#is this mostly Peter analysis? yes

[nothinggold13]

In my mind, there is a key similarity between Peter and Caspian’s humility, and what that means for them as Kings, though that humility is shown with a very specific difference: Caspian is asked whether he feels sufficient to become king, but Peter is told that he will be.

Here’s Caspian’s exchange with Aslan:

“‘Welcome, Prince,’ said Aslan. ‘Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?’

‘I-- I don’t think I do, Sir,’ said Caspian. ‘I’m only a kid.’

‘Good,’ said Aslan. ‘If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.’“

Now, as Caspian says, he is only a kid. The book describes him as being about Peter’s age (14), while the timeline says he is 13, which tells us that he is, at most, Peter’s own age, and at least, the age Peter was at his own coronation. (Though the book description doesn’t disallow for him being 13, I am personally partial to taking it more literally, and thus view Caspian as being 14 in PC. The timeline is a mess, anyway, so I give myself some freedom. This is inconsequential to the greater point, but is just a general explanation of why I treat his age as open here, even though there’s a “canon” answer.)

So, when Aslan crowns Caspian, he first asks him if he feels sufficient, and then applauds Caspian for his humility. The humility in question is that Caspian doesn’t believe he is sufficient: i.e. enough. That’s the big thing Aslan requires of the people he makes stewards of Narnia: not that they themselves are enough, but that they rely on Him; Aslan is the High King above all High Kings, and when he appoints a King over Narnia, he is choosing not just a leader for His people, but someone who will follow.

Now, how does this apply to Peter?

Here’s Peter’s own conversation with Aslan:

“When the girls had gone Aslan laid his paw -- and though it was velveted it was very heavy -- on Peter’s shoulder and said, ‘Come, Son of Adam, and I will show you the far-off sight of the castle where you are to be King.’

And Peter with his sword still drawn in his hand went with the Lion to the eastern edge of the hilltop. [...]

‘That, O Man,’ said Aslan, ‘is Cair Paravel of the four thrones, in one of which you must sit as King. I show it to you because you are the first-born and you will be High King over all the rest.’

And once more Peter said nothing, for at that moment a strange noise woke the silence suddenly.”

Peter is silent through this entire exchange, though, specifically, the second time we’re told it’s because they are interrupted by Susan’s horn. During this conversation, the only insight into Peter’s thoughts is focused on his view of the castle: “[...] but to Peter it looked like a great star resting on the seashore.” We’re given no reaction for what Peter actually thinks of Aslan telling him he is to be High King... however, we are told how he feels in the moments immediately following:

“For a moment Peter did not understand. Then, when he saw all the other creatures race forward and heard Aslan say with a wave of his paw, ‘Back! Let the Prince win his spurs,’ he did understand, and set off running as hard as he could to the pavilion. [...]

[...] Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do.”

So, although the narrator doesn’t tell us what Peter thinks about becoming High King, we are told exactly what he thinks and feels about the first act he is called to do under that role: he doesn’t feel ready. Firstly, it doesn’t occur to him that it is his duty to act until Aslan waves everybody else back, though when he understands, he runs without further hesitation. Secondly, Peter has no confidence in his own actions when he goes to fight the wolf; he’s terrified, even though he doesn’t stop running. But that’s the thing about Peter: he may not feel ready, but he will always do his duty.

Compare this to the movie scene, where Peter is given a chance to respond to Aslan’s statement:

Aslan: That is Cair Paravel, the castle of the four thrones, in one of which you will sit, Peter, as High King. You doubt the prophecy? Peter: No. That’s just it... Aslan, I’m not who you all think I am. Aslan: [...] Peter, there is a Deep Magic more powerful than any of us that rules over all of Narnia. It defines right from wrong, and governs all our destinies: yours and mine. Peter: But I couldn’t even protect my own family!

In the movie, Peter is allowed to express those thoughts that remain internalized in the book: he doesn’t feel ready, and that scares him. Yet, when asked if he doubts the prophecy, Peter says “No,” and then when Susan’s horn sounds, Peter runs off immediately, willing to do what needs to be done. Although the scenes switch Peter’s moments of inaction and action, (holding his silence, but failing to act autonomously in the book, but speaking his fears and running in without hesitation in the movie,) both scenes tell us the same thing about Peter’s character: it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t feel like he is enough, because he will do what is needed, regardless.

Back to Caspian for a moment. While he may not have saved the Narnians from the Telmarines himself, at the time that Aslan asks him whether he feels sufficient, he has already been leading them for several days at least -- perhaps weeks -- even in battle. Caspian has acted as King before. And yet, when the question comes, he still feels he is only a kid: there is no way that he alone is enough. (But he is not alone; Aslan rules before him and beside him, so long as Cas will follow him.)

Peter, meanwhile, has never been King. He has led his family, yes, and done what needed to be done, but he hasn’t acted as King in the way Caspian had by the same point in his story: the moment Aslan tells him he will be King. Peter’s a kid. Peter’s scared. Peter doesn’t understand all that this means for him.

And in the book, Peter says nothing.

After all, Aslan didn’t ask him. He told him.

But if Aslan had asked him, I feel Peter’s response would have been very much the same: Aslan asks, “Do you feel yourself sufficient?” and Peter says, “I don’t think I do. I’m only a kid.” But there is one thing I would add to Peter’s response, only because it is the thing he shows us again and again by his actions: “But I will do it because you ask it of me.”

Peter doesn’t take the role of High King without question because he believes himself to be sufficient; if Peter believed his own power was enough, he would never be King of Narnia at all. But the reason Peter doesn’t question in the book is the same reason he starts running the second he hears his sister’s horn in the movie: he will always do his duty. His silent acceptance could never be, “Yes, of course, I understand completely.” It’s him holding in his doubts, his fears, his uncertainties. It’s the way he says, “If you say so, then I will do it, although I cannot understand.”

Peter is duty-bound. Always. It is that quality which, in the movie, took him from “Look after the others,” to, “You will be High King.” And though in the movie they let him question that which scares him, it never takes away from his willingness to do what needs to be done. I don’t think it’s paradoxical for Peter to show us both: he has always been a man of thought as much as a man of action; hesitant but willful; wavering but faithful; humble and noble, in all he does.

When Caspian is asked whether he feels sufficient, it is not exactly the same as being offered a choice; it’s not as if he says, “I don’t feel ready,” and Aslan says, “Then I won’t ask this of you.” The question is Aslan asking: he is simply asking after Caspian’s heart to rule, not his willingness to.

For Peter, this is already decided. There’s no question. But it’s alright, because he doesn’t need the question. For all his fears, he is still willing. For his own uncertainties, his heart is already growing in Kingship.

They’re different boys, in different circumstances. Both are Kings. Both are only kids. And even though one is asked while the other is told, they are both willing, and it is that obedience which makes them the Kings they are.

#narnia #the chronicles of narnia #peter pevensie #prince caspian #king caspian #caspian x #the lion the witch and the wardrobe #narnia analysis #narnia meta #is this mostly Peter analysis? yes #but I think Caspian creates a necessary lens #basically this is my way of crying once again #about how much I adore hesitant!Peter #him not running into his first battle immediately. #him not wanting to choose the way in PC. #it's why I wrote 'a reflection of closed doors' #and why I made him hesitate before shutting the stable door #because he will ALWAYS do what he is asked to #but sometimes it takes him a moment to understand #gah i love him!! #anyway. enjoy.

[rubysparx]

once again not tacking it onto the previous posts but like. I wanna talk abt this

As a disclaimer I have not actually seen apotheosis in full (yet) so feel free to ignore me, I have consumed as much canon content as is possible for me at the moment as well as good ol’ second hand tellings and analysis of the story.

THAT SAID.

Peter and Exandroth is not even the traditional ship to me, it’s not even like eldritchstrings where they’re just soooo toxic for each other. It’s like.. Peter and Exandroth hate each other but they are each other but they’re nothing without the other but they’re something with each other but they HATE each other but they’re best friends but they hate being the same person but at least they’re both finally Somebody but who are they anyway can’t they be a what but they HATE each otherrrrr . Erm

What I mean to say is it’s not even a cut and dry “there is romantic love here” kind of ship. It’s like.. they need need each other so much, or they manage to develop this fucked up friendship. They’ll always hate each other but on that same coin they’ll always have each other. Until of course, they don’t. The weirdest and most uncomfortable grieving period you’ve ever conceived of simply radiating off of Peter. Maybe Peter’s just a good person, maybe he just misses the company and it doesn’t matter who it was- but he’s not alone anymore. So why does he miss the company? In a weird, fucked up sort of way? Why does this absence mean anything? Why is it.. almost tragic. He tells himself he’s just a good person, that he’d mourn the death of anyone. Right? Were they friends? When he’d ask he’d always get told no, of course sometimes Exandroth would ask and Peter would be the one saying no. No, they weren’t friends. He wants to ask again, maybe the answer would change, he knows it wouldn’t. It doesn’t matter. Theres nobody there to ask anymore. Maybe Peter has a habit of talking to nothing these days….

What I mean to say is- and let’s just call it fallenangel for now unless I come up with something else (I was thinking something to do with particular rocks but idk yet I’m not good at this)- fallenangel is less a romantic ship and more.. two outcasts who’s relationship with one another is so imperative to their own individual identities that they feel as tho, at times, they are one identity. One thing. One person? One.. couple? In love? No, in hate. In desperation.

(Also. @eldritchstringsyuri and @apple-the-bluebird bc I’m talkin abt things you said so it feels wrong 2 not let u kno lolz- sry if this bothers u !)

#jrwi #<- tagged mostly for my own organization #actually very nervy to say this out loud but we rolling with it #as an aside one of my favorite aspects of my #Peter design is the bracelet he wears #it’s one of those pebble bracelets- always cold #when you buy it they try to tell you it means something or it’s from somewhere special #or maybe it’s good luck #I think Peter can tell it’s just granite and dirty quartz #probably wasn’t found far from here #he doesn’t really care tho he likes to twist the beads when he’s nervously #click them together.. I think he does that a lot now. talking into the air #once again forgetting no one is there to respond… #ok that’s it that’s my long jrwi analysis post for the month I go back into my burrow now #back underground goodb ye

[musicalslugs]

Grace and the Lords in Black: an analysis.

Okay, so, this may be obvious; although I haven’t seen anyone mention this as of yet. The link between Grace Chastity and the Lords in Black is clear, I mean we’ve all agreed that she seems to be like that, and Dirty Dudes must Die highlights her “corruption” plainly.

That being said! I think there may be more.

Firstly, the Lords in Black mention/talk to Grace first, before Peter and Stephanie (the arguable proper protagonists of this story).

Sure, Blinky’s motif is obvious, it’s of eyes, of watching and of observation. But to speak to Grace first, even if it seems (on the surface level) that it’s just to flex their omniscience and make her uncomfortable, is a little strange. Especially since they then speak mostly (only) to Steph for the rest of the song [The Summoning].

Secondly, because if that were all this wouldn’t be a very good analysis, we have her (Grace) and Nibbly being echoes of eachother.

“Swallow” and “devour” are synonymous. Both fit into Nibbly’s motif of consumption. Now, Grace could’ve said anything. Absorb, harness, control etc. I think the wording here is particular. Not exactly the same, but clearly within the same ball park.

What is exactly the same though, is Grace Chastity and Wiggly.

This may seem a bit out of left field at first, but hear me out.

In The Summoning, it is said that “Wiggly wants his Wrath”, Wrath is a vice, a sin. It may not be the exact opposite of Chastity, however Chastity is to do with restraint, whereas Wrath is very much, not so. Moreover, Wrath can be defined as ‘a great anger that expresses itself in a desire to punish someone’. Now… who else could be described as wrathful? Obviously Max. And Grace. I mean, her song is called Dirty Dudes must Die. As well as being a direct reflection of Max, it implies that she wants to harm someone. Punish someone though? Well, yes. Grace says “This is the consequence of what you’ve done!” - she must believe that death is a worthy punishment for their actions (being ‘pervs’). Thus, Wrath.

Lastly, and this is where the exactly comes in, Grace and Wiggly both say the same things. (Again, of course, I could write another analysis on how Grace and Max reflect each other beautifully by also saying the same/extremely similar things) The difference between Grace saying similar things to Max, is that she and Wiggly aren’t similar. It’s the same.

Example A) Stephy / Stephie.

Upon rewatching Nerdy Prudes Must Die and listening to the album on repeat, I noticed that no one bar these two call Stephanie: Stephie. I know Grace calls Ruth, Ruthy and Peter, Petey- so her calling Stephanie, Stephie, makes sense linguistically. That doesn’t take from the fact that Wiggly is the only other ‘person’ to use that particular moniker.

Example B) “bloody bits”

A particularly strange phrase that these two say. However, not really. The point of this analysis is to point out the links between the Lords in Black and Grace Chastity, specifically Wiggly and Grace. By pointing out the parallels in their idiolects, I have come to the conclusion that they are not only linked but INCREDIBLY similar.

Both are characters that use cutesy, almost childish language (“mommy spot” / “belly-well”) to disguise the violence, the wrath that lays beneath the surface. Wiggly (as shown in Black Friday) uses it as a facade. Throughout Black Friday and throughout The Summoning, he expresses himself as non-threatening (“We’re all pally-wals.” etc) before eventually showing what’s beneath the surface (“..deck the fucking halls!” / “We don’t give a shit about your phone!”). Both times are as abrupt as each other, showing that Wiggly has a fairly short temper. Grace doesn’t necessarily have a short temper, instead she has periods of ‘sin’, when stressed: Dirty Girl, calling “God a son of a B-Word”, smoking (after), having sex with Max, the scene of her ordering hot water etc etc. The visage, her carefully constructed facade, slips. Wether it’s because deep down she doesn’t believe in God (possibly shown in her “are you religious?” conversation with Shapiro), or that due to her upbringing she’s being confined, restrained, controlled, and this is when her ‘true self’ begins to peer through the cracks.

Either way, these are two characters who use similar themes (one of childishness, the other of purity/innocence (which can also be linked to childishness)) to cover their violence, their real selves.

Uhhh- anyway, watch Nerdy Prudes must Die on Youtube- it gave me brain worms.

#starkid #starkid productions #nerdy prudes must die #starkid npmd #hatchetverse #hatchetfield #starkid analysis #npmd #npmd theory #npmd analysis #tw long post #long post #essay #media analysis #character analysis #wiggly #wiggog y'wrath #grace chasity #npmd grace #lords in black #starkid musicals #lyric analysis #musical analysis #tickle me wiggly #the summoning #dirty dudes must die #bliklotep #nibblenephim #nibbly #blinky

[saintsenara]

Heyy, just came back from reading your analysis for remadora and snupin, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU for speaking the truth no one else seems to aknowledge.

First of all, Tonks is a queen and neither Remus or Sirius held a candle against her. I agree that their relationship wasn't at all perfect, that there were many topics to be discussed and explored there, and let's be honest, Remus isn't exactly healthy boyfriend material, regardless of his age.

Which takes me to my point. I love some fluffy snupin fic with a sweet and regretful Remus as much as the next person, mostly because it feeds my joy on seeing him actually beating himself for his mistakes and how he was as much of a bully to Severus as the rest of them. I want Severus's pain and the role Remus played in it to be acknowledged in their relationship.

However, I also want to see some good canon compliant snupin fic where Remus Lupin is presented as the low-key cruel and dark asshole we know he is. I don't buy that he only remained with the marauders because he didn't want to be alone, hell nah, that was Peter. Remus enjoyed their shenanigans and the pranks just as much, and I bet he was the mastermind behind a lot of them. I believe he was the only one who had some guilty conscience afterwards, but it wasn't nearly enough to make him re-consider.

I want some snupin fic where their dynamic follows the one we see in canon. Severus being terrified of Lupin and traumatized after what happened in the Shack, I want Lupin to low-key get off his fear because it makes him feel superior to the usually composed and indiferent Snape. I want Lupin to have been weirdly fixated with Severus since their school years and that's why he never stopped the pranks, because he enjoyed seeing the other boy under their mercy. I want Lupin to "hunt" him as both a teenager and as they're both professors in Hogwarts. Back when i read the books, I always thought his behaviour with Severus, both when they interacted and when Lupin talked about him with others, was kinda fruity. Like, what's up with than enthusiasm to see him wearing woman's clothes? How come he's the only one who refers to him "Severus" when everyone else, except for Dumbledore, calls him Snape? Yeah, it always felt weird to me.

In short, I simply think their canon compliant dynamic would be much more interesting if taken in consideration for fanfics. I love the whole "prey/predator" dynamic they could have.

ahh, thank you so much, anon! i'm delighted that you enjoyed my thoughts on both snupin and remadora - there are dozens of us!

[and i'd like to also draw your attention to this excellent addendum to the remadora point by @evesaintyves - i think it's really important for all of us remadora fans to be vigilant about challenging a tone which is far too prevalent in our conversations that to think about tonks - and lupin - as queer devalues them and their relationship within a canon-coherent setting.]

and yes - absolutely - i love seeing the messiness and thorniness of lupin explored - in snupin or otherwise - by stories which engage with the ruthlessness which lurks beneath his mask of benign affability. bring me the story which really gets into lupin describing his midnight jaunts with the lads in full werewolf form as "the best times of my life" - and clearly never being anywhere near as sorry about the risk he was running as he makes out in prisoner of azkaban...

[and also the fact that it doesn't seem quite as clear to me as i once thought it did that he didn't know anything about the werewolf prank...]

and i think there's an enormous amount of potential in using the longstanding cruelty which is tangible in snape and lupin's dynamic as a vehicle to bring down the mask behind which he lives - and that his relationship with his own sexuality is a really interesting example of that.

there's a homophobic undercurrent to a lot of the marauders' bullying of snape - the nickname "snivellus", for example, is based in the idea of snape being improperly masculine - which endures into the adult lupin and sirius' relationship with him [sirius' comment about snape being lucius malfoy's "lapdog" is him insinuating a sexual relationship between them in which snape is implied to be the receptive partner; lupin obviously thinks that snape would regard being made to cross-dress as humiliating and emasculating].

and while i love the portrayal of the wizarding world in fics as some sort of queer utopia - because i love the escapism of it - the evidence we have from canon is that this is... a pretty far-fetched thing to say about a society which is so obsessed with blood and lineage and the continuation of both of these things.

someone like lupin, who already depends so much on maintaining a mask of "civility" and conformity because of the precarious status his lycanthropy confers upon him in the eyes of the state strikes me as someone who would really struggle to acknowledge himself as queer in any way without thinking of that queerness as deviant and as dangerous to him.

[which is such an underrated remadora premise - tonks is clearly much more comfortable with being experimental and explorative in how she engages with the world. you could have so much fun with the impact tonks' relationship to her own queerness would have on lupin's relationship to his.]

lupin discovering snape is queer - and the combined fear and desire this might inspire in him, and how this would be received by snape, who is still so hung up on being afraid of and humiliated by him - could be a really complex and tangled premise for a story.

which i think you may have just offered to write...

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #snupin #remus lupin #severus snape

[probablyasocialecologist]

I want to address a problem that seems to arise repeatedly in public discussions about green growth and degrowth. Some prominent commentators seem to assume that the debate here is primarily about the question of technology, with green growth promoting technological solutions to the ecological crisis while degrowth promotes only economic and social solutions (and in the most egregious misrepresentations is cast as “anti-technology”). This narrative is inaccurate, and even a cursory review of the literature is enough to make this clear. In fact, degrowth scholarship embraces technological change and efficiency improvements, to the extent (crucially) that these are empirically feasible, ecologically coherent, and socially just. But it also recognizes that this alone will not be enough: economic and social transformations are also necessary, including a transition out of capitalism. The debate is therefore not primarily about technology, but about science, justice, and the structure of the economic system.

[...]

Ecological economists point out that when we scale back our assumptions about technological change to levels that are, to quote the physicist and ecological economist Julia Steinberger, “non-insane,” and when we reject the idea that growth in rich countries should be maintained at the expense of the Global South, it becomes clear that relying on technological change is not enough, in and of itself, to solve the ecological crisis. Yes, we need fast renewable energy deployment, efficiency improvements, and dissemination of advanced technology (induction stoves, efficient appliances, heat pumps, electric trains, and so on). But we also need high-income countries dramatically to reduce aggregate energy and material use, at a speed faster than what efficiency improvements alone could possibly hope to deliver. To achieve this, high-income countries need to abandon growth as an objective and actively scale down less necessary forms of production, to reduce excess energy and material use directly.

[...]

Degrowth does not call for all forms of production to be reduced. Rather, it calls for reducing ecologically destructive and socially less necessary forms of production, like sport utility vehicles, private jets, mansions, fast fashion, arms, industrial beef, cruises, commercial air travel, etc., while cutting advertising, extending product lifespans (banning planned obsolescence and introducing mandatory long-term warranties and rights to repair), and dramatically reducing the purchasing power of the rich. In other words, it targets forms of production that are organized mostly around capital accumulation and elite consumption. In the middle of an ecological emergency, should we be producing sport utility vehicles and mansions? Should we be diverting energy to support the obscene consumption and accumulation of the ruling class? No. That is an irrationality that only capitalism can love. At the same time, degrowth scholarship insists on strong social policy to secure human needs and well-being, with universal public services, living wages, a public job guarantee, working time reduction, economic democracy, and radically reduced inequality. These measures abolish unemployment and economic insecurity and ensure the material conditions for a universal decent living—again, basic socialist principles. This scholarship calls for efficiency improvements, yes, but also a transition toward sufficiency, equity, and a democratic postcapitalist economy, where production is organized around well-being for all, as Peter Kropotkin famously put it, rather than around capital accumulation. The virtue of this approach should be immediately clear to socialists. Socialism insists on grounding its analysis in the material reality of the world economy. It insists on science and justice. Yes, socialism embraces technology—and credibly promises to manage technology better than capitalism—but socialist visions of technology should be empirically grounded, ecologically coherent, and socially just. They should emphatically not rely on speculation or magical thinking, much less the perpetuation of colonial inequalities. Green growth visions fall foul of these core socialist values.

#jason hickel #degrowth #green growth #technocracy #ecosocialism

[danandphilplay]

also if u want to pls say what media (film, tv show, artwork, music, book, other written work, play/theatre, tarot literally anything) that u feel relates or just u like and can see in relation to dapc. always love to see ppls interests outside of dnp

absolutely obsessed with all the mcr dapc crossover fanart and everything it is so dear to ME ugh it is so amazing everyone is so talented. i love how dapc has influenced so much art whether its artwork, written work/fic/analysis and extensions of the dapc universe, musical influence anything. beautiful community of talented people:>

so many mcr songs BUT i never told you what i do for a living….. yes already a fav bc of the macbeth parallels BUT add to dapc…. amazing love it another knife in my hand a stain that never comes off the sheets:> :> :> ahuhhhhhhh i am so so normal about mcr and dan and phil and all the beautiful art inspired by dapc

i totally want to make a dapc playlist now it will mostly be mcr but i am NOT complaining

omg and any loona dnp fans out there… now how can i make love4eva about dapc man i miss loona

and also kind of got a dont hug me im scared vibe maybe it was the kids tv presenter personalities very blue peter

#dan howell #amazingphil #dan and phil #dan and phil games #dan and phil crafts #dan and phil poll

[eobarried]

ok let’s talk about miguel o’hara because it needs to be done. i want to clarify that this is not a hate post or anti-miguel in any sense, but it is a critical analysis of his character and role in the spiderverse. if you don’t feel like you can read this right now, i suggest you like it/save it for later and read it when you feel like you can with an open mind

especially for anyone who’s a miguel enjoyer (i consider myself one as well) because if you really love his character, it’s important to understand why his character was created and what a great narrative tool it is! anyway-

miguel o’hara is, allegorically, a bigot. 

now - let’s unpack and clarify that. miguel is allegorically a bigot - his character is used to represent a certain, specific type of bigotry we see in real life. notice how i’m saying “bigot” and not “racist” - because despite the memes, i don’t think miguel’s hatred of miles is rooted in antiblackness. i think it’s rooted in something a little more complicated, which is why i’m using the term bigotry. but this can be a little confusing, so let’s start from the beginning. or, at least, the most important part.

the canon.

i want you to really think about the word used here - canon. hearing that word should break the fourth wall for you, just like hearing “he’s got hammerspace!” should have earlier in the movie - or discussions different characters have surrounding their distinct art styles. it’s meant to break the fourth wall and draw attention to itself. specifically, the use of the word canon here is meant for us to take a step back from the in-universe events (treating the characters as “real” people and looking at events logically) and instead think of the spiderman story and mythos.

spiderman, as a story, has been told over and over again. we, as an audience, are deeply familiar with this story, as we’ve seen it as a live-action blockbuster in no less than three separate franchises. that’s not even mentioning all the cartoon adaptations, and of course the comic runs. adhering to a specific formula surrounding the story makes sense. when someone walks into a spiderman movie, they have certain... expectations. that no matter what version of spiderman this is, that they follow certain story beats and adhere to certain rules as they follow along in their journey. miguel, when explaining this to miles, focuses on said story beats (which i’ll get to in a second), but there’s something that’s way more important than specific plot points that we need to address here.

and that’s theme. 

theme (if you’re not an english literature person), is basically something you take away from the story. it’s usually a moral, idea, or concept that can be applied to the world around you, and helps you learn more about yourself, society, culture, or history. all stories have themes - usually they have multiple. so let’s get into it.

the original spiderman comic was notable in several ways. the thing that made spiderman so popular and successful is that he was the first (notable) teenage superhero that wasn’t a part of a greater team. spiderman wasn’t a sidekick that was written in to appeal to an audience of children. he was a teenager himself - but he was no less competent or strong than the (mostly adult) villains he fought. 

and not only was spiderman a kid - he was the kid. he was a nerd. he was an older white teen, yes - but he represented the type of person who would go out and buy a comic book more than any other hero at the time. before he became spiderman, peter parker was just kind of a geek. at the time (the 60s) this still identified him as an outcast. peter was socially awkward, not good with girls, he didn’t have many friends, and he was bullied consistently. the only thing he was good at was science, basically. we can connect peter’s original portrayal to many legitimately marginalized groups - specifically those that might be autistic and impacted by ableism. to those kids reading that comic, they saw a hero that represented them.

and how does peter represent them? what does spiderman teach these children by reading these comics? the original spiderman is the story of a man who, by chance, was granted the opportunity for greatness - to become an integral part of his community. spiderman uses his skills (both those granted to him by the spider, but also those that he inherently has, such as his skills with science and engineering), in order to prove his worth and merit. it’s lonely, the road he has to walk - he can’t tell his friends and family who he is, lest they become victims like uncle ben - or lest they betray him. he can only rely on himself and his own knowledge in order to protect his community. the themes we draw from spiderman are this: luck can strike at any time, but you need to use your own strength and intelligence to pull yourself up afterwards, no matter how hard things get. no matter how many people you lose.

that’s what miguel believes spiderman is about. this original spiderman story is that of the american dream. of a youth who is ostracized by society (for whatever reason), but is still able to use their own merit to overcome the obstacles placed in front of them and the grief and pain they face on their path to greatness. it’s a hard and lonely path, but miguel values anyone who has the bravery to face it.

so why does he hate miles?

because he didn’t do it alone. because miles doesn’t believe in the traditional american dream.

if you want to read more about that, check out my analysis comparing spider-society and visions academy over here (it’s not as in-depth as i would like it to be, but it gets the job done) but basically: miles believes that every person deserves greatness. he states it very clearly when talking to his dad about how he won the lottery to go to visions: he just got lucky. he feels as if he took an opportunity away from someone else. why is it just given to him, when anyone else at brooklyn middle is just as deserving of an amazing education? when these resources should be put to use to uplift his whole community, not just miles alone?

miles brings that same energy as a spider-person. he’s not just an anomaly because his spider was from a different dimension. he’s an anomaly because he had a mentor. not only a mentor - he had a whole clan of spider-people there for him. while peter b parker and the crew weren’t always very good allies for miles, they still wanted him to succeed. each spider-person was an outcast - not in the same way as miles, but they were eager to describe what miles needed to master in order to keep himself safe as a crime-fighter. although they weren’t always supportive, it wasn’t because they were “gatekeeping” - it’s because they were worried miles might hurt himself. to them, he hadn’t put in the work on his own, and because he hadn’t proven himself as a spider-person in isolation, they thought there was no way he could be successful as a spider-person during a very high-risk mission.

however, miles proves them wrong. it’s true that miles has to pull upon his own inner strength, but he also pulls on wisdom from those that mentored him - his father, his uncle aaron, peter parker, and peter b parker. as well as love and support from his community. miles became spiderman - but not in isolation. he had help, and support, and love - always - that helped him succeed.

because spiderman - in all universes - represents success in america. in the original comics, spiderman is able to overcome his status as an outcast in order to help his city. he now has great power - a potential allegory related to wealth and social or political status. he uses that power in order to protect the community he loves (nyc) as they can’t all protect themselves.

now let’s bring it back. miguel. right.

miguel has already made his mark as a spiderman. although we know he broke canon, it wasn’t related to him becoming spiderman. we can assume that miguel still went through serious struggle and trauma to get to where he’s at. and now, through thematic analysis, we know that becoming spiderman represents success in america.

so, miguel’s dislike of miles, thematically, connects to how older generations may believe that younger generations “have it too easy” or “don’t put in the same effort.” it’s the (mainly capitalistic) ideal that in order to succeed, it has to be in isolation, without outside help. we can infer that miguel is not only upset that miles didn’t do things “canonically” - but that he is afforded success that miguel doesn’t think he deserves. miguel believes that in order to succeed in america, one needs to do it on their own, and suffer in order to succeed. no “hand-outs,” no support, no community outreach. it’s a very rigid capitalistic standard - which is why i called it “bigoted.” miguel is still a marginalized figure - and it’s important that miguel is the one stating the viewpoint, not a white spiderman. because this isn’t a white vs black storyline. miguel’s dislike of miles is specifically a sort of generational, inter-community bigotry.

for someone who hasn’t experienced it - think of it like hazing. you join a new sports team. the senior players say “you carry the equipment out and clean everything after the game.” you ask “why? can’t we all just do it together? aren’t we supposed to be a team?” and they say “no. you’re the new guys. hard work builds character. deal with it.”

alright. so we took a look at canon through a meta-story lens. now let’s pull it back even further.

so, miguel’s ideology. he adheres firmly to canon, a series of events that cannot (or, should not), change. if we apply that to our lives, that sounds a lot like predestination. destiny. fate. let’s call it predestination for now - you’ll see why in a minute.

now, a belief in predestination makes sense. it can bring a lot of people comfort, thinking that horrible events are out of their hands, and often times it can be harmless to believe in predestination in these instances. for example: someone who blames themselves for not being able to say goodbye to a loved one who died suddenly. if this person believes in predestination, it might ease some of their pain and guilt to know that there was nothing they could do - that it was the will of some higher power that their loved one is gone, and that there was nothing they could do to prevent it. some individuals might find comfort in knowing that they are not to blame for the work of the universe.

however, predestination can also be malicious. thinking that things are the will of the universe, or the will of god... that’s been used for some pretty fucked up stuff in the past. in a more moderate (and topical) example - royalty. many kings used the concept of predestination to explain why they deserved the crown. their bloodline was chosen by god himself - that’s why they’re powerful (compare to spider-people and their success. if they are also predestined for their spider-bite, doesn’t that make them akin to monarchs?)

in more nefarious examples, predestination can be used to subjugate and oppress others. predestination was used in ancient indian society in order to justify the caste system - utilizing the hindu concept of karma to justify why certain members of society were mistreated and oppressed. in a more american sense, predestination was often used as a way to justify both slavery and segregation. originally, slavers tried to justify that god wanted black individuals to serve as slaves because it was his will. later, when divine intervention fell out of fashion, they attempted to use eugenics to justify that black individuals were simply born inferior - that it was just science, and that there was nothing they could do about it.

that’s the other reason it’s called canon. the original usage of the word was to refer to the books of the bible that the church recognized as legitimate. it ties back to faith and religion. 

now, religion, faith, and even the belief in fate itself - are not inherently bad. miguel’s belief in predestination doesn’t make him a bad or bigoted person inherently. however, the way he forces other to believe and adhere to it is. it’s very likely that miguel became so attached to the canon in order to justify why his wife and daughter died - in order to remove his own accountability for their passing and instead place the blame on some higher power. this belief snowballed out of control, however - and now influences his jealousy and distaste for miles and his way of life.

because forcing a canon - a story - on miles, is wrong. when miguel tells miles that his father must die, that he has to adhere to canon - that’s a horrible thing to say to a young black boy. to tell him that in order to be successful as a marginalized individual (to be spiderman) that he has to lose the last black male role model he has? it’s heinous! it’s akin to telling miles that in order to succeed, he has to cut ties with part of his culture. which does happen to young marginalized people in america. they are told that in order to be successful, they have to leave their culture, community, and support system behind.

it’s especially sinister when looking at it from the point of view of storytelling. when looking at it from that angle, miguel is basically telling miles that in order for his story - the story of a young black boy - to be profitable, he has to go through even more trauma and loss. it’s similar to what his guidance counselor mentions when discussing how miles should write his college entrance essay - that he should lie, and emphasize that he struggles while growing up, and that his support system was unstable. it’s the traditional story of a struggling black boy - which i discuss more here when talking about earth 42 miles and his inclusion in the spiderverse.

miguel’s bigotry is centrally tried to his idea of what american society expects of marginalized individuals who were able to achieve their dreams despite it all. a story of pain and struggle. one where they were able to - only through their own strength and intelligence, and maybe with a little bit of luck - pull themselves up, and quietly work towards their own success.

miguel’s belief in the american dream and predestination not only influences his treatment of miles, but also his creation of spider-society. now, let me be frank: miguel, in this franchise, is not supposed to represent someone who created systematic oppression. he’s simply one of the people who believed in bigoted ideals and allowed those ideals to influence his decisions. because when miguel created spider-society, it basically became an elitist isolation chamber. spider-society is located in a huge tower on miguela’s earth. the tower is so tall and imposing on the utopian landscape, there’s no way that miguel is able to properly support his own community as spiderman - he’s not worried about what happens to his own community. especially once we learn that a good portion of them live underground, where miguel can’t even see them. even if he wasn’t occupied with anomalies at all times, there’s no way he could even connect with nueva york around him.

the same can be said of all the spider-people in headquarters. they’re not even in their home dimensions. how can they possibly support their communities when they have isolated themselves as far away as they could literally be? it parallels how successful individuals often treat their communities in reality - what do wealthy people usually do at the first sign of their wealth? they build a huge mansion to get away from it all. many times in our capitalist society, wealthy and successful people abandon the communities they should be supporting. 

miguel represents that. he is a successful, powerful person, who decided to focus only on other successful, powerful people like him. marginalized people who achieved the american dream on their own. people who, instead of uplifting others, instead tear down those who don’t fit into their “mold.” who are successful in their own right, but don’t hold the same ideals and values that they do. who aren’t the model example of marginalized success in the eyes of the (white) american “audience.” 

miguel is a product of a great problem within society. while he partakes and perpetuates bigotry, that doesn’t mean that he’s irredeemable. the narrative shows that miguel is a broken man. if we think about to the end credits scene from itsv, where he calls his dimensional travel bracelet a “goober” - he wasn’t always so hateful. he wasn’t always like this. he can un-learn his bigotry and he isn’t completely lost. the way that he discusses his ideas - it’s clear that he knows that there are flaws in them, just as other spider-people consistently point out. he can be changed and improved - just like our real leaders and role models can be changed and improved. miguel is not without saving - but it’s important to remember that he does need to be saved. 

#Spiderverse #across the spiderverse #across the spider-verse spoilers #into the spider verse #miguel o'hara #meta analysis

[teaforthotxxx]

They’ll never do it but if I was rebooting HP i would literally start off in the Marauders’ first year and have a degrassi-style graduating cohort every year so we can see the entire transition from each year and each headppl. Then, I would change the plot by literally making every ship gay to give the AO3 readers what they want. Cause i mean the faithful adaptations’ already been done. Like literally I would make Dorcas/Marlene canon. Wolfstar is definitely canon. Jily is a thing for the first 2 seasons but I would literally create a fan poll to see if the mob wants jegulus, jily or jegulily.

I wouldn’t go fully into Order of the Pheonix. I’d hint abt the first war but it’d be through whispers and rumours to keep Hogwarts the main focus. Then, I would unkill everyone. I might still have Peter betray them or maybe I won’t- Maybe, he almost breaks but in this reality the marauders are good friends and they manage to save him somehow.

Then if my Max series somehow doesn’t get cancelled, I’d do Golden Trio era but like mostly focused on the weasleys and what they got up to. The trio can still be a thing but we’ve already seen their story. Like we’ll get an in depth character analysis of Ginny and her rs with Tom Riddle. Then, we are gonna have dramoine surprise get tgt. Because in this ver., Harry is a little bit more mentally stable (assuming his parents are still around or like trapped in a mirror or idk how it wld work but MAGIC). Maybe, Harry can explore his bisexuality and hook up with Cedric or Cho or Oliver Wood. We can see what everyone’s been up to. Maybe, do the grindeldore flashbacks some justice (have someone finally see their entire love story). We can see more of Luna’s future beau or Luna can be with Harry (we all know mentally stable Harry wld be more of a whore). I’d still talk about the wizarding war and Voldy will still be a thing but his story will be more fleshed out through Ginny and maybe Draco. Then, it’d end with the grand finale where they have an epic-ish battle. Maybe some ppl can die or maybe not. I wld still kill some ppl for PLOT but Dobby can keep his sock.

Then, once everything is over and all the ships are messed up. I will do some mental gymnastics and plot acrobatics to somehow make next gen hp characters a thing so I can fully showcase Teddy Lupin (yes blue hair teddy. Idk maybe Nymphadora was a surrogate or they had a thing but wolfstar would still be alive and endgame). Then, we can have Victorie Weasley, other Weasleys etc. Eventually, we’ll hit cursed child era but instead of the nonsense we got, I’ll stop milking the dead dick of Voldy and come up with a brand new facist villain. Maybe it’ll be the ministry or like the Elf enslavers? Deep dive into Kreacher? Politician!Dobby? More “dark creatures” at the sch? Possibilities are endless!!

HBO MAX pls hire me. Also, im not straight or white so you best believe we are going to add real diversity and not just racebend or genderbend for the sake of diversity.

Anyways just my thoughts on the reboot. Im prepared for disappointment esp w the recent hp discourse but oh well.

#hp #marauders era #marauders #wolfstar #jegulus #starchaser #hp next gen #golden trio #voldemort #grindeldore #harry potter #hogwarts #ao3 #hp reboot

[halfblood-princes-crown]

Re: your post about why people spit so much hate on Snape on socials.

I have been trying to figure this out for quite some time myself and I think I may offer something of an answer. It's actually quite simple but explaining it will be a bit complicated. Prepare for an long read.

We must begin with defining who are The People we're discussing here. They are (mostly) younger HP fans, some of whom haven't even read the books, very active on social media like tiktok or other, sometimes with themed accounts.

Now why is that important? Because it gives an insight on why they love the Marauders. And that is something we must come to understand to find out why they hate Snape and why do they manifest it like so.

The short answer to that question is: aesthetics. Yes, fucking internet aesthetics! You will have heard of such things as Dark Academia. Well, the Marauders fit pretty well into that theme. And the whole animagus thing adds some pretty cool imagery to that. James is a stag and Lily a doe? Wow, they match! How aesthetically pleasing!

Marauderfen don't actually like the Marauders for who they were in canon. They only like the aesthetic of a group of troubled handsome male friends in a cool British boarding school. Just think of the way they treat Peter! He's either edited out or changed to fit the fucking aesthetic! What about the girls? Empty shells ready for self-insertion. That including Lily whom we do know a thing or two about from canon but whose meager personality is reshaped into whatever fits their fancy. They take these secondary characters from a large estabilished fandom - which grants them visibility - and twist them to fit their original stories which if they were populated by OCs no one would've known let alone cared about. They wouldn't be able to build a community each around their own dark academia tale. This is why they instead chose to project that into an existing universe like potterverse. This is how and why abominations like ATYD came to be.

So why the Snape hate? Well, to put it simply, they have to twist his character for the narrative they want to tell to work. I would dare to say they actually like him. Just think about how they try to pass some of his achievements as being stolen from James! They actually like him as a character overall but HE DOESN'T FIT THEIR F-ING AESTHETIC!

They hate and bully Snape fans for the same reason the Marauders hated and bullied Snape: because they dare exist and pose a treat to their narrative full of cute (and hella boring imho) headcanons and what not with their metas and analysis and pointing out to canon facts. They keep trying to gaslight or plain terrorize people into acknowledging their version of the story in a misguided attempt to shift the general opinion of an entire huge fucking fandom!

They don't hate Snape so much for any of his actual questionable behaviors, not even for his less than glamorous background or presumed ugliness. They hate him and slander him so viciously because he makes their chosen avatars - and by extension them - look bad as proved by the fact they like, even revere, Regulus and Draco who did the same or worse but whose existence and actions in canon don't have a direct impact on the perception of the Marauders.

I believe this is all I could conclude in the time I've been observing this... err... feud. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

Cheers

Woooaahh…This is actually an impressive thought process 🤯 best Ted Talk EVER!

Anon is referring to this post

#this makes so much sense #woah #Anon has big brain 😌 #severus snape #pro snape #pro severus snape #hp fandom #snape community #anti snaters #anti marauders

[seraphtrevs]

ive been thinking about ur ghost story analysis a lot lately lol. the end of bcs was a trip for me in part in the way it played with time and with the audience suddenly being thrust into this new post-brba world for the first time in years — Marie’s presence, for instance. just wondering if u had more stray thoughts on brba/bcs as a ghost story now that it’s been a few months since the finale :)

I don't think I've ever talked about the Christmas Carol parallels, which were 100% on purpose according to Peter Gould, and what that means about what kind of ghost story BCS is.

The three ghosts who visit Jimmy in the finale fit neatly into the Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future roles. Chuck is the ghost of Jimmy's pre-BCS past - who he was before the events of the shows. Mike is the ghost of BCS/BrBa present - he's the only one who truly knows Jimmy both before and after his Saul transformation. Walt is the ghost of BCS future - a warning of how bitterness, ego, and greed will turn him into a monster no one will mourn if he keeps on this path.

Ghosts can be scary, but mostly they're sad, especially these ghosts. Their stories are over. It really is too late for them. But the ghosts in ghost stories aren't passive - they're loud. That's what being haunted means. The ghosts are teachers who want you to listen to their warnings.

Jimmy and Kim try to ignore their ghosts, but that's the worst thing you can do when you're being haunted, and it doesn't work anyway. It's only when they face their ghosts and start listening that they're able to break out of their old patterns and move forward.

A Christmas Carol is a hopeful story, and ultimately, I think BCS is, too. Yes, it's must bleaker than ACC, but Jimmy and Kim were able to bring themselves back from the brink. Change is not only possible for the living, but it's an inevitable part of being alive. By finally listening to their ghosts, they're able to avoid becoming ghosts themselves.

#jimmy mcgill #kim wexler #better call sauls #asks

[thenuclearmallard]

‘Everyone knew it was coming’A dispatch from Russia's Republic of Buryatia, where mobilization is already underway

12:11 pm, September 22, 2022

Source: People of the Baikal

Storyby People of the Baikal. Abridged translation by Sam Breazeale.

According to available data, the Republic of Buryatia has been losingsoldiers at a higher rate than almost any other region of Russia since the start of the war against Ukraine. An analysis from the independent outlet Mediazona suggests that’s no coincidence: Buryatia residents, roughly 30 percent of whom are ethnic Buryats, make well belowRussia’s median salary on average, which has been a reliable predictor that a given region will have high losses in this war. Vladimir Putin’s September 21 mobilization announcementlooks unlikely to reverse the pattern: conscription-eligible Buryatia regions began receiving draft orders that same day. A new report from local outlet People of the Baikal describeshow the men were picked up from their homes early the following morning and taken to the military commissariat’s assembly point in the regional capital, Ulan-Ude. With permission, Meduza is publishing a lightly abridged translation of the story.

On Shumyatsky Street (Editor’s note: in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia), an elderly woman in a woolen headscarf holds a plastic bag containing five cartons of Peter the Great cigarettes. She’s waiting for her son-in-law to be brought to the recruitment center. Last night, the 35-year-old was served a military summons in his home district of Barguzinsky, and he should be arriving in Ulan-Ude soon.

“I have three sons who are there already,” the woman says quietly. “Now they’re taking my son-in-law. They all want to fight. All of them. Men have something wrong with their heads.”

The woman’s phone rings and she answers. First she's calm, then she breaks into a shout: “Pasha, are you here? Yes, I brought the cigarettes. Tell everyone there that you have four kids, you hear me? Tell them all! Maybe they’ll release you.”

Buses of conscripts have been arriving in Ulan-Ude since the morning. The men are brought to the Military Commissariat of the Republic of Buryatia’s assembly point on Shumyatsky Street, a large, fenced-in territory directly adjacent to a tall apartment building. Just a 10-minute walk from here is the city’s archery hall, where memorial services for soldiers killed in Ukraine are held.

TUVANS IN THE WAR‘They’re mostly after loans’Tuvans, trying to scramble out of poverty, are dying in a foreign war

11 days ago

The first conscripts to arrive are from the Tunkinsky district. According to a local government official, 130 people were picked upfrom the district, which has a population of about 20,700 residents. The entire Republic of Buryatia has about 980,000 people, and about 6 to 7 thousand of them are eligible for the draft.

According to a local government official who asked to remain anonymous, none of the people who have been conscripted so far have objected or complained. “Everyone knew mobilization was coming, and everyone was internally prepared for [the conscription authorities] to come for them,” he said.

It takes about 6–7 hours to reach Ulan-Ude from the Tunkinsky district. On the bus ride, the conscripts are given a lunch of buuz, a type of steamed dumpling popular in the region. “Each person ate 10 of them,” said one woman in a messaging group for soldiers' wives in the district. Members of the group have already begun collecting money for things like cigarettes and warm hats for the future soldiers. They’ve also discussed giving their husband bags of sacred sand from the Burkhan Baabai datsan, a Buddhist monastery in the district.

The Tunkinsky district residents arrive in two white Ford vans and two yellow school buses. When the vehicles stop in front of the gates of the assembly point, the conscripts — almost all in camouflage military uniforms — get out for a smoke break. Many of them are carrying bags packed by their wives or mothers.

People of the Baikal

“I’m 45 years old. I served a thousand years ago, and I wasn’t sent to a single hot zone,” says one heavyset, unshaven man. “But hey, I guess it’s my turn to do some shooting.” After the men finish their cigarettes and return to the buses, they’re driven through the gates to the assembly point. One of them shakes his fist and sings an upbeat song in a minor key as he waits for the others.

Ten minutes later, another batch of conscripts shows up, this time from the Yeravninsky district. Then buses arrive from the Zaigrayevsky, Kurumkansky, and Barguzinsky districts. Sergey, who hails from the Yeravninsky district, steps out of his bus with a bottle of cheap beer. He stands there for a moment in his plaid shirt and puffer vest, wobbling and smiling at a group of Kurumkansky residents. They stand in a circle, drinking vodka straight from the bottle. “Hey, come film me,” he says, waving his arm. “I think our country, or Buryatia, will crush old China — I mean, uh, Ukraine.”

Sergey is 49 years old. He served in the army once, but that was “a long time ago.” He has a wife and two daughters, the youngest of whom just entered the first grade. He says he’s not afraid of death. “Though I did tell my wife goodbye, and my daughters, too,” he adds, tears welling in his eyes. “But here we are: I’m headed to the front.”

All of the men being mobilized from Buryatia will be sent to either Chita, a city in Russia’s Zabaykalsky Krai, or Blagoveshchensk, in the Amur region, for training. From there, they’ll go to Ukraine.

#indigenous #indigenous russian #indigenous russia #culture #russia #important #colonization #fypシ #fypage #landback #Tuvan #buryatia #Buryat #decolonize #Text #text tag #russian imperialism #Genocide #Racism #indigenous people #War #russia ukraine war #Ukraine #cannon fodder #land back

[ursafootprints]

6, 7, 10, 15 c;

Thank you for playing, these questions were super fun to think on and answer 💖💖💖

6. what’s the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Transitions/flow! Historically I have mostly written one-shots or fics like Naturally where yes, it's multichap, but it revolves around only a few scenes where the chapter breaks themselves double as scene breaks, so for YNYD and some of my lengthier WIPs it's been difficult to translate my bulletpoints-in-an-outline into something that feels cohesive and organic. This was my major struggle with the most recent chapter of YNYD, because the main thing that chapter was For was exploring the development of Tony and Peter's intimate life, and I had a hard time beating it into a shape that felt cohesive instead of like a collection of random gently-escalating makeout/smut scenes.

For one-shots, though, it's just Doing The Damn Thing, since one-shots are usually pretty fully-formed in my head and I don't have to worry about actual ideas or flow. I've gotten much better at giving myself permission to just write a sloppy rough draft and clean it up in the aftermath since I started using 4thewords (SUPER fun, but it is a subscription,) but getting stuck on not being able to immediately come up with The Exact Wording I'm Going To Use In The Final Draft was my biggest struggle prior to that. (Genuinely, until I started using 4thewords my "editing" for my chapters was 95% just fixing typos, because I just straight-up wouldn't write a line down until I had it absolutely perfect in my head, haha. Now I have to edit a lot more, but it's still more efficient than THAT!)

7. how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

Hmm! This is a really interesting question– on the scale of “writing for engagement” to “writing for myself” I’m definitely much moreso on the “writing for myself” side of things and I’m influenced very little by “is this what other people in fandom want to read” when it comes to deciding what fic ideas I’m actually going to pick up and follow through on. I have noooo idea if this is something common for writers or if this is an ADHD thing or if this is a just-me thing, but for me, the urge to write something is driven by “I have this idea and I just have to see what it looks like fully-formed,” and if I don’t write out those ideas then I’ll sit there and imagine and reimagine and reimagine the same scenes over and over and over again until I finally actually write them and get them out of my head. (This has been a great motivation for YNYD, because there are still scenes to come that are in this stage for me, so I’m stuck in imagine-reimagine mode with them until I actually get there!) So even if something is unlikely to get engagement, I’ll still write it, because I’ve got to get it out of my head For Me.

But! Of course I LOVE engagement, I love my readers, I find comments incredibly motivating and particularly when people get into genuine analysis of what the characters are going through or relationship dynamics or what the themes of the work are– that really excites me and often inspires me to go and make new notes on my outlines/behind the scenes documents or open up my docs to finally make myself edit That Bitch Of A Scene etc. etc. And then… as much as I am more of a write-for-myself type, it is hard to say, like… idk, would I have written 100k+ words of YNYD if I was getting zero engagement? I don’t know! I’ve never been put in that position– Starker fandom is by far the most active fandom I’ve ever written for, but I’ve always gotten at least some engagement on my writing even for smaller fandoms where a Highly Successful fic means that you get 4 comments instead of, like, 40. I do think I still would have written it due to the aforementioned “gotta get these scenes out of my head” thing, but maybe more slowly/not making it as much of a priority, idk.

I will say that because Starker fandom is so much more active/enthusiastic than other fandoms I’ve been in, the initial reception to my fics was a little overwhelming (though wonderful, obviously!!) to where I did backslide a little bit into like, “oh no, what if people don’t like that I did [XYZ] in this chapter” and was feeling more pressure about my writing, until eventually things evened out and I was able to get back in my zen place of focusing on how I felt about the fic/chapter/whatever instead of thinking about audience reception. (And to be clear, I’m DELIGHTED to be a part of such a wonderful, supportive community– it was just a big adjustment coming from fandoms where having a runaway smash-hit fic meant getting a fourth of the engagement, haha.)

10. how has writing positively impacted your mental health or overall mood?

It’s been soooo nice. I wrote consistently as a preteen/early teen, which I loved and was wonderful and I had so many positive experiences in fandom back then, but then for about a decade starting in my midteens my primary fandom outlet became text-based RP and I stopped reading/writing much fic at the time! And that was also wonderful and I made so many long-term friendships during that time, but eventually my energy for RP kind of dwindled, I found myself coming back to writing, and it’s been a blast. Having a source of regular creative engagement (that doesn’t rely on others the way RP does) has been so lovely and has given me so much energy during times that were otherwise pretty stressful.

15. how do you think your writing has improved over time?

Oooh, this is such a tough question. Both because the tone in my recent works and my only-semi-recent works are so different– like, I don’t know if I’ve actually gotten better at conveying mood and depth of emotion, or if I just didn’t have as much opportunity to do that for my fluffier, more romcomesque fandoms– and because I don’t… ffffocus on the technical skills of writing, much?

Obviously I have improved at writing since I wrote my first fic at the tender age of 8, but I don’t really edit with an eye towards overuse of words, avoiding “””bad””” words like ‘very’ or whatever, efficiency/redundancy, balance of sensory vs environmental vs emotional detail, varying sentence length to improve rhythm, blah blah all that stuff you’re “supposed” to do if improving your writing skill is your goal, because for me it’s really not!

I want to tell my stories how I want to tell them, with the exact amount of effort that I want to expend towards that, and not a single drop more, haha. My goal when I’m writing is to convey the emotion/dynamic I’m trying to express as thoroughly and accurately as possible, so all of my editing is geared towards that vs the more technical aspects of writing– so yes, obviously achieving that goal often means modifying for awkward phrasing or changing up the pacing or varying sentence structure, but I’m not approaching every scene with the Goal of having perfect phrasing and perfect pacing and perfect sentence structure, if that makes sense? I don’t hunt for things that are off; I just highlight the spots that immediately feel iffy as I’m writing them, and I come back to them later to tidy up. And honestly, I feel like a major trademark of my style is the deliberate use of run-ons and embedded clauses and sentences that are Way Too Fucking Long in a way that I’m sure any editor-minded readers would LOVE to get their hands on and tear apart and shuffle around and rearrange and make more cohesive/coherent, but I like writing that way!

To be clear, I think it’s awesome and incredible when people approach fic-writing with the intention to actually improve their writing itself, but that’s just really not how I approach it. I don’t have a goal of being professionally published someday, and I don’t want to dig into the guts of my fics to think about what flaws they have and how I could have made them better by honing XYZ skill– that’s not fun to me, and to me fic is for fun! It’s about making myself sad or happy or angry or horny over my blorbos, so when I edit or I’m happy/unhappy with a scene it’s alllll about how well I feel like I’ve accomplished that goal, so it’s really hard for me to judge improvement in my writing based on any other metric. Sometimes I nail it, sometimes it feels off, and that has been the case for as long as I have been writing, haha.

#ask games #ynyd

[weirdlyfitting]

Hmmm long time no ramble abt myself so here i am lmaooo

I've been keeping these thoughts and problem to myself and it has affected my mental health tbh, just ignore this if y'all don't want to read some negativity cause this had a lot of it :(

So what happened???

Long story short i enjoy video essays so much (especially for mcu) but because they've been too critical these days that the contents made me uncomfortable in so many ways

I love, LOVEEE video essays cause not only i learn something from a writing standpoint it's also about my favorite thing, it's like listening to a friend's story while i'm doing something or nothing, well mostly i did it when drawing tho

IF i watched these kinds of contents again again and againnnn, it's not enjoyable and i feel like it's too much. Kinda ironic considering one of the critics for phase 4 included having too many projects and simply being too much.

There are some points that i def agree on tho, but seriously when could these people talk about the good stuff that came out of phase 4? As in stuff like these

AND ESPECIALLY THIS

Back then i watched the wandavision analysis video after i started to watch (well obvi) wandavision and it grew on me because as the show went on he kept uploading the analysis of each new episodes up to the finale :D

It's incredibly shocking for me to learn that trauma played a really important role on the whole story, pretty much the same with real life tho so it's (again shockingly for me) relatable

Some times later then i find this video i'm beyond sad, and i think i had a breakdown??? Idk my memory's a mess but yea it affected me til this day

I hated the way she's handled in multiverse of madness like she's just having a solo story on her journey of 5 stages of grief and holy fuck she's a villain now??? But pre multiverse of madness she is a great hero to me

I feel like this guy didn't understand or acknowledge what psychosis is (NOT psychopath) when making the video tho (when talking abt pre mom wanda)

I've ever had a psychotic break and i relate to wanda a little by little as the episode went on, it's maddening because i couldn't control any of what i see, hear, or feel. God I just wish more people are kinder on mental health subject :(

I'm not a psychopath, i'm not a narcissist. I'm in need of serious help and by watching positive essays about my comfort characters, movies, or shows helped me understanding the why and what caused it (yes therapy is expensive). I needed comfort and i'd never do harm to others to get that comfort, the psychotic breakdown only happened to me and i've seen shits that i don't want to see anymore. It's a lot :(

Anyway back to it, i've rarely seen anyone who made a video essay talking and explaining about the good stuff that came from phase 4. As in like "the whole phase" yknow?

I mean this phase isn't perfect, maybe far from it tho, there were up and downs yes they exists, too many projects that made mcu feels like a homework and not an event.

But this phase was also one of the only thing that were there for me in dark times, reminder that in 2021 the pandemic still exist and i wasn't able to learn fully at school and all those stuff

Let's say i was still isolated from outside life, really is an introverted person and all i had was internet and comfy bedroom, not to mention my psychotic breakdown happened too for sometimes

When no way home came i feel like it's a movie made for me cause i was kinda in peter's place. I was too struggling to find a university, i didn't know where to go and watching this movie made me feel safe and keeping me to keep going to search on my uni

Then oh my god where do i even begin : moon knight

this show changes lives and i'm one of those life who's changed jagsjsgshsgs, i was in my darkest and i mean it, DARKEST mental state i've ever been on. But this show kept me going, this show was there for me, greeting itself as a friend then it grew on me as time changes. I'm forever grateful to watch this show when it's still aired from the first ep 🥺

I met a uni friend who loved moon knight and overall mcu and oscar too, plus the moots in here aaaa it's just so memorable!

So yeah, phase 4 may be messy and all but it's a good mess for me. I simply would not care anymore if i recieve negative essay reccommendations on my youtube, i'd only watch them when i feel like i want to

With now in phase 5 tho, i'm hoping the flaws from phase 4 can improove. I feel like quantumania is def an okay start for phase 5

there's always a room to grow

#mcu #marvel cinematic universe

[offollies]

( A STERILE ROOM ADORNED WITH GLASSWARE FILLED WITH VARIOUS LIQUIDS AND MACHINES RUNNING CONSTANT ALGORITHMS, A PASSION FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING OTHERS, A HEART THAT MEANS WELL AND HAS SOLID DEVOTION BUT DOESN'T ALWAYS SHOW IT )▸ welcome to latverion, REED RICHARDS (MISTER FANTASTIC). it’s time to be gracious, for in this vast multiverse, you have been saved by emperor doom. according to records you are 40 and use HE/HIM pronouns. emperor doom expects you’ll enjoy your career as a SCIENTIFIC VISIONARY AND RESEARCHER/CO-OWNER OF THE BAXTER BUILDING, or else. excellent. we look forward to your contribution. ( peter gadiot )

ABOUT BASICS

FULL NAME: reed richards

ALIAS: mister fantastic

AGE: 40

AFFILIATIONS: fantastic four, the illuminati, future foundation, avengers, defenders

GENDER AND PRONOUNS: cis man, he/him

FACE CLAIM: peter gadiot

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

POINT OF ORIGIN: reed comes from... all over the place, but mostly the comics ! i admit i haven’t read a single series all the way through but i bounce around enough to have a collective idea of how my reed is portrayed!

ABILITIES/SKILLS: plasticity, shape-changing, super-genius intelligence, hypnotism, martial arts.

HAVE THEY BROUGHT ANY FAMILY OR PETS WITH THEM: reed has brought his wife, his children, and his brother-in-law with him (though he hopes that ben is around as well).

ANY HEADCANONS YOU WANT OTHERS TO KNOW: since reed’s face claim is of mexican descent/half mexican - i like to incorporate that into his life. reed grew up with a white father (hence the last name of richards) and a mexican mother. (though she still passed when he was 7 years old). reed is, of course, a super-genius and has no qualms about letting anyone know about it. he’s fascinated by alien languages and tech, and for fun he likes to translate their languages and be, of course, the pioneer in doing so. as per usual, reed thinks magic is non-existent in the sense that magic is simply ‘science they have yet to fully understand’. no, you cannot change his mind. yes, he’s obnoxious about it. reed is blunt, forthright, and often-times comes off as rude. sometimes he realizes it and apologizes, sometimes he doesn’t and needs to be told how he came across.

QUESTIONNAIRE

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER FEEL ABOUT EMPEROR DOOM? this is probably THEE most loaded question about reed richards, ever. how does he feel about victor? it’s a mixed bag. he admires him, he rivals him, he considers him family, he considers him his worst enemy. it truly depends on the day and the way doom is feeling. (and reed too but he solely places the blame in doom’s court). but one thing he can count on is doom’s stalwart affection and care for reed and sue’s children. another thing he can count on, of course, is doom to allow his ego to get the best of him, but that’s another story entirely.

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER FEEL ABOUT THE BATTLES? ARE THEY TRYING TO AVOID THEM? OR ARE THEY EAGER TO JUMP IN? reed finds them barbaric and baseless. though he understands that the laws of nature will always have some people willing to throw themselves to the proverbial wolves for fun or recognition. he’s not going to try to shut them down but if they get too carried away, he’ll find a way to force doom to put an end to it. as of right now though, he’s keeping his head down and avoiding the killiseum at all costs.

WHY HAS YOUR CHARACTER ACCEPTED THEIR JOB POSITION? WILL THEY USE IT TO GET CLOSER TO DOOM? OR WILL THEY USE IT EXPLOIT HIM? OR DO THEY SIMPLY LIKE THEIR JOB? reed has always been connected to the baxter building and thus it’s no surprise he’s there as the co-owner and scientist there. he’s also thrown himself into being a researcher and developer so that he can (A.) keep busy and ensure his mind is always sharp, (B.) work on things to keep doom both placated and contained - whether doom realizes it or not. (C.) he just enjoys experimenting and discovering things. so, no he won’t exploit doom - but he will contain and control him if necessary.

#reed:intro #latverion:intro #reed:thread #reed:isms #reed:visage

[safflowerseason]

yeah the pod was such a letdown and i had such high hopes for it but only reminiscing abt how much fun u used to have with your co-workers in the early aughts is not that compelling lol. not that i didn't enjoy some of the stories that peter gallagher or the actress that plays kirsten or adam brody (who btw was in one of the most underrated tv shows of this year in fleishman is in trouble) said. but those were the only 3 eps i managed to listen to in full and it's mostly bc kirsten is my favorite character probably and peter and a brody are sort of the only actors who starred in other stuff i enjoyed

the oc s1 had such a huge cultural impact and it's so weird to me that they didn't have a culture writer like alan sepinwall or some other pop culture writer on the pod!

anyway, hoping that mischa is fine right now and that she found closure and everything! and yeah the marissa discourse is one of the few things i remember fondly re: summer 2020

so the pod did actually have Alan Sepinwall on (I only know this because I followed the pod's insta for a bit even after I stopped listening), to talk about The OC and its cultural impact. I didn't listen to the episode but I remember from the promo that Melinda Clarke asked him why he left the show off one of his lists of the best shows ever or the best shows of the twenty-first century (some list like that). I really like Alan's writing and would have liked to hear his take on The OC, but by that point that I had checked out.

I *loved* Kelly Rowan's episode, she is an icon to me, and Peter Gallagher's, and I also heard Chris Carmack's episode was good too. He always seemed like a solid guy to me. And Adam Brody's episode was fascinating (and yes, he was great in Fleishman is in Trouble). I do think it's a shame they are putting the pod behind a paywall now, in spite of my less-than-positive opinion of it. It was just so clear in the show's run that there wasn't going to be any real analysis of the show, just the hosts echoing bland talking points. At the risk of repeating myself the Drama Queens OTH podcast is just so superior in every way, *the* model for how to approach a rewatch for an early-mid-00's show. oh well - at least we'll always have the marissa discourse.

#the marissa discourse #welcome to the oc bitches #oth: drama queens

[gammija]

The final Web!Martin evidence list

Now that canon is done, and we’ve got word of god confirmation that Web!Martin wasn’t complete nonsense, I decided to go back to my lil chronological evidence list and actually clean it up a bit, delete parts that in hindsight weren't all that indicative, and put everything in a slightly more readable format. (Obligatory disclaimer that i don’t and never did believe or advocate for some kind of evil web!martin, and that I'm not intending to connect a moral judgement to martin (or anyone else for that matter) having some of these traits)

So here: The (hopefully, please) final list with Web!Martin Evidence! Presented in order of importance, according to. me

The final (hopefully) Web!Martin evidence list

(In order from most to least obvious)

Spiders

I mean, it’s called the Web. TMA reiterates quite a few times that Martin liked spiders. Sometimes it IS that easy.

MAG022: Martin: "I like spiders. Big ones, at least. Y’know, y’know the ones you can see some fur on; I actually think they’re sort of cute -"

MAG038: | Sasha: "A spider?" Jon: "Yeah. I tried to kill it…" [...] Sasha: [Chuckles] "Well, I won’t tell Martin." Jon: "Oh, god. I don’t think I could stand another lecture on their importance to the ecosystem."

MAG059: Jon: "I have done my best to prevent Martin reading this statement in too much detail. I have no interest in having another argument about spiders."

MAG079: Jon: "Apparently, biologically, his account of the spiders doesn’t make any sense according to Martin."

MAG197: Martin: “What? Because I like spiders? Well, used to.”

Lies and subterfuge

Martin is able to use lying and subterfuge to achieve his goals, and is called manipulative a few times.

Lies:

MAG022: Martin: "[He] became slightly more co-operative after I lied to him and told him that one of the upstairs residents had buzzed me in."

MAG056: Martin: "I lied on my CV."

MAG158: Peter: “But you said –” Martin: “Honestly, I mostly just said what I thought you wanted to hear.”

MAG164: Jon: "You – I actually believed you!"

MAG189: Martin: “Sorry. Sorry, John. Not sure how much everything up there actually understood what was going on. But, y’know, I didn’t want to take any chances so it made sense to… um…” Jon: “Put on a show?” Martin: “Yeah, basically, more or less.”

MAG191: Martin: "That's not true." Arun: "Liar!"

Subterfuge:

The plan in 118, which revolved around convincing Elias that Martin was only “acting out”, to create a distraction for Melanie. (Also compare the way he evades giving a straight answer here with the way Annabelle talks in 196.)

Working with Peter in s4 under false pretenses, to distract him from Jon and eventually try to learn what Peter wanted.

Manipulation accusations:

These, I know, are somewhat contentious, since it’s mostly villains saying this to him. I’m still including them, since

1): From a media analysis standpoint, being mentioned 3 times is a sign to pay attention, even when it may not be the full truth.

2): I only see it as describing Martin’s behaviour in the previous points, not as a moral judgement; Especially since he almost always ‘manipulates’ people in positions of power over him.

Still, if it bothers anyone, feel free to ignore these.

MAG138: Martin: "That’s it? No, no monologue, no mind games? You love manipulating people!" Elias: "That makes two of us."

MAG186: Martin: “I can be a real manipulative prick, you know that?” Also Martin: “Oh yeah.”

MAG196: Annabelle: “Because you always managed to get what you wanted through smiles and shrugs and stammerings that weren’t nearly as awkward as they seemed.” [SMALL SOUND OF MARTIN’S CONCESSION TO THE POINT] Martin: “Point taken.”

The Lonely/the Web

The Lonely and the Web sometimes affect Martin to similar degrees.

In season 3, when Martin is getting used to reading statements for the first time, most of them leave him emotionally affected: MAG084, MAG088, MAG090,

MAG095: Martin: “S-S-Statement… done.” [HEAVY BREATHING & TREMBLING AS MARTIN STEADIES HIMSELF] “I don’t like recording these. There. I-I said it.”,

MAG098: Martin: [Panting] “End of statement.” [Deep breath] “I, um, I think I might need to sit down. Oh. Yeah, I am. Right. I don’t, uh, I’m not really sure if these are actually getting easier or harder. I mean I don’t feel –”

Only the last two statements he reads are remarkably easier. This might be a hint that Martin is just getting used to reading them, but the quote from MAG098 seems to contradict that. Either way, it’s likely not a coincidence that those last two happen to be the Lonely and the Web:

MAG108: Martin: “Statement ends.” (exhale) “That wasn’t so bad…”

MAG110: Martin: “Statement ends.” [...] “I mean, I think it sounds like a Jurgen Leitner book. About spiders. Hm. Good John didn’t have to read this one, anyway. I know he’s not a fan. Although, this one wasn’t too bad, actually! I – yeah. Anyway.”

In season 5, there are two powers’ Domains that actually affected Martin mentally, as opposed to only physically: the Lonely’s, in 170 (and arguably 186), and, depending on your interpretation, in 172, when Martin went exploring without knowing why he did so.

Proximity

Martin investigates a lot of the Web statements during season 1 to 3 (in other words, when the archive team still researches statements). The only ones he isn’t mentioned in during this period are MAG019 and MAG020, when he’s being harrassed by worms, and MAG081, which Jon records by himself outside of the institute.

Most notably, he’s the one who discovered the statement in MAG114, ‘Cracked Foundations’, which is the one statement in the entire show that sets up the interdimensional properties of HTR.

The Web!Lighter passed through Martin's hands first, before he gave it to Jon.

Similarly, Annabelle mostly spoke to Martin in season 5, despite most other Avatars usually focusing on Jon.

Aesthetics

Apart from the above obviously Web related areas, there are some other aesthetics which are mentioned in connection to both the Web and Martin, throughout canon.

These are describing the Web;

These are describing Martin.

Tapes:

Martin is the only character to treat the tape recorders as friends - any other character is either indifferent, or treats them as enemies.

MAG039: Martin: "I think the tapes have a sort of… low-fi charm."

MAG154 Martin: “Oh. Hi. Hello again.” … (small laugh) “Sorry pal, false alarm this time.”

MAG156 Martin: “Mm? Oh.” [HE LAUGHS, GENTLY.] “Yeah. (rustling paper) I was going to read one. Hate for you to miss it!” [SHORT, FORCED LAUGH, AS HE FLAPS THE STATEMENT AROUND.]

MAG170 Martin: “Oh. Oh, hello. What’s this? Wow, retro! What are you up to, little buddy; just – listening? That’s okay. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

MAG190 Jon: "[The tapes] seem to like [Martin]."

Retro:

MAG069: Statement: “I only saw Annabelle Cane once during this period. She wasn’t hard to pick out. She dressed like a vintage clothing store exploded on her, and her short bleach-blonde hair stood out sharply against dark skin.”

MAG160: Jon: “Anyways, don’t tell me the phonebox down there doesn’t appeal to your retro aesthetic.” Martin: “It – might. Maybe.”

MAG163: Annabelle/the Web callying Martin via an old payphone: [ A PHONE RINGS. IT’S NOT THE TINNY, ELECTRONIC SOUND OF A CELLPHONE – NO, THIS IS A TRUE, HEAVY, CLASSIC RING.] Martin: “Uh. John? Uh, J, John – the, uh, payphone that’s – here, for some reason – it’s ringing?”

Hatred of burns:

MAG067: Jack Barnabas’ statement: “I looked up and noticed within the corner of the room, where there had been a spider’s web this morning, there was just a faint wisp of smoke.” “Another held a bag that seemed to be full of candles, while a third had a clear plastic container filled with hundreds of tiny spiders.”

MAG139: Statement by member of Cult of the Lightless Flame: “The Mother of Puppets has always suffered at our hand; all the manipulation and subtle venom in the world means nothing against a pure and unrestrained force of destruction and ruin.” Agnes burned down Hilltop Road.

MAG145: The Web ties Gertrude to Agnes, stopping the Desolation’s ritual (the only Power whose ritual the Web is known to have prevented).

MAG167: Gertrude enlists Agnes’/the Desolation’s help in order to burn her assistant Emma, who was Web aligned.

MAG169: Martin: "Look, I just – don’t want to get burned, all right? It’s, it’s like my least favorite pain ever. [...] I, I legitimately hate burns, alright? They’re, they’re awful, and they scar horribly, and they just – it – it just makes me sick; I, I hate it. Hate it!"

Phrasing:

MAG039: Martin: "I’m trapped here. It’s like I can’t… move on and the more I struggle, the more I’m stuck. [...] It's just that whatever web these statements have caught you in, well, I’m there too. We all are, I think."

MAG079: Martin's poem: "The threads of people walking, living, lovi–"

MAG117: Martin: "This last couple of years, I’ve always been running, always hiding, caught in someone else’s trap, but, but now it’s my trap, and, well, I think it’ll work. I know, I know it’s not exactly intricate, but it felt good leaving my own little web. Oh, oh, Christ, I hope John doesn’t actually listen to these. “Good lord, is Martin becoming some sort of spider person?” No, John, it’s an expression, chill out! Besides, spiders are fine. I mean, yes, people are scared of them, obviously, but actual spiders, they just want to help you out with flies."

MAG167: Jon: “Methinks the Spider dost protest too much.” Martin: “Jon –” Jon: “Joking! Just joking.”

Personality:

How applicable these are depends heavily on how you interpret Martin's own personality, so your mileage may vary.

MAG008: Statement: “Nobody ever said a word against Raymond himself, though, who was by all accounts a kind and gentle soul [...]”

MAG123: Jon: "The Web does seem to have a preference for those who prefer not to assert themselves."

MAG147: Annabelles statement: "I discovered a deep and enduring talent inside myself for lying. [...] My manipulations were not intricate, but they were far beyond what was expected of a child my age, and I have always believed that the key to manipulating people is to ensure that they always under- or overestimate you. Never reveal your true abilities or plans."

Word of God and Annabelle

I kinda wanted to ‘prove’ that Web!Martin had quite a bit of evidence to back it up, hence this header being last. But of course, in this post-canon world, there are a few lines that most obviously confirm the theory:

MAG197: Martin is Web enough to be able to read the 'vibrations', like Annabelle, and see Jon and Basira (the latter being especially notable, as he hadn't known she was there beforehand): [CHITTERING, BUZZING AND HIGH-PITCHED SQUEALS CHANGE CADENCE] Martin: "Wait… Wait, hang on, is that him?" Annabelle: "Yes. I guess you’re better with the Web than we thought." Martin: "And – Wait, ha– No, uh… is that… Basira? He – He’s got Basira with him!" Annabelle: "Yes."

Season 5 Q&A part 2: Jonny: “Essentially, it was fascinating looking at the fandom and, like, the Web!Martin believers, because what they were doing was correctly picking up on hints dropped in the early seasons that were later, like, not exactly abandoned, but it was much more like, ‘Well, no, he does have like aspects of The Web to him, but he is moreover The Lonely.’ And that came about very… very organically, really. Because throughout Season 3 and going into Season 4, we had this conversation and we were like, ‘No, actually he's like-” Alex: “‘It can't be, it cannot be, it must be the other way round’ Yeah.”

(Note that they say “throughout season 3 and going into season 4,” which likely means that season 1, season 2, and at least part of season 3, aka half of the entire show, were written with Web!Martin as an intentional possibility.)

If you read all that, thanks so much! Obviously, Web!Martin never really came to fruition, so it's fine if you still don't like it. This is just a post explaining where it was coming from, at least for me and the other theorists I've spoken to.

#the magnus archives #magnus archives #tma #tma s5 #web!martin #web martin #webmartin #or as jonny called it: #spider!martin #tma theory #tma meta #martin blackwood #martin k blackwood #martin #tma martin #magnuspod #i feel like i say this every time too but #when i say martin lies a lot i dont mean that #in comparison to 'normal people' #i mean that in canon he gets specifically mentioned to lie; at a higher rate than the other protagonists #ditto for everything else. im not speaking about real life people who might have these traits. im doing a media analysis #my own real life bedroom curtains being blue dont mean im depressed but in media sometimes aesthetic themes can be deeper signifiers #and tma especially has some very strong aesthetic themes #ok i think im done talking now. webmartin theories always get me rambling #EDIT: oops i changed a part on mobile and now the formatting is a bit fucked #ill fix it back tomorrow #if anyone cares #EDIT EDIT: ok fixed it