#topic: hero/villain coding

[maxdibert]

You always say that JKR's female characters have sexist characteristics, and I agree. Now I'm thinking, do the male characters have the same problem? I feel like we talk so much more about the female characters, because we analyse them from a feminist perspective. But are the male characters that much different?

When I think about a male character who gets portrayed in a sexist manner, of course Snape comes to mind. Because he doesn't have traditionally masculine traits, and often gets treated as too emotional or "hysterical", even in the moments he has every right to be angry. Do we have any other examples?

Ohhh my friend, you just pick my favorite topic: gender roles in fiction. This is gonna be so long that's because i didn't answered before. But what can I say? I love gender analysis. Well, the sexism in Harry Potter doesn't just harm or flatten its female characters, it also shapes the men in rigid, gendered ways. The narrative tells us what kinds of men deserve praise and which ones deserve ridicule or punishment, and those judgments often mirror traditional, patriarchal ideals of masculinity.

Severus is a prime example. He’s written with traits that are culturally coded as unmasculine: emotional intensity, awkwardness, deep attachment, and vulnerability. But instead of being treated with compassion or complexity, he’s portrayed as bitter, obsessive, even “pathetic.” His grief, rage, and isolation are often mocked or pathologized, rather than explored. The narrative treats his emotions as excesses, as if he should be more stoic, more composed—more “manly.” This isn’t just a character flaw—it’s a rejection of any masculinity that doesn’t align with dominance, physical bravery, or emotional control.

Neville, for example, also demonstrates how the story treats alternative masculinities. Early on, he’s timid, forgetful, and sensitive. These traits are framed as embarrassing until he becomes braver, more assertive, and physically courageous. In short, until he conforms to the warrior-hero mold. Only then does the narrative grant him respect. The same applies to Harry himself: when he expresses emotions —particularly grief or anger— he’s dismissed as “moody” or irrational. The story often limits him to being a brave, self-sacrificing leader, but gives him very little emotional support or space for vulnerability. There's no real model for healthy emotional masculinity in the series, only the expectation that boys must “man up” to be heroes.

Hagrid is another example: deeply nurturing, emotionally expressive, and connected to nature and animals, traits often associated with care work and maternal energy. But instead of being respected for those qualities, he’s infantilized and often used as comic relief. His gentle masculinity is never truly valued: is ridiculed.

Contrast this with how the narrative treats women: the only ones who are consistently admired or respected are those who adopt traditionally masculine (but specifically patriarchal) traits: McGonagall, Ginny (in the later books), Tonks (to a degree), and of course Hermione. These women are praised for being rational, assertive, clever, emotionally restrained, and good at traditionally male-coded skills like dueling or strategy. But when they express vulnerability or compassion —or engage in emotional labor— they’re often sidelined or seen as less effective. The narrative doesn't reward care or softness in women any more than it does in men. Feminine-coded traits —empathy, nurturing, emotional openness— are simply not respected in Rowling’s world, she doesn’t uplift a deconstructed, emotionally mature masculinity in either men or women, she simply maps the traditional masculine ideal onto certain female characters and punishes the rest. The politics of care, softness, emotional labor are consistently devalued in the narrative, regardless of who displays them.

And this binary logic extends even to the depiction of villains. Take Lucius Malfoy and Tom Riddle, for instance. Both are presented as elegant, refined, beautiful even, traits often associated with femininity. Tom is repeatedly described as “handsome,” charismatic, and physically graceful. Lucius is cold, vain, poised, and his long blond hair and pristine appearance mark him as almost effeminate. These aesthetic choices are not incidental: the text uses their "feminine" physicality and polished manners to underscore their moral corruption. Their deviation from rugged, physical masculinity becomes part of their danger. It reinforces the idea that ambiguity—especially gender ambiguity— is inherently threatening.

This is a very old trope: the villain whose femininity is a sign of deceit, vanity, and perversion. In contrast to the "good" masculinity of characters like Lupin, Sirius (though flawed), or even Dumbledore in certain contexts, Tom and Lucius are coded as deceptive, performative, and manipulative, traits historically attributed to women in patriarchal literature.

Rowling’s portrayal of masculinity in the serues isn’t just about punishing deviation from patriarchal norms. It’s also about celebrating and excusing those who most embody traditional, dominant masculinity, even when they behave in deeply harmful or morally hypocritical ways. Two of the clearest examples are Sirius Black and James Potter.

Sirius is a textbook case of this. The narrative goes out of its way to frame him as attractive, charismatic, rebellious, and brave, the quintessential "cool bad boy." He’s constantly described in a romanticized, even fetishized light: leather jackets, long hair, brooding stares, a tortured past. Rowling makes sure we know he was handsome as a teenager and still has that allure, despite everything. But beneath that carefully maintained image lies a deeply flawed, morally inconsistent man. He is impulsive, often cruel, emotionally stunted, and astonishingly reckless with Harry, treating him less like a child in his care and more like a replacement for his lost best friend.

Sirius clearly struggles with trauma and imprisonment, but the narrative infantilizes him to excuse his worst traits. His emotional immaturity, his inability to grow beyond the age he was when he was imprisoned, is framed as tragic rather than irresponsible. His deep resentment of his family background, while understandable, leads to abusive behavior, yet it's never really questioned or addressed. He taunts Kreacher, encourages Harry to take unnecessary risks, and repeatedly projects his unresolved issues onto others. And yet, instead of holding him accountable, the narrative bends over backward to present him as misunderstood, loyal, and ultimately noble. His hypermasculine traits—defiance, aggression, emotional repression—are romanticized, even when they make him a terrible role model and Rowling excuses him constantly because well, he's a man isn't him? Men are men after all.

James is similarly protected by the narrative. He's introduced, retrospectively, as a school bully: arrogant, cruel, and dismissive of others (especially Snape). In SWM makes this abundantly clear: he bullies Snape for no reason other than boredom and ego. But Rowling frames his redemption not through any internal change or reckoning, but through Lily. We’re told James "grew out of it" because Lily wouldn't date him otherwise. The implication is that the love or approval of a good woman is what transforms a toxic man into a worthy one, a deeply sexist trope that places the burden of male moral development on women, rather than demanding accountability.

James doesn’t evolve because he recognizes his behavior was wrong, he changes because it wins him the girl. There’s no moment of reflection or apology, no exploration of the damage he caused. Instead, the narrative assures us that because he was brave, rich, talented, and confident —because he died fighting Voldemort— his earlier behavior is irrelevant. He’s mythologized as a hero, a perfect father, a natural leader. Once again, the narrative rewards hypermasculinity —dominance, swagger, courage in battle— while erasing the harm it can cause when it goes unchecked.

These character arcs are deeply gendered. Sirius and James are not punished for their aggression, recklessness, or cruelty,they're forgiven, romanticized, even sanctified, because they embody traits traditionally associated with masculine greatness.

So when we step back, we see that Rowling's narrative doesn't just operate in a patriarchal world: it actively endorses patriarchal values. The story rewards characters who conform to traditional masculinity, regardless of gender, and punishes or ridicules those who don't. Emotionality, care, and vulnerability —whether in men or women— are dismissed or treated as weaknesses. And even when characters are powerful, if they possess feminine-coded traits, that power is portrayed as dangerous, unstable, or even evil.

The result is a world where gender roles are rigid, and where only patriarchal traits —strength, control, intellect, emotional repression— are validated. That’s not just a flaw in the world-building; it’s a political stance embedded in the structure of the narrative itself.

[bonebrokebuddy]

I get that this is due to people not read comics but, if you want a fun lighthearted batfam dynamic, I cannot recommend enough putting your story and characters in the Silver Ages. I see so much fanon material that would fit in this setting perfectly and it pains me that it’s not more popular or well known.

If you don’t know what the silver age of comics is, I’d recommend checking out this article!

And here for the 1956 Comics Code Authority.

It might not be in continuity anymore but the silver ages were such a large era of comics that defined the characters. And the format & restrictions of the silver ages allows you to easily bypass several common issues folks have with plots. In modern comics, there’s constant interpersonal drama because there has to be, if you resolve all those issues then you can’t sell more comics & they lose a lot of tension.

But due to the Comic Code Authority that is no longer an issue!

Randomly ignoring a dark past that makes connection between characters difficult [the poor aging of Jason’s bag of heads making it difficult for him to reunite with the rest of the batfam, for example] because it doesn’t fit with the theme you want?:

Comics are episodic in this era. Think of it like a early 2000s TV show. Things that happened in past comics/episodes often won’t affect the current story at all as the setting resets to default at the start of every comic. Additionally, literally all gore, torture, or explicit descriptions of murder is banned due to CCA restrictions, so you can choose to have it simply never have happened!

Characters that don’t fit at all in a story but you want a crossover for?:

The Silver Ages had SO MANY crossovers of heroes solely bc it sold comics. How compatible they are doesn’t matter in the slightest. The thinnest of reasons why they met works perfectly. You can even just have the characters know each other already and go “I know who can help me with this case! [Insert character you want here]! I met them in my last trip to Antarctica!” You only need maybe one sentence, two if you’re feeling frisky, to explain why they met and then you’re free to run wild.

Want a character to randomly acquire a superpower or meet a long lost cousin they have for one comic and then it’s never mentioned again?

I cannot state how frequently this happens. Silver Age comics were pretty much written cover first. Meaning the cover was made and the story was written after with the philosophy of “if my comic cover is more bizzare and eye catching then kids will buy it!” Like, there are multiple comics where Superman’s head got turned into an ant and Batman gets powers practically every other World’s Finest issue. Like it’s not even an “au” to do these things. That’s just what the Silver Ages were like.

Comic science and comic physics run rampant as well as bizarre villains! You can have so much fun with this!! Heroes often play the straight-man in bizarre scenarios with over-the-top villains in this era, making that aspect shine brightly can make for an inherently funny plot. You could either keep it fun and light or turn it into a psychological horror as the characters realize they can’t disobey the CCA code and have to follow a specific plot.

Also the restrictions of the CCA at the time would also help create some fun and unique plots if you wanted to keep the plot time-period accurate.

There’s a lot of restrictions but there are still many ways to create conflict in your fic! Plenty can come from the CCA directly!

Canon or HC LGBT+ characters could be pressured to not come out or face tremendous backlash. Time accurate homophobia, essentially.

McCarthyism and paranoia ran wild. Oh no someone suspected your blorbo of being a communist/socialist and now it’s ruining their life!

Characters dealing with how the CCA’s restrictions/their reality is inherently bigoted and can’t be themselves. (See: comics on topics of racial & religious prejudice aren’t allowed, characters can’t speak in “slang” or “vulgar language” and “good grammar” is emphasized (often targeting minorities), and the sanctity of family must be respected (no divorce, no queer people).

Also! Crazy over-the-top villains with deadly stakes are played with a lighthearted tone. Play it straight and suddenly your comic changed genre into horror if you think about it for more than a second.

Characters that used to be antihero’s are just straight up villains now or suddenly wake up with massive gaps in their memory and no one else can tell them why. There is no grey with the CCA. Just good and evil. Because that would make the villains sympathetic and we can’t have that!

If you want to just have a fun, campy and lighthearted tone however, that’s the Silver Age’s bread and butter. While keeping the CCA’s code in mind is good to keep a Silver Age story feeling time accurate and Silver Age-y, it’s definitely not necessary to follow each and every rule.

Here’s some more links to free silver age comics and places you can go to find information on silver age comics if you want to learn more that aren’t fandom wikis but rather made by nerds with a passion to catalogue and share their interest to others.

Your local library has a decent chance of having an omnibus of 50s-70s comics or you can order one from a nearby library if your local one doesn’t carry them.

A local comic shop or bookstore. Silver age omnibuses & “50 year anniversary/best of” type collections are usually present and have a good variety of silver age comics.

Jenny Blake Isabella (the creator of Black Lightning) has delightful reviews of the Batman Silver Age Omnibus on her blog that add context, critiques, and overall are a delight to read

Takes some hunting but this Silver Age Comic blog has a bunch of single issue reviews of Silver Age Batman comics.

Want a specific issue to read? Here’s super brief summaries of soso many issues curtesy of The Comics Archives blog.

The Internet Archive also has a few:

Batman & Superman world's finest. The Silver Age. Volume one

Justice League of America, the Silver Ages volume 1

Batman: the dynamic duo archives. vol 2 (I cannot find volume 1)

A good tip to find legal and free comics decently intact is to search [comic run title/character hero name & issue number if you have it] + “blog” + “review”.

There are so many in-depth reviews of comics in blogs by comic fans out there that practically share most of the comic panels in the post while giving context to past issues while the poster adds personal insight and opinions on the comic. Is it going to give you the whole issue unfiltered? No. But it allows newbies to get insight from old fans and old fans to get a new perspective on a comic they’ve already read. Blog reviews are such an underrated way to get new fans into comics considering how great of a resource they are! Don’t know if you’ll like a comic run? Read a bunch of reviews on it from different blogs! It’s truly so underrated.

I see a lot of dc fans that don’t read the comics because they don’t like the violence and dark tone of modern comics or don’t know where to start. Simple solution: Why are you reading reading modern comics then? Give the Silver Ages a try! They’re utterly corny and campy & I love them dearly.

They fit all of those bills with the CCA. Plus, with the episodic stories of that era, you can just pick up an omnibus, open it at a random issue and start reading. Hell, you can toss a stack of silver age issues in the air 52-pickup style and read them that way and you’re still be fine. You rarely, if ever, need knowledge from previous comics as they’ll often directly explain what happened to you. If you really need previous context, just like modern comics, they’ll directly tell you which issue(s) to read first.

Lastly.

It’s good to keep in mind the “By it’s time. For its time. Of its time” rule of comic analysis when reading old runs. Comics are: relevant during their time of publishing, for its intended audience (in this era, young american boys with a non-nuanced worldview) & with little care of how it’ll age, just that it’ll sell.

How history ties itself to comics is fascinating but also it’s good to be a little “👀👀 uh zoinks scoob that was a bad narrative or character decision that didn’t age well” and not dismiss it because that poor interpretation does have historical value as how it shows the moral, social, and political conflicts of the time in a neat little bow. Even if that bow is like, puke green.

Writers of comics will follow the misogynistic and racist ideals along the historical & social conflicts and ideals during the time of the comic’s publishing date. It’s uh, just kinda something ya gotta deal with when reading a lot of old comics runs. Most collections of silver age Batman/best ofs don’t often have comics that aged super badly but if you end up encountering any, it’s good to keep this in mind.

If anyone is inspired to write something based off of this, please tag me so I can read it!

[fanged-fanfics]

Hi mod Fang :D

Could I please request some soft fluffy Dr. Flug x reader content? There hasn't been a lot of love for him lately

Tysm 💜💞

☆ No Equation for Attraction — Dr. Flug x GN!Reader Fluff HCs ☆

Genre: Fluff || they/them pronouns for reader || No warnings needed

──────.𖥔 ݁ ˖˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ──────

ᯓᡣ𐭩 If you're a fellow villain, he sees a lot of potential in you. He'll think about bringing you up to his boss, and makes sure to hand you out a business card to Black Hat Org, telling you that anything your wicked mind can come up with is something he'll be glad to make a reality

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Now if you're a hero, it gets a bit more complicated. He's in the position to destroy you, it wasn't a problem for him in the past or towards anyone else. But you're different.. maybe you're kinder to him than most are, or you actually help if he gets hurt during a battle, making sure he gets out the other side with minimal harm. No matter what it is, he thinks about you all the time. Out of a drive to figure out how to take you down of course... he hopes-

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Once you two get rather close, he likes to teach you little things about aeronautics or quantum physics. He's used to no one really listening, so at first he seems a little distracted. Once he realizes you're actually paying attention and asking follow-up questions, he starts going on much deeper tangents on the topics

ᯓᡣ𐭩 He tries to defend you from Demencia, doing his best to negate her usual picking on him whenever you're about to keep you from being harmed by her chaotic nature. In turn, he gets a little flustered when you defend him from her cruelty

ᯓᡣ𐭩 You once talked with him so long you both ended up falling asleep late into the night. He woke up rather abruptly due to his night terrors, and you did your best to guide him to being grounded again. He explains through deep exhaustion that this is why he sleeps in a cyrobed. From that point on you always made sure to carry him to sleep if he ever overworked to the point of passing out

ᯓᡣ𐭩 He calls you pet names in a variety of languages, from Spanish to French, Mandarin, or English. His favorites are Cielo, Mon Ange, Qīn'ài de, and Dove. Thinks he's being all charming and coy if he can sneak in terms of endearment from languages you don't know in causal conversation

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Unironically tried to flirt with you by comparing you to a super specific model of plane and got so embarrassed when you didn't get it that he couldn't meet your gaze for almost a week

ᯓᡣ𐭩 The second you offer to watch Code Turkey (Código Guajolote) with him he quickly gives you the longest recounting of the show possible before making plans then and there to rewatch the series by your side so he can see all your reactions firsthand

ᯓᡣ𐭩 You're pleasantly surprised when he shows how cruel and cunning he can be. Depsite how Black Hat and Demencia often tear him down, you can see exactly how he's just as effective a villain as anyone else. You make a point to bring attention to this, and he gleefully brags about his 80k recorded crimes ("And those are only the ones they could prove!")

ᯓᡣ𐭩 He feels bad when he gets nervous interacting with you, even months into the relationship. Working for Black Hat definitely never helped with his self-esteem, so he's prone to accidentally talking down about himself. You try to combat that by giving him positive affirmations whenever possible, reassuring that you've never minded his occasional skittishness and that you could never be annoyed with him over something so small

[grenadehearts]

my first req ever holy shit

soooo......uhm...uhm.... any thoughts on power couple pro hero!ocha x pro hero!f!reader who are insanely in love w eachother??

LIKE THIS PIC IS SO THEM CODED ITS THEM ITS THEM ITS SO THEM 😭😭😭�� theyre so silly and cute ouuu........

pro!hero!ocha x hero!f!reader thoughts <3

authors note: this is actually my worst work yet ughh im sooo sorry!! i tried!! thank uuu sm for requesting cupkiki ily mwahhh. m.list

Pro!Hero!Ocha with her pro-hero girlfriend, who share matching keychains on their hero costumes—a pink and black cat with matching charms, each engraved with their initials. It's their little secret. a token of goodluck.

Pro!Hero!Ocha, who is absolutely, completely infatuated with her pro-hero girlfriend. Whenever she's on any interview or talk show, no matter the topic, no matter the question, your name always finds its way into the conversation.

Even when they're asking about her latest heroic feats or the most dangerous villain she's faced—she can’t help it. Her face lights up, cheeks flushed pink, eyes wide and sparkling with admiration for you. Oh forget about her feats as she brings you and all your accomplishments up, with a love-struck grin.

Pro!Hero!Ocha, who is scheduled for a different patrol than you today, missing you and your pretty face more than usual. The day feels extra long, no villains to fight so far so she keeps herself moving, trudging through her patrol, wishing for something exciting to happen, she turns a corner and—bam!—she’s suddenly face-to-face with a giant billboard of your face. "Pro Hero Y\n uses this, so should you!," it says, complete with marketing jargon.

Her heart races, she feels like a teen girl finding her crush in the yearbook, and without thinking, she jumps for joy, her two feet bouncing against the sidewalk, as she clasps her hands together, her pinkies touching, completely forgetting about her quirk. The result? A lovesick fool floating in mid-air, grinning from ear to ear as she drifts, completely giddy over the sight of you, even in a commercial.

Pro!Hero!Ocha, fighting villains side by side with you, but she’s so distracted by your presence that she can't help but sneak glances. Punches fly, combat calls are exchanged, but in between, she’s sending you flirtatious looks, teasing remarks, and playful jabs. You’re both so absorbed in each other, you weaseling the villain away in confines, but your head is turned to face her as she sends you flying air kisses and you got a stupid dopey grin on your face.

Pro!Hero!Ocha and her pro-hero girlfriend, the very definition of love in the spotlight. Always attached at the hip, constantly doting on each other in interviews. Whether it's fighting over the microphone so one can shower the other with compliments or color-coordinating their outfits—down to their hero costumes—for events, their love is on full display. They can't help it. It’s just how they are.

And, of course, Pro!Hero!Ocha is forever buying your merch. When the Hello Kitty line of your hero merch launched, she nearly bought out the entire store. She couldn't help it, not when it was you and hello kitty, together she’d be a fool not to, (she always buys out all your merch lines… she's your biggest fan!)

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Traitors & Lovers (Hero & Villain) part 34

Warnings: traumatic character death scene, bleeding out/descriptions of what dying feels like, intense emotional whump, someone being covered in another person's blood, grief/rage outburst, repeated cardiac arrest, medwhump

Superhero waved her off. "No... I just need... to breathe," he gasped out. "Go see... if Medic... needs extra hands... to help him..."

Assistant nodded her acknowledgement and scurried off.

Once Superhero caught his breath he stood up and made his way to the medical wing to check on how things were going. And it was a terrible sight. He looked through the giant glass window into the treatment room and saw Villain sprawled out on the surgical table, Medic elbow-deep in blood trying to staunch the bleeding in her side and stitch it up as fast as he could while seven other nurses rushed around him hooking Villain up to machines and several IVs for blood transfusion.

"We lost her!" One nurse announced, and Superhero winced at the flatline screaming of the heart monitor.

"Stand back!" Another doctor barked, stepping forward with paddles to try shocking Villain back to life.

Medic paused in his work, taking his hands away long enough for the shock to be delivered.

Villain's pulse came back, but it was all over the place, the beat erratic and uneven as Medic resumed stitching her up with skilled hands.

Several blood transfusions were being given at once, and yet, she flatlined again. And again.

It was a rhythm of chaos in the surgery room -- Villain would die, Medic would pull away long enough for her to be shocked back to life again, then continue working to save her, and the vicious cycle would restart.

Superhero watched Villain die over and over again. He couldn't pry his eyes away, until he suddenly remembered: Hero. He'd been hurt too -- not as bad a Villain, but he still needed medical attention.

He watched Villain flatline one more time before turning away and shaking his head in disappointment. No one could survive this. He knew at heart that not even Medic could fix it, though he was grateful for the surgeon's efforts.

Breaking the news to Hero would be hard, but right now his biggest priority was bringing the crimefighter in for treatment now that Villain was in Medic's skilled hands. So he left Agency and took to the sky again, heading back to the town square to retrieve Hero.

He found him sitting on the lip of the water fountain when he landed, staring down at his bloody hands like he didn't know what to do with them. Supervillain's lifeless body was sprawled in the dirt a few feet away from him with a blade stitching out of his throat.

"Villain do that?" Superhero asked, jerking his chin at the body.

He was met with silence.

"Hero," he growled, firmer this time.

Finally, Hero lifted his head to look at him, tears trailing down his bruised face. "Is she going to make it?" He whispered hoarsely.

Superhero's eyes softened with sympathy, and he took a seat next to Hero on the fountain, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"She was alive when I reached Agency," he answered, choosing his words carefully. He couldn't lie, but he didn't want to be the one to tell Hero how slim the chances of his former lover surviving were.

"And now?" Hero asked, stripping away any chance of him dodging the topic.

Superhero sighed sadly, giving Hero's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "It's... not looking great," he admitted. "She's coding nearly every minute, and Medic is doing his best to save her, but... you should probably prepare for the worst. The chances are high that Villain will not make it to tomorrow. I'm sorry.”

Hero stared at him for a long second, like his mind was taking a moment to process and accept his words. Then he suddenly let out a heart-wrenching wail, burying his face in his hands and breaking down sobbing.

"NO!" He screamed in anguish through the tears. "I loved her. I loved her so much, and I barely got the chance to show it. WHY DID SHE HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO DIE?! Why didn't death pick me??"

He got to his feet, whirled around, and slammed a fist into the fountain in blind rage mixed with grief, chucks of cement flying under the impact. "WHYYYYYY???"

He screamed himself hoarse, demolishing the fountain, and Superhero let him burn it off, waiting until he was tired out and crying wretchedly to approach again.

"I know you're hurting, Hero," he said softly, "but I need to take you back to Agency to get your wounds treated now. We can deal with the rest later... okay?"

Hero couldn't form coherent words, but he nodded, letting Superhero wrap his arms around him and take off, flying him to Agency.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222 @written-in-the-stars135 @neverthelass

@starz8nk @redwinesupanover @whumpisgoodwhumpislife @theforeverdyingperson @whatwhump

@writing-with-olive @whumplicity @art3m1zz @enigmawriteswhump @basica11ywhumped

[whereispearlescentmoon]

Just to indulge my own specific interests, I’m assigning Robins to Life Series winners

Grian- Dick Grayson: The OGs, incredibly competent and skilled but sometimes have a tendency to go overboard and need to be reeled back in.

Scott- Duke Thomas: Yes I count Duke as a Robin even though it was only during We Are Robin. Both Duke and Scott rely heavily on their intelligence and are very charming. Also, Duke’s whole light and magnetism thing is just very star coded, which goes with Scott. He would be the one who works the day shift.

Pearl- Tim Drake: Honestly they’re just both my faves, but I can justify this one by saying his 2009 Red Robin run was Scarlet Pearl coded. Also the way he keeps going back to being Robin vs the way Pearl is always willing to give people who hurt her another chance could be something.

Martyn- Damian Wayne: Misinterpreted by the fandom as completely viscous and feral when they’re actually quite calculating. Both snarky and always ready with a quip, but also deeply dramatic and sensitive at heart and willing to commit to a bit.

Scar- Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi: Excitable and curious. Both can talk someone’s ear off about a topic they love, and both are just happy to help.

Cleo- Stephanie Brown: Who else would be Robin for like two months, hate authority so bad they get fired, and then fake their death? Icon.

Joel- Jason Todd: Both rash and sometimes unnecessarily forceful, but also tender and dramatic. Just like Jason, Joel has been both a villain and a hero in the series. Also you can’t tell me Jason wouldn’t build a car in Minecraft. He would.

[luciaintheskyainthi]

what’s your favorite thing about peter parker?

Great question!

There's a few things that make me enjoy writing Peter Parker:

He's a resilient character and I am a mean writer. I enjoy (writing) emotional torment and Peter's consistently a character to get up and keep going (sometimes to the point of obstinacy and self-sabotage, which in and of itself can be an interesting perspective to explore). Ya boi is trying his best and I gotta give him credit for that.

The whole concept of his abilities is neat. Here's this very durable and very powerful young man, sometimes with borderline supernatural elements attached (for instance the Spider Totem storylines), who is determined to make a difference in the world, regardless of how others might think of him. I find that a very endearing quality. Plus it's fun to have a character who's just built different, yannow?

He has a strong moral code and steadfast belief in redemption and forgiveness. The whole 'with great power with great responsibility' thing is at the heart of his character (certainly within the comics and TAMZ / the OG Spider-Man movies... it took a long time for them to get there in the MCU Spider-Man movies and didn't have much of an opportunity/desire to explore it further by the end of NWH). Considering how much he's been put through in both movies and comics, that he continues to attempt to redeem his villains - even those who have hurt him horribly - says a lot about his strength of will. It takes a hell of a lot of courage and moral fortitude to maintain a mindset like that. and I think he serves as a strong moral teaching to readers/watchers.

As a lefitst, I enjoy the exploration of a working class hero and what this really looks like in practice. While I am writing my own stories with the MCU canon in mind, to me it's important to understand the distinctions between Disney's portrayal of Peter Parker (where he is very much NOT a working class hero), and most other portrayals in film/comics (Skip Intro's video on MCU Copaganda is very insightful about this topic, as is VerilyBitchie's video on SM, Class and Militarisation). I'm sure I'll only be partly successful at it, but I intend to explore Peter's character growing beyond the confines of the MCU's characterisation of him. Particularly the 'friendly neighbourhood' aspect of his title that was only ever hinted at but never actually explored in the Tom Holland movies.

(and most importantly from a writing POV) he's smart and he's funny. I love banter and Peter Parker is a character MADE for banter. He's silly and he's petty and he's irreverent and he's a goddamn nerd. And I love him for it!

So.... that's a long way of me saying 'I like Peter for X, Y and Z, but most of all I like him 'cause he's funny' 🙃

[aingeal98]

Something I enjoy a lot about Cass is that with a lot of heroes that don't kill it can easily veer into self righteousness. It happens with Bruce a fair amount and while it can make for a compelling character beat if done well, if done poorly it just kind of makes the reader annoyed lmao. Like why am I supposed to root for this guy when he's saying "If you shoot the man who killed your parents your soul will be forever ruined!" and acting like there's no difference between types of kill?

And the thing about Cass is that while her no kill rule is based on the experience of watching someone die and the horror she felt, and while she does project it into pretty much everyone she meets... It never comes across as unlikeably self righteous to me. Like for Cass every kill is a tragedy and while her no death rule is a moral statement it's also given more importance as an rule that gives us psychological insight into what governs and drives her. Even when she's wrong, even when the villain is so sympathetic and justified that there's no reason to root for her, the narrative always feels very self aware about it. Like when she let that father get arrested despite him just wanting his daughter back. The writer (Puckett of course) wasn't interested in convincing the reader that Cass's judgement was the morally correct choice. He was interested in what it said about her that it was the choice she chose.

And similarly when she approaches people to try and stop them from killing she always lacks the morally righteous air a lot of others carry. She's desperate and earnest and determined to get them to change but it's not because she thinks she's in any way better than them and has the right to pass judgement because of it. It's someone who genuinely believes that she's irredeemable manically trying to save everyone else because if these killers can do the right thing and turn over a new leaf then maybe... Just maybe... there's hope for her?

It's so compelling to me. The desperation and clear projection that happens when she goes out determined to enforce and/or promote her code to as many people possible. Every time she says someone can change she's speaking from experience. Because she views herself as irredeemable and beneath everyone but she's still out here trying to be good so maybe if others make the same choice it's proof that she's not doomed. That none of them are. She doesn't want the hitman to redeem himself by becoming a hero and helping his former victims. She just wants him to walk away, to start a peaceful and quiet new life. And when he fails to do that and they meet again she still won't give up on him. When she stands in front of the victims family she won't declare she knows better. She'll hopefully and uncertainty ask "But maybe... He can change?"

Like there's so much heart behind everything she does and every action she takes. Every time the topic of killing people comes up she's so earnest and clearly projecting her own issues and seeing herself in every murderer and it's so fun. It's so fascinating. I miss Batgirl 2000.

[le-trash-prince]

I will say, Kidnap is turning out to be as pulpy as I was initially hoping it would be.

It's fast-paced in a way that BL rarely is—our hero finds himself in a new predicament every week, struggling to balance his situational needs with his moral code. He's fighting off loan sharks, his brother has health issues, he's struggling with a kidnapping that he's not emotionally committed to, he's falling for his target, he's getting involved with the mafia, and soon enough, the police will be on his tail.

It may not be as heavily sexual as some pulp can be, but Kidnap bears markers of erotic and romantic pulp stories—it's tinged with situational bondage, we have a sadistic villain, and its romance is built on a contrast of high danger and emotional tenderness. As a romantic lead, Min is both strong and vulnerable, while Q plays a "damsel in distress" who is smart, snarky, and more capable than he seems.

Because I'm not fluent in Thai, I'm not comfortable speaking to the wittiness or snappiness of the dialogue, but the show is funny, and the comedy brings a levity that such a fast-paced story needs. Not all shows dealing with heavy topics like loan sharks or mafia need a lighthearted or silly aspect, and often this can be out of place, but when you are moving as quickly as Kidnap, those heavier elements can feel like a constant barrage.

I won't declare that the show was for-sure going for a pulp feeling, but it certainly bears the markers of a lot of pulp literature. Pulp weeklies (which, incidentally, made a lot of their money off of advertisements x), needed stories that would keep their readers coming back week after week. How will Min get out of this predicament now?

Overall, I hope that people can take Kidnap as it is without judging it for failing to achieve something that it's not trying to accomplish. Pulp may not be for everyone, and that's fine. It's certainly not high-brow literature, it was made to be accessible to the masses, but many great writers got their start in pulp, and the pulp era had a lasting impact on modern storytelling. Personally, I tend to really love things with strong pulp influences, so I am being well fed by Kidnap. Maybe that will change in the future, but so far I have enjoyed each episode more than the last.

[writers-potion]

I’m not a very scheming person, but one of my stories need political intrigue to work. Do you have any advice for how to write that?

Writing Political Intrigue

Creating Shades of Gray

Unlike most plots where the protgonist("the good") and the antagonist("the bad") is more or less clearly defined, political intrigue is all about being in the middle.

Those who are self-serving but respect the law

Those who work for the public good but break the law

Those who try to stay clean but is absolutely no help

The key is to reveal both sides of holding but a certain value. This is perhaps best demonstrated through the controversal topics in today's context:

Social Aid for the Poor: (1) Of course redistribution of wealth and aiding the economically underprivilleged is a good thing (2) but if governmental aid actually encourages people to not work, should we continue?

Honesty: (1) it's good to be honest (2) but not is all situations

Sticky your character in between two or more parties, into making difficult choices. Make them break and bend their own code or values in the face of trying to chase their own agendas.

Different Perspective is Everything

As stated, everything has two sides. Each party will have different goals, different ideals, different norms of doing the work.

Bad blood, feuds, competition for resources, desire to win an ego battle. There's plenty of plot material.

The key here is to let both sides have good, understandable reasons. If one side is clearly "bad" with the other opposing them, it's no different from a hero-villain plot!

Gossip and Rumors

Gossip is one of the most powerful weapons in politics. In other words, it's reputation. Saving face. Ego.

Spreading half-truths to get a character to watch their back

Scandals and failed apologies

Gossip as an undercurrent tension within a scene where the character needs to prove themselves.

No Room for Weaklings

No one without a strong personal code or goal will get trampled in a tight, fast-paced political scene.

If your character is forced into politics, they'll need to toughen up quick or drop out.

A character may think they're strong, only to be proven wrong the minute he enters politics.

A character may find himself being divorced from his previous values as he tries to be more "tough"

Draw the Big Picture

In a particular scene, your characters aren't going to know everything, sometimes acting even blindly in pursuit of a goal. As an author, though, you should have a clear idea which piece of the puzzle you're writing.

figure out a sketch of your setting, and figure out the big issues, crises and ideologies that political divisions could stem from.

Know what your characters are into, past the main plot. Where do they want to be, even after this story is over?

You'll get a much richer story by brining in layers of characterization.

Keep lots of notes to keep track of the above.

Research, Research, Research!

The best place to get ideas for political intigue: history.

Grab a handful of texts on the historical wars, figures, and regime changes that most interest you, and after reading them you’ll likely end up with enough intrigue material to plot through a book series.

The setting and governmental structure: Political intrigue is shaped by the underlying social background and politicla system, so plan these in a way that suits your plot.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

References:

https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/viewtopic.php?f=150&t=63430

[atamascolily]

Sometimes I wish more Madoka Magica fans were familiar with Thunderbolt Fantasy - Gen Urobuchi's wuxia fantasy puppet epic - because he keeps using certain tropes there that I think will also appear in Walpurgis no Kaiten and it's difficult to explain without context. I'll try to keep the TBF discussion to a minimum here, but there's a remark from an interview with Urobuchi about TBF season 4 on the Febri website from February 2025 (English translation by Hibari) that's stuck with me:

Unintentionally, I came back to destiny…the essence of being human. I think that people are people because they are not able to change the past and cannot defy the future, and I always return to this topic when I am writing science fiction. It’s a kind of an ode to humanity.

You see why this is relevant to WnK, right? Homura's wish is to change the past, and she struggles continually because it goes against the way the world works. But the fact that she tries is what makes her human. The heroes in Urobuchi's works are those who fight the inevitable and believe in choice and free will; his villains are nihilists who believe themselves to be enforcers of destiny.

(I don't really want to revive a bunch of discourse here, but while Madoka Magica can be interpreted through a feminist lens, that doesn't automatically mean that Urobuchi himself is a feminist. Rather, as his remarks here attest, I think Urobuchi is fundamentally humanist - which ends up appearing as feminist in Madoka Magica because of the predominantly female cast pitted against a male-coded avatar of an oppressive system. Unfortunately, his shows with mixed gendered casts do not fare so well for the female characters, but that's a discussion for another time.)

Anyway, without going too far into Thunderbolt Fantasy spoilers, in later seasons, there is a demon named Azibelpher - the name is not subtle - who manipulates time to his own advantage. In classic Urobuchi fashion, this comes with horrendously awful unexpected consequences, as the luxurious life he desired essentially destroys him and he spends most of his time lounging around and drinking in ennui. The price of getting what you want is getting what you want, even (especially) for a demon:

It’s the same as how a game becomes boring once you use cheat codes. Because they cannot defy destiny, people are human, they feel happiness and sadness, but if they gain the ability to change destiny however they like, they lose something as a human being, that’s probably the basic idea.

It's hard not to read this passage and not think of Devil Homura slouching on her throne in the WnK trailer. Having complete control over everything and shaping the world according to her desires is not good for her mentally or emotionally on so many levels. Having intentionally embraced the role of a villain, she is unable to stop, and yet in spite of all her power, she has lost something important in the process. This is on top of the fact that she's attempting to defy fate - she is doubly doomed to fail.

Homura has created a perfect world, but one of the recurring themes in Urobuchi's works is that we need to experience both good and bad things in order to be fully human; for better or worse, it is our struggles are what make us who we are. In Madoka Magica, this view is espoused by Madoka in episode 10 when Homura proposes becoming witches and destroying the world; in Madoka's view, the world is worth saving in spite of the pain and suffering and in that scene I think she represents both the show's core beliefs and those of Urobuchi.

As a writer, Urobuchi really loves this kind of dualism and contrast between characters, which is one reason why I think the series will ultimately end with Madoka and Homura balanced as cosmic forces in a world where both joy and sorrow (and magical girls and witches) coexist. If our humanity comes from fighting fate, true maturity also comes from accepting what we cannot change and loving the world as it is in spite of everything (while still holding true to our values and changing what we can).

But back to Urobuchi again:

Science fiction is, in the end, a genre that often leads to the question of how to define being human. When I try to depict that in my way, I don’t try to show “This is the essence of being human” or “This is great about people,” but rather tend to imagine “What are people lacking that makes them human?” In this setting, I often write characters that attain what they are lacking and thereby lose their humanity as villains. That is intentional, to a degree, but also a kind of compulsion, that makes me notice “I wound up coming here again…” (laughs)

What does losing your humanity mean in a post-Rebellion world and what does it look like? My guess is this is where the second Homura comes in - as a splitting of the self that arises as an unintended but inevitable consequence of Homura's actions. (Conveniently, this kind of splitting already exists in the lore and even has its own name - witch - which seems like it might be relevant!)

Having attained what she wanted, Homura becomes her own enemy, literally and metaphorically. Remember, Homura's world is her labyrinth, which is her soul, and the human psyche manifests in all kinds of weird and unpredictable ways inside them (and that's without even touching whatever is going on with Walpurgisnacht, who is also likely tied to Homura in some fashion).

This kind of splitting also appears in Thunderbolt Fantasy with a different character who excises a portion of their soul in order to take over the world. It goes badly, as you might expect, when the expelled soul piece manifests as a doppelganger and returns to destroy them. There is also an overarching time loop that cannot (nor should not) be changed, as it is necessary for the entire story to hold, along with many smaller loops within loops. Sound familiar?

This is not to say that I think WnK will necessarily follow the same trajectory as Thunderbolt Fantasy in all respects, just to say that you can really see Urobuchi playing with the same themes, because that's what authors do - they write about what fascinates them over and over again. This is what Urobuchi is referring to it when he calls it a compulsion - he can't help himself - and as writer, I know exactly what he means. The parallels between his series exist and while it's possible WnK may go in an entirely different direction than anything I've laid out here, the thematic groundwork for the ideas I've laid out is nonetheless visible and it makes me feral.

One way out of the trap Homura has set for herself is to return to her humanity and become whole again (or to use Urobuchi's framing, to give up the perfection, power, and control she sought to achieve). To make her peace with the past and with herself, to accept what happened, and move forward into the future. She has to heal after hitting rock bottom, because the alternative is death. I know which one I'm rooting for.

Homura alone cannot change fate, cannot defeat Walpurgisnacht. But Madoka can. Who knows what will happen if the two of them work together to remake the universe?

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplay Ramblings: Spell Storage part 1

(art by MagicalKaleidoscope on DeviantArt)

Intro

Ah, Magic. More than anything else magic is what seperates fantasy from other forms of fiction. It can be empowering, allowing the heroes and villains to perform extraordinary feats, or it can be more subtle, enabling fantastical situations and solutions that simply aren’t possible in other genres. Villains destroying all we hold dear? Fireball. Oppressive overlord crushing hopes and dreams? Get a last minute powerup from the literal power of friendship. Wish there were massive dragons and monsters you could befriend? Boom, they exist and they’ll even let you ride them into battle.

Magic may have different power levels like “High Fantasy” or “Low Fantasy”, but it suffuses every element of the story, from the fantastical gravity-defying floating islands to the subtle way that the forest of the elves grows healthier and more beautiful than anywhere else.

But most relevant to the players and their characters, it’s in their spellbooks. Or their familiar, or gifted by their god, or stored within their very mind.

Ok, so, the thing about magic is, because it doesn’t exist in the real world, there is no one consensus on how it should work. Is it the programming code of the universe? A rare spark that some people possess and just lets them warp reality? A magical mystical element that can be consumed (often to the detriment of the setting)? Magic can be all of these things and more, depending on the setting.

Take the Dark Sun setting, where there are very real social and mechanical detriments to slinging spells willy-nilly, or the Lost Magic game for the DS, in which specific runes need to be drawn in specific order to cast the spell you want, scratching up your touch screen with how often you’re drawing them.

The Lost Magic game plays around with the mechanics of how spells work, A basic fire projectile rune creates a piercing projectile when paired with any other rune, for example, while the basic water projectile fire multiple projectiles when used in the same way. However, tabletop roleplaying games and fantasy stories typically have to handwave the more technical aspects of spellcasting, that is, what it takes to make the magic happen in favor of a more lose system that focuses more on the story and the heroes ability to progress through it. At most we know that a fireball needs a pinch of sulfur and bat guano (for the phosphorus), but we don’t know the magic words of the gestures required, because we don’t need to.

That being said, we do love descriptions. Without description and storytelling these games would be nothing but randomly generating numbers with dice to add or subtract those numbers from other numbers.

And descriptions can be as loose or detailed as you like, depending on what your players want to get into, which brings us to the actual topic this week: the storage and inscription of spell knowledge!

Everyone who’s played D&D or consumed a decent amount of fantasy media knows that often spellcasters have their spells all written down in a tidy little spellbook, but how does that translate into casting spells? What sort of notation is used to write them down? Does it always have to be a book? This week, we’ll endeavor to answer those questions and more, as well as get you to ask those questions for yourself when designing your own setting or indeed your own character. I hope you’re looking forward to it!

[panicroomsammy]

I just saw some takes on “queer coding” that make me want to scream so I am going to post (part of) a paper I’m writing on queer coding in Supernatural that some of my mutuals encouraged me to post when I talked about it a few days ago. Tl;dr is that queer coding is a negative thing done by othering and/or vilifying a character - this is undisputed in academia and if you use the phrase “queer coded” to mean otherwise you are misusing the phrase.

Fandom has a long-lasting tradition of reading queerness into works of fiction – dating back to the original airing of Star Trek in the 1960s. Supernatural’s fandom has been no different. The show has, in fact, influenced the fandom subculture as a whole more than any other individual TV show this century – though to explore this in detail is beyond the scope of this paper.

The popular queer readings by fans largely center around the intensely macho elder brother, Dean Winchester. While the character’s overperformance of masculinity may lend itself to such readings, it is important to note that he is not traditionally queer coded at all. The vast majority of the traditional queer coding which goes on in the show instead applies to the more sensitive younger brother, Sam Winchester. The extent to which fans refuse to engage with this queer coding is what this section of the paper sets out to explain.

I propose that this reluctance stems from the fact that queer coding is negative. Characters are queer coded through Othering – a process by which they are shown to be different from their communities and from the heroes. The use of this in queer coding is well established – “all the analyzed [queer coded] characters somehow fitting the form of an outcast” (Svobodová, 2022) exemplifies queer coded characters as outcasts. There is also the theme of “monsters as the Other, representing queer people” (Mudry, 2022) and that “[queer coded] characters are meant to symbolise everything that is bad. In the process, they also become the Other,” (Veera, 2023). Queerness and monstrosity are linked through the process of queer coding, and this link makes queerness villainous. Historically this has been used to discourage deviant behavior and encourage conformity to the norm.

The way that this Othering is almost always part of the process of setting up a character as a villain is well established by scholarship that has focused on queer coding broadly (“queer-coded characters are almost always villains,” (Kim, 2017), “most of these [queer coded] characters are villains,” (Brown, 2021)). While many queer people have become fans of villains in response to seeing representation in them as the Other, villains or the monstrous do not appeal to everyone, and queer people are no exception.

While this may very well be a matter of preference, preferences do not form in a vacuum and, especially in the context of politically fraught topics such as queerness, are often indicative of deeper political issues. Even those who are Othered may recoil at unpalatable representations of the Other in fiction. In The Big, the Bad, and the Queer: Analysing the Queer-Coded Villain in Selected Disney Films, it is stated that “Seeing villains that behave in particular, perceivably queer ways creates “a psychological association” between ‘queer’ and ‘evil’ in the minds of children.”” This psychological association has been created through decades of queer coded villains in media and applies to present day characters that exhibit traditionally queer coded monstrous traits. The negative perception of queer coded and monstrous characters can apply to queer people as well as straight people.

Sam Winchester is a traditionally queer coded character. His arc over the first four seasons focuses on him having supernatural abilities that work to Other him. In the world of hunters – those who hunt supernatural beings – all supernatural beings are considered to be evil and are indiscriminately killed. Sam is one of these hunters, as are his family – his brother Dean and his father John. The development of his supernatural abilities over these seasons Others him in relation to his community and his family. The narrative positioning of such abilities as evil also work to position him as an anti-hero in a traditional queer coded villain role.

The show focuses on themes of the monstrous in its monster of the week format, broader plot arcs, and in relation to its main characters. This is often done by paralleling Sam with the monster of the week, done with the werewolf Madison in Heart (2.17) and the rugaru Jack in Metamorphosis (4.4). These parallels further work to place Sam in the role of the monstrous, even while working to humanize the monster of the week.

Queer people who have internalized the messages of queer coded characters as “everything that is bad” from other queer coded media are likely to dislike characters that are queer coded and may wish to distance their own queerness from such portrayals.

[angy-grrr]

So is the theory that lesbians love bkdk bc they act like the popular sapphic couples true or

Jennifer’s body but they are in a super hero high school and they have powers and there’s a dude they admire a lot and villains and they are both boys and Jennifer never kills anyone and Needy does in fact try to and Jennifer gets blond hair and Needy gets dark hair.

Bkdk was meant to be lesbian but sadly, if it was it wouldn’t survive shonen jump’s editors.

It gets the privilege of much more content than actual f/f pairs bc they are two men so they get 1 treated more seriously in general and 2 get more screen time as usually female characters don’t get the spotlight as much thanks to misogyny. Actually I think it’s quite common, in the nerdy spaces, to see more lesbians shipping male characters together (and personally, many times I see f/f pairs being treated in disrespectful ways in canon content/fan content which makes the experience so… alienating tbh, like no, I can’t relate to that at all and it feels nasty to me. Like with the predatory lesbian trope -I can’t handle it here, but I can handle a predatory gay even if I’m critical about it-. I think this is bc it feels more personal, more about me, like pointing at me directly and the ways I want to experience life.)

Some ppl act surprised when lesbians like m/m, but they forget how shipping doesn’t have to be about your own sexuality/attraction in general, and even if someone experiments sexually with m/m that doesn’t mean they stop being a lesbian -there are plenty of straight men who enjoy gay porn for example, and I cant think about how many sapphics were into jayce and viktor from arcane exploring their sexuality thru them, or just writing smut for the shake of it-. We live in a society that centers not only men in particular, but also focuses on penises as symbols of power, domination and privilege and aggression, and in queer spaces this too can happen leading to uncomfortable experiences, discrimination, sexualization (for example, of trans ppl no matter what your genitals are currently or in the past, the lack of penis/having it is a topic many find erotic and “valid” as a reason to sexualize someone, chasing them in such weird ways), etc.

And tbh, many just… can’t learn from fiction about attraction outside of male relationships, bc most media focuses on them all the time, to the point many can’t imagine what it’s like to experience romance and sexuality without one involved and their codes. You have to go away from fiction, bc even the f/f pairs and lesbian content can feel like they are being watched, like a guy is going to pop up out of nowhere, or like you are the guy. There isn’t even an opportunity to just enjoy the romance for some cases, bc it’s clear I’m supposed to be a guy watching them, and that feels wrong. For a long time I didn’t understand these feelings, and m/m tends to avoid that feeling of “Im supposed to be involved” unless you self insert, yk? There are also tropes that fit in heteronormativity in classic actual yaoi, but I believe many women enjoy this bc it’s the right amount of distance to not feel weird/wrong about yourself, and the right amount of familiarity to feel comfortable and self insert, at least in my opinion!

basically, with f/f it feels real to me, so I really dislike bad f/f representation, and bkdk while being a m/m does fit many typical sapphic experiences (that weird friendship, the bad fallout, weird feelings you can’t say out loud, fixating over them for years, feeling like the other could never like them, having a thing for that person you “hate” of your own gender, finding hetero dating a waste of time, focusing more on your career than caring about dating the opposite sex, feeling nervous when around the opposite sex, etc). They are not exclusively lesbian things at all, but they do appeal to my lesbian heart even before I knew I was a lesbian, so they have a special spot there! I wish we could get a shonen that focuses on two girls this much, about their weird relationship, and respects their feelings for each other instead of adding gay jokes to mock the community or say how appealing they are to hetero men. We don’t have one, but I can always make them sapphics in fiction! Also imagine masc/butch midoriya sensei with masc/butch god explosion murder god dynamight. That’s just awesome, show me Kacchan being dramatic about how she is Deku’s simp. I know there are great yuri out there but most of it is in high school settings and I’m pretty tired of it at this point of my life -I don’t need to self insert to enjoy a romance, but i just want to see a f/f romance outside of high school, as many times we are seen as unserious and likely to just be in the middle of a phase-. There’s this one called Let’s run away, I think, and I need to check it out as I believe it explores these themes too!

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

Hermitcraft/Life Series AU Masterpost

This is... what it says on the tin. Basically, any AU I have that I've talked about on tumblr, is here. It is a long post.

Many of these (most of them) were made in collaboration with @angeart which explains why they are so sad and also Mostly Scarian. It doesn't always say it's shipping but it usually is. We are Grian Girlies. Sorry.

If you want to hear more about ANY of the ideas listed here, feel free to shoot me an ask :) I LOVE RANTING ABOUT THESE IDEAS. There are even links to fics where they exist.

It begins... below the cut:

COMMS AU

READ THE FIC HERE

WHAT THE HELL IS COMMS AU?

My main multichapter fic, ongoing and insane (currently chapter 41)

A multiverse nonsense trip wrapped in an audio transcript format

Tag: #comms au

Grumbo Apocalypse Monster AU

READ THE FIC HERE

Grian is a shapeshifting monster drawn into human life by the apocalypse, and Mumbo is a human who attempts to survive the horrors

Tumblr Masterpost

Tag: #grumbo apocalypse monster au

Superheroes and Villains AU

In the city of Blackstone, vigilante HotGuy works alongside the Hero Bureau to catch villains and keep the city safe.

Between trying to save the person behind Mother Spore, and rebuilding his old friendship with Cub - now turned villain - HotGuy must look through the gaps of the Hero Bureau to see the corruption lurking within.

Read the summary here

Tag: #hhvau

Hybrid Farms AU

READ THE FIC HERE

Hybrids are farmed as food; modern world, no respawn

Grian is an escaped hybrid who gets caught stealing from Mumbo's house in the middle of the night

Tag: #hybrid farms au

Watcher Listener Lore AU

READ THE FICS HERE

CW: major character death

Based on my Watcher Lore

In which Grian is killed at the end of Evo and his code and memories are placed into a Watcher version of him, creating a Watcher-Vessel in a process called ‘Transfer’

Mostly about both the grief of Grian’s old friends as they discover what happened to him, and the ethical / philosophical debate Grian has with himself about who he is and why people are upset about it - he's the ship of theseus as a person

Second installment follows BigB as a Listener-Vessel and how his point of view works in comparison to Grian's

Tag: #watcher listener lore au

Pirate Boatem AU

READ THE FIC HERE

Pirate crew Boatem get kicked off their ship and stranded on a desert island by Captain Scar

Survival cannibalism & some major character death, as a treat

Impulse's POV

Magic / curse stuff with an ambiguous ending

Tag: #boatem pirate au

Fantasy AU (Kingdoms AU)

READ THE FIC HERE

A fantasy au following several key stories:

Pearl, ambassador for Roost, the avian commune, embarks on a journey to a inter-kingdom social event hosted in the Red Kingdom, while looking for her closest friend who has been missing for years

Grian, a cursed avian, and Mumbo, a blind engineer / alchemist, join forces with outlaw necromancer Scar to try and find a cure for Grian's curse

Scott, prince of the Ocean Kingdom, longs for a life outside his duties, but is made to represent his kingdom at the inter-kindom event

Ren, king of the Red Kingdom, looks to strengthen his borders as he grows increasingly paranoid, while Martyn, the newest member of his court, crushes hard

Masterpost

Tag: #kingdoms au

Ari AU

Part One - which links to all of the other parts of the story we have posted so far!

An au which follows Grian as the popstar 'Ari', whose life begins to fall apart due to stalkers, paparazzi, mental health decline, and a lot of complicated emotions

This au covers somewhat realistic descriptions of dark and distressing topics, mind the warnings and read with care

Tag: #ari au

Convexian Serial Killers AU

Scar and Cub (humans) are serial killers who enact their crimes while their housemate, Grian (avian), is out of town

Grian happens to come home early one time and finds them mid-kill

After a series of breakdowns and a lot of throwing up, Grian gets kind of into it. There is also cannibalism

Tag: #convexian serial killer au

Convexian Cannibalism AU

READ THE FICS HERE

A bunch of oneshots, mostly set in the same universe, revolving around Grian getting eaten and eating people - mainly Cub and Scar

Also in this series are some fics about Martyn, but those are unrelated to the main storyline

Main Headcanons

Tag: #convexian cannibalism au

Hermit359 AU

Based loosely on the podcast Wolf359

A Sci-Fi drama following a wacky silly crew on a doomed journey in the vast expanse of space

Predicted Mumbo Thee Jumbo turning himself into a computer badly

Masterpost

Tag: #hc359 au

Mumscarian Murder Cannibalism AU

Basically, Scar is a fucked up little guy who kills for fun, and Grian makes the mistake of going camping with him and getting his stupid self kidnapped

This is a really big AU that I have posted one (1) piece of art for and basically nothing else... but eventually there will be some more

Tag: #murder cannibalism au

OFF AU

Based on the game OFF

Grumbot gets so mad about his dads divorce that he goes insane and makes a fake gamer universe

Technically a fix-it for the plot of OFF, but it is still sad

Mini Fic

Tag: #hermitcraft off au

Forgetting Something AU

Grian gets zapped by Listeners and dies (and everyone forgets he exists)

I just enjoyed this concept too much

Mini Fic

Tag: #forgetting something au

Grian Dies And Gets Brought Back AU

Grian, Scar's wife, dies, but Scar makes a deal with some deities to bring her back

Unfortunately for Scar, the deal involves making sacrifices to the deities in their realm, a place he calls the 'magic realm' but is actually more like hell

Grian is a worm at one point

Mini Fic

Tag: #doomed afterlife au

Good Luck, Babe! AU

Grian is a tfem club dancer, Scar is a repressed fool, Mumbo is a genderqueer bisexual in the background doing a thumbs up emote

Tag: #good luck babe au

AAAND THATS IT. I have a lot of other AUs but since I haven't talked about those on tumblr or made fics, they're staying in my dms for now lol.

Remember, if you wanna know more about any of these, please send an ask, and specify which AU youre asking about obviously! If you read this far I am honestly shocked at your ability to put up with That Many scarian ideas.

Also feel free to riff on any of these if one stands out to you as interesting. I love hearing / seeing other people's interpretations of my stuff :D

[imthepunchlord]

So how do you feel about the winners of the last 5 bugettes polls?

Over all good and happy. Some I'm not surprised and some I am happy to see they won.

Like, that first poll, while I was most intrigued with Ladybug!Kagami, I was getting ready for the real possibility that it was going to be more Ladybug!Marinette, which I wasn't thrilled to do more of Tikki and Marinette's dynamic and was starting to think on how I was going to address the big issues of Marinette and Tikki.

Thankfully, Kagami won.

I don't have to get myself ready to do more Marinette-Tikki working off each other, I got something fresh to do. I actually started to do some doodles exploring ideas for Suzaku, with the initial idea of maybe doing a kendo based attire.

But I'll be looking up some other attire for Japanese martial arts and see what else stands out to me. Initially I do like the idea of basing her attire around what they wear for kendo, but I should give it some more looking into.

Alya having Firefly I am not surprised. Between Alya or Lila, Alya's going to be the preferred. Lila could be fun, but for an idea of the Bugettes being a hero team all working together and being more harmonious vs the discord of Calamitous users, Lila does have that option to become a villain, and is more set up to go the villain route by default of how she is.

So Alya makes the most sense, though I will say, given that sometimes orange can be close to yellow and Lucee has some yellow on her, I kinda wonder if I should've included Chloe and Zoe on the Firefly poll, but I thought it best to stick to the most orange coded characters.

Either way, with Alya, it'll be interesting. From what I see of her, she is someone who naturally takes up a position of leadership, when she's with friends, she's the one who calls the shots. And she's someone who is pushy with her agenda, and she is eager to enjoy the merits of being a hero and having the limelight, and this sets her up to be in conflict with half the team so far, though some of this can vary depending on how I go about identities and secrecy, especially as there's a lot of strong personalities so far that don't easily make compromises.

Aurore was a delightful surprise as I was expecting it to be Chloe in full swing. So I am happy to do more Miss Sting.

Alix I am not surprised. She does have a good design to work off of with Greenhopper, and probably was the biggest stand out for plausible Grasshopper. I also think her and Clovrr could be really funny to explore given the Clovrr is chill and lazy but Alix is high strung and leaps into action.

Sabrina I am also not surprised. The few times she came up in topic, she seemed the most popular for Dragonfly, and she does have the diamond theme, and was originally the Dragonfly. So I am intrigued to make plans and see how its going to go. I think the most intriguing is that, depending on how dynamics go, initially I think her and Alya will be tight but could also feed into each other growing and how they work off others, as I think Sabrina's dynamic with Chloe would manifests here, given that Alya aims to be the leader and Sabrina is a quick yesman and servant. It just kinda adds onto Alya and Chloe has foils to each other.

And tomorrow we'll start the Mantis poll. I know Mantis!Marinette comes up quite a bit in my asks and comments and tags in reblogs, so we'll see if it comes into fruition.