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i miss him (derogatory)

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Aight, I'm gonna elaborate more on the Lee and Brad crack ship, [ship name pending], that I mentioned in the tags of my Find The (E)x post

This is probably gonna be really scattered (especially since this came to me late last night, and it's kinda half-baked), so forgive me for that JHSCDJ

Sososo this happened because I remembered how Brad blurs the lines between real life and movie fiction. A big example was when the Cleaners went rogue, and he started assigning character roles/archetypes to his classmates like they were acting out a scene in a movie (but I'm mainly talking about him, The Hero, and Lee, the Bad Boy Seeking Redemption). Besides assigning roles, he also follows movie tropes (Hero gets the Girl (Tina))

Brad's knowledgeable about movie roles/tropes and how movies handle them; who's to say he doesn't know how fandoms see and handle tropes? Specifically relationship tropes and dynamics. And what's a popular trope in fandoms? Enemies To Lovers, especially when the so-called Enemies are the same gender. And, well, he is The Hero, and Lee is The Bad Boy (are you picking up what I'm putting down)

And sometimes the Hero and Rival have a more interesting dynamic that fans love more, and sometimes the Hero and Rival/Villain/Antagonist have better chemistry with each other than the Hero and Girl. So what does that make him and Lee; the hero and the bad boy??

Are you picking up what I'm putting down

The kind of ship that starts off one-sided, and evolves to more as things go on (could stay one-sided if you want it to be angsty) putting this dude on a rollercoaster (read: crisis)

Anyways, I think that's it for my thoughts??? this ship's dynamic is more Brad-centric(?), I realised JHGSDVJH

Brad probably says Lee's the Shadow to his Sonic or something

(Feel free to suggest ship names for these two because I. am blanking scdjhfc)

I forgot this was sitting in my drafts vjhsjchs

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I liked Brad better when he was a weird animal activist and A. Nigma’s star swimmer

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☲  Maxwell Finnwich Appreciation Post

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Full MWF/Conspiracy Fic Masterpost

Since the Detentionaire tag is pretty alive again these days (hi to everyone who joined recently btw!), I figured now is a good time for an overview of my fics that people might be interested in. Especially since I finally completed them some months ago!

The long one

Let the Future Tell the Truth - an almost 130k words epic about the history of MWF and the conspiracy, from its founding days up to a hypothetical final season. Told from Finnwich's point of view and aiming to answer just about every conspiracy-related question left open by the show itself.

The shorter ones

These are one-chapter fics from different points of view that expand on scenes and events from the main fic. They're probably most enjoyable when read after the part of the main fic specified in the respective summary, but can also be read on their own.

sun (Li's POV) - Li confronts His Eminence with the truth about his messed up past.

mercury (Mrs Alice's POV) - An assortment of encounters in the library of A Nigma High.

venus (VP Victoria's POV) - VP Victoria arrives in Coral Grove after the Dance.

earth (Alfred's POV) - After Lee's tenth birthday party, Alfred is visited by His Eminence.

mars (Li's POV) - Li hunts down Cassandra to get his revenge.

jupiter (Taz's POV) - The aftermath of everything, from the tazelwurm's perspective.

saturn (His Eminence's POV) - A glimpse into the reptilians' life before His Eminence was sealed away in the Pyramid.

uranus (Luke Webber's POV) - Lynch's clone son winds up in Coral Grove and attempts to reconnect with the deranged shell of his father.

neptune (His Eminence's POV) - His Eminence is visited by a very special Wurst clone.

pluto (Fateous's POV) - After the destruction of the Pyramid, Fateous winds up with His Eminence's people and starts plotting his grand return to the surface.

north (Lee's POV) - Lee attempts to get used to Li now living with the rest of the Ping family.

east (Barrage's POV) - Barrage reflects on his turbulent past.

south (Cassandra's POV) - Cassandra writes about moments in her life that are best not included in her autobiography.

west (Art Wurst's POV) - A retelling of Art's increasingly messy life and the downward spiral going along with it.

I have plenty of Detentionaire fics that aren't directly tied to the conspiracy as well, but those will probably get their own post eventually. For now, enjoy LTFT³ and its side content - and by all means leave kudos or a comment if you do! Always fun to hear what other people think.

Also, here's a little post with songs connected to these fics in one way or another!

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guys is this anything?

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Hihi yurified jarlo approaching!! (Sorry guys i was lowkey stuck in my artblock era🙁)

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Y'ALL DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HILARIOUS THIS IS TO ME LMAOOO

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Writing is Hard: Redemption Arcs for Racist Characters

I wasn’t going to write about the Black Witch. And I’m still not going to write about it (if you’re curious about the book you can check out Goodreads here:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25740412-the-black-witch).  But I do want to talk about two things that have been on my mind since reading reviews: racism in fantasy and redemptive arcs for actively racist characters.  Because I think it’s important for authors going forward to understand why and how an author ends up with books that attempt to deconstruct ideas of power but then fail miserably.

This is two blog posts because it is such a deep and thorny subject.  So let’s talk about redemptive arcs for racist point of view characters.

***

A lot of folks have become kind of enamored of the redemptive arc for problematic characters.  And while I do believe that a redemptive arc is compelling, it’s important to understand that redemptive arcs for certain folks are a hard sell.  Asking me to sign on for a racist’s redemptive arc is a no go.  Here’s why:

1.  Redemptive arcs for racists aren’t for readers of color.  They’re for white readers.  When writing a redemptive arc for a racist, authors are centering white feelings. In most Western societies, white people are the only people who have the power and luxury to be prejudiced and have the system support their bias (racism= prejudice + power). Centering white feelings and perspectives and experiences is an echo of the function of racism. So by writing a redemptive arc for a racist, even within a fantasy world, authors are catering to the feelings of people who can be racist. White people.

2. Prejudice is not the same as racism, and a redemptive arc for a racist is not the same as a redemptive arc for someone who is prejudiced.  Racism is active, prejudice is passive.  So if a redemptive arc is something you’re looking to write it’s going to be much easier, and much less shitty, to write a character who changes their arc by doing something active than by changing their actions.  Because the impact of their original actions will always exist.

3. Redemptive arcs rarely start early enough.  You cannot start a redemptive arc for a character in the last act or last half of the book.  It must be seeded early and with nuance.  Otherwise, the reversal will make zero sense to the reader.  If you’re writing a redemptive arc for any sort of character it must be the central arc, otherwise it just reads like bad characterization.

4. Your reformed racist cannot be the only “enlightened” character.  There’s a huge problem with the redeemed racist often being the only person who sees the light, with the help of a marginalized character.  This isn’t really how the world works.  White people who are prejudiced/racist rarely listen to minorities (because they see them as lesser. Hello, racism!).  They listen to other white people.  That means you’re going to have to include a voice of reason early on in your story.  This voice of reason rarely appears.

5. Redemptive arcs for racists require a heartfelt scene in which the oppressed person or people forgive the terrible racist for all of the harm they’ve caused.  These scenes are complete and utter bullshit. First off, they propagate the idea that marginalized groups should be willing to turn the other cheek, even when they’ve been grievously wronged.  Second, they make it seem like a heartfelt apology can undo years of hurt.  This literally isn’t how the world works.  There is no redemption for racists.  Not everyone gets or deserves a second chance.

So, if you’re planning on writing a redemptive arc for a racist or extremely prejudiced person, remember that by default you are writing for a white audience and centering white feelings.  And if that isn’t your goal, adjust accordingly.

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miya and koyomi canon best friends is so dear to me, look at my baby interacting with people his age 😭

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Hibiscus 🌺

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every numetal bf needs his kpop bf

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happy sk8 the infinity ova announcement 🎉🎉 rahhh the boys are back! watch them consume all my thoughts again ;;

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literally the plot of the show

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HAPPY LAST DAY OF PRIDE MONTH

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They’re so precious to me

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I saw sk8 ova the other day and no joke this is what happens