Problem with strangers giving critique #3,412:
I had someone, when I wrote BNHA fic, tell me Shinsou was out of character and “too timid” in their introduction chapter of Community Welfare.
Except Shinsou had, in that chapter, used up a great deal of confidence and social power to speak up and correct everyone about their pronouns, come out, and be the centre of attention while others spoke to them.
In canon, Shinsou is fine in groups so long as he is more controlling, but when the attention turns on him, he gets grumpy, closed off, and frustrated.
In Community Welfare, Shinsou got quiet and timid after coming out because they simply didn’t have the reserves to be anything else. They were tired because coming out to a room full of people, especially ones you have to live with for at least the next semester, can be excruciatingly difficult.
Did this commenter pick up on that? Did anyone who read it pick up on that? Did I miss the mark? Did they not see it and think it was a bad call? Did they miss the detail? Did I miss the detail? Are they right?
There’s so much nuance missing from a single comment that can only be gained by a conversation between two people who both know what they’re supposed to be looking for or asking about.
So can I take that comment at face value? Or have they misinterpreted me? Or have I not done what I thought I did?
It ends up being useless, because I don’t know them or their mind. So I just get stuck turning it over without any answer or way to use it productively.