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in portuguese we have different words for to be depending on whether that means you are in a state of ___ at that moment or if part of your essence is ___
and i think english speaking fandom really struggles without those clear lines
and i think english speaking fandom really struggles without those clear lines
i was rereading mdzs and tweeted about wei wuxian being dirty because i think that's interesting: many times he is described as dirty in specific situations and it reveals a lot about him (how much he worries about it, when he doesn't, what it reveals about his mental state)
people took my tweet to someone saying i was subtweeting them (i wasn't) because i disagree with them (i don't), assuming i meant "wei wuxian is dirty in essence and he doesn't care about it in fact he never showers" when that couldn't be further from the truth
but that's not the only struggle i see, that's everywhere: it happens when a character eats something ONCE and the fandom makes it their whole personality or when a character's action under specific circumstances is taken as something vital to them when... it might not be
as a character wei wuxian goes over his past in a very critical way, for example. he looks at the things he did under specific circumstances and comments "wow that was too far" or "damn i was annoying lmao"
that is who he WAS AT SOME POINT not necessarily who he IS
that is who he WAS AT SOME POINT not necessarily who he IS
it bothers me because what i did was merely observational: here are instances where wwx is dirty. because sometimes he is. that's normal. and understanding why that might be IN THAT SCENARIO is great, even if the conclusion is "that's not who he Is IN ESSENCE".
in real life we all have our Moments™
sometimes we haven't showered in three days, we are obsessed with a really shitty song, we do something hurtful or we are lead to circumstances where we don't even recognise ourselves
that's literally just being alive
sometimes we haven't showered in three days, we are obsessed with a really shitty song, we do something hurtful or we are lead to circumstances where we don't even recognise ourselves
that's literally just being alive
this is something, by the way, that lan xichen understood
he goes "i knew meng yao had DONE this but i didn't think that was who he IS"
that's bad in the meng yao context but that's also what allows him to give wei wuxian the benefit of the doubt when others wouldn't
he goes "i knew meng yao had DONE this but i didn't think that was who he IS"
that's bad in the meng yao context but that's also what allows him to give wei wuxian the benefit of the doubt when others wouldn't
and that in fanfic gets even more tricky, because sometimes people have entire fights about characters THEY AGREE ON simply because at a given time some author decided to look at a specific snippet of characterisation.
let me explain.
let me explain.
i can write a fic about wei wuxian losing control and killing a bunch of people, where he is waist down in corpse goo and when he is pushing a character he loves away.
and i might want to go "in which different scenarios would that be true?"
and i might want to go "in which different scenarios would that be true?"
AND THEN i can write the exact same character thinking killing those people was wrong, where he'd like to take a bath please, when he wants to he happily married with lan wangji.
and that's not even disagreeing. that's two different snippets of his timeline.
and that's not even disagreeing. that's two different snippets of his timeline.
but because fic writing works the way it does, sometimes an author will go "today i wanna go bonkers on that snippet where wwx is cruel" or another will go "i want 100k words on wwx doing skincare"
and BOTH OF THOSE CAN BE TRUE AND VALID AT THE SAME TIME
and BOTH OF THOSE CAN BE TRUE AND VALID AT THE SAME TIME
there's observations of different instances
wwx being a genius: invents demonic cultivation
wwx being a "dumbass": the time he forgets jc needs a TWO WAY trip
in which case both can be true
AS OPPOSED TO disagreements on a character's essence
wwx being a genius: invents demonic cultivation
wwx being a "dumbass": the time he forgets jc needs a TWO WAY trip
in which case both can be true
AS OPPOSED TO disagreements on a character's essence
"wei wuxian is, in essence, a smart person" objectively correct, i think we covered that
"wei wuxian is, in essence, a dumb person" WRONG because making a mistake under extreme circumstances (almost passing out) means nothing to his IQ
"wei wuxian is, in essence, a dumb person" WRONG because making a mistake under extreme circumstances (almost passing out) means nothing to his IQ
but if we apply those snippets to fanfiction sometimes we're caught up in arguing "oh my god why would you make him forget it's a TWO WAY TRIP he is not STUPID i hate when people make wei wuxian DUMB" (if it wasn't canon for example)
when this isn't harmful (which would be a whole different story) it leads to such pointless debate. we really need these lines to tell when we are actually seeing things different or just, yknow, having fun with something we liked reading.
anyway, it bothers me when it gets to the point im seen as "subtweeting" or "disagreeing" with someone i have 0 things against & in fact agree with
im just having fun exploring snippets, i don't see why so much pointless hate comes from it.
im just having fun exploring snippets, i don't see why so much pointless hate comes from it.
