I've Seen A Lot Of People Talking About How Colin's Behaviour At The Beginning Of The Season Feels Forced

I've seen a lot of people talking about how Colin's behaviour at the beginning of the season feels forced and awkward and out of character and it made me realize that many people don't understand that that's exactly the point, Colin's not being himself, he's putting on a mask for others and trying to please others by being charming to everyone else. But it has also made me realize that I still haven't seen anyone talk about why he decided to make this change. Maybe anyone has said this before and I just haven't seen it, but I decided to give my opinion.

I believe that one of the biggest reasons Colin decided to change himself was that Penelope stopped responding to his letters, which made him believe the reason was that she got tired of hearing about his travels (like his family the previous season).

The reason I believe this is that in the first episode of this season, when he comes back from his travels, whenever someone asks for any kind of details about his travels he deflects the question (like when he is talking with the debutants and tells them he would have to marry them if he told them about his travels or when his siblins are trying to find out how many places he visited during his tour).

In fact he doesn't give any concret detail about his travels until after his confrontation with Penelope at Lady Danbury's (where she tells him she heard what he said about her at the end of the previous season and realizes that was the reason she stopped responding to him), when he tells her the number of cities he visited during his travels when they're talking in her garden.

Because, in his mind, if even Pen, the person who is always the happiest to see him and who couldn't get enough details about his travels the previous season, can get bored and tired of hearing him talk about it, then what hope does he have that anyone else will be interested in it. So he decides that he needs to change, and what better way to attract other people's attention that learning to be charming and mysterious and acting like the other members of the ton expect him to be.

"aphobia doesn't exist"

bitch literally not that long ago an aroace youtuber animator was insulted by almost half of its community for being it

fun fact (not fun at all fact actually) :

aromanticism and asexuality are still treated as issues to be fixed in most therapy settings, at least in the western psychiatric institution. i cannot fucking mention my aromanticism or asexuality to a therapist or it’ll immediately become their primary concern and goal to fix. whether or not i have a partner/am trying to have a partner is actively being used as an indicator of my wellness, regardless of if i WANT one. i cannot have access to needed mental health ressources because of fear of conversion therapy. aro and/or ace conversion therapy is the norm in most psychiatric institutions and we are getting told by the rest of the queer community that our oppression isnt real and that there is no link between our struggles and theirs.

more thoughts on the medicalization of asexuality and/or aromanticism

answers to common notes

aplatonic perspective

ressources

background information

tips to avoid aro and/or ace conversion therapy

website

its so shiddy when u have to convince yourself to do your hobbies. like, its fun, you like it, why cant you just do it. do it. do it. but what if.... mindless media consumption instead....

AO3 Etiquette

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

Kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished - you kudos.

If you liked it, you should comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it. Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity. Don't ruin that for them.

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLANTONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an implicit rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Avoid deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - orphan it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to you anymore.

This is a creative fanfiction archive. No essays on your insights or theories please. There are other places for that.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.