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bubblinelovechild · 11 months

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The RWBY fandoms treatment of Adam makes me very uncomfortable

This is very long sorry I was rambling <3

There’s something really odd about the dedication RWBY fans have to hating Adam. So much so that they’ll admit the writing of the WF is racist but refuse to admit that Adam a member of the white fang also suffered from that racist writing.

There’s this weird dedication to pretending there are no problems with the choices made around Adams character and vilifying literally everyone who tries to talk about it, for the sake of continuing to blindly hate him. The fandom seems to struggle with understanding that the show is fictional and everything that happens in it is a direct choice of its writers. Y’all talk about Adam like he is a real person who has personally offended you irl. Just a huge lack of media literacy tbh.

A white man wrote a civil rights group, that he admittedly based off the black panthers, as the generic bad guys of his shitty anime knockoff and made a central theme of the show the idea that fighting against your oppression violently makes you just as bad if not worse than your oppressors. Then he mad the leader of that group a generic abusive meanie bad guy. Who essentially is what white supremacists think civil rights activist are all the way down to being the fictional equivalent of a black supremacist.

When there was backlash to this he made a knockoff Malcom X and then killed her in her only scene and made a character whose ideology is basically sit down and lick the feet of your oppressors and had the audacity to say he was based off of MLK. How the fuck do you base a character off of somebody without doing basic research on them because contrary to what people seem to believe MLK was not a doormat and this is a conversation for a different day but I’m sick and tired of his memory being weaponised against black people.

What’s worse is that Adam is the only character portrayed as actually doing something to fight racism. Ghira’s faction is only ever seen fighting against other groups. I don’t know if y’all know this but that’s not how the civil rights movement worked. Most of the leaders didn’t agree on methods but they coexisted because the main goal was the liberation of black people and they knew they had to coexist. MLK did not go around calling the cops on revolutionaries he disagreed with.

The problems with Adam and the WF are not separate and cannot be. Most of what’s wrong with the Faunus plot line is the way the show handles Adam. The choices made with his writing cannot be separated from those they made with the WF overall. Adams choice to kill his attackers to keep himself and other Faunus safe, from people literally trying to kill them, is treated the way it is because of the stance they took with WFs writing. When Adam kills a human supremacist trying to kill Ghira you’re supposed to see it as an extreme and the beginning of his turn to evil. Adam isn’t a real person every descisiom he makes is informed by the white writers of the show. Why would the bias they displayed writing the WF not apply to him?

Some of you have been abused and relate to Blake in that sense, a lot of you seem to be projecting your abusers onto Adam. I’m sorry you went through that but you are not excused from buying into racist rhetoric. It’s incredibly uncomfortable as a black person to watch people talk about how “healing” it was for them to watch a civil rights leader admittedly inspired by black people slapped around and killed by two white women. It is anger inducing to watch fans celebrate “queer representation” dancing on the corpse of a monumental disrespect to black people and our history.

RWBY doesn’t even handle abuse well tbh and most of the queer rep is not that great, there are many shows that do it so much better, there is actually no excuse for hanging on to the black people are bad for fighting against racism show.

#before you start no i don’t give a shit about bumblebee #this really isn’t about them #i wouldn’t have had a problem of killing the civil rights leader wasn’t treated as a bee moment #this is probably the only post I’ll make on that show #im going back to strictly reblogs #let’s hope this doesn’t get me death threats #rwde

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maedelin · 23 days

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Negative Romys (bc I know there must be chill ones out there) @ Roguneto in Xmen 97: “NOOOOOO HOW COULD THE WRITERS DO THIS AND DESTROY ROGUE X REMY?! POOR GAMBIT!!!”

Me: *side-eying all of the Marvel material that clearly shows that Romy content severely outnumbering Roguneto content by a landslide and the same Roguneto content winding up being ruined anyway by later writers just because they can* “Ah, yes…poor Gambit…”

All jokes aside, I wonder if the Romys’ concern is that if Roguneto is positively received = somehow becoming canon in the comics later? Because I know Marvel (and DC) has a history of taking a few things that the movies/shows/ side comics have done that were well received by fans or were anticipated to be well received ahead of time by fans and sometimes the companies themselves and incorporating them into the comics later

(ex. X-23 from X-Men Evolution to actual comics, Tony Stark’s personality eventually just becoming Robert Downey Jr as a comic book character, Samuel Jackson!Nick Fury from Ultimate Marvel to MCU to secret son of original Nick Fury and goes by the same name, Magneto’s Helmet protecting him from telepathy in Xmen First Class Movie to comics, Comic!Rogue’s real first name being a combination of her movie self’s name and that actress’s first name, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver not being related to Magneto after all bc their movie selves weren’t, Gwen Stacy’s fun alternative existence as Spider-Gwen/Woman , Miles Morales’s (yay!) existence, Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of Loki influencing the comic version of him to become a sad little meow meow, Age of Apocalypse’s version of Changling/Morph being brought into X-Men 97, etc)

, but if one truly counts all of the slight/significant changes Marvel Comics have made to the main timeline because of other material, it’s REALLY not a lot.

There’s no need for anyone who ships Romy (which I also ship in addition to Roguneto bc yay multishipping!) to feel threatened by potential romantic alternatives.

And just in case the romantic ships might be altered after all (not likely): if the Multiverse is a thing, maybe we consider it’s not the end of the world if the relationships in the X-Men animated universe is not 100% going to follow how they played out in the comics.

ALSO also, when all else fails, they can just develop their writing/art skills and make fix-it aus 😆

The chaotic neutral part of me actually kinda still hopes that enough people with get on board with Roguneto though so that the comics will see the enthusiasm for them and bring them back in the main universe and shake things up again or in one of the official alternate universes and give them the love and respect the pairing deserves 🤪

I really appreciate your comments. I suppose there could be concerns from the Romy contingent regarding this. Sadly, I think at this point corporate IP is too dedicated to keeping the status quo maintained as it is for the longest time.

I agree with you, I see her relationship with Magneto as brief trysts in the mainstream universe, and an occasional AU marriage reveal. I think that Rogue and Gambit will remain a couple in the mainstream universe despite this current twist in the '97 series. There's too much time and money spent into the material, merchandise, and story that's been built for Romy in reality across various media, and in the perception of people's memories which sometimes have a rosy nostalgic glow. It takes a lot to re-educate an audience and I don't see corporations having that time and patience.

Jean and Scott will always remain together. Meggan and Brian are a duo for all time. Sue and Reed Richards are going to stay married.

No matter what, the story will always return to that. In this reboot, I think it's to give Magneto an extra angle and further reason to stay at the mansion if you leave in doubt his and Rogue's activities on and off camera.

I think my biggest complaint is how there's a circling of the wagons around Rogue when anyone (but particularly Magneto) is interested in her. It frustrates me because I believe characters should experience a lot of different relationships. It builds for a more well rounded person in reality, and a better character in the story. But with Rogue, why isn't she allowed to have other romantic encounters? Why must there be a strange arguments about age, about experience? These are traumatized beautiful people with fancy abilities in a soap opera. With capes. (And occasional opera gloves)

In short, I believe that instead of one ship, a character deserves an armada. I agree, alternate universe pairings would be fun too!

I too enjoy drama and can't wait to see how the show plays out this romance.

#ship and ship alike #rogue #magneto #anna marie #x-men #rogneto #rogueneto #roguneto #erik lehnsherr #they're not real #let them have an armada

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thedroneranger · 8 months

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The Drone Ranger's Be Kind Rewind ⏪ notroosterbradshaw Edition!

A rec reblog series dedicated to the fics that we love so much, we've re-read them!

It's been a minute since I've posted a Rewind! My non-tumblr life has been bumping, so I haven't been quite as active.

However, I'm excited to present a Rewind from one of the first creators I read in this fandom. A few of their fics are on my Rewind. Without further ado: @notroosterbradshaw!

Cass is a tried and true Bradshaw Baddie™, so we have ourselves another all Bradshaw Rewind!

While we continue to churn out amazing new content, let's be kind and rewind to look at some of the OG content we love! And don't forget to reblog when you re-read! Continue to show your comfort fics and favorite creators some love. It helps keep the fresh content coming :)

Let's keep this going throughout the summer, so if you're interested in participating in the Be Kind Rewind, message me. The more, the merrier!

If you want to know when a new Rewind drops, join the tag list, and check out previous Rewinds!

fics below the cut (listed in alphabetical order by title)

Creator's note: I have a tendency to re-read long fics. I can find it difficult to commit to new things (I watch the same tv shows over and over, and the same goes for fics). It’s a terrible personality trait.

Crossfire, @purelyfiction Crossfire was the first TGM fic I read... and I was baptised. There was no way to fight it and it inspired me to come back to writing after I stopped about five years back. I really love it, I highly encourage you to indulge if you've yet to.

Bradley x Smart Aleck universe, @gretagerwigsmuse You don't need to know how much I love SA and her crotchety old man, Bradley. Jordan's world is so immersive, a real relationship with real ups and down. J gets deep in there and doesn't hide or shy from anything. If you have yet to read i don’t know, blame the air force? what are you doing in this life (it was impossible to pick one)?

One For The History Books, @pisupsala Holy jeepers, if you haven’t read Mila's delicate, poignant and truly adoring words, you've missed the point of this fandom. Just so truly special. I read One for The History Books upon completion and binged it like a novel, it feels like home for me.

What's in a Name?, @sometimesanalice Alexa's one of the most talented writers. Her reader and Bradley's world makes you so delirious/high, I just love it so damn much (and Alexa). Please go read What’s in a Name?

Remember You Even When I Don’t, @beyondthesefourwalls Alli's Forgetful Boy in Remember You Even When I Don’t... Oh my God, she knows I go a bit bonkers for it and had to deal with a lot of squee’s and keyboard smashes in both reblogs and messages. Sorry, darling heart.

White Christmas, @bradshawsbitch Alex's work is a constant re-read for me, and I have begged for a follow-up series of potential pilot or airline host reader and Bradley. The first few paragraphs of white christmas is like I'm sitting right there, in between reader and Bradley, the smartass pilot.

Creator's Own

It’s Only My Heart (Save Yourself) I think there is a misconception that I only write one series ha! But this fic is my first love. I adore writing about Bradley Bradshaw in love and the world's most perfect partner, but I also love writing about him with all his faults and spiralling on his wedding day.

Tag list and friends: @petcr3 @desert-fern @Sagittarius-Lovewitch @mygyn @sweetwhispersofchaos @horseshoegirl @the-annoying-fan @dingochef @moon42flight @thecitysgraveyard @ereardon @roosterforme @cherrycola27 @galaxy-of-stories @taytaylala12 @malindacath @violyn20 @awildewit @potato-girl99981 @shanimallina87 @blue-aconite @djs8891 @linkpk88 @furiousladyking @daggerspare-standingby @princess76179 @jstarr86 @hecate-steps-on-me @darkheartcherry @soulmates8 @roosters-girl @dempy @roosterisdaddy36 @hangmanscoming @s-u-t @mavrellover91 @chicomonks @averyhotchner

A kind reminder, this is a 18+ blog. While not all stories in the recommendation list are 18+, please respect boundaries and do not interact unless you are 18 years of age or older.

#tgm be kind rewind #bradley rooster bradshaw #robert bob floyd #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #top gun maverick #tgm #top gun #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #notroosterbradshaw

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ooops-i-arted · 7 months

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I don't care to follow this show closely, but people in tags have been talking about it for weeks. Not surprising that the Ahsoka/Anakin reunion turned out disappointing and devoid of emotional depth, because what did I expect from Filoni and Disney Star Wars after all?

At this point, I just have to ask .... does Filoni know that he's supposed to be writing characters? Like people with personalities? Relationships between people with shared history? Dialogue that sounds natural coming from an individual with a functioning brain? Because we have characters like the live action Ghost Crew who are described as stilted and don't even act like they are close. We have Ahsoka and Luke scenes that feel hollow and tacked on, ("so much like your father" girl explain how something Luke said made you come to that conclusion or was it just for fans to get nostalgic about clone wars?). The last time Anakin and Ahsoka met, he tried to fucking kill her and we would think there would be more of a reaction from this. But no, the focus is on battle scenes and snarky clone wars skits.

Oh my bad, Filoni's target demographic is people weeping over the next cameo and something he poached from Legends. He can probably make something look like a flashy video game cutscene. But more effort is put into showing off choreography and making Ahsoka look like the bland, stoic and bestest OC ever, rather than writing something truly meaningful and it's really obvious.

The problem imo is that the fandom has acted like Filoni shits gold for so long Disney/Filoni has no incentive to improve. Every piece of nostalgia-laden schlock Filoni squeezes out of his butthole is treated as a masterpiece by the majority of the fandom. They have zero incentive to keep making fresh, original things like Mandalorian season 1 or Andor (haven't watched that yet, going by word of mouth) when low-effect TCW fanfiction makes the loudest Star Wars fans cream their pants.

Honestly I think the Ahsoka show is just Filoni playing with his dolls with all the high-end special effects at his disposal and still couldn't make Hera look halfway decent. Tbh I feel a bit bad for all the voice actors and animators who first brought these characters to life and gave them soul now being tossed aside for the new shiny live action versions, just because there's this idea that animation is less prestigious/for kids. Like I'm no fan of Ashley Eckleswhatever but there is no doubt she is dedicated to Ahsoka and the fans and I've heard tons of lovely things about her. Not to mention the Legends authors getting ripped off and no credit for their ideas. (Don't even get me started on Hayden Christensen. Okay, obviously I don't presume to know how he feels, hey if he's happy with this good for him and I 100% support him. But if I starred in the prequels and had my performance constantly mocked and maligned for years, finally returned to Kenobi and had tons of fans now cheering and praising me for an emotional reunion with the character & actor that were the heart of RotS..... I wouldn't exactly be thrilled to lick the orange butthole of some guy's fanfic OC next.)

(Also also I hate the TCW designs. In the 2D Clone Wars Anakin does not wear any armor, which imo much better shows how reckless and borderline arrogant he is about his abilities.)

#if you don't have anything nice to say about ahsoka come sit next to me lmao #anti ahsoka show #anti ahsoka tano #anti ahsoka #anon #asks

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lesbiansforboromir · 2 years

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Why does it matter that the actors and creative team are book fans when the finished product grossly misunderstands and misrepresents the text? No background detail or linguistic accuracy will fix the total invention of 99% of the plot, or the deviations from canon. If a cake is made with concrete dust instead of flour it doesn’t matter if a pastry chef made it. It fails as an adaptation and it’s been very honest about that from the start, so why get excited about it when you like the books?

Alright. Firstly, what I want you to do is read this message again, then imagine it is about the Jackson films, which it absolutely could be and in fact it fits them BETTER since we actually know the vast extent to which PJ misrepresented the books and deviated from canon, cus his films have been out for 20+ years already. And then think about how much of an impact those films had anyway. Think about how many book fans enjoyed those films anyway including myself.

And then think about all the extraneous other adaptations of Tolkien that have happened over the years, from cartoons to games, and think about how book fans have also enjoyed those despite their own massive changes that go all the way too cutting out main characters entirely! And THAT is when we are talking about adaptations that change the actually written stories that have a real narrative and a plot and characters. RoP is basically adapting a sparse tale of years at this point, which have themes sure, and the bare bones of characters, but there's a lot of space to fill in with their own creativity. Which is literally what I do all the time!

This entire blog in fact is dedicated mostly to me taking what the text has given me and fleshing out the parts I like in ways that I enjoy. Because tolkien's writing is not some religious canon that requires legions of supplicants and holy warriors to defend it. It is good enough to be adapted in countless ways and still have more to offer, that is exactly what classic stories are there for.

And that's all the things I'd say if I even agreed with your strange assertions. How do you know the showrunners are grossly misunderstanding the text? The various disparate versions of the Akallabeth you mean? As far as I can tell they've gripped the actual meat of the narrative very well. Religious debates, free will over suffering, mortals dying for immortals and that sparking a growing resentment to flourish, that's all IN the promo material for this show. Are you talking about the time compression? I assume you are. Yeah it's a massive squish and it's cutting out a lot of kings and queens but, and this pains me a little to say because I still am grieving Tar-Telperien, the only thing the actual NARRATIVE is losing here is an agonisingly slow burn to the end. All the beats are the same!

In the end, they are putting enthusiasm and effort into investigating pieces of Middle Earth history that I had never expected to be depicted like this before. And they aren't the worst people in the world or betraying the fans or causing some irreparable harm to Tolkien by changing parts of that history and inventing things within that history to tell a story that they think is good. And this vitriolic rhetoric is completely inappropriate, especially when, again, it isn't even out yet! Like you're in my inbox talking about a finished product that doesn't even exist, they're only on season 1! So yes, just like I do with the Jackson films, just like I do with the old cartoons, just like I do with every fan made film and all the lotr films made in other languages that I've seen and enjoyed for themselves, I'll sit in my book fan little seat and enjoy this adaptation with my friends too. I'm excited to see what they come up with! And if I don't like it then it won't be the end of the world, which I know from experience.

#rings of power #the rings of power #rop ama #erran ama #chats #anonymous

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not-close-to-straight · 10 months

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Did you like the new Indiana Jones movie?

Mmmm.....yes. Mostly. Because it's an Indiana Jones movie and it's Harrison Ford and I love it. The theme song plays and I get goose bumps. I love his wit, his intelligence, his bravery, his loyalty, his dedication to preserving history and the way Harrison Ford's eyes have never lost their sparkle. In the beginning flashback scene where he looks young I actually went "Oh my Mr. Ford".

I can't imagine how difficult it is to write the final chapter of a character like Indiana Jones, I mean whether people have watched the movies or not there are some scenes that are so iconic they've made their way into pop culture and into countless other movies and shows and comedy bits-- and tying up that story with a satisfying conclusion and arc, with just enough fan service to make the long time fans feel seen and appreciated but enough modernity to keep the series from wallowing in the 'yeah it's totally fine to slap women when they get on your nerves' dynamic that the earliest ones had, with enough emotion to make it feel properly respectful of the characters legacy but enough action to keep from being boring--

I can't imagine how difficult that project would have been to undertake, and holy shit do I appreciate the effort that went into it.

That being said though-- and with no spoilers-- it was about 90% the story I wanted to see but not the ending I wanted to see at all.

There were some parts that fell really flat in my opinion. There were some opportunities for much deeper emotional arcs that were abandoned entirely in favor of quick jokes or random scenes. Plot points that should have been emphasized but were mentioned in a throw away line at the last minute just to make sense of whatever happened next. I mean at one point its like "OH NO FRAMED FOR MURDER?!" and then it was literally never mentioned again.

One of the best things about the Indiana Jones movies for me (as a huge history nerd) has always been the attention to detail, the tiniest of scraps of knowledge that totally change a plot outcome and that was certainly lacking here. And then on the other hand, especially in the beginning there was way too MUCH detail, it was so muddled up with too many characters (who were ultimately meaningless after the first act) and sort of crazy long actions scenes that meant NOTHING after it was done so it felt like a waste of effort.

The hardest part for me was the supposed climax of the film being... nothing? Like sort of nothing. The action was building and building and it was really intense and I was so sure I knew what was going to happen (in a good way, I was very excited for it) and then when I realized what was ACTUALLY happening I went "wait. seriously?" and then "wait seriously?" a couple more times.

And I understand the lesson they were TRYING to impart on both Indy and the viewers but it wasn't actually the lesson you'd THINK the movie was trying to impart and was actually one that nobody had really brought up at all yet? It was like a surprise lesson.

ALSO it did the "action action action how on earth will we fix it-- fade to black-- its all fixed now" and that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I mean it's an Indiana Jones movie. Of course I love it. I spent my entire childhood watching them on repeat with my older brothers, it never bothered me to be watching "old action movies" they were always the most fun movies I could ever imagine and I'm sure that like, lifelong rewatching nostalgia probably tainted some of my expectations of the new one.

I just feel like there's usually two options for retiring an action hero and it's 1) kill him off in a blaze of glory or 2) make sure the adventure never ends ie: he's always riding off into the sunset chasing another cool thing.

There's Secret Option Number Three which is to have the hero retire peacefully and live out the rest of his life in quiet BUT depending on the hero, that isn't always the most satisfying end.

Like for Tony Stark? I would spill blood to ensure that guy got to retire with Pep and Morgan and live to the ripe old age of 90 before passing peacefully in his sleep.

James Bond? The adventure needed to just go on and on and on.

Um.... Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible? Go out in a blaze of glory.

And I know which of those options I'd prefer for Indiana but (no spoilers) it isn't the one they chose for the movie.

Anyway. I'm rambling so I'll stop.

BUT a week is Standard Non Spoiler Time for my blog, so if you want to talk about it in greater detail next weekend I can word-vomit for days about the movie and character!

#indiana jones

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aceofroses-queenofstars · 5 months

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Re the don Giovanni post you made in October, I would like to read those shitty essays you're talking about if you got em

OH yes! Don Giovanni essays!

In order of least favourite to favourite:

The Operas of Mozart - William Mann. I hated this book and the one chapter I read. He basically says listen I don't think Anna was raped but I think it would've been good for her if he did. 0/10, misogynistic asshole.

Mozart's Operas, a critical study - Edward Dent. Really not much better. Ignores Anna's pain and grief to just paint her as a cold, naive socialite. 1/10.

I got these two from physical books so I don't have any links for them. The rest, I do!

Music, Sexuality and the Enlightenment in Mozart’s Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così Fan Tutte - Charles Ford. I couldn't find much about Anna here but it does talk about Elvira and Zerlina. Not very kind to them, the gist is that they behave kind of in spite of themselves? 3/10, not exactly what I was looking for.

The Problem of Donna Anna: 'Risk-free identification?" - Catherine Laws. I got a lot from this about how the women of Don Giovanni fit or defy stereotypes. It also talks about how romanticized the opera has become, and issues that stem from not looking at the work in a critical light. 7/10, love a work by a female scholar.

The sexual politics of teaching Don Giovanni - Liane Curtis (couldn't make this one show up as a big link for some reason). This was an Interesting read. She talks about Don Giovanni's place in the classroom, and how it's been perceived in the courses she's taught. There's a lot about how student's reactions to the work are informed by rape culture and how the work could be quite triggering to those who have experienced SA, and argues that teachers really need to dedicate time to understanding the whole of the opera instead of glossing over it and allowing harmful ideas to perpetuate. 9/10, incredibly interesting, i think all music history profs should read it.

And Finally!

Understanding the Women of Mozart's Operas - Kritsi Brown-Montesano. Now this is a full book that I only read the first chapter of. But WOW was that first chapter eye-opening. It discusses Donna Anna from the first Don Juan story until now, gives scathing critiques of the victim-blamey scholars at the top of my list, and makes a well-researched case for Anna and her quest for vengeance/justice. I love it. I want to read the whole book. It took me quite some time to get through, the text is quite dense, but it's well worth reading. 10/10 I want to write her a thank-you note.

I was able to access these papers/books through my university, so I can't guarantee how accessible they are if you don't have a connection to a library or academic institution, but I know this is the website of getting around things like that. I won't be posting my actual paper bc 1) it's not actually done yet, still needs a final draft, 2)it's an undergrad summary paper and 3) it does have my personal information attached to it. Basically imagine it as all these papers and my opinions of them combined.

#@novonick ik it took me a while but here's the papers!#rape mention #rape tw #don giovanni #opera #long post #research #feminist literature #rose rambles #mozart

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mirrorcatcreditcard · 1 year

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There's just something I want to say that I think is important if you follow me or look at the occasional thing I post. Also, even if you don't really care about my content or the stuff I reblog to help others out, fandoms as a whole should hear this.

I think the base standard of things that shouldn't be encouraged are inc*st, p*d*philia, and r*pe. Everyone has their own things they enjoy blah blah. Understandable. My issue is that people will write or draw such things then justify it. (So sorry if you thought my issue was people creating it to begin with. This isn't the post to rant about that regardless of my opinions.) If you're into stuff that's morally unsound, put a warning tag so people can avoid it if they don't want to see it. I've seen many people not tag stuff that obviously has p*d*philia in it because of whatever reason they decided to cook up as an excuse. Also, in certain fandoms with supernatural creatures fans will justify their behaviors with "they're xxx years old" or "they're technically not blood related because of how they were created". Okay, your opinion is valid. Now tag your stuff properly so I can make sure to never see it.

Another controversial thing most don't want to hear is that I think a majority of ship debates are really stupid and shouldn't happen. Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't mean that you should insult them or try to cancel them. There's countless questionable ships out there. Because of toxic fans, people who ship something with a bad rep or enjoy content of that certain ship cannot openly say they enjoy it for xxx reason because they'll immediately be judged instead of heard out. It doesn't take much to trigger people in fandoms despite nothing being discussed actually being real. This is coming from a person who's reason to live is fictional characters and online friends.

To continue on the ship topic, I'd like to state that there's many different relationships between people and ships and how they add to or take from certain content. Some may actually ship the characters. Some may find the stuff interesting or useful for their own fics. Some may like the dynamic but not like the history between the characters. Some may think it would be interesting but not encourage the ship at the time. Some may not even know the characters but like reading what's put there. Don't assume everyone who consumes ship content wants the characters to be together in the canon universe.

Next topic is headcanons. There's a large difference between thinking fanfic of certain characters is nice and wanting the canon to change to fit your perception of what should happen. I've personally not had many times I wished for canon to change (unless the SML was really good), and it's caused many arguments or sharp responses aimed at me. Saying "I wish the creators did xxx" should mean just that. The verb is wish after all. But, overtime many have come to associate criticism as trying to start a hate club. I'm perfectly able to discuss canon events without bringing headcanons into the mix and saying "oh well this probably is how it was". It's not hard; I assure you.

This last part is a trouble I personally have. I love fanfic. It's amazing. People dedicated enough to write thousands of words of spends hours to draw/paint is beautiful. As a result, I end up binging series and looking up spoilers just to be able to understand the fan content. There's nothing that makes me quite as happy as opening up my favorite fanfic and enjoying what the author decided to add this time. Be it sm*t or fluff, Supernatural or Urban Fantasy, AUs or drabbles — I love what I can get. I cannot talk about certain things because some fandoms are so deeply traumatized or bothered by certain issues within the fandom. It makes me mad. I just want to discuss why these two characters would actually be good friends if xxx incident didn't happen or why we should focus more on xxx plot point because of something the author showed us; but instead, the fandom immediately puts up a ten foot wall around me. It doesn't happen too often, but I still hate not being able to discuss certain things with many other fans.

Thanks for reading all the way through, even if you don't agree with me. It means alot. I hope you have wonderful day and find some great stuff in your own fandom!

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fic-history · 1 year

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2000's and Beyond: Modern Fic

In this iteration of Fic History, we’re going to be exploring the fic culture in mega-fandoms from the early 2000’s and beyond. That’s a big field to cover, I know, so each section is probably going to be a bit less detailed than usual in order to make things easier to digest. To begin, we’re starting with:

Harry Potter

I think it goes without saying that the HP fandom is probably the fandom of the 21st century. No book series has become so ubiquitous as HP, and there are still more HP fics on FF.net than from any other fandom. Since HP was published when the internet already existed, most of the fandom’s fics were published online, although a few printed fanzines were created. HP fic is also extremely varied, most likely due to the wide cast of characters and length of time covered by canon lore. You could find fic on anything from coffee shop AUs of the Hogwarts founders to explorations of the main trio’s children when they eventually attended Hogwarts. Like most fandoms with a large internet presence, the HP fandom had its own fic sites, some of which were dedicated to specific attributes like certain ships or tropes, but fic was also posted en masse to multifandom archives like FF.net and AO3. In fact, as of 2017, there are still more Harry Potter fanworks on FF.net than any other fandom.

Twilight

If HP is the fandom of the century, Twilight is probably the fandom of the 2000’s decade. At least in the media, Twifans were portrayed as either feral teenage girls or feral middle-age women, but the fandom is actually much more diverse. In terms of fanfiction, it goes without saying that the most famous fic within the fandom is probably Master of the Universe by Snowqueens Icedragon, more commonly known by its profic title of Fifty Shades of Grey. Snowqueens Icedragon, A.K.A. E.L. James, filed the serial numbers off of her fic and sold it as an original piece of fiction to massive critical attention and success. You can read a bit more about Fifty Shades here.

One Direction

This is the odd fandom out of the bunch, as it’s the only one listed that’s completely focused on real person fic, or RPF. According to FanLore, since there isn’t traditional source material to function as a canon to write fic about, canon in the 1D sense consists of “One Direction's members' original appearance on the reality show, plus their concerts, albums, music videos, video diaries, interviews, books, photo shoots, award ceremonies, other television appearances, band members' and families' personal twitter accounts, media gossip, authorized candid photos and selfies, and unauthorized candid photos by paparazzi and fans.”

RPF already has a bad reputation in fandom spaces, but since 1D is an engineered boy band adored mainly by teenage girls (fandom’s least favorite demographic), the 1D fandom reputation is in the pits (Jamison 2013). Despite this, the fandom is still quite large, and produces a lot of fic, especially on Wattpad, where the fanfic series turned profic After by Anna Todd was published from 2013 to 2014. The most popular ship amongst directioners is Larry Stylinson, or Harry/Louis.

Finally, we have

SuperWhoLock

Behind HP, this is probably the largest fandom on the list, simply because it’s actually three fandoms smushed together: Supernatural, Doctor Who, and BBC’s Sherlock. Fans in this fandom are called SuperWhoLockians. This fandom was especially active on Tumblr in the early 2010’s, and while the main form of fanwork was gifsets, lots of fanfic was produced in each fandom individually as well in crossovers. The most popular Supernatural ships were Castiel/Dean (Destiel) and Wincest (Sam/Dean, who are brothers, hence the portmanteau between Winchester and incest), while Sherlock’s most popular was Sherlock/Watson or Johnlock. Doctor Who is different, as each individual reincarnation of the Doctor is considered a different character, so each Doctor has different pairings, usually with their respective companions or the Master. SuperWhoLock has a reputation for being cringy due to member’s repeated hijacking of Tumblr posts with fandom related GIFs, but now that the fandom is much less active, the cringe has turned into a feeling of nostalgia.

There are so many more fandoms I could talk about, which just goes to show how fandom spaces have only exploded in size as time has passed. Even though these descriptions aren’t the most detailed, I hope you found them informative and interesting!

Happy reading,

-KP

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mortallyclearwonderland · 2 years

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Peng - Tai Lung’s nephew

For those unfamillair the film Kung Fu Panda from 2008 was a huge hit. So much so it go itself sequels TV specials and a cartoon series named Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness.

It’s a great show. It gives us a lot more information on the Furious Five, Shifu, and a lot of new characters. One of those new characters is Peng, Tai Lung's nephew.

Now all the fans of the original must be pretty confused. I now will try to make sense of it by addressing all the inconsistencies in the lore and finding explanations to them.

1. Tai Lung doesn’t have a family, right?

Not true from the bat. Everybody has/had a family. Someone had to purposefully left him in front of the palace. It probably were his parents or one of his parents.

2. Why would they leave him like that?

Now that's tricky. We never get information as to why he was abandoned. The keyword is nephew. A nephew is a son of your brother or sister, or a son of your husband's or wife's brother or sister.

We know Tai Lung never married, no girlfriend, no fuck-buddy, any one-night stands. Unless something new comes out and retcons it too. It's most likely that Tai Lung's whole life revolved around kung fu, training, and becoming a dragon warrior.

It must mean that Peng is the son of Tai Lung's brother or sister, or a son of their husband's or wife's brother or sister.

The thing that changes everything is whether they left Tai Lung before or after his brother/sister was born. It could be that they haven't been ready for a child, yet. Maybe they were too poor or had too many children, maybe even both. We just don't know. There's too little information.

3. Why didn’t they come back for him or tried to reach out?

It would've been awkward, to say the least. ''Hey, we're your parents. We left you here because we couldn't take care of you, but now we can. Want to come with or keep in touch?'' They are basically strangers. And appearing out of nowhere would seem like they want to gain something from having a famous relative. Before Tai Lung tried to steal the scroll he was kind of a hero. Just like the Furious Five and Po after him.

Besides, I doubt there is something like a paternity test in ancient China, even or especially in animation.

4. How could they know anything about Tai Lung?

Do you know how sometimes people that gave away their children are still somewhat interested in their kids well being? Just to make sure they made the right choice, and the kid is happy and safe. Also, people talk and gossip. They could've just dropped by a couple of times and asked ''Who is this snow leopard?'' and people would start gushing about how Tai Lung is so awesome and might be a dragon warrior.

5. Why The Jade Palace?

Well, why not? From Tigress's backstory, it looks like ''scary'' animals might have a hard time fitting in with ''cute'' prey animals. Also, living in a palace where you can learn history, kung fu, and even become a hero beloved by everyone is nicer than possibly living in an orphanage until you're too old.

There are still many questions and things that can be explored but I wouldn't call them lore braking or contradictions. There is just more to the story and I hope we get more of it.

Peng only showed up in 3 episodes (I think) that mainly focused on him in the present and not his family and the past. I'm going to write another post dedicated to him in the future.

If you have more questions feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them best of my ability.

I haven't watched kung fu panda or the show in a long time. So I'm going to watch it to refresh my memory and maybe see something I haven't noticed before.

#Tai Lung #Peng #kung fu panda #kung fu panda legends of awesomeness #Po #kfp

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moonsdancer · 2 years

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This is a good question @fleursdusang. I've done a lot of thinking about this with the other eight or so MelJay shippers I communicate with on Discord 😭 , and we'd long ago agreed that MelJay is an ironic rare-pair. But more on that below.

@arcane-rarepair-week has done a great write-up of what "constitutes" a rare pair in fandom, and they've broken it down here: (they do include MelJay on their list). Fandom Wiktionary describes it as:

A ship that generally receives little attention from fans and has few associated fanworks.

Ultimately, a ship is a rare pair based on output / engagement and not whether it's canon or not. Generally, the most "fair" metric to use is ao3 (although in some cases, it becomes apparent looking at fanart, or fan discourse, and other creative outputs what's what). MelJay has the unique 'distinction' of being one of the least supported / celebrated / whatever canon ships in maybe the history of any fandom. I ran the numbers, and it's pretty dire, just a quick summary from Sunday when I did this exercise to ask:

Is MelJay a "rare pair"?

based on ao3, only -

There were 8568 fanworks dedicated to Arcane on ao3. Of those fanworks, in terms of popularty by tag (including explicitly romantic and ships defined by '&' which are sometimes still romantic but not always), MelJay doesn't even appear in the top ten or fifteen.

Filtering out some of the "&" pairings allowed MelJay to edge its way in at about no. 9 or 10 with 213 stories.

Of those 213 stories: 116 were JayVik stories that weren't about MelJay. A good majority were often about breaking MelJay up or killing off Mel or whatever other narrative device in order to tell a story about JayVik. 74 of those are Violyn stories that tag MelJay despite it not being a factor in said story (I assume they do so because it's a canon ship, so folks just toss it in there). 51 of those were MelJayVik stories.

Once you filter those out, we come to 56 overall stories tagged MelJay. Of those 56, roughly 17 were actually about viktor with someone i.e. viktor / you or viktor / reader or viktor / original character. we can, if we're generous, pretend that about a third of those are as much about meljay as they are about viktor and whoever else, but even that would be a bit of a lie.

Once you filter those out, we were left with about 46 stories. And even in those, a quick review of the content showed some of them weren't even about MelJay.

A weird and non-self-aggrandizing fact that was pointed out to me today - just stating it to show the reality of things - I've written 15 of those stories, so that's about a third of stories, that are explicitly and materially in terms of the content about Mel Medarda and Jayce Talis in a relationship of some kind, were written by one person. That's weird, for the only confirmed, together, onscreen, canon romantic ship - but that's the reality.

ANYWAY.

The above rambling answer to your comment from this post is really my way of just reflecting on all this for my own reasons and opening the discussion which we'll all probably only have in an honest way in a few years across fandom about this and not to rant at you in anyway. Because the treatment of / reception / backlash (in many ways especially in the first few months) to MelJay is a bit weird. That's the word I'll use so I don't use different words that piss folks off.

This was a bit of a Ted Talk, sorry! 😂✨

ETA: Because someone did mention this, I know the '&' tag is generally used for platonic or familial relationships. But I notice people in a lot of cases in this fandom use it interchangeably with the bigger ships. May not always be the case. But either way, the situation for MelJay is dire. And those '&' ships don't really detract from that conclusion.

#meljay #arcane #rare pair #mel medarda #jayce talis #arcane meta #i suppose #or arcane fandom meta #fleurdusang

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songbird-sunrise · 1 year

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Ooc: Hmm you don’t have to answer this publicly it can just sit in your ask box or something else I don’t mind.

I havent actually been following songbird!wilbur for a significant amount of time, really, the impact was being friends and sometimes friends of friends of people who were running the anonverse and bedrock verse. I feel like I’m overstating my connection, I’m often just following bloggers who are friends with the rp ers, and they are some of the most passionate people they’re totally insane and I love being witness to it

hell, I only started following a couple of months ago, and I didn’t even see whatever meat of conflict that has happened. I’ve just watched it unfold on my dash whatever’s been happening. I don’t think I’ve even sent in an ask.

so that’s to say, I have such a lack of connection to this story, no complex history, no deep understanding, which makes it so much more impressive that the little parts I’ve seen are so emotionally beautiful to me. Even just like the blog header. I’ve been hearing about this story for so long that part of it is the thrill when I do figure out something that’s happened

but more of it? Maybe even most of it? Is because of how much dedication and soul has gone into this story. There is a reason that so many people are passionate, there is a reason that some days I see more fanart of songbird on the dash than like cwjlbur or ccwilbur combined. Because you have made something exquisite with this story and what an honour right? To bear witness to it, even this late, even this far behind.

I think the message, the little scraps of it that my colander brain (system lol) can pick up and I think the message of that. Getting better. Finding community and trust. Finding yourself. I think it’s wonderful.

(What’s embarrassing is that i am for all intents and purposes a fake fan </3 not caught up on any lore I just stare at your header and feel Emotions, so all of this could be entirely 10000% wrong which is why it’s a bit of a like… maybe don’t publish it but perhaps I deserve public punishment for being a clown on anon and sharing emotions)

so yeah uhh you’re amazing I love your rp character and I hope to one day be one of the people posting about them when a particularly cool thing happens. I thank you and applaud you for the amount of work that you have put into this story. Good job. Happy new year to you and happy new year to songbird!wilbur too.

what an exquisite thing I get to see, what could I feel other than honour.

-rib

OOC: Ohhhh my god. oh wow. oh holy shit. this is like the sweetest thing I've ever gotten wtf

usually I don't get very sentimental on here ooc but hey. I'll do it for today

it's been a bit rough writing on songbird-sunrise lately. Nothing I write feels good, and it all feels like such a chore most days. But hearing that you, someone who only recently got involved, loves this silly little character I've made so much absolutely warms my heart. It reminds me of why I do this in the first place

songbird-sunrise is, in a way, my love letter to the dreamsmp and c!wilbur. I know you said your analysis on songbird's themes was probably wrong, but you're actually completely right. We want to show the messy, complicated, hard, and beautiful parts of healing and finding yourself. And the fact that it's conveyed to you without even seeing everything is just. fucking amazing. it's nice to have a direct reminder that I'm actually good at what I love to do for lack of better words

all this to say, thank you. thank you for sending this ask, and thank all of you out there. Whether you're an old fan, a new fan, someone who sends a lot of asks, someone who likes to lurk, someone who makes art, analyses, all of you. thank you, and I promise that there are still some big things planned. The journey of healing is never over, and really, songbird!Wilbur is just beginning :)

-holly and wilbur

#ooc #save

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thedroneranger · 9 months

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The Drone Ranger's Be Kind Rewind ⏪ chicomonks Edition!

A rec reblog series dedicated to the fics that we love so much, we've re-read them!

Have no fear, @chicomonks' Rewind is here! Chico has been an amazing follower and reader! I'm sure most of us have had the privilege of interacting with Chico, and I'm so excited she took the time to share her favorite re-reads 🖤

We want to keep this going throughout the summer, so I'll continue to invite friends—other creators and readers—to share their lists. Stay tuned!

If you're interested in participating in the Be Kind Rewind, message me. The more, the merrier—let's keep this going as long as we can!

If you want to know when a new Rewind drops, join the tag list, and check out previous Rewinds!

fics below the cut (listed in alphabetical order by title)

Full of Surprises (+ Part 2), Bob Floyd, @withahappyrefrain I adore Full of Surprises and Part 2 and am grateful for Abby's commitment to the Bob Fucks agenda. These two works stand out. Also, I love the realistic aspects they include in the smut scenes.

I Caught You, Jake Seresin, @roosterbruiser Another Jake single fic where Hangman's girlfriend (also a pilot) is overworking herself, so he takes care of her. It makes my heart all warm and fuzzy, and I really like the side of Jake that Millie shows us.

Jake Seresin one shots (Request 1, Request 2), @starlightstories These are two angsty but really sweet Jake one shots from Vega where Jake is so lovely at distracting reader when she’s working too much and he stands up for her in front of family.

Landslide, Bradley Bradshaw, @roosterbruiser This story moved me, and I loved the way Millie touched on some really deep and challenging topics like grief, toxic relationships, and sacrifice. It really made me think hard about those things too . It is so well crafted, researched, and themed and I love the playlists that accompany the chapters and characters.

One for The History Books, Bradley Bradshaw, @pisupsala One of the first TGM series that I read and loved to go back to. I love how much attention to detail is put into the OC career and day-to-day job as a Top Gun archivist.

Sending Vibes, Bob Floyd, @thedroneranger And Vibe Check! Outstanding contributions to the Bob Fucks library. So bloody delicious and on my list of favourite spicy stories to revisit.

Sweet Nothings, Bradley Bradshaw, @waklman This is so sweet and comforting! I love how Bradley helped talk the reader through this. It was like he was gently digging through and clearing negative thoughts in readers head with his beautiful big hands.

Writing on the Wall, Jake Seresin , @roleycoleyreccenter This is one of my all-time favourite fics to read. I come back to it a lot, especially when the noise in my head is getting a bit too loud. I love Coley’s Jake and how well he understands how the reader's mind is trying to trick her and how he tries to help (not fix!) the reader. Jake is a dom, who enjoys photography and showing off the things he loves. It really fits Hangman's character!

A kind reminder, this is a 18+ blog. While not all stories in the recommendation list are 18+, please respect boundaries and do not interact unless you are 18 years of age or older.

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takaraphoenix · 1 year

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I don't think I've ever seen another fandom where toxic monoshipping is more ridiculous than in DC.

And I'm not talking about normal monoshippers; the people who go "oh wow. This is The One for me. A real, literal One True Pairing. Wouldn't want to imagine either of them with anyone else" and dedicate their fandom experience toward spreading positivity for the thing they love and just avoiding/ignoring/blacklisting any contradictory ships.

No, I'm talking about people who say all of that, and then act like nobody else has the "right" to ship these characters with anybody else either, dedicating their fandom experience to seeking out ships with either character with someone else and harassing the shippers, or even the canon creators who made that ship sail in their respective canon.

Don't get me wrong; this mentality is uncalled for in ANY fandom and no shipper deserves to be harassed for not adhering to some rando's OTP demands.

However, there ARE fandoms where such a mentality is directly bred into canon already and it's hard to be surprised that you see it mirrored in the fandom. Usually YA oriented books, where The First Love of these kid heroes ends up their Only Love even when they're grown up in a flash forward. It kind of makes sense this brand of writing would attract fans who share this mentality.

Now back to DC. DC is like the anti thesis of this writing style. Between the lengthy run (-> long history, including a dating history for many) and multiple rewrites of the main continuity, as well as Elseworlds stories, movies, cartoons and TV shows, I doubt there is any major character who only has had ONE love interest throughout history and the multiverse. I can name at least two canon love interests for about any DC character I know.

And that just makes it feel so, so, so much more weird and ridiculous to see toxic monoshipper mentality in this fandom, as compared to other fandoms.

Your OTP isn't even the only ship to exist for them both in canon; be that previous partners before they became "endgame" in the main continuity, or a different endgame partner on any adaptation or Elseworlds stories. Stop acting like you are the only one with a "right" answer when even canon gives more than one option. It's annoying, weird and... honestly kind of embarrassing on your part??

I mean, seriously. DC, at its core, presents possibilities. It shows us just how many different paths and stories are possible for these characters - and you choose to latch onto only one and make your own limitations everybody else's problem by harassing them for liking the "wrong" possibilities? Really?

#Shipping #Shippimg Discourse #DC Comics #Toxic Monoshipping

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alexsfictionaddiction · 11 months

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Review: The Cherrywood Murders by Penny Blackwell

I’m sure many of you will have noticed by now that I love a cosy mystery, especially one with a juicy plot and a cast of eccentric characters. So, I was very excited when I was invited on to the blog tour for this new addition to the genre by the lovely people at Headline. Take a look at this beautiful paperback that they sent my way!

Since a professional disaster saw Tess leave her dream life and career in London and move back to her home village of Cherrywood in Yorkshire, she has been picking up the pieces amongst her childhood best friends and neighbours while serving pints in the local pub and occasionally impersonating Cher. But when beloved Clemency Ackroyd, a long retired teacher who everyone loved ends up murdered in her own house, it seems it’s not quite the open and shut case that the police think it is. When an unexpected and unwelcome face from Tess’ past shows up, she becomes determined to discover what really happened to Clemmie. Could the answers really lie amongst the jam and knitting circles of the Women’s Guild?

I’ve always been a bit intrigued by Women’s Institute groups and goings on but like Tess, I know that they’re not quite for me (yet!). However, I became very invested in the lives of the women who belonged the Women’s Guild of Cherrywood. There’s something really delightful about being around women who (at least on the surface!) appear to be dedicating their lives to supporting each other and doing good deeds. The setting of the Women’s Guild definitely lends the book a lot of its ‘cosy’ vibes and I know that this will translate well to readers outside of the UK, which I think the genre sometimes struggles to do.

Liam shows up in Cherrywood under a different name but he and Tess have a complicated recent past, so of course she recognises him straightaway. I did think it was a bit convenient that they seemed to have all this history and that they’d both somehow ended up in the same tiny village. I also wondered at several points whether this book was a sequel because Tess and Liam had so much back-story that it could easily have been another book. Of course, this book tells that entire story, so there’s little point in Blackwell writing that prequel now but I do wish that I’d read it for myself as opposed to being told it in this book.

Tess’ childhood best friend Oliver is a young vicar and he’s very much as you’d expect a vicar to be -quite socially awkward but very sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that includes a vicar in their early 30s, which seems strange because of course, they exist. I loved that Blackwell chose to make the village vicar a young, shy, relatable guy because it was such a refreshing departure from the typical ancient, devout, reclusive man that fictional vicars are often portrayed as.

I also adored the humour in this book. In several places, it felt like the kind of humour found in British soap operas. I wouldn’t be surprised if Penny Blackwell is a fan of Coronation Street and EastEnders because a lot of the situations and definitely the comedy could have been lifted from those scripts. I also noticed some resemblances to some classic characters from them too, so if that’s your jam, The Cherrywood Murders has a lot for you!

The Cherrywood Murders is an intriguing mystery and I certainly didn’t guess the ending until we were there. Having said that though, I’m not sure I could have guessed it. If I re-read it, I might see that I’m wrong but I don’t remember any blatant clues that I could have picked up on. I really enjoyed the ride and the cosy atmosphere that was served alongside the murders, so I’d say it definitely did its job!

The Cherrywood Murders by Penny Blackwell will be published by Headline Accent on 25th May 2023.

#the cherrywood murders #penny blackwell #mystery #book review #review #books #bookworm

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homeofjonicles · 2 years

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The Jonicles - Entry 16 (strip drawn by Alex Hirsch)

Note: This is the sixteenth entry of The Jonicles, hence why the date does not match when this is being posted. This was written back in June of this year before I started this blog, and there will be errors or developments in how this series was being written. Please enjoy (or don't enjoy) the sixteenth entry of The Jonicles!

It is currently the 30th of June, 2022 at 6:59 am. I'm on holidays, which means I have had much more time to indulge in my Garfield hyperfixation now that school is out of the way (for now). And I didn't realise I forgot to write an entry for five whole days... It is also day #43 of my Jon Arbuckle hyperfixation. I'm losing it.

When most people think of Garfield, they usually think of the currently ongoing strip that's been in syndication since the late 70s. The once charming, funny strip that has since seemed to have lost a lot of what made it charming and funny to a lot of people and is now mundane and inoffensive. Some may think of the cartoons that aired during their childhood, like Garfield And Friends, Garfield In The Rough, Here Comes Garfield, the holiday specials and the oh-so cursed 3D cartoon, The Garfield Show. Some may think of the terrifying and awful movies they made, like the live action ones and probably the strangest piece of Garftoon history, Garfield Gets Real. Seriously, what was up with that movie?? Bonita's sythe shaped head still gives me nightmares to this day....

But not many people think of the name 'KaBOOM!', which is a comic publishing company that is an imprint of BOOM! Studios. They publish comics ranging from Peanuts, Regular Show, Adventure Time, and of course, comics about our loveable fat cat and his equally loveable dorky owner and pet dog sidekick, Garfield, Jon, Odie and their many msiadventures. Not Lyman though.

I have heard almost no one talk about this, and the only reason I discovered it was when I was snooping around on Tumblr looking for my daily dose of Jonstanence. I came across a blog called garfieldfashion through clicking the link of an image of Jon looking grumpy while holding two jugs of fresh lemonade on a beach that I had never seen before. And from there, I found a goldmine of posts featuring my favourite dorky cartoonist in many different artstyles, obviously taken not from the regular Garfield strip, but instead from something else, and I thought it looked veeeery familiar to me.

I scrolled down, marvelling at the art style of the cropped panels, thinking it had been the work of a very passionate and dedicated fan of the Garfield series, an unofficial fan work that was posted online for all to enjoy. However, as I scrolled, I came across an image that stopped me in my tracks. An image I had definitely seen before. It was Jon, and he was sitting relaxed in a chair at his cartooning desk, and he was wearing a yellow sweater with a blue jacket and appeared to be talking about his loveable self. "Why, that's the Jon fancomic I saw on a fan casting website that one time!" I thought, looking both shocked and excited that I came across that oh-so enjoyable image of Jon once again, something that was drawn so masterfully and something that clearly had so much effort and care put into it. It was pleasant. But as I remembered the struggle of trying to find more pages of that comic and coming up with nothing, I knew I had to know more.

This blog clearly knew their sources. There were multiple cropped pictures taken from what appeared to be the same comic, and curiosity struck me. Where was that Jon comic from? I had only seen the one page out of context, which is the image I put with this entry. Where was the rest of the comic and where could I read it? And most importantly, who made it?

That was when I noticed the text underneath the images, and I realised that was the name of the comic they were taken from. But some of them simply said "Garfield #37" and I knew that probably wasn't going to get me anywhere, so I scrolled up towards the images that had an actual name attached, which was "Garfield: TV Or Not TV?" and I looked it up, and lo and behold...

... It was an actual published comic! Like, it had a proper publisher and everything! And it was on sale, too! Like, a proper A4 paperback comic book, not syndicated as a strip or anything. It had more than three to seven panels that actually took up every centimetre of the page! There was no daily limit to how much could be told, it was a continuous effort of actual storytelling! As I scowered Google Images and gazed upon the many vibrant, gentle colours that seeped into every love-poured page, I could feel something, somrthing that in real life I only truly felt with like two people I had ever met... I was in love.... Platonically. With this comic.

Eventually I found a website that hosts these comics for free, and I delved into these mysterious and amazing panels, filled with colour and life and originality. And I was hooked. My first priority was finding where that Jon Arbuckle panel was from, and I read on the little caption underneath that Tumblr post that it was issue #16. Sone spoilers ahead!

It starts off with a story about a girl who is trying to sell lemonade, and after giving Garfield and Odie a free cup, she vents to Jon that she can't seem to get any money because of a man named Lyle, who's a competitor in lemonade selling. shenanigans ensue with a delivery race and a swapping of lemonades, but that's not the main point of talking about this issue. What I'm really interested in is the Jon panels and what they are.

It's a funny little story where Jon is a self-aware character who is also being drawn by himself, talking about how he is being drawn along with the whole comic while also drawing himself! Confusing I know, but it quickly becomes a lot of hilarity once Jon starts getting phone calls from all these women who make up a Jon Arbuckle fan club which fun fact, I am in fact a part of! And the only gay man there... Jokes aside, Garfield comes in and starts providing snarky commentary as Jon quite literally illustrates how Garfield is an obidient cat who has normal eating habits, how Liz is super overdramatic and hopelessly in love with Jon and is uncharacteristically over-doubting her ability to be with him, and then she gets hit on by another guy and Jon literally becomes a superhero and saves the day... yeah, it's pretty self-aggrandising! I think the only accurate thing there is Jon looking a little more handsome in his portrayal, but that's probably just me being biased... So Garfield goes over to Jon's cartooning desk and starts drawing how he thinks the comic actually goes, and ends up doing almost the exact same thing Jon was. Having (who i think is) Vito delivering a shitton of pizza and lasagna to him, talking about how Odie promised to never lick or slobber on him again, and of course, having Arlene be the damsel in distress. All the while, Jon's there outside the panels all like "Wait what's Garfield doing at my desk..? Hang on this isn't right... You know what, fuck it, I'm gonna go make dinner."

It's funny, it's charming, it's everything Garfield used to be and ten times more, and not to discredit Jim Davis or anything, but I think I actually like these comics way more than the actual strip. Of course, you couldn't fit an arc like that into three panels alone, but the comedy really hits so much more than it usually would. And not to mention the fantastic art! It's so expressive and bright and colourful, and they do this really cool thing where some comics have a different artist draw it, and it's so cool to see all these talented people draw an actual published Garfield comic in their own unique way. And the writing really feels like it was pulled right out of Garfield And Friends. Not too crazy, but not too mundane or slice-of-life-y. And many of them have little callbacks to episodes and arcs of Garfield And Friends. There's this cute little comic where Nermal actually gets mailed to Abu Dahbi and it turns out there's a bunch of kittens there, and Nermal isn't the cutest out of all of them. He wins a cutest kitten competition after failing previously, and he won because he was covered in mud, and got enough money to get sent back home. Him and this other cat who got him into the competition walk to the airport, and it turns Nermal caused a whole "fashion" craze with kittens covering themselves in mud because it's the cutest thing to do. And it's drawn in such a lovely art style, it's adorable and pleasing to the eyes. It feels so soft and comforting like a children's book.

So yeah. The KaBOOM! Garfield comics are awesome, they really feel like a "by fans, for fans" type of thing. The only gripe I have with it is that Jim Davis is always credited on the cover, and maybe I'm taking this the wrong way, but he actually didn't draw any or most of these. A lot of them were actually drawn by Andy Hirsch and David DeGrand. And they weren't written by Jim either, but instead Mark Evanier and Scott Nickel. And boy, did they do a fantastic job on these. It really does feel a lot like an episode out of Garfield And Friends, it's amazing and I'd recommemd it to any Garfield fan who wants fresh, new and funny comics to read.

That's all really. As usual, I would like to welcome Jon once again into my chaotic brain and my heart with the added knowledge and love for these comics that I had literally no idea even existed until now. Have a good read, Jon. Love you man :)

Last edited at 9:02 am

I really do love these comics a lot. They're so full of soul and personality, the art styles are lovely, it really does remind me a lot of Garfield And Friends. Not much else to say here, other than these are awesome and Jon is adorable. Also garfieldfashion rocks, give 'em a follow!!

Also, I would post a link to the site I found the comic hosted on, but the thing is, I don't know if the comic is legally hosted on there and I don't want anyone to get in trouble, so just to be safe, I won't link it.

Cheers,

Your Local Jonnoisseur

Posted on the 23rd of July, 2022 at 10:00 am.

#jonicles 16 #''producion''#i seriously love the jon arbuckle bit #it's hilarious anc charming and there's a lot of jon #more jon is always appreciated :)#jon drawing the strip while talking about drawing the strip while drawing himself talking about drawing himself drawing the strip #yeah i think i understand

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