fairydust-stuff

[fairydust-stuff]

"we need complex female characters!!" says the person that claims Rena is a yandere and infantilizes Rika (hm; Satoko and Hanyuu)

you say you want complex female characters but when you find one you put them into broad personality categories and completely overlook the rest of their personality

seriously makes me upset because they're so much more than the labels placed onto them

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[fairydust-stuff]

how many times until lestat learns his lesson

[fairydust-stuff]

How Iwtv may adapt “the vampire Armand” (theory)

Tw: given Armand’s trauma.

I personally don’t think a whole season will be dedicated to adapt tva. But, I do believe a subplot of his past will be developed over multiple seasons through flashbacks and other writing devices . We already have a new Indian writer hired for the show - who wrote a play about living in a brothel . so we’ll most likely dive more into his past and trauma . it’s also foreshadowed that Armand will eventually tell Daniel his story- similar to how Louis and Lestat did. Armand already told Daniel a (probably not quite accurate) depiction of his past with the children of Satan . And Armand saying to Daniel: “Do you want to hear my story? My first memory…” (could foreshadow he’ll eventually tell Daniel his entire story ).

But, given the nature of Armand’s past I assume a lot of scenes will be portrayed by Assad, and some scenes by a younger looking adult actor, along with darker scenes being verbally stated (similar to Claudia verbally recounting her trauma with Bruce, to Louis). But … I also believe that by the end of Armand’s story a huge “bomb” or several “revelations” will be revealed as Daniel asks “a few follow up questions.” Which indicate Marius is even worse than Armand openly admits or realizes. It would be similar to how Daniel at the end of s2, points out discrepancies in Louis’ story (that re-contextualize everything) .

I think Armand will have been turned as an adult, but I believe it’ll be revealed that Armand was younger in his past than the flashbacks indicate. Similar to how certain passages of Armand’s book made him seem much younger than what he claimed to be . In Armand’s own flashbacks he’d be a “BOY masquerading as a gentleman" (even deceiving the audience into thinking he was older). PS, the next things I mention are either from the books or show canon.

Daniel : “just some follow up questions. Your FIRST memory was being chased down by slavers , so you were young… you had to be only 3 or 4 then? No wonder you aren’t positive of your birth name. I ask cause you said you said you were 15 when Marius saved you from the brothel, right? But, you told me that the night he bought and made a move on you that you were “too young for wet pleasure“ - and then 2 years later that was no longer the case . So you’re saying you only started puberty at 17 years old? Are you sure you weren’t closer to Benji’s age when some of this stuff happened ?” (Benji is Armand’s 12 y foster son who was previously abused and trafficked) .

Daniel: “you told me in 2022 that you were a 514 year old vampire . So you were born in 1508? You said you were 20 years old  when ‘adoration of the shepherds’ was made. But historians say the painting was commissioned between 1520-1525. So you'd have been somewhere between the ages of 12-17 when he 'donated' you to his friends ."

Daniel: “ I don’t know how to say this, but… are you sure the other young boys (that lived with Marius ) didn’t get donated to his artist friends too? Those boys were being trained as painters and hanging out with Marius’ ilk all the time . They may have had a hard time saying no to Marius’ requests , as well. You even said there were rumors of 'bad boys' being 'banished’ from the house ‘immediately' , for saying disrespectful things about Marius. When you first met Ricardo and he painted you , why did he cry ,throw the paint brush and say“ a very different picture master has in mind for you.” Was he warning you that being painted by someone isn’t as nice as it seems? If Marius wasn’t with the other boys -why did he make all of them show their ankles because ‘to him the ankles of boys were beautiful’. Why were those young boys already experimenting with each other , going to brothels and hanging out with courtesans for fun, and teaching you how to read by showing you “frightening books about men and women in carnality.” Aren’t those all signs that they were exposed to that stuff way too early ?! Marius made you go to brothels to ‘train you’ to be better at bedding men and women. And when you were a kid, you said Marius took you to a “ luxurious house of pleasure", which kept … "only young boys.” You even said that , this boys-house was “Eastern styled” and that the boys looked “Egyptian or Babylonian" . He even bought a couch from that establishment. Are you sure he wasn’t a regular customer there ? Armand… I don’t think he bought you to 'rescue you from the brothel'. He bought you because you looked like the boys from his favorite establishment! And at Marius’ house, the first thing those boys did when they met you was say they “loved you” and wink… are you sure they weren’t taught to do that with all house guests? Are you sure Marius' palazzo wasn't just a high-end brothel of young boys?"

Armand describing Marius' palazzo...

Never forget Marius tried to marry pandora when she was 10 !That man is a repeat offender! I don’t trust Marius at all! idc if all the vamps in the books (or even AR respected him) . All my homies hate marius! And I feel like the show may re-contextualize some of those very questionable details sprinkled in the books , that were never addressed . I think the show will make Marius even worse than the books ! Iwtv writers tweeting: “Kendrick Lamar releases Marius diss track.” And in s2 Louis straight up says Marius “groomed” Armand. I don’t think, they’ll shy away from his questionable actions … but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the vamps initially fall for his charisma/wisdom (similar to how he garners respect from other vamps in the novels) . Similar to how a lot of abusers are often loved and respected by their peers. It was Marius after all that initially taught Amadeo how to 'lie' better. Not to mention (Marius' age and and drinking from Akasha would make ) his mind-gift and ability to control minds MUCH stronger than Armand's too . Which could (theoretically) have some scary narrative implications for the future... Daniel run before he tries to mess with your head .

[fairydust-stuff]

i would kill for a wakaba afterstory, or really any story about the other students escaping ohtori. i consider adolescence to be a sequel while being a retelling at the same time so the others escaped and reached adulthood, but at the same time the anime ending with the implication that wakaba would be taking utena’s path in challenging akio’s power… it intrigues me

[fairydust-stuff]

I wish I was a Xander hater, and don’t get me wrong I see the vision, but I physically cannot hate this man. His friendship with Buffy and Willow means so much to me. Truly hand in unloveable hand. Him and Buffy being so terrible at conflict resolution so they end up yelling at half the time but loving each other anyway. And then Willow turns into someone neither he nor Buffy can recognise, and Buffy comes back from the dead wrong, but he’s still Xander and he still loves them :(((. I love Xander destroying everything he touches, his implied family abuse, the way he feels like a failure at everything, his insane amount of Hawaiian shirts, how he and Buffy bonded over sucking at high school, how much he loves his girls. I love Xander Harris guys I’m sorry I do.

[fairydust-stuff]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a movie first and foremost about the destruction of minority neighborhoods and public transit by the American car industry. After that, it's a technological milestone. And then it's about cartoons

[fairydust-stuff]

If I had a nickel for every time a god who is known for only causing destruction and chaos…

who wields swords/daggers, who wanted acceptance from their father, and who only did things if it would benefit themselves…

come to realize what is really important to them and eventually SACRIFICE their well-being/life for their new found family to live on…

(all this happening in November of 2023), I’d have TWO NICKELS, which isn’t a lot, but weird that it happened twice, right?

…

Don’t mind me, currently still mourning these two… they just deserve to be happy🥺 there’s probably more comparisons of these two, but I can’t think of them right now…

[fairydust-stuff]

Is it true there was only one emperor in China who never had a concubine?

Yes, Emperor Hongzhi of Ming.

While we're on this subject I think the most likely reason Emperor Hongzhi was monogamous is actually quite sad.

Emperor Hongzhi was the son of Emperor Chenghua. Emperor Chenghua's favoured consort was Consort Wan (Wan Zhen'er), who was famously much older than him (17 years), and was his nanny since he was baby. There was a lot of unrest and Emperor Chenghua was hidden away in the care of Wan Zhen'er, and then they started sleeping together when he was a teenager. Can you say he was definitely a victim of grooming? Anyway, when Emperor Chenghua's parents found out about the relationship they married him off but after he became emperor, Emperor Chenghua continued to favour Consort Wan, who as (debatable) records would have it, began sabotaging all other concubines so that they couldn't have children, because she herself couldn't have children.

Emperor Hongzhi was only born because his mother was a palace maid who was then hidden away. Emperor Hongzhi himself was raised in secret from his own father until he was 6, and then his mother mysteriously died, many say on orders of Consort Wan.

You can probably argue that part of the reason Emperor Hongzhi was monogamous was because he saw the damages done by his father favouring Consort Wan, and that would be fair. I think it's also insidious cognitive dissonance to just take the fact that he was monogamous at face value and solely praise that. We as modern people can talk all day long about the damages of the concubine system to women, but the reality is, this isn't a drama where characters can do whatever the modern writer wants of them. This was an actual man living in a society where he was taught all his life that one of his very job was to have as many children as possible by any means possible, and was almost definitely cricitised for being selfish for having only one wife. I'm sure there is merit in praising the strength of his conviction in sticking to his guns despite all of that, you also have to acknowledge that it was a decision likely fueled by the unprocessed trauma of his childhood. And if you believe Wikipedia, his favour for his only wife/empress ended up being doing the same kind of damage if he had been favouring a concubine in the same way, and there was even fewer ways to keep it in check.

Anyway the reason I'm saying this is I've come across videos on Youtube that take a very modern lens to Emperor Hongzhi's decision to be monogamous without acknowledging it's not a simple matter of him being just unusually faithful and unentitled, it was a matter of horrible trauma, and in terms of dynastic legacy it also wasn't a great decision considering his only choice for an heir ended up being not that great.

One such video even said "Hongzhi was the only emperor who kept his vows" and I know it's just an expression but the cognitive dissonance of that made me go cross-eyed, because what vows? When did men in the Ming dynasty vow to have only one woman till death do them part as part of his wedding?? Again, most likely he would have been highly criticised for his monogamy as an emperor, and the fact that he still remained so regardless speaks more to his trauma than him being the only emperor who ever existed with any decency towards women.

[fairydust-stuff]

“ I think if I’ve learned anything about friendship, it’s to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don’t walk away, don’t be distracted, don’t be too busy or tired, don’t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.  ” 

―Jon Katz

[fairydust-stuff]

Five of Swords 🗡️

In a show about people being trapped in self made coffins, Namami is one of the only characters that's able to step away when she realises how harmful the system is to her. This card isn't about that, though! Five of Swords is about trying to win an unnecessary battle, inevitable defeat, and trying really hard to stab a classmate. Don't mind the bloody nose, the scraped knee, the smudged mascara - she's going to keep fighting, longer than she needs to, no matter who gets hurt, as long as the sun keeps shining down just on her like a spotlight.

one of my pieces from a now cancelled zine. the other piece is here, go look at this kid having a chill day. drafts and notes below

NANAMI MY GIRL MY SILLY GOOSE i was sooo happy to get assigned a card about her and i REALLY wanted to do the concept justice!! but i was fighting with this the entire time lmao!! i think her pose and expression changed a thousand times and i couldn't figure out where to place the swords or what to do with the sky, i kept trying to switch to a more painterly style bc i hated the lines and ended up just wasting time.... nightmare!!! well anyway hope u like it 💁‍♂️

some things:

she's wearing anthy's rose bride tiara and the earrings that were given to utena by akio, which can only mean good things for her. she's winning the fight. she's gonna win it. (the sillhouette of her shorts is similar to tsuwabuki's middle school uniform shorts in an effort to make her look more childish)

touga was originally supposed to be lurking in the background but he was messing with the composition so i deleted him. then his sword was supposed to be impaling nanami's rose but i didn't like it there so i moved it. despite everything he's still in the scene but only if you have eyes and hearts that believe..........

the yellow sun and white clouds could be an egg 🍳 it could be 🥚 take my hand...

i think the third thumbnail was actually my first attempt but i didn't like it very much... i liked the first one but wasnt sold on it tbh!! i still like the imagery of the tangled swords weighing her down and the little cuts and bandages on her hand, but idkkkkk. i just wouldn't have made it work lol so i guess i went for the most complicated one 💁‍♂️

[fairydust-stuff]

Joker and Robin

Alright, I promised this post.

So, the other day I was reading Robin: Year One, and I got to this panel with Joker in jail.

And it startled me a bit because I got this very vivid flashback (flash forward?) to Robin II, Joker’s Wild. 

This is almost identical concepts for panels except one is Dick and one is Tim. And well, it got me thinking… Joker really IS obsessed with Robin as much as he is obsessed with Batman. And - I mean, fuck, he doesn’t even hate Batman - he fucking HATES Robin.

[Gotham Knights 73] 

I - woah. Okay. Really FUCKING hates them. 

I can’t help thinking of Joker’s first interaction with Jason ever (though this is ginger Jason) in Batman 366. He’s… super not amused to see Batman with a new kid. 

And then… you know…

The Murder Thing. 

Actually, Under the Hood is interesting. 

Joker… kinda likes Jason, after he comes back from the dead. He’s amused. He’s got this… weird fucked up family angle he’s needling Jay with. It’s almost like he thinks Jason connects him and Batman. 

Until Jason calls him on his bullshit, of course. 

[Batman and Robin 14] 

The exception to this utter hatred seems to be Damian? Whom Joker seems to view as being more like Bruce than the others… or maybe it’s like the thing with Jason post-resurrection, Damian’s not exactly a moral compass for Bruce like Dick, Tim, or (pre-death, sometimes) Jason. 

And, of course, Earth Prime has had their own take on this, delving pretty deep into the concept. 

[Nightwing 16]

Joker establishes that he hates Dick the most. Death of the Family establishes that Joker thinks Dick makes “his” Batman weak with all his love and friendship and stuff. 

[Redhood and the Outlaws 15]

Welp, there’s that “family” angle again. 

I don’t really know if it’s even worth it getting into Joker’s take in the New52 version of Tim, it’s really no where near comparable to his New Earth version, and I’m not sure what take away there is for Joker calling Tim “boring” in this universe other than it’s the writers calling Tim boring. Skip! 

Joker informs Damian that he and the rest of Bruce’s kids are a burden on Batman, that they “block out the light” he and Batman shine on each other. It’s an interesting take on Joker’s obsession with Batman. 

And, finally, in the White Knight universe, they go out an say that Joker was jealous of Jason for being “closer to Batman” than he was. 

….Yeah, that’s, that’s all I have to say on the matter. That’s just, like, a thing, I guess. 

EDIT: 

So, I didn’t really talk about Joker’s relationship to Tim very much when I wrote this. I knew he really, really hated Tim, but I didn’t have a comic handy that demonstrated that beyond their first meeting. In the interim, I found Robin 85.

Joker is critical of Dick’s initial presence, and confirms he’s always wanted Dick dead. 

He’s established, again, to LIKE Jason. Not just in personality, but as a second opportunity to kill Robin like he’s always wanted, but never got the chance to with Dick.

However, Joker also indicates that he missed having Robin around. 

But he still wasn’t happy to have Tim show up.

What Joker seems to hate most about Tim, is that Tim tends to work alone more often than the other Robins. This means when Joker starts a scheme to get Batman’s attention, sometimes Robin showed up, and only Robin. You can also see than Joker views Tim as the brainy Robin (though logically, all the Robins are smart in different ways - Tim himself just seems to recognize patterns the quickest, and is perhaps the most persistent in following small leads). 

We later see in Joker’s Last Laugh that he is so very pissed off when he is NOT the one to “kill” Tim (it’s a misunderstanding, don’t worry about it). 

At this stage, Joker seems to view the Robins as further methods to hurt Bruce. When he can’t be the one to kill Tim, he at least wants his body to show off. Then, when Nightwing shows up before Bruce, pissed and ready to kill a bitch, Joker decides that’s a better torture for Bruce than pushing Bruce himself past his code. 

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im jason

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I just saw a lady in a wheelchair beat up the joker! #she punched him the groin! #she tazered him! #she wheeled over his feet! #she threw some kinda stick at his head really really hard!!! #IT WAS AWESOME #so badass #MY HERO #I heard she's a librarian #don't fuck with librarians #onlyingotham #I am so fucking empowered right now #did he have an overdue book?? #whatever #I love my city

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the batfam clowning the joker is the best thing i've ever come up with

join the batfam server

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Joker: I'm the Clown Prince of Crime!

Robin! Dick: You ain't the clown prince of shit!

Joker: Excuse you brat?

Dick: First of all, your car is normal sized. Your act is amateur stuff. I've seen kid clowns with more talent! Can you even make a single balloon animal? AND! You're not supposed to scare people! You're the worst clown I've ever seen. I bet your shoes fit right

[fairydust-stuff]

I love how all of the Batman villains are like “ah he’s not at the manor, it’s defenseless! and then alfred just racks an AK-47 and is like pull up bitch

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Im gonna be so real can yall actually talk about ways we can support trans women in the UK instead of giving all the attention to fucking JKR. I already know that Harry Poter sucks, I wanna know how to actually HELP people. Something something you have to love the oppressed more than you hate the oppressor