#i appreciate that much more than “this show has xyz character” have you seen it

[sillyprettyfairy]

Every time I interact with a white person for more than 2 minutes I regret it dearly. Be normal.

#venty #this isn't directed at anyone specific #and nothing really happened today to necessarily bring this about #i was just thinking about it #but yeah white people stop being weird and virtue signaling and trying to be overly progressive in every convo #talk like a person instead of a twitter thread #and also don't do the exact opposite which is like #casual bigotry #just be normal talk normal engage with me like a normal person #i appreciate that much more than “this show has xyz character” have you seen it #no i have not #and i will not

[melliotwrites]

Hi! I just stumbled onto you two while browsing the Sondheim tag, and it's awesome to see other musical writers on tumblr! I have one that is currently being workshopped, which is super exciting (it's also dark academia coincidentally!)

Anyhow, I was wondering, do you have any advice on letting go? I have a cast and director for the workshop, and they are BRILLIANT, but I still struggle sometimes with them taking my work and running with it. Inherently I know their choices are awesome and will make the work greater than I could make it alone, but it's still really hard to put that in others' hands- even though I'm incredibly thankful for their participation and help, it's this weird dichotomy. I'd appreciate any words of wisdom you have to share!!!

Hi!! Great to see and meet other musical writers on tumblr (I love Frankenstien and Dracula, so your show sounds right up my alley!) This is also a really good question- we'll try to do it justice! I'm also going to be talking mostly about Adamandi, because that process is fresher in my mind and was more akin to a professional rehearsal process (with a longer timeline, bigger budget, etc). 

Speaking as Mel, the practice of collaborating on the book and lyrics prepared me a little bit for creative compromises in the rehearsal room (I know you said elsewhere you work better on your own, which is very valid- I just know for sure now that I don't). I had already experienced the joy and excitement of seeing Elliot's ideas enhance my own (and, honestly, seen concrete proof of how much better my work got when I let other people into my work as collaborators!) By the time Georgina Escobar became our director for Adamandi, I was prepared to step back a little bit more- and also knew I would have to, because I totally had that personality trait that makes me put inflection indicators on all my lines and grind my teeth when something is staged differently from how I envisioned it. Adamandi was still a learning process for me in that regard, but I think my couple of tips would be: 

Respect other people's skills- AND ask for yours to be respected. Especially as a student writer, I've sometimes experienced people (who aren't the director) giving us unsolicited feedback on the writing of the script, which I hated until I realized I sometimes accidentally did the same to my collaborators- I still cringe thinking about giving really picky notes to our sound designer, or asking our lighting designer to change One Singular Light (tech week is an altered state for us all 😔). It's helped me to remember your director, your actors, and your designers all have specific, highly specialized skills in what they do, so make sure you're not telling your director how to direct, your actors how to act, etc. Vice versa, you are the writer because you have skills in storytelling that they don't (or that they are not being asked to bring to this project)- so own that! Defend the story to your last breath, but let your opinions on how that story is specifically delivered go (e.g. you can't say "make that lighting cue blue because I always imagined it as blue," but you can say "The tone of this scene is really somber because xyz character has to realize y- do you have any ideas on how that could be reflected in the lighting?" or "the pink polka-dotted spinning light cue gave me the impression this scene was really upbeat and cheery- could you walk me through why you chose that one?" Bonus points that the latter two can help you realize something about the work- or how the work is perceived- that you didn't know before!) ~Mel

Everyone has incredibly different lived experiences, and trust in the ability of your collaborators to see and add depth to your work that you had no idea was there. Whether this is an actor coming up with a culturally specific backstory for their character or a director noticing a fun parallel between scenes that you didn't originally intend, it's always exciting to see how others are analyzing your work (to which you can go "Oh, yeah, I totally thought of that!" etc., etc.) It's like adding layers to a painting. For example, I (Elliot) am a Chinese-Canadian gay man. Working with collaborators, I gained valuable insight (and revision fodder) through how actors connected to characters' stories through their nonbinary identity, or how our director as a bisexual woman envisioned a tender moment in our sapphic plotline, or how certain configurations of actors could mirror paintings of Catholic saints -- all things I could've never realized, understood, or articulated as well on my own. - Elliot

Trust your director (and ask your director!) to ask you questions. (For example, on the flip side of #2, your team might not share the lived experiences you brought into your writing, so trust in them to ask for your expertise when they need it!) This really depends on the structure of your rehearsal room- Georgina is also a playwright, so her process was super inclusive of us as the writers. She allowed us to be there every rehearsal and would ask us questions when she wanted our input on a staging choice, an acting choice, or a bit of table work- and not ask us questions when she didn't, which is equally important! Often I discovered something new about a scene (or found out that a bit of writing needed to be edited) when she wanted to try something out that I wasn't quite sure about (the spooky underscoring under the pyre scene was all Georgina's idea, for example!) This dynamic was established before we even entered the rehearsal room, when Georgina asked us about the timeline (fast) and about how much input we would have on the final vision of the show (which ended up being lots). I'm also excited to have future collaborations where I get to step back more, but it was the right thing for the project timeline and a workshop process. Deciding early on what our communication would look like, and really trusting that she would ask us when something could compromise the story, made it easier to sit back and watch everyone play around and experiment in the reho room without biting my nails.  - Mel

If you have the chance to be in the rehearsal room, put yourself out there as a resource! You created this world, so you're there to share if someone's confused or curious about your artistic intentions. You're also there to get excited about others' ideas and give them Word of God approval! A good collaboration doesn't have to be wholly relinquishing your writing into others' hands. If you feel a little helpless, talk to your director to see if there's a way y'all can be communicating better, or running rehearsals differently, etc. - Elliot

Use your vetos sparingly. Sometimes something just... doesn't work. The scene is playing as romantic instead of predatory. That really cool extra special costume piece is falling off the actor's head every two seconds. The lighting cue that you personally suggested to create a spooky ambience really just makes it hard to see anything. And everyone else seems to love it! As the writer, IF something is in your lane, IF it is significantly impacting the story, IF it's too important to just let slide for this production, AND people will think it was your choice... you are within your rights to put your foot down. But this should only happen as an absolute last resort, and in my opinion you don't get more than 3 a production, so really think about whether that jacket-that's-a-little-more-red-than-blood-orange is worth wasting one. Having a rule for the maximum number of these helps me be more generous and chill out a little if something's not exactly right.  -Mel

As a last resort- hit the bricks! This isn't my ideal collaboration structure, and it depends on what your director wants out of you, but if watching someone take apart your script in rehearsal is too stressful, it's been good to remember I can also leave. Sometimes it's hard (but good) to internalize that once your show is up on its feet, you're not strictly necessary anymore- you're vestigial, or mostly there to collect data, like a scientist. Occasionally some of my own experiences that I wrote into Adamandi would get too intense for me to watch in rehearsal(I might talk about that some other time- wild experience), or struggling to figure out a scene hit me with the good old "am I a good writer" fears. Having a co-writer like Elliot who was comfortable taking over in those moments- as well as a director-SM team who understood this about me and would come find me if something was dire- allowed me to step out for a few moments and recover my sense of perspective. It's just theater. For Princes, we weren't in the rehearsal room very much at all, and it still turned out lovely and very close to our vision- with the added bonus of delightful surprises we hadn't written in! In these moments I like to imagine all the old playwrights revolving in their graves like dynamos over all the productions of their work nowadays that cut it down, rewrite it, and abridge it- and consider reinterpretation a compliment. ~Mel

Hope this helps! Break a leg with your workshop!

#musical theater #musicals #answered #musical theatre writing #cashthecomposer

[hero-in-waiting]

Finally, someone letting me be nosy! 001 | send me a ship and I will tell you: For McLorne, our beloved

• when I started shipping it if I did:

So, I was in the middle of reading through nagi_blue's entire McShep SGA stories and one of them was John/Rodney/Evan and I read that, and I lvoed that dynamic and I loved their Evan and so i read through their traveling man series which has Evan Lorne as a focus and fell in love with Evan/Rodney. Especially because of this story.

(and if u wanna break ur heart in an amazing way how do you like your blueeyed boy by them is amazing, but beware of the warnings.

• my thoughts:

The thing I love about McLorne is that Evan is a lot more emotionally aware than pretty much 90% of the characters in the show, and he's shown to be very level headed, competent and can handle a lot of weird shit thrown at him and he doesn't break. And so I think he works well with Rodney because of it, because he's so level headed and doesn't lose his temper he can deal with Hurricane Rodney, and then also voice his feelings on the matter. he also strikes me as the kinda man who'd be like "i appreciate that you're angry, but you made me feel XYZ and I didn't like it and I'd like to talk about it" and make Rodney deal with it instead of just bottling it up inside or letting Rodney stubborn his way thru everything.

• What makes me happy about them:

They cute as hell, and I love the general consensus in fandom that Evan is Hyper Competent which is something Rodney can appreciate it.

• What makes me sad about them:

NOT ENOUGH FICS. Im gonna fix this damnnit. • things done in fanfic that annoys me:

TBH, I haven't seen anything major specific to the two of them? Theres some stuff I don't like, but that's just a general squick overall regardless of pairings.

• things I look for in fanfic:

Communications! Evan being more than just John's XO. Rodney finally noticing him! Rodney being like, you're cute, you're competent and you have a cock. The three c's needed for me to love you.

• Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

This question was twice, but for Rodney. OT4 or McShep, lbr. For Evan, I exist on the Teyla/Lorne hill, but also Evan/Radek is cute. I'm a fan of Evan/Ronon bc smol/tall is very evident there and its cute. •

My happily ever after for them:

John semi retires and sticks to things he's good at which lets Evan run Atlantis with Woolsey + Coalition and an iron fist so it becomes something amazing and epic and something people want to visit and be aligned with, and Rodney just stays at home and does science without needing to run for his life, and they adopt 3 cats that they took forever to name bc Rodney wanted science names and Evan wanted artists names and so they went with the ninja turtles instead, bc its both nerdy and artists. And then they adopted a 4th cat so they could get the entirety of ninja turtles.

• who is the big spoon/little spoon:

They switch, bc sometimes they both need a hug but most of the time i imagine they both sleep in weird positions and so half the time evan will be starfished with one leg off the bed and Rodney will be using his other leg for a pillow bc he lay back and couldn't be bothered moving. He doesn't even complain about his back

• what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Sit on the balcony, drink tea/coffee and gossip bc Evan knows all the gossip and he needs to talk about it other wise it'll eat him upinside and Rodney loves listening to Evan talk and is good at secrets.

#ask meme

[devilsurvivor-2-recordbreaker]

I feel that compared to other forms of horror, horror created on the internet (creepy pasta, analouge horror, tall tales of spooky shocker websites, etc.) are far much more intimate about their content and subjects.

Like the rings of the internet horror form by people consistently keeping them alive purely out of a sort of love for it and the medium they come from.

I realize that such works like Petscop and Don't Hug Me I'm Scared are so visceral because of the many layers which they build upon from.

Petscop could be associated and linked to the internet users fascination with lost media, or lost content history forgot in the waves of time. And DHMIS being linked to the sort of episodic format for horror that thrives on such platforms like YouTube because of how they as well present such things as the passage of time as a part of the narrative.

(I didn't realize this but on the DHMIS YouTube page, the kickstarter videos have all the characters tied up and held hostage for money which I believe plays into the story somehow but I'm not sure cause I've yet to properly analyze both web-series and the recent TV show.)

Example being like how such horror shows like Alan Tutorial were effective because of the long distances between video releases, drawing out the sort of tension a 'next week on xyz' or cliffhanger couldn't do justice cause you are already on that cliff and your barely hanging on to begin with.

Returning to my thesis statement, I believe such horror created on the internet has such intimacy and closely emotional connection because it is made by people, genuine artist who want to express their passion. This is not to say that larger scale projects made by studios can't also be genuine with their art or that 'something made with big money is inherently bad or not real art,' no that isn't the case. What I do feat is that within the past decade we have seen the sort of degrading of expression as art turns less into interaction and more into consumption for hungry consumers by companies trying to make the most money while selling you the most marketable and least threating stuff imaginable made by artist who themselves go under appreciated and under cut by the industry they sought to create in and are stopped because art from the soul cost too much and doesn't make the biggest bucks.

Such art (horror) then can be well made and be allowed to express without such restraints because artist have much more freedom than an industry would ever allow. Art to me is meant to be weird and uncanny and sometimes confrontational about its subject matters and be allowed to get nasty, just like humans, and just like humanity art no matter how cookie cutter or 'normal' you try to make it will still have some kind of soul to it, even if in the faintest of places or ideas or themes. Art like this is so tethered to the human experience that a sort of light in all the darkness of reality shines through it. This form of nature essentially immortal on the internet and forever changing people who have witnessed it, even after it's taken down or removed or just go entirely without a trace, its phantom wounds can still be felt in the hearts its touched and I think that's wonderful.

[backslashdelta]

just for the record I have never not wanted to hear you talk about the things you enjoy. also I've been thinking lately about tumblr as a platform and how, while i love the loyalty to the chronological feed, it does mean that things can get lost in the shuffle - if I post something when other people happen to not be online, it won't get attention even if people totally would have liked it/interacted with it if they saw it. so that's just to say that you shouldn't feel weird about reblogging your own things - that's something that I've been thinking I should do more often, and that creators in general should feel free to do! even if I've already seen a post of yours, I will probably be more than happy to see it again.

Thanks! This is a really sweet message, and I appreciate it very much 🥰

Like logically I know that some people want to hear the things I have to say and see the things I need to show, and I've never posted anything that hasn't been shown at least a little bit of love, so I even have evidence to back it up.

But also the fact of the matter is that there are people who don't want to hear me – or anyone else, for that matter – talk about certain things. And that's not actually a problem! That's totally fine! There are things that I don't really care to hear other people talking about, either. That's why we can filter tags, and use that as a way to keep following people and ignore the things they post about that we either dislike or are otherwise just indifferent about.

And like obviously I'm not suggesting that's a bad thing, I enthusiastically encourage people to filter whatever they want and curate their online space, and I do that as well. It's just that I also know for a fact that there are people who follow me and I follow them who don't want to see me talk about that certain ship, or that particular character, who don't want to see my art or gifsets or read my fanfic or whatever.

I literally cannot stress enough that this isn't a bad thing. The point of fandom is to be able to engage with the things that interest you, and ignore the things that don't. But I've personally felt, since a young age, that the things I liked weren't interesting to other people, and so I should keep them to myself. Tumblr has helped with that mindset, but my initial reaction to knowing someone wants to specifically avoid something I like, especially if they're a friend, is to feel like I should keep it to myself in general, even though I know other people do enjoy it. I think it's partly a result of how conflict-averse I am. It's not even a conflict, but I just don't want to ruffle any feathers or annoy anyone and have to come anywhere close to a conflict, so it's easier to just shut up about it.

I don't know. There are places that I've wanted to share certain things, but I don't because I talk myself out of it thinking that nobody will care. And part of that is true, they won't; there's no point in me sharing a fic I wrote for ship X when everybody in the group likes ship Y and is either indifferent to or straight up dislikes ship X. But sometimes I wonder if those decisions are because it's just not the best place for it, or if I'm doing it from a place of fear and insecurity.

Ultimately, it's not a huge deal. I'm psycho-analyzing myself right now I guess, but I'm not that upset about this, and ultimately I do end up sharing my work and my thoughts and people do engage positively with the things I put out into the world and I've rarely gotten negative interactions, so I'd call that a win.

But I'll also probably continue to feel a little weird everytime I promote myself in some way. And I'll continue to warn people that they might not want to read my writing for xyz reason because I think there will always be at least a little part of me that has that thought in the back of my head that something that is self-indulgent to me must not be interesting to anyone else.

I still appreciate knowing you feel this way, though. And I'm sure you're not the only person who does, and Tumblr as a whole really is a huge help in trying to combat that mindset, so I appreciate everyone here who engages with me in this fandom space in any way. I appreciate you all, and this has just been me talking what may or may be a lot of nonsense but I'm just feeling weirdly... pensive? philosophical? melancholy? tonight.

#ask #mine #thelegendofjenna #about me #personal #long post

[tsarisfanfiction]

Long Way From Home: Chapter 4

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Family/Friendship Characters: Scott, Tracy Family

Time to start really playing in one of my favourite things about writing this fic: the differences!  I’m far too interested in things like this, and for the sake of the story (aka torturing Scott) I am emphasising and exaggerating as many differences as I can between the two canons, whether they be in relationships, technology or society, because quite frankly I love this sandbox.  As my sister told me when I gushed about this fic to her, my inner scientist and academic has taken to this with glee a la “compare and contrast the differences in [xyz] between TOS and TAG”.  There will be a lot of this to come.

<<<Chapter 3

“What is that projecting onto?”  Scott jumped, looking up at the cliff above him.  Other-Scott was perched there, regarding his comm unit curiously.  “Brains was right; your technology really is nothing like ours.”

“Not that it’s doing me any good here,” Scott groused, swiping through the symbol to extinguish it.  “Stupid thing can’t even connect to your Thunderbird Five.”

“You want to talk to John?” Other-Scott sounded surprised, but dropped off the ledge to join him in the hollow.

“My John,” Scott corrected, letting his arm drop to his side. “But I thought my gear would at least link into your network.”

“Network?” Other-Scott asked.  “We have a network of agents that work for us, but what do you mean about your gear linking into that?”

Scott gaped at him.

“Not that sort of network,” he said.  “The communications one.”  Other-Scott still looked blank, and Scott facepalmed.  “You don’t have one.  Of course, different technology.  Really different technology.”

Other-Scott frowned at him thoughtfully, before unbuckling his watch and offering it.  It was Scott’s turn to look blank.

“It won’t reach another universe,” Other-Scott said, apologetically.  “But if you need to talk to our Thunderbird Five, this will work.”  Scott took it carefully, turning it over in his hands. It looked like a normal, antique watch, but having seen Other-Brains’ watch transform into a video link, Scott knew there had to be more to it than that.

“How does it work?” he asked after a moment, eyeing the various buttons on the side.  Other-Scott held out his hand for it back and Scott obliged.

“It’s set to Thunderbird Five’s frequency,” he started, “but it can be changed to any other communicator, Thunderbird, Pod vehicle, Mobile Control or Base by adjusting the frequency with this dial.”  He twisted the one on the furthest left, and the clock face vanished, to be replaced with a string of numbers.  A burst of static erupted from it.  “Or you can tune into a radio station, but Dad doesn’t like us doing that.”  He turned the knob back to where it was, and the numbers flashed in time with a dial tone. A quick press of the furthest right knob and it stopped, restoring the watch face.  “That starts and stops transmission,” he explained. “The middle dial controls the time; after all, it is also a functioning watch.”  He handed it back and Scott looked it over again, lightly tapping the three knobs thoughtfully.  “You can borrow it if you want, but it does have a location transmitter installed, which Dad can access whenever he wants.”

Scott was grateful for the warning.  He had no intention of dealing with Not-Dad again any time soon, well aware that it would be explosive.  Still, a communicator, even if it couldn’t connect to where he really wanted it to, was an offering he couldn’t bring himself to decline.

A light on the face started to flash lilac, and Other-Scott winced.

“Whoops,” he muttered, taking the watch back out of Scott’s hand.  “John must have noticed that I contacted Thunderbird Five,” he explained.  “Lilac means John,” he continued.  “Yellow is Virgil, white is Alan, orange is Gordon, brown is Brains and gold is Dad.”

Scott sighed.  “You couldn’t at least use the same colours?” he muttered.  Other-Scott shot him a questioning look even as he answered his brother’s call.

“Hi, Scott,” the blond man greeted.  “You called?”

“Just showing Scott our communicators,” Other-Scott explained. “His doesn’t work here; the technology must be too different.”

“It looked it, from what Brains showed me,” Other-John agreed. “Is he still with you?”

“I’m here,” Scott said, cutting off whatever Other-Scott was about to say.  He leaned in. “Any sign of them?”

“Oh, hi there,” Other-John said.  “No, none of my new parameters have caught anything.  I’ll keep an ear out, but it’s seeming more and more likely that you’re the only one to have fallen through.”  Some of the tension seemed out of Scott’s shoulders.

“I hope so,” he agreed, settling back in the hollow again. “What can you tell me about this multiverse theory?”  Other-Scott passed the watch back to him.

“I’ll go keep the other fellas away,” he interjected before Other-John could start talking.  “Talk to you later, John.”

“Bye, Scott,” Other-John acknowledged, before turning his attention back to Scott as Other-Scott slipped away.  “Well, Scott, the easiest way to describe it is to imagine a big glass box full of water.  Inside the box of water, there are some objects floating around.  Most of the time they don’t touch, but occasionally you get a collision between two of them.  What actually happens during those collisions is unknown; until you appeared, there’s been no proof to support the theory at all.  Not,” he added hurriedly, “that Brains or I have any intention of revealing your existence.  We’d rather see you get home than be reduced to a lab rat.”

“I appreciate that,” Scott said dryly.  “Except I’m going to have to play the part of one for you and your Brains anyway.”

“Well, that’s true,” Other-John admitted.  “The chances of an identical collision reversing the effects naturally is astronomically slim, so getting you home will require us to somehow force a similar situation.  However, we’ll be sure to remain humane and focused on returning you home before any other research.”

Scott chuckled.  “If your Brains is anything like mine, he’ll be doing it simultaneously. As long as it gets me home, I don’t care.”

Other-John let slip a small smile of his own before frowning. “You realise that this is an entirely new division of research.  It very well might be years.”  Scott was trying not to think about that too hard.

“In that case, what are we waiting for?” he asked, clambering to his feet to find Other-Brains.

“Brains has already started,” Other-John informed him.  “He’s gathering what data he can find from where you were found in Thunderbird One’s hangar, and the anomaly in your DNA from the sample he already took.  I suspect you don’t want to hear this, but interrupting him will only slow him down. He’ll find you when he needs you.”

Their voices were different, but Scott could easily imagine John – his John – saying much the same thing.

“You really are like him,” he said, sitting back down. Privately he was relieved he didn’t need to go back to the villa; after his outburst in Thunderbird One’s hangar, he was determined to avoid the family for as long as possible.

“Like who?” Other-John asked, even though the fact that he knew exactly who Scott was talking about was written all over his face. Scott told him as much.

“You know,” he accused.

“I’m as much like him as you are like Scott,” Other-John pointed out.  “As the two of you are twins in personality just as much as appearance, barring the effects from different life events, it follows that the same would be true for myself and your John.”

Different life events.  It was the closest either Other-Scott or Other-John had come to acknowledging his outburst.

“You haven’t asked about it,” he observed.  Other-John shrugged.

“Would you tell me if I did?”

“No,” was Scott’s immediate reaction, although there was a part of him that wondered if he would, if the right questions were asked.  No, better not to go there.  He’d ripped the wound far enough open already; there was no need to worsen it further.

“I do try not to waste my breath,” Other-John responded. “I meant it when I said you’re just like my Scott.”

Scott thought back to the hangar, and Other-Scott’s reaction to Not-Dad’s anger.

“Am I?” he asked.  He couldn’t imagine ever being contrite like that.

“You attacked each other because you thought the other was a threat to your brothers,” Other-John pointed out.  “Whatever you’ve both been through, your priorities are the same. Or are you going to tell me I’m wrong?” Scott met his eyes steadily.

“You know the answer to that.”

“Sometimes it’s nice to hear someone admit I’m right,” Other-John shrugged with a grin, before he turned away suddenly.  “International Rescue here.  What’s the problem?”

He didn’t cut the connection, and Scott didn’t either, listening to a garbled panic in the background, which Other-John responded to with calm, measured words for a few moments before turning back to Scott. Before Scott could ask, instincts screaming for him to get to Thunderbird One and launch, the blond man pressed a finger to his lips.

“There’s a distress call from a power plant, Father,” he said after a moment, finger back down out of sight.  He must have connected to the villa to relay the information, without breaking Scott’s own line.  “Temperature is rising fast and the blast doors have slammed shut, trapping two workers inside.  Local services won’t be able to get them out in time.”

Scott couldn’t hear whatever Not-Dad had to say in return. Whether that was intentional on Other-John’s part or a happy accident he wasn’t quite sure – if it was his John he’d know it was intentional, but he didn’t know what this universe’s technology was capable of, although he supposed if anyone could bring the most out of it, it would be John’s counterpart – but he was glad.  He couldn’t quite reconcile the man against his memories of his own father, and it was bringing up too many unwelcome thoughts that he didn’t care for.

“Thunderbird One’s about to launch,” Other-John said after a period of silence.  Scott peered around the rock to take a better look at the villa below, and was unsurprised to see the swimming pool retracting.  It was weird to actually witness it for once – no-one else ever piloted One if he had any say in the matter, and he didn’t recall the last time he’d seen the launch process.  A roar of engines – similar but not the same as his own ‘bird’s cry – and the sleek shape of International Rescue’s first response craft soared into the sky.  It was a breath-taking sight, even though he was mentally cataloguing all the subtle differences in the moment he had before she was gone, smashing through the sound barrier effortlessly.

It was a whole different way to appreciate her speed.

“What’s her top speed?” he asked.  Other-John made a curious noise.

“What do you think?” he asked, and Scott sighed, pulling his eyes away from where she’d last been visible to look back at the blond man, whose attempt at fishing for information on his own Thunderbird was far from subtle.

“Mach 19,” he said.  “Officially.”

“And unofficially?” Other-John probed.  Scott shrugged.

“Never pushed her to see,” he admitted.  The airspeed record was his Dad’s, and he had no intention of breaking it.  If there was any craft that could, surpassing the TV-21, it would be Thunderbird One, but he didn’t want to.  It was a piece of his father he couldn’t bring himself to overwrite. “Mach 20.”

“Mach 19.6,” Other-John said.  “Thunderbird Two’s preparing to launch.  Virgil and Alan are taking Pod Three with the DOMO and Mole.”

“Alan?”  Scott couldn’t hold back his surprise.  “Not Gordon? And Pod Three?  Domo?  Mole?” One sentence on a subject he should know better than the back of his hand – did know better, back at home – told him that while Thunderbird One appeared largely the same, there were clearly fundamental differences in their main gear.

“You’d have chosen Gordon instead?” Other-John asked.  He was probing for more information because of course he was.  Any John would be a sponge for information, leeching it from whatever sources he could.

“Of course,” Scott replied, giving him the information because if there was one person in this universe that needed to know, it was the monitor on board Thunderbird Five, listening out for signs of his brothers. “Alan’s just a kid.  Gordon’s more experienced and doesn’t have homework to do.”

“So your Gordon… is up for it?” Other-John asked, fishing around further.  “And Alan – homework?”

“Why wouldn’t he-”  Scott cut himself off as a deeper rumble presumably signalled the other Thunderbird’s take-off, out of sight.  “You don’t have hydrofoils here, do you?” he asked suspiciously.  Other-John’s face fell.

“I was hoping there were more differences in life experiences,” he admitted.  “Gordon’s back will never heal properly.  Dad only sends him if Thunderbird Four is needed, or all hands are.”

“And he hasn’t driven him mad?” Scott asked, disbelieving. “Gordon would murder me slowly and creatively if I kept him grounded like that.”  Not-Dad’s temper and fury at being addressed as an equal rather than a superior came back to him and he frowned.

“If you kept him grounded like that?” Other-John’s fishing couldn’t get any more blatant, and Scott glared at him.

“Stop asking questions you know the answer to,” he snapped. Other-John held his hands up in mock-surrender.  An object on a cord was in one of his hands, Scott noticed.  It looked like an ancient microphone.

“I don’t know the answer,” he defended himself.  “I have suppositions and ideas, but not answers. I can’t actually read minds, you know.” Scott slumped back into his hollow and rubbed a hand over his face again.

“Yes, my Dad is gone.  Yes, that means I’m in charge of International Rescue.  Yes, that means I’m CEO of Tracy Industries,” he bit out. “And yes, that means I’m the legal guardian of my fifteen year old kid brother who should be worrying about school and not launching a damn rocket into space several times a week!”

The watch was silent.  Scott adamantly refused to look at it, to see what face Other-John was wearing – or if he’d hung up.

“No wonder you clashed with Dad.”  Evidently Other-John hadn’t done the latter.  “Scott’s just arriving at the danger zone, so Dad should be in the office at the moment.  Normally I’d say Gordon would be with him, but I know you’ve got him curious.  Scott grabbed his spare watch, and I don’t think Dad’s realised yet, but Gordon’s crafty enough to notice that sort of thing.”

“You think he’s looking for me?” he asked, reluctantly looking back at the watch.  Other-John shrugged.

“Unlikely,” he said.  “He knows better than to chase Scott when he’s in a mood.  More likely, he’s lying in wait for when you decide to return.”  Scott groaned.  Other-Gordon had been the quietest so far, and a quiet Gordon meant warning signs. Amber eyes had been watching him, though, scrutinising him perhaps the most closely of all the Other-Tracys, and part of Scott had been waiting for it to come to a head.  Apparently that time was now.

“My John knows how to keep his mouth shut,” he said. Other-John chuckled.

“I do, too,” he promised.  “They won’t hear anything from me unless they have to.”

“They won’t have to,” Scott growled, looking down at the watch as he tapped at his own communicator uselessly.  The red no signal symbol greeted him and he swiped it away angrily.  “Does this thing have map capabilities?” he asked.  “The entrances to One and Two are the same, but the house itself is nothing like home.”

“Not Three?”  Other-John sounded surprised.  “Odd that not all of them are the same.”

“Odd that your Four doesn’t even have her own entrance,” Scott retorted, although now he knew more about Other-Gordon – or specifically, that they were treating him like he was made of glass – he could see why.  What sort of family dynamic they had that Other-Gordon hadn’t driven them all totally insane in revenge was one he wasn’t too fond of contemplating.

“Thunderbird Four lives in Pod Four,” Other-John said, sounding slightly confused.  “Why does she need her own entrance?”

Pod Four?  And earlier, Other-John had said Pod Three was carrying a Domo and a Mole.

“You call Thunderbird Two’s modules pods,” he realised. Other-John blinked at him.

“Say,” he said, curiously.  Scott sensed another not so subtle probing on the way.  “You heard the briefing I gave Father.  What would you have done?  If you were with your own technology, I mean?”

“Thunderbird One and Two,” he said, not even having to think about it.  “Gordon with Virgil, taking Module Two.  Keep up to date information through Thunderbird Five and assess the situation upon arrival.  Configure the PODs as required once Two arrives and get those people out.  Get John on finding out how it happened and who was responsible.”  Kayo, Lady Penelope and Parker, too.

“You think it’s sabotage?” Other-John asked, surprised. Scott shook his head.

“Accidents are usually caused by cutting corners,” he said, jaw locking.  “Imbeciles who can’t observe safety regulations are a danger to everyone.”

“You’d shut them down?”  Other-John sounded astonished.  “Your International Rescue has that sort of authority?”  Scott scoffed.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said.  “We don’t have that authority and we don’t want it. There’s enough paperwork already.” Urgh, the paperwork.  Who would be doing that while he was gone, or would it just be piling up in neglect?  “We just give tip offs to the GDF and they handle it.”

“The GDF?” Other-John queried.  Scott decided to secure the watch to his wrist before he dropped it.

“Is nothing the same here?” he groused. “Global Defence Force.  The World Government’s military organisation.”

“International Rescue exists,” Other-John reminded him, and he sighed.

“No good to me when your tech is basically alien,” he pointed out, adopting Alan’s – and apparently Other-Alan’s - default.  “This watch is analogue.”

“Analogue?” Other-John asked, frowning.  Scott stared at him.

“Round dial of numbers?” he explained hesitantly.

“Well, yes.  What else would it be?” Other-John queried, as though the idea of any other type of watch was bizarre.

“Digital?” Scott offered.  Other-John’s face went blank, again, and he buried his face in his hands. “You’re kidding.”

“You have a name for ours, so it’s not entirely… alien,” Other-John pointed out, clearly as enamoured with the idea of aliens as his John.

“It’s ancient, is what it is,” he grumbled.  “We stopped using analogue clocks half a century ago. I don’t even know how to read the things!”  Virgil did, and John of course devoured anything related to communications, but Scott himself had never paid attention when Grandma had tried to show him on her own grandfather’s ancient watch; he’d been busy with other things, like raising four younger brothers.

“Half a century?” Other-John asked.  “Is your tech different because it’s futuristic?” Scott shook his head.

“I don’t think so.”  He tapped at the watch absent-mindedly.  “I’m trained in a lot of old tech, because not everywhere is at the forefront of technology, but I’ve never seen anything like this stuff.”

“We’ll just have to train you up, then,” Other-John said. “The fellas won’t mind.”

Scott could think of one man who seemed like he would.

“You never said if you could show me a map of the place,” he said instead.  “I need some shoes.”  The island was tropical, but that didn’t stop the dirt congealing on the soles of his feet from feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

“You’re planning on raiding Scott’s?”  Other-John sounded amused.  Scott thought he might be.  John would have been.

“Some other clothes, too,” he admitted, and Other-John laughed.

“I don’t have a map that labels the rooms,” he said.  “But here-”  His face disappeared and was replaced with a very basic, black and white map of the villa.  In the small watch face, it looked very cramped.  In one of the rooms, a blue light started flashing.  “That’s Scott’s room.”  Scott squinted at it.

“Can’t you make it bigger?” he complained.

“Not if you want to see how to get there,” Other-John told him and he groaned.

“You don’t have zoom and scroll?”

“Not on the watches.”  Scott was starting to feel lucky that was even an option on any device. Maybe this stuff wasn’t out of his history lessons, but it felt far behind the technology he was used to.  He poked at his own communicator again, and snarled at it when it merrily presented him with the red no signal declaration again.

“You okay?” Other-John asked.  His face was still hidden by the map, but he sounded concerned.

“Fine,” he growled.  “Stupid thing.”

“If you say so.”  Scott got the feeling he didn’t believe him.

Well, for the moment he had a plan.  Get back to the infirmary, navigate his way through the villa to Other-Scott’s room, and find something that wasn’t pyjamas to wear.

“Keep me updated,” he ordered, and got an acknowledging F.A.B before the line cut.  At least, he assumed it had.  He didn’t know the technology well enough to confirm it, but it didn’t matter either way.  Letting his wrist fall, he pushed himself to his feet and began the climb back down to the villa.

Chapter 5>>>

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #scott tracy #john tracy #long way from home

[gisellelx]

For the writer's ask game: 16, 30, 36, 41?

Thanks @running-awayy! 💖

16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?

SO MANY. So, so many. This is one of those things that has gotten much worse over the years. I remember in high school and college, revision seemed so onerous but I had some teachers who really made us dig in deep and do it. And now it’s just a deep part of my process. I try to let a draft get down on paper without messing with it too much, but I always end up messing with it--at a bare minimum, I sit down and re-read what I wrote last, making some edits, before I start writing the next thing. I go to sleep and realize there’s a whole section missing. I’ve recently taken to slowing way down on fic for this reason. If a fic is being posted chapter by chapter as I write it, and I realize that whoops, no, four chapters back a character really needs see another a character do xyz in order to make this current scene make sense, I’m just stuck if it’s already posted. But if I’m sitting on the whole thing, I can go back and re-insert that scene, which is what I’m doing with my current WIP.  And once all of that is done when I’ve reached what most people would consider a final draft, I make three distinct passes on it. One is for cohesion--did I leave a character on one side of a room by mistake, which often happens as I’m revising and adding and subtracting big chunks. The second is for language--I’m looking for repetitive words, and for the rhythm of individual sentences, making sure the structure matches what I’m trying to do. The last pass is proofreading. So that’s three “final” drafts right there, to say nothing of however many came before it. 

30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I answered this one in another one that was hiding while this was sitting (thanks for such fast asking!) so here’s another one I have in mind--I would really like to write a fic novel that is about the Cullens grappling with race ( @jessicanjpa has nudged me on this one). I can’t figure out exactly what the central conflict would look like, though, because they’re so fucking oblivious to it as characters. The closest I’ve come to it is in “Strange Fruit” and there are some hints of it in “Ordinary Time” as well, but that’s not canon-based. When I find a way in to that story I imagine I’ll feel compelled to write it. But it may well take me a long time to find the way in. I’ve seen it done many times in a very ham-fisted way, and I appreciate the effort, but before you have Carlisle and Edward and Jasper change, they have to have a reason to change. When I find that reason, I’ll write about it.

36.  Last sentence you wrote I’m working on two different scenes in this fic at once: 

“Pretty sure that if I had to be related to you, I’d have offed myself, too.”

41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

Learn craft! Read books and blog posts about writing. Try out different writing forms. Fanfic is such a great place to experiment because for most people, somebody is gonna read your stuff. Maybe only one person, but somebody. So you can try out different forms--does third person feel better? First person? Which tense? Try them out in different stories. Try writing a short fic where you use no adjectives. Try writing a fic from the perspective of an inanimate object. Do all the writing exercises you’d do in a creative writing class but post them on FFnet or tumblr or whatever. If you don’t know how to create a conflict, read about how other people do it.  Also read. Read more than just fanfic. In fact, if you really want to get good at writing, you have to read more books than fanfic. Fanfic has some particularities of the genre that don’t work or are absolutely nonexistent in non-derivative fiction and which will hold you back on creating really excellent fiction. For instance, learn how to get in and out of a flashback without putting it in italics. Not just because it will stop your work from looking ficcy but you’ll get a better sense for when you need to move around in time in a story. You’ll not just learn how to use the pluperfect tense, you’ll learn how to drive a story forward by going into the past (and when you don’t need to). Read the kinds of books that you want to write. Try out things that authors you read are doing. Notice when they do something that makes you stand up and notice the writing. Notice when a line just stays with you for weeks or longer--what is it about the language that did that?  And of course write a lot. Throw most of it out. Keep some of it. Show some of it to others. But keep doing it. It’s the only way to get better. 

(see I said I might go on forever. Whoops. Thank you! ) 

#ask #ask game #writer's ask #writing #fanfic #giselle gets too srs bsns

[savnofilter]

no nuance november!

a/n: which is basically you have a bunch of opinions and dont explain any of em' and let your followers discuss them (much more suited for tiktok sjsnj). i'll be doing it since it compiles with many topics like fandom, racism, lgbtq+, politics and etc. i highly encourage people to do this simply because why not? feel free to send your own opinions n stuff, i wanna know what my followers think!!

disclaimer!! ⚠️ all of these are broad, not pin pointing certain people or situations. even though these are my opinions these were all in fun and have been collected over the years and will change as time goes on. nothing is sugar-coated so thread carefully. feel free to agree or disagree. :)

warning(s): mentions of racism, p*do micro aggression, fetishizing, toxicity, abuse, politics, labelling, mental health, cancelling, fandoms, ages.

key:

iswis = i said what i said, no explanation to that one.

whe = will happily explain.

stop sexualizing gay/m|m/yaoi relationships. it's not only demonizing to the males, it's also very fetishizing. (iswis)

most times /10 yall root for "feminine men" when you really mean white boys and fetishised asian men on social media. (whe)

bullying someone isnt educating. you either cant cope with the fact people have different opinions from you or you have a struggle with things either always never going your way or the opposite. (iswis)

straight people will never have a say in lgbtq+ issues. stop inserting yourself. (iswis)

white people will never have a say in poc issues. stop inserting yourself. (iswis)

poc will never have a say in black people issues. stop inserting yourself. (vice versa but im black and it happens more often to us lol) (iswis)

using the defense, "but black lives matter, right?" when one black person does something bad isnt facts, youre racist. (iswis)

fandom adults need to stop gatekeeping the target audience (demographics) to animes/shows. (iswis)

poc people can be racist. (whe)

even if a certain site was adult doesnt mean that every adult wants to see your porn. either keep it to yourself or tag properly. (iswis)

saying shit like, "im more xyz than you and im not even xyz" is not only disrespectful but disgusting. just because you believe in a popular opinion of a group does NOT suddenly make you a person in it, get over yourself. (iswis)

dont hate on people for the same things you have done at a young age. (ex: writing fanfic, seggs, etc) (iswis)

blaming a minor/someone mentally unstable for being abused is not only victim blaming, but it enables the notion that people who go those things that they wanted it. (iswis)

going off of that last point, if you do victim blame for situations and been in them yourself you either still havent coped with what you went through and still think it was your fault when it wasnt. (whe)

it's stupid people hate minors for being undeveloped when adults are the reason as to why people get traumas, abused and quite literally are destroying the world right now. (iswis)

gen z is white as fuck. (iswis)

early 2000s kids are equivalent to 90s kids who use to post, "only 90s kids under this" and post something that 2000-5 experienced. (iswis)

dear 2005+ kids, abusing harmful substances and having sex doesnt make you grown. stop it. (iswis)

adults, being able to post porn doesnt make you grown or mature, stop believing that it does. (iswis)

just because it's a coping mechanism doesnt mean it's healthy. (iswis)

avoiding conflict doesnt mean youre mature. if there is an active problem and you know ignoring it will only benefit you and not the actual problem at hand that is selfish. (iswis)

black women generate clout for everyone. when we're hated the person gets patted on the back, someone appreciates black girls they are praised, and people of many groups repeatedly steal from our culture. (iswis)

YES THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICAN. (whe)

if youre black you do not have to be democrat OR republican, there are many other parties. (whe)

i do not trust either parties, no minority should. (whe)

this 2020 election was not a win for poc people no matter who won. (iswis)

we do not decide whether or not what to do on columbus day. it is up to the natives themselves. (whe)

pointing out other countries (current) faults is not racist. although the issue can be misconstrued, if proper research is done it safe to say it's an educated observation or opinion. (whe)

privilege heavily varies; ex, americans are seen as privileged, while the people who live in it experience a disadvantage because of the societal standards. within the country itself. (whe)

americans, stop saying that america is the worst country and there are other countries who are suffering much worse than we are. yes sometimes it sucks but do not label it as the worst. (iswis + whe)

white people are privileged and will always be until we break the racist issues deep rooted in EVERY community. (iswis)

9/10 when marginalized groups like (women, lgbt) are mostly focused on white people and never address the poc counter parts. using the excuse "well idk much about that" is not good enough and just promotes pseudo-white supremecy. (iswis + whe)

do not use aave. (iswis)

aave is not gen z language, stop calling it that. (iswis)

gay men (white especially) use black women and get praised for the things we do that are called ghetto. (iswis)

yes it is offensive if you touch a black persons hair with or without permission. we are not your pets nor zoo animals. (iswis)

and yes it is offensive if you see a black women with beautiful hair and assume it's fake or ask, "is it yours?" "is it real?" (iswis)

using jailbait as an excuse to lewd minors is just as disgusting. (iswis)

beauty standards for women is rooted from pedophilia. (iswis)

using other pedophilic relationships as an excuse to ship yours is disturbing and you shouldnt be near children at any capacity. (iswis)

everything doesnt need a label. (iswis)

the fact that gangs have been criminalized while mafias havent is racist and feeds the stereotypes that poc are criminals. (iswis)

people are more forgiving to white predators than to poc (neither are good but people let white off the hook more often). (iswis)

if youre okay with your friends being racists, creeps, abusers you are just as bad. (iswis)

although you can like what you like, making dark content shouldnt be as glorified as much as it is. (iswis)

some kinks do deserve to be kink shamed. (iswis)

adults need to be more held accountable when held in situations with minors. (iswis + whe)

everyone perceives the world differently, many people will see the same things you see differently. (iswis)

calling people crazy for questioning the things around them doesnt make them crazy, youre just asleep. (iswis)

the human body can function without a soul. (iswis)

stop disrespecting christianity. you wouldnt do the same with hinduism, islam and etc. (iswis)

the bible was altered by white men and the true meanings have been misconstrued. (iswis + whe)

bullying someone who you THINK is problematic is not excuse to be hateful. youre just scum and feel the need to justify your actions. (iswis)

not everyone has to like you and dont need a reason. (iswis)

just because you dont like someone doesnt mean you have to make a show of it. be mature and move along. (iswis)

yes callouts/cancelling has its place but it's never done right. (iswis)

"cancel culture" wasnt a thing till white people joined in. (iswis)

dont cancel someone for stuff they did years ago. bringing it up is important but not allowing them to understand, reflect, and apologize is not only bullying it defeats the purpose of bringing awareness. (iswis)

big writers need to stop complaining when one fic or a few dont do good. not only does it rub in small writers faces, it shows that if you need people's validation to write you probably shouldnt be writing. some works will be popular and some will flop, get over it. (iswis)

stop witch hunting & crucifying people for shit you have done or your friends have done and going "uwu sorry" when you get caught. (iswis)

90% people believe content creators with bigger audiences. (iswis)

people spontaneously posting, "uwu take care of your mental health" doesnt mean that they actually care. (iswis)

people are always quick to judge people with real mental health such as depression, anxiety, adhd, and etc are always the one to turn and pretend to be exactly what they just mocked. (iswis)

dont have kids if youre not going to take care of them. (iswis)

stop baiting baby otakus (people freshly getting into anime) into watching cp like yarichin bitch club or boku no pico. they are minors, it's not funny, stop it. (iswis)

stop being protective & toxic over anime characters. if they were real they probably wouldnt even like you. (iswis)

just because someone is your friend doesnt mean that they arent toxic or abusive. (iswis)

start believing when people show their true traits. (iswis)

trauma happens in different forms, stop saying something didnt happen because it didnt go the way that has commonly happened or the way it occurred to you. (iswis)

stop saying minors should "know" while also being the loudest to say that our brains arent even developed till 25. (iswis)

the adult age should be raised to 20 years old. (iswis + whe)

tos should be raised to 16 years old. (iswis + whe)

minors take "18+" & "minors dni" out of your bio. (iswis)

yelling at minors for finding the content you freely put out without any care is your fault not theirs. (iswis)

there are plenty of adult sites that are more confined for adults but you guys ignore them because youd rather get popular on writing erotica on a popular social media platform. (iswis)

trying to cancel someone over one mistake and or blowing said things out of proportion is toxic and stupid. (iswis)

if you take someone saying they need to distance themselves for mental health reasons personally and make them feel bad for it youre an actual shitty person. (iswis)

if someone disrespects you, you have the right to say whatever you want in response. (iswis + whe)

stop hypersexualizing everything (adults especially). (iswis)

the excuses of, "they look grown" "i mentally think xyz" "theyre fake" is creepy and weird and yall should come up with a better excuse. (iswis)

yes i do believe minors should be writing for minors only, but i will not give a shit if an adult does if said characters are aged up in every work sfw or not. (iswis)

stop saying teens cant go through traumatic things and cant experience mental illnesses. it just shows that you werent cared for as a child and never get the therapy for it. (iswis)

gen z has a very colonized idea of activism. (iswis)

feminism was never for all women until the rest of us forced ourselves in. and even now it's still an issue whether or not people realize it or not. (iswis)

poc solidarity doesnt exist as much as we try to make it happen. (iswis)

colorism is an issue, and no you will not tell me otherwise. (iswis)

the hot cheeto girl is offensive and demeans black & hispanic culture. (iswis)

stop bashing minors for breathing, just say youre mad youre not young anymore and move on. (iswis)

black men are the white people of black people. (iswis)

there is no reason as to why you anyone would refer to black people as "blacks". nor should you (non-black people) be arguing whether or not to say nigga even with the hard r. (iswis)

if you (pertains to white people) think white privilege doesnt exist but go on to make fun of or ignore minority problems you are the living and breathing example of what we are talking about. (iswis)

loli/shotas are fucking disgusting and people who like it deserve to be tortured for eternity. (iswis)

seriously, stop using theyre "fake" as an excuse. (iswis)

if youre comfortable with being hateful to someone but still consider yourself a nice person because you do the hate minimum to be a decent human, youre either a narcissist or have a god complex. (iswis)

coons have no say in black issues. (iswis)

people need to stop blaming the "home wrecker" for ruining the relationship when it was the s/o's fault as well. there is no home to enter without an owner. (iswis)

stop saying any asian man yo see reminds you of a haikyuu character and or any anime character. it's racist. (iswis)

stop saying any asian person looks like a kpop idol, it's racist. (iswis)

stop downplaying and invalidating when black women go through traumatic things. not only does it promote that we have to be strong and save everyone else's problems, it says that we dont have emotions and cant be a victim which is disgusting. (iswis)

if you say shit like "minors curate your own experience" then go and turn around to say you REFUSE TO TAG YOUR SHIT YOU ARE LITERALLY MAKING THE PROCESS OF CENSORING HARD! (iswis)

white women are just as much of a problem as white men. only difference is sex keeping them apart. (iswis)

stop saying kpop is racist. expecting artists from a different political progression to understand that things can be offensive is bland. (iswis)

people accept boy groups fuck-ups more than they accept girl groups. and most times out of ten, the males are worse. (iswis)

if you engage in nsfw conversation with a minor, it is your fault they responded. (iswis)

anyone can be abused. (iswis)

stop coddling adults and bullying minors. (iswis)

most of you females have internalized misogyny and dont even know it. (iswis)

you can callout issues without having to drag a group of people. same with uplifting. (iswis)

if youre fine with being a sheep unfollow me. (iswis)

seven deadly sins is not a good anime. (iswis)

there is a difference between boku no hero academia fans based on if they call it "bnha" or "mha". (iswis)

ships literally are not serious stop harassing people over ships. (iswis)

do not harass creators of series because they do something with THEIR story. make your own. (iswis)

stop saying horikoshi sexualizes his women too much/mineta is the worst when you guys enjoy shows like one piece, hunter x hunter, naruto and etc. (iswis)

minors often or not are sheeps (heres your sign you dont have to agree with everything other people say). (iswis)

just because minors can be mature doesnt mean that they are adults. stop treating them as such. (iswis)

we should give more voice actors in the asmr (idk what to call it) community more recognition instead of just one. (iswis)

writers are the ones that send hate to other writers. anon hate is so corny and if you do it that goes to show that you are truly a toxic person wearing a fake mask of kindness when youre not on anonymous. (iswis)

stop being mean to smaller writers because they did not have as much luck as you. (iswis)

stop blaming your readers because one story flopped. (iswis)

ignoring someone's shitty actions encourages them to do it more. (iswis)

going to school and getting a job is much harder now than it was before. (iswis)

being an adult doesnt automatically make you mature. just because youre older doesnt mean youre better or you opinion is more valuable. it just shows that you werent heard when you were younger. (iswis)

there should be no reason as to why someone of the age of 18 should be having any romantic relationship with someone who is a minor. (iswis)

hawks is a shitty character. (iswis)

bakudeku isnt toxic. (iswis)

just because bakugo is in a ship, doesnt mean it's toxic. (iswis)

stop shipping male characters together simply because they have screen time together. it's creepy. (iswis)

almost all of 1-a students have ptsd and anything close to the after effects of being traumatized. (iswis)

no, editing characters to be poc is not racist. youre just mad they arent "white" when they never were. theyre asian and come in many colors as well. (iswis)

wanting to only be with a different race to get a mixed baby is fucking disgusting. (iswis)

stop ignoring pedo relationships between older women and younger boys and or with older women in general. (iswis)

males can be abused, stop telling them to suck it up or that they cant go through things. (iswis)

shaming young females about things they cant control is misogynistic and is damaging to their identity and shouldnt be excused. (iswis + whe)

not all females have to shave. (iswis)

what you dont like in someone is the projections you see of yourself on other people that you dont like about yourself. (whe)

popular bl stories extremely misrepresent gay relationships and frankly it's disgusting that theyre boosted as much as they are. (iswis)

jjba isnt ugly, you just watch animes to sexualize the characters. (iswis)

it's shitty that anime and kpop only became cool once white people stated to like it and made it mainstream. go gatekeep family guy or something. (iswis)

if you have been anime fan for a long time you were with bullied/teased for just generally liking it or you were a weirdo who recreated shit from it. (iswis)

weaboo and weeb were bad terms till we made them positive?? literally otaku is the word for it but we use weeb instead lol. (whe)

normalize and promote educating someone without going straight to bullying them. (whe)

haikyuu isnt really a good manga/anime nor is the art style the best but the characters make up for it. (iswis)

stop misusing terms and stop nitpicking definitions to manipulate your narrative. (iswis)

toxic positivity is manipulative and if you have to make it back handed you are not as nice as you like to make it seem. (iswis)

studying a major doesnt mean youre actually good in the subject. (iswis)

normalize people realizing their past mistakes and growing from it. (iswis)

do not self diagnos unless you actually feel like you may have that issue and would like to seek help. mental health is not a personality trait. (iswis)

stop projecting onto people. (iswis)

stop misusing terms and stop nitpicking definitions to fit your narrative. (iswis)

stealing any type of work should not be tolerated. (iswis)

constantly trying to trigger someone to go back to their old ways (being toxic, abusive, addiction, suicidal etc) after changing is toxic and manipulative. (iswis)

if you make jokes about hurting kids and or feel the need speak badly about them i do not want to speak to you. (iswis)

the human brain wasnt developed to understand complex ideas such as death or the universe. (iswis)

we will never truly know what is beyond our skies. (iswis)

thats all, thanks for sifting!

#opinions #hot takes #three t's for the week #read at your own discretion #no nuance november #d dabbles

[astridthevalkyrie]

Oh, let's have some fun. Salty Ask List, HTTYD fandom, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19

I’m so sorry, I went through half this post before realizing you only meant the HTTYD fandom, but it felt like such a waste to delete everything, so just ignore all the non-HTTYD stuff.

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

Okay, here are a list of ships that I do not get, as in I don’t necessarily hate them, but I can’t bring myself to ship them:

Harmione, Kataang, Zutara, Merricup, Jelsa, Barchie, Jlaire, Rayllum, Jason /Janet (is there even a ship name for them), and Lingfan.

There’s no OTP in the HTTYD fandom that I don’t like that is popular. Hiccstrid really is the only big pairing in the fandom, and I like Hiccstrid, so...

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

Basically see above? Every single ship on that last is a couple whose non romantic relationship I thrive for. 

But in a general sense, nearly all my ships. I like writing people being friends more than I like writing them being in a romantic relationship. I like writing Hiccup and Astrid being friends with each other - even when they’re a couple, they’re friends who kiss every now and then. SO, every ship technically. 

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

I do not care for Rufflout or Dagla or Heathlegs but I don’t consider them popular OTPs. 

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

Zutara, Harmione (these two are gonna be recycled a lot, pfft). Hiccstrid to a certain point, the love square in MLB, Jake and Amy? Kinda?

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

Already answered!

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

REGINA MILLS. There’s probably others but I cannot stand Regina Mills, holy crap. She is everything I hate. Her character and fan following boggle my mind so much. The woman is terrible and the writers’ love for her screwed over every other character. That being said, I love Lana Parilla.

There’s also two meanings to “dislike” in this sense. Characters like Regina are ones that I dislike but ultimately am still entertained by. Cheryl Blossom and Severus Snape fall under that category too. But I could also dislike a character simply because they’re boring, like Nini from HSMTMTS or Elena from TVD (but I’ve only watched one episode of TVD so don’t come for me there).

For HTTYD I dislike RTTE Hiccup, RTTE Tuffnut, Grimmel and Dagur to a certain point. 

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Regina’s redemption arc because she never regretted anything and constantly blamed everyone else and never did anything to atone and literally separated the evil from herself as though the evil part of her was someone else and not just her. Like, she was not possessed, she was not controlled, she may have been manipulated by Rumple, but her evil actions were entirely her own.

I also dislike Dagur’s redemption arc honestly? He never was shown to be changing, he just did a complete flip out of love for Heather and didn’t really have to go through any work for it, so it doesn’t feel satisfying.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

Already vocalized, but some people hold HTTYD up on a pedestal and ignore its flaws. Its villains are racist and antisemitic and the writing is sexist (yes, even the movies, describing astrid in a “sexy ball of fire” is weird). 

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

Which opinion do I have about RTTE that isn’t unpopular, pfft. Let’s see if there’s any I haven’t talked about yet...

The timing of the show was so weird? It’s supposed to take place when Hiccup is nineteen, so one year before HTTYD2 at least, and yet it’s kind of impossible that everything happened within a year. Specifically in Shellshocked (I think), Astrid mentions that Hiccup has been working on a plan for months, months that we did not see that happened between episodes. The writers also seriously wrote the show as though they had not seen HTTYD2, and while Mala and Atali and Minden are cool characters that I appreciate, BERK SHOULD BE THE ONLY ISLAND THAT HAS MADE PEACE WITH DRAGONS. As for being “canon,” it depends on what you define as canon. 

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Have Hiccstrid be in a relationship already. Give Dagur a proper redemption arc. Snotlout and Astrid are bisexual. Hiccup changes outfits so that he starts wearing armor closer to his HTTYD2 outfit. More time spent on Berk. Less of a “gotta catch em all” feel. More villages introduced. Heather is a proper grey character. 

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Instead of the dragons leaving, I would have had them stay and beat the odds and gotten an optimistic ending instead of a pessimistic one.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

I’m not on Tumblr as much anymore, but I wish that there were more discussion posts like there were around HTTYD2/early RTTE times. I know it’s hard to discuss theories and stuff when the franchise is over, but I miss analyses and discussion and that kind of fun.

#httyd #anti regina mills #anti rtte

[dangerously-human]

In recognition of yesterday's flight home being a truly excellent writing sesh - I hit 5k! I really like the chapter I drafted! This thing finally feels real and like something I maybe could be proud of! - I've decided it's high time I share what I can so far about this fic I'm working on. Mainly because I crave that validation, haha, and I'm excited so I gotta maximally holler about it on Tumblr, you know how it is!

The title is "Those Binary Stars," which comes from an interview with Russell Lewis, on the subject of the string of heartbreak with Morse and Joan: "One of the great, unlooked for delights of writing this thing has been charting the push and pull of those binary stars. Who knew?"

It's canon-compliant through S5, and I suppose canon-adjacent for S6 (we'll see). I haven't seen the latest season yet (probably won't till it airs here in summer-ish), so no influence there.

I'm starting out mostly diving into the fallout of some of the gorgeous scenes in canon that we didn't have the space to fully explore, and sketching out some background to fill in blank spaces, too. "Harvest" is my primary focus (I mean for this ship, how can it not be?), although I'm not sure how much of that will make it onto the page; we shall see. While I'm greatly enjoying that aspect, I'm finding the original scenes more fun than I expected, too! I'm not sure how far into the fluff we'll go, but rest assured, there will be a good mix of both angst and happiness, with tenderness and pining strewn throughout (because duh, the pining with these two is delicious).

Of course it's primarily about Morse and Joan - and with my writing preferences, outside plot is unlikely - but I'm trying very hard to sprinkle in other characters as well. There are so many great ones in this show, and sometimes the dialogue practically writes itself.

The dialogue does NOT write itself for Morse, unfortunately, ugh! I'm finding Joan's POV easier to write by far, if only because it's not nearly so hard to get her voice right. Morse is less challenging with the introspective angst (what a surprise), but as soon as he has to open his mouth, both writer and character Suffer™. What a peculiar, impossible man; I love him dearly.

Perhaps on a related note, writing this has given me so much appreciation for Joan as a character. She's so complex and layered, and I feel like I'm starting to understand her better. I can only hope I manage to get across that nuance, for both her and Morse; this first draft is rather clunky and heavy-handed so far, but I'll try to pare down the emotional awareness and narration a bit in future edits.

And since I ended up liking the first draft so much, I thought I’d share my notes for the chapter I worked on yesterday on the plane. It’s an interaction between Joan and Ms. Frazil, interspersed with flashbacks to a morose post-breakup Morse. It’s intended to function as a sort of bridge, between retelling canon/dancing around each other, to the section I currently have labeled “the long road to together.”

Joan runs into Dorothea (it's a small town after all), "Joan", "Ms. Frazil" (awkward because doesn't know first name, only in passing), "Dorothea", treats her like an equal - It feels uncomfortable to address her formally, especially after the other woman has used her Christian name - it makes her feel like a child, in fact, as though the only reason they know each other is through Joan’s father. It brings up the old bitterness Joan has been trying to chase away, but it bubbles up only a moment before Ms Frazil responds casually, “Dorothea,” and they’re on equal footing again.

asks about Claudine, "had interviewed her for a job before she decided to go off and pursue a grand adventure in - Vietnam, was it? I'm afraid I may have inspired that in part, telling her stories of my days in XYZ", "heard she was going with Morse for a bit, is that right?" "Oh, yes, I introduced them. Well, in a manner of speaking." "Did you now? I have to say, I was a tad surprised. Claudine such a free spirit, and [our] Morse..." "A bit square?" Dorothea bites off a laugh. "That too. I was going to say..." She pauses, and sort of tilts her head, as though she's assessing Joan in some way beyond the surface. "Well. I just always thought his heart was rather in a different place, that's all."

At that, Joan's heart thumps once, twice, making its own presence known rather more forcefully than necessary.

Wonders how closely Morse and Ms. Frazil work/are they friends, seemingly so, how much have they talked about?

When Joan runs into Morse drowning his sorrows after Claudine leaves, she feels not just pity, but a sense of responsibility - she's taken on so much guilt for the impact she has on others' lives, and besides, pushing them together was partly selfish - an attempt to remove temptation, as it were. Claudine told her too much, but never about the things that matter, and she worried about Morse often - but he seemed so happy, she certainly couldn't interfere. And then he gets his heart broken, because he's too earnest, too deep too fast, and she knows he's going to reject her out of a sense of self-preservation, but she asks him up for coffee anyway...

#personal #writer probs: fanfic edition #endeavour

[imbellarosa]

LOL when I make the dumb mistake of sending opinions to other blogs for a change..B you have spoilt me (all of us really) with how you always go above and beyond to be sweet, kind, thoughtful, tactful, respectful and ALWAYS willing to hear and accept varying opinions. I forget how literally only like 2.5% of ppl on here are that mature. I love when people just cannot accept that they do make mistakes, they're human, inherently flawed yk? This is EXACTLY why I stay far far away from discourse re

+ their friends & families. Ppl think that just bc they are who they are, everyone they surround themselves must also be stellar individuals & blindly defend them?? But tonight idk something in me kinda snapped I guess. I get that we see so little of their real lives & dynamics w their friends but sometimes what we see is enough yk? And giving the excuse that we only see like <5% of their lives is just that, an excuse. Bc at the end of the day, we always take what we get, esp in regards to their

+ own relationship, and draw from it what we will. Sometimes you don't need all the evidence in the world to just know (case in point, hl's relationship). And my intuition has never once failed me. Truth is (to play Devil's advocate which I OBV DON'T actually think lol), H might not be all TPWK, he might be selfish and arrogant and rude. All celebs are actors putting on a show, a facade for us. So yeah, when I see them inviting certain ppl in their lives & I think they could do better, I will

+ think, yeah, I know better. Not bc I see myself as superior, but bc I know I am a great judge of character. I can see into the depths & recesses of people even they don't realise are existent. ANYWAY long story short, this is a token of appreciation for you B. I adore you more than you'll ever know. This just reminded me of why I steer clear of that kinda discourse & why I should just stop trying to find other decent ppl on here who actually are sweet & caring & OPEN TO DIFF VIEWS like YOU.

hahahahaha anon did you get into it with someone??? I TOLD you that you were gonna get yourself in trouble djlkfjlkadjlfj. Honestly, though, I was wondering where you were yesterday! I was like, ‘huh, guess they found another blog to rant at :((”. But I think that one of the things that makes me willing to engage with a lot of different ideas is how NEW I am, honestly! There are fandoms where I’m like ‘I’ve been here for AGES, I know what’s going on!’, but this is not one of them hahaha. I do have A LOT of opinions, and a lot that I don’t share bc I don’t want to get into a fight with people over why I don’t like xyz person or song, and I DEFINITELY don’t want to get into it over kids, you know?

But as for them being real people? Uh, Harry IS stubborn and arrogant and rude sometimes, and really really jealous! You know how I know that? He told me! (I mean, not literally, right? But that’s what To Be So Lonely *is*). He DOES get blinded by his surroundings sometimes (Falling), and he DOES lose his way (Sweet Creature), and that’s FINE. That’s HUMAN! He’s also being massively irresponsible by interacting with fans when he’s meant to be in quarantine, and I don’t like it. I don’t like how people haven’t been wearing masks, and I’m not overly fond of the ‘traveling around the world’ thing they’ve got going on, and I do think that he sometimes sticks his foot in his mouth when he’s talking about political and social issues. And that’s OKAY! Let me tell you why: because I think that, fundamentally, he’s TRYING to be kind. Is he always? No! Definitely not! No one is ALWAYS the kindest version of themselves, no matter how hard we try, because kindness is, uh, SUPER HARD. But, in my eyes, the attempt and the work is worth so much, and because I don’t need him to be this ONE THING, I don’t hate him when he isn’t. I just need him to be trying to do good, and I need him to be open to criticism (mine included!) when he falls short. That’s the standard I hold myself to, so that’s the standard I hold everyone else to! 

As for their families, I mean. That is what it is, right? We don’t always choose our families, but we try to love them, regardless of when THEY fall short because they’re human, too, right? (CAVIAT: This does not apply to abusive families - a family doesn’t start and end in shared blood.) I’ll be real with you, though, anon: my intuition has failed me before. Less now, but ESP when I was 16-18? My intuition failed me LOADS, and I have pretty great intuition, normally. But I made friends with people who’s views were different than mine, who called me names, who were very cold to the fact that I was Latina (racist - they were racist) and I thought ‘that’s okay, that’s what growing up means, is to be friends with people different than you because you may need them down the line’. And you know what? I was SUPER wrong. AND, we’ve seen them cut people out when they’ve proven to be shitty people (case in point: J*rdan Green), but sometimes we work with people we disagree with/don’t like and it’s ESP hard to tell with them what’s work and what isn’t (ESP their California contacts). Just something I consider when I’m frustrated with the LA crowd. 

BUT ALSO! thank you for being so sweet to me omg??? like i love you anon, and i love seeing your messages in my inbox! 

#Anonymous #anon asks #i answer #anon what am i calling you??? #we're friends now and i need to call you something!

[ais-n]

1 | more like apologise for how harmful it was? how the mlm relationships were so clearly hetero? the sex scenes were so straight to me tbh. and i say this as someone who has read the books twice. first time i didn't see what i saw the second time. i think you genuinely wanted to have people of colour representation but it's very racist to me how hsin and emilio were done. constantly called "exotic" which is a thing americans like to use so much when it's not their ethnicity.

Hi! Thanks for the detailed explanation, I appreciate it! At first I had such HIGH HOPES I could reply to all three of your asks in one place but it turns out I talked too much (go figure lol) So I’m going to do then one at a time. I did want to start out replying to one offhand comment in the 3rd ask and then I’ll get into the rest. Below is what I had written before I realized I need to split it into three and then edited out saying I’m answering all at once. For anyone who hasn’t seen all three asks yet, that’s why part of what I’m talking about isn’t represented above - anon, hopefully it makes more sense to you since you know the future right now from what you had written in the past. ....wow, I made that confusing.

++++++

Thank you for the explanation! I appreciate you too! Also you made me laugh out loud at the gay comment, so thank you for that XD You are not making me feel worse; I appreciate the courage you no doubt had to pull together to post this :) I could be wrong but if I imagine myself in your place, I imagine feeling a little scared or intimidated to post and yet feeling it is necessary. I think it’s really cool you were able to post this in such a thoughtful explanation. Thank you!

In order to not overwhelm anyone’s inbox - and to make it easier for you - I put these all together in one ask. [[[EDIT: JUST KIDDING I talk too much - this is answering stuff from each ask at a time, sorry. I put it behind a cut to make it less long on people’s dashboards.]]] 

Still, I imagine with so much I want to talk about at once, I will probably miss things so let me know if I miss something you really wanted to talk about or you wanted follow up on something in particular.

Anyway READ MORE BELOW for a probably stupidly long reply lol Just, knowing me at least….

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi welcome to the below deck party! I don’t know why I said it that way. That was creepy sorry lol Anyway I’m breaking this up a little bit but the more I think about it the more I think this probably really can’t address everything properly in one place. So, again, seriously just let me know if you want follow up on anything - or if anyone does, for that matter. I’m not doing this quite in order though.

RACE: 

Yeah actually, I agree that “exotic” is pretty ??? terminology to be using tbh. I don’t imagine I would use that wording if I were writing something today and if we were to edit the series now, I’d remove it. I don’t remember the context, to be honest; whether it was only used in narration or if it was used in dialogue too. Dialogue might stay, if it’s to show a person speaks a certain way and has certain views on life, but I’d personally probably change that in narration unless it had a specific reason for being there. Which my very vague memories combined with your comment make me think probably not?

In regards to Hsin/Emilio plus even terminology like ‘exotic’ or whatever being used - so, upfront, I need you to know this whole post is not an excuse or etc. It’s just an explanation. 

I didn’t write Hsin or Emilio, so I honestly can’t speak for or about them. I would like to be able to give you some insight into “Sonny’s” background and his friends and family he said he was inspired by in writing them, or give you insight into Alicia’s background (as she is a person of color, at least I was always told she is), but I truly don’t even know what was a lie and what was truth anymore. He always told me his characters like Hsin and Emilio were based pretty directly on people he knew - well, Emilio in particular was hugely based on a cousin of his. But that cousin didn’t exist, it turns out, or at least not in the way I knew. We wrote our own characters and were in charge of their own stories, although we also co-wrote the series as a whole and had input on the plot and etc. But I never really dealt directly with Emilio or Hsin in the writing of them other than how my characters interacted with “his” characters.

I can’t speak on behalf of anyone so I honestly can’t say if Emilio and/or Hsin are concerning or not concerning portraitures of any demographic. I really feel that such a determination has to be up to each reader. I say that in part because I’ve heard over the years that people actually appreciated the way they were written, for various reasons, and some of the people saying that were from demographics that the characters represented. But that also doesn’t mean it has to be something across the board; that because one person feels a certain way, everyone else whether in or out of that demographic has to agree. Quite the opposite, really.

I wish I could even say something like “I know Sonny did a lot of research on xyz specific topic because we talked about abc in regards to it” but I can’t. I know we had those conversations but I don’t know if anything I was told is true. What I can say is the series was written basically 15 years ago. Or rather, started around 15 years ago, then written on/off over multiple years. And we started it essentially in the same vein as BL fanfic, just sort of as a fun thing to do on our off time without any initial plan to ever publicly share it. The good thing about humans and culture is we change as we grow, and there are many things we can continue to gain understanding of as we go. 

One of the really good things about the last 15 years is it’s become more and more accessible to learn about the world and its people. When we started ICoS, for example, Google streetview wasn’t a thing. In order to try to be accurate about something like the streets of a particular city, we either had to totally make shit up and say the war changed everything in that town or I had to try to track down a paper map of it and hope nothing had changed significantly since then. 

Slowly over the years, the globalization of information expanded. Over time, all the little details I didn’t know to even question became things I could find easily. Like, do they say W Something St or Something St W? Is it Avenue Blah or Blah Avenue? Do they even use terminology like avenue or streets? Do they commonly have alleyways everywhere or anywhere and if so how big are they? What are the roads made of? What is the lighting like? Are there basements? 

I grew up in Midwest USA on the tail end of tornado alley where a basement is an absolute must. Imagine my absolute confusion when I learned there are houses out there where they DON’T go underground. Like, at all. wtf??? From my, at that time obviously limited, experience, the only people I personally knew who didn’t have some sort of underground space were apartment dwellers or my friend who lived in the mobile home park. It was such a staple understanding in my life to assume everyone had a basement in their home that I had no idea to even question the existence of such a thing when trying to write another location within the US, let alone anywhere else in the world. And at a certain point when we were writing it, I didn’t even know to ask certain questions, or if I did I didn’t have an easy way of finding it.

If you were to read the very, very original version of Evenfall and compare it to what’s most recently released, for example, there are many differences. One example of something you might notice is the streets are totally different in Monterrey. That’s because we had to make up streets the first time around because I could not find any maps for the city. I tried but they just weren’t accessible for whatever reason; not in the detail I needed and where I could find them, or probably afford. We had to just be like “Welp, guess the war changed it all, sry!” to explain the random names and structure. But as the years passed, information spread to a minute level across the world slowly but surely. First, Google eventually had the layout of the city streets, then it had satellite imagery, then it had Google streetview, then it had people randomly uploading photos to locations, and so on. Eventually, there was enough information from big to small to feel relatively sure we could at least somewhat accurately represent the geography - not perfectly, absolutely not because we’d never been there - but an approximation that hopefully wouldn’t be too jarring for someone actually able to visit, themselves.

You may wonder why the hell I’m talking about streets in Mexico when your comment was on Hsin’s and Emilio’s characterizations, but I mention it because I look at a lot of things in writing with that same level of paranoia of wanting all the details possible to write it to try to be as accurate to at least someone’s reality as possible. That’s one reason why I haven’t written Domino, for example, which focuses on Vivienne’s life; it probably seems like it should be easy to do, and in ways it is. But I don’t feel nearly educated enough on how it would be to grow up in France in a rural then urban area with the sort of pressures she had as a young woman and with her different levels of wealth and the way she looked and etc etc to be fair to anyone who may find representation within that and to not accidentally jar them totally out of the experience by the equivalent of randomly throwing a basement in the middle of Texas because who the fuck knew Texans don’t automatically have basements in all their homes?? 

Really, with anything, there is always room for improvement - especially with anything as complex as any aspect of any demographic which inherently then serves as some form of representation for a huge variety of human beings. Humans, being complex beings themselves, will thus have an even larger variety in the way any topic can be seen. What is severely off-putting to one person might be acceptable to another. Sometimes society steps in and is like nah bro, idgaf if you’re cool with that, I’m not. And sometimes it remains so complex that it’s hard to give one exact answer.

What we tried to do was listen to feedback as we wrote and take it into account in the writing of the series itself. Also, especially later in the series, whenever possible we tried to do research as much as possible on whatever detail or topic we had going on to try to be as accurate as possible.

I’m truly not trying to skirt any sort of issue, I just don’t think I can properly say a singular reply to your concern without being unfair to different voices I’ve heard on this topic over the years. If I had never heard directly or indirectly from people that they specifically appreciate the representation of the characters, if in fact I had only ever heard concerns about them, it would be easier to say we were wrong. But I’m not part of any of the demographics so I can’t speak on behalf of any of them. Thus, I can only listen to what different people tell me, and know that regardless of what I’m told, for them that is truth and thus I respect it.

What I will say is it certainly was not the intention to upset, insult, alienate, or otherwise cause concern for anyone reading the series for anything other than the actual things intended to be fucked up like the things the characters went through and so on. I’m very sorry that the characterization is so upsetting and concerning for you. That really sucks; it takes away from the point of the story and puts you in a place that is deeply uncomfortable. I’m very sorry we put you in that position.

++

RELATIONSHIPS

Actually, I’d love to hear more what you mean by your comment. I have certain inferences I make based on what I think you mean but I don’t want to misinterpret and misrepresent your concerns.

The way I interpret “how the mlm relationships were so clearly hetero? the sex scenes were so straight to me tbh.” is maybe related to the idea of dominance vs submission? Like making an equivalence of that to masculine = dominant = power/strength = top = Hsin, and feminine = submissive = weakness = bottom = Boyd? Is that what you’re suggesting or did you mean something else? I have a lot of thoughts on this subject but, again, I don’t want to ramble on a tangent if I am totally misunderstanding what you meant. Especially since I rambled so much above.

So if you’d like to explore the topic more and would like thoughts/answers/etc just let me know in another anon ask more specifically what you mean, if you can. Thank you :)

I’ll go onto ask 2 for now - I forgot exactly what came up in that ask vs the 3rd ask so I’m not sure how long it will take me to type up a reply. Just in case I don’t finish it today, I wanted to sign this off in the meantime with I hope you’re staying healthy and safe!

#Anonymous #ask ais #icos #in the company of shadows

[letterboxd]

How I Letterboxd #2: Dave Chen

In our second of this series, we put Dave Chen in the Letterboxd spotlight. The podcaster, musician and filmmaker is most famous on Letterboxd for his weirdly specific lists. He tells us how he uses the platform, why every film that exists is miraculous, and why we shouldn’t sleep on Not Another Teen Movie.

Hi Dave! How long have you been on Letterboxd? About eight years. I believe I first signed up when it was in beta. I loved (and still love) the interface: how smooth the user flow is for logging/reviewing films, and how beautiful all that movie art looks as it’s organized on the site.

What do you mainly use Letterboxd for? I love reading the reviews on Letterboxd. On a film’s page, the site surfaces many of the most popular reviews and I find it’s a great way to find some quick, witty, and thoughtful comments on something I might be considering watching. But of course, I also love reading and making funny lists. Finally, I’ve heard Letterboxd is great for keeping track of films at a film festival but sadly I haven’t yet attended one since I started using it again.

Do you rate films? Would you consider yourself a generous or harsh rater? I rate films to remind myself how I felt about them at the time I watched. Of course, my opinions on movies change but it’s sometimes interesting to look back and think back to a time when, “Oh right, I did love that movie in the summer of 2019 when I was going through XYZ”. Our feelings about movies can often reflect what’s going on in our lives.

That said, over time, I’ve come to understand that films are miracles. I don’t think I’m the first person to come up with this observation but they are like miniature plays resulting from the collective work of hundreds or thousands of people that have been preserved for your amusement, and you can just play them on demand. Many of them cost only a few dollars. Some are free! Every film that exists is miraculous.

So, despite some of my harsh reviews, I do try to keep that perspective in mind.

You’ve been a member for a while but most of your reviews are recent. What brought you back? We note that you restarted with your third viewing of 1917! I am pretty active on Twitter and I started seeing a bunch of screen-capped reviews go viral there. But to be honest, much of social media can be exhausting to me these days. What I realized recently about Letterboxd was that much of it is free of the negativity. It’s just a bunch of folks who love movies sharing thoughts on those movies, but it also feels like a real community of people. There are filmmakers on there who share their thoughts on films and their favorites, and that’s of course endlessly fascinating (such as Sean Baker). Even the negative reviews can be fun to read. There’s a lot of pithiness and wit on the site, and its design really helps facilitate that.

Okay, take us way back, what was the film that got you hooked on cinema? My first cinematic true loves were the films of John Woo. I’d watched action movies before but I was introduced to John Woo ironically by a counselor at my church youth group! I became dazzled by movies like The Killer and Hard Boiled. It was then that I realized that things I had seen dozens of times (e.g., a shootout in a warehouse) could be elevated by sheer craftsmanship.

What keeps you from sharing your four favorites on your profile? A few reasons. For me personally, it takes months if not years for my thoughts on a film to really crystallize. My relationship with a movie doesn’t end when the credits roll—its ideas and themes and images are often clanging around in the back of my head for months if not years afterwards. As a result, my favorite films of all time change pretty frequently and I didn’t want to have to think about maintaining my four favorites over time.

Michael Caine in Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Children of Men’ (2006).

Is there any film you could say is your all-time number one? If I had to name one though, it’d probably be Children of Men. It combines all my favorite things into one movie: science fiction, action, Michael Caine and a heartfelt message about how humanity has to be kinder to one another if we are to survive the challenging days ahead.

Your most popular lists are weirdly specific and fun (but true!). What are some other weirdly specific lists on Letterboxd that spoke to you? All the lists I like fall into that category. I love it when people make connections that I never otherwise would’ve thought of. To make a funny list, I think you need to be able to juggle extremely specific pattern recognition with a description that makes people feel like they are learning something about the films or their subjects. While the vast majority of the time these are just for fun, sometimes they actually can lead to insights about filmmakers, actors and the specific themes they try to bring to life in their work.

Also, shout out to Thijs Meuwese, who is leading the way on creative lists.

What is your favorite or most useful feature on Letterboxd? The Stats page [generated for all Pro and Patron members] is a beautiful visualization of the history of my film watching. As I continue to build out my watch history, I’m curious to see the trends that will arise.

What’s a movie where you don’t understand why Letterboxd members love or hate it so much? To answer this question, I took a look at some “worst-rated films on Letterboxd” lists and here’s a totally random one for you: the teen romantic comedy parody Not Another Teen Movie. It’s rated a 2.6 and a lot of the humor of this film has aged poorly but there are some amazing gags in here and it features Chris Evans in a performance that will likely be the apex of the comedic phase of his career. My brother and I still quote this movie to each other. Don’t sleep on it.

Chyler Leigh and Chris Evans in ‘Not Another Teen Movie’ (2001).

Your feature film, Stephen Tobolowsky’s one-man show The Primary Instinct, has a Letterboxd page and a pretty solid rating, congrats! How do you feel having that livestream of instant reactions to it? I’m glad that the ratings are decent, but to be honest, I can’t bring myself to look at them! As part of the filmmaking process, I’m totally open to constructive feedback from people I know and trust, but I’m not sure I can handle the same from strangers. Nonetheless, I’m grateful some Letterboxd members have seen fit to watch the film and take the time to rate it! Perhaps if I make more films in the future, I’ll feel better about checking out the reviews for an individual one.

Among your other skills, you are a talented musician. Can you tell us about some of your favorite film scores? Any cello-heavy scores or composers you find particularly influential? While not really cello-specific, the music of Nicholas Britell makes amazing use of strings (see Moonlight and [TV series] Succession). His music is achingly beautiful and is often in rotation in my playlists.

More generally, Hans Zimmer and John Williams are both legends and I’ve always found their work to be very interesting. In recent days, I’ve been quite taken with the work of Daniel Pemberton, whose work on films like King Arthur and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. have a great populsive energy to them. Finally, when I’m into something more moody, atmospheric or modern, I appreciate the work of Cliff Martinez.

Are you self-isolating right now due to Covid-19? Discovered anything great and new to you to pass the time? We hope everything is alright otherwise! Yes, I'm quarantining due to a “stay safe and healthy” order in Washington State right now. Like many people staying at home, I’ve been watching a lot of TV, which includes things like Tiger King, Devs, Better Call Saul, and Dave (the show on Hulu). These are the things that give me comfort and distraction these days.

Jennifer Ehle in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion’ (2011).

What are your go-to comfort movies that you recommend to people at this strange and difficult time? This is a weird recommendation, but I’d say Steven Soderberg’s Contagion is a great choice. Contagion depicts a virus far more deadly than Covid-19, and how it eventually leads to the deterioration of the social order. But it’s also a deeply hopeful movie. You see governments come together to try to figure this thing out. You see the people on the front lines risking their lives to fight the fictional virus and I think it’s a great way to help people understand how courageous and valuable all our medical workers are in times like these. It’s “competence porn” in an era where I think we need to be reminded of what competence looks like.

[Editor’s note: Dave isn’t alone, Contagion has consistently been in our 20 most popular films for the past month.]

When the universe is allowed to go back to the cinema, where do you prefer to sit? As close to the center of the theater as possible, with my eyeline at about halfway up the screen.

What’s in your ‘hall of shame’—the movies you haven’t seen and know Letterboxd will boo at you for missing? Don’t worry, we’ll protect you. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Say Anything. Also Firefly, the Joss Whedon show which I don’t think is on your website anywhere. Many people have been complaining to me about this oversight in my viewership for years so I think it’ll do well if we can list it here.

Which film from the past ten years that went by fairly unloved do you think will be a future classic and you’ll fight to the death for loving? I’m going to cheat a little and list a movie that’s eleven years old: Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity. This movie didn’t do super well at the box office when it was first released and currently has a 2.8 on Letterboxd. But it was one of my top ten films that year. I think Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have great chemistry, but I think the film’s depiction of corporate espionage is outlandish, fun and irresistible. These characters are playing a "triple game" and it’s so much fun to see the layers upon layers of deception that they’re creating, and the cascading impacts they have on their relationship. Also, how can you say no to a movie that has Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson as competing CEOs literally going at each other?

And finally, please name three other Letterboxd members you recommend we follow. I collaborate with Melissa on YouTube/podcast reviews and she is incredibly thoughtful and articulate. I always appreciate Khoi’s thoughtfulness. And Mike Ginn—this guy is hilarious.

You can enjoy more Dave on his website; his YouTube channel; and his podcasts The Slashfilmcast and Culturally Relevant. Dave was photographed by Brandon Hill.

#letterboxd #how i letterboxd #dave chen #letterboxd members #letterboxd community #cinephile #film lover

[theshinobiway]

Isn’t it weirder to ship the characters with yourself than with other characters?

Hey There!

First, thanks for reaching out with a question like this. I want to do your question justice because it’s actually a complex subject. To start, I have a few topics I’d like to touch on:

What does it mean to “Ship” yourself with a character?

How can it be Beneficial/Harmful?

Is it Strange?

What does it mean to “Ship” yourself with a character?                             

“Shipping” would be best defined as the following: Initially derived from the word relationship, is the desire by fans for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters (in film, literature, television etc.) to be in a romantic relationship.

This is fairly broad, but actually doesn’t even seem to include a provision for self-ships. Does that mean that self-ships are too uncommon to even mention in the definition of shipping? well, no, not necessarily.

Because the question was phrased “Isn’t it weirder to ship yourself with a character” the implication comes across as though my writing is actually a self-insert of myself as an author. Let me take a second to address this:

When I write headcanons/scenarios, I’m actually not writing self x character. I’m writing reader x character, which separates me mentally and emotionally from the subject matter. I envision myself within my writing only as necessary to write sensory detail, such as the following:

“The alcoholic haze that blurred your vision before gave the world a surreal, almost painted expression. Scenes that would not have fascinated you before were prime entertainment for the intoxicated. Lights danced around the street, peeking out from the silhouettes of the passers-by as they went about their ways, unconcerned for the magical visions that surrounded them. And Kami, and the smell of the food stands was enough to make you hungry for seconds.”

When I write emotional and romantic scenes, I personally pull from my own experiences with romance. My writing has developed in this area only because I’m in a current, long-term relationship that has the emotional depth the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. It would make me uncomfortable to envision myself that intimately with a character because I’ve already got a real-life s/o. They’re the actual reason it’s easy to write the emotionally-charged romantic scenes that I’ve grown to love writing. It’s complicated to explain, but much of my writing is “purely business,” though the emotions are real.

That’s just me, though. If a writer does scenes more based on fantasy or puts themselves more explicitly in those situations, those habits are part of their private writing process and are entirely within their right.

So now, I’ve got two smaller questions to cover:

If someone envisions themselves in their own writing with a character, is it wrong?No. I’ll talk about OCs under the next heading.

If someone envisions themselves with a character at all, is it wrong/weird?Actually, it’s incredibly normal. But there are certain things to be aware of which I’ll explain in a second.

How is it Beneficial/Harmful?

Shipping of any kind, as we have seen in a variety of fan communities, can have the effect of being incredibly harmful. Shipping is not okay when the following is true:

One or more parties is a real-life person who has not consented to the ship. (Tom Holland x Spiderman)

Both parties are real-life people not playing a character (Sorry, K-Pop fandom, you’re getting called out here.)

Both parties are real-life people [who may or may not have already expressed their discomfort with being shipped, it doesn’t matter.] (Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, Zendaya and Tom Holland)

The ship is pedophilic in nature (Sebastian and Ciel from Black Butler)

Shipping of two fictional characters does not normally fall under this umbrella. Awesome! But wait, what about shipping with oneself? The real-life person has consented to the ship.

Fictional characters (fictional identities, such as Spiderman, Sherlock, and not Tom Holland or BC) are imagined and incapable of personhood, therefore they do not need consent the same way a real-life person does. The depiction of pedophilia is still a crime, therefore, they cannot be shipped.

All stories, by the way, were created because someone imagined them. I’ve often seen the phrase “self-insert” as a tool used to shame others who create an OC for a story. 

What this says, on a literal level, is that the creator of the OC has absolutely no right to create a character to their liking that lets them imagine themselves as part of a story they love or to share an original character that they created for an established story, no matter how much they deviate from the author. Other authors who create an original story, especially female authors, have faced this criticism as well. (Interestingly enough, this doesn’t come up nearly as often with male authors, unless a harmful depiction of a female is involved.)

Personally? I do not regularly envision my authors as their characters, and I know from personal experience that in my own creation of OCs and Characters that they can be incredibly detached. Many of my OCs share none of the same character traits as me, or if they do, it’s a few insignificant details.

Still, if an OC shares much in common with the author (as most firsts do) then that’s not an issue either. It has little impact on the story. Some people actually like reading the author’s OC because they find the character to be relatable, likable, or to have qualities they enjoy.

The argument that “Self-Insert makes the writing bad” is faulty. Writing is bad because the writing is bad. It is not bad because it’s a self-insert. The issues are that the character is uninteresting, static, or unrealistic.

Character x Reader/Imaginer shipping is harmful only when the fantasy prevents someone from living healthily because of their attachment to the ship. I am not a psychologist so I cannot explain this in psychological jargon, but any fantasy that creates a detachment from reality that is:

Debilitating

Causes serious hindrance to the fantasizer’s perception of reality

Affects the real-life ability to connect to others

is a harmful fantasy.

Fantasies that are enjoyed with a sense of impermanence and can be openly recognized as fantasies are not harmful or wrong, or really even “weird.” They are, once again, a normal part of the very human desire to imagine oneself in desirable situations.

The same way people create, commission, or request fanart, there’s a similar demand for writers. That’s where this blog falls in with the fandom. because I can’t feckin draw

What are the benefits? Two. And they’re pretty great ones:

In allowing themselves to indulge in romantic stories involving a character, many people end up discovering different traits about themselves (I’m passionate just like them! We both love XYZ!), or they can eventually isolate qualities they like in real-life people (“Hey, here’s a picture of all the anime characters I like, can’t you tell I have a type?)

It’s also beneficial for the sheer sake of entertainment for entertainment’s sake. People are allowed to have fantasies. They are allowed to share fantasies with friends/communities where this is a welcome topic. They are allowed to envision characters as they wish. They are allowed to imagine character romantically, the same way they could envision that “perfect s/o” that they made up all by themselves.

Frankly, I could care less who fantasizes about what. It’s all meant to be enjoyed and it’s nice if my writing gets appreciated along the way. People’s opinions about other things I disagree with don’t even cross my mind on a daily basis.

And unless it’s put in your face,  I firmly believe other people shouldn’t care about other opinions that much either. Isn’t it just draining? Let things just be.

Is it Strange?

Well, that’s relative.

A lot of people have preferences for ships in certain media, like Daenerys and Jon Snow. Other people prefer to just imagine about Jon Snow or Daenerys. There are just as many posts praising a single character as there are shipping them together.

So why is it then that reader insert can be considered strange if the celebration/admiration/crush on a character is fairly normal?

The reason for all of this is simple: Many people find that the sharing of fantasies is an uncomfortable topic. And on some level, it is. People are often sensitive about their own imaginations, keep that part of them private, and prefer not to share or have that shared with them. It’s a normal and acceptable boundary to have.

Would you gush to your boss about how much you love Bakugo from BHNA, or would you be more comfortable sharing that with a close friend who also loves watching the show? Other people are fine relating to others over shared fantasies. Which is why there’s a community for it, particularly here on Tumblr.

The only difference between a character that one person creates and enjoys in their own head and one that has been established in media, is that the latter character comes from another imagination already has a story attached to them that has been publicly shared.

Is it weird to have a piece of media—art, writing, what have you—that lends itself to the reader to be the main character? 

Well, personally, that’s left to the consumer of media. Some people like the “choose-your-own adventure books,” some don’t. Some like video games where you create your own character (like Skyrim) some prefer a set main character with concrete traits (like Samus Aran from Metroid.)

All creators seek to replicate, on some level, an experience that they want their consumers to be a part of. They do this through the lens of their characters. This takes various forms in TV media: 

Main characters that are “Stock” (like Kirito from SAO: Talented young Japanese male, dark hair, dark eyes, noble “hero” personality. He’s similar to many other protagonists from other harem anime) 

Or that have “Strong” Personalities (like Naruto from, well, Naruto: Similar to other shounen archetypes but he can be differentiated easily, he has a strong personality, unique traits, and quirks.)

Watcher(Reader) x Character falls into the “stock” main character: Not many definable traits, easy to imagine yourself as the character to fill in the gaps, etc.

Thus, these types of character x reader stories exist in popular TV shows, with characters that the reader has the chance to envision themselves with.

It’s hard to do watcher x character when a character needs at least some physical form. Otome Games, Harem anime, Average joe-schmoe gets the guy/girl, High school girl in a movie gets her crush, etc. all fall under the same genre of the “main character with general traits that fits the most common denominator.” Surprise! The intent is that you do put yourself in the main character’s shoes and you can idolize the guy/girl they go after.

Thus, character x watcher(reader) exists in popular media already.

It’s basically the written form of “create your own character in a video game, now you get to marry/romance who you want!” Guess what other forms of media let you romance your preferred fictional character?

Mass Effect

Skyrim

Stardew

Dragon Age

Sims

Etc.

Yep, the most popular video games out there. Does everyone play these types of games? No. That’s perfectly fine.

Here’s the final answer, though: Some characters do not exist in video games that allow a romance option. Some do not exist in tv series that allow the teasing of a possible romance with a “blank slate” main character.

Reader-insert writing is only the written form of an open-ended particular romance arc with a character, meant to be experienced in the same way you could explore that option within a suitor-friendly video game.

If you find OCs “weird,” or a reader insert “weird,” then it’s because that particular form of media simply does not attract you. You are free to disregard that part of the fandom, just as much as I disregard shipping content that does not cater to my own preferences.

Thanks for contributing to the blog!

#I didn't even go into the whole fictional character vs real people debate #but at this point it's a dead horse #it doesn't actually matter #anime #media #discourse #popular shows #naruto #sherlock #boku no hero #my hero academia #BHNA #fairy tale #skyrim #stardew #dating sims #character x reader #writing #writing tips #self insert #OCs #OC #fandom #fan community #celebrities #celebrity #fantasy #fantasies #marvel #throwing this to all corners of tumblr for those in the back

[thinking-through-some-things]

sure is interesting how many people will talk about propaganda and being a careful consumer and then just. turn around and act like disney is somehow above political and economical problems.

it's astounding how many people say "disney should just own everything! then we wouldn't have to worry about who owns the characters! think of the crossovers!" and honestly don't see a problem with that. even people who understand, to some degree, 1) corporations aren't your friend, and/or 2) monopolies are bad.

so many of us just look at Disney through the rose-colored glasses of childhood nostalgia, and because of that, we can't conceive of disney as being yet another corporation that values profit over art and people. except it is.

we're so blinded by the endless franchises disney pumps out, and the innocence we associate the company with because of the content that it produces/has produced, that time and time again we'll ignore shady business practices, poorly done films/shows, complaints and strikes of disney employees, etc., all because we cannot picture disney as yet another company that prioritizes profit above all else.

but it is.

i don't blame you if you like disney movies — so do i! but disney is not perfect, and it is not infallible.

disney's animation is not inherently better than other companies. on a technical level they may be able to achieve more, but 1) they have significantly more money than any other animation company so this should be expected, and 2) all this has resulted in a homogenous style that doesn't take artistic risks — because it's safer, profit-wise, to stick with a reliable art style that has proven to sell well.

disney movies are not intently better written than other films. sometimes it's just that disney has a solid corner of the market in popular but niche genres. sometimes it's that they can afford to hire better (or just. more) writers, or out-bid other studios for strong scripts.

disney movies are not better movies simply because they are disney. sometimes it's just that you've forgotten their bad films and only remember the ones you like. and sometimes you like bad films because they're disney and you expect them to be good.

it's time we started looking much more critically at disney. it's time we started expecting more from them.

"they can't include gay characters because they have to worry about conservatives/international markets." bullshit. disney can afford to include gay characters. they can afford to have a film that underperforms. they just care more about money than representation.

"the animation is so advanced! it just looks the same because that's what's in style." disney could be producing some really unique and unusual stuff. they can afford experimental styles and plot choices. they just won't try that because they won't risk losing money.

i can't tell you how many times i've seen people say "i don't like that disney does xyz, but i'm still going to see this film because it's disney." i get it. i've been there. but when are we going to stop letting disney dictate our entire media experience?

honestly, disney is killing so many creative industries and genres.

remember how disney decided to scrap their 2d department because it wasn't making as much as 3d animation? and nearly the entire animation industry followed their lead? and now we have an endless supply of subpar 3d animation, because few studios have the resources disney has? most us animation studios just poorly imitate disney's style, which is why the most interesting and innovative animated films today come from outside the us.

why does competition matter? look at animated tv shows vs films. since disney dominates the animated film industry, other studios have struggled to break free of their control. but in television, cartoon network and nickelodeon have maintained just enough of a share of the market to encourage a variety of animated styles — and netflix's growing list of animated shows, including many international options, have resulted in a boom of really good animated shows in the past few years.

i'm not saying these other companies are better than disney, only pointing out that, by forcing disney to share the stage with a serious competitor, these companies are forcing disney to take more chances and be more creative.

and. touching on marvel and star wars. part of the reason disney has been successful with these films is yes, they knew how to cater to the right audience at the start. but now they're just relying on brand/franchise/star power, flashy effects they can afford, predictably successful plot points, and pure nostalgia to get people's attention (and money).

marvel movies don't even have to be good anymore. regardless of what you think of the movies, you're going to go see the next one. because as long as you liked one character, as long as you're invested in one story, you have to see every. other. marvel. film. to have any idea what's happening in the next film with that one character. it's gotten to the point that there's really no point in watching new films if you haven't already watched previous ones because they don't explain basic information if it was mentioned in another marvel movie.

also. because disney's marvel films are the most popular and recognizable superhero films, most viewers expect all superhero films to look and feel like marvel films — especially since there are so many that it feels like that's just. how superhero movies look. so instead of seeing a wide variety of superhero films trying different storytelling tactics, visual effects, narrative justifications, etc., we see, again, poor imitations that lack disney's budget and really different films that get rejected because they don't match our expectations.

the live action remakes really are the epitome of this problem (and before anyone says anything, no, the live action films are not about copyright law. that's not how copyright works).

first of all, disney could be taking daring risks and really challenging these films. they could have, for example, given middle eastern or indian directors, costume/set designers, writers, etc. crew members the chance to take a film that, while loved by many, has been criticized by others for being orientalist, and turn the film into something that reflected and appreciated their culture(s) from a personal perspective; and disney, in turn, could have helped those people move up in a competitive and hard-to-break-into field.

but they didn't do that.

or beauty and the beast. disney could have gone in a completely different direction, telling a brand new story and challenging ideas of social convention and love. or really pushed the aesthetics of the film.

but they didn't.

except for a few minor changes and an overblown "first gay disney character!!!" campaign (that amounted to almost worse than nothing), the live action was practically a carbon copy of the animated one. they played it safe and used the same predictably popular elements, and the few "feminist" jabs they added in were so uncontroversial that no one in 2017 would complain about them except laughably misogynistic people who hated how preachy those moments felt. in other words, even the "politics" they added in were safe.

ironically enough, my favorite disney live action film has been cinderella. i though it was visually interesting and different, and the changes to the script/plot focused on personal freedom and survival and retaining your sense of empathy despite abuse. but it didn't do as well monetarily for disney, it is, categorically, a failure. so we're likely to see disney rely more on close retellings than changed stories.

i don't think all disney films are bad, nor do i think you're a bad person for liking disney/pixar/marvel/star wars films. but if you think disney is the only company that does x well, or that they really should just own y company, or who cares if they do z, then you need to take a step back and re-evaluate.

we need to stop excusing disney. we need to stop thinking the company is cute. as a corporation, their goal is not to coddle you or make the world safer and nicer. their goal is to make money. full stop.

if you want to see a disney movie, fine. go see it. but don't watch it just because it's disney. make them earn your business by. actually. making good movies.

(sorry this is really disorganized and definitely missing points. it should probably be like. five separate essays. oops.)

#disney #capitalism #media #propaganda #spider man

[managician]

ARC V Anniversary Day 12

Disccusion prompt: Favorite ships?

ARC V has really made me ship a lot of things, be it with or without taking canon into account just because of the potential, so buckle up ‘cause this is gonna be long. I kept it to a top 10 or otherwise I’d be here all day. Honorable mentions to prodigy and whistle, as they barely didn’t make it.

(PD this is a reupload because I realised the post wasn’t showing up properly, so if you’ve seen it before already I apologize)

With that out of the way, let’s go!

10. Natureshipping

I love many of the bgirl/bgirl ships so naturally I’d love all of them being together… Not only for the awesome aesthetic though, I also think their personalities would fit so nicely with each other and they’d like having the chance to meet and talk about everything they’ve gone through; I have so many fluffy headcanons for them and I really just wanna see them bonding and being happy together!

09. Frypanshipping

Probably the oddest ship in this list, I sure as hell didn’t expect to like them so much, but Crow really helped in making Shingo become a better person, and poor Shingo clutching onto his card post BB-arc the entire time made me so emotional. You could tell they had a good relationship and were very happy to be fighting together after that, they’re so cute.

08. Wingshipping

Look at these two precious babs… On a visual level they both have some of my favorite designs in all of ARC V and they’re both counterparts, so I was bound to at the very least consider pairing them up, but when they actually had a rather peaceful meeting in canon all things considered, and immediately valued each other? When you take into account all the possible fluff and angst you could make with setting these two into any scenario? I was soo sold. And they both share the egao philosophy, they’d definitely get along… It’s just fun to think about ideas with them.

07. Janushipping

I have a weak spot for Fusion/XYZ ships because I think there’s so much room for growth and forgiveness if done right, and while I didn’t expect Dennis and Ruri to actually have some backstory together, this relationship has all I could wish for both of their characters. It adds personal conflict to their stories (especially on Ruri’s side, something that isn’t about being related to Shun or Yuto) and leaves room for Dennis to be able to apologize and improve himself after the war; not to mention their aesthetics mesh beautifully together. It’s so easy to picture them awkwardly falling back into an acquaintanceship and figuring out together where to go from there.

06. Fruitshipping

aka the ‘these two care so fucking much for each other, I don’t know how you can watch arc v and at the very least not appreciate their relationship’ ship.

I don’t know what to say that hasn’t been said about them already, honestly. I was admittedly… Reticent, let’s say, to ship this at first, because the relationships between the protagonist and lead girl in YGO shows tend to be lackluster at best for me, but they built each other up as equals from day one and have a genuinely heartwarming friendship, where they know they can lean on each other for support no matter what. They’re one of the most important people for the other and you can feel that throughout the entire show. To this day they hold the honour of being the only protag/main girl ship I can stand romantically.

Though… since they’re so well-executed in canon, I don’t feel the need to seek fanworks of them because there’s no real conflict in their relationship, if that makes sense, haha.

05. Mysteryshipping

This is sort of to be expected as I enjoy all the relationships between this trio separately (even if Yuto/Yuzu’s was short-lived); this shot in the 2nd ED is what got me to even become interested in the OT3 potential, though it was after I finished the show. Yuzu had clearly been having a period of self-doubt in S1 because of the Yuto situation, and thanks to episodes 36-37 we got a wonderful showcase of how well Yuto and Yuya would have clicked, so if Yuzu happened to explain her problem to either of them and caused them to meet in not-so-tragic circumstancies… You can only dream of the possibilities. And thanks to their bonds being established early on, you can expand on them during or post canon events, both in a positive and negative light. We’ve seen teamwork and discussions between all of them already; it’s fun to try to translate that dynamic into a three-way interaction (cranky but overly protective Yuto being dragged around by his two enthusiastic Standard S/Os who also happen to love each other very much, for one).

04. Musicboxshipping

Gosh, these two are just so cute together. Sora was heavily influenced by both Yuya and Yuzu, but you can tell their relationship is really important by the way they both act with each other, especially during the Synchro Arc. Sora taught Yuzu how to Fusion Summon and thanks to that Yuzu was able to become stronger; but Sora also was able to form a solid connection with her and basically made his first true friend in all of his life. They support each other and care about each other so much that even after they know of Sora’s true colours, Yuzu still has blind faith in him, and Sora returns that feeling by saving her from her Duel crash and even being unable to carry the mission Academia gave him because he treasured their friendship that much. Their little master/apprentice moments are adorable and really give off the fluffy energy these two have around each other; and of course Sora’s Mad Chimera and Yuzu’s Bloom Prima dancing together was beautiful too! That was such a lovely scene that made me really appreciate the trust they have in each other.

03. Swiftshipping

I shipped them together from the moment I learned both of them had been kidnapped, and I was really happy when I saw that their designs fit well with each other’s color scheme. They’re both very caring for people they hold close and since there was no indication of the opposite, for the longest time I assumed they were in a cell together. Imagining both of them trying to comfort and support each other through their predicament got me really invested in their possible relationship, and even if it didn’t turn out like I’d hoped in the end, I still had a solid grasp on their personalities by that time, and I couldn’t let go of all the AUs and concepting I’d made for them. It should be said that I have a really weak spot for f/f ships, and this one hit many of my favorite tropes (stuck in same bad situation where they both would try to be strong for each other’s sake, different growing-up backgrounds; to name a few) so my investment only went up from there. I love them so much.

02. Triggershipping

I didn’t expect them to interact much, much less positively, and much less for them to grow to care for each other so much in a short span of time. They have such a friendly and beautiful relationship; Yugo hugging Yuzu because he thought she was Rin and poor Yuzu becoming a blushing mess was a sure way to make me interested from the get go in them, haha. And it only got better from there! Even though she was a complete stranger to him, Yugo still tried to comfort Yuzu to the best of his abilities and looked out for her, fully trusting everything she said, even if to someone else it would’ve sounded like a crazy story. And you can tell Yuzu grows very comfortable with being around Yugo; their small scene with the domestic bantering and her pulling out her fan says that much, as she only uses it with people she really cares for. Whenever they’re on screen together you know you’re gonna be in for a good time, their interactions are always funny and heartwarming.

Yugo saying that Yuzu will always live on his heart in a similar manner to what Yuri said of Rin made me realise how much she really meant to him, and both of them cheering for each other in their Friendship Cup duels was adorable. But if you put their situation into context their relationship is… really sad, as Yugo has lost Rin and Yuzu is all by herself in an unknown dimension. They have that perfect mix of fluff and angst to work with that I love in ships. I adore their relationship; even if it was born out of less than desirable circumstancies, they made it work and learned to appreciate and love each other. It’s always a source of inspiration for me!

(And Yugo’s lack of knowledge of what personal space is just made it even easier to ship them)

01. Counterpartshipping

ARC V has always had the uncanny ability of making me consider ships in the span of a single episode because of the wonderful character interactions. But these two… These two really take the cake. I’m not exaggerating when I say the relationship and development between them has made me cry.    

Anyone who has heard me talk about YGO may know how much I like them. As I mentioned in a previous post where I talked about my favorite characters, I hadn’t expected to enjoy Yuto’s character so much, and much less this ship. Yuto remains a latent force of encouragement for Yuya during the entire show; as Reiji beautifully points out on his duel with Yuya after the Battle Royale fiasco, Yuya’s immediate connection with Yuto thanks to their shared ideology was the bond that allowed him to perform a XYZ Summon. His concern for Yuto in episode 37 was so palpable that it hurt; Yuto went from being some random shady dude who was beating up his friend Sora to a kind damaged person who believed in Yuya’s potential to make people happy in a way that he no longer could. It’s really interesting for me to analyse how deeply they affected each other in a short span of time. We’d seen that Yuto was a very protective person thanks to his interactions with Yuzu, so when he said that he didn’t want to hurt anyone else and ended up protecting Yuya at the cost of his own life… It drove the point home, Yuto really saw Yuya as someone worth protecting and that made it so much more painful.

Yuya also later on refers to their dialogue as a vow/promise, despite the fact that Yuto never said so, which really shows just how much thought he put into his words; to the point where those very words managed to snap him out of Berserk Mode when he was about to fight Sora. It really moved me, and the soul-crushing sensation I felt then stayed fresh in my mind right until the final season, which made me fall in love with them even more. They argued, they had fallouts, but their undying trust for each other still rose through all the problems. Yuto trusted Yuya so much that he essentially told him he was okay with falling to darkness because he knew Yuya would be okay and he’d still believe in him no matter what; that moment nearly made me actually tear up because it shows how much they’d helped each other grow.

They’re hands down one of the, if not my most favorite ship in all of the YGO series, and they’ve spurred my creativity so much. I love making AUs or analysing their interactions. They made me interested in creating content for other people to enjoy after I’d hit a stalemate 5 months ago, I’ll just never be able to express how much I love them and how grateful I am that they got to meet.

#arcvanniversary #ygo arc v #arc v #yugioh arc v #long post #you can tell these get longer as the list goes on because i have so many feelings and tbh im not sorry i love all the relationships