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#but really its not like i hate the storylines i just. am not absorbing them at all im rubber youre glue etc etc
heronpoxed · 11 months
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Everyone is on fire about Tara and that's deserved!!! The hate I see the most comes from the self-insert/fic crowd. And the arguments are how they would have been better old ladies and handled Gemma and "fixed" Jax. LMAO. Lol even. It's petty jealousy.
I think she was set up, as so many love interests are in crime shows (skyler from breaking bad), to be hated because while the viewer loves the aggression and the world building Tara pointed out how insane and dangerous it all was. Jax isn't so hot and cool anymore once the club and Gemma aren't praising him. Once Tara actually shines a light on how self absorbed and pointless the whole outlaw setup is. Selling guns and later drugs isn't a "mission", it's not being an outlaw. It's just crime for money without any redeeming qualities. As was the clubs behavior towards women and their own children, while yelling "family and brotherhood above all else".
Anyway. Tara was right. And I am very sorry she had to die for Jax to finally realize it. She really wanted the best for him and saw him as a good man.
I’ve only ever read one SOA fanfic that was written in 2013 which is more like a love letter to Tara and her & Jax’s teenage years than anything else (its rlly good. It’s called Beginnings if you’re interested in reading) so I have absolutely no idea what the SOA fic crowd is like lol.
You’re right about this too. Tara was set up but I’m connecting this one to misogyny too. If reasonable female characters weren’t notoriously hated - no matter which relatively older show we’re talking about - we wouldn’t be thinking that they were set up. Hope this makes sense. I get the attachment to the world-building because the setting and the world of the story is the first thing that a consumer sees. In the case of Sons of Anarchy though, it was clear from the very first episode that the current club life wasn’t a right way to live. That was the whole point of Jax finding John’s manuscript; that was what got Jax determined to get the club out of the gun running business right? But i guess the attachment to the world made everyone ignore the whole point of the show and ultimately hate Tara because she never let anyone forget that.
That’s one of the reasons why I don’t want a spin-off/sequel with Abel and Thomas (something that many fans want sm). Tara and Jax didn’t sacrifice everything - including their lives - for their sons’ well-being only for them to get back to SAMCRO. It would mean that all of their sacrifices were for nothing!
Good point on the club’s behavior towards women and their families. The way they are with women is absolutely horrible which makes no sense because all of them would go to war for their significant others but then treat them with sm disrespect at home? I guess that comes down to their ego and toxic masculinity.
Tig, Chibs, Opie, Bobby ALL OF THEM had children yet they never cared lmao. All Chibs could talk about during the entirety of s3 was ‘his girls’ yet he never mentioned either Fiona or Kerrianne in later seasons. As much as Tig loved his kids, his way of life got Dawn killed and he was so extremely devastated!! I can’t believe that after Dawn’s death he never for even a split second questioned his choices regarding his life and the club.
I also hated that Opie’s children gradually started disappearing. i feel like not giving him any storylines with his kids in later seasons dehumanized him in a way. But i’ll never be sure if it was intended that way or not.
All of this collectively comes down to inconsistent writing. To me at least. I don’t know why screenwriters are always adamant on leaving so many loose ends and not digging a bit deeper into stuff like this.
And to answer your last point. Obviously Tara was right and I’m sorry that it took me watching this show twice to realize it but in my defense, I was 15, stupid and didn’t speak good enough English :’)
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archivelikely · 3 years
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hades is fun to play but i could not pay attention to the plot if you literally paid me to
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PART ONE:
Alright, I am thinking I am going to break this into two posts. This one will be about Mayans as a whole, my theories of where its heading and just general thoughts. Part two will be the rumours and gossip you’ve asked for my opinions on.
Disclaimer: These are my own opinions, and if they hurt your feelings, I am not sorry, it’s the internet and people are going to hurt your feelings if you choose to engage in discussion. And this is a discussion piece, it’s not gospel and its not an argument, I am not going to fight people in the comments.
This has been a long time coming and in preparation for this post I have re-watched season 3, granted I was sick, and I watched it on double speed, but I still watched it.
We can all agree that s3 was a hot mess, right? Not only did we have massive drama with Kurt being fired, Elgin taking over and then covid. Writing covid into the storyline obviously changed a huge direction of how the show was heading.
Overall, there were two many storylines, if you want to have that many active storylines you need to either A) have more than 10 episodes or B) have the episodes alternate between the storylines. Which Mayans did not do well.
I am going to break this into two parts, Mayans, and the Cartel.
Mayans
Dudeeeeee, this was brutal. The storylines were all over the place, between episodes there was a lack of flow of the storylines. I could see where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do but it just did not hit the mark. It was sloppy, its my belief the sloppiness comes from too much at once. I feel like Elgin was trying to provide himself and it didn’t work. The ratings took a huge hit this season and the two reasons are, its not flowing well and the PR around the show is non-existent which I will talk about more later.
My biggest issue with this season is the writing is weak. There is so much potential with these characters and their stories and nothing from s1 and s2 was built on. I honestly felt like I was watching a different show.
The ‘One King to rule them all’ storyline was good, Bishop was *chefs kiss* this season as a broken man grasping for power and control? I love to see it. This storyline should have been the main focus this season and while the drug trade plays into it, that storyline was too messy to be having both running at the same time. I would have made the drug trade a smaller role building up, instead of the big attention grab they tried to use in the first few episodes.
On to everyone’s favourite soft serve Ez, I hated this storyline, my hate from it comes from Gabby. The purpose of Gabby was to show Ez a soft side, but it didn’t work. I feel like they are trying too hard to make Ez the next Jax and instead of having kids he has Gabby. And it doesn’t work Ez is a character in his own right and he’s not Jax 2.0. The flipping from gentle Ez to brutal violent Ez didn’t really resonate with me, it feels so out of character. I am feeling its too quick of a descent into darkness and he flip flops too much. I am hoping that if they want Ez to be dark he just completely goes down that path and doesn’t look back.
Also side note, the amount of blood he lost he should have died OR been stuck in hospital for longer than a few hours.
Angel, Nails, and that hot mess. There seriously was no need for this. Besides losing his son Angel’s storyline didn’t add anything in my opinion. Angel didn’t handle Adelita coming back well, and honestly not surprised he is a giant man child who cannot deal with his own emotions let alone supporting those around him. Look at him and Coco, Coco is your best friend, and you don’t even try and help him? F you. I know you’re going through some sh#t but you could have helped. Angel is so self-absorbed, and his storylines aren’t adding to the overall storyline. Nails is a POS for how she treated Hank, and I don’t believe the baby is Angel’s either, I guess we will see.
Adelita was an incredibly well written storyline, the grief, the emotional cycle she went through? *chefs kiss* she actually had some character development and growth and a good storyline. I have no complaints around Adelita. I actually liked her much more this season than last. I hope we see more of this strong writing in s4.
Coco, oh my poor sweet Coco. I don’t know how I feel about this storyline, I do like Hope, but the meth mountain storyline made my heart hurt, relapsing is never pretty, and I am annoyed at how the sad bois handled it and Letty, Letty was pointless this season. Their relationship had so much potential, and the writing fell short.
Taza’s storyline, honestly I BARELY followed this I actually don’t really remember what happened. Besides the final episode and the scene with him and Bish.
Cartel
I know everyone hates Emily; this is not an Emily hate blog.
I get that Miguel is grieving but the affair seems out of character given that last season him and Emily were so in love and moving forward as a team. I hate affair storylines with a passion too, so this really irked me. Also, the lack of beard on Danny Pino hurt my soul. I also feel like that the lack of focus on his legit business ventures is also out of character, we saw in s1 that the kidnapping didn’t impact his ability to do his job, his rage fuelled him to be even more focused, to go legit so that he can protect his family.
Emily was a pain this season, we saw her go from delicate wallflower (almost) s1 to a badass cartel wife in s2 and now she’s a giant crying mess who cannot handle her kid? I don’t believe it. I am glad that she left Miguel BUT I SWEAR TO GOD IF THEY WRITE HER AND EZ TOGETHER IN S4 I AM GOING TO BURN IT DOWN!
I don’t see Miguel taking it well that Emily has taken his heir, so we will see how this all plays out. I hope she runs, changes her name, and moves to Canada or something. She needs to get out of all of this, but its also the only life she’s know so you know she’s going to get sucked back in somehow.
Alverez and Nestor, I am liking this little twosome, I hope we see more next season. There’s not really a lot to discuss around this, because there was not much screentime.
The Cartel need to fix their issues ASAP or else Miguel is going to get taken out the Galindo Cartel by an enemy and its going to dissolve.
Now let’s talk about the non-existent PR around the show, the serious lack of engagement with fans, promotion of the show on socials, cast posting etc. its ridiculous. This is also contributing to the low ratings and the fact that fans are leaving the fandom. Pretty much every show on the air right now has social media engagement. Look at the new Hilary Duff show on Hulu for example, Hilary herself has posted so much about the show, behind the scenes pictures, live videos, sharing what she can share and just building that hype around the show that starts next year on Hulu. S4 is filming currently, and we’ve had 1 behind the scenes photo? B#llshit. There is no hype, its really disengaged.
FX posted about Mayans on their Instagram and twitter 18 times this year, that’s it. 12 of those posts were the weekly episode posts. AHS has one every second day. While I understand that AHS obviously makes way more money than Mayans, the lack of promotion is what isn’t helping boost viewership or money. The last bit of press I saw was from May when Mayans was renewed, there was a brief mention in an article on Kurt’s new show and how he was fired but that’s it. If FX and Mayans don’t fix this, I don’t see there being a s5.
Overall, I think s4 needs a big shake-up, if they are going to stick to the 10-episode format than we need less storylines and better writing. It’s that simple. I think that Angel needs to die, maybe at the hands of the club, this would drive Ez’s story so much further, the way that would question his loyalty, push him over the edge? Or would it make Ez more focused because he doesn’t have to worry about Angel anymore.
Mayans can make a comeback if they fix their issues, do I see it happening? Absolutely not, it’s the same writers as last season. Maybe it was too soon for Elgin to take the reins, maybe he needed a more experienced voice to help him for another season as a co-pilot before he went solo. I feel he could have done amazing things with this but its just fizzled.
I know for me personally, and a lot of people they are unhappy with the storylines, the writing, the inconsistency around characters and the lack of character development. I don’t know if I will watch s4 or if I will just skim it. I have no interest in s4 because there is nothing to make me want to watch.
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pparkerpoetry · 3 years
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Face Reality (Part 1)
Title: It’s Better This Way (but then why does it hurt?)
"Really, it was Ranboo’s fault, he figured, because if he hadn’t been so stupid, surely he wouldn’t have clung to a business relationship and blown it out of proportion. It hurt now, but he hoped that the pain would dull. He hoped that now he had gotten away from everyone who he cared about but never cared about him, that he would be able to find peace.
It was better this way.
Then why did it hurt so much?"
Part 2
Masterlist
His hands were shaking in the cold, or from stress, he couldn’t remember which one. Maybe it was both. His hands were shaking, his head was pounding, and the comfort room that he had built so carefully did nothing.
His pets did their best, but there was nothing to be done. He was too far gone at this point, and the tears welling in his eyes couldn’t be stopped. There was nothing that could be done to stop his breath from becoming faster, there was nothing that could be done to stop the soft endermen warbles from leaving his throat.
Well, maybe one thing. But it was impossible. There was no way that he would be calmed down by anyone, not when he had overheard what they’d said. No one would hear him and hold him in a warm embrace to comfort him, no one would bother to find out just how messed up he was.
No one was going to take the time out of their stupid days to help him. He just wasn’t worth it, in their eyes.
Ranboo buried his face into the fur of his dog, hoping that his tears would be absorbed rather than hurting him. He didn’t want to deal with more than he already was, it would just add unnecessary complications to what he was about to do.
He stayed sitting for a while, admittedly, but once his noises had quieted and his shaky, suppressed sobs had stilled to slight hiccups, He stood up. His legs were unstable, but he walked, leaning against the wall to reach his chests. 
He filled his inventory with as much as he could carry. He left anything that he could easily get again, he got all of his pets standing, and then he clambered up the rickety ladder. It was dark, and only one lone light was on in the cottage that Ranboo stared at longingly. 
It’d be so easy to reach out.
Ranboo started walking towards the cottage, but he didn’t stop. He kept walking towards the portal, only pausing when he heard the telltale sound of a door opening.
“Ranboo, is that you? What are you doing up?”
Oh, Phil.
He didn’t turn around. He didn’t want Phil to see his puffy eyes, his wavering smile. “Oh, I was just going to see if I could find any mobs, get some experience. Chat with some endermen if they don’t get scared. Don’t worry about me!”
It was spoken with such obviously faked cheerfulness that Phil must’ve known he was lying. He had his pets on him, why did he need a parrot to go mob hunting? He didn’t turn around, surely that was suspicious. 
There were so many things wrong with his alibi, but if Phil noticed the hybrid’s voice cracking with sadness, he didn’t say anything. Why would he? He just gave an “Okay.” and shut the door softly.
Ranboo let out the sob that he had been holding in, stumbling forward and away from his home house. He could find a nice place, rebuild. Find peace.
Then why was he so sad? Was it because he had thought he had finally found people that cared about him? Was it because he had thought that he could finally be himself, and not hide who he was? Was it because all of his hopes amounted to nothing, only serving to crush him more? Was it because, with all of the people in this forsaken land, he was still lonely?
He remembered to take a deep breath, although it was probably closer to a sharp inhale, as he trudged through the snow and to the shimmering portal to the Nether.
He didn’t know what it was, but something in him made the Nether seem so unappealing that he just sat in the snow for a little, thinking. It would be dangerous for his pets, and he didn’t want anything to happen to them...
At the end of his train of thought, Ranboo gathered his pets and started walking to the coast. He didn’t know why, until he was staring down through the water at the stone of a Fortress.
Should he?
It was with startling clarity, then, that he remembered what his people had said to him when he wanted to reach the overworld. 
“You can go, if you so wish, but it is a land of evil. You will find no comfort there. You will come back to us, crying, and will know that we were right. You can go, but be prepared to be faced with nothing but sorrow and pain. Do you want to go, child? Then go, but never come back. We will no longer want you here. We will have nothing to offer but a turned side.”
As Ranboo stood in the sand, looking down, he pondered on those words. Would they accept him if he pleaded long enough? If he cried enough? Would he find peace in the land that he had been so eager to leave as a naive child, only to discover that the way back was sealed?
He remembered the fear that he had felt knowing that the choice was permanent back then, but would it be now? This wasn’t the same place he had emerged.
He made a split-second decision, diving under the surface and ignoring the stinging of the water on his face that made him wince. He landed on the cracked stone, not surprised that there were torches everywhere. What did he expect- humans to not meddle in business that wasn’t theirs? To leave what was peaceful alone? Not the humans he knew. No, they only knew war and manipulation.
He wandered the halls, looking for the portal, patting his pets occasionally as they followed him. He almost wanted to leave them here, but he couldn’t ensure their safety. Not with humans. They were better off with him.
Ranboo almost laughed at that. Nothing was better off with him.
Eventually, he found the portal. It was in a room that had clearly already been found, but the portal wasn’t lit. The space in the middle was filled in, and it looked like someone was using it as a table. It was a good thing he knew who, but his heart still burned with rage at something so important being disrespected and demoted to something as domestic as a table. 
Time passed in a way that he couldn’t quite grasp, but at some point in his contemplation on whether it was worth it, he heard a noise from the hallway. He didn’t move, because he figured he knew who it was.
He was wrong, of course. Just like he always was.
That didn’t mean he had no clue who the being was when he turned to look. He had seen this god, many years ago when he was a child.
“You want to go back?” The voice wasn’t natural, but it seemed similar to the one that haunted him in his darkest moments.
“I’m thinking about it.” Ranboo responded, sitting down on the cold floor.
“You realize you need me to light it? How were you going to get there?”
A heavy sigh passed through the hybrid that looked so small there, on the stone. “I was going to cross that bridge when I got to it.”
It was quiet, but the deity took pity on the child. “I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“I’ll light the portal for you. Help you get back. I can’t promise they’ll accept you back, and I’ll have to close it once you’re gone, but I’ll help you.”
Ranboo scoffed. “Don’t try to be all buddy-buddy with me. I’ve got nothing left to offer back for it.”
It grew dark, as if the being was sucking light from the nearest sources. The black aura around it grew, as its wings fanned out. “Don’t mistake my duties for kindness. You got out, I’m getting you back in. You are going to be just as alone in there as you are out here, it makes no difference to me.”
“Maybe it’ll hurt less in there.” Ranboo whispered. Then, “Light it.”
In a split second, it was done. The black expanse of starry night beckoned him, so Ranboo stepped up to it. Before he entered it, though, the god spoke again.
“If they come looking for you, I’ll let them in. Maybe you need someone to find you, show you they care.”
As Ranboo ushered his pets into the portal, he straightened to his full height and stared the deity in the eyes, ignoring the sudden urge to attack. “Don’t bother. They’ll never look for me.”
And, just like that, he was gone. 
The god gave a slight chuckle as he moved to put the portal back to as it was, only the ominous purple particles giving any clue as to what had just happened. “I don’t know what they’re doing to these kids, but it’s a good storyline. Maybe the script’ll be even more angsty. Ranboo is carrying that, though. Maybe they won’t even use Pandora’s Vault- but you never know.”
And, just like that, it was quiet in the tundra again, the first hints of dawn clinging to the skies. In the distance, a shack lay abandoned, and the people in the cottage slept peacefully. They didn’t know why, but their dreams that night were of a land with pitch-black skies and flying cities. 
They spared it no thought. It was just a dream.
______________________________________
Ranboo emerged from the portal, and was greeted with silence, just as it was with the silence of the snow. His soul felt torn, part of it glad to be back, one hating it. 
He held his head high as he carried his pets to find his old home. Maybe they hadn’t destroyed it, yet. Maybe they had so little faith in him that they knew he’d be back.
The island he was on seemed so... dead. Empty. No endermen were there. 
Ranboo pushed down the feeling of unease that he had. Now was no time for being sick. Not when he needed to travel over the void.
He found the hidden pathways that all the inhabitants of the End used, feet moving almost mechanically as he found the city he needed. His old home. 
When he entered the old house that he had been given, off the side of one of the bigger buildings, he was greeted by one enderman. He was startled by the sudden interaction, but then the other started talking.
“Hello, child. We knew you would be back. You’re later than the books said you would be, though.”
The garbled speech surprised Ranboo, and he struggled to remember the tongue that he had once been so fluent in.
“I am. Where is everyone?”
The enderman gave a short little scoff. “Gone. Packing. We’re leaving the city. We knew you’d be back and want no part in it. You’ve fallen far, child. You have forgotten our language, you embraced the overworld as your own, you smell of humans. We said that we would not accept you back, and you dared test that? You are on your own, and have searched for comfort in the wrong place, hybrid.”
The way that that word had been spoken hurt Ranboo, as if he wasn’t worth as much because of his heritage. He kept his tears at bay, getting his pets to sit down in their new spots.
He didn’t register the enderman teleporting away, but when he stepped into the city he got no comforting welcome, he got no pitied hugs, no one offered him words of advice. They all walked past him, humming, as if they didn’t see him. As if he didn’t matter. As if he was invisible to them as they abandoned their life-long homes to get away from him. No arms circled around him to hold him as he broke, no one gave him the attention that he needed so badly, that he had traveled so far to try and find.
It was then that the tears fell again, finding a new path down his face as the old ones had scabbed over. They burned him, but it didn’t matter. He was even more alone now.
“Please,” He cried. “Please, I’m sorry. Please, I just want a home.”
There was no answer to be spared for the boy.
“Please, I’ll be good, I’ll be quiet, I’ll gather stuff for you. Please, I just want someone, please-”
There was no one to respond to his call.
“Please,” He warbled, letting the enderman part of him come out more. “Please, just answer me.”
There was no change in the crowd of lanky, black bodies that gave him a large berth. There was no comfort to be found in those long arms. There was no love in the screeches.
The sobs that racked his body didn’t stop for hours and hours, maybe more, because the sky was no good judgement of time. It was just a dark expanse, almost as unwelcoming as all of the failed versions of family that Ranboo had searched for.
When he looked up next, the city was abandoned for good. It was just him, alone, with no one but his pets to cling to for sanity.
He stayed sitting on the vaguely dusty ground for a while, numb. He’d lost three homes, in just a few days.
As much as he wanted to beg to go back, beg on his knees that he was wrong, beg and plead and hope that someone took pity on him, He knew he couldn’t. He knew he didn’t belong where the sky moved and had colors, he knew that no one would take pity on him, he knew that no one actually cared for him. 
He had to face reality. No one cared for him, they only used him for as long as he could provide something to them, no matter how many things he gave, no matter how many times he searched for even a semblance of a family.
As he trudged back to his small little house and tried to sleep, hoping his dreams would take him far away from where he was, or better yet not even wake up, he was only haunted by the words that had caused this whole thing in the first place.
He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. He really didn’t, but as usual, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
_________________
“So, now that we have a base and we have a plan, who are we going to invite to join us?” That gruff voice was Techno. 
Base? Wasn’t their base just their cottage? They had another one?
A softer voice. Phil. “Maybe Niki? She seems pretty against L’manburg now.”
Techno scoffed. “She’s making some land with Fundy, I think. We’ll have to see how that plays out, keep an eye on them. My voices are saying Ranboo, what do you think about that, Phil?”
“Ranboo could be a good choice. We’ve been kind to him, and he’s useful with all of the gifts he’s been giving us. The memory issues might be a problem, though.”
The pig hybrid hummed, before speaking again, “Wait, we could use it to our advantage! Tell him he’s part of it, get him to go feral on whoever we need him to, drop him off at his little shack, and he forgets. It leaves us clear of the blame, it’s perfect!”
Ranboo felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of his lungs. Techno wanted to get him to join their… whatever, and get him to be violent? Phil would refute it. He had to.
“Hmm, maybe.” Phil said. NO, Phil, no, please, don’t agree- “Actually, yeah, that could work really well. He’s got ties with Tubbo, ties with Dream. He can get in places that don’t trust us. Plus, if he keeps giving us gifts, it’s definitely worth keeping him around. Large profit.”
They laughed a bit, and Ranboo slid down the door that he almost opened before catching wind of their voices. He pulled his knees to his chest, ears still picking up their conversation no matter how much pressure his hands put on them. 
“The only problem is I hope he doesn’t get attached. He’s had a rough time, but I’m not sure he’s aware that this is a professional relationship to benefit each other, not a familial one.” 
At those words, Ranboo stood up, and teleported to his comfort room. It had been a while since he lost control of his teleportation, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t even register which one said that.
He had thought that this was his chance, his hope for a life that didn’t kick him down all the time. He guessed not, though, if he was nothing but a means to an end, a money giver, a source of information and nothing else.
__________________
He needed to face reality. Phil wasn’t a good father to his other sons, what made him think that he would be a good one to him? Techno wasn’t a brother, he only cared about anarchy, and if Ranboo was the way to get it, why would he mind housing the hybrid?
Really, it was Ranboo’s fault, he figured, because if he hadn’t been so stupid, surely he wouldn’t have clung to a business relationship and blown it out of proportion. It hurt now, but he hoped that the pain would dull. He hoped that now he had gotten away from everyone who he cared about but never cared about him, that he would be able to find peace. 
He didn’t expect to have to find it alone, on a floating island surrounded by nothing but darkness, with nothing but his fading memory and a vague sense of direction connecting him to the family that never saw him as more than a weapon.
It was better this way.
Then why did it hurt so much?
***
@tommyapollogist sorry, i gotta write more ranboo angst i guess
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sajiri · 3 years
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Endwalker 6.0 predictions
I called (or at least wanted) Thavnair to be a place we were going to, and its happening, so for posterity here I am gonna write down some other predictions I have for 6.0
New job: Reaper We know we’re getting a melee dps, and as usual Yoshi-p wore his t-shirt hint. A lot of people are focusing on the imagery of the skeleton and taking it as necromancer, but necromancers are almost always seen as a mage. The more compelling thing to me though, is that he wore two shirts with the grim reaper. I think the Reaper imagery is the more important one here. Might not be called Reaper, but I’m highly suspecting it will use a scythe mainhand.
New Location: Sharlayan We know we’re going to Thavnair and the moon. How much is there really to see on the moon? I think that’s going to be an endgame zone. We saw a ruined Garlemald. I think we’re being fooled. We know Fandaniel (masquerading as Asahi) is working with Zenos, while also funding Nerva in a bid for the throne. We know the Garleans built the towers. I think the purpose was to provoke war in Garlemald, for whatever reason, and Garlemald is destroyed. I think there’s another surprise for where we’re going. Sharlayan makes sense to me for a few reasons- we know Alphinaud is getting a new job which seems to be from Sharlayan (based on it’s reveal trailer). Not to mention if this is the end of the ongoing storyline, with how much we’ve heard of Sharlayan it would be a letdown if we didn’t see it.
New ‘Friend’: Zenos Notice how in the expansions some minor characters often become more major characters? Estinien and G’raha Tia for example. I was thinking Unukulhai would be our next friend, but now because of the Void quests in 5.4, don’t really see that happening. I think Zenos will be our final fight in 5.5, but we won’t kill him. I think he will start to work with us, in a way, we may even come to see him as the friend he sees us as. But he will then become our ultimate enemy by the end, possibly (willingly) possessed by Zodiark. He lives only to battle the warrior of light, after all.
New Threat: Terminus Aka: The creatures we saw in Emet-selch’s recreation of the end times. Zodiark was originally summoned to stop the world from being destroyed by something, and all we know of it was a sound that originated deep in the earth. We know the story involving Zodiark and Hydaelyn will be ending with 6.0, and whether we defeat one, both, absorb, merge, join, whatever, this is going to result in the initial threat re-emerging. We’ve had a few hints throughout the game- Shantotto claimed the world’s core was rotten for one. Lahabrea called Hydaelyn a parasite needing to be burned out. Some other things I forget. This could be something we resolve in 6.0, or it could be the new threat from 6.1 onwards. This leads into my next prediction. Fandaniel’s plot: There’s more to it Fandaniel claimed at the end of 5.4 that he wants to die and take everyone out with him. This I can see- He’s been alive for so long, working for a cause he doesnt believe in. Dude probably just wants to die, and probably hates the world. I started to think there’s more to it, not to mention that in the annoucement, Yoshi-p stated that “Fandaniel has a secret.” I think he might know about Terminus, or whatever it’s going to be called, I think he wants to destroy the world because he knows something even worse about it. Maybe the core of the world is rotten. Maybe it’s just as bad if it’s rejoined. Mildly offtopic- Azem did not agree with the summoning of Zodiark or Hydaelyn. I think Azem was searching for a way to stop Terminus without summoning, possibly found it, but the world was sundered before they could stop it. Out-there theory 1: We’re going to rejoin the shards Or at least fix the Thirteenth. Had this theory since the end of 5.3, and only grew more with the void quests of 5.4. This theory initially came with G’raha’s comment of ‘the final chapter of this star’ at the end of 5.3, clearly referring ot the events of the next expansion. Some people took this to mean the end of FFXIV. Some took it to mean we’re going to other shards. What if it’s the final chapter because the star won’t exist after 6.0? What if we manage to perform a safe rejoining? This would likely require fixing the thirteenth, and the void quests in 5.4 really hinted that we were going to find a way to do so. I don’t necessarily think this will happen in 6.0, but I think it’s a possibility for later
Out-there theory 2: Ysayle’s return It’s the finale of the story. Yoshi-p himself stated that we’ve met many characters along the way, and many will make a comeback. While I was thinking of what NPCs we’ve seen that may show up, it occurred to me we never actually saw Ysayle die. I mean, it was highly likely she did die, but if you don’t see the body, it’s always a possibility they’re still there. Anyway, there’s my theories. Might add more to it as I think of them. How about your’s?
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I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1
lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.
im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.
Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.
So… a disclaimer before I begin… 
I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…
If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)
This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion, 
which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.
Now onto the fun stuff
I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing… 
AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).
So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.
The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.
 i don’t give a solid fuck. 
Not one. 
Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically. 
And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.
This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss. 
AND BOI is it a miss. 
SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)
25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story, 
24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,
28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,
37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,
41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,
44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,
47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,
48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,
51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,
66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,
67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,
68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,
69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,
70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,
71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,
73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)
 77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,
New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,
That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because. 
Too bad it means nothing.
Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)
Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.
Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing. 
I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time. 
How’s that for a ‘first’ post?
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silhouettecrow · 3 years
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This is the last part of me providing my Thoughts™ and Feelings™ about Shadow and Bone as I watch it 'cos this one is about the finale:
They brought back Alina and Mal reaching out for each other, and oh, boy, was that heartbreaking! It’s so well done yet so painful
Mal's turn-around of "Time will do it for me" to "Your past will do it for me” when he let the volcra get the Darkling was so good. I literally clapped, even though I knew the Darkling would, obviously, live
Also, the ending of the Darkling emerging from the Fold after Alina and Mal saying he’s dead was a great yet predictable (in a good way) transition. And the way the Darkling said, “Follow,” and the merzost just came with him was chilling. That was a perfect way to end the first season in my opinion
Not to brag, but I said three things before Jesper, one before Kaz, and one before Nina. I think my theory about absorbing the Crows' personalities is more true than I initially thought it was
Remember how I mentioned how the ugliness and asymmetry of the antlers in Alina’s collarbone was such an amazing parallel to the pain she is in? Well, her absorbing the antlers altogether after releasing herself from the Darkling’s control and realising the stag chose to give her its power is just. . .WOW. I honestly don’t know how to express how beautiful that was
Also, my best friend did bring up a good point: where did the antlers go? Did they just go further into her body? Did she legit consume them into her body and they’re just gone? What happened? 😂
Can I talk about Nina and Matthias for a hot second? I honestly don’t think I felt so much for Helnik when I read the Six of Crows duology as I did in this last episode, so I have a lot to say. The chemistry is straight from the pages of the books, but it’s so much different physically seeing them interact than just reading about it. It’s also different ‘cos we are seeing the relationship develop between them than being thrown in the middle of it with backstory being sprinkled throughout the progression of their story. The two of them flirting and being cute was so lovely, but the fear in Nina’s eyes when she knows she has to make a horrible decision between Matthias being arrested or being killed and then the betrayal that is written all across Matthias’ face in that cell on the ship was just devastating
I know this isn't about this episode, but I realised I forgot to mention it attached to episode 6 (I think), but Ivan threatening Jesper with him knowing what he is was dastardly. Like, I know you have to have read the books to know what Ivan was saying 'cos Jesper cuts him off, and I love little Easter eggs like that for us, but the foreshadowing of that shit was good. Leave the people who haven't read the books with questions and the people who have in anticipation! God, I love that!
Jesper still missing Milo is so precious and, I hate to say it, a mood ‘cos me too. I wanted to see a surprise appearance from the darling goat, but I will take Jesper bringing him up twice as compensation
Speaking of Jesper being a mood, Jesper begging for the reassurance that Kaz has got their backs with a plan was so painfully relatable. Bro, I would have done the same thing in that situation
It hurts me on a spiritual level to be aware that five out of the six Crows were on that boat at once. I need Wylan. Y’all, season 2 better happen 😭
And I want more interactions between Inej and Alina and between Inej and Zoya. That shit makes my Sapphic heart go berserk. You can’t look me in the eyes and say there isn’t the least bit of gay tension between these women. And that means I am so looking forward to Inej and Nina interacting; I may pass out
In addition to that, Kaz saying he needs Inej added five years to my life. And I think the happiest he looked all season was when Inej said she’d go with him to pay off Heleen and then decide what to do from there. And Kaz being a believer is ✨bonkers✨ in the best way possible
Lastly, to end with something about my boy, Jesper saying that he still couldn’t shoot Ivan’s pretty face was fucking great. I also died laughing at him saying that the true wealth was the friends they made along the way ‘cos of course Jesper is going to be the one to make a real-world meme reference and, on top of that, make it about the goat! Amazing, beautiful, wonderful. As always, I love him dearly
My final thoughts on the show as a whole is that it is a great adaptation of the books, especially with the blending of the storylines from the trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. The pacing was something I honestly had to adjust to, considering I know so much of the source material, but I think it worked and was a good choice to help viewers unfamiliar with the books understand what is happening. And even though I’ve read the books, I was pleasantly surprised with the numerous twists and turns; I was invested in the show as a whole, not just for the familiar characters and storylines (that was just a bonus, tbh). I genuinely love this show and am willing to say it is now tied for my favourite television show with Orphan Black and Good Omens. I’m hoping desperately for a season 2, not just for Wylan and Nikolai, but because this was truly so beautiful and brought me a lot of happiness and peace during one of the scariest and most stressful times in my life
I just want to thank anyone who has read any of these things I've written about the show. I truly didn't expect anyone to read them or even really care about what I thought or felt, but it does mean a lot that some of you are willing to read them at all and then even give them a like. This is just the adaptation of my favourite book series and knowing other people are caring about and even enjoying my reactions is so pleasant and comforting. Thank you 💕
If you want to check out my other Thoughts™ and Feelings™ about this first season, here are the links to those posts: Episode 2, Episodes 3 and 4, Episode 5, and Episodes 6 and 7
I'm now excited to remove spoilers from my filtered tags and to dive into what other people have been posting about Shadow and Bone! See y'all on the other side! ✌
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deliciousscaloppine · 3 years
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Hot Takes Galore: A brief overview of fandom backlashes that influenced fanfiction writing traditions as I have personally experienced them:
In today’s segment I am going to talk about copyright infringement.
First let me preface this by saying I have only ever been in 3 fandoms, starting from 2008 and I have never been terribly active - like this blog has been the most active I’ve ever been in any fandom ever. I am not going to talk about particular fandom dramas because I am pretty clueless about that. What I am going to talk about is that friction between “reality” and online spaces that brought about changes that are still in effect today in the way fanfiction is written and perceived.
In 2008 as I was entering, nearly every piece of fanfiction had a disclaimer about the author not owning the characters, which were the property of Corporate Entity X, or Author Y, and also not profiting from the work in any shape or form. At the time getting money from writing fanfiction was a gigantic taboo, and almost no one did it, or advertised that they did. 
But as I understand through convention culture printed writing did circulate in exchange for money (zines), and at least in Japan one could sell doujinshis (self-published stories and comics, often within the framework of another work) in certain events. Although this was largely considered “illegal” under copyright laws, and artists could be persecuted or blacklisted from entering the industry if discovered. That’s also why fanartists often to this day may screen where and when their work is viewed, and move to take down reposts, or call others to protest if artworks are circulated without permission outside of the artist’s page.
Older fandom people also hated authors that moved against fanfiction, a big case being Anne Rice, the vampire lady everyone - including me - copies when writing about vampires. And now I am going to talk a little about that.
Usually, writers, just sit somewhere cosy and write, and often they have no idea, absolutely no idea, on how to manage their writing properties - usually a lawyer does that, and lawyers want A Lot Of Money (A brief brush with justice and lawyers over a civil dispute I won, cost me 1000 euros out of nowhere, in a single day, and no I couldn’t avoid it because I was the accused one, so I had to appear with some representation). 
So sometimes, quite often, it’s a lawyer that activates a writer or other artist to move against “smaller” copyright infringements, in order to make bank. And if one suffers such a case, they should make it as apparent as possible to the other party that they have no money, and the pressure will go away immediately. But even MORE OFTEN a small copyright infringement, may lead to a sequence of bigger ones, and ultimately the de facto loss of rights from one’s writing properties, and of course revenue. 
And for a lot of published authors, they just don’t know for how long they can publish things - publishing houses that have them signed can close, book sales can drop, tastes change, personal problems, and anything else may mean that they could find themselves without a source of income at any point in the future, while they are aging and becoming more and more irrelevant. 
A very famous case currently, is that of Alan Dean Foster, the writer who has done some novelizations for movies like Star Wars and Alien, and is no longer receiving revenue from that - while his wife is hospitalized and their family needs the income - because Disney absorbed the company that had signed the contract with him, and chose to not honor the previous contract. To make them pay he will have to go into a huge legal battle with a corporate giant, which he cannot afford. But they still absorb income from these novelizations.
But how does fanfiction tie into that, and Anne Rice’s case (which if memory serves right, also went through a series of personal problems, including her husband’s death during that time). 
So for a lot of writers, fanfiction may be that tiny breach that may threaten their rights in the future from tresspases of distribution networks. Meaning, people write vampire fanfiction based on Anne Rice’s work? What if another publishing house used the template of her works (historical settings, bleeding orifices, religious themes, homosexuality and sexual trauma etc) and produced a royalty free series of such works with a team of professional writers that do not own the work - who often have less rights, like not owning the characters, or the storylines, participating in a very small scale, so their payment goes down etc)
And in this way EVERYONE SUFFERS. Big Name Published Author fades into obscurity and goes into poverty and payroll writers are horrifically abused.  
A lot of hobbyists, and hobbyist writers whose sole dream is to be published in some shape or form, do not really care, and do not concern themselves with the legal aspect of creation, or the technical skill that it takes to produce writing on a consistent basis, which can only happen if you’ve got your basic needs covered. So they might see this type of backlash as inherently privileged. 
But it’s not really a privilege, there has been a global recession in basic working rights for everyone, and lovers of fiction don’t have to condone, of course, attacks against them, but they need to put that kind of backlash in perspective. Someone did write the content you enjoy, THEY ARE NOT DEAD YET, and may have opinions on how it should be managed, especially when it pertains to their livelihood. 
It’s a delicate balance that we all must keep in order to keep corporate regulations out of it.
For instance with the recent danmei explosion The Untamed brought forth, Ao3 was banned in China. Now a lot of you might know that this was caused by some real person fic involving the actor Xiao Zhan, which led to a whole other level of drama. But make no mistake this was a political act to protect the interests of the domestic publishing industry as it prepares to do an international opening that will bring in several billions from foreign markets.
Because Ao3 has been expanding as a platform globally it brings about changes, and in many cases steals readers away from traditional publishing, so it becomes unacceptable economically for a bunch of hobbyists to influence tastes, market mores, and create sensationalism around certain properties out of literally the blue. This is not a good thing for a lot of corporate thinking, they set the product and we are supposed to buy it. We are not supposed to go, it would look greater with a bunch of anal, and then put forth a million words altering the character of the intellectual property.
Why you ask? Again, because another publishing industry might choose to imitate the style of danmei fanfics and produce works that hijack readership, or lead to breach of contracts, making an unsafe environment for workers in this industry (Xiao Zhan’s case.)
Nowadays I see more and more fanfic authors coming out of their shell to ask money for writing in the form of donations, patronage and commissions, as fandom involvement is also becoming vastly monetized. The market of conventions coming into social media platforms. A strange more exists still in which while “legally wrong”, as long as money is not asked on the publishing platform (Ao3), it may not count as copyright infringement. But fanfic authors, may still be treated with hostility for this, for not “deserving” to profit from someone else’s properties, or even worse for “stealing” readership. 
For instance a recent argument I have seen from lgbtq authors, is that they remain unsupported by fandom spaces, who often proclaim themselves as lgbtq or lgbtq friendly (something that is not true), but at the same time they are not looking for published lgbtq stories, or authors, or even treat these with open hostility, or a lot of bias.
Fandom is not comprised from “readers” in the traditional sense, definitely not friends of literature, and it’s free, no one really has to pay anything to read a published fanfic.  So it’s a pretty loose demographic with no set characteristics, and no interest in investing time and money in something for long. It’s an online social activity and not a readers’ movement, highly influenced by peer pressure and branding. It’s basically a gigantic group of people who don’t really do anything for no one, and may develop a parasitic connection to intellectual properties (I am sorry peers, it’s the truth). 
And it’s perhaps the biggest counterculture scene at the moment in the developed world. To this day it treats even its own authors with tremendous suspicion, disregard and dismissal, meaning that even if someone can get some money and recognition locally through writing fanfic they are on thin fucking ice at all times for all the reasons but mostly attracting unnecessary attention to themselves and subsequently the scene.  A pattern that we will see is endemic to all forms of fandom backlashes.
So to this day in contrast with fanart, fan writers may not be compensated for their troubles, but may also be ousted from their domestic professional spaces for writing fanfic that may infringe on their intellectual property. 
The thing is, for me, that fandom culture can become incredibly supportive of corporate practices that harm actual people (writers, they are people too) but when they realize that the same corporate practices may be used against them, it’s too late to realize that it’s not a lottery of who wins by crying more, and by the time that happens, a corporation or industry who has used them to do its dark bidding, can stop catering to them  because ultimately they have become again irrelevant once a well defined demographic of  readers and viewers has been secured.
So if you are going to do counterculture, at least do it right. Be respectful of the writers/authors of the content you consume and mindful of their troubles, do not generate public strife that brings in political regulation in favor of corporate interests. Become interested in writing culture, support your fanfic authors with lasting engagement in their work, even if it escapes the narrow confines of a certain fandom. It’s simple. Eat, live, pray, fuck, or something.
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maine-writes · 3 years
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May The Von Be With Ye
"Star Wars! Star Wars!" Vonvon chanted excitedly, giddy with anticipation.
Today was a special day for Vonvon and for Star Wars fans everywhere. It was May 4th, and not just any May 4th, but Star Wars Day.
They remember being introduced to Star Wars like it was yesterday, except it was almost a couple decades into the future. They remember their father dusting off the old collector's edition. They remember the blaring anthem of the opening crawl sequence, the thrill of battle against a giant space station, and Han Solo.
Today, they plan to watch all of Star Wars, from the prequels to the sequels. Plus Clone Wars and Rebels. They'll have to resist the temptation of telling Steven and Connie about Boba Fett.
"Who's ready for an excrutiatingly long amount of time absorbing a metric ton of storyline?" Connie asked, equally as excited as Vonvon.
"I am!" Vonvon declared.
"Then, we'll end with Rise of Skywalker." Steven said.
"Despite what people said about it," Vonvon mentioned, "I was okay with it."
"You saw it already?" Connie asked. "How? It's brand new?"
"I...uh..." Vonvon uttered, begining to sweat bullets. "Wiki'd it! That's right! Wikipedia spoilers, cuz I was curious why the early watchers hated it! H-Hey, how'd you guys get into Star Wars?
"My dad introduced it to me." Connie said. "Then I introduced it to Steven."
"There's something about Darth Vader revealing that he's Luke's father that I relate to." Steven added, consciously oblivious to the haunting parallels.
"Do the Gems watch?" Vonvon inquired curiously.
"Amethyst likes Harrison Ford." Steven replied. "Apparently met him once. Pearl used to point out how it's a poor representation of space. And Garnet, she watches, I think?"
"Peridot? Lapis?" Vonvon continued.
"Peridot has a ongoing fanfic." Connie said.
"And a comic." Steven added. "And a Discord."
"Didn't she kick you off it?" Connie asked, knowing the obvious answer.
"All I'm saying is Obi-Wan deserves his own show."
"And Lapis?" the child repeated.
"She seems alright with it." Connie said, patting Steven's head. "But I don't think she's really into it into it."
Then an old memory popped into the child's head. One that has had their curiosity for years.
"Hey Connie." they began, "I heard you've been practicing the lightsaber forms."
"You are?!" starry-eyed Steven asked, surprised by his girlfriend's secret hobby.
"W-who told you?!" Connie said, flustered. "Did Pearl say something?"
"Yeah, Pearl." The child had no real idea when Connie started learning lightsaber combat, just knew that she did. One of the problems of being from the future.
"She's been helping me learn." Connie continued, "If there's one thing she likes about Star Wars, its the lightsaber combat forms. But I'm far from calling myself a Jedi."
Vonvon jumped up and scampered off downstairs. When they returned, they were carrying their duffle bag. From it, they pulled out a few lightsabers and robes.
If there is one sound that always satisfied Vonvon, it was the iconic whir of a lightsaber extending and moving. Donning a plain brown robe, they twirled their yellow lightsaber, extending out their left arm and pointing two fingers, like a horizontal V, at Connie.
"Jedi Master Vonvon, master of Form III: Soresu." said the child.
Connie and Steven picked up a blue and green one, respectively, swinging them around for fun.
"These are awesome!" Connie said. "Where'd you get them?"
"I...uh...brought them from home." Vonvon explained, forgetting that these particular models aren't available for another few years. They desperately hoped that neither of them would notice the copyright date of 2028 etched into the pommel.
Then there was a knock at the door.
"Oh hey, the Lars and the Off Colors are here." Steven said, "Seeing how they've never seen Star Wars, I thought this would be a perfect time. I mean, space Gems, Star Wars."
When he opened the door, the first to greet him was little Padparadscha.
"Wait, Darth Vader is Luke's father!?" She yelled, to the confusion of everyone else present.
"Who's Darth Vader?" one of the Rutiles wondered.
Let me guess," Lars began, "One of you mentioned the big reveal a minute ago?"
"Steven did it." Vonvon confessed.
May the Fourth Be With You!
@artsycooky13
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shlabam · 3 years
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TOP TEN COMICS BOOK VILLAINS WE PROBABLY WON’T SEE IN THE MOVIES
Superhero media is the hottest thing going right now. It was true ten years ago when the MCU was in its adolescence, and it’s even truer now. Even with film production on lockdown, Marvel and DC are still planning on literally dozens of their characters entering their respective cinematic universes. However, for the fans of the source material, things can be contentious. For every memorable Tony Stark quip, there’s Superman destroying an entire city because he’s, frankly, kind of dumb now. A major point of contention is how the various popular villains are utilized. Making an intimidating and potent villain in a comic book is very different than in a film. In comics, you have months to establish motive, powers, and backstory before the villain even makes their first move. In films, that all has to be compressed and spilled out in the scarce few minutes when Captain America and Bucky aren’t making bambi eyes at each other. To be concise, some villains adapt perfectly, and some, no matter how good they are in the comics, just don’t. And to be clear, this list is of popular villains who have the possibility of appearing in a big-budget film, so no, you won’t be seeing Ten Eyed Man or Big Wheel in there. Their powers are, respectively, having ten eyes, and being very good in business. (That’s a lie, he’s just a huge wheel who chases Spider-Man.)
10: Mr. Mxyzptlk:
Cool, let’s get this one out of the way. Despite being one of Superman’s oldest, longest-lasting, and most popular enemies from all the way back in the Golden Age, there’s no way in hell he will be in a movie. For the uninformed. Mr. Mxyzptlk is a 5th dimensional wizard-genie who appears every ninety days to torment Superman with his reality-altering antics, and can only be sent back to his home dimension if Superman tricks him into saying his own name backwards. Yes, it would be very dazzling, as Mr. Mxyzptlk’s powers in a movie would basically look like if Christopher Nolan directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but he’s a little too silly to fit in with the current “everything is gloomy and also a bummer” tone of the Superman films. This silly tone has lent itself perfectly to the Supergirl series, where he’s made a handful of appearances. Besides, if we get Mxyzptlk in a Superman movie before Brainiac, I’ll lose my entire freaking mind.
9: Hobgoblin:
There have been eight Spider-Man movies so far, and of those eight, four of them have, in some capacity, featured the Green Goblin. And that makes sense, right? The Green Goblin is easily Spider-Man’s most memorable and reoccurring nemesis, with Doctor Octopus and Venom close behind, and Peter Parker’s link with Norman and Harry Osbourn makes their tragic story perfect for film adaptation. On the other hand, we have the Hobgoblin, who is essentially Green Goblin with all the gimmicks, none of the Parker-adjacent backstory, and an orange and blue color scheme, likely tying him to the Denver Broncos [citation needed]. Still, in those four cinematic attempts at tackling the Goblin, none of them have quite gotten him right, and I can’t imagine this character, who is, even in canon, an intentional Green Goblin rip-off, would fare any better.
8: Starro:
Brave and the Bold #28 from 1960 featured the first story with the Justice League, and this story put them up against a very unique new villain: Starro the Conqueror, a giant telepathic starfish who can release tiny versions of himself. If these tiny starfish latch onto your head, you’re under his control and obey his commands. The Justice League have battled him fairly regularly over the last fifty years, and he’s a distinct and powerful enemy that the fans generally appreciate, leading to him being referenced occasionally in Smallville, Arrow, and Flash. Why won’t he ever be in a movie? Because if you’re a Hollywood producer, you stopped paying attention at “giant telepathic starfish”. Sorry. Maybe Shuma-Gorath will pop up in the next Doctor Strange movie, and he’ll set off a Twilight-esque wave of starfish monster movies! Then again, almost absolutely not.
7: Puppet Master:
Speaking of mind control, what’s scarier than that? For my money, nothing. Having your body and will taken away from you by an unseen force is a terror greater than death. How could you possibly make a villain based around such a chilling concept and have him not be scary? Well, maybe if it’s an old bald man in an apron playing with dolls. The Puppet Master is an ongoing threat for the Fantastic Four who is just that: he makes models of his foes out of radioactive clay, and makes them punch themselves and dance around and kiss each other, because he’s, y’know, a weird old man. Why is he such a consistent threat who hasn’t fallen into obscurity like other dumb gimmick-based villains? His stepdaughter, Alicia Masters, is the Thing’s longtime girlfriend. As long as she keeps appearing in movies (including being played by… Kerry Washington? That can’t be right), there’s always a chance he’ll pop up, but I don’t think any movie studio is that stupid, despite the quality of every Fantastic Four movie blatantly defying that prediction.
6: Bizarro:
Superman has always suffered in the villains department. When you’re essentially a god, what can they throw at you? As it turns out, Lex Luthor, almost always. But why not another Superman? Bizarro is essentially that, an imperfect clone of Superman who speaks in opposite speak - “Bizarro am good! Me not punch you until you live!” - and features the same abilities as the Man of Steel. Sounds great, right? Putting a hero against a villain with their same powers has worked for nearly every Marvel movie (shots fired). So why won’t we see him grace our silver screens any time soon? Because they’ve never really figured him out. Is he funny? Is he lethal? Does Kryptonite work on him? If he does everything the opposite of Superman, why does he wear clothes? Isn’t being naked the opposite of being clothed? Bizarro is a major Superman side-character and has made appearances in Smallville and Supergirl, but the idea of him being the Big Bad going toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill doesn’t sound like it would generate a lot of views.
5: Impossible Man:
You remember what I said about Mr. Mxyzptlk? Remember? So take that bit, but everywhere I say Superman, have it say Fantastic Four instead… yeah, that should do it.
4: The Wrecking Crew:
Thor has a unique quirk of having a very cinematic rogues gallery. Sure, most of the movies have pitted him against Loki, but if they were to run him up against the Enchantress, or the Absorbing Man, or Ulik the Troll, or Kurse, or even the Stone Men from Saturn, that’s not a bad movie! However, in one of the attempts to give Thor more of a mortal nemesis, they put him up against the Wrecker, who has an… enchanted… indestructible… crowbar. Yeah. Incredibly, the Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew have become very present characters throughout the Marvel Universe, essentially serving as “jobbers”, being rolled out to get beaten up by the new top hero or villain, but that may not work in a movie, where villains have to be seen as having some level of potency before being struck down. That means we’d need at least a short scene where it seems like Thor might lose to a guy whose power is “crowbar”, and that’s about as likely as an Edward Norton cameo in the next Avengers. Ho boy, they did NOT part on good terms!
3: Clayface:
When the movie-going public goes to see a Batman movie, they generally want something a bit more grounded than your typical superhero fare. After all, Batman has no powers, and therefore the most supernatural thing that should happen in these movies is a gas that makes you smile, or a different gas that makes you think your dead parents are back and disappointed in you. Might wanna put a mouth covering on that mask, Bruce! The one and only they’ve made a movie where Batman fights people with real, off-the-wall super powers (Batman and Robin), it did not go great. And those guys pale in comparison to Clayface, who is, yes, made of clay. In the comics and cartoons, Clayface looks awesome, turning his limbs into weapons and being very challenging to incapacitate, but in a live-action, realistic Batman adventure, we wouldn’t want to see the Dark Knight fight a poop-colored version of the T-1000, especially if it’s got the same chemical composition of a little dreidel that I made.
2: Red Hood:
A relative newcomer to the Batman universe, Red Hood is the revived body of Jason Todd, the second Robin, who was brutally killed by the Joker in one of the most controversial storylines DC Comics ever produced. Literally, fans called a 900 number to tell the writers to kill him off. A 900 number. That’s how much they hated the little turd. Anyway, Jason Todd, whom Batman and the rest of the world believed was dead, was revived by Ra’s al Ghul and became a ruthless villain. Since then, he’s gravitated more to the side of the hero, though one a bit more willing to spill blood than his mentors. Why won’t we see him in the darker, edgier Batman films? Because… that’s Bucky. It’s the same thing that happened in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Teen sidekick killed in controversial manner, revived by super villain to be a thorn in said hero’s side, later changes his mind and becomes a good guy again, though with enough PTSD to fill a PTSD super store. The two storylines even occurred in the comics in the same year, 2005, to much fanfare and across-the-board declarations of one company ripping off the other, reminding the world of the great Aquaman-Namor debates of the 1940s. Considering that DC’s films have criminally underperformed compared to Marvel’s, the last thing they want to do is be accused of lazy plagiarism, so Jason Todd will likely remain a permanent fixture in the afterlife, hanging out with Batman’s parents and, at the rate that people are coming back from the dead, literally no one else. (Plus, if they can’t even get Robin right, how are they gonna do this?)
1: Mister Sinister:
Yes, he was teased at the end of X-Men Apocalypse, but ignoring that the film underperformed both critically and commercially, Mister Sinister is never going to be in a movie. It would make sense for him to appear, though, right? He’s one of the most present and potent X-Men villains, he’s played crucial roles in many memorable storylines, he’s got a sick cape, but… something a lot of comic book fans tend to overlook is his murky backstory, powers, and motivations. He was a biologist in Victorian London who did genetic experiments on homeless people in the hopes of finding clues about the oncoming threat of mutants. In this time, he unearthed the long-dormant En Sabah Nur, whom you plebeians may know as Apocalypse, and Apocalypse gifted him with great abilities. What abilities you ask? HA HA, good question! At various times, Sinister has displayed: telepathy, telekinesis, energy projection, shape-shifting, regeneration, and teleportation, but these powers will mysteriously disappear whenever they want him to get sliced up real good by Wolverine. Additionally, it has never been made very clear what Sinister wants. Does he seek perfect mastery of the human genome? Does he live to torment Cyclops? Is he a blind follower of Apocalypse? Is he just running through all the different kinds of goatee? Of course, in adaptation, the writers would pick and choose the aspects they’d want to use, but I doubt they’d want to untangle the Christmas lights mess that is Mister Sinister, especially when they’ve got a perfectly good villain whose power is just “magnets”.
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tirstyspngirl · 3 years
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Dean Winchester Hates Witches Take 2
Febuwhump Day 4: Impalement 
Fandom: Supernatural
TW: None that I can think of
Work Count: 1497 Tags: whump, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, de-aging, de-aged Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester takes care of Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester’s parent, 
Dean sent the bullet flying into the witch. As soon as he confirmed her dead, he turned to his little brother. Last he’d seen, his brother had been laying in a heap on the floor. But Sam’s massive body wasn’t there anymore. In his place lay a small child in a man’s clothes.
“Sam?”
Dean crept closer, making sure his gun was still handy in case this was a trick. Dean nudged the small child onto its back and let out a gasp. The child was Sam, but he looked to be about 5 years old. 
“Oh shit.” 
Little Sam began to stir at that moment. He twitched his eyes open and glanced up at Dean before scrambling back, terror on his little face. Sam’s little body got tangled up in the massive clothes. Dean raised his hands up, trying to show Sam he meant no harm. Sam shrieked and Dean looked up at his hands realizing his gun was still in his hand. He quickly threw the firearm into his waistband and raised his arms up once again.
“Easy, Sammy. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“Well, uh.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck. “I know this is gonna sound weird Sammy, but uh, I’m your brother, Dean.”
“You’re not Dean. You’re old, Dean is 9.” 
“I know Sammy, I know it seems that way. But I really am Dean. Something happened to you, bud. You’re supposed to be an adult, like me.”
“How do I know you’re really Dean?”
Dean paused, wracking his brain for anything he could think of to prove his identity. His first thought was the amulet, but at age 5, Sam hadn’t given it to him yet. Finally, a spark of inspiration hit him. 
“Your first day of kindergarten, I walked you to your classroom. You didn’t want to let go of my hand, but I told you I would be waiting for you right outside the door as soon as the bell rang in the afternoon. And I was. On the way home, you told me all about your new teacher and the friend you made who had the same name as me. You thought it was so cool you made a friend who’s name was Dean,”
Upon hearing the tale, Sam jumped up and began running towards Dean. The pants were so big that he ran right out of them and the shirt fell off one shoulder. Dean squatted down, letting Sam run into his arms. 
"Hey, Sammy. I know this is scary, but we'll figure it out."
"I know you will Dean. You always protect me."
Dean felt a rush of warmth spread in his chest at Sam's words. "And I always will Sammy."
Dean wished he could've called Bobby. The man would have called them idgits for getting themselves into a situation like this, but he'd help them with research and would be able to guide Dean on where he should look. But Bobby was dead now, so Dean was on his own. So instead of calling Bobby, he tried to think about where to look to find a reversal. 
On the way back to the motel, Dean stopped at a local thrift store. He needed to find clothes that were designed for a 5 year old instead of a sasquatch. A few concerned glances were thrown toward the kid drowning in nothing but a t-shirt, but Dean tried to ignore them and get done with the shopping. Dean felt much better as soon as they stepped through the door of the motel and away from any prying eyes. 
"Alright, Sammy. I gotta do some research. Why don't you watch some TV or something while I do that?" Dean said as handed the remote to Little Sam. 
Sam looked hesitant, but took the remote from Dean anyway. "Are you sure it's ok? Daddy doesn't like when the TV is on when he's doing research."
"I'm not dad, squirt. I don't mind if the TV is on. If I did I wouldn't have suggested it."
Sam thought about it for a second, but then smiled brightly at Dean before plopping on a bed and clicking the TV on. Dean couldn't help but notice that Sammy automatically went to the furthest bed from the door. 
Sam clicked through several channels before settling on the Disney Channel. Sam was mesmerized as a movie called Frozen came on. The picture was so clear compared to the cartoons he was used to. He instantly became absorbed in the storyline. 
Dean focused on his research. He started with John’s journal, but when that proved unhelpful, he turned to a tome on witchcraft that the boys actually kept in the car for such times as these. He was just starting to find something that might be useful for their situation when he heard a fearful cry from his actually Little brother. Dean’s head snaps up and he finds a distraught Sam.
“What’s wrong Sammy?” He asks as he makes his way over to the bed and sits down beside Sam. Sam launches himself into Dean’s arms and begins to cry.
“That snowman was just impaled.” 
Dean was confused. He knew Sam had been a sensitive child, but he doubted a kids movie on the Disney channel had shown a graphic scene such as impalement. And also, how did a 5 year old even know what that meant?
“How do you know what impalement is Sam?”
“Daddy came home bleeding one night and I heard him say he’d been impaled.”
“When did you hear that?”
“He thought I was sleeping. But I was just faking. I wanted to see daddy when he got home, but when he got home he looked really angry, so I just pretended to sleep.”
Dean thought he remembered the specific incident that Sam was talking about, but he couldn’t be 100% sure. After all, their dad had come home many times injured. Either way it was upsetting Sammy, so he had to do something. He glanced up at the screen and saw a little snowman talking to a man and woman. 
“Look Sammy, the snowman is fine, see?!”
Sam looked up and saw the snowman talking to Anna and Kristoff and he felt a little better. “Isn’t he in pain though?”
“It doesn’t look like it.”
“But Daddy was. He kept making ugly faces and saying bad words.”
“Well, do normal snowmen talk Sam?”
“No” 
“Why does this snowman talk?”
“He’s a magic snowman. Elsa made him with her ice powers.”
“So he probably doesn’t feel any owies because of the magic.”
“Oh, ok.” 
“And even though dad did feel his owie, he got better right?”
“Right.”
“Well so did the magic snowman.”
“Ok.” 
Dean moved to stand up, but Sam clung to him. Sam seemed to have accepted Dean’s magic explanation, but he was obviously still feeling somewhat distressed. 
“Will you sit and finish the movie with me Dean?”
“I really need to get this research done Sammy.”
Instead of using words to argue with Dean, Sam simply looked up at him and gave him the widest, pleading eyes he could muster. Dean didn’t remember him using his puppy dog eyes that young, but clearly he could and they were lethal.
“Damn, Sammy. Those should seriously be illegal.”
“Hmm?” “Nothing, nevermind kiddo. Fine. I will watch the rest of the movie with you. But then I need to go back to work ok?” “Ok.” Sam said, clearly happy he got what he wanted. He snuggled further into Dean. Dean would never admit it out loud, but it felt nice having his little brother all cuddled up with him. Without even realizing he was even doing it, Dean reached down and began carding his fingers through Sam’s floppy hair. Within 20 minutes, the kid was passed out. Dean had promised he’d finish the movie with Sam, so even though Sam slept through the end, Dean sat with Sam cuddled up in his lap and ran his fingers gently over his scalp until the credits rolled.
Once the movie was over, Dean gently laid Sam down on the bed and returned to his research. It took another few hours, but Dean finally determined that there was nothing he could do to reverse the spell, they would just have to wait it out. The book said that most de-aging spells lasted 3 to 5 days, but if the witch was powerful enough it could last up to 8 or 9. The witch has been doing pretty minor level stuff when they caught onto her, so he didn’t think Sam would be stuck like this for more than 5 days.  
Dean sighed and began a mental list of things he would need for Little Sam until Big Sam returned to him. For now, all Dean could do was enjoy the cuddles and hope that Big Sam didn’t remember anything when he aged up.
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ilovefanfic86 · 3 years
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Supernatural S15E18 “Despair” and S15E19 “Inherit the Earth”
MAJOR SPOILERS
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This is going to be my longest posting, so I am going to add a keep reading link.
I am skipping episode 17 because way too much happened since then. Spoilers ahead. Plus a shit ton of side notes.
Come share my pain...
“Despair”
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I’m not going to dwell to much on the whole episode. I just want to focus on the main parts. 
I’m glad that we got to see Charlie, Donna, and Bobby. Then they get dusted. Fuck you Chuck.
Billie wants to take over as Death and put everyone back where they belong. Anyone that was resurected would die human and angel a like.
Billie sends Jack to the Empty to let off his bomb and kill it. 
THE BIG MOMENT...
Billie is chasing down Cas and Dean. She wants to see Dean die before she does. Dean and Cas get locked in the dungeon so he can block her power. Dean then tells Cas that he got them into this all because he wanted to kill Chuck. Then Cas went and made it canon.
Cas finally tells Dean about his deal with the Empty. Once Castiel finds happiness, the Empty would kill him. The one thing that he wants, its something he can never have.
Cas proceeds to tell Dean how pulling him out from Hell changed him. How the way Dean sees himself as a killer, is not the way the world sees him.
Castiel tells Dean that he is the most selfless, caring, and loving human being he has ever know. Everything that Dean did, good or bad, he did it for love. Dean made Cas care about people and the world. That
Dean asks him, “Why does this sound like a goodbye?” Cas replies, “Because it is.” 
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Cas then tells Dean, “I love you.” 
DESTIEL IS CANON!!! (All of us who knew) 
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The Empty is summond kills Billie and then Castiel.He is taken with a smile on his face. He’s happiness was telling Dean he loved him. Then its just Dean on the floor.Crying. Me too Dean. Me too.
Sam, Jack and Dean are the only ones left on Earth.
Supernatural
S15E19
“Inherit the Earth”
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My heart can’t take this.
By the way.... DESTIEL IS CANON!!!!
Damn I guess I’m gone too.
Oh shit! Where is Cas?! NO NO NO!!
This hurts on so many levels.
Lol! “Sudden Death”
Jack praying to Cas is just too much right now.
What the hell is wrong with Jack?
Damn I hate to say it, but Sam is right. He wanted to find another way and the world finally paid the price.
Hearing Sam wanting to give up is hard.
Fuck Chuck!
You damn right bring back Cas.
“The world is this way because you wouldn’t take a knee.” Fucking hell Chuck.
Poor joke.
Dean is drunk and unconcious Dean on the floor. He misses Cas so much that he starts drinking heavenly again.
Jack looks adorable in his pj’s.
 *Side Note*
I am starting to think that all the things that Jack did to kill Chuck, that made him God-like? I mean he basically became a super nova with the amount of power he had and then survived. Plus the plants are dying around him too.
Jack can sense life?
Dean found a dog and named it. Talk about a character arc.
 *Side Note 2*
I feel like Dean finding the dog relates to Cas dying. Hear me out. Dean doesn’t like dogs. And we were made to believe that Dean was straight and loved Cas as a brother. Then Cas confessed his love for Dean. Dean may now be open to things he “THOUGHT he didn’t like. Because you don’t miss it until it’s gone. Like Cas.
OH SHIT!!! THAT WAS SO FUCKED UP!! Chuck took the damn dog then smiled at Dean. Man FUCK YOU CHUCK!!!!
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Chuck really just fucking with them now.
I feel like I’m watching the movie “The Prophecy”, when they were at the gate.
Okay...So Michael is the one who had the humans believe that God was an all loving, all caring God. After Chuck left, so heGod would feel the love. Talk about a plot twist.Michael and the Winchesters working together.
Dean looks so scared.
WHAT CAS!!???!!!
Dean ran so fast up the stairs to get the door!!??
GOD DAMN IT LUCIFER!!!!!
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....I need a break.... 
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The Empty sent Lucifer to get God’s death book. 
He brought a reaper then killed her. Making her the new Death and can read the book.
It’s way too many plot twits!! Chuck let Lucifer out?!
Kill his ass Michael!!
Watching Lucifer dying again is so satisfying.
What’s wrong with Jack?!
Dean caring for Michael is another storyline arc.
Sam is going to use the Book of the Damned to read the book.
This shit is intense.
WHOA!!
OH SHIT MICHAEL TOLD CHUCK!!
OMG!!! MICHAEL!! HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT!!!
I feel you Sam. If I’m going to die, at least let me get a hit in.
CHUCK IS GOING TO FIGHT THEM!!
OH SHIT...
This is painful to watch. My babies!! 
Sam helping Dean up is too much.
Hell naw they won’t stay down. FUCK YOU!!!
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I’M DEAD...
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WHY ARE THEY SMILING???!!!?!?!?!?!?!
JACK!!!!
Chuck laying in the dirt, scared is everything. 
“Dean Winchester, the ultimate killer.” “That’s not who I am.” WHO WROTE THIS!?!?!?!?!?
THAT’S RIGHT CHUCK!! FUCK YOU!!
WOW!
Jack brought the people back!!!
I’m so proud of Jack.
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Jack is the new God and Amara is inside of him. They are both in harmony with each other.
Sam, Dean... Jack isn’t coming back to the Bunker.
I’m confused.
Damn it Jack. 
He will be such a good God.
NOT...THE...HAND!!! FUCK!!!
Dean in maroon.
So are you going to talk about Cas now???
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Wow. they are really free.
They carved they’re names in the table.
...Okay... This is too hard to watch. I’m a huge fucking mess. This was so bittersweet, but I’m scared for next week.
WHERE THE FUCK IS CASTIEL?!?!?!?!?! I NEED TO RELIVE THIS MOMENT!!!
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Promo
S15E20
“Carry On”
...Son of a Bitch...
*Side Notes*
 Michael’s death was beautiful, yet tragic. All he ever wanted was Chuck’s love. When Chuck was killing him, I noticed that Michael’s heart was exploding. Basically his heart broke. 
 I love how they made Jack into the new God. The concept of it was amazing to me. Because Kelly and Cas told them that Jack would bring paradise to the world. Jack telling Sam and Dean that he is always with them.In the rain, the wind, the sands on the beach. You could tell that Jared was really crying. Me too Jared.
 Its beautiful that Sam always believed in Jack. He knews he wasn’t evil . Sam Winchester raised GOD and a good man. God is a 3yr old.
If Castiel doesn’t come back the next episode I am seriously going to throw hands.Cause honestly, just because Jack brought back everyone, (Did he bring the monsters back?) why is Dean happy? It feels like they are just forgetting about Cas. 
Becky was right!!! 15x04 When she reads Chuck’s ending, she was us right now. That shit really hurt.
I have never been more proud of Sam and Dean than I was this episode. Even though they had planned the attack on Chuck. Jack is absorbing the energy that Chuck is releasing fighting the boys. Chuck is beating them breaking bones, making them bloody. They continue to fight him. Fighting him through broken bones, blood, sweat, and tears... THE WINCHESTERS NEVER STOP FIGHTING!!!
Instead of killing Chuck, they leave him. To become human. To die, old and alone. No one remember him or care about him. Leaving him in the dirt in “despair” that we have.
They did Dean dirty in this episode. The dog was so hurtful and wrong as hell. Then Lucifer pretending to be Cas that was the most hurtful scene to me. The hope and happiness Dean had when he thought Cas was there. The way he ran up the stairs, 2 at a time. The looks of horror and disappointment on his face was heartbreaking.
I know this was a lot to read if you made this far. Lol! This was the best epsiode in the series to me. It has surpassed; “Swan Song” and “Black”. I know as soon as I hear “Carry on my wayward son...” I will have a panic attack.
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tandv · 3 years
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So true what you said about ships!!! I remember being pissed off at Grey’s Anatomy because all couples kept breaking up and in an adult show that was just annoying. I want to see some people in their 30s and 40s being together until the end of the show, with all the real life challenges and ups and downs etc. And then Riverdale where characters have the right age to do dumb shit was just SO BORING. I think maybe they were just too absorbed by the mystery plots to develop relationship drama enough. Same with friendships tbh, Veronica & Betty and Jughead & Archie were supposed to be best friends but there was barely time to see that unfolding and growing (especially the girls).
(I am happy that Nancy Drew (not sure if you watch it) switched its main couple through season 1. I was bracing myself for more show-long commitment but apparently we can still be surprised.)
I just think in the case of Riverdale they really could have spent more time switching ships earlier on so that having long lasting relationships even later in high school if not in adulthood would have been more effective?
Look at Gossip Girl they didn’t stay with the same partners the whole time and yet they ended up with their most popular pairing. And love or hate their “endgames” at least we knew that they dated other people and they ultimately chose the partner they felt the most connected to in the long run.
A pairing like Choni where Cheryl assumably never dated anyone else as an adult is just really boring to me. I wanted her to have lived a life outside of Toni and not been cooped up inside her adult years and then when the reconcile it’ll be as new and improved versions of themselves because we know hey they have been with other people and experienced life outside of this one pairing and they still found their way back. That would be far more satisfying as a tv viewer to me idk.
And the Varchie/Bughead/Choni situation where even when they did break them up, they either got back together within a few episodes or in Veronica and Archie’s case; their new partners were never intended to be treated like they mattered to them and were easily ended when it was convenient. Which was so frustrating.
There was no reason to end Veronica and Reggie just because Archie came back. And they were like “oh they weren’t even dating it was just hooking up”
The show didn’t tell us that until Archie was back and suddenly she was like oh yeah I love Archie actually Soz.
And I think Toni and Jughead could have actually dated properly in season 2, established them as friends and then dated and then broke up later on. It would have given their storyline’s a better longevity and established Toni as a character before being Cheryl’s girlfriend. And made sure Toni had real connections outside of being her love interest. It could have really given a good insight into the serpents to have them both be a focus (this only works if Toni was treated important in that storyline and not just substituting Cheryl for Jughead obviously)
Barchie should have happened in high school and not as a cheating storyline. It should have happened as an in between relationship of bughead and varchie’s break ups. Either while Veronica was with Reggie or Jughead and Toni. Or whoever else.
Then as adults they could have gone back to them or focused on bughead or varchie or whatever other new love interests and combinations.
I think the reason why so many people got sick of the main ships was because there was never a change. It was always catering to the shippers of those ships.
And yes I agree to an extent that those ships are important and a crucial part of the show. And I’ve enjoyed them for the most part even with criticisms along the way.
But I also think that if they’d broken up and not for the sake of it, for a reason that actually added to the plot, and given different ships more opportunities to further the plot by creating fresh and new dynamics. Then the friction in the fandom right now wouldn’t be so jarring.
I also think the reason why it hurts the shippers of the main three pairings is because the show got too used to just having them together for so long that it became the norm. Everyone who ships them got so used to their pairing being together that now going cold turkey and not even having a friendship between them is something that hurts because it’s never happened.
The show sucks at writing friendships and like you said, they could have put in so much more effort into using those friendships and dynamics to make the storyline’s better but they really got into a rut and stopped knowing how to write relationships outside of the ones they already are too lazy to focus on outside of the case driven episodes.
And as for greys I agree! I mean especially with characters like Lexie and Mark who could have been fine without all the break ups. And they’re right now trying to make Meredith get into another triangle? Like why? She’s a middle aged woman with kids she doesn’t need a love triangle. Just pick one and work on it. There is no reason to be giving middle aged characters the same nonsense that 20 year olds go through. Like if your only solution to adding drama to relationships are cheating and triangles then you need some new writers lol
(I don’t watch Nancy Drew but I’m glad they’re shaking it up early on aha)
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crowniecalisa · 4 years
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Between Dust and Books (1)
A/N:
Hello everyone. Since I am totally addicted to the Netflix series Anne With An E I am thinking about writing a fanfiction about it. And here it is. The whole story is fictitious, I only used the names of the characters and some of their character traits. So, the storyline is quite different from the one in the series e.g. it is taking place in the present time. I am not British or American (I am from Germany). So please forgive me if there are some spelling or grammatical mistakes in it. I tried my best. I hope that you’ll enjoy my story and I appreciate you reading it! Thank you ♥
Summary:
Prince Edward Island 2020
A good graduation, a successful college entrance exam and marrying a rich man are only three things that Anne’s mother wants for her daughter. But Anne has other things in mind. She lives in a world of books and tries to avoid reality with astuteness and courage. But the move to Avonlea changes everything. Anne starts to work at Mr. Blythe’s library after school and explores a dark secret about the hotel where Anne and her mum are staying at. Not only her mind is turned upside down, her heart is too. Blame it on Mr. Blythe.
Word count: 1,042
⇝ Masterlist ッ
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The first or the one in which I met Gilbert Blythe for the first time
Avonlea is hardly the town to which you end up to voluntarily. Mum and me neither. Strange figures frolic on the streets as we slowly crawl past them in our Ford. Most of the houses are painted uniformly white and exude such cold that you get the feeling of not being welcome at all. The blue welcome sign that we passed about a kilometre ago didn't change that. The incessant rain drums on our car roof in an uneven rhythm and flushes out any spark of friendliness from this town. I would like to tap Mum and persuade her to get out of here immediately. I'm not comfortable with it. But I know we have no choice. Since Dad's death a few weeks ago, we've been left with nothing. We can't go back to our old home, because every single object, every strip of wallpaper and every scratch on the floor remind us of him. Mum submitted her notice to the hospital last week. And now we don't have any more money to pay the cost of our old home.
„Idiot! Watch where you're going.” Mum curses and pulls me out of my sad thoughts. I follow her angry look and recognize an elderly gentleman who is dragging himself across the street clawed at a cane. I ask if one of us should get out for help, but she waves it off. She hates this strange town with its eerie inhabitants as much as I do.
The man just arrives across the street when Mum hits the accelerator and we dash off at full speed. But we cannot keep up the pace for long. A loud rumble brings us to stop and reminds us that we didn't drove so slowly for nothing. A look in the side mirror reveals a few boxes, which content is distributed throughout the street.
„Damn it!” Mum hits the steering wheel as if it is a punching bag and grimaces as one of her fingers clicks uncomfortably.
“Mum!” I exclaim startled. Is she hurt? Or does she broke her finger?
„It's all good.” She mumbles as her left index finger disappears between her lips.
„Really?“
„Yes.“
I let her sit, I don't know what else to say, except that not everything is good. Mum has changed since Dad's death. Sometimes she is stunned, sometimes angry and then normal again. By normal I mean the normal that she showed before. Always a little stressed and tense. Working as a nurse required a lot from her. After work it was Dad who opened her narrowed face again with a loving kiss.
With a last worrying look at Mum I get out of the car. The rain is cold and drenches my hair before I can make it disappear under my big hood. I have to blink a few times and run behind the car. A piece of the large tarpaulin has detached itself from the trailer and released two soaked moving boxes into freedom. Soaked clothes are lying around everywhere. There were books in one of the boxes, the dried pages absorb the moisture gratefully. I realize that these are my schoolbooks. As I watch them suck themselves up and realize that I have to say goodbye to them, a young man comes running up to me.
„Can I help you?” He manages out of breath and puts both arms in his sides. I wonder where he came from so quickly but I find out that I don't really care. I would never have expected help in this town. I nod and start to collect my sweaters and put them back in the box. He does the same with the books. Together we put everything back on the trailer and the man ties the tarpaulin with a nifty knot.
„That should hold up to your goal.”
„Thank you.” I give him a quick smile and I just want to head back to the passenger door when he grabs me by the arm and holds me back.
“Don't you have a free place by chance?” He looks briefly at the sky and then looks at me imploringly.
“I ask my mom.” I say while running to her side instead of the passenger door and knock on the window. She lowers the window and looks at me questioningly.
"Does he want money or what?"
"No, a ride."
“Did he said where he wants to go?” He didn't, just like his name. Or would it have been my job to ask him about it? I run back, step into a large puddle that completely soaks my right sneaker.
„Um. I completely forgot to ask where you want to go?” I stutter and at the same time I feel totally stupid in front of this strange man. He is strikingly tall, his posture is straight, his figure is slightly lean. His dark hair is completely soaked and falls messily on his forehead. He has no beard and he cannot be older than twenty years. I estimate him a year or two older than me.
„Phew, I don't really know myself yet. I am looking for a hotel.“
 „A hhhotel?” I stammer on.
„Exactly. The place where tourists usually stay overnight.” He sounds slightly amused and starts to grin. I notice how I blush and feel even more stupid because of the unnecessary question. In fact, I know the only hotel in Avonlea. Actually, very well. Mum and I are on our way there. Grandma has been working her whole life there. We visited her a few times when I was a child. I never really liked the old masonry just like the city that surrounds it.
“My mom and me are on our way to the Avonlea Resort. We would appreciate to take the rest of the way with you.” I say formally, because I don't know whether I should do it or not.
„Thanks a lot. Miss…?” He still sounds slightly amused and starts to grin.
„Anne Shirley. Anne with an E at the end.“
„Gilbert Blythe.” The young man introduces himself and moves his hand as if he is pulling an imaginary hat. „Nice to meet you. Anne with an E at the end.” While he is speaking small dimples emerge on his cheeks.
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The Problematic Elements of skam
(an essay no one asked for)
DISCLAIMER, this is my opinion, and i know not everyone is going to agree so im open to discussion in the comments as long as it is kept civil.
Often times, when a new season of a remake comes out or a new remake is announced, the first thing i notice is people saying what they wish is changed from the OG becuase its problematic, whether it is William’s behaviour, Isak and Even cheating on their girlfriends or Noorhelm breaking up among others.
and while i understand the sentiment, and share it to some degree, i think most of us have kind of missed the point of Skam when asking for this things.
The thing most of us liked about skam in the first place its how real it was, there was no over the top highschool drama, no dialogue no teenager would use, no ridiculous situations that wouldn’t happen in a million years irl, just the reality of what its like to be a teen, depicted on a tv show with an innovative format.
And seems to me sometimes ya’ll forget that teens in real life are also problematic, no one goes around life behaving like mother theresa all the time, making good decisions and not unnintentionaly hurting anybody, cause no one is perfect. And while a lot of the times there is a necessity for the mainstream media to depict healthy behaviour, we most also decide if we want a realistic show or just something where we push the characters just enough to take away from them their fundamental flaws.
the solution for this, in my opinion, is how the show handles the consecuenses and the actions pf the characters after the problematic thing is commited.
For William for example, this is better handled in Skam Italia, Edo and Ele follow pretty much the same storyline as Noorhelm, except in this remake, when they go on their date, you see Edoardo actually listening to Eleonora, he even says you are right, he absorbs what she says, admitts thing, and then also exposes his point of view to her, they are having a conversation where in the og, at least for me, it always felt like William was just waiting for her to finish so he could say what he thinked.
their relationship is once again fixed in the aftermath of the SA. The one thing that made me dispise season 2 on the OG was Noora falling to the floor after William found out what had happened, it was a very low point for her character and one she didn’t deserve, being there is the middle of the school yard screaming to be heard is something she shouldnt be doing cause she is the victim, and seeing how a lot of the times the victim is blamed for what happened to her in real life, it just made me hate the scene a lot more.
now, i know there are a lot of remakes that take this scene away, and i applaud them, but im going to continue to use Skam It cause its the one who follows the storyline more closely. and here they made two fundamental changes that while it still kept the problematic element of William walking away, it fixed the aftermath, and th.erefor, how the viewer interpreted his actions.
the best thing in my opinion is giving Eleonora power over her own story, but what really sold it for me is how they handle Edoardo. You can see in every scene he is in, he doesn’t hate her, he never once looks at her like she is less of what she was before, you just can see his struggle not to hold her and i have to appalud Giancarlo for the reunion scene, where William felt apatic and i just wanted to punch him Edoardo looked terrible, he admitted his mistake and his struggle not to do what he wanted to do out of fear of what could happen to Eleonora was tangible.
They ekpt the same problematic element, but framed it between the story in a way that the viewer both knows what he did is wrong, but can also redeem him beacuse of how is acts later on.
About their breakup in season 4, i think the worst thing about it it’s how it invaded Sana’s season. i think it’s pretty resonable for a couple of teens living together to have problems and make drastic decisition...but taking over a season was just....wow.
And finally...Evak cheating on their girlfriends.
cheating is never ok, ever, im not going to justify it in any way, but im also not going to suggest it gets taken away from the story. My main problem with this in the OG is how Even and Isak get away with hurting people just because both their girlfriends turn out to be shitty human beings, it was a smart move from Julie to make them that way, cause then we can justify Even and Isak not actually apologizing, but i would much rather have them be semi decent beings and Isak saying “im sorry for what i did to you, but this is who i am”.
In live people are never black or white, when it comes to morals and actions we are always different kinds of grey, and in that part of the Evak season i felt like there was clearly a white and a dark side and that’s how they got away with hurting this people without ever apologizing for it.
just to clarify.
THEY DONT NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR BEING GAY, ever. 
they just need to adknowledge their actions hurt people, unnintentionaly or not.
so basically my conclusion to this whole thing is that the problem with the problematic behaviour from some characters depicted in Skam its not the thing itself, but how the show frames it, and treats it.
if we want real life in film, we got to be prepared for our favorite characters to do bad things sometimes, and we also need to be prepared for them facing the consequences and learning to grow from the expirience,
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safflowerseason · 4 years
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I really enjoy reading Cassie in BMTL. Children in fic are usually my pet peeve because they’re written as overly precocious, or not behaving as children usually do, or cloyingly perfect, but you seem to have found the right balance because Cassie reads as a very believable 5-year-old, even with the political knowledge leanings, which is well within reason for her upbringing. Do you find it hard to write her and get that balance? And is it the same Cassie in ‘ask me, I won’t say no’?
Thank you very much! I’m very attached to Cassidy as a character, and am pleased that she seems to have won over BMTL readers. She is, honestly, a breath of fresh air to write compared to Dan and Amy…she’s fully transparent in a way that Dan and Amy aren’t with each other. Her age has a lot to do with that, of course…and I was very strategic with picking her age for this fic, which determined almost everything else about it, honestly, including the political plot. I needed her old enough to have a personality, but young enough to still be completely reliant on her parents, and also, crucially, to not consciously *understand* what her parents do and how it affects their lives. Considering who her parents are, I think it’s believable that Cassie has a highly-developed vocabulary for a five year old. But at the same time, she doesn’t *really* know what words like “polling” and “opposition research” mean…they’re just things that her parents deal with everyday, that she absorbs subconsciously, and thus mimics back out into the world like all kids do. 
I think the trick with writing kids is just not to be too precious about them, especially when it’s Dan and Amy. Like, obviously they love Cassidy, but it’s not like parenting has changed who they are as people. They don’t think raising a kid is this magical, sacred experience (although Dan might claim otherwise on his Instagram), and I suspect they barely think of themselves as parents…just barely-functioning adults who’ve somehow managed to acquire a tiny, confounding human. I’ve tried to convey that half the time, they don’t really know what the fuck to do with Cassidy, and like all parents…sometimes they think she’s infuriating and annoying. Of course, I’ve enjoyed writing Dan as a dad, making him struggle with feelings while at the same time, genuinely enjoying certain parts of fatherhood…whatever the Veep writers thought, S1-S4 Dan would have come around pretty quickly to being a dad. The social benefits alone would be enough for Iannucci-Dan to understand, on some level, that he’ll have to ‘settle down’ at some point. 
The hardest thing about writing Cassie has been figuring out how young children process death, at an age where they don’t *really* understand it but still have some sense of its permanence. This will be on display more fully in the forthcoming chapters. I also do go back and tweak dialogue and descriptions in the fic, somewhat frequently, and I’ve modified a few lines slightly to make them sound more realistic. 
And regarding ask me, I won’t say no, I guess theoretically, it’s the same Cassie, but the fic isn’t a prologue to BMTL or anything like that…so then technically it’s a different Veep timeline, haha. I wrote it while I was drafting Bring Me to Light, and just didn’t bother choosing a different name. And I think I just call her “Cassie” in that one-shot, instead of Cassidy, which is technically her full name. I’m very attached to the name, though, so across all my Veep timelines, Dan and Amy will have a kid named Cassidy. Dan makes a reference in Ep. 2.09 to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when he tells Amy they should go work for Chung, so Cassidy as a name feels Veep-approved. (But originally I chose it because it’s spunky, cute, sounds good with both Amy and Dan, and also is an Irish name. There’s a vague fandom consensus that Dan’s family is Irish.)
I have a thing about names…I’m incredibly picky about them. I realize part of this is completely subjective and up to one’s personal taste. But at the same time, names have history and context and cultural connotations. You have to pay attention to how they sound. There’s a rhythm to names you have to figure out. It’s a big pet peeve of mine in fanfic when people just assign names to characters without thinking them through. I walked around for a week thinking about names for Dan and Amy’s parents. And Amy and Dan are both fairly classic, traditional names, at least from an Anglo-American perspective (like many of the names on Veep). They would have never have a kid named…I don’t know…Chloe or Bella or Mia. Those names are cute and trendy, but they don’t “fit” with Dan and Amy in my opinion. (Sidenote: I always wonder who on the Veep creative team came up with the name Selina, because it’s such an unusual name for an American politician…a Selina would never be elected to high constitutional office the United States, and I’m only half-kidding when I say that.) 
(Also, I hated the name Meagan for a Dan/Amy baby. Like, really hated it, and even though Dan took it off the table in the absolute worst way, I was relieved it was gone. Obviously Amy could not name her baby Meagan after that. Also, knowing how Mandel plotted Dan and Amy’s S7 storyline around certain jokes, I am decently sure they only picked the name because Meagan rhymes with Egan and they could play with that. Meagan makes me think of the word “meek”, which is…not a character trait associated with either Dan or Amy.)
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