as another work.

My criticism of these comparisons that people draw are not a deflection of people actually criticizing works, but instead the false accusation that is being thrown at authors for having similar stories.

This nowhere near drawing comparisons between works. Stories that have similar tropes or beats or elements are part of a genre. No one is criticizing pointing out similarities- it's when people decide that these comparisons must mean that someone was just copying off of another person. And yes, you are absolutely correct, and I agree with you 100%- no one has to like what you put out. At all. They don't even have to give a reason as to why. What people like and what people don't like- even with the stuff I create and put out there in public- is none of my business. You don't like my story? Cool. You're never going to please everyone, and you shouldn't- focus on the people who do like your work, and go with that instead. But what I was talking about in that post are primarily anons who- most notably with TWC- will often outright attack authors for having stories similar to it. This is not criticism. This is just saying that the author is committing a rather egregious form of theft and claiming it as their own property, when the author themselves have put time, sweat, and tears into the story that they wrote without copying anyone.

Take my anon for instance, who accused me of just ripping off characters I 'liked' from somewhere(?) and bastardizing them into Thane and Rosalie. This is not criticism, this is just them claiming that I have stolen the work of someone else and used it. It is a false claim of something I take very, very seriously as a writer, and it is not amusing to be told that you are just some kind of lazy thief who's mooching off of other people's work. It is not amusing nor helpful at all.

What I am attempting to point out with that post is that not only is this just not criticism- i.e, "im telling so/so you stole their story" or "just admit you wrote this because xyz" it is a rather poor understanding of literature and how people are influenced by things they surround themselves with. There are things such as tropes, and storylines, and genres or ideas that are often used and expressed through media. They may look and feel and go for the same moral, but depending upon the execution of the media- the innovation of what the author brings to the table- it may be a total different product by the end of it.

And that to me, is the most important part of that entire post. It is not the silly and often times false accusations of copying, but rather the lack of acceptance from creative communities- both creators and consumers- that in order for something to be good, it needs to be original. But what the hell does that even mean? Do I have to be like Tolkien, and create entire languages and maps and charts for my world? Do I have to avoid tropes at all costs? Do I have to have the entire story from a different point of view? Does it have to be avant garde?

It can be with these elements, of course, but I think many forget that simple stories with simple tropes and dynamics are okay. It's okay to be simple, and no, it's not copying off another person's because it has similar beats that can be see throughout the entirety of human literature as we know it. You don't have to constantly attempt to have twists or worry that your story isn't "original enough" because it goes from plot A to B to C.

This seems to be flung out the window by those few who think they have some kind of God-given right to make the claim of someone plagiarizing another's work, just because it features vampires or death or whatever the hell is similar to something else.

Accusations are not criticisms. They are precisely what they are- accusations. It is best, in my eyes, to not confuse the two.

as a thirsty bi genshin player i am SO lookin forward to both ur ning and zhongli pieces.. i find it so cool ur researching stuff before writing it rly shows how much thought and care u put into everything u post!! also when i finished ur genshin tag i went thru ur bnha one even tho im not even into it anymore just cus i was like.. i need my ddarker-dreams fix. and now ur tempting me to continue jojo too.. also never hestitate to talk about your passions, the audience loves to hear it - 🌼

GOD ningguang is my absolute type in a woman it’s so surreal. that rich, mature voice. beautiful long hair. limitless bank account. absolute ethereal goddess. the taste we have is immaculate. i end up wanting to write sonnets whenever i see women like ningguang, the power they have...

research is one of the most exciting parts of the writing process for me!! lately, i’ve been using my college’s online library to just read for hours about everything. gothic literature has been my latest interest. i want to write some yandere piece with heavy gothic themes, so i suppose in a way, yandere could already be considered gothic? i’m curious to know how much the two actually line up, but in terms of exploring darker human emotions, i think they share some ground. 

goD i’m like beaming because i do the same thing with my favorite authors,, i just browse their entire collection regardless of if i’m familiar with the media or not hjtegnrk so hearing that has me like :’)) i’ve amassed quite a collection of writing, so i hope you don’t run out anytime soon!! and it’s always my end goal to get more people into jjba... my life’s calling... 

i’m glad you guys are willing to tune in on whatever it is i’m saying!! i’m a very talkative person when it comes to certain things,,