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thescrapbookingscientist · 10 months

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Biweekly Media Roundup

- All Saints Street (Anime) - All Saints Street is on crunchyroll now! I like how they consolidated the episodes into 6 normal length ones, as while I enjoy the theme song it's so much nicer to be able to marathon the show without having to skip past it every 3-8 minutes. A new season will be airing soon so I figured this would be a good time for a rewatch and to hop back into the comics, as last year I considered this series to be an incredibly underrated gem given how cute its art style is, how good its comedy can be, and how likable all the characters are. It helps of course that I adore monsters, and this upcoming season will be including Crystal, one of my favorite characters from the webcomic. I hope they include the running plot of Nick accidently dating his coworker as well, as any scenario involving Nick being a cringe fail pathetic mess is top tier.

- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Video Game) - I've been aware of the shoot a man war simulator franchise that is Call of Duty for a long while now and never in a million years did I think I'd ever be interested in playing one. And I still think that, as I haven't played one and never plan to. But. Some monster-loving blogs I like have been posting a lot of monster AUs about this particular cast so I went ahead and checked out some of the relevant canon plot/character interactions that would let me understand the context of the cool art and fics that I wanted to check out. The monster ones ended up being pretty fun so I checked out some of the non-monster ones too and again, some pretty solid fan works out there.

- Nimona (Movie) - I just watched this today so I do need some time to stew on it, but my first thoughts are that it's super cute and I had a lot of fun with it. I love how it looks, Ballister's design with his big puppy eyes and wet pathetic cat energy is great as is Nimona's with her pointy teeth and fun expressions, and how odd but fun the medieval yet also futuristic setting is. It's great to see a solid mlm couple in a movie aimed towards children as typically only wlw get that luxury, and as a non-binary/trans narrative I think it works pretty well. The found family aspect between Ballister and Nimona is of course great to see as well. There are some things I think could have been executed better, I wasn't too crazy about at least 50% of the comedy and I think the movie could get a little too predicable at times, but those are pretty small complaints for what was a very cute, wholesome, and visually impressive movie.

- Heavenly Delusion (Anime) - Probably my favorite of the season, This was a really solid first season - It's an interesting world and mystery, they don't overexplain things and are good at letting moments sit, the main characters were likable, and the pacing was really good considering how often we would receive satisfying foreshadowing that answered just enough to keep us invested while opening up all sorts of new questions.

- Oshi no Ko (Anime) - Once again I find myself at a crossroads of acknowledging that a piece of media not going in the direction that I wanted it to doesn't make it bad, but also being unable to separate my feelings of disappointment on the lost potential from my feelings on the show as a whole. I did enjoy this show, and I appreciate the behind the scenes looks at celebrity culture/show business and how it doesn't shy away from the darker and commercialized nature of it all, but with it springing between a reincarnation story to a murder mystery to a revenge plot to an actor career drama to an idol show, I just never felt like the focus was a strong as it needed it to be to keep me invested in the overarching plot. The weird age gap + First love but also new mother/brother/sister thing was also. A lot. That really didn't feel necessary when they could've just made the twins oddly intelligent children and gone from there. As I said before, I do love Skip Beat style narratives of actors working out how to get into character and affect the acting of those around them, so if it keeps doing that I will be interested in sticking around, but while I like the female characters more as characters their idol storyline is far less interesting, especially given how much the narrative is pushing that being an idol and idol culture is kind of awful actually, so maybe y'all should work towards a less toxic dream. Oh well, I don't mean to be so negative, the show did a lot of interesting things, including surprisingly portraying Youtuber and steamer culture in a realistic manner, and I did quite like the pseduo-main character of Kana Arima. I'll likely watch more but it's such a weird mix of ehhhhh and ehh actually maybe? That I wouldn't really recommend it to someone who isn't warned of a lot of weird stuff in advance.

- Ranking of Kings (Anime) - In retrospect it would have been nice to know that this season was more of a "additional content leading into the true continuation of the story" rather than a true second season from the beginning, as it would have saved me from watching the whole thing through a lens of "this is nice but uh when is plot going to happen?". Separated from that I am glad I watched it, it was nice to see Queen Hilling again, they did some fun things with the animation, and the last few episodes where we got some context for the Underworld brothers and the way demons work was pretty solid.

- Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (Video Game) - Alright, so getting back into it, the 3rd and 4th cases were pretty neat. I don't much care about the optics of HOW the murders were committed, as I feel like that aspect is far more interesting from a player standpoint when you yourself are figuring out vs the observer standpoint where you just want to see the story play out, but the characters this time were pretty fun, and I like the way the plot is progressing as far as the main characters are involved. For the 3rd case, the 3 friends all confessing to a murder they didn't commit in order to protect the other ones who they think could have done it was quite sweet and made for a good story, and for the 4th case the lesbian mad scientist robot lady Blackquill was a great addition. Going into the last section of the game I've unfortunately already been spoiled to the true culprit, but it's still very satisfying to see Athena and Blackquill and other Blackquill play off each other and deal with their trauma. I'm still excited to see how the game will end, after which I'll probably put a hold on the mainline series to look at the Investigation spin-offs before finishing up with Spirit of Justice, which a lot of people claim is the series highlight.

- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Video Game) - Okay actually now that I'm willing to explore it more the Depths are pretty neat. Also Tulin is my son and I love him.

- Crazy Ex Girlfriend (TV) - Yup.

Listening to: Let's Get This Over With by They Might Be Giants, Read Between the Lines by Tom Cardy, Ways to Go By GroupLove, Deathly Loneliness Attacks cover by SirHamnet, LosT by Bring Me the Horizon, Comatose by Skillet, Human by Gabrielle Aplin, Good Girls and Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer, Nothing Good by Lea Salonga, That's What I Want by Lil Nas X, After Everything You Made Me Do and I Give Good Parent from Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

#weekly roundup #my post #This is late because I am tired

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very-grownup · 1 year

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I watched a movie made in this century and everyone is very impressed

On Friday I watched 2021's THE GREEN KNIGHT. I really liked it! I had a good time! I am not a person who knows or understands movies, particularly contemporary movies (whereas when I'm having attacks of confidence, I can usually acknowledge I have Some book knowledge)!

I did, however, do a seminar in medieval literature and so I've studied the actual text of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and similar poems.

The thing I really liked about THE GREEN KNIGHT is that it FEELS like an adaptation of the 14th century poem, instead of an adaptation of a modern text based on a telephone game version of an Arthurian legend hodgepodge. It's dirty and unglamorous and sexual, instead of pristine chivalric. None of these things mean it's drab, though. I'm used to people approaching the Arthurian legend with a heavy chivalric fantasy lens, with genre fiction writers especially leaning into the fantasy element, or armed with the HISTORICAL FIGURE OF KING ARTHUR mindset which for some reason translates as drab still historically inaccurate stabbing with horses.

(There is a third popular approach, which is weirdass time travel reincarnation but I think that's mostly in books and comics.)

When I say THE GREEN KNIGHT is dirty, I mean it in a textured way, rough and crumbling stone, scrubby moss, sticky blood, lived in and rotting in a natural way. Because the thing about THE GREEN KNIGHT is that it hits the strange space medieval literature was created in by acknowledging and embracing the clash between the pre-literate paganism and the literacy brought with Christianity (moreso than the centuries after the fact recordings of stories from Norway and Iceland). David Lowery clearly favours the natural pre-Christian state and a return to same, which may be the most modern aspect of the adaptation, with the King and Queen heavily adorned with holy imagery while being sickly and faded even when compared to the Mother, and the first thing Gawain encounters leaving the city being the rotting remains of a massive battlefield being pecked over by scavengers. Things become more vibrant and alive the further Gawain gets from this core of Christian civilization, even though it becomes increasingly dangerous.

In a lot of medieval literature, we encountered a tendency where the non-Christian elements were TOTALLY RAD while we also had to acknowledge the order and rules and hierarchy of Christianity was Good, even if it wasn't nearly as TOTALLY RAD as a half-demon baby biting off the nipples of many, many wet nurses.

Even though Lowery's take on the inevitable return to nature is contrary to the righteous Christian goals of the original text (although not so much in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" as it is in other works), the result is much the same in the nature of Gawain's quest. The strangeness and danger and beauty of the natural world, the conflict of chivalric codes and the rules of folklore, the fact that the plot stems from Gawain's flaws as a person. Strange things happen and they're accepted with minimal question. A part of the world that is frightening but still known to exist.

Portrayed by Dev Patel, Gawain's flaws are less character flaws than they are the correctable flaws of youth. He's impulsive, quick to act and slow to think, and naïve in both halves of the world. It lets the character journey become one of maturation through the quest, rather than being an archetype going through the steps of a quest.

It was just a good time. Beautiful and sometimes hypnotic and ambiguous in a way I appreciate both because of the inherently ambiguous, 'lost' nature of these source texts, and also because it makes the real goal of the quest an inner question of self without tying it to outside validation for Gawain.

#the green knight #movies #i watched a movie #not my most coherent collection of thoughts

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sofibeth · 1 year

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Frontiers wrap up

Finished the game last night and had time to simmer it for a bit

will still say its first impression so here goes

- Have to debate whether I like the 3rd or 2nd super sonic boss more, they’re both cool set pieces eitherway. I would said I liked how the 3rd ended more.

- 3rd song is the best tho W.

- I’ve been seeing some opinions of how they address Tails’ “inconsistent” behavior its honestly a double edge sword. I don’t like Forces’ direction but I do respect them trying to stick and just grow from it. Its kinda adds to the whole themeing of the game where the main core 3 are reflecting on themselves and what they want to do moving forward. I feel this aspect would be stronger if it this stick so I’m hoping for it.

- I think it also helps when Sonic is moviating Tails they used more a old and modern example (SA1 and Lost World) for his accomplistments so its using the more mixed stuff in a good way.

- Funny since Flynn was known for fixing the pre-reboot Archie direction and here Frontiers its bout refocusing characters to their more well liked portrayals.

- Actually curious since there been IDW mentions in this game meaning their trying to bridge canon between comics and games how its gonna be incorporate here on out.

- You can really tell their were running out of assets by last 2 islands when 4 th island basicially cutscene island. I will say I like the platforming challenge to reach the last towet as well as the buildup to Sonic’s corruption and how he keeps going despite it all.

- The plot is simple but I do like how it’s show to us, looking back it cool seeing the visions Sonic gets after a titan are the Ancients piloting it u know?

- Frontiers has def been up there for Sonic portrayals for me. Bring back an aspect IDW focus on the least and how he inspires and encourages people around them. Mostly showcase of how Sage is slowly warming up to Sonic and understanding his way of thinking.

- Funny how this consider Eggman’s more interesting portrayals and its mostly through the egg memos. I think Sage brings a dynamic to him we never seen before and lowkey glad it seen they’re keeping Sage for the future. It would be a waste to use it for one game.

- Like I really like the shot at the end of Sonic being around with the friends he been trying to save the whole game and then pans to Eggman being allow and somewhat mourning for the her daughter is sort of accidently created its good stuff.

- But getting ahead of myself I do like how the 5th island been more on level of challenging the player every they know it just collect all the emeralds, its smaller to thank god consider Chaos’ size.

- The final boss.....I liked it bbbuuutt I can understand why some won’t (have some friends or fall on both the pro and con of it) the first half is a cool setup but I feel wasn’t scaled to the appropirate difficultly level as I cheesed it pretty easily. I was also playing Hard Mode so I got the “secret” and I ironicially I think its what saved it for me cause once you figured out the play style its a matter of timing and focus. I felt like I really earned that victory and final cutscene. That said if they wanted this in the end they should have introduced this mechanic sonner and more frequent as its only in 3 minigames. (the minigames were cute btw)

- I love the credit songs but mann why is Vandalize only play in the lower difficulties? The song too much of a banger to cut okay.

- But yea overal I enjoyed my experience with Frontiers, there alot of flaws I can poiint when playing (night challenges, wanting a mini map,some jank, they really need to upgrade the character models now) but overall this game just feels like a love letter to Sonic fans! Your gonna one thing to enjoy about this game and I hope SEGA learns the right lesson going forward.

I feel excited for Sonic games again!

#sonic frontiers spoilers #frontiers playing #final thoughts #I hope you filter the spoiler tag cause I'm bout to go on a reblog spree

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wonderbeast · 3 months

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In ‘99 Simon suggested he saw one of thelonius monk’s last performances (I believe he stopped playing in 76) while he was “a kid” sneaking into a bar (so I assume a teenager/younger than drinking age, which in NY was 18 at the time, but it could have been a matter of not being classy enough for the joint).

Assuming he was ~16-17, that would make him just under 40 at the time (chronologically, idk if there’s any statement on how long he was dead either time and obviously he doesn’t age). Hank and Wanda were both nebulously under 30 (but older than 24) then afaik, hence Hank’s chickenplucker line (I just read Avengers v3 14)

That's a good point, the sliding timescale does play into this. In Uncanny Avengers #10, Eric makes a reference to sitcoms he and Simon would watch together as kids, specifically Cheers. This would roughly place Simon in his 40s now, too, although his incubation period probably means he's more in his 30s. It's a weird one, because Simon is definitely from an older era, but he's been dead so often on and off again that his actual age is a bit strange. Personally I prefer to keep Simon as someone perpetually from the 50s who just stayed dead a long time but I understand that isn't the route comics take these days and it makes Eric sort of awkward to deal with so I guess yeah, he did watch Cheers as a child.

Simon's sort of someone who simultaneously had to grow up too young and also someone who never really matured. As in, he had all those responsibilities taking over his father's company, but also had no social life and never developed interpersonal relationships or experience. It's an interesting juxtaposition, and his sense of being out of time really does go with this.

And re: Simon's incubation period, when he first comes back from the dead it's basically treated as continous. He has been dead for 13 years in and out of canon. In more modern times, I don't see this lasting anything longer than 7 years, given the Cheers reference, but it does need to be long enough for there to be some sense of whiplash and to allow for all the changes to occur in his absence in a way that feels natural. It is a real shame though because it's one of my favourite aspects of his character that gets lost; the difference between '64 and '77 is way bigger than like, '93 to 2000 or whatever. Not that there's no difference, but you know what I mean. Society progressed so much between his death and revival, and it plays very interestingly to his dynamics with the other Avengers and especially Steve, who reads as untrusting to Simon in those days following his return.

#t: ask #answered #wonder man #simon williams

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ravensvirginity · 2 years

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I think an important part of ntt Raven that’s often forgotten in pretty much all subsequent versions is the specifics of her relationship with Trigon. Trigon stories is all she gets nowadays, but they’ve also been very watered down and are usually pretty badly told.

I think the part that’s often overlooked is Trigon isn’t just tormenting her because he feels like it, he does genuinely want her to rule beside him. He does care about her to some extent because he wants to use her. Personally, I think this is way more interesting than him just wanting to use her to conquer Earth and then not care if she lives or dies (or actively trying to kill her).

After Raven’s death at the hands of the Titans in the Terror of Trigon arc, he seems to be mourning her and argues with Arella when she says he never cared about her.

He seems to view her life as having a value that he doesn’t assign to anyone else, because he sees her as being somewhat of equal status to himself.

He even goes out of his way to make sure she won’t die during his invasion of Earth.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s still an awful father who only cares about Raven for his own selfish reasons (and probably doesn’t see her truly as a person and more as an extension of himself or a possession), but there’s more to their relationship than him just wanting to use her to conquer Earth. This version is personally much more compelling to me. Raven isn’t fighting him to save her own life, but because she cares so deeply about other people and Earth. Her struggle is much harder when she’s fighting against becoming like Trigon instead of just becoming his vessel.

I think this aspect of her has been lost in a lot of modern comics. I hope it’ll be brought back, or at least there will be some good fics about it.

#raven #trigon #new teen titans #teen titans #raven dc #dc comics #if you're seeing this i was brave enough to actually post a raven take

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antiloreolympus · 2 years

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10 Anti LO Asks

1. There's one specific LO ad from waaaay back in 2018 of three vertical panels (yes the repurposed porn logo was in the middle, anyway) and persephone and hades looked?? normal?? like it was the best they were ever drawn, only to you to see how they actually look in comic and it's instead a stretched out chibi for persephone and the weirdest aggregation for a man for hades. like why did rachel's style end up regressing so much since 2017. it's really weird??

2. No but seriously, Why Eris looks like she lost the bet at the NFL Fantasy Football and the bet was shaving her head with the exception of one chunk of hair in the middle, I get that it implies the "Golden Apple" thing in mythology, but honestly it's a very odd aesthetic choice :l

3. The fact RS seems to think the only way to make sure Hades is the most viable love interest is by making sure he's barely better than a literal r4pist is by far the most bizarre thing in the comic. Like girl really? How is that the best he can be? That's not remotely how you play with the "love triangle" trope at all?

4. I love when LO fans use anecdotal tidbits as "proof" stuff like LO like the massive age gap is normal like that's cool that your parents are happily married despite being 30 years apart in age, I know someone who got struck by lightning twice, it doesn't make it common place and normal though.

5. What I find so annoying about basically every HxP retelling (including LO) is they don't seem to realize a big part of the drama was NOT telling Demeter what was going on, and ultimately to get even a semblance of a happy ending requires them to compromise with HER, not her compromising to THEM. It won't happen in LO of course, but Demeter's demands should be met and she should be shown her daughter is in good hands, not her being lied to and having to bend over backwards for Hades' wants.

6. I think RS really wants to come across as a Serious Writer™️ but even beginning writers will say how important it is to have beta readers, multiple drafts, and collaborate w/ others (especially editors), all of which RS openly does not do. Apparently even the art team doesn't get to read the scripts because she adds the dialogue in later, so they can't help either. If RS want to be a better writer then she has to be open to collaboration & even critique, which we know she's strongly adverse to.

7. if it's misogyny to dislike/critique LO then why is it literally a fandom thing and even marketing tool from Rachel and Webtoons to slutshame and get off of the misery and torture of Minthe, Thetis, and Leto for the benefit of two privileged women and a literal king who owns slaves? Why did they make misogyny a part of their story and fandom then if they're apparently so against it?

8. was just on a random twitter thread joking about if zeus or some random rapper had more kids and deadass saw some 19 year old reply "zeus does. read lore olympus fr" and i wanted to die lmao. doesn't "zeus" in lo only have like 8 ish kids at most? this comic is actively dumbing the kids down in real time and it's honestly a bit off putting.

9. I think a lot of people incorrectly compare hadestown and LO because they both have HxP and modern aspects in it, but hadestown Hades only went down his route of capitalist greed to try and give Persephone everything she could want but it corrupted him (he’s the villain in this story and this greed/abuse is why their relationship is failing) meanwhile in LO hades is a greedy asshole with Persephone never pushing back and even embracing the system she’s supposedly against. That’s not the same.

10. Something that pissed me off about the trial was that hades was considering suggesting community service for Persphone’s punishment because a couple things

I feel like Zeus is a god of the mortals, so it wasn’t just hades domain when Persephone killed a river of people

Demeter Hermes and Persephone still lied and covered a crime up (which I understand why they did but still broke some law)

Comparing the crime to Apollo and Artemis, they were rewarded for it because they didn’t hide it and did it in the name of their mother.

Eros’ example should have been used since he was so close to actually facing consequences but Aphrodite saved him.

Persephones act of wrath I felt like was poorly stitched together. In the first season we get hints and that Persephone wants to bring back mortals not nymphs. In the second season when she explains it’s her nameless friends who died and then laughed at her first meeting with hades, felt added in. My assumption for that plot line was still Persephone and Demeter fighting but Persephone saying she’s better at controlling spring or stronger/more talented than Demeter gives her credit for and goes into a fit of rage that harms the mortals without reason or the mortals were saying she wasn’t helping out with the crops something little after a fight with Demeter and Persephone blows up. I just feel like with the act of wrath, Persephone cannot do wrong and the blame for anything on Persephone has to be as small as possible. Like yes Persephone killed those mortals but they killed her best friends so it’s equal (as they weren’t even mention by name till late season 2)

The last thing I hate is that hades and Persephone never question each other. Persephone didn’t talk about the ledger and he wasn’t mad she was hiding her kill count (he yelled at her for trying to save mortals and then made out with her that one time) he just knows it’s gotta be justified. They trust each other blindly. They talk about infertility before the first date, they live together before the first date, hades meet her family for real and not super drunk. Persephone is more mad at Minthe for yelling at hades (when he’s firing her and treating her like an inconvenience) than the fact hades didn’t tell her he was going to propose to her OR THAT HE HAD AN AFFAIR with HERA HER ROLE MODEL.

#anti lo #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical #lo critical

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stonylovessteve · 3 years

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SLS 2021 Creator Reveals

We’ve reached the end of the exchange and that means it’s time to reveal the creators of all our works!

Thank you for putting so much love and effort into Stony Loves Steve 2021, you really made it a great experience. We hope everyone loved it as much as we did!

Giftees, be sure to leave a comment and kudos on your gift if you haven’t already. All our creators worked hard to make this event a success, so show them some love.

You can now post your work publicly outside of the exchange. Tag it as #stonylovessteve2021 on tumblr and we’ll reblog you. @ us @stonylovessteve on twitter and we’ll retweet you.

Below the cut is the final list of all the works produced for the exchange and the creators.

Cold as Ice, Warm my Heart by lil_aussie_girl for parkrstark (MCU, 1.5k)

The cold took away one love already, and his greatest fear is that it will do it again - before he has the chance to say those three important words.

Strength Like The Sea/A Familiar Yet Foreign Face by Lacrimula_Falsa for funkyspacegirlfriend (AU, 3k)

There had to be another explanation for the ugly burning feeling in his chest because this wasn’t a rom-com and he’d known Steve for less than a day.

After years of his father fruitlessly searching for one, Tony finally gets to meet a real-life vampire.

· · ·*‒*‒ ‒ ‒*‒ ·*‒ · ‒ ‒

Anthony.

No, not Anthony, because Anthony had crumbled to dust right before his eyes. But this man looked so eerily similar to him, he could have been Anthony’s twin brother. Only the eyes were different, warm brown instead of cold blue. After being woken nearly a century after he went into stasis because the pain of losing his lover Anthony was too much, Steven meets a man who looks just like him.

I Know There is Comfort Where We Overlap by jellybeanforest for ghosthan (Ults, 10k)

As a relic of a bygone era, Steve struggles with feelings of isolation and severe depression made worse by his recent breakup with Jan Pym. He secretly hooks up with random strangers chasing a sense of connection with someone, anyone. Things are going (not) well when he and fellow Ultimate, Iron Man, are tasked with infiltrating a Thai resort serving as a front for illegal arms dealing. Only catch: They must go undercover as a married couple on their honeymoon.

finding steve rogers by jacobby for geekymoviemom (MCU, 6k)

Steve sighs. “Sorry. I wasn’t a very good tour guide. Ma always told me about the town, but she never got into specifics.”

Tony takes Steve’s hand in his and places it close to his lips. “It’s your first time here too. We understand.”

AKA

After a botched mission with SHIELD, Steve takes a vacation with his family to a town in Ireland.

Things are knot as they seem by BladeoftheNebula for DepressingGreenie (AU, 3k)

Everyone assumes Captain America is an alpha and Steve doesn’t see the harm in not correcting them. After all, Alphas command respect while omegas are still considered far too delicate for leadership.

And sure, it sucks hiding his designation when he’s in love with Tony Stark, the hottest alpha he’s ever seen, but what alpha would want an omega who could lift them with one hand?

So it’s fine. It’s not as if anyone was ever going to find out his secret anyway…

A drop of love by CapAL for Perlmutt (AU, Comic)

After sleeping for 70 years Steve wakes up to a world that he doesn’t understand. As an age-old vampire he’s seen a lot of things in his life, but nothing has ever confused him as much as the bubbly Starbucks barista Tony. They meet by chance and Steve stays. He falls for him, even though he knows he shouldn’t, and together they explore modern New York, while Steve tries to hide his true nature from Tony, afraid that he would send him away if he knew the truth.

The Fake Prince and the Cat by Neverever for Fluffypanda (AU, 5.5k)

Steve is sent in place of Prince Brock to marry the libertine Tony Stark. It's better than he thought it would be, plus he makes friends with a cat.

father to son by parkrstark for HogwartsToAlexandria (MCU, 2.5k)

Steve had been planning on asking Peter to be his son, officially, for weeks now, but he always chickened out because he didn't thik he was good enough for the boy. Funnily enough, Peter had the same idea, but when he showed the adoption papers to Steve, he didn't have the best of reactions.

The Best Half Of Me by Huntress79 for RoseRose (AU, 1.5k)

An encounter with one of his exes at a charity gala opens Tony’s eyes about how much he really loves Steve - and how much he’s looking forward to their future together.

neither here nor there by ghosthan for Welcoming_Disaster (616, 18k)

Captain America comes back from Dimension Z changed. He has had over a decade of his life taken from him, as well as the woman he loved. Stoic, secretive, and traumatized, much of what he experienced remains a mystery to SHIELD and the world; Tony is there to help him heal, and uncover the truth about how much Steve has lost.

The Eventide Aspect by geekymoviemom for ishipallthings (MCU, T, 12k)

“Yeah, Cap, about that,” Tony says, looking rather sheepish as he scratches at the back of his neck.

“Yeah?” asks Steve.

“Well… remember those half-baked ideas that I mentioned? I’m afraid this might be one of ‘em,” says Tony.

“Okay. Care to explain it to someone who doesn't speak technical?”

“Ahh…” Tony trails off, mumbling under his breath again. “Yeah. Um… if my theory is correct, I’m thinking that when we stepped through that window, we might’ve entered another dimension.”

Looking by Robin_tCJ for Vento_Lunar (MCU, E, 4k)

After a raid on a HYDRA base, Steve's body reverts back to the way it was before the serum. Tony still wants him.

You Had Me in the First Half by Corsets_and_Cardigans for Robin_tCj (MCU, E, 2k)

Steve is on his way to meet Bucky for a movie before their football team goes away for a game. Too bad Tony has plans for him! He'll apologize to Bucky for it later.

the rest is history by starksnack for muchmoremajestic (Avengers Academy, G, 2k)

It's Steve's birthday and he usually likes to spend it alone. Of course, Tony has other ideas.

Basically just some soft AvAc fluff.

(Let Me) Love and Be Loved by HeLovedYou for wikketkrikket (MCU, T, 6k)

Steve forgets how to self-sabotage his own happiness.

He also forgets his team, his soulmate and the last three years of his life.

avengers featuring steve’s doppleganger vol 1 (FANCOMIC) by wingheads for jellybeanforrest (616, Art)

tony dates a man who looks a lot like steve. everyone can see it, everyone knows what that means, except tony, who doesn't seem to realize he's dating steve's doppelganger. steve doesn't see the resemblance either and actually comes to like tony's new boyfriend, but then one of the other avengers spills the beans that they look exactly alike to tony, who can't unsee it now and breaks up with the new guy, only for steve to be sad that his baseball-buddy won't be around anymore.

Hart Island by Amber_Skye for lil_aussie_girl (MCU, G, 12k)

Steve is acting out of character, and Tony and the other Avengers can’t work out why.

the soul of dragons by funkyspacegirlfriend for Amber_Skye (MCU, T, 2k)

Steve’s dragon companion is the largest Tony’s ever seen up close. And she captivates Tony from the very first moment.

Just in the Knit of Time by DepressingGreenie for picturecat (Avengers Assemble, T, 2.5k)

Steve only has a week to tell Tony he loves him before his secret is leaked to the world.

Learning Curve by picturecat for Huntress79 (Avengers Academy AU, G, 2k)

Freshly defrosted, Steve Rogers is the newest teacher at the Avengers Academy—an attempt to guide and teach the newest generation of heroes before they have to take on the burdens of their teachers. Steve himself has a lot of learning to do.

First Impression by veryvincible for wingheads (616, M, 7k)

The Avengers find the schematics of a deadly weapon in the hands of an up-and-coming villain. To safely retrieve the data that led to its creation and keep the city safe in the process, they have to take a very subtle approach. The man-- Jack Marshall-- has an eye for hunks and a tendency to get vulnerable with them. The team could use this to their advantage, if they have the right assets.

Enter Steve.

Dandelions and Lilies by Wikketkrikket for CapAL (AU, G, 4k)

Written for CapAL for the StonylovesSteve event 2021.

A summer job in the florists is pretty good, as summer jobs go; and when a handsome guy comes in with some very particular requirements it gets even better.

Or it would, if Steve wasn't lying about the meaning of every bouquet he sold.

Potshot by jellybeanforest for jacobby (AU, T, 2.5k)

In an expansive wasteland infested with hordes of the undead, Steve, leader of a group of ex-military operatives known as the Avengers, searches for survivors and supplies in the ruins of the old world.

That’s all well and good, but Tony would do just about anything for an American cheeseburger.

For Stony Loves Steve 2021. Based on a prompt by jacobby.

Remorse and Rapture by oliverparker for optimusprime13 (AU, E, 6k)

When Steve's mother falls ill, he's forced to move in with the family she works for. He's not thrilled about it.

Shards of Eternities by Perlmutt for starksnack (AU, T, 5k)

Rumor had it that the war would soon be over. It could not end soon enough. Until then, Anthony would wait for Steven. He would wait and protect their child. He would wait and write another thousand letters for his alpha, his mate, his husband, if only he would come home, come for him, come for them.

Two Can Play That Game by JehBeEhh for Becci Barnes (BeccEEE) (MCU, T, 4k)

Tony Stark is many things. Patient isn't always one of them. Especially not when there's a happily ever after at the end of that bout of patience.

Uncovered by mariana_oconnor for Corsets_and_Cardigans (MCU, G, 6k)

Steve didn't think the tip-off was anything more than the usual nonsensical conspiracy theory. He only went to check it out because he was curious. He definitely wasn't expecting it to be a trap.

Build Me Up Buttercup by ishipallthings for BladeoftheNebula (4k, M, MCU)

Tony sees the gold letters spelling “Stark” on the edge of Steve’s hood and his mind grinds to a halt. Steve looks good wearing his name. Too good.

(In which Steve starts experimenting with a new style. Tony does not find this infuriatingly attractive, thank you very much.)

Discovery [Art] by Fluffypanda for captainstars (Art, G, Noir)

Renowned adventurer Tony Stark discovers a carving of a lost civilization's protector.

I left my heart (at home with you) by captainstars for UisceOneLove (2k, G, AU)

It shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did.

The man grinned at him, wide and beautiful. Steve couldn’t help sneaking another glance towards the heavens. They really lost their citizens fairly easily. Steve would like to say this was the first white robed beauty he had come across until now, but he wasn’t.

(OR)

Steve moved to a cabin in the woods hoping to live the life of a hermit werewolf. When Tony Stark decided to become his new neighbor, it threw a bit of a wrench into Steve’s plans.

(OR)

A werewolf and an incubus cuddling in a tree.

Raspberry Beret (I Think I Love Her) by ralsbecket for oliverparker (4k, M, 3490)

When Steve looked at Natasha, he knew in his heart that she was what put his derailed train back on its tracks. For the first time since they met, Steve felt like he had some semblance of a plan for his future. And he wanted Natasha to be a part of it.

Savior Complex by optimusprime13 for HeLovedYou (18.5k, G, AU)

Wealthy businessman Steve Rogers stumbles into barely-getting-by Tony Stark in a cemetery, and they hit it off immediately. Steve is enamored by Tony’s razor-sharp wit, his startling intelligence, and his penchant for building stuff. He has a problem though - he can’t stop wanting to save everybody around him, especially Tony - who is struggling to make ends meet. However, Tony is too proud and stubborn to accept any help from Steve. But when Tony gets kidnapped to act as bait for Steve, how far will Steve go to save Tony when it means sacrificing himself?

Through His Stomach by RoseRose for JehBeeEh (2k, G, MCU)

Steve decides he wants to try to cook with all the new ingredients he has found in this new time, but he needs someone else to taste-test his creations. Tony is holed up in his workshop, so he makes the perfect guinea pig. The two of them grow closer over several meals.

Iron & Sapphire by Becci Barnes (BeccEEE) for Lacrimula_Falsa (AU, 5k)

Steve can always sense him, long before Tony enters his cave. It makes his blue scales tremble and his big wings flutter in excitement. Tony brings light and warmth into this musty hideout he calls home. And food. And while they may be as odd a couple as you can imagine, that won't stop them from bantering and cuddling just like anyone else.

Man On The Moon by Welcoming_Disaster for veryvincible (616, 7k)

Things haven't been the same since Steve has found out about Tony's secret identity. A mission that goes wrong forces both of them to confront why.

I Love You to the Moon and Back by muchmoremajestic for mariana_oconnor (MCU, 3k)

After Steve gets attacked in the woods, certain changes start happening.

Happy Birthday to America's ass by njava97 for ralsbecket (MCU, 2.5k)

It's the night before Steve's birthday and something is very wrong.

Magic's in the Moving Portrait by UisceOneLove for neverever (AU, 9.5k)

Without his ma, Steve's lost his ability to make art. In walks new wizarding student Tony Stark, who also happens to be his new roommate. All hope might not be lost just yet for him and his brush.

Reach The Sky by Vento_Lunar for njava97 (MCU, art)

Non-serum Steve Rogers saves the world. (And Tony saves him)

#stonylovessteve2021

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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Can we talk about the Black Bat both in general, and and how he may have been an influence on two superheroes (Dr. Mid-Nite and Daredevil) and a supervillain (Two-Face), but was proven in a court of law to have no connection with the superhero who immediately comes to mind (Batman).

Having finally read a couple of his original stories and runs, yeah I got some thoughts on him.

While not the first bat-themed pulp character, nor the first fictional detective with a disability turned superpower (that would be Max Carrados, who actually was blind), Black Bat’s main claim to fame nowadays is his correlation to superheroes with the mixed traits he has that would all become massively popularized by characters who debuted afterwards. Regarding the Batman lawsuit, it wasn’t so much proven that they have no connection, as much as the publishers of both characters argued they did it first, and then agreed to stay out of each other’s territory, with Batman staying out of pulp magazines and The Black Bat staying out of comics (not that it would stop his publishers from rebranding him as “The Mask” and doing comics).

Black Bat actually couldn’t have inspired Batman, because Batman debuted 4 months prior. Plus, both were already ripping off the same guy, and both of them were far from the first bat-themed pulp characters at the time. And the idea that he inspired Daredevil I find too much of a reach. Dr Mid-Nite I can definitely see the resemblance, and while Two-Face doesn’t have much similarities to Tony Quinn past the origin and the anti-hero aspects, “handsome crusading District Attorney disfigured after getting splashed in the face by acid goes on a rampage” is not exactly vague enough of a concept to pass for coincidence. Two-Face debuted just 3 years after Black Bat, while Bat was still a pretty successful character (he managed to outlast nearly every other pulp hero), so it’s very possible that Kane and Finger had a look at Black Bat’s origin and used it as the basis for their Jekyll & Hyde-themed villain.

Okay so, that’s that for Black Bat, but what’s the character actually like? What’s there to him other than historical oddities? Does he have what it takes to survive and thrive again in a modern landscape?

The thing that sticks out to me about Black Bat is that he is a pulp character who feels like he was designed specifically with the arrival of the superheroes in mind, as when comic book superheroes began to carve a space for themselves, one of the responses the pulps had was to put out new heroes intended to be a part of both worlds, hybrids of pulp heroes and superheroes who could try to capture success in either format, characters like Ka-Zar and Black Hood who started in one and then jumped to the other.

Black Bat’s got a lot of the usual hallmarks of dark detective pulp heroes and his adventures are largely him battling ordinary criminal masterminds and gangsters, but he’s got an iconic costume, he’s got a super dramatic origin story that the stories keep coming back to (unlike most pulp heroes whose origin stories are not usually mentioned), and he’s got superpowers brought in the aftermath of a tragic accident. Not just skills anyone can have by training hard enough, actual superpowers, even if they don’t see as much usage as his pulp hero skillset.

To the world that knew about him, Anthony Quinn, once a virile, upstanding representative of law forces whose name had held terror for evil doers, was now an impotent blind man whose sight had been permanently destroyed by acid thrown at him in a crowded courtroom, and whose face was horribly scarred about the eyes. For a long time he had seemed to live in a world apart.

Such actually had been the case during the long months when Tony Quinn had lived in a sea of blackness. But Nature had been as kind as possible, giving him something in return for what had been taken from him. As a result he had since realized that his senses of feel, smell, and hearing were far more acute than formerly. Under his sensitive fingers whatever he touched had begun to tell strange new stories. His sense of smell had sharpened. His ears had become the ears of a hound, picking up with ease and sifting multitudinous sounds that once had been inaudible.

More months had gone by until, in the darkness of a lonely night, a girl with golden hair and blue eyes hadcome in through an open window like an angel out of nowhere to offer him hope where eye specialists had said there was no hope. Through a delicate operation by an unknown small town surgeon the corneas of the eyes of Carol Baldwin's policeman father - dying from paralysis brought on by a gangster bullet - had been given to him. An extraordinary thing had occurred. When at last Tony Quinn had been allowed to remove the bandages, he had been astounded by the miracle that had happened. His were the eyes of darkness as well as the eyes of day!

Interestingly also, Black Bat actually became one of the most prolific of pulp heroes when brought over to Germany. When German publishers Pabel decided to reprint a couple of Black Bat novels for the KRIMINAL-ROMAN serial, they discovered “Die Schwarzen Fledermaus” was somehow so popular that in 1962, they retitled it Fledermaus (Bat) and ran with it, reprinting all the original 60+ stories and then, when those ran out, creating 900 more at least. In fact, it seems like they are still publishing Black Bat stories even today, and now that he’s public domain it’s something just about anyone could get into.

Problem with that is, it’s not easy to conceive of The Black Bat having any kind of substantial popularity again, when he’s doomed by design to always be compared to Batman, to always just be seen as first glance as “oh it’s earless Batman with Daredevil’s shtick and Two-Face’s backstory”, and of course he doesn’t have a chance in hell of playing catch-up to the popularity of those characters (well, at least outside of Germany). Whatever niche he could have as an alternative to Batman is also null by the fact that said niche of Not-Batmen is already filled out quite extensively. He doesn’t have an incredibly strong personality the way Batman and The Shadow do, nor is he, despite being ostensibly a serial killer, enough of a trigger-happy anti-hero to latch on to the appeal of characters like The Spider or Punisher. The latest Black Bat comic run by Dynamite played up his ruthlessness, outlaw status and drew him on the covers perpetually holding guns and often with a big creepy smile. But smiling murder pulp Batman is already a niche that Midnighter fills considerably better than Black Bat ever could. So what’s left for him?

If I had to find a unique niche for Black Bat, I’d play his unique traits in ways that separate him from the super characters that ran with those later. I’d ditch the whole “oh woe is me I’m poor and helpless because I’m blind” shtick that’s terribly condescending to actually blind people, and make him at least truly blind in some form. Maybe he’s blind by day and by night he sees too much, or maybe his vision has some terrible secrets that go beyond mere enhanced eyesight. Maybe his powers are growing and expanding in ways he doesn’t know where they will lead him. But alongside that, one take on the character could be based on the fact that he really has nothing to lose. He is not Batman, he is not The Shadow, he isn’t Daredevil, he’s got little reputation to speak of, and he’s never going to be any of those characters.

He’s lost the position he’s coveted his whole life, he’s lost the respect of his peers, his former professional ethics don’t mean shit now, he’s had a long and painful brush with darkness that scarred him for life in ways both literal and metaphorical, and in the aftermath he’s begun spontaneously developing abilities that would be incredibly painful and uncomfortable for an average person to just develop without years of growing up with them. And then, a mysterious woman walked through his window one day, gave him the eyes of a dead man, and now he sees things in ways no person was ever supposed to, and now he goes around at night terrorizing and killing criminals in an animal-themed costume.

The most he has to lose currently is the life of his sidekicks who’ve worked very hard to help him heal and focus and find a new purpose, which only means that they are on the chopping block everytime you wanna give a gut punch to Tony Quinn. And no matter how famous, or even great, his adventures are, or how prolific and successful he is or even has been, he’s always going to be the Bat-themed superhero who couldn’t cut it. He’s Not-Batman, stripped of all the grand splendour and allmighty self righteousness and reputation and role as foundational figure of an entire genre and most popular bestest superhero of all time ever praise be thy Bat God, sharing more traits with one of Batman’s most personal and tragic villains than the titular character.

That’s not an indictment, that just means that Black Bat ultimately should have more narrative freedom, since he is unburdened by reputation and status. He is a public domain nobody best known by his association with characters who eclipse him in popularity, who’s always going to have that accursed Bat prefix and costume to damn him by association, so why not work with it? He could be the character you go into to tell stories that you couldn’t tell with Batman or other big name superheroes, the grimiest, sickest, even weirdest crime tales of all. What does the Black Bat have to lose?

Those who have nothing to lose stand everything to gain, after all.

Also, Masks 2 once presented an alternative version of the character called The Black Bats, who dresses like a baseball player and dual-wields baseball bats, which is nutty and I’d definitely prefer Black Bat to ditch the generic pulp hero guns and instead just go crazy batting everything in his way.

“I gotta tell ya, this is pretty terrific! Hahahahah, yeah!”

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #the black bat #tony quinn #batman #two-face

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rosereview · 3 years

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Favourite Webtoons Part 1

Recently I’ve gotten really into Webtoon and all the different comics there are on there, and I thought I would make a list of all my favourites. These are only the ones I’m reading and obsessed with currently but I’m sure there will be many more in the future that become obsessed with too. But for now, here they are in no particular order, and I tried not to put spoilers in there but I suck at non-spoilery things.

Cuckoos Three by Cassandra Jean & Mosskat

This is an adorable story about two guys falling in love (although we’re not at that part yet) after one of the characters, Jacob, moves to the country from the city and meets his neighbour Murry. I’ve been following this story since the first time Cassandra Jean mentioned making it here on Tumblr and even though it’s been full of multiple starts and restarts, I am so happy that it seems to be continuing officially on Webtoons (and on Cassandra Jean’s patreon). It is just a super heartwarming story that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

This is like the number one story on Webtoon and for good reason. I love this story so much! It’s a Hades and Persephone retelling in a modern Olympus (although an ancient human Greece) that is full of adorable moments. It is so well done and the art is spectacular and the story covers lots of emotional topics. I’m also super excited that it’s coming out as a physical graphic novel soon as well, so if anyone is interested in starting it, but likes to read physical books, I’m pretty sure it’s the first 25 episodes that come out in the first volume October 5th. For sure worth the read and deserving of the hype.

SubZero by Junepurrr

This is the next story that I became obsessed with and even though Junepurrr’s on a hiatus to get ready for season 2 right now, it is worth it to read the whole first season. It’s about two enemy rulers— who can turn into dragons— being forced to marry to stop the war between their two kingdoms. It is a romance and has the whole arranged marriage trope and a love triangle situation, so if your into that then you’ll love this. But also if you just love dragons and fantasy stories that have royals, which I love, then you should also check this out because I loved reading it and the art is gorgeous!

Midnight Poppy Land by Lilydusk

Midnight Poppy Land is also on a hiatus right now, getting ready for season 2, but again it is so worth it to read season 1! I love this story so much and the art is also so beautiful and makes me fall in love with the characters even more. This story is also a romance and is about this girl getting caught in some mafia stuff without meaning to, which is where she meets the main male lead who is one of the mafia tough guy killers who takes it upon himself to protect her. It’s such a cute story and a really nice escapism story that I was really excited for every week that a new page came out.

True Beauty by Yaongyi

Now we have True Beauty which is still going and it’s already on season 2 so if you’re interested to start it, you have to get through a lot to catch up. It’s also a romance with the love triangle trope about a girl who goes to high school and wears her makeup like a mask because without it she looks like a very different person and it’s just her story about that. I became really obsessed with it in the first season and I like it enough to keep reading, but the main character is really frustrating because she’s so naïve and honestly kind of stupid most of the time, just waiting around for her boys to save her, and it feels like the makeup aspect, which I thought would have the message of loving yourself even without makeup, was lost for the second season and kind of also went away. So kind of mad about that since that’s why I started reading it, thinking it would have that type of positive message, but that went away and now I just read it for the dumb drama, the hot guys, and beautiful art. So if you’re into that, I recommend checking it out.

Love Me Knot by Sophia

This last one here I more recently got into and it still seems to be getting to the really good parts, because the first pages have been a good setup for future drama I think, but it’s a very cute story. I love all the characters because they’re just so cute and likable and I also love the whole concept. So the concept is that everyone has these strings connecting them to their soulmate, but they’re invisible to most people but not the main character. The main character’s string is actually cut (like doesn’t attach to anybody) but she can see everyone else’s strings and who they attach to. Because of this she thinks that she’ll never be in love but then she meets a guy who also has his string cut and who can see strings and it goes from there. It also has a sort of love triangle aspect later on, but like I mentioned there hasn’t been much drama and I feel like since there aren’t that many pages yet, the foundation is still being made for the story and more stuff will come soon. In other words, I see a lot of potential for this story and I can’t wait to see where it’s headed!

So that’s it for this first part and I’ll have a second part coming soon since I couldn’t fit all of my recommendations onto this list because there are so many, and I think I will be doing even more in the future. So I hope that someone found an interesting Webtoon on here that they want to read because I think that all of these creators deserve all the support they can get (and yes even the well known Webtoons, because they’re well known for a reason!) So if you’re interested please check them out.

Until next time!

~Rose Reviews

#lore olympus #rachel smythe #sub zero #junepurrr #cuckoos three #cassandra jean #mosskat #midnight poppy land #lilydusk #true beauty #yaongyi #love me knot #sophia #webtoon #favourite webtoons

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streets-in-paradise · 4 years

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Let’s talk about the amazingly on spot social commentary on The Boys

Warning: This post contains spoilers from Season 1 and the first three episodes of season 2 of The Boys

Tags: @nehoymenyoy asked to be tagged. I don’t know if my tags are working well but if they don’t i will send you the link of the post.

I decided to make this post because i finished all the avaliable episodes of the series two days ago and, having a long talk with my sister about this topic, i tought this is too awesome to not discuss it here. We are both studying in careers of the social field, i'm in sociology and she is in social work. We watched the show together and talking with her inspired my own ideas i would like to share here.

This show was a wonderfull surprise in terms of social commentary. I haven't watched one with such a great commentary since American Gods. In that case i was expecting some degree of progressive commentary because i had read the book previously and i was aware the source material had some, the one added for the series is even better and it was great, but it wasn't a shock to find it. For The Boys i haven't read the comics first and , even when i loved the show for lots of reasons, the amazing on spot social commentary was a hell of a surprise. I have been frustrated lately in terms of the messages in entertaiment products because, even when there is a lot of intention for part of the makers to make more progressive points in their stuff, everything becomes bland marketing to me most of the time. I remember that some years ago media used to came out unintentionally with some really cool progressive messages ( like, for example, " a bug's life" and its anti capitalist message). That stuff seemed soo genuine and today i feel that everytime a product targets my demographic in that sense what they deliver it's soo bland and fake that the progressive intention of the message gets lost in the absolutely obvious intention of selling something to me using my ideals as catch. Precisely this is an important point of critic in this show. I didn't expected at all to get a genuine feeling in the social commentary of a superhero show. I'm not saying that this means i think the makers believe in this (after all, it's amazon), what i praise here is how good they did it. In a time when most productions claim to have a social commentary behind to come out as cool but result in shallow fake bullshit this series has provided me with something that feels autentic. Like American Gods, what i feel the show is trying to tell me actually gets me.

Before starting with the proper talk i want to dedicate a few línes to recommend a few scenes of the show i just mentioned. I was super dissapointed after finding out they will probably end up turning it into more bland fake bullshit for season 3 but, to anyone who likes well delivered social commentary, check on Orlando Jones's scenes as Anansi. He is my favourite character from the show and all his scenes are a blessing.

I would also want to clarify that this post and the opinions displayed on it are from an anti capitalist, intersectional feminist and latin american perspective. I know the show is very american, the issues it discusses are most of the time worlwide but it has particularities of the american context so i will try to talk only of what i feel i know enough to have a word. I'm argentinian and we have our local versions of some of this problems but i will stay in the series territory trying to be as faithfull as i can to the american reality it gets inspiration from. Also, forgive me for any mistakes on my writing and expresions. English is not my native language.

Superheros are modern mythology. How would this work in real life?

This is the basic premise of the show’s worldbuilding. The great thing is that this concept is not developed in an edgy, pretentious way. It is serious and painfully real because it’s not only a subversion of tropes, it says a lot of what superheros are to us as a modern times myth. In a superficial view, the world of The Boys feels like what the MCU could have become after the Sokovia accords if they would have been efficiently followed on a worldwide scale.

In that particular universe i use as reference, our superheros are noble and morally heroic individuals.State intervention is the factor threatening to corrupt their actions making them follow the interests of the system. The risk there, along with some very shady violations of human rights to powered people, is having superheros tied to something as unstable as political power. You can fear, for example, what a Trump-like president could do if he had power over the Avengers because, again, the heros are not corrupt, their line of command is. Now, if we strip away all the idealization we had putted on this bunch of powered persons and see them as what they truly are at the end of the day, people like everyone else. Why are we supposed to believe they are immune to corruption? If we also consider the phenomenon of strong privatization of security that has been growing worldwide . Wouldn’t they be more like security workers working for a private contractor? Less like heros and more like private military / security officers? Now, this is what we are talking about.

What feels so different from this show is that it assumes a surprisingly realistic point of view on a modern fantasy we are very used to consuming and still constructs a new power fantasy that empowers the viewer. I’ m saying this as an MCU fan, I had grown too comfortable with this optimistic fantasy and this twist from it is brilliant. To put some context on what i want to say here i will try to explain myself first on why i think that superhero fiction have this enormous popularity today and it has become such a huge thing in entertainment. Besides of the obvious reason of big companies producing big exciting action blockbusters for the genre, it’s curious to think on how much these stories gathered a lot of progressive audiences. In past decades action blockbusters didn’t felt progressive, today’s superhero blockbusters were embraced by progressive audiences and this was the start of a twist in general for the media. I think that there is a contextual social reason for this, not the only factor but one i feel is considerable.

Late Stage Capitalism crushed us, we are so used to injustice and the control the system has over us is so big that we have slowly stopped dreaming of changing it ourselves. Instead, the fantasy of a superhuman who has the power we don’t have saving us from oppression feels really comforting. Captain America becoming such a huge icon in the middle of a time where extreme facism is rising again all over the world, for example. I don’t know much about his comic counterpart but, at least from what i see in the movies, Steve’s ideals feel to me like all those aspects from French Revolution’s Enlightenment that capitalism dropped away once bourgeois defeated their feudal rivals and capitalism got consolidated, the freedom and equality that feudal lower classes fought for. Today, we feel too small to make a difference so we enjoy the fantasy of powerful persons leading the fight for us. Capitalism feels more unstoppable than ever, it is the only thing who seems strong to remain in a terribly chaotic world. The suffering this cruel system brings to this world is overwhelming, we feel only a miracle can save us now. This is what feeds the narrative of the superhero as modern myth and saviour of humanity.

The Boys tosses aside all our hopes and dreams, presenting us with the most realistic escenario. Superheros are not the miracle we are waiting for, they are humans like everyone else. They are not sacred entities existing beyond our societies, they are part of the system and they insert on it as part of the security industries. They can be corrupted and they work in corrupt institutions in benefit of the ruling class like every other security provider in capitalist societies. They become a new face of the security forces in constant tension with police and military because the myth of the superhero provides them with the public trust those other two forces lost. People lost their trust in cops but they trust sups because they are supposed to be this noble individuals mobilized by their personal feelings of injustice trying to make the world a better place … right? Police are the forces of the ruling class but superheros are supposed to be with us, or at least this is what common sense and propaganda claim, having our hopes as a base to work on.

For someone so used to the typical superhero fantasy this felt like a slap on my face back to reality. It soo accurate , the system tends to capture any revolutionary input and turn it into profit. Even if the sups could had been a revolutionary factor at the beginning, the most likely thing to happen is for them to become a profitable industry. If we add to this what we already know of the actions of police and military in our real world we have a combo for disaster. The realistic twist is so fresh and painfully real, i can totally see this happening in real life if superheros were a thing.

We have already introduced ourselves in the world of this story, let’s check on the first main character this series introduces to us. Hughie Campbell, a college age guy who works in an electronics store, lives with his dad and has the most boring average life you can imagine. This guy who is too afraid to ask his boss for a pay raise changes overnight when a superhero kills his girlfriend in front of him and the big corporation the asshole works for covers up the whole thing. The “average guy becomes a hero” trope is not new at all, but the use it has here feels fresh because it is not there only to feed the male geek power fantasy. Hughie is not a geeky average guy only so geeky average guys can identify with him in an action series full of geeky references,he is not there to be the nerdy guy from Robot Chicken. Hughie’s characterization makes a point for everyone. The smallest most unimportant person, the one who can't even stand up for themselves in everyday situations, can make a change. Remember Samwise Gamgee fighting Shelob in Lord of the Rings? Hughie killing Translucent gives me that vibe. If we consider the point i already stated about superheroes being there when we feel too small to fight back injustice, this is the exact opposite. This is a fantasy that gives us the power, makes us think in our own strengths. Hughie is standing up for himself for the first time in his life and he inspires us to fight for our rights.

Pharmaceutical,Security and Entertainment industries and their business system : Superheros as lab rats,elite security forces and celebrities.

This part of the post is the hardest to write and the most exquisite. There is so much to talk about about this system Vought shaped tying these three billionaire industries together. The first thing i want to mention, as a point to start, is Butcher’s ramble over the teddy bear with a camera inside in his meeting with Hughie. Perfect introduction for the character with a delightful moment of commentary. In our current societies people live in constant fear for hundreds of reasons. Fears over street crime had skyrocketed all over the world even when crime is not growing uniformly in every country and that accelerated the privatization of security, fears of parents over the strangers they leave they kids with when they are not home inspired products like the one mentioned in the series’s moment, fears on the effects of processed foods are an impulse for the diet industry and i could keep naming lots of other examples. Fears, and the emotional response they trigger , are the base of profitable businesses.

I had been reading some authors that describe this stage of capitalism as an emotional one. Capitalism preached science and rationality during the past century but today its base of support is an emotional one. To excite the sensations of the people as consumers, to eliminate rational criticism, to push anti popular agendas through emotional excitement and mass hysteria. To cite another example that you can consider bounded to the series, Right Realism in Criminology is now almost common sense and there are people who keep asking for harsher punitive systems. This ideology, with the help of media panic, goes straight after their feelings and fears of being victims of violent crimes. Rational thinking is not the area of discussion, the base of the argument is on fear and pain. Fear of being potential victims, pain shared with the victims thinking in solutions that sound more like revenge than justice.

Going back to my point, in the world of The Boys this type of punitivism seems to have succeeded even in a greater way than in our current world because it has superheros as backup. If real life harsh punitivism feeds on fear and a wish for social revenge, in this world it has the positive emotions supes inspire on people as a trust certificate for the persons who may not feel that way. They are loved and worshipped celebrities, their faces are everywhere, they have thousands of fans… who would see flaws in what they do? Can you imagine a world in which we worshipped cops and soldiers like we worship celebrities? This is it, people put their blind faith in them because most of them seem to be their fans. Even the people who are against brutality in the actions of security forces would end up trusting them because they are famous people. Our culture has taught us to make ourselves blind to the bullshit we see on the celebrities we love. Fans have a strong emotional attachment to their favourite celebs and this can turn into emotional manipulation in this context. If actors or singers in real life can have a fanbase that forgets to see them as human people how would these actual superhumans not end up being worshipped as gods?

There has always been military propaganda in entertainment but this marriage between the industries through superheros is far more sinister than that. It makes you think about the unfair amount of credibility we put in celebrities. The plane crash scene of Homelander and Maeve it’s even more devastating looking at it from that perspective. Those persons had their full trust in them and they were safer with the terrorists. Can you imagine being a Homelander fan and dying there? That’s horrible, the last thing you get in your life is the biggest disappointment ever from someone you trusted and stanned.

Speaking of Homelander, he is a right wing wet dream and one of the best villians i had ever seen, he makes me feel sick with how fucking despicable he is. His character is an excellent point to start the ramble on the third wheel of this corporate nightmare. Superheros are products of the pharmaceutical industry, injected with a drug since they were babies. In his particular case, he was raised like a lab rat and the series is realistic even in this detail. The lab rat kid with superpowers is another common trope that we see pretty often and here it also gets twisted. I’m thinking for example on Eleven from Stranger Things, she has been raised by abusive scientists who treated her as an experiment, yet she is this sweet kiddo who has a hard time socializing. Instead, Homelander is a monster without conscience or mercy and seems to be severely affected by his abnormal childhood. Brilliant, he is the ultimate product of this corporative triangle and depicts everything that's wrong with it.

The cycle is pretty clear: drugs create them, they play their role in security and their media notoriety justifies their actions. As it is shown in season one, the security aspect of the corporate complex represented mostly in Homelander’s actions craves to grow bigger and get supes into the military since, in the startpoint of the series, they only work with cops. Since the industry feeds on fear and Vought seems to have a monopoly in the production of powered persons there were no threats big enough to justify the intervention of superhumans in wars. Dismissing the importance of this monopoly for the company, Homelander suministrates the drug to terrorist groups in an attempt to create the first super villains. This is a perfect analogy of how the american war machine works. There is no way for terrorist groups from Third World countries to get access to sophisticated war technology without help from the ones who wield that power better than anyone. The first mentions of the supe terrorists reminded me of when i was in my course of worldwide history in college and i learned there how most of those famous names in middle eastern terrorism were actually friends with the CIA before at some point. Here in South America we have other history regarding the style of USA intervention, the Plan Condor dictatorships in the 70’s and early 80’s. I was just starting my career when I had a month of history classes about the Middle East and, being pretty ignorant on the matter, it shocked me the way in which the US villainized people they used to work with. I think the series makes a great point with this part of the plot because it hints something of this war mechanics.

Gender politics of the series: a surprisingly complex approach on the topic of sexual assault ,a realistic critic to bland white feminism and the empty cashgrabbing ways in which mainstream media adapts feminist discourse.

This topic was even a bigger surprise for me. I wasn't expecting such an interesting approach of gender issues, mostly because this is the area in which media wannabe woke messages had become more dissapointing to me lately. Specially in a show about superheros, i wasn't expecting to get very interesting points.

I will start talking of the portrayals of sexual assault. We have two sexually assaulted characters in the series, Starlight and Becca. First, i think it is great that they didn't used the "rape as character development" trope. Actually, it's cool how they mock this conceptions. When Starlight saves a woman from being raped on the streets or when she makes a public statement about her sexual assault it's the people behind her, building her public image as a character, the ones who push that trope. In the first time their great character development idea is to sexualize her outfit, after the second event mentioned they literally push her sexual assault as development. I love how the public relationships team acts oftenly in a men writing women way, serving as mirror for the most common mistakes of writers on pop culture products when they write female characters.

Going back to my point, i like the effort they putted into portraying differences in both cases. Homelander is the typical portrayal of a rapist, a narcisistic monster without remorse, a deranged son of a bitch. The Deep is also a piece of shit, but of a different kind. There is a phrase that feminists of my country had popularized " los violadores son hijos sanos del patriarcado" ( it means, the rapists are healthy sons of the patriarchy. It tries to explain they are not crazy individuals who act outside societal circunstancies), the Deep reminded me of that.

He is not crazy, he is an insecure guy with a super fragile ego who abuses women for power. Insecurity on men under patriarchy tends to become bashing of women. This is not a black and white portrayal of a sex criminal, it is surprisingly complex. Of course,his actions were unexcusable. He will never repay what he did to Starlight and other women before her but he has chances of working on his issues and, eventually if he trully wants to get better, stop being the scumbag he is. He is not a deranged criminal whose only fate is to be neutralized for the safety of others.

I think this is important because, at least in my country, i had seen people using sex offenders as an example of why countries without death penalty should implement it. I don't support extreme autoritarian security measures and it makes me sick to hear that there are people claiming those as solutions in the name of women's safety. I like the approach they took to portray The Deep as the piece of shit he is but still showing the complexity of this issue instead of going for a more traditional dichotomic way.

Back to the mocking of mainstream media's attempts of adopting a feminist approach i mentioned, the season two got even better at this commentary on the "Strong Female Character" trope with the introduction of Stormfront. She is the literal embodiment of what shitty marketing says an empowered female character must be and has the biggest "I'm not like other girls" complex ever. That interaction she had with Starlight in "pink = bad, pants = cool" mood was super annoying and blaming her for the assault?? Freaking disgusting.

Honestly, i hated her soo much even before she showed her true colours completely. Stormfront represents everything i hate in Hollywood's feminism and the crappy meaningless messages it's pushing lately. She reminds me to all the fake "woke" advertisements i had seen on tv, like a Carefree (pads brand) advertisement that pissed me off last week because with the slogan " self trust is beauty" it portrayed girls who wear make up as fake and insecure.

Now, speaking of that particular scene of her killing Kimiko's brother. I felt literally sick, even sicker than in every Homelander scene. This bitch is worst than Homelander because at least he gathers a public that serves to his views. If you ever need to provide someone with a proof of why intersectionality in feminism matters use this racist bitch. Horryfying racism hidden behind the progressive mask of a bullshit privileged version of feminism, the thing i hate the most. She has a strong nazi terf vibe. I think she absolutely applies as mirror of critic to stuff like Rowling's terf nonsense.

The introspective look this series has regarding the multiple issues on today’s attempts of gender approach on media entertainment surprised me. It’s everything i would had wished something to point out but nobody seemed to have the guts to make it happen because, as i already said, the current trend is what it’s being focus of critic here.

I will end this now, i feel there is plenty of more stuff to talk about but this post is getting very long and, if i get more ideas i want to discuss, i can always make a second post. As i said before, this expresses my humble opinions and i’m open to hear different interpretations that can enrich my views.

Thanks for reading this extra long ramble.

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frostsinth · 3 years

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Laughing at Clouds - Commission One-Shot

This was a commission one-shot for the lovely @toocurly4me who requested a monster match based upon some information given. The request was set to modern day, and with a little info about what our MC is into, I was more than happy to write out a little something for them! I had fun writing this. It was nice to be in our own time for once, and I love seeing our monsters out and about with the rest of us!

Want your own commission? I have a few slots left open. Check out my post HERE for details, or DM me directly. You can also BuyMeACoffe while you peruse my other ramblings on my MasterList

All the best and enjoy!

It was a rainy day on campus, with the cold biting chill of the morning lingering in each droplet that beat against the navy fabric of her school sweatshirt. The forecast hadn’t said anything about rain today. The storm felt like it had come out of nowhere. Hell, it was nearly the middle of winter! If the weather was going to do anything unpredictable, it should be snowing! Then she wouldn’t be caught so horribly unprepared; it would have been easier to brush off soft powder instead of soaking up the ice cold water into every inch of fabric on her body and plastering it to her small form. Until she was completely miserable, and pretty certain her dark skin would have a distinctive blue tint to it from her sweater’s dye bleeding into it.

But there had been nothing for it. Attempting to wait out the worst of the storm in the back of the science building where she had snuck in to view the new zoology exhibit had led to the downpour only getting heavier. And she had that end of term paper due the day after tomorrow. There was no way she could waste another minute lingering beneath those flickering lights. It was only a ten minute walk. How drenched could she possibly get in ten minutes?

The answer was “very”. “Soaked to the bone” also seemed a much more concrete and visceral description to her now than it ever had before in her life. And the young woman wasn’t even sure if she was even still headed in the right direction anymore. Three years on campus had imprinted the memory of the sidewalks of the commons into her mind's eye, but the rain was driving down sideways now, and she had bowed her head and pulled her hood as low as she could over her thick braids to keep it from smacking her in the face.

So she had a lovely view of her grey and black striped boots right when she hit something far more solid than the sheets of rain.

Her center of gravity forcibly shifted, a soft squeak escaping from between her lips before she could even process the fact that her feet were trying to continue forward even as her upper body fell backwards.

Just before she completely lost her balance, she felt something strong and firm catch hold of her flailing arm. Stubbornly denying the will of gravity.

“Hey, woah! Watch out!” Came the cry, the smoky sounding voice muffled by the pounding rain.

But it seemed to no avail. She was going down, and now whoever was the owner of the voice would be coming with her. The young woman toppled backwards, catching the majority of the impact on her bottom before toppling the rest of the way to her back. The icy cold puddles on the sidewalk splashed up about her in a stumpy wave almost comically. Or at least, it would have been comical, had another form not fallen pretty much directly on top of her as well.

Her lips sputtered for air momentarily, stuck somewhere between the weight of the stranger’s body forcing the air from her lungs and the pouring rain making her feel as though she were halfway underwater. She flailed her arms about, gasping in surprise as she tried to get her bearings.

Her progress was impeded by the person currently flailing about themselves as they tried to find solid ground. The full realization of her predicament had her face flushing dark, and she managed to sink her palms into the puddles on either side of her and start to prop herself up. Feeling the water thoroughly soak into the seat and back of her worn jeans as she did.

Her would-be rescuer slash the instigator of all her woes managed to get to their feet first, and she found a hand extended into her line of sight. Dark brown eyes darted up, blinking through the rivers of rain streaming down her face that seemed to pool at the ends of her long lashes. The first thing that cleared the mists beyond the tip of her nose was a set of sharp, sparkling white teeth bared in a sheepish smirk above her. The young woman reached up in a daze, and found her forearm caught in his offered hand. She could barely make him out through the thick turrets, but as he leaned back to help tug her to her feet, she was very aware of the fact that he was not human. Not that she could really tell much else amid the pouring rain. The man was about her height, perhaps shy an inch or two, and that was about the extent of her analysis at the moment. That, and those glitteringly sharp teeth he shot her once more. She couldn’t help but stare a little in surprise even as she got her feet back under her.

It certainly was not entirely out of the scope of possibility. Her university was one of the most diverse in the area. But still, having come from the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and coupled with the fact that she tended to avoid the more crowded aspects of college life in favor of quieter, more solitary activities, the young woman was always a little surprised at first to run into any of the non-human students of the campus. In this case, she was being quite literal about the “running into” part.

“Sorry!” He exclaimed as loudly as he dared, having to raise his voice to be heard over the din of the rain. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!”

Under any other circumstances, she would have laughed as she fished for her soaked hood. “Me neither, I’m sorry too!” She replied quickly, eager to be on her way and out of the downpour. She cast an eye about, and realized she must have turned right at the fork instead of left. She was going completely the wrong direction, which would mean even longer out in the icy grip of the storm. She shivered at the thought.

He seemed to be looking about as well, and reached for what appeared to be an umbrella that had been lost to the side of the path in the scuffle. As he scooped it into hand and turned it right side up, she gave a shriek of surprise which matched his own yelp as a fresh bucket of water fell on both of them.

“Aw, fuck!” He shouted, jumping a little. “Damnit! Fuck, I’m so sorry!”

Now freshly soaked and feeling like a drowned cat, she looked at him. Her arms wrapped around her shivering body, her thick hair plastered to her face and neck. He moved to hold the umbrella high over the both of them, again returning her bewildered stare with another sheepish look. He managed to reduce the rain’s assault on the tops of their heads at least, save for a few errant drips, but increasing its pounding crescendo tenfold in their ears as it pounded against the top of the umbrella instead.

“Look, my place is just there,” He told her, pointing to one of the scraggily buildings repurposed for dorms a few yards down the road, “Come on, it’s fucking cold out here. We’ll catch our deaths.”

She glanced over at the building, still shivering, and opened her mouth to reply. Quite before she could, she found his arm scooped in hers. Steering her the few yards to the creaky iron gate and up to the door. She was far too surprised to object.

Once on the covered porch, he released her arm, then shook the excess water from his umbrella and turned to look back over the drenched campus behind them.

“Gods above, what a dreadful day.” He grumbled before turning to face her properly. “I’m sorry I knocked you over…. And then dumped water on you…” He cocked his head to the side, smirking grin returning to his face, “And then proceeded to kidnap you. Let me make it up to you, yeah?”

The woman blinked at him stupidly a few times, finally able to take him in from head to toe without the rain impeding her line of sight.

He was slender built, with an athletic form currently generously framed by the way his drenched clothes stuck to him like spandex. Water dripped from the tip of a long slender nose, and his eyebrows arched in the center of an over pronounced brow as he looked at her. It was impossible to tell what color his hair was normally, as it was several shades darker now with water dripping from the spikey tips that were currently flattened to the top of his head. She ventured to guess it was probably a copper brown, and he seemed to have the sides shaved stylishly short while the top was wild and long. Long enough to possibly braid down the back of his slightly oversized head she imagined, should he so choose. He also boasted a pair of large ears, nearly as wide as her palm where they connected to the side of his skull, but then tapering into a broad but slightly rounded point a few inches beyond. The tips were loose, and shifted with his features as he talked. As expressive as his wry lips, which curled back into that sheepish smirk as she watched. She would also venture to guess that he was a deep, mottled green, though in the dim light of the morning it was hard to tell the exact shade, and she imagined he might be a fair bit paler from the cold.

The goblin cocked his head back to the side under her inspection, perhaps used to such staring, and offered out his hand “I’m Jaco, by the way.”

“Uh... “ She realized her mouth was dropped open a bit, and quickly endeavored to close it. Reaching out to carefully take his hand in hers. But as she met his bright yellow eyes… the knowledge of her own name suddenly fled her. “Oh.. I’m… Um…”

His brow raised quizzically. “... Ah, Are you alrig-”

“Rachelle!” She blurted quickly, then cleared her throat embarrassedly. “... I’m Rachelle…”

That sheepish grin returned, and his eyes glinted mischievously. “... Perhaps you hit your head when we fell?” He offered, almost as if he could read the loud hum that seemed to be currently filling her cranium. Though it certainly wasn’t from falling. Well… not the fall he meant at least...

She did laugh now, releasing his hand bashfully and pushing the loose strands of her sopping hair out of her face. “Something like that…”

“Sorry again about all that... “ He shuffled his feet, clearing his own throat and sneaking a peak up at her. “Can I make it up to you? Perhaps some tea or coffee? Or maybe hot chocolate, if you’ve got a sweet tooth?”

Rachelle gave a hefty sigh, shaking her head. “I really shouldn’t, I’ve got a term paper due that I haven’t even started-”

“Well, you won’t be able to start until you get dry, right?” He interrupted. “Why not dry off and warm up over some cocoa with some company?”

Her face blazed hot again, and she sheepishly rubbed at the back of her neck. “I’d just get wet again.” She pointed out with a small smile.

“I’ll escort you back, if you want.” He offered. “Or you can take my umbrella; I’ll enchant it this time so you won’t get a drop on you.” Her eyes lit up at the word ‘enchant’, and the goblin eagerly latched on. “I’m here studying enchantments.” He explained. “Working on my thesis actually, in thermopartical magicks and their effect on…” He dropped off, looking a little embarrassed at the sudden gush of enthusiasm for an obviously favored topic “... Ah, I don’t want to bore you with the science-”

“No, it’s not boring at all!” She returned quickly, almost bouncing on her toes in excitement. “I’ve always wanted to learn more about magic, but humans aren’t allowed to study the Application field, only research and historical.”

His sharp toothed grin grew to reach almost to his ears. “I am certainly not above showing off with a few magic tricks for a beautiful woman.” He teased, and his ears flopped as he cocked his head to one side. “Especially if it makes her eyes sparkle like that when I do.”

She nearly toppled over as her head spun at his words. A shy laugh petered from her lips, and she shuffled her feet. But she couldn’t completely hide the embarrassed smile that slipped across her lips. Jaco waited a moment, then bowed his shoulders, trying to catch her eye.

“... Can I tempt you again with the hot cocoa, Rachelle?”

She grinned again, looking up at him coyly. “... I could probably be convinced.”

He returned the smile, and reached for the handle of his door, bowing melodramatically at the waist as he opened it for her. She couldn’t help another laugh, and moved to step around him. As she did, her foot slipped on the old wooden boards of the porch, having spent the last few minutes becoming horribly slick with the water dripping in streams off their clothes. She gave another squeal, and felt herself sliding backwards for the second time that day. This time, Jaco reacted quicker, and his arm snaked out, catching her and lending his strength as she gathered her feet beneath her once more.

However, the motion brought him perilously close to her, and both of their eyes widened slightly at their sudden proximity. A hesitant silence filled the air, punctuated only by the drumming rhythm of the rain around them. Her breath caught and fluttered about in her throat, her heart skipped sporadically in her chest. He smelled of rain right now, but there was also the distinct hint of something spicy beneath it… cinnamon maybe? The realization that he was close enough to distinguish that made the balls of her cheeks grow hot despite the chilly morning air.

She couldn’t help her eyes darting down to his thin lips. Which curled into a smile as she did. Rachelle quickly corrected her gaze, meeting his yellow eyes with dark pools of velvet brown.

“Don’t let me stray down that train of thought,” He warned her lightly, his voice teasing and soft, “I’m trying to be a gentleman. Cocoa and an enchanted umbrella seem more than sufficient for a good first impression, no?”

She straightened a little more, and realized his three fingered hand had lingered in the small of her back. “Oh?” She managed after a shallow little wisp of a breath. “And I suppose a gentleman wouldn’t kiss a woman they’ve just met?”

She meant it to sound teasing and light, but his sharp yellow eyes danced at the sound of her voice. She caught him sneaking a peak at her full lips and they tingled under his scrutiny. She chased a nervous breath down her throat with a quiet swallow.

“I suppose they might. But the problem is,” He purred, leaning a little closer, “If I kissed you now, I don’t know if I’d be able to stop...”

#monster lover #monster fluff #monster x human #goblin lover #goblin boyfriend #modern monster #terato #exophilia #soft stuff #one shot #citrus #monster romance

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schleierkauz · 3 years

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Q&A Highlights

Ok so bad news first: My questions were ignored. Cornelia did not clarify any of our death-related theories. Maybe next time.

There was A Lot of other stuff, though so... Enjoy!

- The stream starts with everyone wishing us a happy women’s day! Usually women in Erfurt (where the bookstore people are) get flowers but not today because... you know. Cornelia says America is starting to go back to normal, meanwhile Germany... :| Anyway. Don’t look over here.

- Cornelia says she probably won’t get the vaccine anytime soon because she’s just chilling on her farm anyway and people who have to be out in public/are vulnerable should get it first

- Question: When will Cornelia visit Germany again? In response to this, she gives us some exclusive news, not official yet, heard it here first: She’s gonna move to Italy! Apparently she bought an olive farm there which is cheaper, better for the environment (her current farm will be sold to some people who want to turn it into an organic farm) and obviously closer to Germany so she’ll be here more often. :)

- The 4th Reckless book will be released in English at some point this autumn

- There’s no definite release date for TCoR because she’s busy with Dragonrider but she hopes she’ll have finished writing it by the end of this year

- If she’s still alive after all that to work on Reckless 5, it’ll be the last book of the series... probably. She’s also working on a bunch of smaller projects with her artists in residence

- Question: What are Cornelia’s favorite stories by Jane Austen, the Brontë sister and Shakespeare? She’s not a huge fan of Austen or Brontë because she finds all those repressed emotions too exhausting to read about. With Shakespeare on the other hand she struggles to name a favorite because there’s so much greatness to choose from (she does name MacBeth and Romeo and Juliet though)

- The Black Prince’s legacy in the Reckless timeline may play a role in the next Reckless book or it might evolve into a whole other story. Either way, she’s thinking about it 👀

- Someone asks about Reckless characters and Cornelia says that Kami’en and the Dark Fairy felt very familiar to her from the start in that she always knew who they were as people. She’s not sure why that is. She thinks the Dark Fairy represents many aspects of womanhood, like the ancient forgotten Goddess. Same with Fox, who embodies different sides of that.

- If Cornelia had to date a man from the Mirrorworld, Kami’en would interest her

- Rainer Strecker randomly joins the chat to say hi and everyone is delighted

- Cornelia’s favorite book series is still Lord of the Rings

- Question: Why has the Black Prince never found his true love? Cornelia says she’s not sure that’s true - maybe he did found true love at some point and then lost it again? ‘...and they lived happily ever after’ isn’t a guaranteed outcome after all. Since he’s such a passionate man, she’s pretty sure he’s had at least one big lovestory at this point. She hasn’t asked him about that yet but hopes she’ll find out when she continues writing his story.

- Jumping off that question, Cornelia says she respects her characters’ privacy and lets them keep their secrets until the time comes to ask about them, just as she would with real people.

- Someone asks if Cornelia has ever written herself into a story and she says a part of her is in all her characters. Except the villains because she hates them. She feels closest to Fox because she also always wished she could shapeshift

- The bookstore lady jumps in and asks about Meggie, is she similar to how Cornelia was as a child? Cornelia says yes, especially because she also had a very close relationship with her father and they would bond over books. However, she always envisioned Meggie with dark hair and as a different kind of girl than she was. (Ok sidenote from me on that, I wonder what she means by ‘dark hair’? Because Meggie is explicitly blond, so like... dark blond? Or did we just unlock brunette Meggie in 2021? Cornelia-)

- Continuing the conversation, Cornelia says she doesn’t consider herself the creator of any of the characters in her stories, she feels like she met them and wrote about him but she would never say something like ‘I invented Dustfinger’ because that’s absurd. How would that even work. That’s disrespectful. No.

- Some characters pretty much demand to be written about and are very impatient (like Jacob), others are more shy and elusive and take effort to understand (like Will or Dustfinger)

- There probably won’t be another book like The Labyrinth of the Faun because it was created under such unbelievable circumstances. Cornelia does enjoy writing film scripts, though, like she did for the Wild Chicks recently

- Question: How does Cornelia come up with character names? She has a bunch of encyclopedias and when she knows where a story takes place she checks if there are any artists from there whose names she can steal. She always wants names to have meaning and to paint a picture of whatever character it belongs to. However, she says that sometimes the vibe of a name is a tricky thing: When she wrote The Thief Lord (which takes place in Italy), she thought ‘Mosca’ was the perfect name for a big strong boy. However when the time came to translate the story into Italian, the Italians told her that ‘Mosca’ sounds like the name of a tiny little fly. Oh well.

- Cornelia says a lot of readers have written to her about The Thief Lord because at one point Victor (the detective) calls Mosca (who is black) a “Mohrenkopf”. Context: ‘Mohrenkopf’ is a German slur towards black people and also an outdated name for this goddamn marshmallow cookie:

Fuck this cookie.

- Cornelia says yeah, Victor is being racist in that moment but that doesn’t mean that she, the author, is racist. Similarly, she used the term ‘Indians’ in Reckless and a lot of readers were upset which she did not anticipate. To her it’s a positive word since she admires ‘Indians’ so deeply and finds terms like ‘Native/Indigenous Americans’ very complicated. She wonders how much longer she’ll be allowed to say ‘Black Prince’

- She thinks it’s right to be vigilant about bigotry but simply searching for problematic words is dangerous because context matters

- Bookstore lady brings up Pippi Longstocking and how the N-word has been removed from modern copies (think Pippi’s father). She think’s it’s wrong because the original text is part of the cultural heritage and shouldn’t be hidden from children but instead explained.

- Cornelia says that in America she sees the hurt that’s connected to that word but she doesn’t think it’s right to simply remove the slur and expect everything to be fine. After all, the text in which it was used is still the same so any harmful ideas would still be in there and that needs to be discussed. Simply whitewashing things doesn’t make them any less racist.

- Cornelia brings up a visual example: The Asterix comics. She always liked them but the fact that the only black character is drawn as a racist caricature is harmful and wrong. It’s time to listen when black people express how hurtful depictions like that can be. Many white people never noticed racism growing up because it never affected them and that’s why it’s important to learn

- The ‘from rags to riches’ American dream was usually reserved for white people and Cornelia thinks a lot of (white) people are waking up to that fact. The way black people are still being criminalized and the way prisons use inmates for cheap labor is horrible and like a modern kind of slavery

- The bookstore people try to say something but Cornelia is not done: We Europeans are not off the hook either because the sins and wounds of colonialism are still felt around the world, not to mention the way other countries are still exploited today. Our wealth rests on the shoulders of poorer nations. Many doors are opening and it’s difficult to step through but we have to do it and admit to the things we may have been blind to due to privilege.

- The three of them agree on that and go back to reading questions

- Question: What are Cornelia’s tips for young authors? She advises to never start writing a story on a computer, always get a notebook and collect ideas & pictures for your story. Don’t rush things. If you have more than one story, give each story its own book and feed whichever one is hungry. It’s important to follow the idea where it leads, if you use cliches your readers will recognize them. And then it just takes time and passion. And trust in your own unique voice. She paraphrases a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson who once said no one cares about stories or characters or whatever, people read books to see the world through the goggles the author puts on them. I’m sure he said it prettier, I’m paraphrasing the paraphrase.

- That said, Cornelia thinks authors who say things like “I’m writing to express my innermost turbulences” are kinda dumb. She thinks it’s important to write about the things that happen everywhere else and around yourself and to try to find voices for others, not just yourself. Just like how carpenters build furniture for everyone else, a writer should use words to build things for others, whether it’s a window or door or a hiding place.

- Speaking of notebooks, as most of us probably know Cornelia has a lot of those and occasionally publishes them on her website. She says she’d love to let people look through them in person, maybe at the new farm in Germany (Cornelia sure does love farms)

- Speaking of writing things on paper, all three of them stress that everyone should write more letters because one day they’ll be old letters and curious people will want to read them, just as we like to read old documents now.

- Last question: How come both the Inkworld and the Mirrorworld feature a character called Bastard? Cornelia thinks that’s a good question and she should probably think about that. (Am I stupid? Are they talking about Basta? I’m confused)

...And with that, the livestream ends. They’ll get back together to do this again two months from now, until then: I’m going tf to sleep

#its 4am fuck me this took SO LONG-#cornelia funke #info #reckless #inkheart #man this was a long one #a lot to unpack here #thanks cornelia i have more questions now hdfhkjghd #i googled way more slurs than i had planned for today ngl #i really really hope i managed to accurately translate especially that part of the conversation #honestly i cringed a bit hearing them talk about it #but it is an important discussion i suppose #also @ the people who actually read my tags:#thank you for the good luck wishes for my interview today!! it went really well!#i was vibrating the entire time bc its been so long since i talked to a stranger #but i got the job :) so all is well

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