#i love a good premise but i cannot execute

[idiot-cheesehead-archenemy]

I had this idea for a phic; I'll probably never use it.

Basically you can try to summon any ghost, and most will just appear if you did it right. A very strong ghost may be able to resist the summoning.

Danny as a halfa is not strong enough to resist a summoning. He is very powerful compared to the average ghost, but a powerful enough summoning can still compel him. If he were to die/become a full ghost, he'd be strong enough to resist.

It's also possible to trap/bind ghosts. It's hard to get them into a trap normally because they can feel it (i.e. you can't trick them into it), but if you summon them in the middle of one they're pretty much screwed. A properly formed trap will hold even the strongest ghost.

So the idea was that someone summoned Danny into a trap while he was still a halfa, with the intention to just keep him there forever. Even when his human body dies, no matter how strong he is, he's already trapped so it won't matter.

[sha-brytols]

I'm curious, since you've talked about how you enjoy the themes of Inquisition but not the execution, how would you rewrite the main story?

honestly i think just by virtue of making it more self-aware you would immediately fix like 75% of it's biggest issues. i mean the game already has sooooo much going for it in theory just by having it revolve around religion and faith and the way politics are inherently linked to both of those. i would love if the game actually dealt more with the implications of the inquisition being a theocratic military power that has to negotiate the fact that it's a) not officially part of the chantry anymore but still perpetuating the chantry's agenda and b) that there is literally no way it can ever hope to actually exist as a politically neutral force in the world. i think it would be very very easy to take the plot of inquisition and reframe it in such a way that the inquisition itself is the antagonist. not the inquisitor, not the advisors, but the very concept of a theocratic military force is inherently antithetical to the ideals you're trying to uphold. you cannot be both a force for peace and order and also a paramilitary organization with no oversight or accountability.

you know how dragon age origins is only kind of about the blight. like the blight is absolutely the big event that is driving all the major plot beats, but the game isn't really about fighting the archdemon. it's about the civil war that is going on in ferelden at the same time that happens to be creating the conditions under which the blight is allowed to fester. that's kind of what i think most people were expecting out of inquisition. a game that, in the most shallow and literal reading of it's premise, would technically be about closing the breach and killing the big bad guy, but would really be about the chantry schism that created the vacuum for someone to exploit in the first place. like the pieces were all There. we had the mage/templar war, we had that philosophical confrontation regarding the """true""" nature of spirits/demons and how much of it is perception, we had tevinter as a major player on the scene and a foil for the chantry's ideology and the way that gets taken advantage of. it was all there. but inquisition never really went for any of it. it introduced all this stuff and then the game just sort of. walks away? takes it completely at face value even despite those Liddol hints to a bigger picture.

and i know they kind of tried to fix this with the inclusion of trespasser and credit where it's due, trespasser DID address a LOOOOT of inquisition's most glaring shortcomings. it just. did it two years later in a short dlc. i want an actual version of the full game that goes into the actual meat of the chantry and all of its good and all of its bad. and i kind of? feel like? there WAS a version of that game somewhere in the blueprints? i mean i genuinely do not think it's possible to just accidentally stumble into all these hyper-specific plot beats right LOL like no matter how stupid you think bioware is you'd have to believe they're REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. REEEEEEAAALLLY stupid in order to believe that they never intended on any of that going anywhere. so it's not that i think the story is irredeemable, i think that like. somehow and for some reason a crucial element of its dna was removed, thus neutering its primary theme entirely and creating this hilarious oxymoron of a story that doesn't seem to realize its own irony

also i would make blackwall and cassandra bisexual.

[toppamplemousse]

your fic (insane for your ballet fic btw!!) and fic recs are always immaculate is there anything you’re reading now/read recently that you love? wips are welcome too. the lestappen tag especially is booming rn and its hard to find the good stuff

omg YAY (promise last ch of ballet is in the works!) and YES i was just thinking about some fic recs actually. please see below for varying levels of lestappen freak!

beholden to no gods by nicoledilona / @chock-and-bates literally like. one chapter of this and i am a feral barking dog i love nothing more than obsessive pushy desperate max. HOT. (everything this author writes could be included lets be real)

been blooming alone (over you) by hist24jpcs i usually dont care for hanahaki because its too wacky but this.... THIS is something else. its angsty and fiery and theyre hooking up from the start..... its delicious.

and something darker preens, stirs, roars by @larryhaylik could link every fic in their lestappen sundays collection -- each one has such a simple, interesting premise and they're so good. things i would never think of and just done so so well, without being too sickly fluff. huge fan.

the mystery knight by @reythemandalor i read this on the plane and literally couldnt stop smiling and giggling. SUCH a perfect game of thrones au and even though you kinda know where it's going, its SO perfectly executed. max and perceval.... i love them.

your future had a voice (and it spoke like me) by saltshaken one of the BEST! fics i have read in a while. like.... the premise is fantastic. the way the author conveys the different ways other people think and how max "sees"/hears them thinking is so so good. the characterisation of max and charles is just CHEFS KISS. huge rec.

and if this is all i get, then it's enough. by THE_cake couldnt be a fic rec list of mine if there wasnt some sad gut wrenching painful fic! androidcharles develops autonomy. incredible.

are you into it, baby? by narryfavoritejiall for my charlos and lestappen lovers... this is present day charlos with toxic exes lestappen and its PERFECT. like... a charles who is happy with his kind boyfriend carlos but he cannot shake his toxic ex max who's still chasing him...... i wait like a dog for these updates.

end of the line by @eaurouge-sangnoir i mean who would i be if i didn't rec eaurouge-sangnoir.... this fun little "meeting on grindr" fic is hot and steamy and sexting and feminization..... what more could i possibly want

and if you havent already read this banger or perhaps this long winded thirty thousand words of struggling then perhaps..... i'd recommend those also. i have been loving all of these so pls read + support and lmk if u have other thoughts!

[critical-velvet]

With this tweet, I do agree that you do get more flack for your creative decisions if you are part of a marginalized community. However, that doesn't mean that all criticism and hate is given to you because of your gender identity or sexuality.

Creators get criticism based on poor writing decisions, entitled behavior, or controversies, regardless of who you are. Creators like Seth Rogan, a straight white man, got plenty of hate and criticism for Santa's Inc and Sausage Party because of its poorly-written humor, offensive media, and the comments he made of it online. The same criticism applied to other cishet creators as well, such as John K, Chris Savino, Matt and Trey, and Seth MacFarlane, for either poor writing, overly edgy jokes, or even heavier controversies such as gr00ming and sexual harassment.

Rebecca, Dana, Vivzie, and Gooseworx, are all queer women in the animation industry. They all write cartoons that consist of queer, female-centric fantasy, which are bound to get endless love from fans and endless hate from homophobes and sexists. However, their work and lives as people are a lot different than Vivzie's, and they get less criticism for their work for a reason. Sure, there still are a fair share of bullies that hate to hate, but that isn't the same thing as people critiquing your work. I love SU, TADC, and TOH, but even I can acknowledge why it might not be for everyone. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Heck, people are allowed to be fans of your series AND give it constructive criticism, too! Sometimes, even I go "I liked that idea! However, wouldn't it also be cool if they...". I do that with every series I enjoy sometimes, regardless of their stance as a creator.

These three can handle constructive criticism, strive to bring their creations to life, want to make their great works even better, and are kind to their fellow creators and fans who enjoy their work, even if they criticize it sometimes. Not to mention, they are all able to control their fandoms when they act out of line. Vivziepop, however, doesn't really do that.

She takes most criticism as hate, barely intervenes to stop fandom harassment and threats towards other fans or critics, bullies and throws away her closest friends, likes posts building herself up and putting others down, and writes her ideas out with either poor pacing, hypocritical humor, romanticization of abuse, and with underdeveloped ideas from a writing standpoint, with no drive to get better as a writer. It's more than just, "Let me write what I want!". It's about making your good ideas incredible. It's about succeeding at perfecting your premise, characters, and message.

Unlike Viv, they write their female characters with complexity and understanding, acknowledge fandom discourse with responsibility, are well-liked amongst their cast members and friends, discourage bullying and harassment, and continue to write well-received and adored cartoons. They have had their fair share of controversy, but they at least acknowledge, explain, and apologize for whatever they are accused of. None of their histories as a creator has ever been as toxic as Viv's. Even at 32, she still behaves as a passive-aggressive teenager who bullies people but still pretends to be a good friend to others.

Her works aren't awful, but I believe her shows' reputations would be a lot less tainted if she were a kind person with a good online image. She has all the right ideas. She just needs the assistance and development to execute them accordingly. Most importantly, she needs to learn how to redeem herself, too. Apologizing to her former workers is a start.

Yea I don’t have much else to add here, I agree with basically all of this.

It’s one thing to respond to criticism or even ignoring it if you think you know what you’re doing, but Viv just cannot ever let things go, every critique is like a personal attack on her character rather than a criticism of her show(s). She’d be better off ignoring all the criticism rather than reacting to it to be honest.

Your last statement I think I agree with most of all.

[ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her]

Someone You Can Build a Nest In was, in fact, pretty good, but it went in a different direction than I was hoping for and I'm not sure how to feel about it.

The story follows Shesheshen, a solitary shapeshifting monster who hunts the travelers and merchants that pass through her territory, along with the occasional monster hunters who come to slay her. She is rather lonely, and reminisces fondly and lovingly about her mother, who was slain when she was young, and her father, whose body she grew inside and who she ate her way out of when she was ready to be born. On her hunts, she keeps an eye out for someone who might make for a similarly loving parent to plant her own eggs in. After a close encounter with some hunters while in a roughly human shape, Shesheshen is nurses back to health by a kind woman who has mistaken her for human, and promptly falls head over heels. Before she can get around to explaining her true nature and enquire about how her newly beloved would feel about being a parent, they are both drawn into a new and concerted effort to hunt down the local monster - Sheshen herself. Hijinks, of course, ensue.

The thing that immediately captured me when I started reading was how well the narration captured Shesheshen's fundamental inhumanity while still making her layered, complex, and intelligent. Her visceral emotional reactions are shaped by her biological nature as a predator, and these emotions lead to distinctly inhuman values and morals - Shesheshen places no intrinsic value on human lives and feels no compunctions whatsoever about eating sentient people. Her love and lust are consumptive in nature, and she romanticizes this. The fact that she cannot have her cake and eat it too is something she has difficulty dealing with. But she's also capable of a great deal of sympathy and empathy for specific humans, and the love she has for the father she ate causes her to care a great deal about consent - she doesn't want to consume out of love someone who doesn't want to be consumed.

In addition to her psychology, Shesheshen's physiology is also excellently inhuman and conveyed in great visceral detail, and the way her body functions is very interesting. My favorite parts of the book are the introduction and the denouement, because these are the areas where her psychology and physiology receive the most undivided attention. They aren't ignored throughout the rest of the book by any means, but they take a backseat to the plot, which is why I feel a bit conflicted about the book as a whole. I was really enjoying the in-depth character study of the introduction, and would've really liked to have the whole book be in that vein.

The plot, to be clear is not bad - it's honestly quite good, and it delves heavily into themes of generational and familial trauma, self-sacrifice, the normalization and romanticization of profound harm, and the difficulty of growth and self-actualization, all while being fairly entertaining and well-executed as a story. I think its themes were a bit heavy-handed in places, and I think some of its exploration was hobbled and flattened by the book's queernorm setting, but I won't relitigate that old argument here. It was suitably gripping and solidly entertaining.

I think the central relationship was solid and compelling, though again, I would've liked it more if the whole book had been focused on a deep exploration of their characters and dynamics. There's a lot of rich ground to the basic premise of "monster falls in love with human, wants to express that love in a way that is actively dangerous/horrifying to the human, doesn't know how to talk about it", and the story layers additional complexities onto that dynamic that are very compelling, but for as much of that interesting ground that the book explored, it left plenty more untouched. One detail that I did find both novel and enjoyable is that both the love interest Homily and Shesheshen herself are all but explicitly sex-averse asexuals by human standards, which is something I have not encountered in a lot of media. The exploration of that experience is not particularly deep because, again, queernorm, but it is present and it was compelling.

This was a really unique and compelling read, though, and I expect it to be one that stays with me. Given my own interest in body horror and inhumanity (shameless plug for Memoirs of a Flesh Eater in the notes), I wouldn't be surprised to see some influences from this book in my own writing going forward.

On the whole, I definitely enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it, but not without a few warnings. Body horror is a constant element in this book; Shesheshen's shapeshifting is purposely off-putting, and she eats people. This is described in substantial detail. Also, there is a lot of parental and familial abuse depicted, much more than you would expect from the basic premise, so go in prepared. On the other hand, though, if you're looking for a true gothic horror tragic toxic doomed romance or a heavy character study that really plumbs the depths of an inhuman psyche, you will probably be frustrated by how close it comes to being that without actually being that.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

If it were up to you how would you change the Hunger game’s story to make it more cohesive?

I don’t have a ton of opinions because the core premise is just kind of silly to me. If the point is a government forcing its children to fight to the death over food rations then I simply would not focus on the pretty dresses or the protagonist making eyes at a love interest for cameras. But then that would drastically alter the series identity. So I don’t think that’s necessarily fair as a way to approach reworking the books

So with the understanding that I think the base idea and execution is flawed, my strongest opinion is that Catching Fire needed to be about Katniss participating as a mentor and essentially being forced to be complicit in the games. Putting her back in the arena feels like a major cop out, when according to the books’ own rules that never happens! I could live with her refusing to kill anyone in the first book. I think that made a lot of sense, and the penultimate moment with her and Peeta threatening suicide was basically what the entire book hinged on

But past that, if there are going to be more books, then she needs to get her hands dirty. And I think getting into the wheeling and dealing of the Capital would be an interesting way to do that. We could basically still meet all the same victors as mentors instead and get actually meaningful looks into their lives outside of the arena. And forcing Katniss into situations where she cannot rely on scowling or being the subject of the pageantry could be really interesting. I want to see the moral crisis of what she’s willing to do to keep her tribute(s) alive and how that will actually necessitate the deaths of others— until maybe The Plan is introduced to her. Much fucking earlier than in canon lol

The Great Info Dump Of Doom after the plot twist is just so staggeringly fucking incompetent and handled in such a bad way. I cannot believe Collins ever got away with that. Her sense of pacing and structure is genuinely just absolute garbage, idk look at Mockingjay and how Katniss’ disastrous side mission accomplished literally nothing narratively aside from shock value deaths to teach us that… idk no one is safe or whatever? I truly think Collins just needed to give Katniss something to do and just jammed that in. But that’s a tangent. Anyway Catching Fire just being entirely different to avoid that massive info dump would be great. Maybe Katniss can actually be in on fucking anything before it happens

Mockingjay was like mostly fine for the first half and then… yeah it devolved. I don’t have many thoughts on how to fix it beyond a) nix the dumb Katniss mission b) don’t tradwife her???

Worth noting, I did think Coin being awful as well and Prim dying were good beats actually. I think the former simply made a lot of sense given Thirteen’s refusal to help anyone else thus far/what it takes to successfully be in power. And exploring moral complexities in revolution is fine

But with the way the narrative completely discards Gale as a radical, while Peeta deserves to be deprogrammed, and Katniss gets tradwifed in a way that surreptitiously basically affirms Snow’s values (when all his plot contribution is basically being ridiculously over invested in forcing traditional femininity on her!) that adds up to something extremely weird in quietly thematically siding with the Capital

And yeah my answer is… simply do not do that? It is not very hard! Resolve it in any other number of ways! Primarily, like I said in my other post about the ending, I would like the resolution to focus on Katniss as herself a child. If we’re making a point of Panem’s children having a future now, that could and should focus on her? She has been forced into the role of unwilling caregiver from the very beginning. What better way to show that the children are no longer in danger than show her having the opportunity to heal and rest, and have the luxury to rely on other people? Anyway I think it should end with her decidedly not married, going to school, and like idk maintaining a hobby garden at home with some Meaningful primrose

[bisexualmcqueen]

What was your main inspiration for your Apocalypse AU?

the simple answer: Mad Max: Fury Road!! (and now Furiosa!) is definitely the main inspiration! (some of my fav movies besides Cars!!)

the less simple answer: this ask made me take another look at exactly Why and What in particular about mad max inspires me, because looking at my cars apocalypse au... it has a very different overall vibe. So i thought about it more. here's a fun little breakdown:

Side note: when we first developed the AU in 2019, avengers: infinity war and endgame were hot off the presses, so that idea of 'people die/vanish in an instant' was likely an influence on the baseline concept. beyond this there isnt much to the avengers influence, mad max has a lot more going on thematically im going to talk about.

so!

now even though apocalypse media is insanelyyy popular, i dont actually consume a ton of it (apocalypse media enthusiasts can probably tell reading my stuff but oh well, sorry lol) and its mainly because i dont like zombies.

to me, zombies are too much of a Fantasy genre element. like ahh oh shit the Dwarven Army is attacking, but theyre in boston or some shit (which would probably be a fun premise but i digress). i think george rr martin had the right approach to zombies, pairing them with dragons and magic; that's more of how i would go about it. dont get me wrong, fantasy is another genre i really enjoy- but zombies as a concept (and execution) has never resonated with me.

so, fury road is a post-apocalyptic world without zombies, check. (ignore the irradiated populations, we'll get to that sorrrt of.) man vs man.

one of the main drives of mad max is resources; organic and industrial. ever since i let it into my heart that the cars also need organic material to survive (i thank whipplefilter, vinstoncup and youhavehitawall for exploring these ideas! and canon) its opened up some interesting avenues for monster-storytelling in my mind, so they wind up with both sides of the coin. (i like to think of the cars as mecha-monster-creatures/androids in a way, but that's a different discussion).

so starting with organics: you could humanize my AU, and theyd be fine. theyd just plant crops, settle near a waterway with access to lumber and fertile land, and the cars-as-humans would be okay if they set up shop in st louis or something. the need for conflict without zombies would be really low, and it'd be more of a smaller-scale survival story. like minecraft (another post-apocalyptic setting).

but the cars cannot do this. theyre machines; thus theyre trapped within the framework of a post-industrialist society. they need that industry to continue life at all. the cars of the AU have no choice but to chase re-industrialization desperately, or die. (luckily, the infrastructure did not vanish; the issue becomes one of lost knowledge/population crisis/supply chains/etc. that and the Time Crunch).

fury road does this similarly, building off the human-invented car-forward culture we have in real life (see the current american parking-lot-heat-island-no-green-hellscapes, 'i hate driving', push-for-trains, walkable-cities discussion-escalation of recent years) and what fascinates me about this is the Politics and Logistics of the resulting culture within mad max.

i love a good political drama, and i love nerd shit like logistics. geography, anthropology, throw it all in a blender. in mad max, the trade routes between Gastown, the Bullet Farm, and the Citadel and their tense but necessary alliances is a fascinating approach to conflict in a post-apocalyptic world. the old rules and culture matter... somewhat? how much? everyone's got differing opinions, but they still have to work it out! compromise, or die. its Free Conflict.

that and the power vacuum left by the collapse of the everything ever. most of the cars are chill- some arent! this causes problems.

so, politics and logistics, thats two. man vs society.

the next major thing fury road and my AU both discuss... is climate anxiety.

fury road is about total ecological collapse due to reckless atomic warfare. but the cars AU... goes in the opposite direction, actually.

nature is an antagonist in both stories, but in the AU, instead of a collapse, there is an abundance of nature. so much so that it becomes one of the major opposing forces against the cars. theres distance, natural disasters, weather events, drought, fire, floods, overgrowth and reclamation, natural predators, the list goes on. we see this first in Turbine: where the track of the tornado and the silent heaps of destruction are all that remains of the windfarm; the protagonists didnt directly experience or cause this violence, but they still have to bear the fallout of it. The force of nature's implicit threat hangs over the narrative and impacts many of the characters' decisions. man vs nature. or... machine vs nature? :3

nature as an antagonist directly contrasts the mad scramble to redevelop an industrialist society. fun stuff to play around with, well-worn ground but fun in the context of the silly Talking Cars (who are both the Man and the Machine, while still being bound to the other Machine). (that and you can technically look at it as like an living machine extinction event, so its that late-Permian extinction event epigenetic anxiety too /lh).

now. all this to say: my cars apocalypse AU is not like. intentionally 'deep' or thematically relevant. i am 99% concerned with just writing for fun and doing cool things. but stepping back and looking at the whole picture, yeah theres some neat little themes going on.

but mostly, i just want to put lightning mcqueen into some sort of fucked up situation to see what he does.

Thanks for the ask!

[tourettesdog]

It's been entirely too long since I dropped some fic recommendations, so here are some DPxDC fics I love!!

(Part 2 here!)

Unearthed, Reborn by QueenOfTheQuill

Quill writes the best dialogue. The words just flow so organically, and they have such a nice balance of humor and sincerity. Cannot stress enough how funny their character interactions are. I'm also a sucker for Everlasting Trio, and they write it so well.

We're Longing for Daylight by AKelaNakamura

Akela has such a masterful grasp on writing emotion and tone. I love how she describes emotion so much, and weaves it into lore with ectoplasm and ghosts. She has several other DPxDC and DP fics to enjoy, all of it slaps.

Shovel Talk by SummersSixEcho

This is a dead tired (Danny/Tim) fic and I love how Summers crafted their relationship for it. The fic is so funny, with lots of fun puns. It's just two boyfriends being goofy and going through awkward situations and I love it dearly. I love all of Summers' DPxDC works, and she has great DP only ones too!

Recognized by AgentIanLegend

This is one of the first completed fics I read for the crossover, and it still lives in my head rent free. It's complete, very well written, and the story is interesting throughout with a bunch of twists and turns.

Premeditation by Chromatographic

Super interesting fic with neat lore throughout. I love the dynamic between Danny and his friends and Jazz in it, with the roles they've carved out. The general plotting nature of the story is very neat.

Noise and Light by TheWritingOwl

I'm so soft for this fic, it's SO sweet. Deaged fics have a special place in my heart, and I love the emotions throughout this fic. It's ripe with family feels and Owl describes it all beautifully.

Family Friction by Halfagone

Halfa has SUCH a prolific library of DPxDC fics and all of it is quality. I need to read more of them. Tis oneshot in particular has a special place in my heart. The premise is just so fun and goofy and I love how it's executed.

Build-A-Boyfriend by NightShiftShenanigans

I spent my entire time reading this fic with a goofy smile because it is just insanely fun and cute, with great dialogue throughout. I love it.

A Halloween in Amity by spite_sapphic_starlight

I love this poly ship, I love the scenario, I love the dynamics and the dialogue and-- it's just a good time. Just the occult shop alone is enough reason to love this.

Knight of the Boyking by Milaley

I love the angst in this one and the general setup from the beginning. The start of it has such a hook and it's just great throughout from there.

The Curious Case of D. Grayson by brothebro

I LOVE the Everlasting Trio dynamic in this fic and the shenanigans throughout. God, there's so many shenanigans and they're all great. Just a thousand misunderstandings and the domino effect of each lol. I love it.

Afterimage by TorScrawls

The descriptions in this one are just plain wicked. It still really stands out to me, as just being such a neat way to describe how mortals perceive Danny and his powers.

Close Enough to be Whole Again by hailsatanacab

Literally the twin fic that inspired me to write my own. The fic has insanely good descriptions and carries emotion so well. I love Hail's writing style a lot.

Vacation Crashers by Imp_y

I love everything about this one from the premise to how the story unfolds to the conclusion. This was another one of the first finished long DPxDC fics I read and I still love it dearly.

Voices That They Left by catmiint

This one has such an intriguing build up, with a lot of concerning things boiling beneath the surface. I'm not caught up on it atm, but I need to fix that soon because the story is really neat.

Liminal Familiarity by isitcowboytimes

This fic goes heavy on the angst and is wonderful written. There's this like really melancholic, liminal feel throughout the fic and it really sticks out to me.

To Join the Whispers by ayamari_no_goshi

Another one of the first completed long fics I read for the crossover (I think the actual first, based on bookmark date). I feel like this fic was the first one for a lot of people, and I definitely think it set the bar for Jason and ectoplasm shenanigans.

Ghosts Don't Go to Highschool by Evandarya

This is the first DPxDC fic in my bookmark history and I love it. I love the premise, the underlying story, the building relationship between Danny and Tim. I've had the pleasure of betaing for the most recent chapters and it's been a blast also!

Have You Heard of Danny Wayne? by FortunateCookie

This one has fantastic dialogue and I love the building shenanigans in it. All around a fun read, especially the chatfic portion.

Memories Lost in Time by MidnightsFury

The building lore and story in this one is so neat, I can't wait to see where it goes. The fact that it's a twin fic too has me vibrating with excitement, just waiting for the shenanigans to really settle in. I don't care how long it takes these nerds to find each other, I'm here for the shenanigans.

I would add more, but I really need to get some sleep before I pass out at my desk lol. I also plan to make a separate list for DP and non-DC crossover fics I love too!

[kudosaday]

08/01/2025- Comfort read galore

Current reads-

Modaozushi-

The Edge of Night by Hobbsy3 - Wow. This is a terrifying and brilliant! I am on the edge of my seat with this story. I am cannot predict where this is going but each turn has me amazed! I would really recommend.

Finished reads-

Modaozushi-

Our Eyes on the Road by etymologyplayground (@megafaunatic)- Okay. This is my favourite fanfic of all time so I will probably make a separate post about this. But every time I see it, I have to read it. It's almost illegal for me to not read it again if I see it.

Blooming Days by Atsushiis- This is so sweet! It made me smile so much.

i know who i want to take me home by ScarlettStorm (@scarlettohairdye) - I loved this! It was brilliant and just so funny. Loved Drunk LW and the chaotic energy!

please don't let me be misunderstood by sysrae - This is a super interesting modern au with a great relationship between the two! I like the whole siblings relationship as well. There is a second in the series which just as good !(some foolish thing I've done)

Common love isn't for us by feyburner - Oh my god this is brilliant. I love the chemistry between WW and LW. Friends to lovers supremacy!

the family-dodging bathroom-dwellers association by yukla (@yuebings) - I have re-read this so many times! It's just so fun every time and it's just a great story with such a cute first meeting!

love thy neighbor by wincechesters - Yes. This has a lovely premise and executes it so well. I loved reading the progression the relationship and A-yuan. I love A-yuan.

Crazy, Rich Cultivators by ShanaStoryteller- This was so fun . Lan Wangji just being so confused the whole time but sticking by Wei Wuxian. And the whole dynamic between all the characters is great.

Positive by diamondbruise - I really enjoyed this! It was just very sweet.

[booradigm]

Who hurt you so much or why are you so angry about a novel? It's almost like you're just another attempt at being a ragebaiting account about VADTD and I'm sick of people like you, who excuse themselves by saying that it's your opinion and end up doing what you criticize other fans for doing with all possible malice. Other people have already had your opinion too, and with almost the same words, it's even strange that you end up repeating their same patterns. But in the end we all are or were part of that chain of hate that makes us act like rabid dogs following a car that will take us nowhere. I hope you can break the cycle someday.

You really gonna give me that block paragraph anonymously, huh?

First off, I don’t need to be unhappy to have an opinion that isn’t just praise. While I do think the premise was good, that doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t executed well. That’s why even the side characters don’t feel human.

Second, I assume what you said of me “doing what you criticize other fans for” comes from how I’ve said I like Leila and wanted to see more of her, while saying that Callisto's boring and overrated.

So let me clarify what I meant, since it seems like my words are reduced to just "oh, Callisto sucks.”

If someone likes Callisto but hates Eckles or Derrick for the SAME possessive behavior, THAT is a double standard. My issue isn’t with liking villains or morally gray characters, it’s with how people selectively excuse bad behavior in him while condemning the other two for doing the exact same thing.

I condemn Leila for being a maniac who feeds on human lives, just as I condemn Callisto for his own misdeeds. Like I said before “Don't treat one character as if they're actual people whose bad deeds should be taken seriously, then another as a fictional husbando whose actions are all okay because it's fictional." and I stand by that.

When I said it, I was pointing out how the DITOEFTV fandom constantly shifts between “fiction is just fiction” and “fiction has real-world implications” depending on what they want to see. If you say Derrick and Eckles are bad because they’re possessive, but Callisto’s possessiveness is fine because it’s fictional, that’s just contradictory and hypocritical.

That’s why this ISN'T the same as what I criticize others for. Because while I’m interested in Leila as a character, I have NEVER excused or justified her actions. I’ve specifically stated before in a previous post that I don’t see the Leila x Penelope ship as romantic.

My interest is in how they spent dozens of loops together, most likely having countless clashes that I think a lot of people would have loved to see.

Leila is clearly a HORRIBLE person, possibly the worst in the cast. And that’s EXACTLY why I would have loved to see her interactions with Penelope - someone who is practically her opposite (and has always tried to stop her in the loops). It’s really such a shame the story never explored that complexity despite the potential.

Wanting Leila and Penelope to have had more screentime because not just their DYNAMIC but also THEY THEMSELVES could have been interesting is NOT THE SAME as the people I criticize for excusing Callisto’s behavior but then turn around and shame Eckles and Derrick for the SAME thing. (I don't like them either, but again, Callisto put a magic tracker on Siyeon and locked her in her room before, and you seriously cannot say that would have been something Eckles and Derrick wouldn't do, because they ARE similar).

Now, as for you saying that many others share the same criticisms of this novel as me, what exactly is wrong with that? Obviously, if some people love it, others will dislike it. But, it's like you find ONLY the latter strange. It’s as if you think any criticism is inherently bad and should be rid off unless it aligns with popular opinion.

If that’s not what you meant, maybe you should clarify it next time.

And of course, I know we’re part of the same fandom. But when you say I should “break the cycle,” you make it sound like I’m mindlessly hating for no reason.

I’ve clearly explained my thoughts and my reasoning for them.

YOU HAVEN'T, though, have you? All you did was say "you're all the same, hope you get better", acting like you're on a higher moral ground. You AREN'T, buddy. You're just butt-hurt there are people who give valid criticism on your 'precious' novel.

Like anyone else, I can change my mind based on new information. I am open to change, but since nothing I said was wrong, I don’t see any reason to.

And if there are, then people should point it out to me and hopefully not just be as cowardly as you.

If you think something I said is wrong, then ACTUALLY POINT IT OUT out instead of dropping a vague and passive-aggressive message that was NOT ONLY ANONYMOUS, but also had NO REAL ARGUMENT to it.

Anyway, thanks for the ask, I’ll be rereading the novel later to see if there’s anything I missed.

[corneliushickey]

❌⛔️🎶 (^^)/

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

hmmmm i'm not a big trope writer i don't think! i don't often work within established fandom conventions/templates. i can swear to you that i will never ever write kidfic or pregnancy fic that doesn't end in messy late stage abortion.

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. ha. ha ha ha. i have dozens of these, yes. the one i'm most bummed about wrt it being in the permanent not-a-wip-anymore pile is a long david 8/elizabeth shaw gap filler fic between the end of prometheus (2012) and the backstory included in alien: covenant (2017). the premise was shaw refusing to re-attach david's head to his body, and david's mental functions slowing down and breaking and becoming unstable as he continued to drain fluid and exist as a severed head. shaw told him that she had to be able to forgive him before she put him back together, and the fic focused on the conversations they had about faith and consciousness and forgiveness as she mulled over her decision. all the while david's narration (it was his pov) was breaking into more and more cerebral and hard to follow image association as his more complicated processing routes shut down. i wrote a good chunk of it at the end of 2020 when i was going through a lot of personal crises and re-watching covenant basically every day. i wish i could finish it because i'm still very proud of the concept and the execution (of the part that exists) but it was a very technically dense fic that required a lot of research (david is way way way smarter than me) and though i still have the same amount of love for the franchise + the prequels specifically, i've never been able to get back into the headspace

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

i cannot listen to music that has any words/lyrics in it when i write so i usually end up looping the score to whatever fandom i'm writing for, since it's usually for movies or tv!! i listened to the substance score so much every track ended up in my spotify wrapped top tracks lmao. if the fandom doesn't have a score i'll usually throw on brown noise or nature sounds. for humoralism i listened to rushing river water and insect song since that was the background noise of the fic itself.

[sunwarmed-ash]

Ah Fuck it, Friday

Alright I made the executive decision that Love bites, but so do I will be getting the Sinful Sunday slot this week! BUT I've also been working on alot of older wips this week. Like Silence isn't golden for example!

Here's a little sneak preview of the next chapter! It's not enough for me to make it a standalone chapter yet but I know this one has a few very dedicated and sweet fans 💚 this is for yall!!! thanks for sticking with it!

TW's: kidnapping/torture mention

Fanom: Harry Potter- Post HBP, Drarry, first person POV, heavy angst fic

Finally, FINALLY we have a lead.  Ron, Hermione, Dobby, and I burst through the doors of the Edinburgh flat without feeling the wrath of any of the spells that hurt Dobby.  “That cannot be a good sign,” I sigh irritability as the four of us split off in the small flat for any clues we can find.  There isn't much, this place has been scrubbed clean, metaphorically and literally with magic. And that’s more suspicious than if they had just left it.  There has to be something else here. Something to help us.  “This is the room I found him in,” Dobby says, pointing to a room I hadn’t initially seen. Once inside, I realize its barely a few cubic meters bigger than the bedroom I grew up in. The only difference is this one has a bathroom.  It's also the only thing in the house that still has remnants of any proof of life.  When they fled, Snape scrubbed any proof of himself from the premises. The same extension did not apply to Draco. All of his things were still here. Clothes, books, empty potion bottles, small trinkets stashed behind the bed for safe keeping. Things Draco treasured enough to keep around and Snape made sure they leave behind.   My hatred for Snape grew stronger the longer I looked over the room. It didn't take a master aurour to piece together some of the atrocities that went on in this room based solely on the state of things. If I wasn’t so desperate to preserve the scene in efforts to find Draco faster, I would have blown the room apart.  

Azkaban

Snape slinks through the prison easily and without attracting any attention. It’s a true testament to how snake-like the slytherin truly is. Moving silently and efficiency through the shadows had started as a defence against school bullies but now serves him in the real world, hiding from forces much, much stronger.  “Lucius?” The hollowed out shell of a man blinks up from his cell, his pale, empty eyes growing wide when he sees the other man’s face.  “Severus!” “Silence!” Snape bites, because his invisibility only extends so far. If Lucius screams his attendance it doesn't matter how fast he moved past the guards.  “Yes, sorry, sorry my friend, it's just- so good to see you! You don’t know what it's like here.” “I've been working on your case,” Snape maneuvers past pleasantries onto the task at hand. “Crafting alibis. It hasn't been easy.” “And my son, how, how is he?” Lucius asks, face obviously fighting to will down tears that wish to spill.  Severus doesn't blink when he lies.   “He’s dead.” “W-What?” “Slain, by Harry Potter. I tried to keep Draco hidden. But you know him, his disobedience has never been able to be reigned. He snuck out, and was executed.” “Draco- Draco is-”  Snape grabs Lucius’ hand through the bars.  “Yes, but you are not, Lucius. We don’t have time to grieve, every minute we wait, is another day closer to your execution.” “You're right, you're right,” Lucius sniffles, squeezing Snape’s hand before breaking away to wipe away his tears. “Thank you my friend, I don't know where I’d be without you.”

Edinburgh flat

I'm still not sure what pulls me in the direction of this evidence, whether it's my intuition or something magical but im both infinitely grateful and horrified to have followed this instinct to fruition.  The notebook I found was buried under a magical spell ive never seen before. Thankfully, brilliant Hermione has, and after a moment, the chest is unlocking, revealing a single book. Theres no outside descriptors, and the magic glamour on it is making it look older than it is. Another disguise to shroud its contents.  The bad feeling grows stronger as I leaf through the parchment pages.  - I’m barely through week two of Draco’s retellings of his torturous days in Snape’s care before my guts are spilling all over the floor of the flat.  “Oy! Gross Harry!” Ron scolds, which is fair, I nearly hit him with it.  “Are you alright?” Hermione asks, rushing to my side.  I drop the book and shake my head. I can't look at it any more. I know I need to. To help find Draco. But I can’t right now.  “What is that?” Ron asks and I can't make my mouth move.  He moves to pick up the book and I snap. “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH THAT!” Ron’s hands go up in reflexive surrender, “Whoa! Hell Harry! Okay!” “Harry,” Hermione asks again, her own fear and concern growing stronger, “what is it?” I close my eyes and exhale.  “It's so much worse than we thought…”

See you sunday! 😘

[absolutebl]

Hi!!! I'm a big fan of BLs, I really love all types, but I stopped watching and keeping up with the news ones around the summer of 2023. Do you have any recommendations of BLs that I should start with again that have come out since spring 2023. Or like a best of 2024 list? It's a bit overwhelming trying to jump back in and I'm not sure where to start again! Thanks :)

My top 2 BLs of 2023 both got 10/10s from me and they were:

I Cannot Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix?

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen. Full review here.

Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

This is a perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy. I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent. Full review here.

Here are the rest of my best of 2023 round ups:

Best of 2024?

I haven't started any 2024 round ups yet but here's my current working top BLs of 2024. These are the ones I gave a 9/10 (no 10/10s from me this year, sadly):

Century of Love

Thai Gaga

This is a very pretty drama about a young man who fell in love with a nice girl 100 years ago, and when she died in his arms, he was cursed to live until he could meet her reborn self. Only this time around, she’s reborn into the body of a man. Or is she?

 Cherry Magic (Thai remake)

Thai grey

A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth that really worked for me. With no-fuss execution from a consummate team (at GMMTV) and an OG lead pair (proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up). Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right - not comparing it to any other iteration.

Cosmetic Playlover

Japan Gaga

I love this little show more than most. It's a classic office BL about the older workaholic who loves his job and the younger upstart who unexpectedly loves his boss.

Love For Love's Sake

Korea iQIYI

KBL isekai about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness.

Sugar Dog Life

Japan grey

This is a phenomenally charming and adorable little romance about a forlorn university kid and the police officer who adopts him. They are relentlessly kind to each other, in fact it’s an extremely kindly show over all (everyone in it is so nice to everyone else including us) so there’s very little tension. But what it lacks in drive and complexity it makes up for in earnest acts of service and simple affection.

The Rebound

Thai iQIYI

Actually no one liked this as much as me. This was a sports romance Thai BL pulp with everything I could have asked for given this sub genre. More, actually, since MeenPing are both great basketball players and the team component really did form part of the connective tissue of the show (vital in a sports romance). Meen has his shirt off within the first two minutes which is all I needed but he's still pretty great as the sullen secret keeper against Ping's cheerful survivor - childhood sweethearts torn asunder and now reunited.

The Sign

Thai YouTube

This show is literally everything (except straight) all at once. It's BL, queer, band of brothers, romcom, erotica, PNR, fated mates, police procedural, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and slasher. It’s the king of genre mash-up chaos. Sure, it's madness but there is genius in it.

Unknown

Taiwan YouTube & elsewhere

Unknown is a wonderful BL with a pitch perfect portrayal of long term pining, age gap, and the stepbrothers trope. The acting and chemistry are ON POINT (especially from the leads) which made the resulting characters very believable.

Wandee Goodday

Thai YouTube

A charming quintessentially modern Thai BL about a doctor and a boxer who start as a one night stand and then fall in love. Great rep for everything from Muay Thai, to safe sex, to FUN sex, to ace, to bisexuality, to smiley kisses, to the first legal gay wedding in a Thai BL.

For me this was GMMTV's best of the year.

We Are

Thai iQIYI

I unabashedly loved show. It was slow to find its stride (I didn’t get into it until ep 6) but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. It’s a soft ensemble piece with multiple couples and very little plot, but I didn’t care because it’s not trying to be anything more substantial.

There you go. Hope these hold you over until the end of year round ups.

Welcome back!

And HAVE FUN!!!

It's been a good year for BL.

[thousand-winters]

Tellius is just so fascinating to me because it has, in my personal opinion, the best writing in the franchise when it comes to queer subtext and themes of discrimination, racism and the misery of war.

And the thing is... the duology didn't actually rely on that as its selling point. Outwardly it's the same as it's always been, a little band of fighters that for whatever reason end up swept up in the middle of a war due to someone from a royal family being involved, and it all escalating until they quite literally must fight a deity. The premise is basic, which isn't a bad thing, this is a staple of the series after all.

And yet Tellius performs it beautifully.

I've always loved that Ike genuinely is sort of a nobody. He's no royalty, he even rennounces the nobility title he's forced to take at some point. He has no dragon blood, no divine blood like many of the other protagonists in Fire Emblem. He IS the son of a renowned general, but aside from that, he's technically not special. He's frank and he's kind and he cannot tolerate injustice, he has a willingness to understand that, in a narrative that highlights discrimination and prejudice, gets him far as far as alliances go, he admits to his flaws and owns up to them. That's what makes him special, no divine destiny or anything of that sort, and even the fame he gains from that is something he despises.

But even so, Tellius doesn't shy away from showing the shades of humanity. Yes, Daein is a war thirsty kingdom that attacked Crimea, a kingdom whose royalty wanted to make a difference in the prejudice across the continent. It's a very cut black and white situation, except... it isn't.

We are shown Crimea citizens giving away laguz at the drop of a hat for their own convenience, because being from a "good" kingdom doesn't make everyone perfect and pure and good. We're shown Daein citizens suffering, and being justifiable scared and angry at the Crimean army because they had no say in what their king did, and yet they're still suffering the consequences of it. It's more complicated than a side being purely good and a side being purely bad.

And then there's the laguz and the beorc and the branded.

We see prejudice and ignorance from both sides, not only from "evil" characters but from characters on our side. Because good people don't magically have all the answers, nor are they free from having to reexamine the way in which they see the world, their biases, their privilege. Ike is constantly horrified by the things he hears; Soren's childhood, Muarim's past. But these things aren't uncommon in Tellius, and we get to explore that, the places where prejudice come from, the ways that leads to harm, even from seemingly good people.

Recently I replayed the Talrega chapter in Path of Radiance and I was struck by Petrine being so dismissive of Shiharam and his men due to them being migrants. I didn't remember they included prejudice in that way too. It's kinda ironic due to Petrine herself being a branded and how everyone sees them, but at some level you can understand too why she ended up like she did, living in a world in which everyone has it out for people like her and getting an opportunity to climb the ranks... only to treat others like trash too.

It's never a simple matter. And I think Tellius executes that wonderfully.

[burninglights]

1, 7, 23 for the book asks? <3

1. Faves of the year;

First off, If Beale Street Could Talk. James Baldwin is often considered one of the titans of contemporary black literature, and this book proves why. It has lived in my head rent free since I finished it. It’s full of snappy sentences, the minutiae of daily life against the looming titan of oppression in the background, and so much love. It doesn’t shy away from the intimate details but handles it all with pathos, sensitivity, and intelligence. In the face of tumultuous times, all we can do is live, and love, fight the system in the small ways we can, and hope; this book echoes that sentiment wholeheartedly. I cannot recommend it enough.

Secondly, Fahrenheit 451; maybe it’s just because I am at my core a speculative sci-fi diehard but this book had me captivated from foreword to final page. It’s deliciously tense, full of lines that are metal as FUCK (“it was a pleasure to burn.” are you kidding me??? single hardest opening line in any book, ever.) and despite the dominant themes of authoritarianism, surveillance and the politics of panem et circenses, it has hope all the way through. My copy is literally covered in highlighter and annotations of me losing me whole mind.

7. Wasted Potential: Great premise and/or characters but fell down on execution

I actually found everything I read last year enjoyable and compelling! Mostly because I didn’t read a lot, and most of what I read was non-fiction, probably.

23. Free space--talk about any book you read in 2024 not otherwise covered.

I really enjoyed the first chapter of Necropolitics by Achille Mbembe. It is an academic text, and from what I have read so far, it offers a really good “yes, and” perspective to Foucault’s theories of biopower. Unfortunately, I only made it through said first chapter, but it’s on my 2025 reading list, and I hope to finish it by the end of the month and do a proper examination & review of it!

Thank you so much for asking! Wishing you all the best for 2025! :)

[thelittlecrookedtalecomic]

Wow, Ariel was only 34?! Poor thing sure didn't age well 😔 Sorry, maybe you're tired of questions about her, but I'm just curious: you said there were many plotholes in the original movie, what are they? (I must sound dumb 😂)

Alright, this is going to be a LONG answer and I hope I can explain myself good enough 😁

The Little Mermaid is one of those scripts you have to completely flip because you're changing the original idea in an opposite way. In the original story, the mermaid is not an exemplary character, but rather proof that we cannot force someone to love us just because we have become infatuated with them. No matter how much we self-sacrifice or try, "no means no." She is a selfish and reckless character who shows growth in the end by letting go of these traits and choosing to sacrifice herself when she had the option to save herself and crown her greatest selfish act.

In Disney's case, the premise was obviously that Ariel had to be a heroine, carry a moral message, and triumph over evil. To do this, they chose the path of victimization. Ariel had to be a misunderstood social outcast who fell into a trap set by a very evil figure who was then defeated. But the resources employed were insufficient, as they kept too many elements from the original script.

Demonizing the figure of the witch was an obvious step, turning her into a deceitful character with "I want to conquer the world" ambitions to quickly cast Ariel as the victim. The problem with this is the initial premise: literally everyone in the ocean knows Ursula can't be trusted, and she proudly displays her victims in her garden. This makes Ariel look like a foolish character for making a deal with her and downgrades a lot of the "I’ve always wanted to leave the sea" narrative into just a "teenage tantrum." Sure, she’s an impulsive teenager, but the point of this narrative device was to victimize her, and it achieves the opposite. Personally, I would have made Ursula a more discreet and manipulative character, someone Ariel saw as a victim, which could later trigger a sense of betrayal in Ariel.

Then there’s the often-discussed aspect that's always used as an argument: Ariel's fascination with the human world. It’s a great nuance to add to the story, moving it away from being solely about a romantic interest. Ariel needed her own background, hobbies, and goals, like exploring that unknown world. The problem is its execution—it’s insufficient and tedious. Ariel is a fanatic about the human world, with an oversized ego about what she thinks she knows, and her extreme idealization is used as if it were irrefutable evidence against her father. I always use the same example for this: in neutral terms, Ariel looks like someone who idolizes and defends an extraterrestrial way of life she knows only through the garbage she collects, while everyone else knows these beings hunt humans. Essentially, she comes across as an crazy and obsessed person.

This fascination with the human world is sold to us in a propagandistic and absurd way, focused on "we, the audience, are humans, and Ariel says we’re great, therefore she’s right. Her father keeps giving us a hard time, so he’s a tyrant." By the end of the movie, Ariel becomes the "superior species" because her father bends for absurd reasons. During the first half of the movie, Ariel’s love for the human world is heavily emphasized, but it falls flat when the weight of the original script lands on us. It all turns into a race against time for the woman to win over the man, and all the prior development becomes mere decoration that could be removed from the plot without affecting it at all. If Ariel hadn’t met Eric, she wouldn’t have left the water. This is also shown when it’s not until Triton destroys Eric’s statue that Ariel is devastated, unintentionally showing in the script that the rest of the cave treasures (and her character’s corresponding nuance) were mere additions. You can literally erase all the first part of the movie until Ariel meets Eric and there's no difference in the script development. In the end, what matters is the man, and that’s what moves the story. It’s Eric who makes Ariel seriously want to leave the water, and his statue is the crown jewel of her collection. Eric's cracked stone face is what pushes Ariel to take the step, as Flotsam and Jetsam don’t tempt her with exploring the human world but with winning over "her prince," just like Ursula does later too. Everything in the deal and the song, revolves around seducing Eric.

Personally, on this point, as I said, the script had to be completely changed, and that’s why they could have taken more risks by simply eliminating narrative elements that doomed the story to follow its original course. Ariel shouldn’t have fallen in love until she left the water. There are tons of stories they could have told about a mermaid being deceived by a witch to fulfill her dream of becoming human, and then introduced the romantic interest after she achieved her initial goal. This would have not only affected Ariel but Eric as well, who also loses out in Disney’s version. Originally, he was a prince who at least knew he had no romantic interest in the protagonist. Here, he’s a puppet obsessed with a voice while also being attracted to a mute stranger, despite being "in love" with the owner of the voice, and then goes on to marry a third woman who, no matter how much they try to sell us the idea that she "hypnotized" him, her physical appearance raises serious doubts in a realistic context about how much of a womanizer and fickle person Eric is.

Then we have poor Triton, the real victim of this script. He’s the most logical character in the film, battered by forced scenes where he loses control of his temper to demonize his perfectly logical ideas, and suffers absurd accusations of patriarchy against the protagonist (because we can all see how Ariel is locked in her room with no freedom, having tons of real obligations in her privileged underwater bubble). He’s also used as a cheap tool to emphasize human supremacy over the marine world.

Another aspect that should have been more balanced is the presence of animals. Ariel is by far the most dependent protagonist on others because of this. The supporting characters do absolutely all the work for Ariel, whose only accomplishments in the movie boil down to dodging a shark, saving a man from drowning (which was already in the original script), jumping into the water to swim after the wedding ship (for which she also needs help), and grabbing Ursula by the hair. One could argue that Cinderella also relied on her friends to escape her confinement. The difference is that Cinderella herself took the initiative by ordering them to bring Bruno, a course of action that made sense due to the development they had, making it a logical resource to use as a consequence. We are shown how Cinderella built relationships with her friends, so these friends help her in her moments of necessity. But in Ariel’s case, her friends act and solve things without communicating anything to her. Ariel controls none of the situations, and everyone else solves the problems for her.

Considering the decades that had passed, I’m still surprised at how all the nuances of the film end up making Ariel a much weaker woman than her predecessors, who didn’t navigate their plots pretending to be heroines like the case of the Little Mermaid. Ariel doesn’t learn or reason through anything during her experience. She doesn’t control any of the events around her or discover anything for herself, doesn’t apologize for her mistakes, and conveniently gets a rather undeserved happy ending. She doesn’t adapt to circumstances (the circumstances and characters adapt to her needs), she suffers no disappointments from the human world she so idealized because she walks on clouds as the privileged guest of a prince, and nothing happens to pull her out of her comfort bubble.

Essentially, it’s a script that not only retains 80% of the original nuances but also worsens them by making the mermaid’s actions affect more people due to her recklessness, and on top of that, rewarding her for being the most problematic and useless character.