This is probably going to get long and rambley, so I apologize in advance.
One big chunk is Yasbetwordsmith's use of warnings and footnotes. I don't have triggers exactly, but I do have a few things that squick me the hell out and a handful of common pain points that while I'm in a good headspace I can brush off, but if I'm not... well it's best for me to find something else to read. She makes it really easy for me to know if something's going to hit those. And her footnotes... she does her research. And then shares it. It can cover everything from how to notice bullying, giving a good handshake, Emotional First Aid, Cognitive therapy worksheets, to youtube videos of medieval court dances.
Another thing is the world itself. The world building is excellent and I can tell just how much thought has gone into the background (superhero support groups. SuperVILLAIN support groups :) medical training for non-standard biology, laws effecting people with powers.) it's internally consistent and builds up on itself. actions have reasonable reactions. nonhuman telepaths that are clearly not human, and thus have a very different way of thinking/ speaking/reacting to things. A wide array of powers, and a fair amount aren't very flashy/ "high powered" but still have a large influence on how that character sees themselves and the world. (sometimes literally, one character has eyes like a fly)
The world is also just... kinder and more self aware. Social safety nets haven't been gutted. the school to prison pipeline doesn't exist. Anti discrimination laws are enforced. There's focus on harm-reduction instead of "zero tolerance" bullshit. I mean, terrible awful shit still happens but it's not this... grimdark "everything is awful all the time" dystopia. Granted, a lot of this might be from a "Do you want supervillians!? Because this is how you get supervillians!" argument... but over all this is nice. And really needed right now.
And most of characters are somewhat sympathetic even if they're 100% asshole. (OK, not the prison warden, but he's more of characterization of the abuse of power than anything else)
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Date: 2019-01-06 04:24 pm (UTC)One big chunk is Yasbetwordsmith's use of warnings and footnotes. I don't have triggers exactly, but I do have a few things that squick me the hell out and a handful of common pain points that while I'm in a good headspace I can brush off, but if I'm not... well it's best for me to find something else to read. She makes it really easy for me to know if something's going to hit those. And her footnotes... she does her research. And then shares it. It can cover everything from how to notice bullying, giving a good handshake, Emotional First Aid, Cognitive therapy worksheets, to youtube videos of medieval court dances.
Another thing is the world itself. The world building is excellent and I can tell just how much thought has gone into the background (superhero support groups. SuperVILLAIN support groups :) medical training for non-standard biology, laws effecting people with powers.) it's internally consistent and builds up on itself. actions have reasonable reactions. nonhuman telepaths that are clearly not human, and thus have a very different way of thinking/ speaking/reacting to things. A wide array of powers, and a fair amount aren't very flashy/ "high powered" but still have a large influence on how that character sees themselves and the world. (sometimes literally, one character has eyes like a fly)
The world is also just... kinder and more self aware. Social safety nets haven't been gutted. the school to prison pipeline doesn't exist. Anti discrimination laws are enforced. There's focus on harm-reduction instead of "zero tolerance" bullshit. I mean, terrible awful shit still happens but it's not this... grimdark "everything is awful all the time" dystopia. Granted, a lot of this might be from a "Do you want supervillians!? Because this is how you get supervillians!" argument... but over all this is nice. And really needed right now.
And most of characters are somewhat sympathetic even if they're 100% asshole. (OK, not the prison warden, but he's more of characterization of the abuse of power than anything else)