#the way writers will decide their vision is the Best Vision for a character

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 13/? Word count: 1456 Co writer: @mistrose23

Summary: This was Matilde Jørgensen, the newly appointed team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, about to face one of the most nerve-wracking challenges of her life. She tried to save the team from more disappointing results and put everything on the line to make them world champion again. There will be a big challenge to lead a historic team as 'newbie' and keeping her work and personal opinions apart from each other. The big question everybody will be asking: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

Chapter 11. Home

"Nothing beats the Monaco Grand Prix," Charles said while collecting his stuff. His family and friends were sitting in the living room. "It means I can sleep in my own bed, and leave the house as late as possible... The dream."

Arthur, his little brother, smirked. "Yeah, but it's also known as: the cursed home race."

"Arthur," multiple people groaned.

"I wish he was lying," Charles chuckled. "But hopefully, we can break the curse. Everything is looking fantastic, we have been working really hard and we might have a chance."

It was silent in the living room; everyone admired his comment.

"What?" Charles looked around, not liking the silence.

"You sound so optimistic," his mother said. "So I assume everything is going well at Ferrari now?"

Since the beginning of this season, since the moment Matilde got introduced as team principal, Charles had doubts about Matilde. She was young, barely had any experience and seemed like she had no idea what she was doing or how she had to lead a team. But over the weeks, Matilde adapted quickly and showed that she had potential. Charles had shared his opinion on her, so his family and friends knew about his vision.

"Yes, everything is going fine now," he replied. "After Miami, she openly talked about the incident with the entire team, and she listened to everyone who had to say something. I think she's the first team principal I ever had who is really part of the team, instead of the leader of the team." Charles showed a smile when he realised how much the team had grown over the weeks. "She even hired an external coach and things have changed, suddenly everyone is communicating with each other."

Charles' family and friends listened as he spoke about the changes happening within Ferrari under Matilde's leadership. His family and friends began to see her in a new light. She was clearly actively working to create a more collaborative and open environment within the team.

"An external coach?" Pascale asked. "What does it do?"

Arthur couldn't help, but laugh. He imitated his mother, it lightened the mood. "'What does it do?'"

Charles shared a smile as a reaction to Arthur. "He is some sort of a psychologist, he helps to get new insights within the team, like our weaknesses and strengths, observes how things are going, improves the weaknesses by giving advice," Charles explained.

Lorenzo nodded impressively. "I'm a fan. This should have happened way sooner." He, too, was beginning to see the positive impact of Matilde's leadership. He was hopeful that these improvements would lead to better results on the track.

"Maybe the curse will finally be broken this year," Joris, Charles' best friend, chimed in after hearing the optimism Charles had. And he also saw how things turned around under Matilde's watch.

Charles chuckled, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "That's the plan. With how things are going, I honestly think we have a chance of winning races, maybe even the championship."

The group made their way to the track. It was only a ten-minute walk, but due to the fans, the family and friends decided to take the car. Charles, Joris and Andrea decided to take the bike. Charles loved this race, and he wanted to take the opportunity to interact with his fans. As they rode through the streets of Monte Carlo, the excitement in the air was present.

The streets were lined with enthusiastic people, all hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite driver. Charles smiled as he waved to the fans. He stepped off his bike to sign autographs and took some photos with fans. The support of the Monegasque crowd meant the world to him, and he cherished these moments.

Charles, Joris and Andrea arrived at the paddock. They were welcomed by the press. The family and friends of Charles were already waiting on the inside of the gates. They met up with Charles and they made their way to the Ferrari hospitality. It was the first time his family was about to meet Matilde. Approaching the hospitality area, they spotted Matilde seated outside, eating one of the two tangerines and reviewing documents. She looked up, her gaze meeting Charles' and his entourage. A warm smile came on her face.

"This is Matilde," Charles said to his family.

Matilde set aside the papers, and she gave them her full attention. "Hey," she said, standing up. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said and shook everyone's hand. She knew Joris and Andrea already, but only by name.

Charles' family and friends, particularly his mother Pascale, expressed their delight at finally meeting Matilde in person. "We've heard a lot about you," Pascale mentioned with a warm smile.

A conversation began between the team principal and Charles' family. In the meantime, Carlos had arrived at the hospitality as well. He noticed how Matilde was chatting with Charles' family, so he decided to greet her by only padding her on the shoulder when he passed her. Matilde looked at him and gave him a nod. Then Arthur mentioned he had to go, he had to go to his team to prepare for qualifying. His family and friends wished him good luck, just like Matilde. It became clear to Charles' family that she was not just the team principal, but also just a human and an approachable team member.

"Is this your first time in Monte Carlo?" Lorenzo, Charles' older brother, curiously asked.

Matilde nodded. "It is, actually."

Charles raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Really? I had no idea."

She nodded again. "I had a 50% travel contract at Red Bull. I've been to almost every circuit at least once, but I have never been to Monte Carlo, so this is an exciting one."

"Wow," he perplexedly mumbled. "If I had known, I would have given you a tour... only if you wanted to, of course."

Matilde blushed a little bit, and Charles' cheeks also turned a bit reddish.

"We still can do it!" Arthur excitedly shared. "After this weekend, when there's time."

"Sounds like a plan," Pascale agreed. "Just let Charles know, and we will plan something."

She showed a promising smile and looked at her watch. "If you will excuse me, I have to attend a briefing. Please, make yourself comfortable here and have fun this weekend," she mentioned, collecting her documents, the tangerine and the peel of one of the eaten tangerines. She walked away, leaving everyone behind.

"What a lovely woman," Pascale mentioned. "She's doing her best, and it shows. You should cherish this within the team." She padded Charles' shoulder and kissed his cheek. "Perhaps invite her for lunch on Monday and then go out for a tour. It's tradition. And that way I can meet her properly. I want to know who your boss is."

"I will let you know about it."

"Let me know on time so I can do some groceries."

Charles looked at the Ferrari's hospitality, following Matilde with his eyes. She was talking to her assistant, smiling and listening carefully. 

A frown captured Arthur's face; tradition? His eyes met Lorenzo's, who shared the same look. 

Only Lorenzo dared to say something about it. "Tradition?" 

"Yes, from now on," Pascale grinned and winked, looking at Charles for his reaction. However, Charles wasn't listening. And perhaps it was better for now. 

* * *

The free practice sessions on Friday turned out to be a perfect day for Ferrari. The iconic streets of Monte Carlo presented a unique challenge for the drivers, with narrow twists and turns, demanding precision and finesse.

Charles, with his deep familiarity with the circuit, set the pace during the first practice session. His laps were nothing short of masterful, as he expertly manoeuvred his Ferrari through the narrow streets. He delicately pushed the boundaries, skirting with the barriers but never crossing the line into mistakes. His lap times remained consistently impressive, putting him at the top of the leaderboard.

But Charles wasn't the only notable driver that day. Carlos also demonstrated his skill and adaptability. Just like Charles, he pushed and delivered consistent lap times. His feedback to the team was invaluable, helping them fine-tune the car's setup to suit the tight layout.

Inside the garage, the engineers and mechanics worked hard, making adjustments based on the drivers' input. The people back at the factory in Maranello, followed every movement and worked along with the people on the track. Matilde watched with a sense of satisfaction as both the drivers performed flawlessly.

The faultless performance didn't go unnoticed by the other teams, the media or the fans. The team had clearly done their homework, providing Charles and Carlos a car that responded impeccably to their commands.

Nothing could go wrong... right? 

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @crashingwavesofeuphoria @maryvibess @chocolatefartstrawberry

#charles leclerc #f1 #formula 1 #ferrari #carlos sainz #carlos sainz jr #max verstappen #kevin magnussen #fanfic #motorsports #formula one #charles leclerc x oc #fluff #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc fluff #scuderia ferrari #Charles Leclerc fanfic #Charles Leclerc fanfiction #formula 1 fanfic #f1 fanfic #f1 fanfiction #formula 1 fanfiction #f1 fic #charles leclerc imagine

[scintillyyy]

anyways, sorry. i'm still in the trenches of getting my hands on old interviews (thanks mystery lawyer who definitely never existed). and you know. you know what. i'm gonna say this & i promise it's completely in a neutral observation way:

in a way....marv wolfman was not entirely dissimilar to geoff johns.

now, now. i know that we hate geoff johns & think wolfman is great and it seems sacrilegious to even compare the two, but there's a lot of similarities imo in how wolfman perceived of dick as "dick-but-how-i-think-he-should-be-written" & how johns perceived of kon as "kon-but-how-i-think-he-should-be-written". because in a way, both NTT and TT03 were both taking characters out of their original offices and then making character changes that were basically impossible to ignore in order to align more with what the writer wanted the character to be, instead. wolfman writing dick to have a serious long-term love interest in kory & having issues with bruce/wanting to move on from robin, while well received, *absolutely* tied the hands of bat writers and what they could reasonably do with dick. like, robin *was* no longer malleable for them. they lost the ability to create a love interest for dick, they lost the ability to tell certain stories with their own character without directly contradicting NTT *because* of the nature of what wolfman was doing with dick over there. wolfman's writing, while important for dick, absolutely created reveberations that hand-tied bat office at the time & they *had* to keep up and acknowledge the changes going on over there. on a similar note, john's retcon (and we know that johns did read superboy 94...considering he wrote in while it was being published) also had similar aspirations for kon--he wanted to write kon, but kon as he imagined him as a kid, kon as he wanted kon to be. and the emphasis on the relationship with cassie, making kon a clone of lex & clark instead--once again, these were changes to kon's character that were big and drastic enough that you couldn't just ignore it and do your own thing--

like when i look at these interviews-

like *there's conflict* there. wolfman was entirely uninterested in dick as robin--which was probably to dick's ultimate benefit--but his desire to grow dick beyond the robin mantle was clearly frustrating for the batoffice who wanted to be able to use him as robin--you see in in their interviews where they were like "i wanted to write dick grayson"--and it's funny to me a bit that this "we wanted dick to keep being robin" vs. "i wanted the character to evolve in my way" in a lot of ways echoes "superboy as he originally was" vs "i wanted the character to evolve away in my way".

(and, now. i'm not saying either is good or bad--i personally believe that the nightwing evolution was good, whereas i'd be interested in a little more back to basics with kon)

and it's interesting to me that once dick was given to the titans, there was genuinely a *lot* of batfan backlash in that they *were* frustrated with the loss of dick grayson as robin--a big reason why jason never took, because the main backlash to him was that he *wasn't dick*. simultaneously, there were also a lot of people who did like the evolution of dick.

and it's interesting because at the time of tt03 being written....people also loved what was happening there. tt03 sold very well. for all the "in retrospect" complaints, people *were* eating it at & the retcons johns put in it at the time. and yet there's also the loss of the original. idk.

like obviously it's not a 1:1 & overall wolfman did it better but both kon & dick are interesting examples of a team writer getting a hold of a character & putting in enough changes that the original office has to acknowledge & work around that.

(there's another similarity imo with PAD even initiating the kon/cassie ship to the chagrin of karl kesel--by making large character changes that adjusts their status quo, it limits what the original office can realistically do)

#just some thoughts #i'm not inherently knocking this #it's just an interesting phenomenon to me #the way writers will decide their vision is the Best Vision for a character #and nobody not even the writers whose decisions are generally well liked are immune to that #and it's an interesting thing to look at #when writers who get a character start unilaterally change the story and everyone has to write around that as a result

[blindbeta]

Why Writers Should Consider Giving Blind Characters Canes, Guide Animals, or Other Mobility Aids + How To Choose One

(Note: This post is admittedly long and full of information. Make use of the headings to read the parts you are interested in. I have provided many links, which you can read as you go or save for later. I suggest saving this post and taking your time with it. I am also willing to answer any questions for people who have difficulty reading long posts. While I considered breaking this post into parts, I decided to keep all the information in one place for ease of sharing and reference, especially because multiple sections of the post refer to other sections contained within it.)

When I read for blind characters, my most common suggestion for writers is to give their character a cane, guide animal, or utilize another mobility aid. Most stories I beta read feature totally blind characters or people with very little vision, such as only seeing colors. Despite this, it is extremely common for me to suggest giving them a cane or guide animal because they are rarely portrayed using mobility devices. Because this is such a common suggestion, I wanted to create a post about it.

Most of this will be about mobility aids for people who aren’t familiar with them or are still deciding what tools are best for their character. It will also be mostly for modern, realistic, or semi-realistic stories. I will create a separate post for fantasy and science fiction mobility aids, use of magic or magical items, and writing stories set in or inspired by times before formal mobility tools existed. However, I believe this post can benefit anyone who is writing a blind character or anyone who wants to learn more about blindness. Mobility tools are a big part of blind culture, blind communities, diversity of blind experiences, and accessibility.

Learn About Mobility Aids

Here is a comprehensive post by visually impaired fiction writer and blogger @mimzy-writing-online which contains information about canes, O&M, guide animals, etc. If you are not familiar with canes, start there. It contains helpful information for body language, use of canes, and resources for descriptions that any writer will find valuable. The post also has a section on guide animals and sighted guide.

Here is a post I made about crafting fictional guide animals, although I have no experience as a guide animal handler myself. I made sure to research and include links, so it should still be a good starting point. It also has information about differences between service animals and emotional support animals.

Sighted Guide / Human Guide

First, terminology discussion. Sighted guide is a more common term and more examples come up when I search this term. Sighted guide refers to when a person with vision helps guide a blind person. The guide can be abled or also blind themselves. I have guided my friends before and they have guided me. I have often said that, in a way, sighted guide is a misnomer because someone who has less vision or no vision can also guide someone with more vision just as well.

The term human guide makes up for this misnomer by being more accurate. A TikTok by AskABlindPerson or @askablindperson on tumblr, explains this well. Here is a link to the video. The video states the following:

“I’m blind and I definitely prefer to say human guide rather than sighted guide because you don’t inherently need vision to guide and a blind person can do it too. And it doesn’t have to be that the blind person who’s guiding has more vision than the other person either. It can just be that they know the area better than the person they’re guiding, or it could be that they just have better cane skills or independent travel skills than the other person. Because not everybody has equal access to the same exact opportunities for training. So a blind person can also guide, which is why I like to say human guide because it’s more inclusive.”

Not everyone minds which term is used, however. Some people also only use one term because it was taught to them first, rather than because of any particular meaning.

Below are some examples of sighted / human guide and when it is often used.

Here is an article titled How to be a Sighted Guide

Here is another helpful page with information on certain situations such as narrow spaces.

Here is a video by London Vision.

While human guide can be someone’s main mobility aid, it is often used according to the situation.

Situations in which your character might want to use sighted guide include:

-crowds, where a cane might be difficult to use or someone has a companion they would like to avoid being separated from

-while in lines, mostly to provide descriptions of what happens around them or to let them know when to move forward in the line

-ground that is uneven or steep may cause someone to want to use sighted guide rather than a cane, although this will depend on the person. Using a guide and a cane is also possible. A guide animal may go around the obstacle

-when going inside an unfamiliar house or indoor location, usually for locating a specific room

-navigating unfamiliar areas

-public transport

-guide animal handlers may choose to either do traditional sighted / human guide while using the guide animal or give the command for their animal to follow the person without holding onto them

Guides allow the blind person to gain additional information about their surroundings through conversation with the guide. Human guides can also aid in navigation by providing helpful directions or landmarks. Human guides can be used with a white cane or guide animal. They can also be used without any other mobility aid.

People from cultures who place high value on interdependence, especially on family, may wish to use more human guides. People who have anxiety or disorientation may prefer to use human guides or simply travel with someone else for security. Other people who might tend to use more human guides include: people who have moved to an unfamiliar area, people who are losing vision, people who have recently become blind, people with other disabilities or health concerns, or people who prefer the company of others.

In stories, human guides can portray character relationships, establishing trust and respect. Perhaps a character already knows how to guide, showing familiarity with blindness. This mobility tool can display the helpfulness of a stranger or be the start of a meet-cute. Additionally, showing how good or bad a character is at guiding can show compatibility between characters. I also believe that writing guides into a story can allow for detailed visual descriptions or conversation between your characters.

Imagine character A slowly learning to trust character B, culminating in letting that character be a human guide.

Sonar Devices

I wanted to include a section for these because they aren’t often discussed.

Sonar devices are intended as a supplement for use of a cane or guide animal. Unless the sonar and cane are paired together, such as with the WeWalk cane. While they could be used by themselves, this should probably only be with the addition of a guide and in non-crowded, familiar area.

Here is a video review of the Sunu Band by TheBlindLife.

Here is another review comparing two devices: the Sunu Band and the Buzz Clip.

Note how the devices are used, especially with a cane. The cane is used to detect objects from the waist below, whereas the sonar device is used to detect objects above the waist. This includes objects like tree branches.

Sonar devices work by detecting objects in front of the user and giving a tactile alert, such as a vibration. Vibrations increase the closer one gets to the object, giving a continuous vibration when right in front of it. Moving away from the object, such as stepping to the side, will stop the vibration.

This device could allow blind characters to be more active an create interesting opportunities for descriptions.

Why Does My Character Need a Cane, Guide Animal, or Human Guide?

A few reasons include:

1. It will be more relatable for blind audiences if characters move through the world like they do

2. It is more realistic for stories set in our world or worlds meant to be realistic save for a few elements

3. It allows audiences who aren’t blind to understand how blind people move through the world. In the case of sighted guide, it also offers depictions of politely and efficiently offering help to a blind person, which may include not offering help at all.

4. Canes and guide animals give your blind character some visibility, as the cane, and to some extent the guide animal and harness, signify to others that a character is blind or otherwise disabled in some way. As for sighted / human guide, it offers an extra voice for advocacy purposes or the added visibility that someone is being helped.

5. Mobility tools allow blind people to participate more in a world that is rarely accessible for them at a basic level. I almost always find this is true in books as well unless the writer makes a point to include universal design.

6. Mobility aids improve navigation, increase safety, and increase interaction with the world.

Why Would Anyone Need To Know My Character is Blind?

Safety is a big factor.

In this video titled Using A White Cane While Legally Blind by Cayla With a C, Cayla discusses some of the benefits of using a white cane. One of these is that the cane works as an identifier, letting people know the person using it can’t see so other people need to watch out for them. She mentions it is also important for cars and bikers to know cane users can’t see them well or at all, meaning they don’t expect a cane user to move out of the way.

Both Cayla and Molly Burke share in their videos that people are more likely to offer help when they use a cane.

How Do Mobility Aids Help Blind People Navigate?

It depends on what mobility aid is used.

Canes offer more tactile information and direct contact with the environment. Canes allow someone to feel changes in the ground, such as going from carpet to tile. They make it easier to feel steps or broken sidewalk. They allow blind people to be aware of obstacles, such as a chair, rather than simply going around them they way they might with a guide dog. They help blind people locate landmarks they need in order to be oriented in their environment and navigate their way to different places. For example, they may search for a bench, knowing a drinking fountain is across from it.

As for guide animals, because I am not a guide animal handler myself, I wanted to include quotes from a few sources.

The Guide Dog Foundation says the following in a very useful Q&A:

“In short, guide dogs are taught how to find and follow a clear path, maneuver around obstacles, and stop at curbs. They follow their teammate's directions, and they know that they can disobey only in the face of danger.”

And according to International Guide Dog Federation:

“A guide dog is trained to guide its owner in a straight line unless ordered otherwise. The dog will avoid any obstacles en route, above or around you. It will stop at stairs, doors and kerbs. The dog will not decide where to go; it is up to the vision impaired person to instruct the dog on the direction for the dog to go and the dog will safely guide the person as instructed. The vision impaired person will already be familiar with regularly travelled routes and the dog will quickly become familiar with these too.”

And International Association of Assistance Dog Partnership has a page that explains the categories of tasks performed by guide dogs, as well as other types of assistance dogs.

Sighted / human guide can be used with a family member, friend, or helpful stranger. It can be a primary mode of O&M or used when needed, meaning it be used even if someone already has a cane or a guide animal.

Usually, human guide involves contact with the guide. It can also include the guide orienting the person they are leading by describing surroundings such as “there is a bench to the right” or “we’re near the door” or it can involve telling someone where steps are.

How Do I Know What My Character Should Use?

What your character chooses will depend on their lifestyle, level of vision, age, where they live, culture, religion, and their needs as a blind person.

In the post on guide animals, I went over a few reasons someone might choose a guide dog or a guide horse.

Here are some articles about canes vs guide animals. Although the ones I found focus on dogs, I believe many points made about guide animals can be applied to miniature horses as well.

Guide Dogs vs White Canes: The Comprehensive Comparison

The link above includes the following:

“One of the biggest and most obvious differences between a guide dog and white cane is that a guide dog is trained to avoid obstacles along their pathway. A white cane helps locate impediments so that the blind person can decide how best to maneuver around them.”

Another article that may help:

White Cane vs Guide Dog: Why or Why Not?

White Canes and Guide Dogs - What’s Actually the Difference?

Here are some videos:

Guide Dog vs Canes - Pros and Cons by Molly Burke

White Canes vs Guide Dogs by Challenge Solutions

White Canes vs Guide Dogs - Which is Better? 21 Pros and Cons by Unsightly Opinions

Guide Dog vs Cane, Which is better? by Ashley’s Advice

I also wanted to discuss a few more points.

1. Multiple disabilities

People with multiple disabilities may prefer different methods. For example, those who use a stabilizing cane may have different reasons for choosing their mobility aid. I went into that more in this post here.

It would be difficult to cover all other disabilities here, but I will attempt to include some things to consider.

Consider any pain, weakness, or other difficulties your character may have around their hands, wrists, arms. Canes require repetitive use of these areas.

Consider any sensory issues your character has. Sensory issues may come into play with cane vibration and the tactile information given by canes, especially as it differs between surfaces. The video by Challenge Solutions listed above discusses pain caused by vibration and repetitive movement, for someone who already deals with this. It goes into more detail, mentioning that a dog may lessen this difficulty compared to cane use.

Consider phobias or traumas that may make service animals, especially dogs, a bad choice for the character, their loved ones, or community. In contrast, consider how a service animal may help provide comfort to characters with traumas unrelated to animals

I hope that provides a starting point for thinking about how other disabilities may impact someone’s choice when deciding what mobility aid is right for them. I hope this is helpful is choosing a mobility aid for your character.

2. Financial Considerations

Consider financial difficulties. While guide dog schools often provide highly trained dogs, weeks of training, a harness, and some essentials for free, it depends on the school. Some schools may cover the dog’s veterinary care, while others may not. Some may provide one bag of food. Some may cover costs of transportation to the training school, but may not cover the cost of missed work. Challenge Solutions lists several costly areas that go with having a dog, such as grooming or toys.

The amount the training schools cover is so varied that one cannot assume anything about how the blind person keeps up with care of their dog. They may have trained with a school that covers the most costly things, leaving them to buy the occasional treats and toys, while other schools may not cover much after the dogs and handler leave the school, causing financial difficulties that may or may not have been fully anticipated. Financial situations of blind people with guide animals cannot be reliably assumed.

Canes, on the other hand, are a one-time payment per cane, if they aren’t already free. While canes do require replacement tips and while people do go through canes quickly, the cost is not comparable to that of caring for a guide animal.

For writers, it may make sense to have your fictional world contain schools that continue to cover costs over the guide animal’s life. Or perhaps veterinary care is free in that world. Either way, this may be something to consider. The character’s financial situation can show a lot about them and the world in which they live.

3. Additional thoughts about safety and discrimination

Safety has many different connotations in blind communities. Some people consider safety to mean social safety, as alerting others to blindness may explain any behavior that would be considered strange or rude.

Some consider safety to mean physical safety from tripping, falling, running into objects or people, or having them run into you. This is especially important with vehicles.

Still others consider safety to mean being able to navigate and orient oneself, such as when traveling alone.

Some people consider safety to mean interpersonal safety and the fear of being harmed due to being perceived as vulnerable.

Molly Burke mentions this particular subject at around 19:22 to 20:47 in her video here. To paraphrase, she says that having a big dog with her makes her feel safer as a blind person. Molly states that the white cane may increase her vulnerability as it identifies her as a potential target due to her blindness.

I mentioned that it is helpful for people to be identified as blind, such as with a cane and, to a lesser extent, a guide dog. That is still true. This may provide protection by alerting others that they may need to look out for a blind person instead of expecting that person to avoid them or their vehicle.

On the other side, a cane may alert others to vulnerability in a way that is harmful to the blind person. Due to this factor, blind people may feel safer with a guide dog because the presence of a dog may make others hesitate before doing them harm. I am not sure if the same can be said for those with horses, but it is possible horses may still act as a deterrent. In the video by Challenge Solutions, Caitlyn says that while guide dogs are not trained to be guard dogs and should not be aggressive by nature, it can feel safer to travel with a guide dog. Caitlyn says the following: “They are dogs and I would like to think that they would have a protective instinct if a situation arose where that was needed.” She adds, “I think there is more of a protective aspect to guide dog usage than white cane usage. At least I always felt a lot safer with my dog than I do with my cane.”

I also wanted to include thoughts about discrimination.

Some blind people may worry they will experience more discrimination using one mobility aid over another. This may influence their decision. To give brief examples, people with service animals may be turned away from places they are allowed to go. They may need to advocate for themselves more because of this. Another example might be feeling like people judge them or stare at them more when they use a white cane. They may be grabbed or shouted at more often when using a white cane, as described by Challenge Solutions, or they may be ignored or go unnoticed in other cases. In fact, some blind people are only spoken to in public because of guide dogs acting as a conversation starter.

However, feeling invisible in society seems to be a common issue for many disabled people. Some people also talk about being invisible in some areas and uncomfortably visible in other areas. While a blind person’s choice of mobility aid may influence this, the common disabled experience of both invisibility and hyper-visibility might still follow them.

Additionally, myths about blindness, which I wrote about in this post here, may also cause people to accuse cane users of faking if they have residual vision, which can lead to them feeling unsafe or like they cannot use their residual vision without receiving negative attention. This may cause some people to want a service animal, as in the case of a guide dog, some people may assume they are simply walking their dog or training a guide dog. This may be a way some blind people try to avoid being accused of faking blindness. However, blind people with guide animals may also be accused of having a fake service animal or be accused of not really needing their service animal. Additional barriers may include general public ignorance about laws around service animals or differing laws around access per country.

All of the above can put a lot of strain on people who are just trying to get from point A to point B.

Sighted guide may come with some issues as well. Finding someone who is willing to guide and a helpful guide may be challenging unless a blind person is already using a trusted friend or family member. In social situations, other people may misunderstand use of human guide, believing that they should address the guide rather than the blind person. Use of this mobility aid may also come with judgment from others about the blind person being incapable, lazy, or a burden on others. None of these are true, but they can be judgments people make.

Sighted / human guide may be a preferred form of O&M for people who have recently gone blind or are in unfamiliar areas. Additionally, blind people who come from cultures where interdependence is valued may prefer to use a human guide with or without another mobility aid. It is also important to note that the nature of the blind community also celebrates both interdependence and dependence, and these may not always mean the same thing as they do to people who aren’t blind. This is also true when it comes to using mobility tools and techniques.

What Should My Low Vision Character Use?

The majority of blind people have some residual vision, including low vision. Which is part of why most of the blind community doesn’t use canes, along with lack of training. Unfortunately, many people with residual vision are, however subtly, turned away from using canes or other mobility aids. Based on stories from friends, suggestions in this post by @mimzy-writing-online, my own experience, and information online, I will suggest a few reasons this might be the case.

A big reason has to do with believing they have too much vision to require a mobility aid. The idea of not being disabled enough is both an internal an external issue for people with residual vision. This is because people often claim that if a person can see some, they must not require mobility aid. Mobility aids are seen as a last resort, rather than a way to make life easier. This can lead to self-doubt, confusion, or guilt for a blind person. They might feel as if they are ungrateful because they believe other people have it worse. Conversely, some people may have been taught that relying on a mobility tool is shameful, giving up, or reveals a lack of independence. And sadly, some blind people with residual vision may be afraid of rejection or standing out from others.

This leads me into another reason, which is: believing they will experience more discrimination or social exclusion when using a cane. Unfortunately, this can be true. However, it is also true to that not using a cane can cause others to judge someone for things they do or don’t do as a blind person.

Disclosure is an option that works for many. However, blind people cannot always disclose to everyone they interact with, such as to strangers spotting them outside. Disclosure of blindness can also be fraught with accusations of not really being blind, not looking blind, or not being blind enough to count as blind. These accusations sometimes happen when using canes as well. Denial of help, denial of accommodations, and accusations of faking are common.

In some circumstances, the opposite can happen. Instead of being accused of faking, the choice to use a mobility aid might bring about helpfulness from strangers or concern from loved ones. There may be concern that the vision loss has progressed or that something is wrong. After all, suddenly using a mobility tool can inspire alarm in people who aren’t used to them, because the prevailing thought is that mobility tools are only for totally blind people. And the incorrect message behind this is that being totally blind is negative.

Characters choosing to start using a mobility tool could ease themselves and loved ones into it by being open about their plans. They could experiment with cane use, marginally increasing use over time. Or they could simply use a cane as often as they need to, addressing concerns as they are brought up. Portrayal of communication about mobility aids between a blind character and their family could be a lovely addition to a story.

Lastly, blind people are expected to rely on residual vision for as long as possible, in as many situations as possible. Even if it causes pain, disorientation, or anxiety. Even if seeing is exhausting or frustrating. Even if it isn’t safe. However, the other side of this is that many blind people with residual vision enjoy seeing colors or shapes. They may enjoy being able to describe things to friends with less vision.

But their sight may not always be enough to forgo using a mobility tool safely.

It is my opinion that anyone on the blind spectrum or with declining vision can benefit from use of accessibility tools, whether it be learning Braille or training with a cane.

People with low vision can use canes when they feel it is necessary. Examples may include times where they may need extra visibility or extra contact with the ground as they walk. They may choose to use a cane when crossing the street for added safety. Same applies to using stairs. They may bring their cane only to unfamiliar environments or out with them at night. They might feel like using it one day or in one place and not the next. They may have a condition that is not stable from day to day. Overcast weather or dim lighting could make it necessary to pull out a cane. They could simply want to use their cane or decide to leave it at home because they felt like it.

A blind person does not need to a full-time cane-user to be allowed to use one. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If they need it, they need it. It is that simple. It will be the same with your low vision character.

Characters may also switch up mobility tools depending on what is best for where they’re going and what is accessible to them. For example, someone may use a human guide for extra safety while in a new city.

Why I Want More Mobility Aids in Media

This is just my opinion, but I would like to see more characters using mobility aids blind people use in real life. This helps to normalize use of these tools for people who are not familiar with blindness. This allows blind people representation that is more true to life. It also adds more detail to stories that wouldn’t otherwise be there.

There is also something off about blind characters who don’t use anything, specifically because most portrayals of blindness involve characters who are totally blind. Why are these characters walking around absolutely everywhere with no familiar way to navigate? Why are tools used by the blind community rejected when it comes to stories about blind characters?

I suspect it is because of a few factors:

1. Not knowing how mobility aids work. Another deterrent could be the difficulties of research and, in live-action media, wanting to avoid training usually sighted actors in use of these mobility tools.

2. Not wanting the blind character to seem too hindered

3. Wanting the mobility aid to be cooler or more interesting if it does exist. This varies by genre and the period in which the piece of media is set.

I find it strange that most stories about blind people do not feature blind characters using tools or techniques blind people use in real life. It sometimes feels as if blindness is a decoration writers add to their story without thinking about how it would impact their character.

My suggestion is to consider the amount of vision your character has, along with their lifestyle, and choose a mobility tool that works for them. I know that some of you are writing characters who can technically move through life without using a mobility aid full time. In these cases, it would be fun to see characters who are transient mobility aid users.

Closing - Not Everything About Blindness is Difficult

I hope this post was informative. I know that some of it may feel contradictory in nature, but that seems to be part of diversity of experience people have with mobility aids. Not everything has to be true for your character or will be true to their experience. Additionally, don’t feel pressure to portray the difficult aspects of mobility aids or being blind in public spaces; it is good to have stories where blind characters are treated well by everyone. There are days when blind people have nothing but lovely interactions with others and when safety is not a concern.

While I mentioned some negative aspects of being blind in this post, there are many positives as well. This can include opportunities to meet new people and have conversations. This can mean getting the chance to use cool gadgets other people don’t get to use. It can also mean being able to experience the world in unique and fun ways, such as noticing little details about the world. It can mean appreciating colors, lights, smells, sounds, or sensations. It can also mean cool navigation tools and techniques.

I will post a part 2 soon. It will include information for writers of science fiction, fantasy, and stories set in historical times. As always, if anyone has anything feel free to share. I will add any responses here as edits to this post.

If you found this post helpful, my pinned post has many more links. I accept asks or messages with questions. I also offer beta reading for blind characters.

-BlindBeta

#blind characters #writing blind characters #ableism #accessibility #white canes #guide animals #sighted guide #mobility aid

[wordsnstuff]

Hi!

I have reached out to more people, but I'm still having problems with this, and I wanted to hear another opinion.

As a writer, do you have problems continuing a story once you hit a difficult scene?

Because I do, and honestly it's getting me frustrated at this point.

I have a good idea and a plot already done, but every time I hit a difficult scene I just get stuck, and can't write for weeks, sometimes months. I hardly even open the documents when it happens, and sometimes it comes right when I'm on a writing spree and being happy with my writing.

Do you have any advice on how to deal with this? How can I get past this issue and just keep writing more frequently?

I'd really like to hear it!

What do you do when you hit a snag?

When approaching this topic, the frustrating thing is that age-old advice has a lot of truth to it. Sometimes it is true that the best thing you can do when you're stuck is to stop struggling against the resistance and take a meaningful, intentional break to rest your mind and reset your thought process. Sometimes the key to getting started again is shaking up the routine and the altering the process until you find a new combination of habits that meet you where you are.

However, for a lot of us, the turmoil reaches deeper than that. A lot of people who do creative things are neurodivergent, so that has a place in the conversation when discussing what's preventing us from realizing our vision. Even if you don't identify with specific neurodivergence, there are a lot of tools and techniques that have been tried and tested for coping with immense, intrinsic difficulty with things like productivity, mindfulness, interoception, focus, and consistency. Just because these techniques are not specifically designated for you doesn't mean they won't be effective for you.

It is always a helpful exercise to take a step back and examine how you're feeling, both when you are writing and when you aren't, and try to identify any areas where you might be able to improve by changing things within your control.

When it comes to a specific scene holding you back from carrying on, I usually find that it's the result of a decision I made earlier in the plot that isn't serving the story as it continues to develop. I would take a chunk of time to take an analytical look at the scene, where it's come from, what is and isn't sparking in it (is the stagnation mostly due to the characters, events, environment, or lack of information, and is it a scene that is imperative to the reader's understanding?). A lot of the time, it's a scene that can be cut, or it's a scene that can be made redundant by infusing the necessary information of the scene into another place within the story.

If you've identified a scene as "a difficult scene", ask yourself why. If it's daunting because it's too long, then it can probably be cut way down and then added to later if while editing it seems a little thin. If it's challenging because things aren't falling into place and you aren't getting into a flow, then the set-up for the scene probably hasn't been developed effectively and you need to decide whether you're gonna go back in the draft to investigate or move on and return to it while editing.

If the information in the scene needs to be communicated at this specific point in the story, the problem might be the way you've chosen to present it. Pay attention to what your instincts are telling you, because pushing through a scene for the sake of getting past it will not produce a compelling scene to read. If you need to move past it, you have permission to do that. You can always come back and completely dig it up later.

Overall, I think it's very important to write with acceptance that the plot may not turn out the way you planned it. The process is much more effective and much more enjoyable if you aren't trudging along on a predestined path. If the characters and story develop outside of the lines, see where they go. You'll always have the opportunity to return to the outline and tailor later.

Best of luck,

x Kate

#writing #writeblr #writespo #writing advice #writing tips

[iamqueenpotato]

I Hate That I Love You- Final Part

A/N- Hiiiii, I am back finally! It has been a rough summer to say the least. And writers block decided to stay around the entire time. Which was the cherry on top of everything. But I honestly appreciate you all for waiting so patiently while I took this time. This is the final part! Took me quite a bit to decide how I wanted to end it. There will be an epilogue of sorts. But this is the end! Thank you so much for sticking around for this. It has been the longest series so far, I hope you enjoy! Word count: 4.1k Warnings: Character death

Azriel pushed himself past his limits, your words ringing in his ears. He felt your body go limp and that beautiful light between the two of you was fading into nothing. He tried his best to blink his tears away, but the constant flow began to blur his vision.

 Azriel had to make it, he had to get you to Madja before it was too late. But his thoughts overwhelmed him, that nagging devil on his shoulder telling him that he had run out of time, that there was no point in trying anymore.

But for you he would do anything. 

He saw Velaris on the horizon, and your breathing had slowed down next to nothing. His hands shook as they held on to your body, he only hoped Madja had received Rhys’s message. He noticed how your blood painted his dark leathers with a crimson hue, something he never thought he would ever experience. 

His wings grew tired as he approached the house of wind he spotted Madja and a few of her apprentices waiting at the entrance. “What happened?” Madja questioned, but Azriel could not speak, his words were drowned out by the pain of reality. But Madja could tell without any words and signaled the other fae to grab you. Azriel watched as your body fell into their arms, Madja giving him a short nod before rushing inside. 

It wasn’t until you had disappeared from his sight that the exhaustion kicked in and he broke down. Tears streaming down his cheeks, the phantom touch of your hand still lingering across his cheek, he knew you were in good hands but Madok’s words taunted him. You can’t save her now. But you had Madja, and she would do whatever she could to save you, Azriel knew this. A part of Azriel wanted to know what the bastard had put you through, but that other part didn’t want to know that pain, to see or feel what you went through, knowing it would only make him more unhinged. And right now that isn’t the part of him you needed. 

He stood from his kneeling position, shaming himself for wasting another second of not being by your side. 

But once he entered, Azriel wasn’t allowed in when he caught up with Madja to your bedroom, yet your door was on a swivel as different faces rushed in and out, each one of them covered in more blood than the last. And could only catch a glimpse of what was occurring past the barrier that kept him from you, though as much as he wanted to disobey Madja, to burst through those doors and hold your hand through all of this, but he knew he would be getting in the way of the care you so desperately needed. 

So he bit his tongue, keeping his feet planted a few feet from the door. 

Hours went by, slowly the rest of the inner circle trickled in, Azriel did not speak to any of them, yet each one brought him in for a tight embrace that he did not refuse. 

They remained sitting in silence as they waited. Feyre held Azriel’s hand tightly, his eyes fixated on the door in front of him. The time felt as though it wasn’t moving at all. He wasn’t even sure if he was blinking, any second now Madja could come out and speak the words that Azriel did not want to hear, but he needed to know something, anything at all. The silence deafening his ears made his skin crawl. 

Why hadn’t they come out yet? 

They sat there for what felt like an eternity before the door opened and Madja stepped through. Everyone stood to their feet, eagerly awaiting the woman’s words.

“This is the worst case of faebane poisoning I have seen in my entire life.” Madja finally spoke, looking around at each member of the inner circle. “Her wounds are easily fixable, but Madok had injected that cursed serum one too many times into her bloodstream, I am surprised she is still alive.” Madja paused, looking directly at Azriel. “I am not certain she will survive much longer.” Azriel froze, and he felt the eyes of his family fall onto him, each one lined with tears. 

“What about the cure? Like I did for Rhys.” Feyre stated, her voice shaky as she clung to her mate. 

“This faebane is not like the one the highlord was hit with, whatever it is- it prolongs the effects, making it harder to combat, Y/N is in a constant fight because her body cannot produce any sort of healing internally because the faebane gets to it first.” Madja finished and Azriel could hear Feyre break down, but he stared at the ground, his tears dripping onto the ground by his feet. “Her healing is trying its hardest, but there is so much in her system that it is killing her, but also prolonging the inevitable. Making it one of the worst forms of torture.” 

“That bastard.” Cassian cursed, knocking over a vase near the entrance. The collection of cries that followed echoed in the hallway.

But Azriel watched as Madja approached him, resting a small hand on his shoulder. “Spend time with her. As much as you can, don’t let her go alone.” 

“I don’t want her to go at all.” Azriel whispered, holding back his emotions as he looked around the room. “Madja there isn’t any way to save her?” 

“Unless her own healing kicks in, we have done all we can.” 

“This isn’t fair.” Azriel stood, removing Madja’s hand from his shoulder. “She should be here with me, if only we didn’t fight. If I was just honest with her from the start, none of this would have happened. She never would have gone to Windhaven, Y/N wouldn’t have to suffer for this family. None of it is fair.” 

“Do not blame yourself for what has happened, this is not because of some fight, nor is it because you couldn’t keep her from leaving. This is because of a grudge held against our Highlord, Y/N did her job as a loyal soldier. She protected this family because she cares for all of you deeply. It is something that you would have done as well.” Azriel knew Madja spoke the truth, but it was something he did not want to accept. As much as he blamed Madok and his men, he also blamed himself. For it all. For letting you slip through his fingers one too many times, for never giving you a chance, for letting you deal with this pain alone. “Azriel. Nothing could have stopped what had occurred, fate can work in our favor but there are times that it works against us. It brings us hope but with hope there is also sorrow.” 

“Can I see her now?” Azriel took in her words, and he knew exactly what Madja was telling him, but he would grieve later.. If it came to it. 

Mother knows he hoped it wouldn’t. 

He pushed past Madja slowly, his arm shaking as he reached for the handle. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see you, but he was terrified to see the state that you were in. The wounds that he wasn’t there to stop. He was used to seeing your smile, the glow that surrounded you, without that it would feel abnormal, it was a fear he never knew he would face, he felt the pain in his heart from thinking about it. 

He didn’t know how long he stood there, or how long his family waited for him to open the door. But it was enough time for a small figure to appear next to him. Somehow without his shadows even noticing, but he could only assume they were distracted. 

“What do you want Elain?” He questioned, not moving his gaze from the door.

“Can we talk? Please, it is important.” He hated the look she was giving him, she was on the verge of tears but yet her eyes looked so empty, like she was faking the emotions she tried so desperately to feel. 

“I don’t have the time for this Elain.” His voice was bitter but he didn’t care. 

“Azriel please.” Elain begged, placing a hand on his forearm. He immediately retracted from her touch, clenching his fists before nodding. 

“Make it quick.”

Azriel followed Elain into a room down the hall. His hands were still shaking, and he couldn’t look anywhere but the door. He needed to get back to you, to be by your side. 

“Azriel?” Her voice was so soft, he barely heard her. He glanced at her, waiting for her to speak. “I know what happened is serious but can we talk about us?” 

“Us? There is no us.” Azriel couldn’t believe the words she spoke. “You pulled me away from my best friend who is currently on the edge of death. To ask me such a stupid question?” 

“I didn’t realize the two of you were still friends.” Elain crossed her arms, ignoring the fact that the situation at hand was serious. 

“She will always be my friend Elain. Y/N helps me in more ways than you ever could.” Azriel repressed the tears that threatened to fall once more. The image of your still body engraved in his memory. “And I am terrified of losing her,” Azriel took a deep breath, realizing what he had to do. “Elain I can’t do this anymore. If you wanted to talk about us, I am done. If I didn’t make it clear before. I am done with all of it.” 

Elain inhaled sharply. “Azriel you can’t mean that.” 

“I do,” He paused, imagining the days it was just you and him, the things he would do just to go back. To relive those moments, maybe then he would make the right choice. “If you didn’t believe me the first time I said it. Y/N is my everything. My mate. I should have been honest with her from the start. I am truly sorry Elain, I tried to be the male you needed but I cannot when the one I love needs me. And I curse myself for only now seeing she needed me this entire time. My only hope is that I can make it up to her when she wakes.” 

Elain was crying but Azriel felt no sympathy for her. “Burn in hell.” She screamed at him. Swinging her arms at him. He took each hit, unphased at her tantrum. 

He softly grabbed her arms, pulling them away from him. “Let that be my fate if Y/N is taken from me. I would rather burn than lose her.” He released his grip, walking past her and back out into the hallway. 

“I am truly sorry for what happened to Y/N. If I knew it was going to be that bad I would have said something sooner.” Elain spoke up. 

Azriel stopped in the hallway, his shadows freezing alongside him. He noticed his family walking toward him, but his mind raced as he narrowed his eyes at Elain as she stepped closer to him. “What are you talking about?” He questioned, clenching his jaw as he spoke. 

Elain recoiled from him, fidgeting with the skirt of her dress. “I had a vision of sorts, a gut feeling that night of our engagement party, the second I smelled her all over you. I saw that she would face troubles on that mountain. But my mind was foggy and I didn’t know.” 

“Your mind was foggy? You’re telling me that the night she left, three days before she was taken, you knew?” Azriel lashed out, slamming her against the wall behind where she stood. He heard Rhys yell his name but he paid no attention to them. 

“I was angry. My soon to be spouse messed around with a stupid whore, why would I want to keep her safe? I know I made a mistake but you have to understand-” 

“Understand? How dare you think I would ever be okay with that choice.” 

“Azriel what is going on?” Cassian asked from behind him, Rhys pulling him away from Elain, and he watched as she hid behind her sisters. 

“Elain knew.” 

Nesta turned to her sister. “Knew what?” 

“She knew Y/N would face troubles on Windhaven but decided it wasn’t important and kept it to herself.” Azriel blurted out, making everyone’s eyes fall to her. 

Azriel watched as Elain shrunk away from her sisters, as each of them turned fully to face her. Cassian released his grip that he had around Azriel’s shoulders, silently cursing to himself. 

“Say it isn’t true Elain.” Feyre spoke and Azriel could tell she was holding back tears, he understood the emotion, he would be heartbroken if his brothers did something as selfish. 

“Feyre, it was an honest mistake.” Elain defended, but by the look on everyone’s face, they did not believe her words. 

“An honest mistake?” Azriel cut in, Cassian’s hand found its way back to his shoulder. Azriel understood his concern, but he would not harm her. It wasn’t worth it. “Risking the life of someone within this family, the life of someone who means so much to everyone, to me. There was no honesty in the choice that you made.” 

“I never wanted to her to get hurt Azriel, I-” 

“Enough!” Azriel snapped. His wings pulled tight behind him, his shadows whirling around in anger. “I am done hearing your pathetic apologies. Leave before I make you myself.” 

“Fine.” Elain whispered before disappearing down the hall, no one moved an inch to follow her. 

But he watched as Feyre and Nesta’s eyes followed Elain’s small figure as it dashed out of sight. Azriel could only sigh before heading for your door. 

With a deep breath he opened it. 

And to his shock when he opened your door, you laid there staring at him. A broken smile across your face. If he wasn’t so eager to be at your side he would have dropped to his knees right at that moment. 

“Y/N” He cried, rushing over to the bedside, wrapping his arms around you so softly, afraid that you might break if he held you too tightly. He kneeled next to you, his hand firmly gripping your own. 

“Hi Az.” Your voice sounded so harsh, your eyes were barely open, and the hand that was entwined with his felt so cold, lifeless. Even though you were awake in front of him, it did not feel right, as if the two of you were living on borrowed time. And something within Azriel told him that something wasn’t right, but looking into your eyes once more, while they were still bloodshot and bruised, he did not want to think of the negatives, you were awake, and it seemed the cauldron was giving him a second chance at a life with you. He would not take advantage of it this time. 

“How are you feeling?” He questioned, rubbing soothing circles on the back of your hand. 

“Like absolute garbage. I am pretty sure I will not be able to move for the next three years.” You joked, and Azriel could only stare at you, he felt the tears slip down his cheeks, but he did not take his eyes off of you. “Azriel, what’s wrong?” 

“I thought I lost you, the bond was so weak. Y/n. I thought you died in my arms. I have never experienced such fear before.” 

You squeezed his hand with whatever strength you had. “It was not my intention to scare you Az. But I am fine.” There was something in your voice that Azriel could not decipher but he was too focused on the way your eyes met his. 

“Do not worry about that, all that matters is that you’re okay.” Azriel choked out. “I love you so much, Y/N. I am sorry I did not say it sooner.” 

Azriel felt his soul light up when you smiled at him, though your bruised cheeks limited you, you were still the most beautiful thing he has seen. “Never thought I would hear those words from you.” You whispered. 

Azriel leaned closer to you, resting his head on yours. The two of you closed your eyes as you sat there, soaking up the presence of each other. Azriel could breathe fully once more, each inhale that matched yours soothed the wounds he thought would remain if he lost you. 

He would have stayed there for hours if you hadn’t flinched with the sudden movement. “Let me go find Madja, and tell the others you are awake.” Azriel placed a soft kiss on your head before exiting the room, Madja waiting outside, Azriel offered her a small smile before watching her close the door behind her. 

He saw his brothers first, a wide smile across his face, fresh tears down his cheeks. “She’s awake.” His words felt like a blessing as he spoke them out loud. 

“When can we see her?” Mor asked, her tears matching his own. 

Azriel turned to face your door again, excited to live this new adventure with you, to have all he had ever wanted, his family, you. A life he thought he’d never deserve. 

Azriel tried to speak but no words fell from his lips. He stared blankly at Mor as he again attempted to respond. It was as if the words were stuck within his throat.

Suddenly coldness washed over Azriel, a piercing, numbing feeling that he could not describe. His words were cut short as he stumbled onto the ground. Clutching his chest as if the pain came from beneath his skin. His breath had become shallow. His brothers came to his side, Azriel could see they were speaking to him, but there was no sound. The ringing in his ears cut out all noise. But slowly Azriel’s hearing returned, only to hear Rhys’s voice. 

“Madja what is it?” Rhysand questioned, his voice heard over all the commotion. Azriel looked up to see Madja standing there, her hands placed nervously in front of her. Madja stared at each one of them, her silence creating a certain tension within the hall. She took a deep breath as her eyes landed on Azriel. “I tried my best, I promise. But I couldn’t save her.” 

“Madja what are you saying?” Azriel forced out, afraid of the words that would follow.

He could see the slight build up in her waterline. “Y/N is dead.” 

Azriel’s eyes widened, Madja’s words sinking into his mind like poison. She had to be lying, there was no way he didn’t make it in time but that feeling in his chest remained, the aching pain that spread across his body. 

He struggled to stand, his limbs not quite feeling like his own. The room spun around him, each pair of eyes on him as he ran toward your room. 

When he opened the door he saw you. Your lifeless body laying against the pillows, your pale hand that draped over the side. The one he just held. 

Azriel dropped to his knees and screamed.

His bloodcurdling roar shattered the windows. The sobs that echoed after it filled the deadly silence he felt in his soul. He was unable to lift his body off the ground as he dragged himself to your side, his limbs shaking as he reached for you. His screams were muffled as he buried his face in your chest, the anguish reverberating across his body. “No, please, you can’t leave me.” He held your still body tightly against him, his hands overcome by an uncontrollable tremble as he took in your lifeless features, brushing your hair from your eyes that he adored, the ones that always looked at him with love and affection. But now they were cold and empty, mirroring the feeling he felt within him. Another scream ripped through him, he tried to pull on the bond, but there was nothing, it had disappeared into the darkness. And he was left with the memory of what could have been. “She was o-okay, she was here with me, I felt her.” He cried out, but no words could bring you back.

You were dead. And his world had gone painfully numb. 

He didn’t feel anything, except the dead weight he held so tightly in his arms. 

Azriel hadn’t let go of your body, not when Rhys or Cassian tried to pry him off of you. This could not be your fate, your story did not end here. 

There was so much he wanted to do with you, the life he had dreamed of always had you at his side.

“But how is this possible? She was fine a minute ago.” Azriel heard Mor speak, acknowledging the way her voice broke halfway through. 

Madja stepped forward, placing a small hand on your cold cheek. “ I don’t think she was ever fine. With the last of her strength she kept herself alive to see Azriel one last time. She knew she wouldn’t have made it. And instead of fighting, she decided to let go.” 

“She told me she was fine, Madja. Why would she lie, why wouldn’t she share that pain?” Azriel spoke, still not releasing his grip around you. 

“Even on the edge of death, she cared for you shadowsinger. You. It was only you she worried about, she put your feelings above her own.” 

For as long as he knew you that is all you had ever done, you cared too much for your own good, you always were the one to take care of others. But now it was his turn to take care of you. “She has always been there for me, it's time I finally return the favor.” 

“What are you talking about brother?” Cassian questioned. And if he were being honest, Azriel did not know what he meant either, but something was telling him to not let go just yet. 

And as his brother reached for him, without warning his shadows wrapped around the two of you, a small cocoon forming across your bodies. And  his shadows did something he had never seen before. 

They glowed. 

Like the night sky of Velaris, decorated with stars and the bright moon that highlighted the horizon. Azriel had always known his shadows to be darkness, the embodiment of death itself, but now they glowed with life, yet it wasn’t the brightness of the day but the luring glow of the night. Azriel’s entire body felt light, like he was flying for the first time again but yet he knew his feet were still planted firmly on the ground. He could not hear the voices around him, nor could he see the faces of his friends anymore. 

He begged to the mother, to anyone who would listen as he held onto you, to give you back the life that was so wrongly taken from you. He knew playing with death was dangerous, he knew there would be consequences. 

But this time he did not care, when it came to you, nothing else mattered. 

His shadows moved from his shoulders to yours, caressing your face, swarming your body until only the lids of your eyes were visible through the cloud of night. 

His shadows had helped him throughout all these years, he could only hope they would help him one last time. Whatever they were doing he only prayed it was something good. 

Azriel cradled your body against his, his arms tightly around you, he closed his eyes as he rested his head atop yours. “Please, I don’t want anything more than her, I don’t need anything else. Please.” 

And maybe he had finally done something good. Perhaps the mother had heard him, decided he was worthy. 

Because he felt your chest rise and fall against him, that life filling your lungs, he felt the bond reignite, the thread between you stronger than it was before. Azriel had never moved so quickly before as he did in that moment. When he pulled back, his shadows had made their way back to his body. The light from the room around him seeped in.

But he looked down at you, he would have to thank the mother for the rest of his life. Your eyes stared up at him, alive, moving. Your lips parted slightly as you inhaled deeply, desperate for the air that was taken from you. 

“Azriel.” You whispered. He watched as your eyes focused on him, as if you saw him for the first time again.

And hearing your voice was all it took to make him break. The tears fell with no sign of stopping. But he could not have been happier.

He had everything he could ever need in front of him.

Taglist:

@honestlywtfisgoingon @fanfictioniseverything @marina468 @positivewitch @maviee @blurredlamplight @bookslut420 @starswholistenanddreamsanswered @elle10 @dragonstoneprincess @holywolfsstuff @reiincarnatiion @valeridarkness @feiwelinchen @sv0430 @kennedy-brooke @emturtles @nightcourtwritings @zephyg-06 @chantalleke91 @katherinereid @loulou0101 @shadowsingersmate24 @tcris2020 @shadowsinger-654 @nobody00sthings @lucyysthings @turkishgirlslife @rachelnicolee @mich0731 @tobifeemo @kristeristerin @sinnful-darling @hannzoaks @zoe2 @strangersunghoon @bangtanbecks @juneangel21 @hanatsuki-hime @acourtofmarvels @cmay25 @its-sam-allgood @a-frog-with-a-laptop @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @kazbrkker @sstanbarnes @j-pendragonx @naturakaashi @yakoxshadow @whorefortim @goradgirl @cuethedepession @azriels-mate123 @patdsinner33 @fanboyluvr @changing7 @cassan1306

#azriel fanfic #azriel #acotar #acotar fanfiction #reader insert #azriel acotar #azriel x reader #acotar fandom #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x you #shadowsinger x reader #shadowsinger #azriel x y/n #azriel angst #a court of thorns and roses #azriel spymaster

[luthwhore]

a while back i made a recommended reading list for lex luthor, and originally didn't plan to make a superman one, since it's a lot easier to find reading lists for him, but a lot of the reading lists i see either tend to be very short and have the same 5-10 books on them, or feel way too expansive and overwhelming, so i wanted to make a list of some of my personal picks!

this list is designed to help relatively new readers get to know the character, so i've tried to focus mostly on things that are accessible to people with only minimal knowledge of the character/world (with one single exception).

i also have not included any pre-crisis stories because i don't feel like i've read enough pre-crisis content to confidently recommend any specific comics, but i might one day come back and add a section for pre-crisis comics later!

❤️ = Personal favorite

Origin Story

Superman: Birthright, by Mark Waid ❤️

Superman: Birthright is what I would consider to be the definitive modern Superman origin story, featuring modernized versions of many Silver and Bronze age concepts. Mark Waid is, imo, one of the best modern day Superman writers in the sense of really understanding the core of his character, so I would highly suggest starting here for an understanding of who Clark is and what makes him tick. Optional: If you like "Birthright", the presently incomplete "Last Days of Lex Luthor" is a direct follow up to it, also written by Mark Waid, and delves deeper into the complicated relationship between Superman and Lex Luthor.

Superman: Secret Origin, by Geoff Johns

Written a few years after Birthrigh, "Secret Origin" technically supplanted Birthright as the official canon. Like "Birthright", it attempts to modernize many Silver/Bronze Age concepts, though it takes a different route than the aforementioned "Birthright."

Post-Crisis

Superman: Up, Up, and Away, by Geoff Johns & Kurt Busiek

Set after the events of the DC events Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, though it's not necessary to read either to follow this arc. After a year long break from being Superman, Clark returns to the cape. Since Infinite Crisis served as one of many soft-resets for the pre-Flashpoint DCU, it's a solid arc to start with.

Superman: Last Son, by Geoff Johns

Clark learns of another Kryptonian child on Earth and decides to take him in and introduces the character of "Chris Kent." Follows "Up, Up, and Away". This arc technically ran concurrently with the "Camelot Falls" arc, with "Last Son" being the Action Comics storyline and "Camelot Falls" being the "Superman" storyline. (I would recommend reading "Last Son" first, since otherwise you might be confused by Chris's presence in "Camelot Falls".)

Superman: Camelot Falls, by Kurt Busiek ❤️

One of my personal favorite post-Crisis Superman stories. Clark is told that the only way to avert an apocalyptic future is to give up being Superman. One of many, many stories that asks the philosophical question "Do heroes actually make things worse?" but has a very fresh and uplifting take on the premise.

New 52

Action Comics (2011), by Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison's Action Comics is a very sharp departure from the pre-Flashpoint version of Superman, instead choosing to do with the Golden Age what Mark Waid's "Birthright" did with the Silver Age. Morrison's Superman here is significantly more hotheaded and aggressive than the previous decade's version of him, but he's by far the closest to Siegel and Shuster's original vision for the character, so it's worth a read.

Superman: Unchained, by Scott Snyder

A Superman vs the US military story, with art by the legendary Jim Lee. It's a little dark in tone (and in color scheme) for Superman, but pretty in-line with the tone of most n52 books.

Rebirth and Beyond

Superman: Up in the Sky, by Tom King

A story that shows the lengths Superman is willing to go to in order to save one person. Has some very cute interactions between Clark children, and in general really gets the heart of Superman as a character.

The Warworld Saga, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson ❤️

A massive story following Superman to Warworld, where he works to free a group of Kryptonians being kept as gladiatorial slaves. Leans heavily into the idea of Superman as a Moses allegory, with the Authority as supporting cast. Over all a really beautiful story, both in terms of the plot and the art. Imo, the best Superman story from the last decade. Optional: If you like "Warworld" make sure to read the rest of PKJ's Action Comics run. His last issue of Action Comics just dropped recently, so you could absolutely sit down and binge the whole three-year run straight through.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest (2021 - ongoing), by Mark Waid

Set during the early years, featuring Superman, Batman, Robin (Dick Grayson), and occasionally Supergirl. In true Mark Waid fashion, it pulls heavily from the Silver Age, and manages to balance Silver Age campiness with more modern storytelling. (If you're a Superbat fan and you're somehow not reading this already, you should be.)

Superman (2023 - ongoing), by Joshua Williamson ❤️

The current running Superman arc. Another soft-reset for the Superman canon, meant to serve as an easy starting place for new readers. Beautiful art, hopeful and uplifting, and features my personal favorite take on the Lex in the comics, which should really tell you something. Optional: Action Comics issue #1050 sets up some things for this comic, but you won't lose much by skipping it.

Self-Contained Stories

Superman Smashes the Klan, by Gene Luen Yang ❤️

A YA graphic novel based on an old radio show. Set during the 1940s during Superman's early years, and really takes Superman back to his roots as a champion of the oppressed. If you read no other book on this list, please read this one. It's a quick and easy read and gets right to the heart of who and what Superman is.

Superman: For All Seasons, by Jeph Loeb

A story spanning four stages of Clark's life, with gorgeous artwork by the incomparable Tim Sale. Delves into Clark's relationships with most of the important people in his life, including his parents, Lois, and Lex.

Superman: Secret Identity, by Kurt Busiek

A meta twist on the Superman story with a boy in the real world develops Superman-like powers and has to grapple with what that means for him and what to do with those powers. A really excellent deconstruction of Superman.

All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison

Superman, upon being told he has only a few days to live, chooses how to spend the rest of days. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Superman stories of all time, but features a lot of deep cut lore and will resonate more if you're more familiar with the characters. This is the one book I would not recommend starting with. Also leans heavily on the Silver Age canon.

#clark kent #superman #dc comics #comic recs #reading list #i will go back in and add pre-crisis recs at some point too

[delta-queerdrant]

where are your troubles now? forgotten? (Resistance, s2 e12)

(POV you’re watching the Barbie intro but it’s Star Trek screenwriters. Please indulge me.)

Once, in another century, there was a show called Star Trek Voyager. (Cue 2001: A Space Odyssey music.) A lady and two dudes created it. Occasionally other ladies cowrote episodes. But by the time Season Two rolled around, there were not so many ladies. Actually there was just Jeri Taylor, and by god she tried. But one lady cannot be all things to all people.

Then in November 1995, a great miracle happened. A new lady was hired to write a teleplay. It was fresh, inventive! Something was happening!

Her name was (music crescendos)

L I S A K L I N K

I don’t know much about Lisa Klink, except that “Resistance” marks the beginning of her multi-season involvement in Voyager, and that she was a five-time Jeopardy winner. (I do not watch Jeopardy, I would not be good at Jeopardy, but Jeopardy people are nevertheless my people.) Mostly I know that I turned on “Resistance” and, despite my general disinterest in the show’s production history, immediately asked: who the FUCK wrote this?

“Resistance” is not a perfect episode, but after half a season of flailing, it is a revelation. Klink, writing the script for a story by Michael Jan Friedman and Kevin J. Ryan, has a clear vision of what Voyager can be - a show that’s grounded, emotionally resonant, and trusts its actors. 

I am partial to the gritty, Blade Runner-inflected, Firefly/BSG brand of science fiction television, so when we started in media res, our heroes in civvies doing deals in an outdoor market, I died and went to cyberpunk heaven. (Neelix’s coat alone is worth the price of entry.) Instead of swanning across the galaxy like tourists in a slightly under-resourced cruise ship, the Voyager gang are finally the scrappy underdogs they ought to be.

This is our second Janeway episode of the season, and the first episode, perhaps of the series, that really gives her a character mandate beyond “strong but feminine captain who loves her dog.” Mulgrew has her work cut out for her, acting against JOEL FUCKING GREY, but they’re both marvelous. Waking in the home of the enigmatically batty Caylem (in a claustrophobic sequence whose stagey absurdism recalls a Beckett play), Janeway slowly grows to understand that Caylem, who’s decided she’s his daughter, might be her best ally for escape. The growing emotional connection between the two is so tender and understated; as a writer, Klink has mastered the light touch.

Janeway and Caylem end up collaborating with the local resistance movement to rescue Torres and Tuvok, who have been imprisoned by the lawful evil overlords of this world. Our characters genuinely feel like they are in big trouble! Torres and Tuvok’s prison stint is rough. (I did enjoy B’Elanna’s beatnik dissident prison garb. She looks like it is approximately 1956 and she is a French student who has been arrested for throwing a baguette at a cop.)

The only weak sequence is the prison break itself, which feels too easy and relies on a tired “sex worker disguise” subterfuge. But the ending is so satisfying and will break your heart.

Once Janeway’s back in uniform, it feels like we’ve truly been on a journey, one that brings to mind iconic episodes like “The Inner Light.” Voyager is a long way from home, and I want these characters to go through transformative experiences. The boldness of this episode gets us a little bit of the way there.

A radical reimagining of Voyager, and the best episode of season two in my estimation. I award this one 4.5/5 melon hats.

#star trek #star trek voyager #janeway #LISA KLINK #joel fucking grey!!!

[cringecompanionapologist]

Some Interesting Stuff About the Development of Turlough

I was seriously tempted to call this post "Vis-lore Turlough". I am so fucking normal.

Anyway, I found a website via the TARDIS wiki that goes into detail about the concepts behind and making of Doctor Who episodes. For Mawdryn Undead, this means a discussion of how the character of Turlough was developed.

It started with JNT and Adric not going according to his vision. He was supposed to be a companion you couldn't quite trust, but that didn't really work with him, so it was decided that they'd try the idea again.

Honestly, the "untrustworthy" thing didn't work with Adric because of his age. He had an innocent vibe to him and tended to work best when the fact that he was just a kid trying his best was emphasized.

He'd often sort of go rogue, trying to save the day in his own way, often with some lying and stealing involved, but this seemed to confuse people. Adric became infamous for taking the villain's side, something he only did once. He pretended to take the villain's side in two other stories, but it was a fake-out. In Kinda, since the villain he pretends to side with is obviously insane, the fake-out is also quite obvious. I've seen reviews of State of Decay that don't seem to understand that Adric was supposed to be faking, however. There was also Castrovalva, where Adric was forced to work with the Master, and there's a scene or two where he pretends to cooperate willingly, but it doesn't last very long and it's always clearly a fake-out. Honestly, Adric is actually a pretty bad liar. I'm not sure if he was supposed to come across that way, but it's what we got.

Turlough was an attempt to start over and try the idea again, but with a clear story arc behind it that would make the writers keep that element consistent. Notably, for a character meant as a replacement for Adric, and a character who'd later be introduced as a schoolboy, the original plan for Turlough doesn't seem to specify his age. He's an alien working for the Black Guardian.

Unlike Adric, Turlough wasn't really meant to be a teenager. He originally wasn't going to be introduced as a schoolboy at all. The planned third story of season 20, where he'd be introduced, was The Song of the Space Whale, but the story fell through, eventually ending up as a Lost Story audio with 6 and Peri.

Since this was a last minute change, Turlough wasn't actually aged down. According to Mark Strickson, Turlough is supposed to look like he doesn't belong in the setting, and one of the ways he doesn't belong is by being obviously too old. It's never directly explained to the audience that Turlough is older than he was pretending to be, though it is implied. When given Adric's old room, he complains about it looking like a child's room, because he's had enough of children. So, the clearest answer we get to Turlough's age is "older than Adric".

Having Turlough be a bit older makes the more morally ambiguous part of his character seem more convincing. He's also given a more clear motivation for it. Adric had kinda sorta been an outsider on his homeworld who learned to steal things, but he stole because his big brother did. Adric sort of latched on to any role model he found, so simply traveling with the Doctor would change his moral attitudes to better match him. He's still young enough that his worldview is shaped by adults. Turlough is old enough that, even if he respects and admires someone, he's developed his own view of the universe through his own experiences with it.

Another reoccurring point in Mark Strickson interviews is that he wanted Turlough to be more independent than most companions. He's from an advanced civilization, so he knows how all the tech works. He's familiar with alien species. He doesn't need the Doctor to explain everything to him. But, the show kind of forced the companions into a simplistic role. JNT believed that at the end of the day, the companions were there to ask "what's happening, Doctor?" even in situations where they should definitely already know. They had to stand in for not only an audience of ordinary humans, but an audience primarily of children, so even things that a regular human adult could figure out would sometimes have to be spelled out to them.

Janet Fielding also had a problem with this for feminist reasons. Tegan wasn't supposed to be stupid. This led to a period of time where everyone was going rogue. You had two actors playing their companions as intelligent, independent adults when the script needed the opposite.

I'm calling attention to this because I think it's interesting that this was happening with Five's companions specifically. Five's main fandom characterization is as a dad with all these adopted queer youths. Five does often act like that, but it would be interesting to really look at that in the context of companions that probably wouldn't want to be treated that way. Adric and Nyssa were both introduced as teenagers, though Nyssa seemed to grow up over time. They sort of were his adopted children.

But, Tegan and Turlough enter the TARDIS as adults. The actors' frustrations could actually fit in-character. Tegan feels like she's being talked down to because she's a woman and Turlough had to pass himself off as a schoolboy but is sick of it. Why he doesn't change out of his damn uniform makes no sense with this in-universe. Out of universe, 80s Doctor Who characters were often given limited selections of outfits so they'd be more recognizable. In Turlough's case, he was dressed in black to contrast with the Doctor's white and beige and Tegan's more bold colors. It represented the personality of each character: The Doctor is mild-mannered, Tegan is bold and tends to stand out, Turlough is somber and cynical.

So, over time, Five's companions grow up. Nyssa is with him long enough that she literally comes of age while traveling with him. With Adric and Nyssa gone, we're left with Tegan and Turlough as two adult companions. Five spent years alone with Nyssa, basically acting as her adoptive father, raising her to adulthood, when she decides to leave home. He's not sure how to relate to his companions as adults. They haven't been in quite a while.

In comparing 5's companions to older companions, Adric and Nyssa are more like Susan or Zoe, very smart, but still kids. Tegan is more like Sarah Jane, limited in scientific knowledge by being a 20th century woman, but still clever and not fond of being talked down to. Turlough is more like Romana, another intelligent alien that the Doctor could communicate with as an equal. At least, that's how I would've thought of it if I'd been given these characters

This has devolved into rambling now. I just wanted to analyze 5's companions and "dad" status. I've run out of things to say.

#fifth doctor #vislor turlough #tegan jovanka #five and his kids and his grown ups

[leohtttbriar]

i think the biggest mistake an audience can make (i.e. me) with a time-paradox story is to try to make sense of it. like there's the surface-level logic here that sisko can be a "chosen one" of sorts because, well, he always was. if you can look down on the fourth dimension of time and see it all laid out in the same way we can look down a two-dimensional square, then everything always is and verb-tenses mean nothing and the layout of What Is is. but that's just so so abstract. (!)

what ends up being implied by the idea of extra-dimensional beings like the prophets is determinism. which doesn't. like. make sense. not from our perspective at least. the universe is just too much for us to be able to see a character like sisko able to interpret the space between what the prophets say and what he should then decide. the prophet above is saying "you need to rest now" and the prophets said that sisko has a path he is "meant" to walk--so was he always going to decide to both marry kasidy and "learn" among the prophets in the wormhole? if his decision-making has no power, why would the prophets tell him what to do to begin with? he says he's already done all the things he is going to do, sort of, so what is his relationship with spacetime? how can someone exist in between non-linear beings and linear time? what makes sisko special--is it his decision-making or his determined life?

i get the feeling this ending for the character was supposed to provoke these sorts of questions but i can't get past how it makes very little sense to me. which i guess is my own reaction to time-paradox stories: arrival and interstellar and even the "children of time" episode of ds9, none successfully convince me of the know-ability of time. even kasidy asking in the prophet vision "is anyone here?" makes my brain hurt, because, like, yeah is anyone there? where do these creatures exist? where and when and how? and in what ways can they contribute to the fabric of a mutable and constantly morphing or expanding and evolving universe?

obviously, it's not like a few sci-fi writers are going to do what only theoretical physicists can only imagine, but something about the tone of this episode, the design and the dialogue, suggests something answer-able. "meant to" and "alone" and "rest" and "ben? is that you?" are temporal and, in the logic of this story, are determined? there are ways to suggest more ambiguity, to lean into the logic of paradoxes--using color and music to imply that nothing here is figured out, that sisko is just a man invited into a perspective that we haven't yet been able to understand. a star trek-y "how mysterious, how weird" sort of answer that emphasizes that tying-up loose ends isn't the best narrative resolution sometimes.

this conclusion for sisko is a bit ambiguous but also not. and i sort of wish kasidy had gone with him. what does pregnancy look like where everything already was and is and yet to come? what is a romance undefined by the progressive beats of relationships and intimacy? what would their relationship say about the ongoing-ness of love?

#ds9 #star trek #i mean. maybe i was also just feeling like kasidy could have been in way more episodes and now deserves a spin-off series #thirty years later lol #'my husband became an extra-dimensional alien that lives in a wormhole. these are the adventures in the weirdest sort of motherhood.' #sisko #kasidy yates

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: ROUND 4, GROUP C

Match 1

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Ruka

She’s a sweet little gal who can see duel spirits!!

luna/luka/ruka can see duel monsters spirits. she had a heavy burden placed on her when she was THREE YEARS OLD to protect the world of duel monsters spirits. as if that is enough to put on her shoulders, she's also sickly and oh yeah, they decided to also give a signer mark. she's three. she's on her death bed. she's expected to save two worlds. like this kid literally cannot catch a break. oh yeah, also her parents? they're never around. only person in her life is her twin brother, who is loud and that rubs against her autism in the wrong way. yes, she's autistic. do not argue with me. no i'm serious don't argue with me. lil miss luka has the failure to be diagnosed all weird little autistic girls are subjected. if she was a boy, y'all would see her autism for what it is but that's not the point of this rant. anyway her first time meeting yusei, she didn't care about his criminal mark because his duel monster friends said he's okay and that's good enough for her: the duel monsters said this criminal on her couch is a good guy! therefore acab. this is also the first time an adult has ever treated her like her thoughts and opinions matter, mostly because there was never an adult in her goddamn life in the first place (shout out to her parents for ABANDONING TWO TWELVE YEAR OLDS to their own fuckin devices). can't forget the fortune cup, where lua takes her place at first and LOSES IN THE FIRST ROUND, damaging her professional duel record (not like it matters because the writers decided it didn't matter what luka does after the series ANYWAY so who cares if her record is damaged :) ). she gets dragged in anyway and tortured by a child psychologist - classic weird autistic girl moment. during this she has a vision of the duel monster world and realizes oh yeah this is real, i'm supposed to protect this, and like. CANNOT. CATCH. A SINGLE. BREAK. aki takes an interest in luka because of her powers too! all while divine is a tool to her brother and she's forced to watch divine torture her brother :) awesome stuff. literally. cannot catch a fuckin break. next season her first duel is a loss against some weird kid from the future, and her second duel is against aporia where she literally dies (her brother brings her back to life). she is a character of untapped potential and deserves the world. vote for luka.

Anzu Mazaki

the original It Girl, very underrated anzu masaki is stubborn. she’s all about friendship and she believes in you soooo much. she’s the type to give you a lecture while picking you up because she’ll never leave you stranded but you should take better care of yourself. she has dreams of being a dancer and takes that risk in moving to whole different COUNTRY to follow her dreams. vote for anzu!!!

#best ygo girl poll #round 4 #yugioh 5ds #luna 5ds #luka 5ds #luca 5ds #ruka 5ds #luna yugioh #luca yugioh #ruka yugioh #yugioh duel monsters #anzu mazaki

[the-greek-mythos-project]

The Greek Mythos Project

Hello everybody, my name is Camila and I am the creator of The Greek Mythos Project. My pronouns are They/Them and I can otherwise be found on Tumblr as @ixhkor-and-ambrosxa. Any and all questions can either be directed here or there and I'd be happy to help any of you :).

So... What Is This Project And Blog About? Well, it's about The Greek Mythos Project. The Greek Mythos Project is a new thing I've created here on Tumblr in order to showcase smaller artists waiting to get out there, feel like their audience is too niche, and to ultimately learn more about Greek Mythology. It originally stemmed from a smaller, more personal project where I intended to 'rewrite' all of mythology in order to learn more about it and to generally get back into writing, but as I thought more about the specifics, I realized how time consuming and burnt-out I would be. That thought lead to another and another... and then I was like: what if I release this idea into the world and allow others to participate in it? Then I'd still be able to learn more about all of it, but I could also meet new writers and see more writing styles. So, here we are, with a blog & all.

What Is The Project's Main Goal? The ultimate main goal of this project is to showcase others' work. I myself--as a writer of lesser-known characters--know how hard it is to get that niche audience or even gain the courage to let loose those 'weird' headcanons so I wanted to provide an easy way to get that. I want to know those niche writers and characters and 'weird' headcanons--one of my general hyperfixations is worldbuilding! So, even if nobody else wants to read it, I want to. I want to know, I want to learn, and I want to be. So, the ultimate goal is getting out there, but there are some lesser and more personal goals such as networking, learning to work with wider and more diverse audiences (knowledge, headcanons, and otherwise), and having something bigger than myself to work on so I don't end up spiraling. It lets me know, as someone who struggles with mental health, that there's always going to be something to fall back on, such as this project :).

What Is This Project Exactly? The Greek Mythos Project will hopefully be a long AO3/Wattpad fic made up of the POVs and Stories of various characters in Greek Mythology. The end project will hopefully be arranged in chronological order and include as many stories and versions of the stories as they can. The possibilities and submissions can be endless but the only restriction this project asks for is that it keeps to one POV only. I ask this because this is the vision I am hoping to pursue but there will be a companion-fic set that you can submit to if you want a Multiple POV submission. Each chapter that we post will include your socials, how to find you, how to find your other works, the submission-fic notes, personal notes on the fic, and anything else you or we decide is best to put. Of course, you can opt out of any and all of this and I can just put anonymous <3. This project is essentially a mass Character Study/Introspection, if you'd like it in more simple and fandom-based terms :).

What Are The Project's Requirements? Other than having only one POV... there aren't really any. Of course, there's a level of trust and respect required on both sides once we all start working with each other, but that's just the basics. The word count can be anything, Spicy & More Graphic scenes can be taken once we have a coordinator for that and/or get further into it, and hopefully we'll have editors and beta-ers if you, as a writer, want or require them. If anything, I can help edit and work with you. This is a pretty formless job; it can be writing, it can be art, it can be mood boards, it can be collabs. As long as everything's communicated effectively, nothing should be a problem.

How Do I Submit? Currently, the best way to submit things is through the Ask Box on this page. I'll also be opening up the submissions tab/thing but I have zero experience on my part with it so the safest bet's through the ask box. Same thing with private posts, they don't always work so, when in doubt, go to the ask box :). Feel free, whenever you submit via the ask box, to put a little line at the bottom or top with your information, any notes, etc for me to put in when I eventually post this. Also, please check in on this blog every once in a while in case we need to ask to clarify something <3.

Can I Participate Even Without Socials? Yes, you absolutely can! Our ask box will always have an anonymous option and even if you have something or another and just want this to be separate, feel free to tell us you want to be anonymous! I and those who I may be working with will completely get and respect your privacy! /pos /gen

What Is The Project's Deadline? As of now, there isn't one. This project is supposed to be long term, which means it should still be going five or so years from now (depending on how the world's going at that time, at least) and so there is no deadline going on for the submissions-end. On my end, I plan to start picking it up and publishing around Late-August or July because I hope by that point, we'll have some submissions or at least be working a lot more on this as it picks up and also I know this month is really stressful for a lot of people with final projects, exams, etc and getting ready for Summer so hopefully that'll be a decent amount of time to really get things going.

Can I Help Out? Yes, you absolutely may! I'd love some editors to help back me up on things, beta-ers, Spicy-Scene coordinators (because that's just not my editing cup of tea) and other people that's going to be crucial to bringing this to light. Again, this project is based on community and I love people so feel free to reach out so we can work together to see what's the right fit, aka schedules, genres, etc! I might even create a discord server if we get large enough!

Any Other Comments? Feel free to ask questions. This and my main account are always free to pop in if you'd like, just know that it might take me a while to get back to you... it's a bad habit :(. Also, fandom-based characters and chapters are completely on the table! I personally find it much easier to write in a fandom-based setting so if that's your jam, feel free and make sure to tell us where you're comin' from so we showcase it! At some point, too, I'd love to make a little 'spreadsheet' thing on here to show who's working on who to maybe get people out of their shell or introduce others or maybe even collab on stuff!

Anyway, I think that should all be it :). Feel free to ask questions, interact with us, or even share the #The Greek Mythos Project on other platforms if you'd like or with friends! Also keep up with us on the same tag for updates, questions, or even maybe prompts/challenges if ya'll would like :). See you at some point and have fun!

Edit: Below Are Little Clarification Posts Along With Updates & Stuff That Seem Important <3

The Greek Mythos Project: What We Accept Within Submissions [Link Subject To Change As More Is Added]

The Greek Mythos Project: The Submission Process

#The Greek Mythos Project #greek mythology #greek mythology tumblr #writers on tumblr #zeus #poseidon #hades #hera #demeter #hestia #dionysus #hermes #apollo #artemis #aphrodite #ares #hephaestus #amphitrite #persephone #kronos #sorry for being annoying like that I just want to get it out there :) #character introspection #character studies #art #writing #hope this takes off!

[leventart-den]

Interactive ZoSan fanfic. Ch.01

AN:

Hello dear Straw Hearts!

So here we begin our journey with the first chapter of the interactive ZoSan fanfic. Please remember that I am not a writer and English is not my native language. But I will try and I hope we all have fun. I have some ideas but your choices are what decide where the story goes. In the vote, you chose that our story will take place in the canonical One Piece setting. But since I have not yet seen many events and am not familiar with all the characters (I only just met Brook in the anime at the time of writing this but I happily spoiled some things for myself so I know roughly Sanji's story), my vision may conflict with canon. There may also be spoilers here, so be careful. This first chapter is just setting up the scene.

 If you prefer to read on AO3, then the first chapter is here.

This is also beta-readed by wonderful @dad-cahoon ! Thank you so much for your help!

So, without further ado, buckle up and let our journey begin!👀

***

-= My 4am Sun =-

Ch.01 "Distraction and consequences"

Sanji really thinks that Zoro will be the end of him one day. One way or the other. He's such a distraction. And he doesn't even know about it. And Sanji would never tell him. His sword work is blinding. Every time it catches the light and the glare hurts his eyes and Sanji hates it. He hates how it makes him freeze and silently demands “look at me.” 

Look at me. 

Look.

And Sanji looks.

Because he can't not.

And he stares.

Because no one really knows but Sanji loves.

He loves endlessly all the big and small things in this world that he finds beautiful. And now he loves how the 4am sun embraces the swordsman and grazes the steel of his swords. It stole the breath away from him in the same way it did on that momentous day when Zoro took a blow from Mihawk with his arms open and his gaze determined. Something shifted in him that day. Something sparkled and he treasures it still, keeps safe deep in his heart. Sanji will never admit it but Zoro became someone special to him that day. Someone he looked up to and strived to become in some way. Zoro was strong, passionate, and a man of his word. He was ready to follow his dream no matter what. Sanji was the same in some parts. Objectively speaking he was strong and passionate himself, but he always lacked self confidence. He always sought so much less of himself. Although It was always compensated for by him trying his best. And actually doing his best no matter what circumstances he was in (no, we are not talking about his weakness for women in this house). But nevertheless, Sanji was almost always blind to his own achievements. He never praised himself, even a little, and took the praise of others as if it was the biggest treasure. He never thought of himself as deserving anything good but still he dreamed of kindness and love and friendship.. 

And he always wanted to be friends with Zoro. And after all these years, he kind of thought they were. Even though from an outsider's view their friendship looked more like hatred, in reality it was just rivalry and they both loved it, at least Sanji thought Zoro liked it too. 

Sanji enjoyed their bickering and fights, he truly did. But there were times when he could get tired of it. In those moments he really wished they could have a “calm” friendship. Sanji tried from time to time to guide their relationship in that direction, but Zoro never got the message. It always ended up with sharp jokes, insults, or fights and every time Sanji–with an inner sigh–followed Zoro's lead. 

But also Zoro sometimes surprised Sanji by looking weirdly happy, or even proud when seeing the cook coming to the fight scene. It really throws Sanji off every time because he doesn't know what to think of it. It is too weird. And other times Sanji thinks that Zoro may even care for him. Like that time on the sea train when Zoro screamed at him to not go along further and wait for them because it was too dangerous. Of course it was turned into a joke in the end, but nevertheless. And if Sanji would be honest it drives him crazy every time. Every time he thinks they may have their “ordinary friendship” moment, Zoro snatched it away as fast as his swordwork. And once again Sanji sighs and goes along. Although to be fair, Sanji himself often starts the fight or bites first so he has nothing to complain about, really. Right?

Right.

So, he's completely okay with not having a normal friendship with the stupid mosshead.

It's only fair, he thinks. And dives down at the last moment, barely avoiding a killing blow from the enemy. It's a really bad idea to be distracted right now, in the middle of the battle on the deck of their ship. Sanji was actually starting to feel tired, and not only him, judging by the way others were fighting. The attack happened suddenly, late at night. A huge ship appeared as if out of nowhere, fortunately Zoro, who was on watch, quickly raised everyone. Their opponents were fast and tiring. And there were many of them. Although the entire attack was strange, as if they had a specific goal unknown to the Straw Hat Pirates. And their captain hasn't even shown up yet. They were also terribly silent, making the atmosphere of the battle sickeningly depressing and oppressive. Sanji and everyone else were used to the fact that their opponents were usually loud, demanding attention to their person, no matter how deadly, the atmosphere was almost always like a chicken coop fight. Noisy, bright and reckless. That's probably why Luffy loved these moments so much. He had a lot of fun, of course, when the situation wasn't life-threatening for his nakama. But now even their captain looked out of place. 

Suddenly, Sanji felt a long-forgotten but familiar chill running down his back. That kind of dark anxiety that cannot be explained because there is no reason for it.. But nevertheless, something inside begins to scream heart-rendingly, “run!”

And perhaps Sanji would have run, if in the next moment he had not felt a firm push of someone's palm to his back. Everything around seemed to freeze for a moment, for one painful heartbeat. The place where palm touched felt numb, but after a moment there was a tingling spreading throughout his body along with an increasing ringing in his ears. His head started to hurt. For a second he thought something had snapped inside him and a terrible heat exploded. He couldn't even scream.

He took a breath.

And blinked. 

And time seemed to rush forward again, drowning him in a cacophony of sounds

He felt confused. What just happened? Where was he? What was he doing?… Why is it so light already?

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a familiar voice next to him.

"Hey Sanji! I'm terribly hungry, can you cook something? No, not something, meat! A lot of meat!" Luffy slapped him on the shoulder as he passed by, making him step forward from the force of the impact. He shouldn't have though. Of course, their captain was many times stronger than any of them, but such a movement should not have moved Sanji so easily. He almost lost his balance. He felt shaken.

He blinked again, gritting his teeth and realizing that there was no cigarette in his mouth. He couldn't light a new one though. Not now, when his hands are shaking so much, hastily hidden in his pockets.

He looked around. Everyone went in different directions. The battle was over, they were moving away from the smoking ship of the unknown pirates behind them. Judging by the sun, it was now about eight in the morning. He lost time.

He lost time.

Sanji swallowed nervously. He should think about something else. He can't spiral  now. He can't fall apart. Not here where everyone can see him. He must be just tired... There is no reason to worry and especially no reason to give others reasons to worry. It sounded stupid even in his own head, but he has no choice but to persuade himself like this at such moments. He has a lot of practice. He just needs to hold on a little longer. 

And he will. 

He always does.

He exhaled, glad that Luffy did not wait for his answer and apparently did not notice his confusion. He will think about everything later, but now he needs to get to breakfast. Everyone is probably terribly exhausted and needs to replenish their strength. Sanji would make them the best breakfast he could. Something from rice. And not at all because the stupid Marimo loves rice dishes. Again. Sanji will never admit it, but he loves to surprise that stupid swordsman. He feels it as a small victory and grins proudly every time he sees that he likes his food.

He thought to himself as he walked to the kitchen and desperately tried to ignore the trembling which threatened to take over all of him. Nervousness was creeping through his entire body and as soon as the door to his personal temple slammed shut, hiding Sanji from prying eyes, he leaned against it wearily, hastily taking out a new cigarette and lighting it. It took him several attempts before a small flame touched the tobacco tip. He took a drag and exhaled, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head on the wooden surface.

He lost time. A few hours. What happened at that time? Has he passed out? Is he even awake now? No, no. He can't go there. He will drive himself crazy. He can't afford it. He must trust his crew. If he's passed out and it's a dream, they'll wake him up. If not, then to hell with it. Whatever happened during the lost time is not so important if no one asked him about it. 

As if in mockery, the hand mark on his back reminded him of itself with an already familiar numbness, as if someone else's palm was still touching him. It was disgusting.

"Fuck." His hand hit the wall before he even thought about what he was doing. He desperately tried to convince himself that everything was okay, but the truth is that he is scared to the guts. Sanji takes a breath and relaxes the fingers that he hadn’t noticed he had clenched into a fist.

Okay…

Okay.

Breakfast.

Taking another drag from his cigarette and exhaling through his nose, Sanji determinedly headed to the countertop, gathering the necessary ingredients as he went. After washing his hands, he took out a cutting board and a knife, forcing his hands to stop shaking, feeling the pressure in the back of his head starting to build up again. It made his ears ring disgustingly. He ignored it, clenching the cigarette between his teeth and starting to chop the vegetables. He will do what he should do. For what he became a member of this crew. Sanji would not allow himself to be a burden or a problem for this team. For his team, he corrected himself. Because he's part of it. He should not forget or deny it, even if at times he considers himself unworthy. 

His knife made the first “knock”, cutting through the vegetables and connecting with the board. 

It sounded oddly muffled.

He blinked.

Sanji watched dumbfoundedly as something was burning in a frying pan. He choked on his breath, dropping the extinguished cigarette from his mouth and hurried to turn off the heat, putting the frying pan aside. Feeling the world shift from the sudden movement, he hurried to grab the countertop to steady himself. A cold shiver ran through his body, his heart was pounding wildly, and his bones and muscles ached as if he had just taken a severe beating. Sanji sucked in a raspy breath, watching with incomprehension as dark blood dripped onto the surface of his precious kitchen, staining it. He touched his face, feeling the warm stickiness running down his lips and chin. 

This was wrong. 

He never bled out of the blue.

Sanji heard laughter coming from somewhere outside and winced. He hurried to the sink, washing the blood from his face and then wiped the countertop with a napkin, tossing it in the trash and throwing the scraps on top. 

He almost sank to the floor after that, but kept himself on his feet, making an incomprehensible quiet whining sound through his teeth, full of anger and something deeply painful. 

He felt weak. 

Again. 

He didn't understand what was happening or why. 

He will be a burden to them. 

He did not want that. 

Fucking hell. 

He didn't want it.

His eyes stung, but he took a breath. He must stop.

Breakfast.

He looked around the kitchen. Everything was ready, all that remained was to set the table.

Whatever happened to him during the lost time, his body apparently continued to work. That was good.

A small mercy.

He took another breath and lit another cigarette. His body ached, but felt calmer. It felt as if it was healing. Maybe it was. 

Okay.

He will set the table, get through breakfast and then decide what to do.

He's not weak. Not anymore. He can handle it.

Sanji felt something was torn somewhere in his body, he felt cold. He spat the blood into the sink and washed it off with water. 

He'll get through this, damn it.

.

.

.

TBC.

====================================

If you made it to the poll you probably read the chapter, so thank you for that!

It's time to decide where the story will go next! Keep in mind that some choices may lead to similar results just in a different way.

#sanji #zosan #zoro #one piece #black leg sanji #roronoa zoro #vinsmoke sanji #sanji is not a vinsmoke #ZoSan fanfic “My 4am Sun” #Leventart interactive fanfic #sanji angst #zosan angst #zosan fanfic #mention of blood #hurt Sanji #Sanji whump #4am sun meaning will be explained #if I missed any important tags let me know

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

Konrad Curze is yeeted to Gotham instead of Nostromo

A child mysteriously appears on the streets of Gotham and beats the living daylights out of whichever lunatic tries to kill him before Batman finds him. Batman, perennial foster failure of orphans, promptly adopts him. Motivated by a thirst for justice and violence, Konrad sets out to become the best Robin there is, and succeeds with flying colors because he’s a super powered transhuman. Damien is pissed about being outdone. Tim nicknames him Konny. Dick steps in as the Angsty Child Whisperer to get him to calm the fuck down. Steph and Cass are too busy getting screwed by editorial to make an appearance. Batman realizes immediately that Konrad’s physiology is hella op and embarks on an epic, years-long storyline to figure out what the hell is going on. At least three origins are introduced and then retconned. Konrad angsts about how he’s a monster who doesn’t belong anywhere. Much drama is wrung from this.

The writers keep using Konrad’s visions to foreshadow that Konrad is destined to be A Baddie. This goes on long enough that you start to suspect that the writers will never actually follow through on all that foreshadowing. Finally the DCU magicians are called in for a crossover, and this fixes all of Konrad’s problems for a few years. Unfortunately the spoopy visions are too good a story hook and eventually they come back just in time for Konrad’s other Primarch capabilities to properly manifest. More angst ensues. Someone travels from a bad future where Konrad became the totalitarian dictator of Earth after he snapped and killed the Joker for doing a genocide (or nuking New York, or starting the Fourth Plague Pandemic, etc.). All of the visions suddenly start focusing on Evil Future Konrad and how he'll murder people for jaywalking and it’s all very tragic.

Konrad flips the fuck out over his evil destiny just in time for the annual giant crossover event where Trigon or Darkseid or some other extradimensional monster invades. It might actually be good but the damn thing is spread out over multiple books and you don’t want to buy them all, so you ignore the missing chunks and just focus on the cooler splash pages of kickass fights. Konrad is nearly tempted to do An Evil but at the last second he is pulled back from the brink by the teachings of Batman, and possibly by the baddie gratuitously killing a popular B-list character. Instead he strikes the decisive blow and saves the day. Much rejoicing is had, and Konrad finally bids farewell to his evil destiny in a heartwarming scene where he is surrounded by the Batfamily. All is well in the DCU.

Five years later all of his character development is thoroughly destroyed when a writer decides he needs a shocking new villain.

Konrad fans lose their goddamn minds. Think pieces are written on all of the geek websites, Tumblr churns out discourse, Reddit churns out circlejerks, 4chan churns out gross memes, but somehow the worst takes all come from Twitter X. It’s chaos, absolute chaos, and honestly you’re kind of tired of it all, and the latest Batman cartoon looks pretty good, so you take a break from comics and just get your fix that way. Much later, you run across a drama write-up, which makes you wonder, whatever happened to Konrad Curze? You look him up on the DC wiki…but he’s gone. Vanished. Disappeared, just as mysteriously as he first appeared. It’s almost as if some mysterious entity whisked him away. A million theories circulate, but no one ever knows for sure.

The grim darkness of the far future may only contain war, but hey, at least it’s simple.

#warhammer 40k #konrad curze #batman #dc universe #batfamily #Did I mention that he becomes a Tumblr sexyman at some point? #Because he definitely becomes a Tumbler sexyman at some point #40k continuity is a clusterfuck but I think superhero comics might actually be worse #I say that from a place of love #superhero comics are a clusterfuck (affectionate) (derogatory)

[lactoseintolerentswag]

"Confession: I didn't write Kraven's Last Hunt. Well not in the way you think."

"Writer's like to believe they're in control of their material, but that's just a comforting lie."

"If it had been up to me—and thank goodness it wasn't—the original idea would have seen print as, of all things, a Wonder-Man mini series: Simon Williams—defeated in battle by his brother, the Grim Reaper—awakens in a coffin, claws his way out and discovers he's been buried alive for months."

"But there was something in that 'return from the grave' concept that wouldn't let go."

"So now I've had this idea rejected three times, by three of the best editors in the business. Maybe I thought. I'm delusional, Maybe I should just give up and move on.

"But the Story wouldn't let me."

"It knew, even if I clearly didn't, that it would soon find the form, and, most important, the characters, it had been seeking all along."

"More important: I discovered, as I worked away on the proposal, that Spider-Man—recently married to Mary Jane—was a far better choice than Wonder Man or Batman."

"Peter Parker is perhaps the most emotionally and psychologically authentic protagonist in any super-hero universe."

"Underneath that mask, he's as confused, flawed, as touchingly human as the people who read—and write—about him: the quintessential Everyman."

And that Everyman's love for his new wife, for the new life they were building together, was the emotional fuel that ignited the story."

"It was Mary Jane's presence, her heart and soul, that reached down into the depths of Peter's heart and soul, forcing him up out of that coffin, out of the grave, into the light."

"And that's how Kraven's Last Hunt was born."

"Well, not really."

"Please understand that I had no interest whatsoever in Kraven. In fact, I always thought he was one of the most generic, uninteresting villains in the Spider-Man gallery."

"But buried in this Marvel Universe entry was one intriguing fact: Kraven—was Russian."

"Why should that excite me so? One word: Dostoevsky. When I read Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov in high school, they seeped in through my brain, wormed their way down into my nervous system... and ripped me to shreds."

"No other novelist has ever explored the staggering duality of existence, illuminated the mystical heights and the despicable depths of the human heart, with the brilliance of Dostoevsky."

"The Russian soul, as exposed in his novels, was really the Universal Soul. It was my soul."

"And Kraven was Russian. In an instant, I understood Sergei Kravinov. In an instant, the entire story changed focus."

"And now the story was complete, right? Almost."

"Because Zeck was on board, I decided to toss a Captain America villain we created together—the man-rat called Vermin—into the mix. A casual decision (well it seemed casual to me; but I suspect the Story knew otherwise) that proved extremely important:"

"Vermin turned out to be the pivotal element, providing Peter Parker's vision of Spider-Man and Kraven's distorted mirror image."

"In the years that had passed from the time I pitched the original Wonder Man idea, my personal life has gone to hell in the proverbial handbasket."

"I felt as buried alive as Peter Parker; as much a dweller in the depths as Vermin; as lost, as desperate, as shattered as Sergei Kravinov."

"My own personal struggles, mirrored in the struggles of our three main characters, were, I think, what gave the writing such urgency and emotional honesty."

So tell me: Who, exactly, is in charge here? Who really wrote the story you're about to read? I thought it was me—but all along, there was something growing, evolving, emerging in its own time, when the creative conditions were absolutely perfect."

"Stories have lives of their own. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Images from Marvel's Spider-man Kraven's Last Hunt, collection of the issues:

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) 31-32

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) 293-294

PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) 131-132

Written by J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by Mike Zeck.

Text from DeMatteis' introduction which can be read in full here.

#spider-man #spiderman #spider man #spider-man 616 #j.m. dematteis #marvel #marvel comics #undescribed #tw suicide #tw sui implied #nudity #tw spiders #tw body horror #ugh I loved this line with all my heart wow should Not have put it so low on the rec list #had to do something with my buzzing analysis bc i can't write a full essay at the moment so here #there's some cold war and horror influence i wanna chew chew chew chew chew chew chew #and the composition????????? #okay im done Look at it #seriously check out kraven's last hunt it's worth it #tw blood #comics #tw racism #<-for kraven's outdated thoughts on africa

[ludiharambasha]

Hey! So I saw your anti atla posts. I was intrigued.

I have to ask, how would have liked the show to go about Zuko? How to handle him and his plot and arc? And what do you think about him as a character in general?

Hi, sorry that it took me so long to answer this ask, and this is sadly because I am not sure I am able to provide a satisfactory answer. (This is going to be very long). I will try to approach this from several angles.

In short, Zuko's entire conception is one I have a problem with. Zuko is not a character the writers tried to do something with and failed or wrote in a confusing, messy way that could be bettered with some tweaks- Zuko is exactly what the authors of AtLA wanted him to be, and it is their artistic vision that I have a (and at the same time don't- this will be clear to you as you read on) problem with. Not just Zuko, but Iroh as well, and I think this character arc stems from the privileged background of the authors, and a larger context of Western popular art, something I discussed in greater depth when I wrote a couple of posts about The Hunger Games.

Now, there are three angles I read Zuko and his redemption arc from:

1. Redemption arcs generally being indicative of poor or mediocre story-telling;

2. Zuko as a Western, colonial fantasy;

3. Zuko as a character in media intended for children.

I think this is the most organized way I can argument my feelings and thoughts about him as a character.

1.

It was fairly obvious that Zuko was a character fallen from grace that will see glory by the end of the story. From the moment he first graced the screen, it was apparent that he would go through a redemption arc, and that his character was all about that. There are some blogs that I will add here that might have a lot more to say on the issue (I will tag them in an edited version of this post if they would be ok with me tagging them), but redemption arcs are indicative of, at best, juvenile, at worst, flat out bad writing. Redemption arcs are really fine in children's literature because of their didactic nature, but in writing intended for older audiences they should not be treated seriously.

Art really isn't about instilling morals into the audience - art is supposed to make the readers'/observers' ideological, sensory and moral world challenged in interaction with it - art presupposes the already existing morality of the one interacting with it, not a blank slate onto which the art is supposed to leave an imprint. This notion that art is about didactics is a very outdated, passée idea that resurfaces every now and then, usually in think-of-the-youths type of discourse. Art is the fruit of the author's sensory, ideistic and moral world, and innately expresses something about the auhor and the world as they percieve it-it is not meant to indoctrinate or instill something, but to provide someone's perspective on a phenomenon or idea. This does not mean that art cannot be evaluated because it is personal; its merit is decided through analysys, usually of theme(s), characters, motifs, etc., of their quality, inventiveness, coherence, and so on. It is a delicate matter and not all critics agree on every work; moreover, there are different schools of methodology of the analysis of literary works; they do not agree on many things. There are good resources on the internet where you can find more info on lenses, approaches, etc.

I cannot say that evey literary lens or critical approach condemns redemption arcs (some classics with this arc include A Christmas Carol); however, there are two very good reasons to be vary of them in fiction. A) they are moralistic, and b) they are predictable, and these two reasons are somewhat intertwined.

I've already said quite a lot about didactics and moralizing in fiction earlier, so now I will try to focus on why this impacts characterization poorly and give more focus to reason b). When I say predictable, I mean that the character that this character arc goes along traditional lines of a certain archetype, and never once goes beyond them or manages to state anything new about the convention itself or break out of its confines. Zuko starts as a prince fallen from grace and ends up as the new Firelord- there is nothing in his story that even once nods to the fact that anything else was going to happen (him failing to redeem himself in book 2, only to then be consumed by guilt and finally be redeemed for realz is also an incredibly common pattern). There is nothing transgressive or challenging to constructing a character like this. There is no profound idea that Zuko brings forward with his presence in the story. How can someone genuinely say that writing a character that has been written a MILLION times before in the EXACT SAME way to be good? We laud stories that say something; creating a character like Zuko is akin to butting into a conversation, not because you genuinely have something to say, but just to hear yourself speak. Redemption arcs are the death of character- if we know where the character arc is going to go, the readers' perspective is not challenged. It is failure to tell a unique, authentic story.

Redemption arcs are enjoyed because they deal with a commmon fantasy that we CAN do better and be better, eventually. Very few follow up on this and become better people, but reading about people that do sure is reassuring. This creates this self-righteous feeling in the reader for aligning with the right cause. This has a very clear moral and instructive tone - do better. When art is made to instill values is when the art ceases to be creative. This does not mean that art is and should be devoid of morality; on the contrary, art is meant to engage your morality through self reflection. When you read about deplorable characters doing deplorable things, there is no need for the narrator to outright say 'this bad' - how you feel about actions of the characters is inherently a moral excercise. (Why should anyone celebrate art that insults the readers' intelligence and their ability to make moral judgements?)

At the heart of redemption arcs is that they are digestible, easily understood, and reaffirm the goodness of the reader. It is the most simple, juvenile type of writing there is.

2.

There is a reason why Zuko's redemption arc (and many others of the like) have a particularly strong appeal - they are reassuring to white, Western readers. They play into another, more disturbing fantasy - the sins of one's colonial past can be undone, forgiven and forgotten. If a prince of an empire that committed genocides, military occupations, and so on (there is a very long list of the crimes the Fire Nation committed), can be redeemed and become better and help the oppressed people, then so can they (they won't, and don't really intend to, but the fictional realization is enough!). There is also a reason why the fucking beach episode is beloved in AtLA fandom- it goes through the motions of 'humanising the Fire Nation' and showing them full of just some random, 'normal' kids that just live normal lives (in the eyes of the 1st worlders). It is the ultimate justification of white Western conformity, ignoring how this conformity keeps oppressive, violent systems running. Aang's culture being wiped off the face of the Earth, showing us the torture Hama went through, seeing Katara never find peace about her mother being killed by a Fire Nation soldier, never getting to see Jet get justice for the murder of his parents, all the environmental damage the Fire Nation caused is extended as much or less sympathy than privileged kids from the Fire Nation. Let that sink in. Zuko is just the most glaringly obvious realization of this motif.

Zuko's redemption arc is reflective of Westerner's feelings about colonialism and racism. This guilt is something that is part of them, as one has to be painfully stupid to be oblivious to their nations' pasts- everything around them reflects their vile history. They either choose to double down on this fact and percieve themselves as victors and their past as full of glory, others have trouble dealing with the gravity of these facts. And Zuko's moral dilemmas, his failures reflect this "revelation" and (surface-level) abhorrence towards imperialism. And it reflects a more awful truth, that these people seldom truly recognise the true implications of their own involvement in these systems - they often see colonialism as these sins of the past and systems divorced from their own involvement, and not the sins of both the past and present they actively contribute to - and Zuko also realises the faults of the Fire nation not based on what he personally did or has seen with his own eyes; he truly starts to recognise the evils of the Fire Nation when confronted with his past and his lineage. It is not the institution of the Fire Lord and the immense power it carries that has led to these heinous crimes, or the militarism- it is particular people that need to be brought down. Zuko, despite being a war criminal just like his father and sister, is absolved of what he did de facto. Just like the primary audience of AtLA would like to be.

Another thing to note, one that is not analytic but entirely subjective on my part, is that I cannot brush off the feeling that Zuko's redemption is more strongly motivated by Zuko's feelings of inadeqacy, rather than a developed sense of justice (this one is more up to interpretation, as there is proof n the story for and against this assertion).

3.

Redemption arcs and Zuko I don't have a problem with if we are looking at AtLA through the lens of mediocre standard children's media. Children's media should be didactic, because children learn a lot from engaging with the environment, and media is a particularly influential one. A child will not be capable of detecting all the implications of AtLA as a narrative - for them, it is enough to see a simple character like Zuko. I just cannot stand it when people delude themselves into believing he is written well, he's average at best.

That is all I have to say on the matter, for now. Thank you for your question. Take care.

#anti atla #anti zuko

[melanieryssel]

Genshin's characters as your tour guide | P2

Character: Bennet, Cyno, Nahida

Setting: Basically, now you're in Teyvat. It doesn't matter how you got here, it's totally up to your imagination. You could be a Vision wielder, born in Teyvat, or you could be a God!Creator who got shifted to this land. Anh on your journey to seven nations, you will meet up with other characters who will be your traveling companion.

A/n: I'm a new writer so I would love it if you guys leave me comments on how I can improve my writing. Also, this is a series so I plan on doing a lot of other characters too, let me know who you want me to do next. Finally, sorry in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Bennet

He gets so excited. Bennet always thinks to himself that his bad luck is the reason why no one wants to be his companion. So when you brought up the idea, he couldn't help but feel thrilled, grateful, and anxious because you chose him. 

You guys decided to meet in Mondstat city and then start the travel. With a brief glance, you can already tell he's under a lot of stress. Bennet holds a rolled map and tries to force a cheerful smile to reassure you that he's doing absolutely fine even though his dark eye bags tell a different story. He couldn't sleep at all due to tons of the fake scenarios he had in his head about how he might disappoint you or you might be affected by his bad luck. And now, your concerned face makes Bennet worry in his gut.

"I don't think we should go today, you look tired Bennet. Maybe we can pick another-"

"NO!!! PLEASE GO TODAY, I SWEAR I HAVE A PERFECT PLAN FOR TODAY JOURNEY!!!"

You sigh, don't want to ruin his excitement. You ask him to promise you that if he feels exhausted, you guys will go home immediately, and if he ever tried to hide it from you, you will be mad at him forever. 

It's safe to say that his bad luck is... worse, or maybe it's your bad luck and not his. You guys are chased by a group of Drendo slimes then Bennet accidentally burns himself and you while trying to get rid of the annoying slimes. You want to see the Cecilia flowers but then it pours with rain all afternoon. Next, Bennet and you are bumped by boars. And now, you slip and fall down a hill, Bennet tries to catch you but somehow he starts falling as well.

"I'm so sorry... It's my bad luck..." Bennet, on his bricks of tears, whispers.

"Hey hey, don't worry. I was careless too so it's not your fault. By the way, I think it makes our travel even more interesting and unforgetfull!."

"R-really?"

"Yes" 

Your answer is all he needs. You guys go home after that because Bennet doesn't think he could stay outside longer without fainting anymore, and obviously, he doesn't want to worry you.

Cyno

Cyno takes his job more like your personal security guard rather than a tour guide. Surely General Mahamatra knows Sumeru like the back of his hand, he promised to take you to special places only, which most people don't even know about. 

You thought it must be some beautiful and majestic scenery with a pond, a waterfall... something that is jaw-dropping.

However, you have never expected Cyno to bring you to the desert. It's boiling hot and you can feel your sweat everywhere. But you try to reassure yourself that the majestic view is so close to you already, only a bit more and you can see it with your own eyes! 

"You are more energetic than I thought, that's impressive." Cyno said.

"Yeah, thanks to all your jokes on the way."

"Oh really, how about I tell you some more of my best jokes. Laugh is the greatest thing to make you forget the heat in desert."

"..." You let out an awkward airy laugh.

Finally, you arrived there. However, it's a bit different from your imagination, leaving you speechless.

Cyno proudly points to the freaking huge pyramid in front of you while you are just staring at it hopelessly. It's sure a jaw-dropping building, but sadly, Cyno didn't bring you all the way here to just see the building from the outside. So you guys go inside and from this moment, you realize his intention.

"As you can see, those complicated and sophisticated puzzles are the evidence of Sumeru's knowledge history." Cyno says after making you solve fifteen puzzles in the ancient pyramid.

"Cyno... I don't know how to do this, can we go to a different place, pleaseeeeeee!" You are about to cry.

"Oh, you should say it sooner if you don't like solving puzzels. They might be a bit difficult, but I believe it's one of the best ways to explore Sumeru and improve you knowledge."

"Being stupid is okay with me."

Nahida

Nahida's first intention is to ask some of her allogenes to accompany you since she still has so much work to do. You actually went on a tour with them a couple of days ago too so when you came to see her this morning and admitted that you wish she could go with you, Nahida was really surprised. Nahida feels so happy and grateful because you see her as a good friend of yours.

Nahida decided to put off her work and agree to go on a small walk with you. She listens to you with great understanding and also tells you interesting stories about Sumeru City. You guys have a fun time together, but then because it's just a small walk so Nahida has to go back to her work right after.

The next day you come again. This time, you offer to help her so she could have a break then you guys could go out together. And the next next day, you come to visit again, bring along some snacks so you guys can spend time together while working. This causes Nahida to get deeply emotional. She is always insecure about her strength and feels like she could never be enough for her people, for Sumeru. What happened to her before gave her a hard time believing that she can ever have a true friend. But now, she has you.

Nahida can clearly acknowledge your sincerity and she thought it was not fair to make you do her work every day like that. So Nahida comes up with an idea so she can travel with you, and be your tour guide without neglecting her load of work.

"Nahida... I think this is kinda weird," you say uncertainly while standing in Vanarana.

"I actually think this is a wonderful idea. What do you think about the scenery? Isn't it beautiful?" Nahida responds, her voice laughing in your head.

"Yes, it's gorgeous, but why are you in my head, Nahida?!" you reply in frustration.

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