#honestly i just included some characters that were other people's fictional others just for fun /genuine

[malewifehenrycooldown]

please take the time to comprehend my very ridiculous mugen roster. yes. there is so many iori edits don't question it.

#waiting for someone to ask 'who's that next to cm punk at the bottom?' it's gene from godhand lol #m.u.g.e.n.posting #image described #shallow shitposts #honestly i just included some characters that were other people's fictional others just for fun /genuine #i've only like experimented with like 1/4 of the roster lol #there's also a lot of kula edits but that's partly because many of them are like. weird edits or just people's ocs who use kula as a base #of sorts for the character's movement/sprites etc. #by weird edits i mean there's a kula edit where she has eddie from guilty gear as part of her mechanics. some are like fire type versions #of kula who is mostly an cyrokenetic character #yes i know there are like 4 krizalids i know i know. (so normal about him) #unfortunately some profiles don't load correctly - which is something still need to fix :/. some are intentionally blank because #I need to put in a character in there that I haven't gotten around to downloading yet.

[tossawary]

Regarding "The Hobbit" film trilogy, even if I ended up personally disliking and resenting how much time and focus the elf characters (and others) ended up taking away from the dwarves whom I think deserved more focus as rich internal characters (I know that studio pressures are a factor in that terrible love triangle and so on), I still... vaguely appreciate the effort to create and include named female characters like Tauriel, when the book is sadly lacking in them. I think she's fine, actually. Comparatively, there are many other elements in these adaptations that I think are much, MUCH worse.

But still, if you want to add female characters to this story, the obvious answer to me seems to be to just make half the Company into dwarf women? (With similarly fancy beards and other facial hair! Because I think that's fun.) It's just... so much easier?

Do NOT come at me with that "dwarf women are rare" bullshit. Unreliable narration. Logistically unlikely. Also, if you believe that "men are the warriors and craftsmen, the women stay at home" is how dwarf society strictly functions (boring, honestly, on top of being incredibly sexist), I could argue that the Battle of Azanulbizar and other struggles probably left a significant dent in this dwarf group's male population, leaving behind many widows and mothers without children to pick up the work. The battlefields have come to and TAKEN both Erebor and Moria from the dwarves. I see no good reason why dwarf women would not have equal investment in reclaiming their home and the gold. Many of the Company are not presented to be formally trained warriors, anyway.

Now, ideally, we could do way queerer stuff in terms of both romance and gender here, but we know cowards with veto powers would not let this happen. Still, I feel like basic genderbending would have been a very doable move and is, actually, a very reasonable ask of an adaptation that would have added some depth to the story even if you didn't acknowledge the change at all.

Like, preferably, this would be an adaptational change that would be directly addressed. Maybe all of the Company appear male at first due to traveling that way (and assumptions made by humans and hobbits), then Bilbo might learn that some of the Company are dwarf women when he becomes closer to all of them. We could have a brief scene acknowledging that dwarf women are fighting these battles for their pasts and their futures too. It doesn't have to be a big thing! They can just be there. Existing. Participating.

I even think it would be fun if two of the dwarves were actually an older married couple traveling together, instead of brothers or cousins, because loving married bickering and battle couples are fun. You can have running jokes in the background about how Smaug's invasion ruined their wedding day, and going back and forth with "you never take me anywhere nice" @ each other whenever they're stuck in Goblintown or the Mirkwood dungeons. (I like seeing good marriages & partnerships in fiction and established couples going on fantasy quests together. I just think it's neat.)

But another (sillier) direction is that you could just cast some actresses in beards to play some of the dwarves, then leave the fact that some of these characters are probably dwarf women (traveling as men) as a fun detail for the audience. Bilbo is either too oblivious to notice or much too polite to bring it up at all. It's canonically compliant to the text this way!

Now, obviously some few people would have complained that Tolkien's work was being ruined by "political correctness", but they complained anyway about Tauriel (when there are MANY other bad choices in these movies), and what worthwhile arguments could they have possibly made against genderbending some of the THIRTEEN dwarves? Like, most casual fans I know cannot NAME the entire Company, who get so little character development in the book that the films had to come up with unique designs and backgrounds for most of them anyway. Bro (directed towards someone objecting to the idea of including female dwarves), be real, there's no way that you honestly cared this much about "Nori the Dwarf" before right now.

#tossawary tolkien #long post

[venusin-aries]

Anti’s coming into the Gwyneth Berdara tag and accusing Gwynriel’s of the mischaracterization of Gwyn or only liking Gwyn because of Gwynriel is fucking LAUGHABLE. 

All I've seen are posts singing praises about Gwyn (just Gwyn!) and I have NOT ONCE seen a Gwynriel shipper characterize Gwyn wrongly.

What are we mischaracterizing her for? 

Being brave as fuck for choosing to train to be a Valkyrie? Nesta’s admiration and fondness of her? For saying she’s resilient for being able to enjoy herself and laugh with her friends after experiencing some fucked up shit? THAT SHE'S LIKABLE?? Being strategic and patient FOR DAYS and spying on the Illaryian males before sending the beasts after them ruthlessly? Being smart and witty? Her interests in sex and smut and stating she doesn’t want to be coddled? Her willingness to sacrifice herself on the bridge? Her determination to finish the blood rite even though she was injured as fuck? Her unwavering loyalty toward Nesta and Emerie? That Nesta thinks her beauty is comparable to Mor and Merrill?

The fact that she’s not judgemental and she immediately accepted Nesta when they were sharing their stories? Her own struggle with guilt and self hate? Her immediately witnessing what Azriel is capable of when they first met? Azriel’s shadows reacting POSITIVELY towards her and yeah, the thought of her joy glowing in his chest? That she teases him and challenges him? That she hasn't seen him torture someone yet but she's seen worse shit soooo why would she be fazed??

She's canonly more suitable for Azriel than anybody else in the series and THAT'S why people dislike her as a character even though on her own she's a great character.

Those are only SOME of her positives we got in ONE book. Notice, some of those positives include Azriel, but most don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️. 

Allllllll of those points have textual evidence to support them. And these are allllllll the points Gwynriel shippers love to make about her. 

The only charactization of her anti’s will accept is if she goes back to the library, stays there and is never seen or heard of in canon again. Or if she’s evil which she’s likely not going to be. Stop being so petty. If anything SJM has her set up for a HEALING journey. 

However some people obviously like to see a female character STAY broken and let her trauma define her.

Getting mad when she's so obviously such a fun character? She has fun and laughs and teases her friends and Cassian and Azriel and enjoys herself but there's something wrong with that and you think its annoying????

Fanon Gwyn and Canon Gwyn are basically the same. If you don’t like fanon Gwyn, you probably don’t like canon Gwyn and that’s fine, whatever, I think you have totally shit taste but whatever just STAY OUT OF THE GWYNETH BERDARA TAG.

I see the shit ya'll tag and then delete.

I’m a Gwyn stan first and foremost but I have not seen one single other Gwynriel shipper mischaracterize her. 

Fanon is fun until it melts your brain and you start believing ONLY fanon and wrongly remembering canon and then attacking others for using canon to support their points. 

It’s crazy to me that anti’s can dislike a fictional character so much that the idea of potentially seeing more of said character in the canon universe and getting more fandom love honestly upsets them.

Like holy shit, I don’t like E/riel, but I have enough tact not to take that out on either Elain OR Azriel. And I don’t go looking to start shit with shippers because I'm not pathetic. Too bad some people can’t extend that same class to Gwyn. 

Also, I feel like some people forget about this fucking scene. 

Gwyn studied Ramiel's craggy, unforgiving slope. Not much snow graced its sides. Like the wind had whipped it all away. Or the storms had avoided its peak entirely. “Is it living, though? To take the safe road?”

“You’re the one who's been living in a library for two years,” Emerie said.

Gwyn didn't flinch. “I have. And I am tired of it.” She surveyed the blood-soaked leather along her thigh. “I don't want to take the safe road.” She pointed to the mountain, to the slender path upward. “I want to take that road.” Her voice thickened. “I want to take the road that no one dares travel, and I want to travel it with you two. No matter what may befall us. Not as Illyrians, not for their titles, but as something new. To prove to them, to everyone, that something new and different might triumph over their rules and restrictions.”

A cold wind blew off Ramiel's sides. 

Whispering, murmuring.

“They call this climb the Breaking for a reason,”Emerie countered gravely.

Nesta added, “Wehaven't eaten in days. We're down to the last of our water. To climb that mountain-“

“I have been broken once before,” Gwyn said, her voice clear. “I survived it. And I will not be broken again- not even by this mountain.”

Look at me and tell me this is a character we’ll never hear from again. Go right a fucking head. 

You can't come into the Gwyneth Berdara tag claiming we mischaracterize her. We take her as is. No need to pick her apart or give her little unnecessary traits to fit her better with any one.

It's not possible to make her out to be something she's not when every little thing we love about her is canon.

You can be salty over us comparing Bryce/Hunt and Azriel/Gwyn but oh wait! SJM uses similar language to describe them ON PURPOSE in canon as fucking well!!!

On purpose.

In fucking canon.

But we’re reaching.

Do not come into the Gwyneth Berdara tag and say Gwynriel’s make it hard to like her but oh, you do like her you do! And then go on to say she’s nothing more special than a Valkyrie or Nesta’s friend. Yeah, I fucking saw that shit.

People are weirdly jealous over a ship/inspiring character a lot of people relate to.

Gwyn is not stealing Azriel from any one because there’s NO ONE to steal him from.

These character's are fake but the hate and vitriol ya'll are spewing at people who like her are very real.

Just stay out of the Gwyneth Berdara tag if you don't like her.

#gwyneth berdara #gwyn berdara #gwynriel #pro gwynriel #azriel x gwyn #gwyn x azriel #pro gwyneth berdara #acotar #acosf #I probably have more to add but I'm blanking #Oh its a long boy #but coming into the Gwyneth Berdara tag and being a dumb bitch is a choice #also this is probably a mess but oh well

[thenamesblurrito]

assorted Transformers fics to rec (part 1...?)

i really do think fic recs are valuable to fandom so here’s a random collection of Transformers fics i like, with no particular theme. these were compiled by frantically googling half-remembered bits to try and find the only ones i remember reading years ago, and i know i’m missing some i’d like to include

EDIT: part 2 here!

A Prime Performance

TFP AU, incomplete, AO3. Megatron is an actor in a children’s show. this is just as hilarious as you think it is. some slowburn MegOp. i love all the easter eggs and references and the way this in-universe show is created and run?? it’s fascinating

All Roads Lead to Rome

no set continuity/vaguely Bayverse, oneshot, AO3. a huge robot warrior like Sunstreaker is odd enough in modern times, just imagine him in ancient Rome. extremely interesting premise to me i love this bit and would love more. warning for typical crass patriarchal expectations for women in marriage but nothing actually explicit

Another Gate

Bayverse, complete multichap, FFN. whatever Sam is now, it isn’t human. some REAL good body horror, friendship, and alien strangeness ooooo

Bodies (break)

IDW, oneshot, AO3. Ultra Magnus goes to therapy and Rung is something wrong. oooooooghhghghhf i LOVE when people lean into the oddness and creepiness of the local god

Brave New World

fan canon, ongoing webcomic, TFW05. a spin on BW among other things, following Rodimus Prime’s crew of beastformers as they face down an assortment of bad guys and mysteries. LOVE this canon guys i LOVE it, very very good beast mode choices, very heartfelt and very funny, i also love seeing the art progression over the years. lovely webcomic here

Burn a hole in the old grip of the familiar

TFP, complete multichap, AO3, NSFW near the end. it’s focused on Ultra Magnus/reader but the first half of this fic is probably my favorite. the overwhelm and incredulity the reader character grapples with for awhile, i feel like it’s pretty realistic for someone who’s been shoved into a weird new world. DEFINITELY did Breakdown dirty though. has sequels that i haven’t read

dares for the first time

G1, oneshot, AO3. lovely little take on a G1 Guiding Hand that makes me feel things

Dog of Law

IDW, complete multichap, AO3. the Lost Light crew don’t find Minimus in Tyrest’s cells, they find a small green turbofox. lovely character driven piece here and honestly i just really like when his canonical turbofox alt is used i think it’s a shame we never got it in the story proper

First Contact

IDW, incomplete, AO3. listen it’s only a little bit written but i am OBLIGATED to post isekai/modern girl in Middle Earth/falling into fiction type of stories and i really liked the setup for this one okay! i love isekai and this was the only one i could remember to track down

Grey Is The Night

Batman/vaguely IDW crossover, complete multichap, AO3. there’s a new police car in Gotham, and it’s up to no good. listen i don’t even do DC stuff but Batman meeting Prowl here is done MARVELOUSLY ohhh i love this very much, the plot is GOOD, and i bet folks who actually like DC will love it even more

Hazard Light

IDW, oneshot, AO3. a hanahaki take on Brainstorm/Perceptor that i actually like, despite not usually enjoying hanahaki at all, with some nice Cybertronian biology too

How to Save the World in 8 Minutes and 3 Seconds

vaguely G1/continuity soup, oneshot, AO3. how does Prowl save a species, with blocked communications, no visuals, and a short time limit? why, he just keeps an eye on social media of course! a lil dark and fun and clever

In Media Bellum

TFP, incomplete, AO3. human reader is caught up with Team Prime in a delightful exploration of culture and introspection and found family. no shipping but masterful platonic relationship work! it feels... idk relaxed? caring? i love the tone of this writing

Juxtaposition

vaguely G1, complete multichap, FFN (also on AO3 but never finished crossposting). a human OC gets in a car accident and starts hearing voices in her head, unknowingly saving a Cybertronian’s life, even if it’s in a very atypical manner. love this OC, love the whole premise here and the exploration of an alien reality from a human POV. no shipping, if that’s not ur thing

Lost Light/Rodimus

IDW, oneshot, Tumblr. the ship comes to life and has something important to ask Rodimus. i love this concept it’s very good, very intriguing

Magnus Carey

IDW, oneshot, AO3. Verity teaches Minimus about Christmas. short and sweet, i love their friendship

My Totally Real Mary Sue Husband Who Lives Back On Cybertron

TFA, oneshot, AO3, Dratchet. “Ratchet offhandedly mentions he's conjunxed. Bumblebee refuses to believe him. Hijinks ensue.” funny and in character and sweet

Mythbusters Season Nine Interlude: The Autobot Special

G1/Mythbusters crossover, oneshot, AO3. busting some myths AND some Decepticons! it just keeps getting better and better the further you read. i laughed out loud so many times, and cheered at recognizing so many classic Mythbusters bits, and i will get on my hands and knees to beg for a Dirty Jobs sequel these shows were my CHILDHOOD

Patronus

TFP, twoshot, AO3. Megatron has teatime with Rung, who... is not a normal bot. more good good Rung being something wrong

Property Of

Bayverse, incomplete, FFN. when Sam and Mikaela meet Bumblebee, it isn’t as an Autobot scout, but rather as a new owner of these recently discovered organic animals called “humans”. a very well done human pet fic that doesn’t veer into psychological torture or boundary crossing or anything (sorry if that’s your jam) and while it’s incomplete i still love what’s there, especially as the kids learn how to communicate their personhood to an ignorant Bee

Rules to Follow When Making First Contact

continuity soup/fan canon, ongoing series, AO3. listen i know many folks aren’t here for the human characters but i LOVE all the humans here they are each characterized so well and i love seeing how its been blended together across canons. this is a very clever, very engaging setup with a very grounded presence for alien robots that hits in ALL the right places for me. AUTOBOTS LEARNING ENGLISH YALL!!! YES!!! very good very good

Scrimscrim

TFP....... sort of, incomplete, AO3. what do you do when you end up with a Starscream toy brought to life? this is a hilarious premise with good characterization, a lovely human OC, a ridiculous situation handled very realistically, and generally good fun to read. reverse isekai is perhaps more of a favorite of mine than isekai!

SG Prime

TFP SG au, ongoing webcomic, own website and DA. REALLY REALLY COOL YALL. fantastic designs and inclusions and expanding on TFP lore and making very interesting SG dynamics and just. excellent.

TFP Wheeljack in TFA

TFP/TFA crossover, ongoing series of posts, Tumblr. i LOVE crossovers, i will kill and die for crossovers, and this is one of the few i’ve been able to find! there’s enough posts under that tag that i haven’t been able to read them all but what i did see is GOOD

The Echo Garden

IDW/TFP crossover, incomplete, AO3. Soundwave gets picked up by the Lost Light. okay i am a SUCKER for crossovers as previously stated and this one is Good. leans fully into being a crossover and expounding on the differences between universes. Soundwave needs to figure out what to do with himself! also features some delightful slowburn SoundRod and a lovely ensemble cast. Toaster is the best

The One Where The Decepticons Are The Good Guys

TFP SG au, incomplete, AO3. i’m not typically a fan of Shattered Glass stuff but this doesn’t feel terribly OOC or completely upended or alien to the original plot, i think this is done very well and i can’t wait for more

Transformers Recovery: Primal Launch

fan canon, complete multichap, AO3. it’s like the Lost Light but weirder, i don’t even know how to convey its awesomeness. VERY funny, VERY cool, Sky Lynx is there, Swerve is important, Riptide is such a good bot, Megatron exists, just all good things here. treat yourself and read this it’s such a delight

Twenty-Five to Life

vaguely IDW, oneshot, AO3. Starscream/Minimus soulmate au that makes me wheeze when i read it because it it so painfully in character and hilarious oh my god i am CRYING laughing by the time i finish it. petty criminal Starscream, noble Minimus, oil and water. gets raunchy but nothing explicit with an NSFW sequel

Under Control Till You’re In Front Of Me

G1, oneshot, AO3. i need more people to join the Shockwave/Moonracer ship please please it’s good

Xenoethnography

canon soup/based in TFP, ongoing series, AO3. a more hard scifi take on Transformers from the POV of an anthropologist hired to study them. y’all, THIS IS GOOD. seriously if there’s one fic out of all of these i could keep, it’d be this one, it’s just so so good ugh. ugh i love it i need to catch up with it again

#fic rec #rec list #macaddam #transformers #transformers fanfiction #long post #hey look its story isnt that weird #theres still a few open on my tab holder i need to get around to rereading and put on here but! thatll be an eventual part 2 ig #if you have any crossovers or isekai esque fics not on here send them my way and i will add them to my to-read list

[pet-genius]

Too Deep for the Healing

I made this post because I witnessed a massively triggering reddit debate, but the mods at r/harrypotter wouldn't post it (I admit, I asked a friend to post it for me). Trigger warning: Sexual Assault.

So, did James commit sexual assault against Snape?

The opener is a trick question, because “sexual assault” is technically a term of art in law and in psychology. Wizards aren’t governed by any Muggle legal system and the Hogwarts library doesn’t carry the DSM. For that matter, wizards are also fictional and written by an author, so whether something falls under a technical definition from an entirely different semantic field (psychology and law… vs. YA fantasy literature) is meaningless.

With that said, in all fairness, if you apply the technical criteria, it definitely was sexual assault. 

From the England and Wales Rape Crisis website:

<<The Sexual Offences Act 2003 says that someone commits sexual assault if all of the following happens:

They intentionally touch another person (James declared intent)

The touching is sexual (if the very act of using Levicorpus on Snape wasn’t sexual in itself, the threat that followed surely was)

The other person does not consent to the touching (no brainer)

They do not reasonably believe that the other person consents (no brainer and kind of the point)

The touching can be with any part of the body or with anything else (let’s say that if the British legislator had had the foresight to include wizards, they would have added “wand”)>>

Also from that website:

<<There are many other ‘tactics’ that someone might use to sexually assault someone. For example:

bullying>>

So there you are.

Sure, some people view this as “pantsing,” a cutesy way to refer to the (perplexing) act of surprisingly taking off a person’s pants. When I (F) was about 8, a classmate (M) opened the door to my bathroom stall in front of other kids to poke fun at me, and I gotta say it never registered and still doesn’t register as a sexual assault because we were literal children. Shitty, it might have been, but… meh. James wasn’t 8, or 10. I just can’t imagine anyone old enough to shave, who doesn’t have serious developmental issues, not understanding that genitals aren’t just “funny”. But if one insists on classifying it as “pantsing,” they should refer to the Wikipedia entry, which speaks of a 5-second long process, not the culmination* of a protracted affair. Also from Wikipedia: “The United States legal system has prosecuted it as a form of sexual harassment of children.”

*I hope it was the culmination: we don’t see if it went that far so we obviously can’t know if it might have gone even further.

So if one were to be fair while applying strict technical terms to James’s action (assuming he went through with it), one would have to cede the point. The term “sexual assault” might be emotionally charged, but going by objective definitions, it applies.

But of course it’s the emotional charge that matters here, because again, IT’S A BOOK. So I suppose there’s no escaping asking ourselves if James went through with his threat*. It’s more likely than not, since the scene could have easily ended with James being interrupted, or even saying “just kidding, I don’t want to make everyone cry, his face is ugly enough.” His furious expression and the fade-to-black suggest that he did. Also, to feature nudity in a YA novel (in which James is, after all, intended as a positive character) would have been literally impossible. The implication is heavy enough. And honestly, I really would like to know who watches a sitcom where the characters start kissing, discuss having sex, and get as naked as the censors would allow before the scene is cut… and needs help figuring out what’s going on here. For James to catch himself on time and not follow through might have been a very compelling way to start his redemption arc, but as we know, that took another year+.

*If he didn’t, it’s mere sexual harassment. But then, to turn the James defenders’ argument against them… it’s one memory out of his entire life. Who’s to say he wasn’t even worse on other occasions? After all, the title “Snape’s Worst Memory” is, in retrospect, about Lily - not the bullying, which was very clearly business as usual.

If Snape had been a girl, it would have been a no brainer. If James had been Snape’s victim, let’s be real, it would have been a no brainer too.

We know what happened had because what happened traumatized Snape… and Harry. Immediately after he saw it, Harry wondered if his dad might have somehow forced his mom to marry him. In HBP he is still unable to tell Ron and Hermione what he had seen in the Pensieve, and doesn’t even say anything when he remembers Snape had called Lily a mudblood. Even in DH, two years after he had seen the memory, he looks away rather than watch the scene unfold again (and the phrasing - “But Harry kept his distance this time, because he knew what happened after James had hoisted Severus into the air and taunted him; he knew what had been done and said” - is highly suggestive). Also, since it's a book, here's the traditional end-of-book canonical voice of the author explaining to us how we ought to feel:

“I trust Severus Snape,” said Dumbledore simply. “But I forgot — another old man’s mistake — that some wounds run too deep for the healing. I thought Professor Snape could overcome his feelings about your father — I was wrong.”

This is the same Dumbledore who had, a book earlier, expected Snape and Sirius to play nice, the same Dumbledore who can criticize a man who had just expired in front of his grieving godson, so if he says Snape could not overcome his feelings about James, he probably had good reason to.

We know Snape only bothered to hide very few memories in the Pensieve, presumably the highly volatile and top-secret ones, during the occlumency lessons. We know Snape was surprisingly okay with Harry infiltrating his embarrassing childhood memories, and it was only Harry viewing SWM that drove him over the edge, up to and including defying Dumbledore. We know that it was Harry’s attempt at Levicorpus that made Snape lose it during the HBP confrontation (and not Sectumsempra or even Crucio). In short, we know he’s traumatized. To insist that he’s not legitimately traumatized, but just bitter and petty about getting one-upped and defeated by James or whatever, is not only cruel but also exactly how people react to victims in real life. Minimization, victim-blaming, and denial. How damaging, to be a victim and see this shit, honestly.

Sure, you can interpret Snape as petty and bitter, and you would be right. But you gotta admit the hatred for James rivals all else. Easy - James got Lily*. It’s not Snape’s (valid) trauma, it’s his (incelly, entitled, invalid) jealousy. Except that Snape could have very easily attempted to use a love potion on Lily himself, or taken some measure - any measure - to alleviate his jealousy. And when others accuse him of jealousy, it’s never about Lily or romantic success in general - it’s about James’s Quidditch skills. JKR, however, supplements:

“James always suspected Snape harboured deeper feelings for Lily, which was a factor in James' behaviour to Snape."

Assuming she doesn’t mean “James thought Snape was morally in the wrong for having feelings for Lily,” the more viable interpretation was “James did not appreciate someone else having feelings for Lily.”

*Never mind that James got Lily long after Snape’s supposedly irrational hatred for James reared its head, so.

James intends the removal of Snape's underpants as an escalation of the verbal and physical violence. What's left, after that? Where do you escalate to, from physical violence? It's a reaction to being romantically rebuffed, and compared (unfavorably) to Snape. Jealousy drove James's behavior, not Snape's behavior, and accusing an assault victim of only acting this way because he's jealous of his assailant is... a choice. Especially when the assailant is dead, and so is the object of jealousy, and there's literally nothing and no one left to be jealous of anymore.

Jealousy explains few to none of Snape’s actions, and rather a lot of what James got up to.

Do we need to discuss what the Death Eaters did to the poor Muggle woman at the Quidditch World Cup? That Draco wasn't trying to be helpful in warning Hermione to run away, but rather was attempting to belittle her by alluding to her sexuality? Do we need to, really? Do we need to recall that Voldemort himself described the Death Eaters' behavior (which wasn't as atrocious as James's) as "Muggle Torture"?

How much do we need to be spoon-fed? “Sexual assault” is a charged term? Good. That scene is meant to be appalling. There’s a reason it’s one of the most detailed, graphic and harrowing scenes. It’s important for understanding these characters.

If JKR had wanted to write James as noble, if arrogant, and Snape as jealous and full of unjustified hatred  toward James, she could have. It’s Snape’s hatred toward poor Harry that’s invalid, as the text comments on.

If one feels that to call someone a “sexual assaulter” is to caricaturize them or unfairly malign them when they’re actually more nuanced and complex than that, I can only reply that they can take it up with the author who had made her character that way. If we want to believe a sexual assaulter can grow, change and atone, good on us for our optimism and compassion, although I hope we reserve some for the victims. If we want to believe James, specifically, did - it’s not my cup of tea, but knock yourselves out. But not calling a spade a spade is not the solution and is not helpful.

One last point. I’ve seen it argued that calling James a sex offender is somehow harmful to “real” victims, because it trivializes “real” sexual violence. Funny, that. Funny that feminists fought with tooth and nail for less exacting interpretations that would protect as many people as possible, and then here we are, resorting to (incorrect) technical classifications to avoid calling someone a sex offender, when being a sex offender is nearly his entire claim to fame. Funny, that suddenly gatekeeping is okay and even beneficial. Funny that we think that if we salvage someone from being considered a sex offender by the strictest definitions, it makes his actions remotely okay. Funny that we need to be reminded again, in 2022, that sexual violence is sometimes about sex, but always about power. That men can be and often are victim, That many people, including many “real victims” (in the sense that they are not fictional and are also victims) take great comfort in the representation of a believable survivor who is nevertheless a hero (and a cautionary tale).

This argument is ridiculous and borders on immoral. No one in their right mind would call Harry’s friends sex offenders as they exposed his form shamelessly while under the effect of Polyjuice Potion. That indeed would be trivializing, so no one does it. It’s especially ridiculous for a fandom that is so adept at understanding parallels and allusions to real life when they’re much less fitting, but instructive all the same, such as house-elf <> slave, lychanthropy <> other stigmatized conditions, and Death Eaters <> Nazis and other hate groups. What's trivializing is the idea that one can atone for and move on from the sexual assault they committed by being nice to some other people. What's trivializing is to maintain that there's a proper way to be a victim, complete with a timeline for healing (and that if you don't comply, you're probably not even a victim). For what it’s worth (and it should not be worth anything), I personally have all the authority and moral high ground I need to make this point.

Hate Snape all you want. He’s a bastard. Criticize his coping mechanisms, by all means. They’re inadequate and toxic - but let’s not tell ourselves he has no need for them. Love James if it makes you happy. Many beloved people are sex offenders and their unlovable victims are… just that, and pretending this isn’t so is helping no one.

#snape #severus snape

[project-incubus]

https://www.tumblr.com/cartoons-asfuk-blog/131237661529 This really got on Cartoon Network. It’s the episode that was delayed and screened at sdcc to. That had to be fun lol. Teen titans go probably does worse but still wow

okay but this is like the tip of the iceburg.

heres a youtube video showing the us censorship in total drama island, which aired in 2008 in the us on cartoon network, if you haven't watched the video the us version dubbed over words like 'crappy' and 'stupid' replacing them with words like 'lame-o' likely because these were deemed inappropriate for usamerican audiences meanwhile they were okay in canada (where total drama was made) or australia (that aired the uncensored version). another example is the cartoon 6teen another canadian show that aired on cartoon network between 2008 and 2010 but 24 episodes were either censored or not aired on cartoon network for various reasons most notably the episode 'enter the dragon' because it included some of the female characters having periods.

and when you compare this to shows like adventure time being able to say 'sexy' in the season one episode evicted in the song house hunting, or sym-bionic titan with the 'kimmy dancing scene' it really raises the question of weather cartoon network has strict rules on what they can or cannot air or if its just shows that aren't made in the us.

i just think it a little hypocritical to censor works like suck from canadian shows but allow 'sexy' in us made shows, or not airing an episode because it had a character shoplifting but allowed the kimmy dancing scene.

thankfully nowadays we have tv-14 cartoons getting more and more popular, so writers can tell the stories they want without threats of censorship. and personally i don't really know if i agree with the censorship of the shows, on one hand kids will be watching it and you do need to be careful about what it depicts, on the other hand some censorship is just contributing to existing stigma, like periods are a real part of life that many people do have to deal with and it really shouldn't be such a taboo subject (especially since 6teen was a show aimed at teenagers not kids).

although i mentioned usamerican censorship before i don't think this is usa specific, there are tons of rules in other countries that lead to the censorship of usamerican shows, (such as the censorship of the queerness in steven universe).

but this example specifically is more complicated, it could be sexualized by older people but this was in season one back when the show was mainly for kids who likely wouldn't understand what their seeing, and at the end of the day if you are a woman fighting in a dress with no leggings underneath might show some leg. beyond that, its something only shown for a few seconds in one episode, not a part of cheshire's regular character design.

on the other hand, this is a superhero cartoon and the superhero genre does tend to have an issue with the oversexualization of female characters, this instance can be written off as 'not a problem' because this is a fictional character, or because its animated, or because, as i mentioned before, kids aren't going to understand that this could be sexualizing a female character, but there lies the problem, this is normalizing this kind of behavior from within the genre. a lot of the time the sexist female character designs in comics do tend to be showing leg like they do in the gif, sometimes its starfire in the new teen titans (1980), or harley quinn in suicide squad (2016) or gwenpool (who tends to have the exact same costume as deadpool just without pants*). individually this scene in young justice isn't an issue and I honestly can't remember any other similar scenes in young justice, but its fact that this isnt the only time that kids shows have shown female characters legs in this kind of way, in teen titans and teen titans go, raven is shown without pants while this is often covered up with her cloak it does raise the question of why she's never designed wearing pants, it wouldn't be out of character for her to wear clothes that cover up a lot of skin.

while once small clip from young justice isn't too bad continued depictions of female characters without pants normalizes the behavior, normalizes the idea the women are expected to show skin during physical activity*** which is an ongoing issue around the world with the dress codes enforcing women to wear little clothing on their legs in the olympics and other sports competitions prioritizing looks over comfort for female athletes.

women should allowed to choose what to wear, whether that be showing a lot of skin or none at all

but that's not to say that things aren't getting better. there were criticism of the costumes and male gaze in suicide squad (2016) but its because of this criticism that the producers actually did something to fix it. in birds of prey the costume design is clearly improved, with female characters wearing outfits they could realistically fight in, or outfits women would realistically wear, a trend that continued on with the suicide squad (2021). or even in the comics themselves in 2009 marvel made shuri black panther for the first time in black panther: shuri and while the comic art itself is beautiful its undeniable that there is some comic typical sexualization going on here, notice how shes unrealistically thin, and her breasts are accentuated, this is something remedied in the 2019 comic; shuri, wheres she's wearing practical clothes that she can move in, and don't show excessive amounts of skin, beyond that the outfit is stunning and eye-catching without relying on sexualization of shuri herself.

tl;dr this probably happened because cartoon network is messy and has kinda hypocritical censorship rules, if the show wasn't made in america it likely wouldn't have aired that scene, and an issue with superhero shows from that era normalizing the sexualization of female characters

*it should be noted that gwenpool is a meta comic and the design was made to make fun of the issue**

**one could also argue that despite the satire and self awareness it still contributes to the issue

***as well as in everyday life

#i didnt mean to make this so long... oops #i have a lot of thoughts #idk what to tag this as #anon #asks #young justice #total drama #6teen #cartoon network #adventure time #sym bionic titan #teen titans #suicide squad #harley quinn #shuri #gwenpool

[minimarvelh]

Hey this isn’t an attack or anything love the posts. I’m part of the starker and irondad fandom, but mostly indulge in aged up Peter when it comes to the former.

Just wanted to say not to worry about how your posts are viewed. People will literally impose whatever they want through whatever lens they are looking through.

I saw the post that supposedly started the argument and the people that say it can’t be platonic are kinda being ignorant and judgmental for people who ask for people not to be judgmental to them.

Like I literally have moments when I take my mother’s sweater and she’s like someone is taking my clothes. She knows I’m wearing it, I know I’m wearing it of course I’m gonna reply with a sarcastic “idk maybe some is stealing our clothes” because I’m a brat and that what kids do. It usually ends with an eye roll and me now having a new sweater. I will straight up tell anyone I don’t know who ate the last cookie while eating said cookie in their face, it’s a joke.

The people that are trying to impose their thought process when all you want is fluff and comfy corner blows my mind. It’s not like you don’t know they exist you’re just asking not to be involved and apparently stating that and setting boundaries is considered edging them on is ridiculous.

Sorry it ended up being a rant, just do you. If people want to perverse that, say your piece, block them, and move on cause they won’t change their minds and you definitely shouldn’t change yours.



thank you so much!!❤️ If people want to ship characters and it’s not a kid/teen + adult, but two adults - do what you do. I am against starker but it’s your business and I’m no one to tell you or others what to ship and what not to ship.

I am just asking not to take my posts, that’s written about 15-17 year old teen and adult for the ship, that’s all.

Thank you for your respect and understanding, I am trying to do the same towards other people and if I offended you I am genuinely sorry, the only thing I honestly do is trying to make my account safe space (I know I wrote about this million times in the posts before but really this is the only thing I’m doing: trying to have fun and make my posts feel safe for other people)

A lot of my friends, acquaintances and me included experienced sa or har*ssment from adults when we were kids, so it’s really triggering to see that under my posts. For me, the word fiction doesn’t justify writing about kid and an adult.

Again, I am sorry if I offended you, but I am not sorry for my position and my views.

And again, thank you for understanding!!

Have a nice day❤️

#irondad and spiderson #peter parker #tony stark #irondad #spiderman #irondad spiderson #ask

[shen-daozhang]

@majestictortoise got an ask about recommendations for more Chinese shows for someone who enjoyed The Untamed, and opened the floor for more recommendations.... ... My time has come. I actually have a watch list here that's filterable by genre, as well as some other things (including my recommendations for those new to Chinese shows), but I wanted to pull out a couple of those that I think are good for people who are looking for something to watch after The Untamed, that might not be the first shows you'll hear about here on Tumblr.

If you like political intrigue, complicated characters, bromance, and women who can kick your ass (both metaphorically and literally)

THE SECRET OF THE THREE KINGDOMS

54 eps. Viki. Youtube.

199 CE. Yang Ping grew up alongside his foster-brother Sima Yi, unaware of the fact that he is the Emperor's identical twin brother. When the Emperor dies, Yang Ping is secretly placed on the throne in his brother's place. He quickly learns that his brother was emperor in name only, and spent his entire reign under the control of one warlord or another; currently he is under the thumb of the infamous and ingenious Cao Cao. But Yang Ping lacks the the viciousness and cunning that those closest to him think he needs to survive as the emperor, let alone unite a war-torn nation and revive a fading dynasty. Can Yang Ping survive the power-struggle and become an emperor in his own right while remaining true to his principles?

This is a (highly) fictionalized history of the fall of the Eastern Han and the start of the Three Kingdoms period. It start off a little rough (I honestly almost dropped around episode 5), but I got pulled in and find this to be very bingeable and just a fun show with a cast of really interesting characters. While they all have knives at each others throats, no one is truly a villain- even those people who are traditionally seen as being 'bad guys' are given depth and complications. These are people living a terrible period of history, who have very different ideas of how to fix it.

Speaking of history, if you know nothing about this period you'll likely need to do a little bit of Wikipedia-ing if you want to really get the most out of the show. While I do think it's mostly accessible to someone who is going in without knowing what happens, I actually think the liberties taken with history are an interesting way to play with the historical characters and why they did what they did, and how they became who they were; it's constructed in such a way that it assumes you know what happens to these people, which often makes their early actions and statements ironic looking at you Cao Pi, my poor little meow meow I've actually been debating about making a simple guide to the characters, so if that's something you're interested in let me know.

You might recognize: Bian Jiang who provided the voice for Lan Wangji voices Sima Yi Su Shangqing (voice of Meng Yao, Cao Weining, Tang Fan) voices several characters I am almost positive Yang Ping is voiced by Jiang Guangtao (voice of Xie Lian, Sheng Lingyuan in Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire, Chu Wanning in the Erha voiced manhua). Tan Jianci (Cao Pi) is playing Gu Yun in Winner is King Tse Kwanho (Cao Cao) is playing Xue Zhengyong in HYX/Immortality

------------------

If you like a drama queen of a main character who is willing to do (almost) anything for what starts off as a just cause, a great friendship that gets twisted as the show goes on, found family, and fantastic chemistry between the actors (not just the romances)

RISE OF PHOENIXES

70 episodes. Netflix.

Banished prince Ning Yi claws his way back to power and favor, methodically eviscerating all who stand in his way. All the while he's drawn to the independent and intelligent Feng Zhiwei who has disguised herself as a boy and become a trusted scholar to the Emperor. But will they survive the schemes and hurdles thrown their way?

If you've watched Nirvana in Fire, Ning Yi is the person that Mei Changsu thinks he is, while thinking that he's the person who Mei Changsu really is. Chen Kun is one of my favorite actors, and the role of the histrionic and morally complicated Ning Yi really shows off his strengths. He's also my fancast for Yan Wushi for what it's worth, and this show is my Powerpoint for why.

I will say that I think this show embodies both the good and bad things about pseudo-historical c-dramas, especially one of this length. I've already touched on the acting, but it's really fantastic from nearly all of the cast, and the actors are allowed to actually react to each other which is a lot of fun to watch. The design is also very cohesive- in addition to the costuming, the set dressing is also really well done with lots of nice details.

However I will say that generally this is a show that you need to turn your brain off and just watch when it comes to the plot. There's also some pacing issues, with important information being skipped over or seeming like entire scenes were jumped over... which might actually be the case because rumor has it this was originally 90 episodes (!) but they were told to cut it down. I honestly recommend you end this show at episode 68. The ending of that episode is more satisfying than what the show gives you (which, spoiler, is a sad ending), and some of the story and plot issues of the later episode really snowball in the last two episodes, with characters acting really OOC and some pretty extreme ridiculousness.

But now that I've said all of that this show is incredibly bingeable and just a fun watch! And I can't understate how excellent the acting chemistry is.

You might recognize: Wen Ruohan as Feng Zhiwei's teacher Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty's Lao Pei is one of Feng Zhiwei's fellow students

------------------

If you like a main character who has a lot of growing up to do (and does it), brothers with a relationship that's #it's complicated, and a xianxia setting focusing on gods and monsters.

ASHES OF LOVE

Viki 60 eps; Netflix 63 eps

Jinmi- a carefree spirit who is unable to feel love- finds herself caught in the sibling rivalry between the two sons of the Heavenly Emperor, Fire Deity Xufeng and Night Deity Runyu.

A personal comfort show/guilty pleasure. This was also a super popular show in China when it aired. The more fantastical xianxia setting gives a lot of room for interesting costume and set design, and while there are some hard fails, there's a lot more that really works! Honestly though I think this show is as popular as it is because of the three leads- Deng Lun, Luo Yunxi and Yang Zi are all really good actors, and make this more than what could have been just another xianxia romance soap-opera of a show. All three of them grown and change, and end the show as completely different people. I do want to say this show changes tone- it starts off almost as a romantic comedy with goofy elements before taking a much more serious turn in the later half.

If you can, watch this on Viki rather than Netflix because the subs are much better (I strenuously disagree with a lot of the choices, but I'll spare you my rant), and the Netflix version is the extended one which makes the show too long while not adding anything worthwhile, and actually messes up the ending of a pivotal episode, weirdly enough. EDIT: It appears the episode ending has been fixed! If you're curious, it was the ending of episode 45, which.... yeah kind of a major episode ending. If you would like to join me in waiting-for-HYX/Immortality hell, this is made by the same production company, and Luo Yunxi (Chu Wanning) plays Runyu, and He Zhonghua (Nangong Liu) plays the Heavenly Emperor (if you've spent any time in the Erha/Dumb Husky tag you have almost certainly seen people using clips of Luo Yunxi in this show for Chu Wanning edits)

------------------ If you like a coming-of-age fantasy that's a sprawling heroes-journey type story, but with the twist that the seemingly chosen hero is more of an anti-hero

EVER NIGHT

61 episodes. Viki

Teenagers Ning Que and Sang Sang try to survive despite the odds stacked against them, while Ning Que attempts to avenge the massacre of his family. Meanwhile, a prophesied darkness has awakened, and the threat of a humanity-ending Eternal Night looms.

I love this show. I adore an amoral main character, as much as I love a character who does bad things for what they think are good reasons and this show has BOTH, AND sets them in contrast to each other! I also love the design choices and the cinematography. Be aware however that as far as I'm concerned, season 2 didn't happen (a lot of the actors didn't return - including lead Chen Feiyu - and it just has a lot of issues). I think season 1 ends by closing out a major plotline enough that it's satisfying in that regard. I like to say this is a show for people who can enjoy the journey rather than the destination, since there are still a lot of things left open.

EDIT: It's back on Viki as of Jul 27!! I'm so happy you have no idea

You'll recognize: Meng Ziyi (Wen Qing) as Ye Hongyu Chen Feiyu (Mo Ran in HYX/Immortality) plays Ning Que, who is a very Mo Ran character (Like Ashes of Love, you've probably seen Chen Feiyu's role in this show used in Erha/Dumb Husky edits)

------------------

If you want a show that has it all- comedy, drama, meet-cute, poetry references, court intrigue, scifi, spy thriller, wuxia, and is filled to the brim with interesting characters

JOY OF LIFE

Viki, 46 eps

Fan Xian was a modern guy who died and was reincarnated in ancient China. Since he's maintained all of his past life's knowledge, he plans to take advantage of his modern smarts and knowledge of classic poetry to live an easy life. However, larger forces have other plans for him, and they don't take kindly to the idea of someone who wants to control his own fate...

This is, hands down, one of the best c-dramas I have ever watched and it kills me that it's not more well-known. Everyone is fantastic and all of the characters are compelling (Haitang Duoduo, please marry me). It also has a twist to it that you will not see coming! I also want to give a special shout out to the actor who played young Fan Xian because he nails the adult actor's mannerisms and speech pattern (seriously, go back and watch the first ep again after you've seen further into the show, it's uncanny).

Heads up this ends on a cliff-hanger, and season 2 filming has been delayed for various reasons, but is supposedly starting in September. HOWEVER I think this show is more than worth watching without season 2 lined up because it's just so good. Also please don't read the Viki summary, it somehow manages to not be the show at all while also giving a major spoiler.

You'll recognize: Xiao Zhan (Wei Wuxian) as Yan Bingyun. He also sings the closing credits song.

This has gotten long, so I'm going to post this for now, and I'll probably make another post with more recs later (edit: I did! This one has more danmei-inspired shows) ! Let me know if this is something that you like to see.

#the untamed #secret of the three kingdoms #ashes of love #joy of life #ever night #rise of phoenixes #cdrama recs #my recs

[stoopid-turtle]

My Turtle Origin Story

Hi. I'm a rando on the internet. I make stuff up for fun and giggles. Nothing I say is real. Everything is fake. I'm fake. I bet you're fake. Fakity fake-fake.

Here's the intro post for this whole thing.

That being said, I got into The Untamed after reading MDZS last year. I'd never watched a c-drama before, though my wife and I have watched some k-dramas and j-dramas before. I was fascinated by a BL adaption in a country where gay relationships are censored.

I'm a nerd at heart, so I wanted to learn more about just...what this was about. How did this get made? Was it just for $$$? Did the people behind it take it seriously or was it a big joke? A cash-grab on a wildly popular web-novel? How was it received? How on earth was it discussed when the main relationship is a gay romance?

So I started watching the behind the scenes footage (bts) and interviews. And reading a bunch. And watching more. And reading more. Basically, I immersed myself into the swamp trying to figure this whole thing out.

My big fear going in was that there'd be a bunch of no-homo stuff in the bts. That nobody took it seriously. That the male actors were icked out by the minimal amount of subtext they did.

So I found it refreshing from the start to see that wasn't the vibe behind the scenes. Honestly, it reminded me a lot like the vibe with Xena. Back in the 1990s, an explicit lesbian couple just wasn't a thing on TV. The network wouldn't allow it.

So the show got as close as they possibly could with what ended up being referred to as "subtext". Xena went way further than The Untamed (Xena and Gabrielle are canon soulmates who have multiple kisses and swear a life commitment to each other). But behind the scenes was a cast and crew who genuinely wanted to show as much of the romance as possible. Who wanted to push the envelope as far as they could go. After a couple seasons, with the actresses' chemistry, they knew it was an epic love story, and they treated it as such.

Were there jokes? Yeah. The actresses had a running joke of flubbing a scene by saying "Now come here for a cuddle". There's a fantastic outtake of Lucy Lawless jokingly going in for a kiss at the end of a scene. But it wasn't a mocking atmosphere. It was sincerely felt and experienced, and it meant a lot to little gay me to see that in Xena. It felt similar to see the same spirit in the Untamed background. Much like Xena (the show) included an episode where she commissions Sappho to write a love poem for Gabrielle, The Untamed snuck in little hints with chickens and historical gay erotica. They took it as far as they feasibly could without the two male leads actually physically interacting much. (I'm putting aside the whole mess where they tried to make WQ a love interest)

There was an immediate difference between Xena and the Untamed behind the scenes, though. The actresses in Xena were close friends. They attended each other's wedding. Had great chemistry. But nobody ever thought they were a real couple, for various reasons. There is 0 chance they are or were ever a couple. Even with all the gay jokes behind the scenes, it's obvious.

As soon as I started looking up TU bts, Youtube started recommending this mysterious bjyx stuff to me.

"Aha!" I thought. "Is this what they call 'fanservice'?"

(I'm sorry. I know I'm not funny)

Okay, so I've been in fandom before with fictional characters. I've always been aware of real-person fiction and had mixed feelings about it. I've also known that some bands do gay fanservice and that BL live-action stuff often comes with fanservice. I'd never really seen it, though.

Still, what I could see in the videos wasn't THAT fanservice-y. A lot of bickering. Singing. Fighting. Lewd jokes. Making faces at each other. Completely nonsensical conversations. Not a lot of, like, handholding or kissing stuff like I'd expect from fanservice.

At the same time, the videos seemed to make wild leaps sometimes in showing that these two - GG and DD - were a thing. Much like the Xena actresses joked with each other about their characters being a couple, GG and DD and others joked about WWX and LWJ being a couple. Sometimes the videos seemed to conflate moments like that--clear jokes--with actual coupleness.

So I kinda dismissed them at first. I mean, it's part of fandom. Some people get into it. Not for me.

But I was still interested in the actors. I wondered how they got the roles. What they thought of them. What they thought about the gay elements.

So, again, reading and whatnot.

It's impossible to read about this stuff without coming across bjyx and turtles. That's where most of the background is discussed in English, honestly. So I read that. Usually kinda putting aside whatever they were trying to imply. Just trying to figure out more about the political situation. The vibe of the actors.

But as I watched and read, these bjyx candies

just

kept

coming.

Some easily dismissed. Some kinda compelling if you squint. Some that required some thought.

I watched a bunch of DD's other stuff (I guess my bias is for him? I adored DD from the start). Took note of his, um, clear lack of interest in women. I mean, yeah, as an idol, I'm sure he didn't want to cause a scandal by acting too familiar. But he seemed even more standoffish than that warranted. It was often commented on by...well, everybody around him.

And then I hit a bts scene that left me gawking. I said I wouldn't link the bts, so I'll just describe this scene. I've only come across it twice in two different bts compilations with slightly different translations, but the gist is the same.

GG and DD are in Cloud Recesses clothes. They're on a brightly lit green screen stage. The camera is shaky and the sound isn't super-great. (I've watched this so many times, I don't even need to look at the video to write down the interaction. I have it memorized)

DD: So flirty. (The translator notes that he's using northern slang here and I think that it came across differently to GG than he intended)

GG: *sarcastic thumbs up as if to say, "Um, rude, but ok"*

DD: You don't like it? *a moment* So beautiful. (the translator notes that this literally means "fairy-like")

GG: *a little swoon. then he stops* No, this word doesn't fit.

DD: Why doesn't it fit?

GG: It just doesn't fit WWX.

DD: I'm not talking about WWX. I'm talking about XZ.

GG: *shy smile with adorable nose crinkle*

DD: So beautiful.

Okay, I was floored. There went my whole, "joking about the role" ambiguity. DD was just straight-up flirting and GG was just straight-up accepting and enjoying it.

That kinda rearranged my brain.

Okay, so they were flirting with each other. But fanservice, right? Maybe the bts were staged?

So I read some more about the context of the releases and the boys' reactions to some of those releases. And I read more about what CP fanservice typically entails (shared endorsements, overt physical interaction, an abrupt ending when promo was done).

None of these matched up with what I was watching.

But still.

Like, seriously?

A huge TV hit based on a BL series, and the main leads are actually dating? That's...that's a story. That's the plot for a book. It's not something that really happens. Come on, now.

Then I came across the other candy that left me gawking. Old cow eats young grass.

I'm not gonna link. If you know, you know.

That's not even fanservice. That's just a couple bickering with each other.

Once I turned that corner, looking at the array of candies...even with the ones I don't take seriously, it just became...well, there's this thing about preponderance of evidence at a certain point. It doesn't mean any one candy is absolutely true. But it definitely indicates a more general truth. BJYXSZD

This is all fiction, though, and I'm a stoopid turtle.

Onward to the next post: Consuming Candies Pt 1: DD and GG are le Gay

#bjyx #yizhan #clowning around #i'm so long-winded #don't listen to me #i yammer on abt Xena of all things

[catgirl-catboy]

sorry if this comes off as rude or in bad faith but i'm interested in hearing your reasons on why you dislike saiouma? again, not trying to be rude, i'm just interested since it's one of the big popular ships and i think you have interesting danganronpa takes

@crowssoul2 sent another ask with the same idea, so allow me to respond to them both here instead of trying to cut an essay in half.

Nah! You didn't seem rude at all! I am more than happy to overanalyze Danganronpa, since I love Danganronpa to death. I am just as happy to be asked what I thought they failed @ then to be asked what I liked. Hell, I'll even enjoy civil discussion about why you disagree with my takes. (except maybe my take on the great Chihiro discourse, since bystanders always get pissy at that one)

Also, to preface this, this is a ship and let ship blog. I'm glad all you Saiouma shippers are having fun. Also, I love all the ship art you make. If you enjoy what we got, this isn't a personal attack. Honestly, I wish I were one of you since there's so much more content that way.

I feel like I dislike Saiouma because their canon dynamic went against the themes of the work. Kokichi, as a character, represents lies, which is one of the major themes of Drv3. (The same way Makoto represents hope and Junko represents despair) This seems really obvious to say, but is important to my point. A characters relationship with Kokichi should mirror their relationship with lies.

A good example of this done right is Kaito. Listen, his writing irks me, but his relationship with Kokichi is one of my favorite things about him. (Still can't get behind Oumota bc of Kaito's personality, but that doesn't mean I dislike the foils OR the shippers)

Kaito pretends to hate lies, as heroes should. But his heroic personality is in fact, a lie he tells. Not out of malice, but because that's who he wants to be. (Think Kaito:Hero as Gundam:Dark God) He lies to protect people, and hide his illness. As a result, he's willing to work with Kokichi to... protect Maki, conceal his identity, (which includes hiding his illness) and from a certian POV, be a hero! It makes perfect sense.

Another good example of this is Maki. She hates Kokichi, because she hates lies. Her hatred of Kokichi is actually tied to him revealing one of her lies, a lie that was causing her quite a lot of stress. But... she also directly benefits from Kokichi. He saved her life. Unrelated tangent (sarcasm), what was revealed to be a lie in Ch6? Her feelings for Kaito. Let me rephrase that sentence: She hates LIES but she also directly benefits from them (her feelings for Kaito improving her mental health)

I wish that theme carried over into other characters the same way it did for those two. There are some other parallels I can draw (Ryoma liking Kokichi to an extent, Kirumi playing tag with him) but those two are the most obvious and explicit.

So its sad that characters with a complicated relationship with lies don't also have a complicated relationship with Kokichi, the embodiment of lies.

Himiko lives a lie. Lying is needed for her job. But her lies almost got her killed in chapter 2, and Tenko going along with her lie doesn't help. How does this reflect in her interactions with Kokichi? It doesn;t.

Kaede lied to us, the motherfucking audience. Honestly, thats arguably just as impressive as Kokichi ever pulled. What is her relationship with Kokichi? Kokichi acts sort of like a mentor figure to HER in the tunnels, and stands up against her. I like that, but give that plot beat to someone else. (Kaito makes the most sense, but give it to Tenko since I love her.)

Danganronpa itself is a lie, a work of fiction. And Tsumugi is obsessed with it.

In fact, this applies to the v3 casts dynamic with Kokichi as a whole. Almost everyone dislikes and distrusts Kokichi, despite the big reveal of being liars themselves. I'd write it as "everyone pretends to hate Kokichi (lies), but actually don't mind him that much. However, they think everyone else hates Kokichi so they go along with the group." to foreshadow the big reveal that they themselves are lies told by Tsumugi.

And Shuichi suffers from this the most.

Shuichi's Ch1 arc is summed up by "Shuichi learns to face the truth for the first time with that case, and stops averting his eyes." In other words, on the Truth vs Lies scale, Shuichi begins the series aligned with LIES.

The rest of the game shows Shuichi gradually becoming a paragon of Truth to go against Kokichi's lies- ONLY FOR IT TO BE REVEALED IN CH6 THAT HE HIMSELF IS A LIE.

That he is, a fictional character and a pawn in someone elses game. It then becomes a Schrodinger's cat on the alignment scale I mentioned earlier. Was Shuichi's journey to the Truth end of the scale fake or not?

The game settles upon a hesitant no at the end of it, (I disagree, since the games mechanics tell a different story) when Shuichi ventures out into the world with the other survivors to find the truth upon whats out there.

Thats a HECK of a complicated relationship with lies. It should equal a heck of a complicated relationship with Kokichi, right? WRONG.

The canon Saiouma dynamic is basically

"Kokichi likes and teases Saihara, while Shuichi is annoyed by Kokichi until his death, when he gradually begins to come around. Despite this, Kokichi (and the lie mechanic) is surprisingly helpful in trials"

(actually the localization changed this quite a bit, but I'm going off the English version since this is what I actually played. That being said, its a fascinating topic that you should look into if you're as obsessed as I am.)

While the fanon is more akin to:

"Shuichi gradually gets drawn in by Kokichi and learns to accept his quirks."

(maybe shippers will disagree with me about those dynamics, since again, not my cup of tea.)

Meanwhile a Saiouma dynamic I can get behind is:

"Shuichi is drawn in by Kokichi (lies), and feels a sort of magnetism to him. But he knows it isn't a good idea, and he knows it isn't right. Kokichi's feelings are unclear at first due to his nature, but it turns out he has a love-hate relationship with Shuichi (truth). He'll rely on him sometimes, but rebuff him at others with seemingly no logic from his end."

In other words, I'd do a semi-reversal of the canon dynamic.

NOTE: I am not saying I'm a writing genius or anything. Hindsight is 20/20, and I'm sure if Kodaka could magically remake his games he'd stomp my rewrite to the ground.

You asked why I dislike it, and that's my explanation. But please allow me to go a step further and speculate why things are this way.

At about the same time you sent me your ask, my good friend Crow sent me this:

"I don't like Saiouma because well Komahina is exactly what the black romance should be while Saiouma is just feels like another Shuichi ship. Do you get my point?

Shuichi and Hajime is entirely different characters while Komaeda and Kokichi different af too like, they can't hit the Komahina dynamic like they intended to do, this is why Saiouma is just another Shuichi ship while Komahina is THE SHIP.

If you want to do a homoerotic Shuichi ship who would be the next Komahina you shouldn't do that with Kokichi at all, maybe Rantaro? But Rantaro isnt work well too like there is no Komaeda for him to work the Komahina. Saiouma felt poorly executed idea of a black romance, if I need to be honest Oumaede would be more fitting for the Komahina dynamic despite Kaede is just pov character.

So yeah there is no Komahina in drv3 because they tried to play the same tropes with very different characters and very different stories, I even felt more interested in Saihoshi despite Ryoma only been around 2 chapters than Kokichi. That is the problem in here"

I felt like I can't answer one of these asks without referencing what I said in the other ask, so I just both answered them both together. (no hard feelings?)

In case you haven't read Homestuck (wise call, honestly) Black romance is basically non-sexual hatefucking. Usually, there's an undertone of mutual respect, but not always. Felt like that context was important.

Komeada and Kokichi ARE different characters. From a narrative standpoint, Komeada completely turns existing themes like Hope and Talent into complex issues in the Drverse, while in THH they were pretty black and white. Meanwhile, Kokichi's introduction is the introduction to the theme of truth vs lies.

In other words (Makoto is to Nagito (and later to Hajime and Izuru) as Kokichi is to Shuichi) The second takes the theme from the first, and massively expands on it! ...Despite Shuichi and Kokichi being in the same game.

Despite this, the reason people think they are similar is because Kokichi piggybacks too hard on Nagito and Komahina's success.

What does Nagito have in common with Togami, other than being an antagonistic force. Not much, actually! Togami fucked up a corpse while Nagito fucked up his own body, and that distinction is all that needs to be said I think.

Togami would look down upon Nagito if they ever met, and Nagito'd be into that.

What does Kokichi have in common with Nagito?

They want to make an unsolvable murder in which poison was involved and they got someone to kill them.

They both have a one sided crush on their protagonist, that the protagonist doesn't think exists. (Kokichi confessed, but perks of being a chronic liar)

They both are the MVP in almost every trial they are in, with one notable exception for each of them. Thats... kind of a lot, actually! I do think they are noticeably different characters, especially on a thematic level, but I can see why people notice that. I can also see why people would find that bad! Nagito was the star of Dr2, hands down. If you were one of the few people that isn't a total Nagito simp, then a very simmilar character getting screentime might be annoying since you have Nagito fatigue from the last game. and if you are a Nagito simp, then Kokichi will likely never be his own dude with so much in common. You'll see him as a lesser Nagito and want him back. I agree with Crow when he says "Saiouma just feels like another ship. I found it hard to articulate why I feel that paradoxically feels like a rip-off of another ship I liked, but also had no bite to it. And then it hit me. Until Chapter four, Kokichi never did anything that warranted Nagito levels of hatred. (of course, this is entirely subjective. I hate Kaito pretty much for being annoying and fitting into tropes I dislike without commenting on it. If you think this is enough to hate Kokichi, power to you!) By the end of chapter one of Dr2, Nagito:

Attempted to 1st degree murder a fan-favorite character, with a deliberately confusing and unsympathetic (at this point in time) motive to do so.

Goaded another character (that most fans hated, but still) into committing that murder FOR him. The only time we ever saw that level of insanity was Celeste, and Teruteru is no Hifumi in terms of gullibility. (Celeste had plot armor anyway.)

Sat back and monologues while everyone's ass was on the line. If Hajime and the others voted wrong, everyone would have died.

Showed NO remorse over any of it. Seemed to enjoy it.

This one is more meta but: he shows despair eyes, which previously were only seen on the big bad of the first game. Characters have every reason to hate the guy. Soda and Nekomaru were absolutely correct in taking him out, and I'd argue that you should maybe go father by putting him in a public area and gagging his mouth unless it's mealtime. Meanwhile, by chapter three, Kokichi has:

Stood up to Kaede in the tunnels, which most students agree was the right call.

Showed emotions over Rantaro's death, but due to his lying they can't be sure if they were genuine.

Was civil (if a bit wierd) to Kaede right before her execution.

Bullied Kiibo. Yes, bullying is- bad but look me in the eye and tell me its worse than murder. You can't.

Shared the motive videos in the insect meet and greet. This is the major strike against him, but its reasonable to assume he did this with good intentions.

While doing that, tortured them with bugs when it wasn't really needed for the plan to work.

(okay, this one didn't actually happen and I will die on this hill, but the main group thinks it did so I'm counting it) Tricked Gonta into helping with his plans.

Saved our asses in the second trial.

Saved our asses in the post-trial portion of chapter 2

Not joined a cult that was forming in our school. Also did not stop Gonta from joining the cult, which doesn't point to a pattern of controlling behavior from Shuichi's POV.

Was key in getting to Angie's body. Pun intended.

Helped out during the seance.

While arguably not the MVP in trial 3, he still contributed a great deal. Do those lists of crimes seem equal to you? It takes Kokichi 3 chapters to do something that is, at most, Hiyoko level. Maybe Byakuya level, but thats pushing it. Yet, the characters treat Nagito and Kokichi with about equal annoyance and disdain. The v3 cast, of course, doesn't know that Nagito exists. But we, the players, know. Its like we got prologue Nagito for almost four chapters, but prologue Nagito was also kind of a bitch? But also possibly well-meaning and OP as fuck. This concludes my analysis! Do you agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear thoughts.

#ask tag #crowtalks #danganronpa #danganronpa meta #kokichi oma #kokichi ouma #danganronpa analysis #danganronpa essay #shuichi saihara #drv3 #nagito komaeda

[kay-elle-cee]

Hello there! I just finished And The Roar Will Rise and I'm speechless (okay maybe not really speechless because I have a lot to say about it) but anyway, I'd love a director's cut of this fic. What drew you to it, why and how you changed some things, et cetera...

Also, while I'm on the subject, I left a comment on AO3 but totally forgot to mention how incredible the kiss and the moment at the pub later on (including Sirius' perfect reaction) were, so please please tell me more about that too.

Much love ❤️

🙈 A director's cut for And The Roar Will Rise? Prepare yourself, Leda, because I have a LOT to say! (also thank you so much for asking, I'm so happy you enjoyed this fic!!!!)

Alright, let's go point by point:

What drew you to it?

I LOVE Newsies. Like, as someone who listens to musicals on Spotify on a daily basis, as someone whose top genre on Spotify Wrapped is Musicals/Showtunes every year, Newsies is one of my favorite musicals. (The others being Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, and Hadestown, if you're interested in that tidbit of trivia). I love the music, I love the choreography, and I love the push-and-pull of Jack and Katherine.

While watching the pro-shot on Disney+ for the umpteenth time (because yes it's available to watch whenever you want and features Jeremy Jordan with a comical NY accent but the face and singing voice of an ANGEL) I was deep into a particular wave of Jily Brainrot and maybe it's because Katherine has red hair and that helped spur me on, but I just thought "oh my god it's Jily." Not to mention the whole fighting-against injustice plot and the ragtag crew Jack is so embedded in.

Fun fact, I worked so hard on including nods to the lyrics and lines from the actual script without just, like, dropping them in clunkily. It was my first time doing something like this and I really enjoyed the challenge of at least trying to make these things seem natural. I didn't want them to feel out of place, but noticeable to people who are familiar with it (like James telling Lily to "Give 'em hell, Evans" in place of Jack telling Katherine to "Write it good." or James shouting to the newsies "All for one and one for all, we newsies are on strike!" in place of the lyrics "No one can make us quit before we're done/one for all and all for one" followed by chants of "strike!") I actually color-coded and annotated my doc last night and you can see that here.

Why and how you changed things.

*cracks knuckles* alright SO. A few things happened during the planning process that brought it all together:

The World

I knew off the bat that I didn't want them to be in New York, so I needed to move them to London. But with this came the complication of the entire plot—namely, the history of labor unions in England. I looked at that and thought "I don't really want to do that research and get something wrong" so I needed to find the new crux of the Newsies issue.

Sometimes I regret not adding magic into the world of my other AU, restless waves rise and fall, so for this fic, I was like hmmmm what if there is still magic, and there's no statute of secrecy. How would that work? (I went through a few different iterations of this, if they still went to Hogwarts or not, if they all lived and schooled across England but came to London for the summer, etc) This also helped firmly establish a fictional world instead of it being more historical.

The Characters

And honestly first and foremost, I quickly identified the direct ties to the Newsies characters. I have been so adamant from the start (you can ask @alittlebitofeverything23) that Sirius was my Crutchie, even though Remus was probably the obvious choice. And Remus still would've been a good choice! But Remus is so Davey to me, and Crutchie being caught and sent to the Refuge very much felt like Sirius being caught and sent back to live with his parents for whatever reason (which I then changed to Azkaban, for ease and also canon-related reasons).

Picking my Pulitzer was hard for me.* I waffled endlessly on if it'd be Petunia or Vernon, but knowing it was them meant that there was kind of a clear canon-adjacent issue for the Newsies to face. It also made the reveal tricky, because if you know Newsies, you know Katherine's father runs the paper, but when you see it for the first time and she's in the office during that confrontation with Jack, it's a complete surprise. To kind of draw out that suspense a bit in Roar, I name dropped Mr. Mason as the owner (who the Dursleys have over for dinner in CoS), then you get Vernon, and THEN you get Petunia barging in with Lily at her heels. I'm calling it "the slow release reveal" 😂.

*On the subject of Pulitzer, I did briefly consider having it be an old wizarding family, or someone like Umbridge or Voldemort trying to sow division but that was too complicated to pull off so we just kept it simple.

The Plot

Now as for the plot (oh god this is getting so long, I'm sorry!), not only did I have a different central premise for the strike (which meant I had to find a new solution), I also had the fallout of Lily's article happen before the act break/chapter break, so that left a lot of questions for me while writing the second chapter. I had to adjust a bit, and I think finagling that is why it took me longer than expected to update. So I brought in a ringer, and that ringer was a nod to Katherine Plumber from Newies, and once I introduced her and other publications, the ending solution seemed a little more clear to me.

I didn't intend to get too in-the-weeds with press and prejudice but that's what I get for not wanting to do research on labor unions, haha. But it was really nice to write something just hopeful about everything, and I really loved writing how the Muggle newsies stood their ground and supported the wixen newsies.

The kiss and the pub.

Listen, the kiss scene in Newsies makes me absolutely FERAL. The anger to kiss speed does something to my brain, and I was SO EXCITED to write it! I've had the line "God you're so infuriating! I’m about three seconds from hexing you, you know.” written since like last summer, lol. James grabbing her wrist to place her wand under his chin, feeling like he deserves it, to have her GRAB his FACE and kISS HIM?!?!?!?! I'm unwell.

And I'm so happy you enjoyed the end scene at the pub and Sirius' little quips. I missed him in this chapter and wanted to give him some of those lighter moments after I rudely put him in jail. The end was a little tricky, I won't lie, because as I had the Newsies script up, I realize Jack's decision not to go to Santa Fe is pretty....abrupt? Like his friends are just like 😔 and Pulitzer offers him a job that he doesn't even seem excited about and he's like ALRIGHT NEWSIES HIT THE STREETS! So I really wanted to make James' decision a little more fleshed out....he's still getting out of London, just not leaving everyone halfway around the world, which seemed like a pretty good compromise to me.

Additionally, in Newsies, Katherine is very much a "wherever you go, I'll go, too" type of person in the finale, and while Lily has her own plans, I wanted her to have that same sort of encouragement for him. She encourages him to go to Australia if he really wants to, because she wants him to be happy. She listens as he talks through his thoughts, even gently offers her own thoughts on it all. It's been a whirlwind week for them, but she helps offer him clarity for his next big step.

*breathes* Wow I'm....so sorry. This got SO long. I hope you at least enjoyed my ramblings? Could honestly talk about this fic for hours probably. Thank you again so much for the ask and I'm so happy you liked this fic!

#asked and answered #pennyrigby #And The Roar Will Rise #newsies au #director's cut

[singlecrow]

I'm going to treat myself and do that thing where you write about your five favourite stories of your own (of the moment). why the hell not.

everything we do is sewn with this colour [DS9] A late-seasons DS9 Julian/Garak story with a very simple premise: Garak teaches Julian to sew. It takes time for Julian to learn, and during that time, the two of them go from being awkward and unhappy friends with benefits to being in a functional romantic partnership. The idea, of course, is that Garak can sew - he's a tailor, he runs a tailoring business, people get married in the dresses he makes - and in a way, this is the only way Julian can be sure Garak isn't lying to him. If Garak teaches him to sew, then it's because Garak really knows how to teach him. It's my only real Julian/Garak, and honestly I don't think I need any more: this is how I see it going. It's also got Miles, Keiko and Kira as a functional triad in the background, because I know what I like. My one grief about this story is that I don't think Phoebe, purplefringe, my beloved Julian Bashir superfan, ever read it.

some things you just can't speak about (wherever they come from, they'll never run out) [DS9/MASH] This is the most fun I've ever had writing anything, ever. Like, somehow I'd never done a MASH Star Trek AU (I have Star Trek AUs for nearly every non-SFF fandom I've ever done, including Sports Night and Master and Commander), but it didn't click until I realised it was a story about the Dominion War, and then suddenly it's a DS9 AU and it's my two favourite things mashed (lol) together. So this! Hawkeye, though not the protagonist, is very much the main character: they're a nonbinary half-Betazoid, still bipolar, still brilliant, still a walking fuck-you to authority. I made no changes at all to the canon version to make them nonbinary, or an actually-psychic empath. (The screaming! I think some ppl thought I had made up the scene where Hawkeye screams in their sleep enough to wake up everyone in the habitat. Nope, the tv one does that, and he isn't psychic.) The only real change to this Hawkeye is that they're ship's CMO - so they do, sometimes, have to give orders. They don't like it, but they do, and in so doing have to betray their competence (love ppl being competent). And also, they wear the Starfleet uniform dresses, because I could not with how cute that would be. I never said in the story that they were afab, but I assume they were just so they'd be shorter than Margaret.

The other thing here is, the tension between Hawk and Margaret in the show is gender. Margaret would thrive, if she could do what Hawkeye can do - if she could be a soft-edged man who gets respect from nearly everyone for his ability and competence, who sleeps around nd never has it damage his reputation. But he can do that, and she, a woman in the 1950s, can't. Instead, she gets harassed and socially punished every time she steps out of line, though fundamentally she's nothing different from him. But Star Trek doesn't have that gender tension, so instead we have Margaret as Bajoran, who doesn't have Hawkeye's privileges as a Federation citizen. And it's the one rift in their otherwise extremely loving best-friends-with-benefits relationship. (my fave! their canon relationship, my favourite in fiction, probably).

BJ, bless him, is exactly unchanged: his role in the story is to observe the others. Even Potter, a female half-Vulcan who tolerates no crap who I enjoyed enormously. Anyway this story is 40k! longer than any other fanfic of mine and probably always will be because I can't imagine anything else being as fun.

a girl wild and unwished for [MASH] Ah. So, it's 1957 and it's not fun. Hawkeye is in his mid-thirties, and he's fine, except one night he's not: following an intense depression, he tries to commit suicide and is stopped barely in time.

Which is a hell of a beginning to a story, and honestly I feel a bit conflicted about it; I've been unhappy for years about how (some bits of) fandom went from to "you should content-note this content" to "you shouldn't make this content". When this sort of thing is so often my subject matter, it often does feel like fandom doesn't want my fiction and it legit was part of the reason I shifted towards pro. But that's by the bye, and I'm trying to write what I want to again. So in this story, Sidney is so worried about Hawkeye's mental state that he persuades him to try psychoactive medication for the first time. And the story becomes, in its way, a retelling of The Bell Jar with Hawkeye in place of Esther Greenwood: so about life and friendship, about New York in summer, about Hawkeye's work and place in the world, all muted and sharpened and modulated by the effect of the drug. Of course it's about Hawkeye's manic depression, but it's also about who he is; about what he can concede of his mind and personality, and what he can't. I was really pleased with this one. Despite the description, it does have jokes in it.

who were captured, who would not yield [Good Omens] A Good Omens story written just after s1, in the summer of 2019. That feral Good Omens summer! That summer where everything was still perfect and beautiful! I remember writing this by hand on the train to Cardiff to Vidukon, to P's endless amusement. The story isn't a romance - Aziraphale and Crowley have sex in it, for purely pragmatic reasons - but a story about what they do now they're not on opposite sides or on sides at all. Like in all my GO stories, they go to Waitrose, as follows:

Everything is fine. Crowley is definitely not having a breakdown in Waitrose.

“Crowley,” Aziraphale says, by the self-service checkouts. “You were supposed to get an avocado pear.”

“Damn your avocado, angel,” Crowley says, trying not be actively diabolical in all directions. The next customer is buying strawberries, whipped cream and WD-40 – it’s a Friday night – and Crowley can make out the scent of unhappy dairy. Everything’s fine. He’s definitely not having a breakdown. Much more of this and there’s going to be an unexpected fire in the bagging area.

in the chillest land on the sea [the Magnus Archives] Until recently this was my longest story on the AO3, because it was co-written with dearthoughthenightisgone (imperfectcircle on the AO3 because of their godawful brand management). It's a very complex Magnus Archives story, where the basic premise is that all the while Jon is accumulating the statements belonging to the fears to go into the Archive, there is one additional power that we don't see: hope, at the bottom of Pandora's box. So every so often he gets a hopeful, happy statement, and eventually - the day in the Scottish cabin where it all goes wrong - the assistance of the hope power makes things go a little differently. I love this story. We had to write the statements! There are five of them and each one is a little standalone work of original fiction. And the two of us are pretty good at jamming together our disparate styles and themes and doing something good with them, but this one was hard - they wanted a happy ending, I wanted a bleak ending, we had to thread that needle. But I think we did it well, because this is the story where I get the most consistently overwhelming and sweet comments, people who read the story while a beloved family member was ill, or when locked down with covid, and took a little comfort from it. There was fanart! It was something special.

meditations ex post facto [Guardian] This is allegedly a Guardian AU. (Guardian is a fantasy cdrama about a guy called Zhao Yunlan who runs a paranormal investigatory agency, and his lovely boyfriend, who is both a local academic and, uh, a mysterious ancient ghost king.) What this is actually is a romantic comedy with lawyers. It's all I want in life. I wrote the entire first half of it in the Apple store in Covent Garden waiting for my updates to install. This is the best bit in it.

Zhao Yunlan can’t actually blame her, because he’s never been any good at hiding his feelings and he’s kind of composing an email to Shen Wei in another window. Deaaaaar Professsssor Sssshen, he writes. The spilled latte from the other day has made itself at home in his keyboard. Zhao Yunlan painstakingly scrolls back and deletes all the extra letters. I reaaaaally want to see you again pleaaaaaaassse come to dinner with me.

Not at all weird. 

Shen Wei, I was planning to go for noodles tonight. Perhaps you’d like to accompany me.

Weirdly formal, but better. He presses send before he realises that “planning” still has two extra As and a stray Z.

#mash #deep space nine #good omens #guardian #the magnus archives

[yanderelmk]

the host project was put on a temporary halt, happy to say I found the time to work on it again- and this is just more my own silly take and personal opinion- one I honestly don't mind being attached to my account

- if you want to, make a Mary Sue/ Gary Sue or a self insert, have fun with your characters and just have fun with your own creations. -

over personally seen a lot of people in the art community, especially in fandoms take things too seriously in my opinion, as long as you know it's not real and you're having fun with your characters and your creations that's what matters, your art and concepts don't have to be perfect, well thought out, or even 100% original. yes absolutely keep it to something you've mostly made on your own, but also know you're making something for you, and if you make something for yourself make it something you enjoy and have fun with, don't let others dictate how you make something because really your own happiness and enjoyment should come first ∞% of the time

-🪷

I agree to a point! It depends. My definition of Mary Sue/Gary Stu are people who make overpowered characters and break the rules of the world. I've had nothing but horrible experiences with owners of Mary Sues/Gary Stus. Hell, one of the toxic people that were part of this blog's server had the most Mary Sue characters ever as a wish-fulfillment thing. It's ok to have fun, but there are still limits, and those limits need to be enforced because without them shit goes South real quick. Like it's all in good fun, but what happens when that person's "good fun" includes harmful stuff? Fiction bleeds over into reality, so we need to be careful with that. My thing is this: Powerful OCs are okay, just don't break the world and its narrative. As long as you're not hurting yourself or others (i.e. those people with personas who are actively racist/pedophilic/homophobic) it's theoretically okay. If you want a massive power fantasy, go write your own story about it instead of breaking apart a pre-established work. In the case of Lego Monkie Kid Mary Sues/Gary Stus, that's worse because it crosses over into the disrespect and twisting of Buddhist lore and religion to fulfill a self-indulgent power fantasy. Hell, I had one person who tried to merge Christianity with Buddhism to make their OCs more powerful than the Jade Emperor himself, in the process massively bastardizing the lore to get there. In short, a Mary Sue. On a less-serious note, I've had people with Mary Sues/Gary Stus who pitch bitch fits because their super-omega powerful OC that killed and became God wasn't welcomed in RP or fandom circles because they completely trounce all over everything. Nobody wants to play with someone who has such mighty power they have no flaws and/or make the other characters redundant. TL;DR: I agree, but up to a point. Fun is fun, but limits are very necessary. I'm actually gonna let Scott talk in on t his because he was in the art community and heavier in the fandom community around the Toxic Era! ~ Melody -------------------------- From the perspective of someone who is in the art community himself, I get what you're saying. OC creation used to be viewed under such a harsh and critical lense that it really made it feel like nobody was allowed to make anything without it being criticized so harshly that some people (me included) got discouraged from creating fan content as a whole. It makes sense to not want people to ever have that experience. But there is a "however" to this situation.

While it makes sense to want people to just have unrelented fun, unfortunately (as some recent experiences have very well shown), an individual's personal definition of "fun" can easily be harmful to everyone else. We had someone who thought it was "all in good fun" to have a character go through leaps and bounds to bend the moral standpoint on thirsting after minors. That, to them, was "all in good fun" and "just fiction".

Though, and let me be clear, I know that your intention very well likely wasn't to include those types of people under the umbrella of "it's fun and fictional, so it's okay". But that is the specific wording that the creators who do do harmful things use to excuse themselves. We have to specify that we don't mean them because, as was mentioned and proven, they will get in if they have a sliver of room to.

But onto the main point of me hopping in

Personally, I agree that the way I define a Mary Sue/Gary Stu is only if the character in question breaks the rules of the world that the character is presented in. However, I've been on the receiving end of interacting with people who have Mary Sues/Gary Stus and trying to roleplay/work with them. And it was, in no short of terms, downright draining to try and work with. These characters gave this sense of inadequacy, where it would make you feel bad for trying to work with them because there was so much unintentional "look at how much better my character is than yours" stuff each time. Plus, trying to find a way to make a character like that work is outright exhausting. It can really bog you down and make you lose your passion if you keep having to stop and fix what their character keeps breaking because they went with what was fun, not with what actually works.

Personally, I feel like such characters are bad from a developmental standpoint. What I specifically mean by that is this: It's normal and healthy to have Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters as they are necessary to a writer's development and learning how to make more form-fitting characters. However, to say that the characters are always okay to make and you shouldn't worry about making a character that actually makes sense is harmful. You can't grow your skills as a writer if your go-to plan is to throw the rules to the wind and do whatever just because "it's fun". An easier way to put it is that while it's normal and healthy to have such characters, never having/refusing to make functioning characters is harmful because then you never learn how to make a comprehensive story or a character that people can legitimately enjoy.

Don't get me wrong, you shouldn't build your character off of what other people will like. I still feel like enjoyment and a creator's own individual ideas is always more important. But I do mean to say that openly never caring about making functional characters/refusing to grow past the Mary Sue/Gary Stu phase can lead to underdeveloped writing capabilities and can be legitimately distressing for others to engage with due to how overpowered the character would be.

TL;DR: Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters aren't inherently bad, are normal to a writer's development, and shouldn't be subjected to harsh criticism because they are, in some ways, harmless, and it's a perfectly understandable statement to say that people should just be allowed to have fun with their creations. However, there should be awareness to the fact that such characters can be outright disheartening/frustrating for others to try and work with because you let them be so overpowered and world-bending. And while there should be allowance to such characters, claiming that they're always okay leads to people not knowing how to write characters properly for any fandom and can actually stunt you if you're not careful. And while I agree that people should be allowed to have fun with their creations, we have to recognize that some people's definition of "fun" is legitimately harmful.

IMPORTANT ADDITION: When I say Mary Sue/Gary Stu, I mean characters that bend the rules of the world they are placed in. These specifically are the ones that are genuinely harmful. I don't mean to imply any other type of characters who were considered Mary Sues/Gary Stus when I use the term. I feel like overpowered characters can work very well, if the creator can find a way to make it fit within the confines of the media. If they can't, then it's a problem. Those are the only characters I mean to address in my statements.

-- Scott

#melody chater #scott talks

[yowlthinks]

Numbers Game

Something happened today in the way of mixed age social group dynamic and I am still thinking about it. The key question I am still struggling with is what is better, what is healthier (for all the participants): segregate the participants by age with lower and upper limits, or just let everyone who wants to be part of the group be there? And then if we say "better", for whom exactly is it better?

A few days ago a massive GO fandom WhatsApp group was founded and pretty soon it swelled to nearly a 100 participants globally. Did you know you could reach 1500 (one thousand five hundred) unread messages in a group by just not looking at your phone for a couple of hours? Neither did I, but now I know. Anyway, it was lovely, just as this whole fandom is, and among all the one-liner chatter there were some really nice more in-depth discussions about life. It was a little overwhelming, but I liked it.

Now, the age of participants varied, you could see that straightaway, but that was not a problem, because it wasn't like there was anything in the discussions that you could not discuss with a teenager. But then today the inevitable question of "how old are you" came up and apparently some members were shocked to find out the age differences. When you're 36 and a 16 year old asks you "What are you doing here?", I'm not gonna lie, it stings a little.

You want to turn around and tell them that in those 20 years since you were their age you have not, in fact, disappeared. You still read and write fanfiction, enjoy a good meme and generally are allowed to have fun. Yes, even if you have a job, kids and all those other adult things. Especially, because you have all those other adult things and they weigh on you, but you are still you and it is good to remember that. You want to turn around and scream that you are not "old and boring". That you need that little happy corner to dive in and let yourself go happily unhinged over fictional characters. And you have every right to do it.

But then I guess, if you are 16 and you have this fandom where you run away from school, parents and teen angst, you want to have this as your own world. You think people who are in your fandom are essentially all more or less like you. And finally someone understands, someone knows your suffering!! And when it turns out that apparently there are people closer to your parents' age enjoying these same things, well, it feels like a betrayal. Like some sort of spies infiltrating your fortress of happiness, and you want to turn around and shout at them. How dare they take this from you?! You are already going through so much, and now these old boring people dare to steal this one happy thing from you?!

The thing is, Internet is great at mixing people and bringing them together. And fandoms are a place where discussions happen, which wiuod never happen in real life. And to get those discussions, it is good to have different perspectives, and yes, this diversity includes diversity of age.

It is also good for teens to know that life does not end after 20, or 30 or 40. Or even 50, or 70. Life only ends when you die. And there is noone who should police what you enjoy as long as you are doing this without harming others. You do realise that the first modern fanfiction authors are pushing 70 and 80 now, and can you honestly tell me that these people suddenly lost their ability to imagine and enjoy the things they love? I bloody well hope not, because being ale to enjoy what you love is what makes life worth living. It is just a little uncomfortable to think your gran is probably not averse to reading or at least imagining Kirk/Spok stories in her head, yeah, probably saucy ones too. This thought doesn't really fit the narrative, so you push it away. But knowing that it is possible, makes the thought of being an old person a little less scary. "I will still be me".

Anyway, long story short, there is now a separate group. It is smaller and also devoid of stickers (did you know WhatsApp has stickers?! I had no clue, I don't know if it is a generational or cultural thing, but whatever), and I hope it will be a joyful place and full of discussions.

That "what are you doing here?" still stings a bit. But I guess, it is the right thing to let the teens have space wherever possible, they are going through it all, so let them be.

And hey, look at me, having fun on Tumblr, coping with being in my mid-30ies so well.

#fandom #age #social dynamics #thoughts

[jabbage]

Return to the St Claire Family House - A filming location for the Granada Sherlock Holmes 'Lasy Vampyre'

Some of you may have come across my write-up of my visit to Baddesley Clinton, the house which stood in for the fictional location of ‘Hurlstone’ in the Musgrave Ritual episode Granada’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series. I had a lot of fun seeing how the property had changed (or not changed!) since the 80s, and how the writers and film crew had used and adapted the house. 

Since I’ll take any excuse to learn about and visit more old and interesting buildings, I thought I’d see if there were other filming locations from the series in my local area which could get the same treatment. 

The obvious candidate was Guy’s Cliffe House, which stands in for the home of the St Claire family in ‘The Last Vampire’.

[IMG: Title card reading The Last Vampyre in front of the image of a burning house]

There are a few reasons why this was an infinitely more difficult task than my Musgrave Ritual , though: 

Baddesley Clinton is a National Trust property: you pay your £15, pick up a guide book and off you go. Guy’s Cliffe House is a slightly dangerous derelict ruin which is privately owned, and used by the Freemasons as a masonic temple. There are occasional tours, but getting on one required finding the correct Facebook page, hoping the stars aligned and making votive sacrificed to the Old Gods. Well, sort of.

I really like The Musgrave Ritual. I can watch Jeremy Brett grumpily swaddled in blankets and Edward Hardwicke making concerned puppy-dog eyes at him all day, so running the episode through a few times to take screenshots was a delight. The Last Vampyre, however, is probably my least favourite episodes of the entire series. Writer Jeremy Paul had to pull the script together in three weeks at the behest of executives, it’s overly long because they said it had to be feature length, and it’s so obvious that Jeremy Brett is unwell throughout the whole thing.

Baddesley Clinton is the showstopping centrepiece of The Musgrave Ritual, around which a fun treasure hunt is set. You can tell that the creators actually incorporated multiple elements of the building into the story. Guy’s Cliffe doesn’t actually appear much in The Last Vampyre. The main scene where it does is honestly just very bizarre, it's a solid minute of Holmes looking at... himself? And squinting from the glare of the sun reflecting on glass? And messing around with a compass?

It doesn't make any more sense in-context, I promise.

The relationship between Guys Cliffe House and The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes is… ummm… awkward. In We’ll get to that in a minute. 

A History of the House

Guy’s Cliffe has folkloric ties to the legends of Sir Guy of Warwick, a legendary character once as well known as King Arthur, and there have been a number of different buildings there in the site’s history including a 15th century chapel and a Tudor timber framed house. The house which features in The Last Vampire was built in 1751 by politician Samuel Greatheed using money he generated from his ownership of plantation worked by enslaved people on Saint Kitts’ Island. So, perhaps we shouldn’t be TOO upset that it’s now a ruined husk. 

[IMG: A painting of the fully intact house in the 1880s. It is surrounded by greenery and reflected in the nearby river. ]

The house and its estate were passed down to his descendants and was used as a hospital in WW1 and a school for evacuated children in WW2. When the money finally ran out in the 1940s, parts of the estate were sold off to different people and the house was passed from person to person without being used or maintained properly until the roof fell in sometime in the 60s.

[IMG The house today as a ruin. It has no roof and all of the windows have no glass in.]

Now, here’s the awkward bit regarding Granada Holmes. The filming that took place there kiiiiiind of… irrepairably damaged the house? Seeking funds for repair and upkeep, the owners allowed Granada to film there. The crew wanted to stage pyrotechnics in a partially ruined building so that they could make it look like it was being consumed by flames. The problem was that they didn’t realise that there were wooden beams hidden within some of the walls. When these caught light it caused the fire to spread through the site in an unintended way. In other words, the pretend fire became a real one.

To make things even worse, the pumps of the fire engines already on the site failed, and so local fire crews ended up being called in as a last desperate attempt to save the not-already-ruined parts of the house. 

If you're wondering where Jeremy Brett himself was during all this chaos, the answer somehow endeared him to me even MORE, which I didn't think was possible:

"I was at home in the hotel. I'm not wild about fire at the best of times and I was worried because a nest of sparrowhawks - three babies - were in the ruins." - Jeremy Brett

It's interesting to compare photographs of the house before the fire, immediately after it, and following several years of expensive repairs.

[IMG Black and white photo of the house in the 1950s, fully intact]

[IMG The house just prior to filming. The roof has fallen in and parts of windows are missing]

[IMG The house immediately after the fire. The entire front of both side bay windows have gone, and much of the upper floor and roof]

[IMG The house today, following the repairs which were funded by Granada's insurance!]

You can see that the repairs were mostly designed to make the building stable, not put it back to looking as it did before the fire, and so some of the fine details and elegance have been lost. It's a real shame.

Exploring the House

All this may clue you into the fact that matching the show shot-for-shot is almost impossible now: some of the building was actively destroyed during filming, and most of the rest of it is dangerous to enter.

I could spot a few familiar things though. For example this shot...

Was filmed here!

And these steps...

Are THESE steps!

But honestly, that's about it for the Sherlock Holmes connection. The rest of the site is utterly fascinating though, and it was actually really exciting to visit somewhere that isn't completely streamlined and visitor friendly. I promised not to post any of the masonic temple stuff online, but I think it's ok for me to share images of this old coach house hewn into a bare rockface which is now full of assorted tables and chairs...

... and this casket. Could it be that the house be home to vampires after all?!!

I'll leave you with this little video of me nosing around before the tour began to see what was down a mysterious underground passage.

#granada holmes #granada sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes #jeremy brett #edward hardwicke #the last vampyre #guy's cliffe #history #old houses #jabbage explores #Youtube

[wrennwyrmnest]

i’m very very curious about your arthurian retelling! who are the central characters? what do you find most interesting/exciting/compelling about them? what are your arthurian sources & inspirations (be that medieval texts or modern retellings)?

Hey there anon! Thank you so much for asking this question - this is going to be a bit of a long answer but I get the feeling that won't be an issue :D (Maybe grab a snack?)

Firstly I'll explain why I'm using 'reimagining' rather than 'retelling', namely it's because of moving Arthur and co into a high fantasy setting rather than just Britain etc. which, while of course there will be analogues, there's going to be a bigger part that other fantasy species play. Christian themes and I guess, reasonings, aren't found but linger where appropriate (Grail Quest is there but but Galahad doesn't like yk go to Heaven afterwards) as some media I've been inspired from as well as I think a big thing of Arthur's legend of moving from one world into another whether that be Pagan -> Christian or Anglo-Saxon -> Britain(* all the big asterisks there because yk fiction and history not aligning).

Characters

Oh boy. Firstly I'd like you to check out the chart that was added to the wikipedia for King Arthur's Family: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur%27s_family *how I wish this was there last year :sob:* and basically this kinda gives a good scope of characters I have 'webbed' out. I've gone to both Welsh and French texts for inspiration since Welsh includes Arthur's trips to the underworld ( ;) ) and French is when we get Lancelot and the Grail Quest. Firstly know I have taken some liberties both in Arthur's family tree as well as some creative ways that account for say multiple parents (Lancelot is recorded as being the son of a King but also as a son of The Lady of the Lake ~plot reasons~ they're separate uh, instances lets say ;) of his parents in my story). But in terms of characters whose voice I have a pretty good grasp of, their emotional arc(s) and a clear image in my mind of what they look like are (and grouped for no particular reason...):

Arthur, Lancelot, Gwen, and two others in their polycule.*

Igraine, Uther, and Gorloris.**

Merlin <- think druidic Loki vibes, he's a pain in my ass and I love him.

Hector his daughter Ser Kay.

Nimue and The Lady of the Lake.

Morgause and her son Mordred.

Madoc and his brother Mark.

Morgaen and how they were separated from Arthur at birth.

... The notion database I've created by pulling all the characters from sources comes to 258 but the above lists some uh key figures that are fleshed out as protagonists, antagonists, and anti-heroes.

(*) I'll get to Arthur/Lance/Gwen's triad a bit more below, but what I will say is that polycule is an important term here as everyone isn't with everyone, if that makes sense? But imagine found family five-man-band vibes.

(**) SO fun fact, when I watched the movie Merlin as a kid I misheard Gorlois as Goloris so I just kinda stuck with it. Unsure if that'll upset people too much though aha.

Why Tho? Exciting/Interesting/Compelling reasons why these characters have my soul.

I'm a big fan of Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Mythology. Seeing comparisons and also seeing both the Disney-fied versions but also the original tales. Arthurian legends has scratched an itch of dragons, knights, and magic that I've loved and is also shared by other stories too - which in part is why I'm spending so much time worldbuilding up front so I have a whole world sandbox to play in and tell some other tales too with it.

Why did I go with Arthur instead of say the Little Mermaid & Harpy sapphic reimagining I've got stashed? Honestly? Because he answered the call to adventure - the quest I have planned - but also because the Arthur I have in my mind, a big theme for him is Courage and doing the thing even though you're scared to which I resonate with a lot. Lancelot came stumbling in as his best friend from their squire days after disappearing for a few years for a second chance romance plot. Gwen butting heads with her twin sister had a certain, fire let's say ( ;) ), that need to pull these two dorks out of their heads while also exploring themes of empowerment. Mordred's arc which I hope to pull off as well as Zuko's was. Merlin, whom I love, was the one who revealed the world to me and really sparked the magic of it all. But then two scenes came to my mind, in full colour and with a big emotional impact.

Arthur and Morgaen's next meeting after finding out they're siblings.

Lancelot's lost memories returning and Arthur knighting the man who had turned to stone to save him.

I'll need to go through and make a full list of tags eventually but uh, lots of Angst/Hurt/Comfort mixed in with wholesome moments. I'm leaning towards potentially writing in a serial format and also doing maybe side stories from different character perspectives.

Sources & Inspirations

In terms of Arthurian specific things:

Welsh sources: Black Book of Carmarthen; Red and White books of Hergest; Culhwch and Olwen; Mabinogion; and the Welsh Triads.

Geoffrey of Monmouth, notably for Arthur's connection to the Roman Empire and characters from that region.

French sources: Le Mort de Arthur, Tristan and Iseult, Perceval and other stories such as Lancelot and the Knight of the Cart (I cackled a bit when I read that one ngl).

I tend to listen to the Myths and Legends podcast by Jason (something) who will be coming out with an Arthurian book sometime which I am keeeen for.

In terms of post-medieval things, there's a lot of nodding to fairy tales such as Tom Thumb and any story where Jack is mentioned.

Merlin the 1998 miniseries with Sam Neill. (This is the one that I misheard Golois as Goloris aha.)

The Mists of Avalon 2001 miniseries. (I haven't read the books and don't plan to support the author or that estate in any way due to the abuse she aided and abetted in).

Sword and the Stone is a classic Disney film but the main thing here I took inspiration from was to really highlight The Great Game in some way... Which is also a nod to Talesin in the Mabinogian. Also enjoyed Quest for Camelot as well.

There's a sapphic scifi retelling that I love called Once and Future.

And I also watched King Arthur's Disasters as a kid which, ngl I prefer the Welsh versions where he's a badass but this was amusing at the time.

In terms of non-Arthurian sources and inspirations, oh boy this gets quite long but basically from the above there are offshoots that I've done in terms of exploring:

Other Welsh tales.

Folklore of Europe as well as Ireland, Scotland, and Britain.

A lot of dabbling in comparative mythology and folklore as well as such as the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index for folklore to create some original but familiar folk heroes and lore for my world.

Consuming pretty much everything on Overly Sarcastic Productions.

I've mentioned that Avatar the Last Airbender and Fullmetal Alchemist are two comparative points of media: the first being for the elemental magic system as well as just some solid worldbuilding and character arcs - one of my blocks with writing is that I have like this big epic quest, various wholesome slice of life moments, deep emotional beats, but then also some spicey scenes that come to mind; the latter is mainly for a nod to alchemy, and magitech as well as some character beats.

I've also mentioned ASOIAF and really want to highlight that there won't be any inc##t at all in my books. There will be dark themes such as abuse of power, manipulation, and there will be people who get hurt or take advantage of, but I just really don't like that plot beat at all. Hence why Mordred is no Arthur's son.

*flops* Okay thank you for sticking with me through all of that. Let me know if you have more questions or if you'd like me to elaborate on anything! Thank you again for your question, it means a lot that people are finding it interesting (helps stop the imposter syndrome voices yk?)

#arthurian #arthuriana #arthurian reimagining #arthurian wip #anon asks #drak'arna #wrennavere #arthurian inspiration #arthurian sources #arthurian retellings