devilbonesofmetal

[devilbonesofmetal]

peak "batfam" was whatever the hell they had going on during no man's land (br*ce, tim, dick, babs, cass, helena, jpv)

like they weren't necessarily a family by adoption or anything but the lineup was sooooo good you guys don't understand they were my life support

i love you cass. i love you hubtress. i love you azrael.

[devilbonesofmetal]

A proposal

Sometimes, in fandom, we just want to write id-tastic fic that rolls around in tropes that might be viewed as problematic. But we don’t want to address the problematic side of things in this particular fanwork; we just want to roll around and wallow.

It is considered courteous to give readers a heads-up via use of AO3 tags. I propose a tag that signals that a given fanwork is for rolling around, not giving a measured evaluation of anything. The MCU has carved out a space for this sort of fic with the “HYDRA Trash Party” tag, for which I commend them. Trash Party is a bit too specific to cover all of the ground I’m thinking of here, though; I propose “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.”

For those of you not familiar with Arrested Development, Michael Bluth finds a paper bag in the freezer labeled “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.” He opens the bag, finds a dead dove, and reacts as follows:

[gif of a white man saying “I don’t know what I expected” in a deadpan manner]

The “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat” tag would essentially be a “what it says on the tin” metatag, indicating “you see the tropes and concepts tagged here? they are going to appear in this fic. exactly as said. there will not necessarily be any subversion, authorial commentary condemning problematic aspects, or meditation on potential harm. this fic contains dead dove. if you proceed, you should expect to encounter it.”

(more at KnowYourMeme: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-dont-know-what-i-expected)

[devilbonesofmetal]

Conclave (2024) - Jewelry Design by Riccardo Penko

[devilbonesofmetal]

Not me scrolling through the Conclave tag only to see no one talk about the deliberate positioning and framing of the women in this movie.

Pulling up this movie I completely expected to only encounter Sister Agnes as the one woman we see in the trailer, the conclave a space that has been kept from the female members of the church. Now, color me surprised when I started the movie and most of the establishing shots we got were focused on all the women working in the Vatican.

And it is such a deliberate choice, it does the film a disservice not to talk about it.

Because while Cardinal Lawrence is having his fifteenth breakdown during sequestering and Bellini finds the ambitious asshole within himself, Ray does all the leg work, and Bel---- we see the women work.

We see the kitchens, we see them cook, we see them stand aside. Most of the time when the Cardinals are conspiring it is the women who interrupt because they are busy working, walking, running errands.

And there is power in that.

I think it is very deliberate how often (and with such lingering gaze) the camera shows us the lives of the other half - partially to connect to the wider themes of the movie, on how Bellini asks for women to get more power but never thanks them, and how Benitez stumps them all by thanking the women preparing their meals when asked to say the prayer (considering his own probably tumultuous relationship to gender within the church).

But it also stands in direct opposition to a long tradition in story telling: servants don't exist. How often the heroes of a regency romance are "alone" because the two hand maidens and three maids don't really count.

Conclave doesn't do that.

It doesn't let us look away.

Between all the petty drama, the politics, and the real life consequences of the conclave, we never stop looking at the people doing all the work.

Yes, we follow the ups and downs of Lawrence and Co, but in doing so the movie reminds us again and again of the women working the kitchen.

And that was just such a powerful artistic choice in a movie about a famously misogynistic church... I loved it. And I had to talk about it.

[devilbonesofmetal]

bc wtf do you mean i had to read the book to find out when benitez announces his papal name lomeli/lawrence sinks to his knees. HIS KNEES

[devilbonesofmetal]

When he heard the death rattle, Gilgamesh moaned like a dove. His face grew dark. "Beloved, wait, don't leave me. Dearest of men, don't die, don't let them take you from me."

-Epic of Gilgamesh

[devilbonesofmetal]

Mesopotamian girl sending clay tablets to her best friend who lives five city states to the west: what if..... Enkidu begot Gilgamesh with child?🤭

[devilbonesofmetal]

https://stopproject2025comic.org/

[devilbonesofmetal]

seeing posts about batfamily characterization and why one way is wrong or another is and im just like. can we just say we have favorites? bc most of these guys are built from decades of different writers and different ways of existing so fucking obviously theres gonna be different versions of the same character.

"bruce is a bad father" yes he is he found out red hood was jason and tried to lock him up, he made dick fake his death, he was neglectful of tim

"bruce is a good father" yes he is he gives jason chance after chance, he hugs dick when hes overwhelmed, he took tim in as his own

"jason hates tim" "tim hates damian" "dick is a bad sibling" yeah but also no, depends on what youre reading and what you want to see

the thing is with old ass characters and so many series and universes you arent going to be able to get one solid version of any of them. canon accurate characterization with comics is mostly what you make of it so can we all chill the fuck out about whos an asshole and who isnt bc i promise you at some point both have been true

im not saying that you cant be upset at the characterization, personally dicks gets on my nerves sometimes, but i am saying that ive seen 6 posts that all start the same way and make good points but they all contradict themselves. have your opinions but stop saying that yours is right and true when it is not the only true.

[devilbonesofmetal]

This is more than Spock and Kirk, "going canon."

It is two characters who were irrevocably influential to science fiction, to fandom, to media at large, getting a beautiful and poetic ending.

This is layered in Star Trek canon, but more than that it is Kirk and Spock reuniting.

Against all the odds in the universe, ours and theirs.

Kirk was dead. Spock was dead in ANOTHER DIMENSION. They died alone and without each other. This was their unbelievably tragic and canon ending UNTIL TODAY.

Now their ending is this.

Reunification, connection, crossing time, space, and reality itself to be together again. Because that is how important they are to one another. Because that is how important they are to Star Trek itself. Because that is how important James Tiberius Kirk and S'chn T'gai Spock are to media at large, Star Trek fans and beyond.

This is monumental to a degree that I truly do not know if people can understand and I will NEVER get over it.

[devilbonesofmetal]

ao3 needs a "Batman - No Media Types" tag

[devilbonesofmetal]

DC: Look! Owlman murdered all of Dicks friends so Dick would have no support system and blackmailed him into changing himself for a mission, isn’t that insane! He’s so evil lol DC 2 minutes later: Bruce is isolating Dick from his friends again and forcing him to change himself for a mission. It’s hard but he’s a good father.

[devilbonesofmetal]

some people in the fandom are really like that:

[devilbonesofmetal]

the key hallmark of eldest daughter syndrome is that you had your childhood supplanted for the care of your siblings, that you, as a child yourself, was acting in large part as a caregiver before you were an adult

Dick didn't have to start caring for Damian until he was in his twenties. did Dick have his childhood fucked up? yeah but that was because of his parents murder and his subsequent need to make things right not because he was 12 and cooking food/putting to bed/babysitting a sibling all the time

Dick just doesn't have a right to eldest daughter syndrome, our man has suffered but not like that

[devilbonesofmetal]

Ok, not to make another rambling Helena post, but I really wish that DC had taken the time to explore Cass and Helena’s relationship more thoroughly pre52. Like they’re mirrors!!

Cassandra Cain is raised in an abusive environment from infancy, spending her childhood training to become a weapon. Helena Bertinelli grows up in a wealthy and loving household, sheltered and unaware of her family’s crimes.

At age 8, Cass sees a man die at her own hands. She runs and spends the rest of her life trying to make up for it, vowing never to kill again.

At age 8, Helena sees her family murdered in front of her. She spends most of her remaining childhood training to become a weapon, vowing to kill to avenge their losses.

By 17, Cass arrives in Gotham. After encountering Batman, she quickly latches on to him as a symbol of hope — someone that uses abilities like hers for good, who values the lives of others just as highly as she does. She wants to follow in his footsteps.

At 16, Helena returns to Gotham. After encountering Batman, she quickly latches on to him as a symbol of fear—someone that uses abilities like hers to make the mob afraid, someone who understands vengeance. She wants to follow in his footsteps.

During No Man’s Land, Helena becomes the Bat. Bruce takes the suit away from her. Not long afterwards, he gives Cass the same uniform.

Like. Let them interact and let it be messy etc etc.

[devilbonesofmetal]

Her name is Valentina Petrillo and she is a visually-impaired sprinter.

Time to support her, because even without the racism element I expect she will be getting some flak from Awful, Awful People.

[devilbonesofmetal]

I'd like to ask for some help from any intersex followers I have (or any intersex folks who come across this post!)

I've been struggling a lot to find proper terminology for intersex issues in my research because Google is all gunked up and Tumblr is just as hard to parse through.

So, if anyone could point me in the direction of any good literature by intersex authors or any good online resources (especially that define terminology) that would be incredibly helpful!! I'm still doing work myself but any sort of direction would be wonderful!

(tl;dr I want to be a better ally to intersex folks in trans feminist conversations about sex/gender and approach my own theory with intersex experiences in mind better! So, any and all resources would be appreciated!)