#AND THOSE TWO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LINKED NARRATIVELY

[survivalove]

debunking lies zutara shippers say about the atla creators & writers

disclaimer: this is in no way an endorsement or defense of bryke or anyone mentioned. literally just debunking false statements i see spread throughout and outside the fandom as it pertains to kataang

1. that bryke made kataang endgame because the nice guy should get the girl

this is something I see often usually linked with this video of a man ⬇️ who they claim to be bryan/mike echoing this sentiment.

this man is in fact john o’bryan, one of the three known zk shippers in the writers’ room (we’ll expand on this in point 5) talking about how he saw aang. not the creators. so of course it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he doesn’t even like kataang in the first place.

2. that bryke made kataang endgame last minute and zutara was the original pairing

bryan and mike (notice how i’m using both of their names separately. this too will be important in the next point) have talked about how kataang was planned since they originally wrote the show.

they have also talked ad nauseam in a video (which I will not share here cuz it made a lot of ppl angry) about why they do not like zutara and its shippers, so this entire point is bogus.

++ the reason why they say zk was the original pairing is because of one of the zk writers (joshua hamilton) wrote this in the atla fun facts that used to run on tv. (we’ll get into him later) those atla fun facts contain a lot of inaccurate/non canon “facts” which you can check and verify on avatar wiki if you know what i’m talking about.

3. that aang is bryke’s self insert (specifically mike)

yeah, here’s where the separation becomes important. bryan (L) and mike (R) are two different men. mike has never said that aang was his self-insert, nor has he directly talked about relating to aang. bryan, however, constantly talks about how much he relates to zuko. even, going as far to say he tries to think like zuko when he writes characters and shows.

the only time mike has come close to saying he relates to aang is when dante said he thinks mike is more like aang while bryan is more like zuko, and they, mostly bryan, agreed. (mike has actually said he relates to korra more than aang but hey) bryan also is the one who drew mike’s beard on adult aang because he considered it a nice reference to his friend. this is the main reason why shippers ran with that self-insert narrative because half the time, they think bryke is actually one person ☠️

++ in fact, aang’s original character design is based off the mixed black-chinese son of sifu kisu

4. that atla was supposed to have a season 4 where katara and zuko got together

this is mostly something that has come out of a fabricated interview by the head writer, aaron ehasz. he was allegedly asked what he would have liked to do if given the chance to write a fourth season of the show and talked about an azula redemption arc among other things. zutaras then made up a whole fake interview including that he wanted to make the two characters endgame.

ehasz then came out to say that most of these “interviews” were faked and that he has never talked about having a preference for any ship. if you go on his twitter, you will see him talking about an azula redemption arc tho.

as for atla having a 4th season at all, it was never intended. the creators, the music composers have all said at various points in time, the show was written and pitched as three seasons, three elements.

5. that most of the other writers shipped zutara and bryke’s authoritarianism shut it down

as I said above, only three writers on the original show have come out to say they preferred zk at some point. atla has had a total of 21 staff writers. 3 out of 21 is not most if you ask me.

as for bryke (yes now i’m using the shorthand cuz i proved my point earlier) being authoritarians, no writer or staff that has worked with them on the show has said this so…? idk where that came from but i’m not here to back them up just mention facts.

6. that all the women who worked on the franchise shipped zutara while only men shipped kataang

atla has very few female staff as it is:

5 writers (elizabeth welch: zk; others: unknown)

1 director (unknown)

5 storyboard/character artists (lauren montgomery: ka; elsa garagarza: ka; angela song mueller: zk; others: unknown)

1 comic writer (faith erin hicks: ka)

2 comic artists (gurihiru: ka)

++ mae whitman (katara’s voice actress) has expressed her like for both ships throughout the years.

so i’m not sure what defines all and only for some ppl but those definitions are not in my dictionary. disclaimer: i’m not declaring anyone here as a shipper in any official sense. this is just based off statements they have made that you can google!

7. that katara is written poorly in post-atla content because of kataang/bryke

I mean the first part isn’t really a lie, more of an opinion which I can agree with to an extent.

why I mention this here is because zks will not only go on a tangent and link the misogyny in the writing to a m/f ship and say the other m/f ship would have been more feminist…

but they also refuse to hold all the men involved accountable. like I said, 3 known atla writers shipped zk and 2 of them (joshua & john) were men (who would’ve thought men could like a ship and it could still be considered feminist 😃). they were also 2 out of only 4 atla writers that came back for legend of korra, outside of the creators. (19 to 4 ☠️ no comment). these shippers very well know this and instead of holding these men accountable for the misogynistic writing, they instead brag about them shipping it and ask them about zk whenever they have the chance.

another example is gene luen yang, a comic writer who again shipped zk (another man GASPPPPP) responsible for the first 5 comic books. everyone knows his comics suck in terms of characterization, particularly katara’s. in fact zutaras have made multiple threads on how poor the writing is. funnily enough, they always fail to mention that gly was the script writer or acknowledge his part in this mischaracterization, while bragging about him shipping zk in other posts. ironic.

meanwhile, bryke have never offered writers’ commentary on any of gly’s comics besides the search - mike (because they were mostly writing legend of korra during his run.)

basically these shippers don’t care about misogyny or holding male writers accountable if they ship zk which is funny because I thought it was… for the female gaze? why are you hyping men shipping it anyway? confusion.

#atla #atla fandom problems #anti zutara #antizutara #pro kataang #kataang #if you want me to remove any tag let me know!

[david-talks-sw]

I got a good feeling about "The Acolyte"

Not even kidding. Like, I've spoken before about why I'm wary of it.

George Lucas' Star Wars is something that intentionally has black and white morality, rather than shades of gray. Those movies are meant for kids and projecting a "gray" morality onto them then proclaiming it was George's vision all along is doing so in bad faith.

The narrative of the Prequels doesn't frame the Prequel Jedi in as negative a light as Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, etc etc do.

See here for more details, but bottom line: yeah, a show that has a darksider as the underdog is bound to demonize the Jedi (who are the actual underdogs in the Prequels), and obviously that rubs me the wrong way.

BUT.

The trailer looks fucking cool. It really really does.

And more importantly? I've done some research... and Leslye Headland is ticking a lot of good boxes, in my book.

1. The Acolyte won't be a 10-hour movie.

I've criticized Disney Plus shows before, explaining that a big source for most of their issues is that these series are being structured as "long movies" rather than, y'know, actual shows.

But in this interview with Collider, Headland addresses that: it'll be a series. Not a long movie that you need to watch across four weeks.

Thank God. You have no idea how much that comforts me. Finally a showrunner who's, y'know, actually running a show.

And this goes hand in hand with what she told IGN, here, about how she's going about building suspense.

Yes! Exactly! That's how it's supposed to be!

Like, compare this to Baylan Skoll's storyline in Ahsoka.

In no possible way was that emotionally-fulfilling. For 8 episodes we had no idea what he was after, and the season ended where we still don't know. What does he want? What is he after? Your guess is as good as mine, it's something Mortis-related.

So yeah. Maybe getting the Emmy-nominated trained screenwriter on board to run this was a good idea.

2. Maybe the Jedi will not be as demonized as I originally thought.

Don't get me wrong. 80% of what she says about the Jedi makes me cringe. It's the typical fan's interpretation and y'all know I disagree with that interpretation.

It's painful to see her refer to the Jedi as an institution (not how the Prequels' narrative frames them) and to see her frame "Balance" in the "oh there's so many of them and just two Sith, that means the Force is out of balance" meaning... but at least she acknowledges the Jedi are a benevolent institution.

They're not an "elitist force hiding in their ivory tower" as others have described the Jedi.

Moreover, there'll be a variety of Jedi POVs, many personalities.

Yord Fandar, is described as a strictly by-the-book Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower.

The question now becomes: will the narrative frame him as "your typical Jedi" or is it just this one guy? I'm hoping it's the latter.

I also like how her reasoning goes re: Jedi drawing their lightsabers.

Which explains the hand-to-hand combat seen in the trailer.

This teenager is coming at Carrie-Ann Moss with a dagger, of course the Jedi won't draw her saber.

3. She's a fan of Star Wars... but a screenwriter first.

You can tell in the interviews she's a fan. She's using words like "BBY" and "EU" casually. In the above-linked interviews she's bringing up the Nightsisters, Timothy Zahn, The Clone Wars, she mentions she has a tattoo of Ralph McQuarrie's concept art of Leia, the High Republic books, etc.

She's done her homework. She's a fan.

But the vibe I'm getting from these interviews is that she's weaving in these various lore-elements in a more organic way, rather than in the "fan-servicey" way Dave Filoni has been doing in his shows.

The references and Easter Eggs will be there, but the narrative won't bend over itself just so you can get it. Crafting a good story comes first, and Andor is a beautiful illustration of why this is true.

Which is why I was never bothered about one of the writers never having watched Star Wars before getting the job. You need those fresh eyes when you're tackling something of this scale.

That makes sense to me. Maybe it's because of my own screenwriting experience, but yeah. That out-of-the box perspective is precious.

And like, obviously, that writer watched the films eventually, but for some reason everyone who bitched about Headland omitted that detail and opted for a more bad faith interpretation.

Hm. Wonder why.

Maybe it's the same reason that months ago this clipped audio circulated socials without context, in which she debates whether Star Wars only came from George Lucas and only Lucas is the key.

The FULL context of that interview reveals that she's actually:

debating the "autheur director" myth and positing that it was achieved by a collective of excellent filmmakers and craftspeople that George was skilled and smart enough to recruit...

the studios now think it's a simple as hiring one guy and throwing money at him, because they have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. See Napoleon (2023) for example.

Yes, she also does a jab to the Prequels, which speaks to the generation of fans she's a part of... but overall she's giving Lucas props whilst also stating an ideological difference, that's it!

George is a proponent of the "autheur" theory, Leslye isn't.

However, guess what, in like half the talks George gave post-selling Star Wars? He's giving shoutouts to everyone who helped make the first film, even remembering their names.

So I'm not even sure he'd vehemently disagree with Leslye, in fact they'd prolly have a conversation about it and immediately bitch about how stupid studio executives are :D

But that's not as incendiary, is it? Again, the more I do the research, the more it feels like the reason most of these influencers are hating on her is purely sexist.

I mean, on IGN she's even acknowledging that she does plan on taking stock of fan reactions for Season 2.

It's not a guarantee that she'll incorporate the feedback, but at least that's more consideration than, say, JJ Abrams or Rian Johnson gave the fandom.

She's even bringing the moral ambiguity that the Gray Jedi-loving edge-lords love so much.

"No, she's a woke feminist! Anything she does is evil! Eww, girls!"

🙄

Needless to say... I'm gonna give it a shot.

I think it's gonna be a good show, I think it's gonna be a solid story.

I'm crossing my fingers that they won't as biased against the Jedi as it seems they'll be. Even if they are... if it's still an enjoyable experience, I'll gloss over it.

As @gffa states in this post:

Worst case? It's not a story from George. I can dismiss it from my headcanon without a moment's hesitation :D

#the acolyte #jedi order #star wars #leslye headland #george lucas #Youtube #discussion

[burst-of-iridescent]

not to beat the "sokka's misogyny" disk horse even further into the ground, but while i agree with the take that sokka being sexist logically doesn't make sense, i would go further to say that the water tribes themselves being sexist is both illogical and thematically contradictory.

the flaws of each nation in atla have always been linked to their element, and specifically what those elements represent. fire is the element of power; power, left unchecked, leads to imperialism and authoritarianism. earth is the element of substance and stability; stability, prioritized too highly, creates and justifies the rigid class system and rampant corruption of ba sing se. air is the element of freedom; freedom, taken too far, becomes irresponsibility and abandonment.

meanwhile, water is the element of change... therefore the water tribes cling to antiquated ideas about gender roles instead of adapting with the times (especially when the times involve a fucking war going on).

not only is this unrealistic, it also breaks the thematic pattern of the nations' flaws being virtues taken to extremes, and how this dovetails into the show's overall message about the importance of balance. if we're keeping with the pattern of virtue and vice being two sides of the same coin, then the flaw of the water tribes has to be related to change. and here is where some of the (badly executed) ideas in the comics and legend of korra could have come into play: change, left uncontrolled, can lead to progress... but at the cost of tradition and spirituality.

(imagine a nwt cut off from the world and forced to rely solely on itself, ingenuity and creativity flourishing out of sheer, desperate need. imagine a nwt where waterbending is nothing more than a tool, used to build and defend and maintain a fortress always at risk, its spiritual origins slowly lost to time. imagine a nwt more military than community, whose architecture and technology far exceed anything the world has ever seen, who look down upon their less advanced sister tribe, and see no need for the avatar - after all, where was he when they had no one but themselves for the last 100 years?

when warned that the fire nation is coming, they show no fear; they have held strong on their own for the last century, bolstered by their weapons and wits, and will continue to do so. you need the spirits, aang implores, and is met with derision, for there is no place for spirits in a society always chasing more, greater, better. the spirits have not helped us before, avatar. why would they now? we are all we need.

when the moon spirit falls, unprotected and forgotten in an abandoned, rundown spirit oasis - so do they.)

not only would this fit better thematically, it would also ensure that the nwt's flaw plays a role in its own downfall. where the fire nation's warmongering resulted in the poverty and suffering of its own people, and the earth kingdom's corruption led - at least in part - to the fall of ba sing se, the misogyny of the water tribes is never shown to negatively impact them in any way. the north isn't defeated by the fire nation because they relegated half the population to healing. the south doesn't suffer raids or lose their waterbenders because they (supposedly) didn't let women fight. this lack of narrative punishment means that - outside of a few girlboss moments for katara - the sexism of the nwt isn't significant to the overall story whatsoever.

furthermore, while the ba sing se arc last almosts half a season, and the fire nation's actions drive the entire show, this supposed systemic oppression of women shows up for one episode in the first season before disappearing entirely. pakku is reminded of his lost love, magically turns into a feminist, and somehow the entire tribe follows suit? no one else protests, not even the other students or the chief?

and yet, though there are still no female waterbenders other than katara, or agency for kanna in her relationship, or any indication that women stopped being forcibly betrothed - the entire issue is simply swept under the rug and never brought up ever again in the show. i understand this was a children's cartoon made in 2005, and that even having female characters openly speak about and challenge misogyny was a radical feat for the time and genre, but the reality of patriarchy is that it's structural, sustained and immensely difficult to resist - if the show was going to depict that resistance, it should have done so with greater depth and nuance, as it did for many of the other difficult topics it tackled.

ultimately, handwaving misogyny away like it never existed is far more disrespectful to katara's character, her fight against injustice, and the girls who saw themselves in her, than simply toning it down or removing it could ever be.

#atla critical #atla live action #it also always struck me as odd that sokka and katara seemed so chill with the north #when the nwt literally left the swt to fight the fire nation alone and stayed out of the war for a century #they lost their benders. their parents. #and all the while the north was sequestered away doing nothing to help #you're telling me that wouldn't have created any resentment? any anger? #plus imagine how powerful it would've been for the last southern waterbender to help the north rediscover the origins of waterbending #also the north disdaining spirits yet being saved by the ocean spirit and the avatar? #that's the exact kind of narrative irony atla does best #i'm seriously begging people to realize that the misogyny arc in atla was NOT as groundbreaking or well-developed as they think it is #and i for one am interested to see if and how netflix is going to handle it

[horizon-verizon]

Honestly as a neutral party I would prefer Jaehaera living to Daenaera being introduced. Jaehaera is an innocent, mentally disabled child and her death is needlessly cruel. Her death is the least plot relevant of all of the child deaths that have happened in the dance and it's reasonable for people to want that changed since it comes off as pointlessly cruel. Killing Alicent or even just focusing on her imprisonment more is enough to show that the greens have paid for their betrayal. At least Daenaera can still be introduced and do something else in the narrative even if she doesn't marry Aegon.

I've already explained why Jaehaera's death was plot relevant HERE and HERE.

A)

Daenaera's entire narrative purpose was to marry Aegon and have his children to propagate the Targ line AND to become part of Aegon's mental rehabilitation from the effects of the civil war and watching his own mother get eaten burned/alive by a dragon. This is also reason why she's a fan fav in the first place; it's seen as a noble undertaking to some and a way for the Targs to move away from the greens finally. What other narrative use would you have her have?!

We can't bring up how after the War of the Roses the two fighting houses (Yorks and Lancasters) were successfully brought together in marriage to justify Jaehaera marrying and having a family with Aegon. Because:

Elizabeth of York wasn't disabled like Jaehaera

neither her nor Henry Tudor were little kids when they married

this is a fictional tale that, while modeled after some real events and people, is using them as springboards for a specific, purposefully created "message" unique to the author's

and imagine what it would being pregnant several times really be like for a very mentally incapacitated and traumatized girl like her?!!

Much less the other traumatized boy who's to be her husband? What the consummation and all the...impregnating times looked like?! Then, imagine what the family life would have been like, with these parents unable to ever connect thus the resentment is worse and their kids seeing that?

This doesn't justify Unwin Peake murdering Jaehaera, but no she never should have been married off to Aegon or anyone in the first place and that was not Unwin's doing but a larger group's--Aegon's council/patriarchal feudalism. This is what GRRM's trying to tell you, stop resisting it.

B)

I can believe that it is the way she died and the other context of so much violence men and adults perform against women and girls in this world is what really offends people enough for them to say that somehow, this a narratively irrelevant death. Because they're just that horrified.

The feelings are valid. But the action to erase the significance of the death is not valid. You definitely can wish for a much less violent one, like a poisoning that puts her to sleep or something. The death is supposed to be tragic and make you feel that it wasn't deserved, was horrible, etc. Because it was all those things.

And to say such an untrue thing as "not narratively relevant" also leads me to suspect that some people don't like Jaehaera's death either bc they just:

wanted the greens to win in some way bc they favor them and their cause (my second linked post)

you--knowing that Daenaera will likely be black in the show IF they ever get to the Maiden's Ball--go so hard for Jaehaera bc she at least is a white girl in the universe of HotD

want excessively centrist politics to sway the story at the expense of actual understanding of why we should change and upend the status quo entirely (here the feudal entrapment of girls and women); deny a reality, discourage learning to the oppressive status quo can prevail [on this trend of neutrality]...the truth is the villains/antagonists were always the greens

AND/OR, are avoidant of facing ugly, sordid truths of oppression because they are close to it in real life and haven't found ways of separating that from collective understanding of oppressive systems/coping mechanism

Look anon, Alicent's imprisonment doesn't make up for mass death. Because it's not even just about Alicent as the individual, the grandmother, the mother, etc. It's the effect of her actions on a population. Jaehaera was one of many girls Otto AND Alicent endangered (another being Halaena). Though her actions became something much bigger than her & things went out of her control, that doesn't stop them from being hers AND having affected thousands of lives. Her main aim was to accrue power through her kids and grandkids--who she chose to risk by usurping Rhaenyra and beginning the war--the consequence is she loses said kids and grandkids through other's similar ambition. Again, bc even though those kids were noble and were supposed to be relatively safe, because they are all technically heirs or adults around them can use them accrue power (whether by killing them or through marriages or whatever), they were also targets. We could say similar for Rhaenyra's children, as what happens to her youngest 2; all of them in one way or another die because they were or could be used. however, they AND the greens' kids were all safer if the greens had not usurped Rhaenyra.

The greens were the aggressors and transgressors. The ones who started this war and looked for something out of it. They tried to act worse against Rhaenrya before/during the war AND the whole of Westeros before/during/after, thus they get the worse punishment and lose more than she did.

The entire point is that the greens lose everything, because they went after "everything". They lose everything, including their kids bc they relentlessly and hypocritically ran to obtain more power for themselves by attempting to exclude a woman from the position she never would have had without the will of a man.

They went on the basis that a girl/woman should not rule or become an heir before any direct male relatives...so Jaehaera was cut out of the line of succession by her own side of the family, thus she was also less prioritized, thus she was made into a baby factory for Aegon III. She became their last chance to get their blood to at least be part of the future line, but even that's dashed by a man who had similar ambitions as Otto and Alicent.

In trying to go against the king's word/an actual law, the greens also made it much more justified for someone to not care much for Aegon II's claim or authority...bc if you can so easily flout a king's word, why should you care about the guy you're trying to make king?! And using people who themselves are willing to be so dishonest creates a higher likelihood that they'd betray you, as similar to Ulf and Hugh betraying Rhaenyra. (And somehow, Rhaenyra is the only naive one when she expects people to follow through with their oaths 🙄)

Have you ever thought, anon, about those other girls who were maimed or terrorized into not appearing before Aegon III in the Maiden's Ball? Sure, most of them weren't disabled (Priscella Hogg was, I think), but what happens to Jaehaera is because she was girl in the way of a man's ambitions and not because she was disabled. What about all those Tumbleton folk, Bitterbridge refugees (the raped septas and girls as young as 8!), and riverland peasants--most of them children! Undoubtedly, you will have disabled children in those populations, anon. Why is Jaehaera's death so much more valuable than these mass deaths of also children? Remember that Alicent raised her kids to easier justify committing these atrocities. Maelor and Jaehaerys' deaths also reflect these events. Jaehaera's death was markedly different in meaning from theirs (to open up space for another girls who's being used) because she was female. In the first linked post, I talk about why and how people used Jaehaera's marriage to Aegon and how that reflects on her death being unique from her brothers' because of her gender.

GRRM comments, through Jaehaera and these girls and Rhaenyra what one pattern of F&B has: being female is dangerous because it is to be more of an object or property in lieu of self-concerned ambitious men to the point where the most vulnerable and those who cannot practice some of the same sort of agency can experience gruesome consequences--sometimes to become terrors themselves in their attempts to gain denied agency or defend themselves.

#jaehaera targaryen #daenaera velaryon #asoiaf asks to me #jaehaera's death #fire and blood writing #the greens vs the blacks #fandom critical #hotd fandom #green stan nonsense #fandom nonsense

[librarygoth]

to preface I did enjoy Barbie, and I feel like I need to make that really obvious bc it’s the internet and some feminine presenting cis woman will call me a misogynist bc I’m butch lmfao, but I think the movie’s core messages are weakened by the way it handles manhood, masculinity, and queerness. Forgive the typos—I’m probably not gonna read this back:

In Barbie world, there is no room for meaningful gender variance. All gendering is idealized gender, with only feminine presenting women and masculine presenting men fitting into the paradigm—queerly gendered figures like Allen, Weird Barbie, Earring Magic Ken, and Sugar’s Daddy Ken are largely excluded from Barbie world society, both under the Barbies’ matriarchy and the Kens’ patriarchy, are regulated to the fringes and are either ridiculed or ignored. Allen, arguably the closest of these queerly gendered figures to the Ken’s idealized masculinity because his queerness is quieter but ultimately present, finds that under the Barbies’ supposedly utopian matriarchy, he is tolerated but not accepted, and that in the Kens’ patriarchy, he is fully terrified for his life.

Stereotypical Barbie’s narrative arc is a queerly gendered one, hinted at by everything from the Indigo Girls to her inability to fit in with the other Barbies. Ultimately, the movie wants us to understand that idealized expectations of gender are harmful, but simultaneously doesn’t provide any real source of liberation for its queerly gendered characters other than escaping their society for another one. The only reason the queerly gendered Weird Barbie is offered a cabinet position at the end is because she is a woman in a matriarchal society, and because the other Barbies feel guilt at not accepting her—but their feelings about her don’t change. They still think she’s not like them.

On the front of manhood and masculinity, something the movie glosses over is that before the Kens are introduced to the concept of patriarchy, they are marginalized people in the Barbie World society. They have no political, social, or economic power, and during the course of the movie it’s even revealed that they not only don’t have homes, but that the Barbies don’t even care enough to know that they don’t have homes. When the Kens discover patriarchy, their enthusiasm isn’t because they inherently think men deserve to rule the world, but because they were exposed, for the first time, to a system where they had power, and they decided they were sick of being subjected. But this point is undermined by a subtle through line of biological essentialism; early on, we see two Kens ready to fight over Stereotypical Barbie’s affections, suggesting that even here, men are inherently more prone to violence. And the society built in Barbie world is a society in which women are naturally intelligent and capable leaders, and where men are vapid and stupid. Interests and activities viewed as classically masculine are dismissed as frivolous and goofy—even ones without any moral or ethical association.

The only men who are exempt are those with queer genders, and even then, this ignores the well-documented misogyny many cis gay men express, and still positions them outside of society without any greener grass in sight. And in Barbie world, queerness for men equates femininity (just as Weird Barbie’s queerness is something more masculine than the other Barbies, even if not masculinity proper), which implied that masculinity, not manhood, is actually the crime, and that manhood and masculinity are inextricably linked (again, Weird Barbie isn’t masculine, per se. She just isn’t feminine).

So while the movie’s message seems to be rooted in the idea that idealized femininity and idealized masculinity are harmful, it seems to also believe that masculinity and manhood are bad, and femininity and womanhood are good, but only if performed in the right way. We are supposed to understand that even if Stereotypical Barbie needs to leave to truly understand herself, the other Barbies have concrete senses of self and purpose, and that even if idealized gender expectations are harmful, Barbie world is better when ruled by the femininity—even that under feminine rule, it’s a utopia. But it’s still a world where queer expressions of gender and sexuality don’t have the opportunity to exist (Barbies only date Kens after all, no matter how many young sapphics made their Barbies scissor). Weird Barbie is specifically an interesting representation of queerness—it is only masculine girls (masculine in this context just means sapphic; sapphicness is a divergence from femininity in any society that values idealized femininity above all other forms), who are believed to have destroyed their Barbies as children. It’s often a point of pride among women who “aren’t like the other girls,” or those who like to feel different. Of course the reality is different—I’m a butch who never destroyed my Barbies; I just made them help my Power Rangers save the day. But the discrepancy between Weird Barbie (who is queer coded in a way straight audiences will likely understand) and Stereotypical Barbie (who is queercoded in a way likely only more accessible to queers, but specifically lesbians, who isn’t attracted to any of the Kens who want her but can’t figure out why), is stark. Stereotypical Barbie isn’t cast out of society because she is still performing a degree of acceptable femininity, and has the privilege choosing to leave. Weird Barbie, on the other hand, is forced to the fringes of society because she is visibly queer.

It’s fascinating to me that feminine presenting cis women (or those like AFAB she/theys who may not be cis but essentially move through the world as if they are feminine presenting cis women), have universally labeled the Barbie movie “for the girls,” when in reality, it feels to me more of a movie for those who fail to perform gender correctly. But I understand why, because the movie still, loudly and clearly, sends the message that femininity is good, and masculinity is bad—and of course the people most harmed by this message, which is oh so prevalent in leftist spaces, queer spaces, feminist spaces, are trans fems (bc transmisogyny), trans mascs, butches, studs, people whose masculinity is racialized, and people who experience marginalized masculinities.

#barbie #barbie movie #queer #lesbian #butch #dyke #trans #trans masc #trans masculine #nonbinary #movies #gender #gender theory

[decepti-thots]

would you be down to give me a rough outline of how Prowl has been characterized over the publication history of the tf comics? I mean, in as far as you know about it. Every time you mention the costa stuff it makes me curious

I can try! I can't really drill down well without a thing to focus on specifically, but here are some general highlights.

Furman (and stuff that directly draws from Furman's run, like AHM as a whole) characterizes him basically as he did when writing Marvel G1, and gives him so little to do that not very much really comes out even then. Uptight, stick-in-his-ass, still a basically Good Guy TM and while he puts people's backs up a little, he's not under any level of suspicion. This is the closest to continuity-agnostic "fanon Prowl" you get in IDW, because that fanon figure draws quite a lot on the Marvel G1 characterization (when it isn't simply making things up wholesale, anyway). Furman copies his own homework, basically, lmao.

Roche is the guy who wrote phase two Prowl into existence as we know him. Rather infamously because he thought it was an interesting take on the character to er, ignore all the above stuff and make the Autobot SIC a rat bastard, lmao. Roche and Barber's interpretations came to dominate the character in IDW going forward, but they do differ. Roche's Prowl is more isolated from other characters (one does not really imagine Wreckers Prowl calling Bumblebee his best friend sincerely, as exRiD Prowl does), and people treat him as disliked by default. Even before the worst of what he does comes out, his reputation precedes him. Also, Roche's Prowl speaks fairly neutrally, whereas exRiD Prowl speaks more casually than fandom tends to admit to! Finally, Roche's Prowl is less spontaneously, outwardly emotional than Barber's is later on, and tends to fit the fanon stereotype of "always restrained" more.

Costa came in post-AHM but pre-Wreckers and hated all that, so he retconned it. LMAO. His Prowl is the archetype of the "good cop" protagonist surrounded by corruption, combined with surface level noir tropes that sort of work in tandem with those but lacking any grit. (Costa seems to understand what noir looks and sounds like, but none of the underlying narrative devices that make it function as noir.) This Prowl is specifically supposed to be (here's the retcon) someone who used to be more deliberately cold, removed and logical but who has specifically decided to change to be different following his experiences on Earth. (Spotlight: Prowl is a good one-issue explanation of Costa's perspective on Prowl, which is not the same as being a good comic.) As time goes on, the sheer unpopularity of this take pushed Costa to undo it a bit, and reintroduce some level of ambivalence to him... but by and large he remains kind of the "good authority figure who objects when the systems are misused" type, almost? His conflict with Spike is very much over the fact he expected better of Spike, see.

Barber's Prowl notably does not wholly throw the Costa stuff out the window. (This is why the Spike stuff features a lot; it's really the only strong emotional hook Costa's work gives you for his version of the character to grab at.) But Prowl is back to being a morally gray figure whose moral ambivalence is very strongly tied to his role as an authority figure- and that's worth mentioning. Prowl's downward spiral being intrinsically linked to his refusal to relinquish authority, and his abuse of it, is something that is all Barber and not Roche. (In Wreckers, Prowl is an asshole because of personal arrogance. In exRiD, he's more an asshole because of his role enabling a wider system, by the end. IMO that's a big difference, anyway.) He is not starting off exRiD loathed by absolutely everyone, or a figure of preexisting serious mistrust. That's something that develops over the course of the comic as things come to light for the characters in-universe, meaning exRiD Prowl feels like he's put up a more convincing shield in front of his worse dealings over the course of the war, perhaps. His position deteriorates significantly over the comic. He is more prone to balancing his deliberate cold-heartedness with angry or emotional outbursts than we saw in Wreckers, leading to him having multiple outbursts that worsen his situation over the course of the comic. This is the Prowl who holds grudges.

Roberts' Prowl is kind of different to talk about to the above because his Prowl in Shadowplay and his Prowl in Titans Return are different genres. I can do a post on that if folks really want but it probably is its own post, haha.

IDK feel free to clarify any specific stuff you'd like a vibe on if you want, this is all just what came to my mind instinctively!

#idw*2 is a mess and i would need to reread to criticise it properly. #dw is just Marvel Again but with the inexplicable stranglehold praxus has on fanon forever added

[pancakes4two]

SCANDALOUS GF IG PT 2 RN 💳💥💳!!💳💥!!

HI HI HI sorry it took me literally forever to do a part 2. hope this is worth the wait!!

PART ONE | MASTERLIST | TALK TO ME

people

100,211 likes

people You know I love you, babe.

Harry Styles and girlfriend Y/N L/N pack on the PDA after being spotted on a lunch date in Malibu. This comes just two weeks after the pair stirred up controversy for collaborating on a lingerie collection for Styles’ brand Pleasing. Hit the link in our bio for more.

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harryfan3 conveniently kissing in the middle of the street in front of a bunch of paps, nice

harryfan2 i don’t like who she’s turning him into.

harryfan1 this plus that childish ass ig post she uploaded last week? yikes

harrystan5 guys… can we please go back to having some class

harrygirl1 and we thought the olivia yacht pics were bad😭 now he’s making out in broad daylight

yourinstagram

Liked by harrystyles, emrata and 76,429 others

yourinstagram all i have to say

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emrata exactly 👏👏👏

yourbff at the end of the day she’s thriving

harrystyles 🖤

yourinstagram luuuuuuuuuuuv you 💋💋

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harryflorals

80,827 likes

harryflorals Harry recently followed model Emrata on Instagram!

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harryfan1 uh

harryfan3 randomly???

harryfan4 i mean she’s not the greatest but i’d prefer her to y/n🫢

harrystan1 don’t get your hopes up😭 she’s like BFFs with y/n

harryforever he’s going on her podcast i have a friend who helps produce it lol

harryfan8 and what exactly does harry have to say on emrata’s podcast😭😭 that’s so random

emrata

Liked by yourinstagram, deuxmoi and 1,934,283 others

emrata Today on High Low w/ Emrata! I chat with Harry Styles about double standards and the difficulty of trying to correct a media narrative. Spoiler alert: he’s not too appreciative about the social media witch-hunt that’s currently directed at his girlfriend. Stream using the link in my bio.

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harryfan1 oh no. oh no. OH NO

harryfan7 i listened to the full hour podcast so y’all don’t have to lol. he basically told us to fuck off in the nicest way possible. when i get back home i’ll comment some direct quotes here

harrystan UHHHHHHHHHHH

harryfan7 he said: “It’s obviously hard when you’ve been in the public eye for so long, and people start to feel like you have some sort of obligation to them, or that they somehow know you on a deeply personal level and can dictate what you are or aren’t supposed to do. And that’s not to say everyone is guilty of falling into that mindset—certainly the vast majority of the internet displays nothing but kindness and grace. But I would be lying if I said it wasn’t disappointing to see the public reaction to… certain things lately. It’d be nice if those corners of social media could show a little more compassion, especially towards someone I love.”

harryfan9 honestly he has a point. like i’m definitely guilty of being harsh towards his gfs in the past but hearing him say that really put things into perspective for me

harryfan10 meh still think she’s problematic. yeah maybe we don’t know harry on a deeply personal level 🙄 but we’ve been fans of him for so many years and we know he typically doesn’t act like how he does with her. why is it wrong for us to comment on that?

harry’s instagram story:

TAGLIST: @crazygirlinthisworld @grapejuice-rry @b-reads-things @s8tellite @michellekstyles @vrittivsanghavi @alienorknight @flwrmuse

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles fic #harry styles fake ig #harry styles fake instagram #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles social media #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic rec #harry styles headcanon #harry styles fanfic rec #harry styles fanfiction rec #harry styles rec #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst

[asofterhibou]

This post from @spiders-hth-is-an-outlier making it as good a time as any for a The Magicians brain dump I guess: like the post says the Qualice reunion scene is a weird and weirdly perfunctory scene, and honestly who knows what the writers were smoking for those last two episodes, but. in the secretly good show in my head, the scene is perfunctory and not particularly romantic because it's not really supposed to be, or at least the main purpose of the scene is not exactly Quentin and Alice's romance. To me the narrative problem/tension of Qualice at this point in the show is not whether they love each other. They do. They've said it and shown it in multiple ways, there's not really any need for romantic declarations. In fact Alice made a romantic declaration at the end of s3 on the muntjac, saying that Quentin was the one she loved etc. And then still destroyed the keys in Blackspire, which Quentin clearly takes as a personal betrayal, why he can't trust her. In s3 Alice loves Quentin but she doesn't trust him, not with her feelings, or with her secret plans. Which is where the many many parallels of Alice and Eliot in s4 begin! If the plot of s3 (magic gone and fairy takeover) is mostly the consequences of Quentin and Margo's choices in s2, the plot of s4 (the monster and the library) is mostly the consequences of Alice and Eliot's choices at the end of s3 (with help from Fogg). In s4 Alice and Eliot are both prisoners, and they both escape their prisons, in different ways. And a lot of the tension of this scene for me, which is linked also with the flower scene, is - can Quentin escape his prison? He's repeating the same story he told himself in pilot episode, that false dichotomy: there is the escapist dream of Fillory/fantasy/magic where Quentin finally finds the secret door and becomes someone he wants to be, where his life becomes something he wants it to be, which is childish and must be left behind for the cold hard wasteland of the adult world, of harsh reality, and you just have to suck it up and deal with it. I don't think this scene feels particularly romantic because it's not supposed to be: Quentin says he can forgive Alice, can change his notions, his expectations, but he's still trapped. He can't see the third option yet, in the garden he says: isn't the idea of Fillory enough, but does he see it yet? It's not the idea of Fillory, it's his idea of Fillory, Quentin's idea, when it says in the magicians books that the world might be a wasteland but we are not, we're the source, there's no oasis out there waiting, we create the oasis ourselves.

Tldr this scene has Quentin and Alice getting back together but it's not actually about them, it's about Quentin's fucked-up-ness. Does the show actually know this? could not tell you if you paid me.

#does the show deliver on this? no i think it fundamentally fails its message and its audience actually #but i can see the shape of how it could have succeeded #the magicians #the magicians meta #stay tuned for more s4 rambling if i don't fall asleep #and how this applies to the mosaic too!

[novantinuum]

Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: Teen Audiences Words: 6.0K~ Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops. Steven falls apart. Chapter summary: In which what was once hidden becomes known.

It's been a long road getting here folks, but here we are! Almost three years after my last update, we're back on the road. I will provide the first chunk of the chapter here on my blog as a preview- but later stuff is going to be weird to format here, so please follow the AO3 link above to check out the whole thing.

Enjoy! <3

__

Chapter 14: system/REBOOT, Part 2

The smoke obscures everything at first, filling this barren crack in the planet’s crust to its brim. Firmly engulfed within this plume, Ruby’s surroundings are electrified with an air of static uncertainty, an uncertainty so stark that— riding upon the wake of it— the very potential of Garnet’s future vision itself would’ve surely been rendered null and void. After all, as she’s personally experienced, such power of foresight is never completely immune to lapses in accuracy upon the advent of unexpected happenings. And she’s pretty damn certain that this… that instantly familiar warm glow she spotted, wholly enveloping Steven and Amethyst’s forms as they embraced… would count as unexpected.

Her jaw drops as a tall figure emerges from between currents of receding smoke, light pink freckles dusting their shoulders and cheeks like glistening constellations. Chocolate brown gemstones are visible upon their chest and the center of their large belly, one circular and the other irregularly pentagonal. They proudly brandish Amethyst’s leggings and Steven’s star— the salmon pink shirt having stretched into a strappy crop-top across their broad upper body. Most notably though, they appear to have three arms, two of them linked at the elbow and able to bend freely from the other. As the fusion shifts upon their heels, a thick fringe of wavy dark hair falls in front of one of their eyes… eyes which are perpetually glowing with the very same pink irises and diamond pupils Steven exhibits whenever he’s using his powers, and blown wide with shock as they attempt to process the distinct meaning of their existence for the very first time.

And boy oh boy, does Ruby sure understand that feeling. Going off of the narratives she always hears from humans, the experience of two Gems’ first dance and synchronization is somewhat akin to a baby learning to walk. It’s all untested, all brand new. And despite any amount of confusion or trepidation one might face in such a circumstance, no one else in all the universe is more equipped than you to take those first steps.

Regardless, the fusion moves right past their initial surprise to produce the most genuine, star-bright grin Ruby’s seen all week, and triumphantly pumps all three fists in the air. “What a beautiful day!” they proclaim.

Appearing suitably annoyed by their sudden attendance in this spar, their Beta kindergarten opponent harshly grinds their right foot into the soil, their face screwing into a sour grimace as they demand to know who this new Gem is supposed to be.

Now, if either one of them— Amethyst or Steven— were facing this mighty quartz’s questioning individually, Ruby’s sure they’d be doomed to crumble under the pressure. After all, Steven’s only a child, and Amethyst is cripplingly insecure. But the inherent magic of fusion is that the combination of two or more Gems is always stronger than the sum of their parts. They’re a physical embodiment of the bond held between each other, of their camaraderie and affection and love. And it’s that very love… that inner strength and belief in one other, regardless of circumstance… that blossoms into a brand new facet of existence, given life through the sheer depth of their connection.

It’s for this reason this fusion is capable of brushing off the ferocity of Jasper’s words like they’re nothing but crumbling granules of sandstone dirtying their shirt. Brimming with a renewed lease of confidence, they summon their weapons, make a grand show of fusing them into one, and proudly name themself Smoky Quartz.

“Wait— has Steven ever fused with one of you before?” Peridot asks her with burning curiosity, her expression still partially frozen in a dumbfounded little ‘o.’

“With his friend, yes— but never with a Gem,” Ruby says, her chest puffing out with considerable pride. “This is his first time!” Then, cupping her mouth with her hands, and unable to dampen that intense vindictive streak she currently harbors against their foe: “Go get her, Smoky! Make her regret she ever formed!”

The fusion serves up a snappy finger gun with their unladen hand. “You got it! One party trick coming right up…”

Flashing the two of them an almost impish smirk, Smoky doesn’t waste a single second. Immediately following a groan worthy pun about yo-yos, they catapult their weapon— a double shield linked on a central axel and tethered to Amethyst’s whip— high into the sky and back down upon Jasper, hitting her thrice in the face and gut and knocking her a few steps back.

Peridot lets out a gleeful peel of laughter as she watches this unbelievable turn of their tides, clutching a hand to her heaving chest.

Seething red, Jasper gains her bearings upon her feet once more and charges towards them with the flat of her helmet barred.

Smoky’s eyes flare wide with urgency. “Wha-oh!”

They artfully cartwheel out of the way, and manage a perfect side dodge as their opponent attempts to sling her fist directly into their face.

It’s glorious form. Absolutely impeccable by any means of assessment. In truth, Ruby thinks the odds have never been so steeply tipped in their favor while fighting against this stubborn, infuriating Homeworld Gem. So why does she still find herself powerless to quell that oh-so-familiar panic rising like coastal storm surge within her core? Why can’t she dispel the shadowy reminder of all the terrifying what-ifs that taunt her day-in and day-out, possibilities she’s unable to sort through on her own, possibilities she’s unable to truly see?

Because without Sapphire, Ruby’s just a ruby. She’s nothing, no one. It doesn’t matter how far she runs from her lowly Homeworld origins; she’ll never erase the damning, bitter fact that Gems like her were created to be replaced. And stars, everyone keeps looking to her as a leader, but she doesn’t know what she’s doing at all! Her cut of Gem wasn’t built for leadership. She didn’t come here hungering for a fight! She only followed the others to this shards-forsaken wasteland of a kindergarten because she wanted to protect them, and look at all the good that brought: an army of caged, corrupted Gems guarded by an enemy she’s grown too timid to face head-on, even though that’s literally the entire point of her!

Just, ugh—!

What a useless protector she makes.

…But maybe she’s enough to protect at least one of them. After all, her role as one of Sapphire’s guardians wasn’t all fighting and punching. The other rubies and her would also spend time discussing strategy, overseeing the whereabouts of their assignment, and keeping an eye on their immediate environment in case they need to act upon any abrupt predictions from Her Clarity. And in such moments of peril, their most important duty was to escort their assignment to a safe distance. It’s a fact of life that’s deceptively easy for a soldier like her to forget.

So, is that it, then?

Is that her purpose in this scenario?

Should she place her focus on ushering Peridot away from this battle, instead of becoming an active participant?

(Or is she just mining for ways to excuse the coward’s way out?)

Outright quivering in her boots, Ruby grabs Peridot by the arm and begins to pull her away from the heart of this battle. Her friend, however, tugs back in overt resistance.

“Wait— we can’t leave yet, I can fight!” she cries, jabbing her pointer towards the iron bars caging one of the corrupted quartzes within the excavated cliffside. “I’ve got my metal powers!”

Sweat beads on her forehead as she flushes, sinking ever deeper into the brambles of her shame. “But I, uh- I just think Smoky’s got it handled, y’know? Wouldn’t wanna get in their way, or nothin’…”

“Are you kidding?? They’re brawling against Jasper! They can use all the help they can get!”

With zero warning whatsoever, the business end of their fusion friend’s yo-yo zips towards their heads, only narrowly leaving them time to duck. They watch with slack-jawed amazement as Smoky utilizes their weapon’s stored inertia to securely wind the cord around Jasper’s torso and launch them clear into the sky. Gravity’s most primal nature dictates that what goes up must always come down, however, because mere seconds later the Homeworld Gem plummets into the chalky ground so hard that she leaves behind a small crater. A plume of rusty brown dust explodes from the collision point, entirely engulfing Ruby and Peridot.

The two of them cough as the powdery soil settles once more and visibility is restored.

“On second thought,” the former kindergartener proclaims as she brushes the debris off her unitard, “perhaps we should give them some room.”

She nods, grabbing her by the hand once more and leading her up the path to safety. Perfect, one friend protected. And as an added bonus, they can stand on the raised shelf at the far edge of this natural amphitheater (the one Amethyst treaded across before getting the sneak on Jasper a few minutes ago) and still have a clear sight of the battle.

…A battle which, going off her years of combat experience and her intimate knowledge of the parties involved, just might roll to a victorious end for Smoky in the near future. For the obvious reasons she can’t offer this prediction with any degree of confidence, but regardless, its likelihood seems to be surging skywards with each and every failed retaliating strike Jasper attempts. She’s panicking, Ruby can tell. That stubborn, reputation-obsessed Gem can attempt to hide it all she likes, but if one knows what to look for the signs are obvious. Her eyes are blown as wide as her own exit hole as she scries her surroundings for any possible advantage, and her stance has grown awkward and stiff— the very image of a traditionally offensive fighter who has been forced to assume defensive strategies for the first time in her existence.

Which is to say, the brute’s been violently knocked out of her comfort zone.

Fuming with obstinate desperation, Jasper flicks the dirt off her uniform with the back of her hand and throws herself into a viciously fast spin dash, molten bright embers trailing behind as she surges straight towards Smoky Quartz. Thankfully, the fusion sees this potential strike coming a mile away. Licking their lips, they launch their yo-yo so that its body wraps around a narrow outcropping of stone jutting out from the cliffs above them. The weapon grips the dense rock like a grappling hook. They whoop in well-earned victory, swinging up and over Jasper’s attack as effortlessly as a petal dancing on the wind.

Helpless to halt her momentum, the Beta Kindergarten quartz slams headfirst into the far cliff wall. Despite her deep-set animosity towards her Ruby can’t help but cringe at the awful clash of the impact, clutching her own vulnerable gem ever tighter within her palm. Chaos explodes. Hand-dug prisons are torn apart. This forsaken crack in the Earth is filled with clamoring footsteps once more as Jasper’s corrupted Gems claim their long-stolen freedom, fleeing in every direction.

“No!” the soldier hollers, arm outstretched as she clambers to her knees. “My army!”

Smoky lands on the ground in a sturdy crouch a few feet away. “You ready to chill out, yet?” they ask with slitted eyes, Ruby sensing a hint of Amethyst’s bitter anger seeping into their otherwise affable demeanor. “Or d’ya need another few rounds?”

Jasper falls to her hands, seemingly too exhausted to push herself to her full height at this time. Breathing heavy, she lets out a wry peal of laughter, a sound that quickly warps and bends into an emotion that’s as unrecognizable as it is unnerving as she drags her fingers inwards, scouring thick gouges in the rusty soil.

“Jaspers… never… give… up,” she huffs, her orange irises glowing like the rejuvenating embers of a rebounding wildfire as she tilts her face up to regard them head-on.

And this is where the winds of fate begin to shift.

The embers catch.

The dry brush underfoot erupts into a violent rush of flame.

Jasper quickly averts her eyes from Smoky, her wanting gaze falling upon the lone cage still left intact, its metal bars not destroyed by her prior collision with the wall. Within… stands the last Gem of her corrupted army, roaring in clear displeasure at the frenzy of commotion occurring outside. The quartz delivers a devious, knowing smirk as they slide their zealous glance away from that captive Gem and back to Smoky.

Ruby hates to admit it, but she knows exactly what she’s planning. She’s already seen this type of emotion flit across Jasper’s features before, months back when she emerged from the burning rubble of her ship— humiliated by her defeat at the hands of a being she deemed impure— and caught a fleeing Lazuli by the wrist. She’s seen it from Pearl, who— feeling just as inadequate and small as she herself does this very second— ultimately stumbled under the pressure and made one of the biggest mistakes of her whole life. Hell, Ruby’s experienced this desire herself, albeit in a far different context… lovely and love-sick amidst Sapphire’s abrupt departure, briefly entertaining a fleeting, selfish thought that she dares not act upon.

Fusion-lust.

Jasper intends to force a fusion with the last corrupted quartz still held captive in her prison.

She grits her teeth, thousands upon thousands of possible futures full of her own cowardice and hesitation burning to blackened cinders under the heat of her fury. Fusion is special. Fusion is sacred! It’s like… a feeling brought to life, a spellbinding rush of togetherness, the mystifying sensation of becoming someone who— on the metaphoric scale of things— must’ve burst into some intangible form of existence the very moment a fusion’s partners first met. Despite whatever twisted rhetoric Homeworld may spew to the Gems chained under its rule, fusion definitely isn’t meant to be a means of increasing one’s power. It isn’t meant to be used as a mode of control or coercion. And stars above, she’ll be damned if she lets anyone abuse this special type of relationship on her planet.

No more hiding.

No more hesitation.

The only soul in this entire Kindergarten who can put an end to this is her.

“Peridot!” she calls, grasping her friend by the shoulders to capture her full attention. “There’s no time to explain, but I have a plan. When I call for you, use your metal powers to break open that last cage, right down there!”

Peridot’s expression— halfway obscured behind her tinted visor— spins with ample confusion amidst the abruptness of this request. “B-but I thought we were spectating!”

Ruby bites at her lip, averting her nervous gaze for just a moment, just long enough to contemplate all the impulsive choices that have led her to the edge of this impossibly steep precipice. All of her insecurity, her terror, her doubt. Every timid half-step forwards, inevitably followed by a full step back. In many ways, she feels as if she hasn’t committed to a single fearless act since the day she pushed her love out of a rebel’s striking range and singlehandedly changed the entire course of reality. Where’d that Ruby go? The Ruby who dares to create ripples with every fiery footfall?

And most importantly— for the good of her planet, for the good of her family— can she become that Gem again?

“I can’t just watch…” she admits, clenching her fists at her side. “Not anymore. I’m going in.”

Steeling herself for the jump, she lowers to her haunches, nervously tapping her fingers against her gem-less palm.

“This is for you, Sapphy,” she whispers to herself, and then surges upwards into a sprint.

Her toes leave the ground right at the rocky shelf’s edge.

Hollering in furious dissent, the squat Gem practically soars over the Homeworld-aligned quartz thanks to the subtle updrafts produced by the waves of flame fanning out from her feet. She barely has time to process the confusion wresting control of Jasper’s otherwise confident countenance— or the wide, knowing grin Smoky levels towards her— as she triumphantly lands upon the battlefield and sets her plan roaring into motion.

Ruby clutches her gem tight within her grasp (a long-held defensive habit she can never seem to shake), and bursts into a fiery sprint around her foe. The intense friction and heat only feeds the white hot blaze licking up around her feet as she traces a full circle around Jasper, locking her securely within a cage of fire. This ring won’t last forever, but it’s good enough as a distraction for what comes next.

“Peridot, now!” she shouts, desperately hoping her friend can hear her over the untamed roar of the inferno she’s generating… desperately hoping her new metal powers work this time and help her set that poor corrupted Gem free.

But despite the crushing anxiety of all these unknowns, she doesn’t dare take her eyes off her foe as she continues to spiral around her, pushing the scorching walls of this prison ever inwards. She doesn’t dare let up her pace, doesn’t dare allow Jasper even an inch of leeway to escape. The gemstone inlaid within her palm pulsates with an intense thrum of energy, burning brighter than it has her entire five thousand nine hundred years of existence. A breathless, lilting laugh slips from between her lips, tinged with tones of relief and sheer, boundless exhilaration. So this is what true bravery feels like, true power. This is what it feels like to genuinely be a Crystal Gem— not merely by proxy of the fusion she forms, but as her own person, too.

Far beyond her inferno’s ceaseless thrum, she can make out the rusty moans of bending metal… the victorious roar of the last corrupted quartz as it pushes free from its damaged cage and bolts away from this cursed amphitheater. She lets out a whoop of delight, pumping her fists to the sky.

And then her gambit falls apart.

Jasper’s own fist connects with her cheek before Smoky can even holler her name in warning, the impact knocking her clear out of her spiraling sprint and face first into the chalky soil underfoot. She hacks and coughs lying there amidst the resultant plume of dust, vying with every facet of her being not to crumple under the dawning prospect of having to defend herself in solo combat. Her jaw aches, but not enough to dampen her resolve. Not now. Not yet. Instead— standing stubbornly to her feet— she grits her teeth, summons her gauntlets, and swings back.

The mighty kindergarten quartz ducks effortlessly. She grins, the midday sun glinting off the edge of her helm’s visor, and then positions herself for the final strike.

__

[Continue to AO3 via link above for the rest]

#su #steven universe #ruby #peridot #jasper #smoky quartz #amethyst #su fanfiction #steven universe fanfiction #my writing stuff #crack the paragon

[determunition]

it's finally time for the second-ever SCRYBRUARY! the february monthly challenge dedicated to creative written expression inspired by daniel mullins's Inscryption.

this year i presented a poll of potential weekly themes here on tumblr, and have selected the top four options for this year's event, arranged in ascending order of popularity! thank you so much to everyone who participated in the voting ^^

as usual the rules for this event are simple and loose; the only concrete guideline is that you must adhere to one or more of the above prompts for pieces written for the event! otherwise, you can engage however you're most comfortable; if you only want to write for the same prompt every week, or only have the bandwidth to write for one or two prompts during the event, or even aren't much of a writer and just want to illustrate for a fic you feel fits one of these prompts, go wild! this month is for fun, not for stress ^^

with this event i'd also like to announce the creation of a little discord server for this event! there's a cooldown for joining when you enter, but it's open to all; even if you're not participating in scrybruary, you're welcome regardless! i'll probably be using it for other events and general inscryption community stuff in the future ^^ the invite link can be found right here: https://discord.gg/E3QykFaBP2

with all that said, enjoy this year's scrybruary! i'm excited to see what everyone comes up with ^^

prompts in plaintext below the cut:

Week 1, February 1-7th: Role Reversal/Swap

Kicking off Scrybruary with some alternate universe shenanigans! Whether you're swapping up the Scrybes or simply changing up who's responsible for what in the story, this week is made for those wacky what-ifs and juicy narrative shake-ups.

Week 2, February 8-14th: Backstory/First Meeting

Backstory is something we're given woefully little of in Inscryption! Did the Scrybes know each other prior to "arriving" at the archipelago? How did Goobert and the Angler's supposed rivalry start off? Not to mention the myriad of question marks when it comes to why so many of these characters are the way they are to begin with... This is the week to dive deep into the past and explore!

Week 3, February 15-21st: Day in the Life/Mundane

This week we kick back and celebrate the smaller things in life! Whether you use this week to kidnap the Scrybes into a quaint little coffee shop AU or just shed light on what Magnificus's students might do to unwind after a long day, it's all fair game as long as it's nothing out of the ordinary...

Week 4, February 22-29th: Fix-it Fic/Good Ending

Inscryption's characters all despise each other, and the ending is a bit of a downer! We all know this well, if the myriad of fix-it fics already out there are anything to go by...but for many, the well is in constant danger of running dry, and these characters deserve all the happy endings they can get! So now is the time to close out the month with a bit of repair and reconciliation.

#inscryption #scrybruary #scrybruary 2024 #don't know how much i'll be able to do this month #considering i'm pretty behind on OFH lmao #but i'll try to get out a couple things! ^^

[randomnameless]

Hi, i have seen you and some other posters talking about how Edelgard father was a puppet or working for the Agarthans and i was wondering do you have links or pictures that shows thos as i dont really have access to my game to check and im not sure where to het that kind of information from.

Sorry for any inconvenience or of i got the worng person.

No pbs anon !

Hubert explains it here :

So per Hubert, Ionius was used as a puppet by Thales'n'pals and Thales'n'pals were the ones who experimented on her siblings!

I believe Her Majesty may have told you some of this herself.

Interestingly, while she told some stuff to Billy, she told them that it wasn't Uncle'n'pals who did the experiments... but Aegir who is canonically (per Ferdie's paralogue) Thales' prefered scapegoat.

Who also blames Aegir for what happened to her? Ionius himself!

When you were stolen away to the Kingdom... When the prime minister did those horrible things... I could only watch in horror.

So, on the one hand, we have Ionius and Supreme Leader blaming Aegir for the experiments and eluding the Agarthans -

On the other hand, we have Hubert blaming the Agarthans for the experiments as he reveals Ionius was their puppet, something Supreme Leader already knows (and apparently should have told Billy!)...

Between those two sources and facts, which one is the most trustworthy?

I'd say Hubert in a heartbeat - given how he has no reason to lie here, Aegir was already put under house arrest, so why "not blaming" him and instead pinning everything on the Agarthans ?

Unless... Aegir had no part in the experiments, only in the Insurrection, and when Arundel was slithere'd upon returning from Faerghus - after Solon got "acceptable results" in Ordelia - and started the experiments on the Hresvelg kids.

What was Ionius doing meanwhile? We don't know.

FE Fodlan refuses to give us more details about the Insurrection and the experiments on the Hresvelg children, we can only suppose things.

Ionius being a puppet of Arun-Thales and foddering children to get a "peerless emperor" is nothing but headcanon, and yet, it somehow fits with Vestra Sr, Hubert's own dad, rebelling against Ionius to protect - it's heavily implied - kid!Hubert himself. Volkhard (the real one!) hid his niece in Faerghus... for reasons? Why hiding her there - if she wasn't at risk in Enbarr? And who would have been targeting her ? The experiments didn't start, and given how the members of the Insurrection were happy to let Ionius alive (albeit as a figurehead), they would have had no interest in killing the Imperial children.

Again, it's all hc created from Hubert's support with Hanneman and this very own line, coming from Hubert himself : the games gives us two different narratives and leave it at that.

Per the Hresvelgs : Aegir led the experiments.

Per Hubert - backed up by Lysithea's background : Agarthans did it, and manipulated Ionius.

Who's right ? Canon says "dunno".

#anon #replies #FE16 #Adrestia stuff #is it the ionius hour? #we don't a thing about johnny #was he only there to salt or did he have power and decided to do some very stupid and disturbing things? #he was in power when Ordelia was Agarthan'd #he was the one in charge when House Martritz disappeared and House Nuvelle was reduced to nothing #we knew he tried to centralise policies on himself #but otherwise? He's just there #was he always manipulated by agarthans? #Thales took possession of Arundel only after the Insurrection #given how nopes wrote Fodlan it's always agarthan influence #but between Hubert and Supreme Leader I'd say the one who is the most honest with Billy #is surprisingly Hubert in Tru Piss

[sydney-carton-of-sour-milk]

The Many Illustrators of A Tale of Two Cities 1: Hablot Knight Browne (a.k.a. Phiz)

...& a century-and-a-half-long game of telephone...

For the first post in a series on the book's illustrators, how could we start with any but the very first one?

"Although a number of critics have pilloried Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz') for his supposed ineptitude in the program of illustration for A Tale of Two Cities, the fact that he so astutely realized and graphically elaborated so many significant elements of Dickens's letterpress is evidence that his pictorial series reflects an extremely careful reading of the printed text...The visual accompaniment [that these illustrations provided to the novel's monthly installments] was not mere ornamentation, but an aide-mémoire intended to facilitate the monthly reader's keeping track of a discontinuous narrative over a period of seven months."

from "Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities" (1859) Illustrated: A Critical Reassessment of Hablot Knight Browne's Accompanying Plates" by Philip V. Allingham from the 2003 volume of the journal Dickens Studies Annual.

Frontispiece Cover to the Monthly Installments Vignette

For some perspective on the significance of this first set of illustrations - published initially within monthly installments of the novel in 1859 (the text of which was collected from the original weekly installments published in All the Year Round, also in 1859) - that single quote comes from an entire article on these illustrations that is itself 49 pages long.

The Mail

As such, suffice it to say that this particular post will not be a thorough examination of the history, context, and impact of these illustrations (though, for those interested, be sure to click on any links you see throughout this post for all sorts of further reading!).

The Shoemaker

Instead, it will simply be a place to observe and appreciate these illustrations for what they are, in their "original" glory.

The Likeness

...I mean, just look at these things! (I'm of course gonna break formality after this one because it's my favorite😌)

Congratulations

In terms of the odyssey of finding the proper edition of these to post, "original" is the operative word.

The Stoppage at the Fountain

These are the oldest (except for some or possibly all of McLenan's...more on that many months from now though) and certainly the most iconic of the illustrations of this novel and thus have also had the most mileage, having been passed from edition to edition to edition countless times over the last 164 years.

Mr. Stryver at Tellson's Bank

That means - as the gif at the top of this post demonstrates - that these illustrations have slowly been "translated" over time into dozens of distinct images - in ways as innocuous as a change in a shadow and as striking as a change in a character's facial expression.

The Spy's Funeral

These translations have happened in all sorts of ways over the development of printing technology - blemishes, xeroxing errors, low-quality or blurry scans, too much ink being used in printing, image compression, sometimes even actual tracing of the original illustrations! - and as interesting as they can be on their own, for someone determined to find the most accurate representation of Phiz's phenomenal work, they can be...phrustrating.

The Wine-shop

In fact, as a sidebar, the illustrations that I used for the Best Character Showdown bracket turned out to themselves be traces and not originals! I am Ashamed and disheartened! You could even say that I am yet another...

The Accomplices

accomplice in the mistranslation of Phiz's work!

The Sea Rises

Rest assured, though - although they are not from the monthly installments themselves (which as far as my research has gone do not seem to be anywhere on the Internet), these particular scans are sourced directly from an online scan at the Open Library project (contained within the Internet Archive) of the first edition of A Tale of Two Cities, itself also published in 1859.

Before the Prison Tribunal

I do wish that they hadn't been cropped the way that they have and that they were available in a (much) higher resolution, but as of now, they're the best representation of Phiz's original work that we netizens have!

The Knock at the Door

A Tale of Two Cities was the final novel that Phiz illustrated for Dickens - and marked the complicated ending to a twenty-three-year (yes) professional partnership between the author and illustrator - but his work here will mark a beautiful beginning to the long archiving project we will experience together here on this blog.

The Double Recognition

Throughout the work of this project, there will be quite a variety of sources being used - from direct scans by me to the two-tone abstractions of PDFs clearly not created for the purpose of storing image information - depending on the needs and availability of each edition.

After the Sentence

All of it goes to show the importance of accuracy and attention to detail in archiving art, which is itself an art form to be appreciated.

Hope you've enjoyed!

& the standard endnote for all posts in this series:

This post is intended to act as the start of a forum on the given illustrator, so if anyone has anything to add - requests to see certain drawings in higher definition (since Tumblr compresses images), corrections to factual errors, sources for better-quality versions of the illustrations, further reading, fun facts, any questions, or just general commentary - simply do so on this post, be it in a comment/tags or the replies!💫

#A Tale of Two Cities #AToTC #classic literature #victorian literature #dickens #charles dickens #engraving #illustration #illustrators #Phiz #Hablot Knight Browne #1850s #HOUUGHHHAGHGUHGGHHHHOUHGHHOUHGHHGAHGHSGHGHGH #how long have i been working on this today? has it been eight hours? #well? how did I get here? #again most of them won't even remotely be like this #but it's phiz! i gotta do phiz right! #also for the record: for the first gif I made all eight variations grayscale and modified their contrast #and for the second gif I sepia-toned and modified the contrast of one of the illustrations #all for the sake of readability and reducing flashing!

[adracat]

GWitch 23 thoughts

Sorry for the wait on this, I had to rewatch a few times to really drink in everything that was going on. I didn't have the best knee-jerk reaction initially ( I enjoyed it ofc but was a bit ambivalent about some things) and wanted to give it a fair shake.

First up, seeing Suletta zip around like the ace pilot she is was quite rewarding and fun! Now all those auto-pilot rumors can be laid to rest. However, the circumstances weren't the best and it broke my heart she was gasping for air the entire time. I had no doubt she'd live but it's still miserable to witness that

Ah Lauda. Your tomfoolery knows no bounds. We knew this was coming after the last ep, but it's still a bit frustrating. On a technical narrative level, it works since we're seeing two sets of siblings confront their simmering tension with one another. On a personal level, I wasn't very amused. I first saw this at 4 in the morning and had no patience for Lauda lmao. But rewatching it a few times gave me a deeper appreciation for what's going on. He's really intent on scapegoating Mio for everything wrong in his life. Fitting for her role as the Rose Bride and Lauda's demonized witch

This little aside from Chuchu is so suspicious tbh. Considering Mio's failure at piloting, this seems to imply either she does not have a permet implant of any sort or a flat intolerance. I have a sneaking suspicion it'll become a factor in the next episode.

Mio staring wistfully at Cool-san/etc memento of Suletta will always grab me by the throat. Girl wants to wife up Suletta so bad. And really, who could blame her?

Schwarzette is so pretty and cool. Unfairly so. Like, why did you make that thing so unique and cool? For dipstick Lauda?? Who is that pink permet for and why does it look like Utena??? ANSWER ME OKOUCHI

That's nice of Delling to rise from his sickbed to try and negotiate with the SAL. Unfortunately, this would be for naught because they're here to purge and replace. Not make nice. It was the thought that counts, I suppose.

Speaking of, the debut of a solar ray blindsided me. I mean, yeah it's Gundam, but I kinda thought we were skipping the big death ray lmao. After sitting on it, I think I know where it's headed. Totally on brand for SAL too in hindsight. They like to act removed, but they're just as entrenched as Benerit in the skeevy corpo politics. Allying with Ochs and now Peil cements it

Check the link above to see my Utena related thoughts on this moment btw. It might be the highlight of the episode beyond the Prospera confrontation. Stunned they finally stopped playing coy and seemingly confirm Notrette is indeed a GUND entity residing in pseudo hell, and likely a GWitch newtype like Eri

This was very sweet and I enjoy it more on a rewatch but I also understand why I and so many people had a gut-deep aversion to this subplot. The issue is entirely investment based imo, and tbh I just don't care that much about the Jeturk family dynamics. At best, I don't mind them. Guel is a bro but Lauda is SO exhausting on multiple levels. His misogyny and gross negligence of Petra in favor of revenge doesn't help.

If something came of this other than Lauda/Guel sibling closure, I'd consider it fulfilling. But if you lack investment in the conflict, it's going to feel limp or frustrating in comparison to the siblings you want to see. So while I appreciate the parallel with Suletta/Eri and the continuing subtext of witch coded Mio, that's it for me. But hey, it serves a purpose. A tragic cycle was broken after all, thanks to love and MVP Felsi!

The one big gripe I have after consideration is this man's continued existence. Kenanji doesn't deserve to play buddy buddy with the cast. He's a dirty space cop who bullies children and murdered Nadim, now he's joking with 5lan? The hell. I get the theme of the show is forgiveness and not perpetuating the cycle of revenge but... really? KENANJI gets to be happy but Norea/Sophie don't? Sigh

It was so dirty of Eri to use Suletta's love for Mio against her. She knows Suletta would panic over their mother possibly 'gaining two'. It's crafty and unrepentant, but Suletta holds fast. Her faith in Mio is greater than her idle fears

Mio scolding Prospera over her favoritism was great. We love a fiancé willing to take a stand against her shit in-laws. Speaking of, looks like Mio has fully embraced becoming a Mercury one day. 'All of us will be family' YEAH YOU WILL so suck it up Prospera. The holidays are gonna be so awkward

Btw love Mio was shouting at her while having an emotional breakthrough deciphering her mother's QZ riddle. This moment was excellent and easily superceded my minor gripes. UGH when will you reveal Notrette's whole deal GWitch? We're waiting

Such a bittersweet moment. We know from the Blessing and Cradle Planet that Eri loves her sister but it may not have been until this moment that Suletta understands her feelings. Now, I don't think she's 'dead' tbh. Or deader anyway. I suspect it's a false flag to hook you until the finale. It would be quite anti-climactic if she passed without a proper goodbye. I'm still holding out on a Tempest end where Prospera voluntarily sets her free.

The next Sunday will be our last. Hard to believe tbh. Feels like just yesterday we set out on this spectacular journey. Que sera sera! I'll see y'all in the finale~

#Wish Eri had the endcard tbh but oh well #maybe they're saving it for the end #g witch #g witch spoilers #suletta mercury #miorine rembran #gundam witch from mercury #sulemio #prospera mercury #ericht samaya #guel jeturk #lauda neill #g witch episode 23

[dudeyuri]

I'm having thoughts and feelings about bad buddy must be a day that ends in y. But like, last episode tomorrow, kind of verklempt, need to word vomit

My first watch of Bad Buddy kind of smacked me upside the head. I know this is not a unique experience. I was left reeling for a bit. Watching Bad Buddy was the first thing I did in 2023 and I watched all 12 episodes in one sitting like a glutton and I stayed up til 1am even though I had to get up at 4am the next day (I haven't done stupid shit like that since college). Then I started my rewatch the next day. Then I put it aside for months because it was actually a physical ache in my chest when I thought about it. I just...never?? encountered such a fulfilling narrative that followed through on all its promises. Even with its deliberate deceptions and twists and uncertainties - I put my trust in Bad Buddy's narrative and was rewarded for doing so like never before.

It got me from the first episode - the first episode did what I think almost every first episode should do: tell you exactly what the story is going to be, without telling you exactly what the story is going to be. Fantastic writing, deliberate pacing, satisfying character development, pitch-perfect acting, all top-notch. It kept the energy up all throughout even as it got heavier, and stuck the landing in such a profound and bittersweet way. This was the first Thai BL I've ever watched, and probably the third BL I've ever watched period. One of my first impressions after finishing it even for the first time was that it was, maybe above all else, self aware.

My initial impression was also not a unique one: so far this is funny, charming, an exciting premise. And by episode 4 I was starting to get hit with it: this story is all those things and a knife in your gut, a lump in your throat. And it's queer, and it's tragic. Like, from the jump we see the two households both alike in dignity, we know what this is: it's Romeo and Juliet (or Kwan and Riam). We know how it ends. Pran knows how it ends. They teased us the whole show with Pran's decor, his doorknob hanger, like this show's version of a comedy and tragedy mask - what's it going to be? How's it going to end? Everyone watching knows how romcoms typically end. But everyone also knows how Romeo and Juliet ends.

In a move that can really only be described as revolutionary, Bad Buddy decided that queering the Romeo and Juliet narrative meant a happy ending. With caveats, but happy and alive and together. It was as simple as two characters finding their agency in a world trying to deprive them of it, seeing every path around them that led to tragedy, and instead trailblazing a new one that led to happiness. (everything that could be said about this has already been said; I look to this essay by @chickenstrangers often!! helped me make sense of pat gets shot lol. MK I hope you're not sick of people linking this left and right). It's a narrative choice that resounds.

I was personally struck by that specific pain Pat and Pran experience, the pain of having to lie to your parents and keep love a secret from them - is there a queer person out there who doesn't relate to that in a bone-achingly deep way? Regardless of your relationship with your family. Having to partition yourself like this is part of the queer experience. And it's exhausting because you just have to live like this. It's exhausting because the people who are supposed to love you have made a liar of you instead. You can be surviving and thriving and happy, but your parents will still ask your siblings about their love lives and ask you about the weather (too real??? oops). There's a hint at a possible thawing in the final episode that gives hope, but Bad Buddy does not magically make the parents realize they were wrong and accept their sons' love - I mean, that just doesn't happen. It would have made for a disingenuous ending, it would have been a disservice to the narrative and to the viewers and to the metaphor. If you're lucky enough to have parents who would, you're lucky. It's a sad truth. "We can't change the world...but the world can't change us either."

At first glance, Bad Buddy plays in the "BL bubble". Upon a slightly closer examination Bad Buddy says there can never really be a bubble--stories aren't crafted in a vacuum, the dominant ideology that is homophobia traumatizes and endangers and oppresses all who do not align with it, still there are happy endings for us here. We find each other and carve them out ourselves. To say all this, and to not veer into heavy-handed "yeah okay we get it" territory is a feat honestly! Seldom accomplished in such a riveting and sexy way! How refreshing! Bad Buddy reminded me of reading a good poem - upon first read, a good poem is about "a thing," and it's evocative as is and you don't even have to read it again to enjoy it. But you can also consider it carefully and unearth "the other thing," a deeper meaning, the answer to "why was this written?". Bad Buddy trusts its viewers to get there. I mean I know it's really not much of a hidden message, but again, they are subtle with it, iykyk etc. BB doesn't hold our hand, but it takes our trust and respects it and doesn't break it (though it shakes the jar, like quite a bit, lol. All good stories should tbh).

I think a lot about the form, too. In a less capable storyteller's hands 12 one-hour-long episodes can drag (I'm thinking of some recent gmmtv BLs lol), or even not be enough (I feel like I personally see that in a lot of western shows whose fanbases are out here begging for second seasons to tie up loose ends). P'Aof (and co.) knew exactly what to do with 12 episodes. Has anyone in the entire history of TeleVision ever known what to do with 12 one-hour-long episodes as undeniably as P'Aof and co in making Bad Buddy??

I know I'm being a little dramatic, excessively lauding good writing like this. Like yeah stories should be good and thoughtful and make sense, of fucking course. But I just have to appreciate it in a genre, in a capitalist reality, where a story does not have to be profound or clever or full of love to be marketable. They truly did not have to go this hard. (Though the writer in me who now considers Aof a personal idol also thinks: yes of course they absolutely did have to go this hard in fact It Is The Only Way). I'm so so grateful for it for so many reasons!! And I didn't even breach the topic of how fun and sexy I think Pat and Pran are together. Didn't even mention the fingersucking, the scent kink, the kissies - all genuinely just as important to me as everything else. It's all in the making of a good story! I am taking notes through my tears and I am so thankful

#bad buddy #when you adapt the most adapted tragic love story ever and ‘knocked it out of the park’ is an understatement

[boyfridged]

if you got complete control over DC and got to write a Jason solo comic, how would you go about it? or like what would be the story??

you're indulging me!

well, my first preference would probably be writing a jason-never-died elseworld and this is what i'm doing with my series robin vol 2. or something like 80s retroactive but longer, so essentially a robin jay series that we were robbed of.

but i'm presuming you are asking about what i would do with the main timeline... i guess if you've been following me for a while, nothing on this list will come as a surprise, because it's simply a combination of my own meta dressed in plot points... i'm just not sure how i would organise it, since i mostly think about these in terms of fanfiction, so it's a bit fragmented in my head. but i think it would be doable to combine those:

addressing the current mess in canon: unavoidable. i always imagined (and by always i mean i've had that image in my head for at least 5 years now) if i were to write a comicbook script for jay i would start with the classic simple layout showcasing the more sunny (early days robin jay's) version of gotham but with panels shaped like shattered glass imposing on it, displaying different contradicting pieces of canon and culminating with the question of who *the real* jason todd is, as a nod to countdown asking the same. dc actually attempted to do something when the infinite frontier was first introduced, it just wasn't very well executed... (and as far as i know the hypertime is still supposed to be relevant so it would work...)

since i already started talking about countdown it could also contain some multiversal insight into all the other worlds in which jason todd is alive.

or maybe an idea i once dropped here, with the mystical serpentine of magical fog (the one from the lost days and the end of the utrh when jason presumably is brought back to life once again) traveling through the scenes of flashbacks of other characters (perhaps even just a reflections of retcons!) tarnishing jason's memory when he's dead, cut to kid jay literally stirring in the coffin, and finally an adult jason waking up with a jolt in the final scene. so many options.

you get the image. i wish that dc utilised the weirdness of the meta in a serious way, and that the talk of the past was a talk of the history of comics in a sense... as i previously expressed here.

as you all know by now my reading of jason (and batman in general even) is mostly based on the 80s... and so it would be a love letter to this era. i would definitely want to include some robin jay stories there as well, maybe make jason investigate cases that date back to his childhood and are somehow interconnected, creating a bridge between the narratives and reconciling them.

ending what i call the long funeral - jason's era of remaining dead both socially and to the narrative. what i have in mind is an arc in which he is working on a case that seems to have to do with magic/ghosts, but that ultimately turns out to be a case of corruption and plain police brutality. two things here: i would want him to fuck up spectacularly so that he starts questioning his modus operandi and dedication to vigilantism in general. and it would set up the ground for the introduction of abolitionism and link the story to his early ethical framework.

a retirement arc. jason's proper come back to the crime alley and reintroduction to the land of living (the alley might be a graveyard to bruce but it's a home to jason...) and very importantly, a cast of civilians! leslie is definitely back. i would also love to use dana & denise, and maybe even some pre-crisis characters.

i would fridge bruce. put him out of commission basically, death or not. and i'm not saying batman jay era but actually i am saying batman jay era. (i once again can't find a link to the post explaining my bat jay agenda but if it's of your interest i can elaborate.)

a two-face story. about forgiveness or rather about the fact that it never quite passed. and about willis.

the themes... the motifs... you know me. ouroboros and self-mythologization and the sacrifice and catholicism (probably not in a way you think) and family duty. and politics. here you can also guess what i'm thinking about, and it's a revolutionary abolitionist turn.

and to conclude: big words but i would use jason to bring love back to the gotham lore and batman titles in general. he is a character that has always stood in the centre of both values and challenges that the story faced. if he's not treated with consideration and not taken seriously, nothing in it is.

#outbox #i might have answered similar questions before. but probably on my old blog so i can't find it. #anyway. thank you for this lovely question! #jay.zip

[unicyclehippo]

hey ollie!! I’ve been seeing a few… mixed reviews for this last episode, and as someone that liked it, I wanted your opinion. I’ve been hearing a lot of people call this fight ‘clumsy’ and ‘railroading’ and ‘boring’, considering the only trigger to end the fight was one specific PC doing one specific thing, and making it feel like ‘imogen is the only PC that matters, regardless of her prior reluctance in giving into her powers’ (real take I saw here on tunglr dot com). I for one was expecting a TPK followed by a group-vision, so the fact that only two are dead so far is actually doing better than anticipated. thoughts? comments? concerns?

i have happily missed all of those kinds of comments & when i stumbled on one rather harsh criticism that drifted into my world i blocked that person. i don’t rly talk about stuff like this? im more of a “lurk in the shadows & throw my writing out” person. but i have seen some ice cold takes so yeah fuck it, i’ll talk abt my impression of the episode

i really really liked it

matt has a stupidly difficult job balancing encounters for SEVEN PLAYERS. i have three players at my table & i still struggle to give them a real challenge sometimes. in my opinion, he did both the set up & the encounter brilliantly.

first of all, he set up the mythology of otohan thull in the last eight episodes or so—everything the paragons call said about her in passing, the vibes of imogen’s dreams, the fact that she was somehow in the feywild, the fact that she’s working with daleth (who WE the audience know to be Very Powerful), what ashton told the party about her being a famed warrior—& made it concrete. there is a reason she’s a famed warrior, there’s a reason she’s the head of the paragons call, there’s a reason she lunged at imogen & imogen thought she died. otohan thull is a boss level character who has the ability to kill all of them. she is Supposed to be powerful, she was set up to be powerful not just to challenge the players but also narratively. it wouldn’t make sense in the context of the world & the aggressive, martial basuras if this person wasn’t stupidly scary & stupidly proficient at murder, yknow?

secondly, the encounter. a nail biter. this one made me think of - i know people have alluded to the stress of the first vecna fight but i was thinking about raishan because that one nearly made me break my teeth clenching my jaw as hard as i did. it’s a good episode to link to (because it fucks severely & keyleth is incredible) because it’s a one-against-everyone PLUS allies & it’s one of those episodes where everyone seems to drop & get back up & by the end two revivifies were used (one failed) & they had to res ritual someone after (for those of you who don’t know, when someone has been dead for longer than a minute, they have to use the resurrection spell instead of revivify & it’s a whole extended ritual & it’s amazing RP always).

if they had fought thull tomorrow, they could have won. today was already knocked by the FCG fight, imogen used a spell to try activate the feywild shard, laudna used hunger of the shadow, fearne used heat metal & she & FCG used some healing spells too. they’d already tapped into some of their spells & abilities & then again in the chaos of the attack on the call.

if they had doubled down & fought thull & had better initiatives (though the STORY it tells of thull going first, the assassin being quicker, the person who has fought wars being scrappier & quicker on the draw) they could maybe have won. matt was saying at the end that she looked “ragged-ish” & i agree with him when he points out they spent those first vital actions running away. they didn’t know when they started that she had legendary actions/reactions. they didn’t know that she could cross this battlefield in a bonus action if she wanted to.

when you think of an encounter, it’s never just about the stats—it’s about the story. especially when it comes to matt’s world, especially when it comes to these players who balance class skills with character choices. otohan thull came out alone to fight them—she’s arrogant, but not undeservedly so, as we find out. brennan lee mulligan said the scariest encounters are the ones in which you give your bad guys a goal to complete. in this encounter, the goal was imogen—to break her, change her, recruit her? dunno—&, like everything else about otohan thull, that had been Hinted at but couldn’t be confirmed until the fight.

im gonna join this with the third point

third, concerning the idea of a dream or vision: when each encounter is a fragment of story, what does it mean that the battlefield was otherwise empty? is it just otohan’s arrogance? or does it mean something that matt didn’t describe people scurrying out of the periphery of the fight, or anyone in the building imogen tried to escape from. does the sandstorm mean anything? it didn’t have a mechanical effect in this fight when it did in the previous encounter. was that just because it died down a little or does it hint toward it being a dream/vision as people have said?

personally, i think it was real & in the immediate aftermath i did say to a friend that a dream/vision would undercut the story for me. i don’t think that anymore. dreams have been such a point of visceral terror for imogen continuously through the campaign so far that i think it would be horrifying to realise that it was a dream, to have matt play around with the limits of a dream—which is SUCH a powerful thing in the fantasy genre to use dreams as exploration or invitation or corruption, to be in dreams that are on the cusp of prophecy, dreams that are a little too real—so if that’s what they end up doing i’m totally onboard. that being said, i don’t think it is. they’ve always been direct with deaths & that sort of thing & i think that it’s a very real moment that is supposed to emphasise how they are in over their heads. orym made a very nice speech about how they’re the only ones who know the threads of what is being done & that they have to stop it—and now this. eight hours later. they’re a little group (in world, at least) of squishy scrappy adventurers & they’re getting their narrative comeuppance for hubris, & a distinct lack of caution. hardly any health potions? a healer on the fritz? very little reconnaissance? no real allies? their attention divided between personal & everything else? i think it’s real, i think it’s very deadly, & i think like molly’s death it’s going to make for a more sombre & driven party. otohan’s goal for this encounter was imogen. narratively, the goal of this encounter (i suspect we will find in the coming months) was to be a hydraulic press & squash them into one party with one goal

fourth, main character imogen. this is bullshit straight up. i could leave it there but i’ll keep going bc i love women & i’ll take any chance to defend their right to take up space & tell their stories. laura makes the most awesome characters & frankly didn’t get Huge amounts of time dedicated solely to her story line in c1 & c2. it’s cool, it’s fine, she tells amazing stories in the time she gets & is a vital part of the story they’re all writing together, but as soon as we found out that purple-eyed, anime-haired, horse girl, night-terror, lightning-handed imogen was a thing i fell to my knees & wept in gratitude with the knowledge that laura was gonna get narratively whammied & whammied Hard by matthew mercer & his plot stick this campaign, as she well deserves.

do people complain about the briarwood arc? something that revolves entirely around percy’s backstory? or is it so beloved that they made a whole animated series about it? on a smaller scale—because of nott, the mighty nein left the empire & trekked into xhorhas; because of fjord, the mighty nein went & became pirates & explored sunken ruins, or went to uthodurn & nearly fought a dragon to make him a cool sword.

characters get their time to shine. it can’t always be about everyone all the time—matt gives a player a gift & the whole table comes together to react to that gift, following the player it was intended for. that’s the fun of storytelling together, that’s the fun of building characters & handing it over to your DM, the expectation that for a session, a couple of sessions, a small arc, you are the main character. your story matters. that’s what this is for imogen/laura—it’s at once a story beat for everyone, one of those pivotal moments where they realise they’re outmatched, but it’s also a turning point for imogen where we don’t know where she goes next. im sure that it also functions as a way for matt to introduce whatever lore he has about ruidis born up his sleeve for us.

hope this answered all your questions, i enjoyed ranting about it! i have just woken up so forgive me for any glaring errors

#cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #I’ll add a readmore when i get to my comp but hopefully the intro is long enough that it gets hit w the long post ray