#I just think it’s interesting that mainstream characters get more attention

[hayakawalove]

Me when my gojo fics get twice the amount of views/comments as my suguru fics

[drchucktingle]

Hello Dr Tingle! I wanted to ask you about that re: your post about how all your books are serious literature (hell yeah Love is real). How do you personally deal with the whole traditional publishing institution? It attracts a whole different level of coverage and it seems that they're very quick to try and box you and like turn you into a brand. Is it stiffling? Is it freeing? Does the attention help more people understand your trot? I don't know I've never been published but since you have experience in both traditional and self publishing I'm interested in knowing how that's feeling for you

well this is a pretty complex question with lots of different trots but i will try my best to answer. lets start with WHO I AM as buckaroo name of chuck

what i create has a very strong voice and my way is pretty recognizable. while buckaroos do not know what most authors look like, i REALLY stand out in a dang crowd with a big pink bag on my head. if you see 50 random author photos and mine is mixed in and then you ask 'which photo do you remember the most?' it is probably gonna be chuck. i also have a VERY UNIQUE STORY with what i create and my artistic sensibilities, not a lot of buds are out there making trans mothman erotica along with their big five traditional publishing bestsellers (SIDENOTE preorder BURY YOUR GAYS)

now if you were going to take 'CHUCK TINGLE' to a marketing department they would FALL OVER BACKWARDS IN THEIR DANG CHAIR with excitement. it is hard to think of an author with a stronger BRAND than i already have in the sense of 'instantly recognizable trot and specific unique style'. even in answering this you can tell that i dont even TALK like other dang authors.

what i am getting at is this: i am VERY VERY LUCKY because my existence just so happens to equate to what a company would see as GOOD BRANDING. it is not intentional on my part, it is just the hand of fate i guess. im out here expressing myself in a FULL ON WAY that is PRETTY DANG STRANGE TO SOME and it just so happens to work as mainstream branding too

on paper you might think 'what the heck no way chuck tingle will fly as a mainstream trot' but honestly the main thread of this timeline can be surprising sometimes. ive been saying the key ingredient for years and i will say it again: LOVE AND SINCERITY RESONATE. when you make art with this fuel, the timeline will feel it. when you stand up tall and shout with your whole chest THIS IS MY WAY AND I LOVE MYSELF. I AM THE WORLDS GREATEST AUTHOR TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, the timeline will listen

so all that said, i do not mind the idea of myself as 'brand' because i am not CHANGING myself to create this effect. what some might see as 'brand' i just see as another part of my art. i have always believed that art is THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE not just the painting but what is outside of the frame. WHO I AM is just as important as the books i write, and interacting with my way is a whole MULTIMEDIA experience that INCLUDES YOU TOO. it is the feeling when your friend shows you your first tingler cover, or the feeling when you realize that i am not playing a character. this is ALL a part of the tingleverse and it is all a part of my honest raw expression as a queer and neurodivergent buckaroo.

YOU ARE PART OF THIS ART TOO

it is my nature of have a PUNK ROCK trot. always has been. but to me that does not mean just angrily going against everything for the sake of going against everything. for me, this punk rock trot means fighting to EXPRESS MYSELF IN THE MOST HONEST AND PURE FORM POSSIBLE and to create the art that i want to make without any boundaries

somehow i have threaded the needle in this really interesting once-in-a-dang-lifetime kind of way. my pure punk rock self as an OUTERSIDER ARTIST just so happens to resonate with this larger system of brand and traditional publishing and popular culture. i COULD reject this, but rejecting it would be LESS HONEST.

this is just who i am. i LIKE pop culture. i LIKE joy. i LIKE dressing in all pink and wearing my custom suits. I LIKE PROVING LOVE IS REAL WHAT THE HECK ELSE EVEN IS THERE? i love being a queer outsider artist and using my small voice to shout at the big bad devils and i like that every time i shout a few more of you buckaroos join the chorus and together we are just getting louder and louder and louder and WHO KNOWS what comes next for us all trotting together.

when i post something like 'WHAT A GREAT DAY TO PROVE LOVE' it is not me sitting here in a bad mood thinkin 'well i gotta make todays post to keep up with my brand'. i am ACTUALLY FEELING THAT FEELING and i actually believe it with every fiber of my being. honestly, half the time i post about the beauty of this timeline i am probably over here literally crying tears of joy (chuck is an emotional bud i get riled over the joy of existence A LOT)

and heres the best part of this trot: because i really have this punk rock way it makes me very powerful. others can pretend not to care about success and brand and all that but I REALLY DO NO CARE. i would write tinglers whether buds were reading them or not, this is just my natural state, and that makes me incredibly strong. if some big corporation says 'YOU MUST DO THIS' and i dont want to do it i just say 'no thanks'. it is not some big debate about my career or anything like that because I REALLY DO NOT CARE IN THE SLIGHTEST. i care about the art

because of this, my relationship with my GIANT TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING MACHINE is great. we trot like equals and we get along really well. i tell them exactly what i want to do and they let me do it. i really do not have to answer to anyone and they deserve a huge amount of credit for respecting me in this way.

and heres the thing, THEY ALSO HAVE SOME GREAT IDEAS

SPECIFICALLY my imprint of NIGHTFIRE is very dang cool. yes, they are the head of a giant hydra of a BIG FIVE PUBLISHER, but nightfire is SO DANG ART-FOCUSED

there is no right or wrong way to be an artist, and my path is not the only one, but i can tell you what WORKS FOR ME. this is the advice i would give myself, and buckaroos can take it or leave it

here it is: never beg the big book publisher, or record label, or movie studio to pay attention to you

do not let it become a lotto ticket in your brain. do not think that you are some weak little creature and maybe if you trot just right they will scoop you up and take care of you. do not go to their door begging to be let in

LET THEM COME TO YOUR DOOR

create something so incredible and beautiful and honest and powerful and unique and important that they would be foolish to miss out. create a community or a system or a timeline or a world of imagination that thrives on its own and THEY SHOULD BE SO LUCKY TO BE A PART OF IT

then when you sit down at that board meeting it is not 'please brand me, ill do whatever you want'. instead, it is 'lets make a deal and see how much love we can prove together.'

now lets trot buckaroos

[daydreaming-scheming-demon]

minecraft doesnt need to be a fucking multimedia franchise, it doesn't even need anymore games than one, there's no fucking point to it, nobody gives a shit about minecraft dungeons, since when was the last time you saw someone go "oh wow, i cant wait for the next minecraft dungeons update" and there's even more minecraft spinoffs that nobody gives a shit about, i cant even remember the name of the latest one because it died so quickly

and now they're making a minecraft movie, and it's live action, which makes no sense but i guess making it animated wouldnt have a mainstream appeal and they need dat money from da masses. and they're having fucking jack black in it. and it's just. please. stop. you couldve made a movie about something original and interesting but instead you need to make a fucking minecraft movie.

i feel similarly about the mario movie and the fnaf movie but like, at least with those games it makes sense. mario games have plot even if simple, and fnaf has a plot even if it's a bad and confusing one. minecraft is a fucking sandbox game with no characters or plot going on unless you're matpat or something. it has fucking nothing. they're making a movie out of fucking nothing. they might as well be making a fucking live action tetris movie.

you know, it could be good. maybe id even like it. but even if it is, it's just so fucking unnecessary, they could've been making something original but nooooooo original is risky, we need a fucking minecraft movie to bring in those shiny fucking dollars to stuff down our fucking throats and choke on and die.

minecraft isn't designed to be anything other than a single fucking game, but because it's big and owned by microsoft it needs to be fucking everything. there needs to be a minecraft movie, and a minecraft show, and a minecraft branded pencil to stab my minecraft branded eyes out of my minecraft branded eyeholes so i dont have to see anymore fucking minecraft.

and to add to this, even if the minecraft movie is good, it's just such a fucking shame that it had to be minecraft and nothing else had any chance to be made. there's been lots of great movies that the big guys up top only allowed to be made because they're based on popular things. the lego movie for example, the barbie movie too. but it's just so fucking irritating that if any creative wants to actually make a good fucking movie they need to do it through this already popular thing. that's how shit like velma gets made. that show feels like an original show with scooby doo slapped on top of it to grab more attention.

everything needs to be appealing to the masses or it's not even seen as worthy of being made. the only movies worthy of being made and the only shows worthy of being renewed are the ones that ceos think will give them enough money to violently shove down their throat and fill their stomach with, fill their lungs with, fill every crevice of their shriveled old body with until every shit they take is hard and full of bloodsoaked gold coins, and every piss they take is shining gold, and every time they pick their nose they pick out gold.

there's just so little space for original works now.

[genericpuff]

(disclaimer, this is coming from a heartstopper fan! i love heartstopper this is not hate!!)

i think at least part of the annoyance with heartstopper isn't just that isn't a light fluffy ya series, it's also that its another example of how the queer media that gets the most mainstream attention tends to be this kind of light fluffy ya stuff that focuses on two conventially attractive queer boys or men and it also tends to be written by people who aren't queer men on top of that, so not only can it feel very samey but it can feel like other queer people are relegated to side characters in the stories of cis gay men. and as someone who loves heartstopper i get that on some level.

btw by "written by people who aren't queer men" NOT saying that isn't not written by queer people. alice oseman is genderfluid and aroace, becky albertalli is bisexual, etc. and while i think the point is still valid there is a misogyny element in that a lot of the focus is put on things that are written by women or people they perceive as women while tumblr darlings like good omens and ofmd (written by presumably straight men) don't get the same treatment.

nah y'know what, that's fair, I can get how frustrating it can be for a lot of popular queer stories to feel samey, I've definitely gotten BL-fatigue in the past on platforms like WT and Tapas because many of them ARE the same and feel like they're just piggybacking off trends for the sake of clout (and this is a problem in the heterocis romance stories too, don't get me fucking started on how dark romance has turned into torture porn where vulnerable women are constantly being victimized by rich powerful men and we're just supposed to root for that ??), but it's one of those things where like, what might be seen as just more corny shit could very well be the revelation another person needs that they're gay / trans / etc. that the story helped them realize. there's just a point where i see these arguments against cheesy popular queer stories that teeter dangerously close to being queerphobic and, as you said, misogynist, simply because "it was written by someone who i perceive as a woman so that makes it BAD!"

and I didn't mention it in the original post because I didn't want to @ OP in any way but in the comment section they literally said "i dont think heartstopper itself is all that bad but it has pretty much aimed the direction of all mainstream gay comics towards wholesomeness instead of anything more interesting so i want to destroy heartstopper to destroy heartstopper clones" and that gives me massive ick because it implies their sole reasoning for including it was "chill and happy queer stories bad, if a character doesn't suffer enough then they're not interesting"?? why can't LGBTQ+ audiences have more 'vanilla' stories that aren't all sad and angsty all the time? are we not entitled to the same corny romcom vanilla shit that the heterocis are entitled to? why do LGBTQ+ characters - and by extension, people - have to suffer to qualify as being 'interesting'? You're already interesting, you're you! like i'm sorry, are we trying to scare people straight??? 😭 shit, that's even a plot point that's touched on in Heartstopper itself where Nick is questioning his sexuality and he starts googling shit and it's just ALL the terrifying news stories of queer kids being ostracized / bullied / murdered / etc. and as much as it's important to be aware of the ongoing issues so we can keep fighting for our rights, we ALSO need to find balance and remember to celebrate the stories that AREN'T that because we need something to be hopeful for, something we can find peace in. I don't think Heartstopper is some deeply profound piece of work, but it also doesn't seem like it's trying to be? It's a low stakes celebration of the LGBTQ+ experience that's very warm and comforting, especially for those who are the same ages as the main characters who are often being persuaded by the grown-ups around them that it's a death sentence to be gay / trans / etc.

and it's not like we HAVEN'T had popular pieces of queer representative media that explored things outside of cheesy BL, like are we forgetting about Nimona which explored both the gay and genderfluid experience in a very accessible and fun way while still being mature and not pandering to its audience over how society has made monsters out of queer people?

(and even then I'm sure there are folks who would argue "actually, here are the issues with Nimona" , and that's fine tbh, we can like media and appreciate what it brings to the table while also discussing what it lacks in, such as what we're doing now with Heartstopper! progress is a never-ending journey!!)

and also okay, not me trying to be argumentative in the slightest BUT I don't really get the argument that 'other queer people' are being sidelined for the main characters? unless there's something I'm missing here lol (I will apologize for that because it's admittedly been a while since I've re-read Heartstopper so I should probably go do that to refresh myself on it). like i say that in the sense that Heartstopper is clearly meant to be about two gay male teenagers. just like how Nimona is about a shapeshifter who is not a girl or a boy (they're Nimona!) and a gay man who are both trying to change the system that's other'd them for years for the better. that is the story Heartstopper is trying to tell and it achieves that. it also has a trans character plotline that I could see people arguing feels sidelined but I think there's a massive difference between 'sidelining' and just having a B plot ? my honest take with that is not every piece of representative media is going to be able to cover every single topic, it's just not doable for one piece of media to be a monolith for everything, the same as how one person can't be a monolith for an entire community of people. BUT that doesn't mean works like Heartstopper and Nimona can't inspire others to also lend their voices into the medium and create that representation that's needed. That's why we need ✨variety✨ and Heartstopper is part of that variety by offering a more vanilla cutesy story full of good vibes for people who want that sort of thing.

IDK, I think there's just a lot of nuance that's being missed in that poll, and in the difference between Heartstopper inspiring more people to write happy cozy BL stories vs. implying that it's had an actual negative influence on modern art and media in the same way that series like Homestuck and LO have to the point that people think it needs to be destroyed, like wtf LOL Like they're not even comparable IMO and a lot of the arguments I see people making about why it is just feel a little backwards, and those arguments obfuscate the real issue which is just "popular thing is popular and people like to piggyback off popular shit". That's a fact for basically any niche and genre, these trends come and go. Even if the whole cutesy BL trend passes one day (which it will) it'll be replaced by something else that people will also inevitably find samey and boring after a while. This is not a concept that's unique to LGBTQ+ media, it's universal.

Balance is important and I think finding that balance is as much a responsibility on the shoulders of the consumer as it is on the creator. And I don't think Heartstopper deserves to be put into the same camp as stories like LO which literally straightwashes its canonically queer characters and gives those queer identities to nothingburger characters who are easy to shoo out of the plot to make way for the heterocis ones (while still parading itself around like it's actually 'queer rep' which... it really isn't.) Like all three of the comics in that poll are vastly different, serving different audiences, with different goals and intentions. It's comparing apples to oranges to pineapples.

The worst Heartstopper has to offer is just a low stakes plot that might not appeal to everyone or feel 'samey' which yeah, valid, but in the grander sense of whether or not it's had a negative effect on queer media just for being... cheesy? And inspiring other people to write stories like it? I don't get the argument, it feels like it's severely missing the point of what we're fighting for here - to live happy little unbothered lives - but that's just me ╮(￣ω￣;)╭ I'm definitely not trying to be a dick about it in any way and I don't want anyone to think I'm not open to the opposing points here, I do agree with you on the oversaturation of samey BL stories, but it just rose some massive red flags to see Heartstopper next to frigging Homestuck and Lore Olympus LOL

[soaked-ghost]

You know, something that hits very very close to home about Ink's canon character is how much he seems to struggle with social understanding.

People often say that Ink canonically*just* has a hard time understanding social interaction but while that's true, it kindaaaa misses the entire spectrum of problems. It's said in the F.A.Q 'With him hardly having a proper social understanding,. As a Psychology student, the use of this particular word caught my attention a little tbh. Since it's widely used in academic contexts and studies conducted in relation to social competences and not very much used in more informal/non-academic contexts, where 'social skills' is more used for example.

According to academic sources, most can agree upon the fact that social understanding stands for 'our understanding of social features of the world, as people with beliefs, intentions, wishes, emotions, and desires. Think of social understanding as ''big-picture' thinking, It envoles observing and processing the larger social environment.

(In those academic paper that i have said, 'social understanding' is used to mean 'Theory of mind', since they're the same defenition but with different words. Comyet sayin' that Ink has a hard proper social understanding is the same thing as saying that he doesn't have a proper theory of mind, which, again, proves that those social issues run much deeper than 'hes blunt sometimes'

Not only that, but he has a problem with understanding people's underlying messages and emotions, mainly with people arr bit being obvious about it. His social issues affect the way he communicates with people too! (He's stand as 'blint' as a result, which is a way of communication). Adding ti, but he seems to have problems with back and forth styles of conversation too.

As an autistic person, i just relate A LOT to Ink. I really wished people portaryed his social problems tbh.. people often erase it, infantilizes it or dmeonizes it... It sucks.

i keep getting asks like these from people way smarter than me and all I can respond back with is something stupid like 'haha isn't it funny that ink is a painter and can't get the bigger picture lol'

but seriously, it's sad that people only look at the surface level things when it comes not only to ink, but also pretty much every other autistic/autistic coded character

because to them, autism is just stimming and special interests, just the disorder that makes u 'silly' but never the disorder that affects every part of my life, and often times if affects my life badly

It just makes other autistic people uncomfortable that sometimes, autism fucking sucks, so they choose to ignore the 'unsavory' parts of autism in favor for something digestible, free of discomfort and mainstream

(god forbid autistic characters act violently or latch out and GOD FORBID they ever have a meltdown)

we never see ink's side of how he is really affected by his autism, he's always either 'silly', or bothering other people. we only see how the people around ink react to his autism, and it's always with annoyance

Ink didn't choose to not understand people and be alienated from them and feel alone and disconnected from everyone

u can tell me as many time as u like that he has no empathy and doesn't care about people and is inconsiderate, which all are autism behaviors that are demonized to a hellish degree

but guess what, the only one that will always be affected by his own carelessness (and his own autism) is ink, because he's the one that always ends up alone in the end

repeat after me kids: the only one affected badly by ink is ink

[lurkingshan]

Since you've watched a lot of kdrama, what are common things you've seen in kdrama that have been consistently ported into K-BL, and what is your assessment of that approach?

Ooh, interesting question. So first, let's acknowledge a few things:

Korean bl is short format, with even the longest shows (Light on Me, The Eighth Sense) not even half the length of a standard kdrama (16-20 hours), and most clocking in around 2-4 hours

Kbl operates under much smaller budgets and significant constraints around casting as compared to mainstream kdrama

Kbl often draws from webtoons and manwha and mostly does not have the kind of auteur writers and directors behind it that you get in kdrama (Hwang Da-Seul is the most consistent creator in genre with Where Your Eyes Linger, Blueming, To My Star)

All that said, there are a few features of mainstream kdrama that have definitely ported over into kbl despite these constraints:

Slick production values and strong use of setting and color: even the cheapest kbls still look decent, and there is always intentionally behind the setting and use of color palettes to set the tone and feel. Korea has a very well-developed film industry and it shows. Color Rush, Semantic Error and Blueming were fantastic examples of this: even within more familiar school romances, the settings felt specific and the use of color to communicate character and themes was striking. I also think often of Our Dating Sim and Choco Milk Shake and the very effective characterization work achieved through design of the apartments.

Sound production and music on point: the home of kpop is not going to be caught sleeping on the OSTs. Nearly every production has original songs and given the leads of these shows are usually idols, they're often the ones on the tracks. And when they use music that is not original, like in The Eighth Sense, it's a very intentional choice to set mood and tone. Korea is not going to let a boy who can't actually sing take the mic (*side eyes Thailand*). To My Star is a great example of memorable OSTs even in a fairly low budget production, and Wish You and Sing My Crush showed us what kbl can do when it decides to bring the full kpop treatment to bear.

A keen understanding of the international audience: kdrama production is a big part of South Korea's explicit goals to take the global media landscape by storm, and kbl is included in that. It's not a coincidence that Korea decided to step up its game in this arena shortly after Thai bl exploded (shoutout to 2gether and pandemic lockdowns). Kbl follows trends and explicitly caters to international audiences in a way jbl does not. The Eighth Sense was basically a case study in marrying kdrama sensibilities and western aesthetics for maximum international attention.

Second leads and valorization of unrequited love: you and I have discussed this one a lot because this is a feature of kdramas that will never die and that kbls also clearly love. Korea loves a one-sided love story and culturally, there is a certain dignity afforded to owning your feelings and being honest with the object of your affection, even when there is no hope of reciprocation. Often second leads don't get the guy/girl because they hesitate or hide their feelings until it's too late: the trope is used to underline the important of honesty and effort as well as providing a catalyst for the main lead to make their move. In Korean culture, the trying is what matters much more than the succeeding. We are meant to like most second leads and see them as honorable and dignified for their sincere feelings toward the protagonist. Second lead syndrome is a thing for a reason. It's also just a cheap and easy way to create drama so you'll often see it in the lower budget kbls. Second leads showed up recently in kbls like The Tasty Florida, Jun & Jun, Oh! Boarding House, Bon Appetit, etc. We also sometimes see kbls playing with the idea of unrequited love in the main pairing that is actually requited, like in Our Dating Sim.

Love triangles: relatedly, Korea loves them a love triangle, and they are uniquely good at doing it well when they want to. Light on Me is a fantastic example of a narrative where you can legitimately see the protagonist liking and ending up with both the main and second lead. And that is rooted in the way the narrative treats Daon with dignity even as it punishes him for his hesitation in reciprocating Taekyung's feelings (see above). When you have a strong second lead who engenders real sympathy with the audience, love triangle excellence is achieved.

Workplace romances: kdrama loves workplace romances, and we have seen kbl start to move into that space recently with shows like Roommates of Poongdock 304, Love Mate, Our Dating Sim, Jun & Jun, and The New Employee. Kdrama workplace romances run the gamut, but they often feature chaebol characters paired with a "normal" aka not wealthy person, and we are starting to see that more in the bl genre as well, as we discussed a bit yesterday. I believe @nieves-de-sugui commented on your post about how the rich/poor romance fantasy trend in recent bl may be coming in from kdrama. I think there's some truth to that, but really it's a foundational romance trope that predates kdrama by literal centuries, and is absolutely rooted in heteronormative patriarchal dynamics that assume men are breadwinners and caretakers for women (translated to seme/uke dynamics in bl). Often in kdrama the chaebol character is unable to live an authentic life due to the demands of filial piety and the expectations tied to their wealth, and I do think that dynamic is ripe for enrichment when you layer on gay identity in a homophobic society. But that requires shows leaving the no homophobia bubble, which few kbls have done.

Physical intimacy squarely in the middle space: comparing to heat levels we see across the spectrum of dramas, I think kdrama and kbl are pretty consistent in that they tend to land right in the middle of the spectrum. It's rare to see straight up dead fish kisses from romantic leads anymore (though it still happens, wincing at Unintentional Love Story), but they are also not going to be serving authentic sex scenes. What you get instead is very pretty open-mouthed kissing that feels more realistic than, for instance, the pure jbl lane, but still polished and aesthetically pleasing. Think Semantic Error, Blueming, Roomates of Poongdock 304, Love Mate, To My Star 2, Jun & Jun. This seems to be where the genre is landing and I don't expect heat levels to get any higher for kbl, as this is right in line with mainstream kdrama. The Eighth Sense offered a less polished version of intimacy that felt right in line with its grittier sensibilities.

So, after that long list, on to your second question: my assessment of this approach is that kbls are doing fairly well for themselves when you consider the constraints they are operating under. Look at a show like Love Tractor stacked up against something like Hometown Cha Cha Cha. These are both based in the classic romance trope of a city slicker coming to the country and falling in love with a humble working person. But where HCCC has 16 hours to build a quasi-enemies to lovers narrative with a rich community of side characters, LT has 3.5 hours to achieve the same thing. So it makes sense that it would fall back on well-worn tropes and story beats it knows the audience will recognize to help save time. These shortcuts help the audience ground themselves and get invested in the stories quickly.

One thing I'll say is that kbl mostly stays in the romcom lane with very occasional ventures into melo, and despite what casual observers think, kdrama actually has a lot more to offer than that. It's a giant world with stories based in every possible genre, tone, and style, and Korean media is particularly adept at embedding romance plots that actually work in all kinds of stories including action thrillers, horror, crime narratives, mysteries, supernatural and fantasy epics. I'd love to see kbl try this, though of course it would require the resources and runtime to do it successfully. Here's hoping they get the chance.

[thestobingirlie]

Somewhat tangentially related to that other ask but I wish fandom would just acknowledge that Eddie is also bully in his own right and just because he's antagonist towards jocks doesn't mean they deserve it by virtue of being jocks (no matter how much fandom likes to pretend it's warranted because Eddie is bullied himself- this is nowhere near canon and I'd go so far as to say it goes against canon if we're basing it off of Eddie's own behavior) and beyond all that; like the other asker and yourself said Eddie isn't just antagonizing jocks! He openly scorns band kids, geeks and pretty much everyone that isn't his specific brand of nerd which is not about academics so much as nerdy interest like fantasy and "non-conformist" music.

I put that in quotations because Eddie is actually probably the one that buys into the whole high school hierarchy spiel more than any other character on the show; by setting himself up as such an anti-establishment non conformist (all within the high school setting mind you we see nothing to make me believe his ideals go beyond that setting and it makes sense to me considering he's a Peter Pan archetype stuck in a state of arrested development- but I digress) because he sets himself up in such a way that his entire persona is built off of the abject refusal to adhere to societal expectations he's by and large helping to perpetuate them. He's cosplaying this attitude more than living by it because the societal norms still very much dictate how he views himself and how he approaches others.

Ironically Steve is the real deal in this regard by shucking what others expect from him and living his own life the way he wants it divorced from the excepted norms he used to let dictate him as late as mid s3 while changing the things he didn't like about himself behaviorally while still retaining his core personality and interests without the need to revise himself fully.

But because he doesn't have an alt style or interests that go against the mainstream, fandom refuses to see him in this light. He also doesn't let his new friends change his own interests nor expect them to change theirs for him.

I guess this rant makes me sound like I don't like Eddie but I do! I think fandom Eddie is entirely separate from canon Eddie however, to the point where his only recognizable qualities are his interests and aesthetic. Fandom really seems to martyr him in that regard and fully drink his kool-aid which is hilarious because it's largely performative with no substance lmao (even the "woe is me hunt the freak huh 🥺" falls flat narratively when a whole ass dead girl was found in his home).

I think the duplicitous nature of his personality and his hypocrisy (while still fully being a good guy! If you ignore the whole uh selling hard core drugs to a 17/18 year old girl who clearly never did them before thing) I think it's this dual nature and slightly shady actions while still having a caring heart and good intentions is what makes him a good character and we don't get to see that hardly ever with the way a laaaarge portion of fandom worships at his freak alter.

god, beautifully written. i agree with every single point. honestly, you anons just know how to word exactly what i’m feeling.

yes! eddie pretends like he rejects societal ideals, but he just reinforces them to the next generation. he’s built his life on being the freak, he plays it up to get attention, and to rile up his classmates. i honestly think eddie won’t know who he is post high school. which is, like you said, ironically the way the fandom tries to portray steve. but we see that he’s much more secure in himself and his life than eddie. does he have everything figured out? of course not, he’s 18!! but he knows a hell of a lot more than eddie.

but because he isn’t a nerdy outcast, the fandom would have us believe that he actually hates his life and who he is, and secretly doesn’t want to be a jock. fanon steve is honestly way more like canon eddie than i think the fandom wants to admit.

(and yeah, chrissy is found dead in his home. people aren’t just witch hunting eddie for no reason lmao)

all this is what makes canon eddie an actual interesting character!!! and the fact he (and steve) are entirely stripped of these characteristics is one of the reasons that i just can’t vibe with the fandoms rendition of steddie.

[phemiec]

Gender/orientation headcanons about Gotham 2014 Edward Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot under the cut. More rambling character analysis than anything but hey enjoy.

(Feel free to fight me in the comments/reblogs. I love discussing this stuff and would like to hear other's interpretations as well.)

So getting right into it, Oswald I really love as a trans man, but also as a cis man who was denied acceptance as male much the same way Brienne of tarth is a cis woman denied acceptance as female. Either feels like a very feasible read.

Because of his inability to conform to masculine norms and ideals, he has had to claw his own identity as a man out for himself with very few role models and little support.

It's obvious his presentation, when he's able to control it, is very important to him, and the expensive and tailored suits, his styled hair etc, are very vital to his sense of identity which, while not manly in the mainstream sense, represent a masculine ideal to him and are empowering to his sense of self.

For that reason I think of him as very binary. Even when he dresses more typically "feminine", it's in the context of being a man and forging his own self determined male identity.

Edward is another beast entirely to me though. Unlike Oswald who is shown to have equal contempt/respect for the people around him, male or female, and treats men and women mostly the same, for better or worse: Edward is distinctly shown to treat men and women differently, but as he is foremost a narcissist, they represent different reflections of himself.

He sees women as trophies and affirmations of his success and power as a man, and other men as threats or challenges to that identity. His notions of gender are antiquated, and while he does follow Lee briefly, he does not really afford women the sort of respect of agency he shows to men. Masculinity to him is about conformity, and then later about power.

He tries to impress the men he is interested in by challenging them, testing their limits and proving his superiority over them intellectually. With the women he is interested in, he attempts to conform himself to their needs and become the perfect partner for each of them in order to earn their validation.

He only does both behaviors for Lee and Oswald, which is part of the threat they pose to him, they challenge the boundries of acceptable behavior he's allowed himself, and the reason he tries to kill both is (yes, his ego, but also) because they refuse to conform to the boxes he assigns to men and women, or buy into the ideal of himself he attempts to project, and instead they both demand vulnerability and self-awareness from him, and also they demand he sees them as themselves, as individuals and not reflections. Which is, of course, terrifying to him.

Anyway to Sum-up: Oswald is a binary (either trans or cis) man, demi-sexual and pan-romantic. He isn't really focused on sex at all and can't be straightforwardly seduced, but is very vulnerable to intimately platonic and romantic manipulation, less so as the show goes on but he still basically does everything he does for love, love of his favorite individuals, of groups, of the city itself. He'll say it's about respect and power but everything comes down to wanting love and acceptance.

Edward in the other hand is a bi enby so deep in the fucking closet he needs to be pried out like an impacted tooth. His sexuality is anybody interesting and smart who can affirm/reflect something about himself, and his gender is a riddle wrapped in a puzzle inside a massive attention whore. He is a Chris Fleming-coded theater nerd and his gender is showpig, he just wants a big blue ribbon at the county fair.  He is literally only a man because he thinks he can win at it, and that's that on that.

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

I'm so tired of seeing only aroace stuff and people..... I can't even pretend anymore I'm happy to see them more represented. I'm alloaro and we're either not known or hated outside our spaces.

I'm not hating on aroace ppl, I'm just tired of not seeing everyone else represented too

There definitely is not nearly enough alloaro rep out there, and it's a huge problem. It's very fair to not be interested in other a-spec rep that isn't your own and being frustrated as seeing another a-spec character and once again it's not your identity.

Not necessarily directed at you, Anon, but i have seen some posts around too to this effect--I do think we need to be careful we're not treating rep as a competition or a zero sum game. One group getting a bit of representation recently isn't the problem, the problem is everyone's underrepresented in mainstream media, and some a-spec identities are severely underrepresented.

I'd recommend looking more in non-mainstream places for good a-spec rep, places like books, podcasts, webcomics, etc are a lot more likely to not only just have rep in the first place, but have characters who actually get a decent amount of attention and development. They'll also usually have more interesting/diverse storylines.

This page is a great resource for finding aro characters in podcasts (including at least a couple allo aro characters), and LGBTQ Reads blog has a page where characters are sorted by romantic/sexual identity (also including allosexual aro characters).

This definitely isn't an exhaustive list for finding characters, but it's a good starting place for at least being able to find some stuff. (Though if anyone else has any resources, or recommendations of media they've liked for finding good allo-aro rep, or good a-spec rep in general, feel free to share!)

All the best, Anon!

[olderthannetfic]

A recent anon made me want to read a bit more about queerbaiting and I ended up on James Woodall’s video Dr. Who Was Queerbaiting (https://youtu.be/Olpn9YsyMeM), have you seen it?

I found it interesting, especially for his sources and the reasoning for why the definition of queerbaiting should be expanded from the original marketing technique one. My first reaction is that it’s better to make up a new words, like queercatching, than to endlessly expand the meaning of an old one, potentially into uselessness. And well, once you expand the meaning into “not good enough to satisfy expectations” or say “it’s not queerbaiting because it feels more authentic to queer communities” the questions “Whose expectations? All communities? What about conflicting needs? Should we decide by hand raising?” come to mind. Obviously the answer is always that we need more and more varied representation but it does seem like a definition that would leave space for a lot of infighting (and leave us in need of a different word to convey the original meaning). I’d like to hear a few different thoughts on this from you and other readers though!

--

I haven't watched it.

Broadly, the rallying cry I want to see is: Media by people like us, for people like us.

Define "us" as you see fit. What you want to get behind is going to be very personal, and it won't be the same for all of "The Queer Community".

For me, it's people who like BL—as opposed to other m/m media—and who are willing to admit that what they like is BL and welcome other fans of BL.

I have a visceral horror of being asked to identify too closely with a female body or female role despite being reasonably comfortable as a woman. I dislike being told which character to identify with, regardless of their body or identity. I lack the self insert gene, like to a claw my skin off, get it away from me level.

I dislike things that are trying to be too tightly #ownvoices. "Queer Media" in a broad sense is irrelevant to me as a fan, though I care about it for broader political reasons. I want a media that actively promotes and pursues a disconnect between viewer's body and character's body, between viewer's identity and character's identity. Drag queens are interesting even if not aimed at me. Drag kings are great. BL is great. Cringey, unrealistic f/f by dudes is sometimes great for me too. The closest I'll go to #ownvoices is bisexual media for bisexual people.

The biggest mainstream media is not by people like me or for people like me if it's from the US or UK, and that includes mainstream-ish queer media.

The closest we get is cis gay dudes making art about cis gay dudes who live in their same city and work a similar job, yadda yadda. Or slightly mainstream stuff by poisonous trolls who cry about how much they need to gatekeep and how their BL is not BL. There's a constant assumption, even for the BLy shit by AFABs, that a narrow definition of #ownvoices is the objective and a 1:1 correspondence between everything about the character on screen and the viewer is desirable and most moral and politically best. No amount of nitpicking over terminology is going to change that.

I can consume indie books or head over to Asia where commercial BL industries exist. Those are my options right now.

The entire concept of queerbaiting is stupid as fuck because it imagines that other people are paying attention to us in contexts where they just aren't.

I don't think we should expand the meaning. I think we should approach media differently.

Nothing will change until:

1. People like you/me/whomever the desired queer voice is control media.

I don't mean "are in the writer's room": I mean are the showrunner. I don't mean "are the director" of a big movie that answers to a thousand producers: I mean are the studio head.

Power is what's needed, not begging for scraps!

Or 2.

We as consumers stop going "Sempai will notice me any day now!" about big shit and start spending 100% of our leisure entertainment time on indie things. Not as an also-ran that we fit in around HP and SPN and DW or whatever: as the entirety of the media empires we care about.

And no, that won't solve the problem of horrible people who turn out to abuse their partners still being good at art or whatever. Consuming indie media doesn't make it less problematic. It does offer the opportunity for me to consume media that is aimed at me.

--

I really don't care whether James picks yes or no in that video. The entire question is pointless.

[my-mt-heart]

Is the reason why you want a female showrunner so bad because most romance writers are women? I want canon Caryl but I don’t want TWD to be Bridgerton or Gilmore Girls with zombies.

Just because I want a romantic journey for Caryl doesn't mean I want someone to turn their show into Bridgerton or Gilmore Girls and it also doesn't mean a female showrunner would. If we should worry about anyone taking romance in the wrong direction, it’s Zabel and co. who are now comparing Daryl to a “lonely knight” from a Lamartine poem🤨 The reason I need an experienced female showrunner is because she's far more likely to connect with a deeply internal female character like Carol and an unconventional, also deeply internal, male character like Daryl. She can highlight their nuances and appeal to a largely female audience + many male viewers who don't fit the hypermasculine stereotype. She can help that audience grow and get the show a lot of mainstream attention.

I’m not saying men can’t write for these characters, but the toxic white men TWDU only seems to hire now are far too self-indulgent. They don't write for the characters or for their fans. Look at how Daryl often comes across in S1– as a white American savior, eligible bachelor, emotionally constipated except when he’s angry, and someone who can make eyes at a woman he barely knows despite having someone at home. That's not the Daryl so many people fell in love with during the Sophia arc in the flagship show. That's not the loyal family man who wears his heart on his sleeve and reserves any "glances' for the woman he’s always loved. They write their male protagonist from a limited perspective and same goes for the women. They turn them into tropes like the femme fatale (Maggie), the “good girl vs the whore” (Isabelle), the “manipulator” (also Isabelle), and the “strong woman” aka a woman who acts like an alpha male. Carol was a badass in 106, but there was no emotion behind her actions. Why couldn’t we get a closeup of her face while she was mounting the bike? Why couldn’t we see how worried she was about losing Daryl, the man who means everything to her? Was it cut? Was it even shot? Why didn’t the male EPs think that might be important?

Look at the ways they gatekeep. If “The Book of Carol” is supposed to shine a spotlight on our deeply internal female protagonist, then why are Zabel and Richman writing half the scripts themselves and why are their no female directors? Representation offscreen is just as important as representation onscreen.

Melissa will have had a lot to say about Carol's arc, which I think will make a big difference in S2 thankfully, but she still needs another woman in power to help her tell Carol's and Caryl's story the way she and her fans want it to be told and to promote Carol fairly. Notice how she keeps getting left out of promos or pitted against other characters or reduced to a subtitle? That does not mean Melissa has no agency or that she's weak. It means the misogyny at AMC, and TWDU in particular, runs too deep for her to be immune. She needs allies.

I need an experienced female showrunner for S3, otherwise I'm not interested. Zabel, Nicotero, and Gimple are a ticking timebomb. S1 was pretty damaging. I'm hoping S2 won't be, but at some point there's going to be no coming back from one of their careless decisions and I can't watch that happen to the two iconic characters who have functioned as fictional role models in both my personal and professional life. I need to know that AMC values Melissa, Carol, and Caryl as much as I do as a fan. Letting the men run amuck, letting them shit on Melissa/Carol/Caryl and their fans constantly, is not very convincing.

[innershoesuitcasebiscuit]

I'm scared, in fact I'm terrified that now I have realized I am actually losing interest in watching animes.

When I was in my teenage years, I would always search for anime to watch but, the me today prefer the classic anime over new ones.

Daily there are a lot of anime being released and a lot of manga being published. I kinda find it bland anymore and feel like it's creating a mainstream story and the purpose of shocking (ex. killing every character they've created) people to get a lot of attention.

But here's the list of animes I've watched so far that I love and the reason why I've watched them.

I love all of them but I do have certain favorite. So I'm listing them from most love.

1. Blood + - Once upon a time we all had obsessions with vampires and I prefer this over twilight.

2. Tokyo Ghoul - My friend recommended it to me and I love it. I love how Tokyo Ghoul shows us the two sides of the coin and well the pov of a human turned to ghoul.

3. Helsing - once again same reason as above and because I love the opening song.

4. One Piece - my uncle made me watch it as a kid (it was a morning anime show). I stopped watching it for years after Ace's death but resume watching it after I miss Luffy's laugh.

5. Dragon Ball - every child should have watched it. I don't care if anyone said it's overrated but everything that influences us in our childhood is f*cking great. Plus I don't know why I was watching it by the time that I have awareness of the world it has already been in carved in my heart that I love it (more like my brother made me watch it when I was just a baby).

6. Yu yu Hakusho/Ghost Fighter - same reason as dragon ball. Plus I have a soft spot for Kurama 😍.

7. Overlord - I love this anime, everyone might say it's too bland but as a gamer especially an rpg and mmorpg gamer I love seeing the pov of an enemy boss.

8. Demon Slayer - I love the art style and the story, in my opinion the anime and the manga was too rushed but Demon Slayer in my opinion has the best ending and characters. You can't help but love Tanjiro (the kindest mc that I ever knew).

9. Slam Dunk - my uncle made me watch it. I love how the discussion with my friends would be involved with "Have the ball passed through the net yet?", "I think by friday it's going to pass it" 🤣.

10. Full Metal Alchemist - it was a morning show anime. I've watched it every morning and I was hooked by it (I love science and theories once again the INTP in me is grinding it's gears when I watch this). I also think the phrase "Equivalent Exchange". I would quote it like its a cool motto.

These are the top ten, I also love Hunter x Hunter, Naruto (sorry for Boruto fans but I hated the sequel), Shaman King, Flame of Recca and Records of Ragnarok.

I also read a manga "Shut Hell" that for me was underrated by everyone and that it deserves an anime but I guess it's too gruesome to be made one but I was reminded of Berserk and I think its unfair.

Aside from that I actually dropped a lot of anime. Though a recommendation wouldn't hurt.

[danlous]

i am this close to go into conspiracy territory, since we already know amc intervened with the season why wouldn't they even more so with the promo, because there is just no reason not to have the two actors who this season revolves around not have a shared interview. the articles that are getting published talk about their dynamic, the fans talk about their dynamic, ep 5 has catapulted the show to new heights, and yet the actors who are responsible for that still don't have a single interview together? wtf?!

I think one the problems is that amc seems to be trying to cater to the book fans first and foremost with its marketing. When adapting any piece of media is always a good idea try to get the goodwill of the original fans but you can't also rely on those fans, you need expand your fanbase. Tvc fandom is also relatively small, and a significant portion of it dislikes the show and will not change their mind no matter how many times you show them Lestat, and those who like the show are already on the board, they don't need further convincing. Much of the marketing is conducted like there's an assumption that viewers only care about few specific things that are the most popular among book fans (Lestat, loustat, Devil's Minion...) when actually most of the show fandom aren't book fans, and they're wasting opportunities to draw more people in. I don't think that they've realized that most viewers find other characters and relationships in the show as interesting as Lestat and loustat and they do in fact have patience to wait for a few episodes to see Lestat again. Iwtv being a gay horror show will probably never be a huge mainstream hit but there's still a big potential audience that hasn't been tapped into that might not even know that the show exists or what kind of show it really is. Like people who simply appreciate prestige television, horror fans, romance fans, black people and other poc who're excited to see well-written characters of color in lead roles. Like my mom would probably like this show if it's ever released here! Amc needs to start paying attention what kind of things are actually popular and talked about by viewers, and start trusting the talent of their writers and actors

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

(sorry, english my second language) my theory for one of the reasons why trey is perceived differently in the west as being less appealing or not so attractive compared to the likes of malleus is simply cause he wears glasses

something i observed in mainstream western media in particular is that, wearing glasses is perceived as unattractive/unappealing or too nerdy or not sexy (we all know it’s not true don’t get me wrong) compared to jp media where glasses can be seen as hot

i think azul also falls for this, cause there’s so many azul simps in jp but he still gets to appeals more in the west compared to trey cause of the mafia aesthetic he got going on also tumblr sexyman vibes

[Referencing this post!]

I mean... while I do think the stereotype of "only unattractive geeks wear glasses" does appear in many western productions (especially those set in high schools), I feel like that sentiment no longer has the same prominence. This is due in part to changing trends (the west has adopted a lot of interest in Asian media/art as of late, part of which does often employ glasses as fashion pieces, such as in the case of K-pop) and new technology (more technology use/reliance means more and more of the general population need vision correction, so glasses and contacts are becoming increasingly common).

On the flip side, it's not as though glasses aren't associated with being "nerdy" in eastern cultures. After all, there is an entire anime/manga trope called the megane (literally "glasses") character, which often refers to an smart, rational, and stoic individual. They are also typically the “brains” or the voice of reason in a cast of characters. So… glasses are also definitely associated with “being smart” in the east; this even comes through in some character dialogue. In Trey’s Halloween vignettes, for example, Azul states that he explicitly chose to wear glasses for vision correction because others are more likely to perceive glasses-wearers as being intellectual.

I also feel like it goes both ways in terms of perceiving glasses as hot or not?? I personally have not noticed a huge gap between the east/west in terms of attraction in regards to one wearable item?? I feel like it just depends on individual tastes (because some people are just into the “nerdy” look), of maybe there isn’t that much of a “choice” irl anymore since more and more people need corrective lenses anyway.

Ultimately, I don’t think it’s the glasses that matter, but the person behind the glasses does. Like… if you slapped a pair of glasses on Malleus, does that automatically not make him attractive anymore? If you took away Trey and Azul’s glasses, would that automatically make them 10x hotter than they looked with them? (There is plenty of fan art which depicts these scenarios; there’s a reason why people make them despite loving the originals.)

If such a difference does exist solely because of glasses, I’d imagine the effect is negligible, not so significant that it explains the large gap in popularity between Trey and Malleus. (Azul was mentioned as an example of a glasses character who became popular in the west despite the glasses because of his appeal as a mob boss, but it feels like this case just shows that it’s the character himself and not the glasses that make fans love him.) There are much bigger factors at play (between the being a normal human/an actual dragon fairy prince, the design appeals, less screen time/being the Final Boss and important figure in the main story, and a lowkey personality/lots of hype and a strong presence) for this observed Trey-Malleus disparity. Malleus is just a more “exciting” character when compared to Trey, and that catches the attention of the more individualistic, often action-oriented culture of the west.

[nomsfaultau]

What fandoms would the fault crew be into?

What fandoms are you into, besides mcyt?

Tommy mentions liking Marvel/DC properties, Deadpool, etc. Fairly mainstream tastes, likes a lot of streamers too. Canonically went behind his mom’s back to watch R rated movies like Saw, although gore at least isn’t necessarily his taste, he just wanted to break the rules. Nowadays he veers hard into X-Men because Tommy needs the idea that those with anomalous properties can be loved and good people even if they are despised by the world. Draws OCs of himself in a fairly Mary Sue fashion.

The Blade only gained access to human interactions/spaces around his late teens, and has the least exposure of the group. However that man’s only connection to anyone was through the internet and he was kinda obsessed. The Blade has canonically seen star wars and didn’t understand the newer movies. Also likes Taylor Swift but I think in a very casual way. Got really into Percy Jackson when younger but then when he got more into the og myths during college he had a bit of a bashing phase for the inaccuracies, but then settled on liking both. Drifts towards action/comedies since it entertains the voices. Would love to be into video games but the hooves and insta win kinda make it not fun. Dabbles in short fics but doesn’t have the attention span for long ones.

Philza is into the human fandom. Loves those funky characters. There’s probably a bunch of media lost to time that he was hyped about and now has no one to fan girl with rip. Really appreciates the classics that have been kept over time, though probably has beef with fans of folklore and myths and oral tradition, collective story types, because nooooo that isn’t the version he learned what are you talking about that’s WRONG. Number 1 Epic of Gilgamesh fan loves the themes of developing humanity and grief and accepting humans cannot become immortal, really resonates w him.

Wilbur has more general exposure to human media than The Blade, but also more resentment. Doesn’t like stuff with human protagonists. Probably leans towards books since movies/shows trap you in one place for awhile. Would get so deep into musicals if it had the chance. Lovecraft is a canonical part of void eldritch knowledge, and Wilbur literally named itself after Wilbur Whataley.

Tubbo likes the x files bc the mulder and scully remind them of their dynamic with Willow when they were a kid. Really a lot of their interests are reflections of people in their life. Jurassic park for Jasmine. I feel like Rosalind had soap operas/telenovelas as a guilty pleasure. Old sitcoms for Rhodes. Canonically hates the bee movie for the lack of understanding of bees and courtroom dynamics.

As for me, it’s mostly sbi all the way, but I like The Adventure Zone, Welcome to Nightvale, Dungeon Meshi, Mob Psycho 100

[therese-lokidottir]

Is Marvel aware that no one, not even people who enjoy the series, likes Sylvie? I mean, shit. I’ve seen more Lokius stans than Sylki stans, and while I utterly loathe Lokius and Mobius, it goes to show…Sylvie isn’t liked. Her being a female “Loki” has nothing to do with it when she’s literally nothing like any version of Loki…people just don’t like her. I mean, she had a few fans the first couple of episodes, but even they drifted away as it went on. Now she’s going to be in the upcoming TVA comic AND the next upcoming Avengers films? I see series fans on here CONSTANTLY talking about how much they dislike her. Is Marvel closing their ears or something? Why do they want to shove her down our throats? I see Sylki merchandise being sold at certain stores a lot (They portray it as a “cute” romance when Sylvie actively acts disgusted with Loki) but they usually don’t sell very well compared to Loki only merch or TVA merch. (Ew, but still…)

I don’t think anyone except a few Sylki stans who are a bit loud actually likes Sylvie. But Marvel acts like we all love her and want to see more.

I have no idea the amount of Sylvie fans there really are. I know amongst Sylvie fans the loki+sylvie wasn't universally with some describing it as the weakest element.

On a side note I have heard no credible sources say Di Martino is going to be in any mcu film

Honestly, I don't think Marvel is all that interested in the character. They seem way more interested in the TVA. That who the comic is centered around. In the promotion they are putting more focus on Spider-Gwen and Captain Carter. Out of all the characters they call miss minutes the "breakout star"

Marvel did nothing with Sylvie while latching on to that alligator and making comics out of that. Marvel comics had no problem introducing Layla from Moon Knight into the mainstream comics and that series got far less attention

Marvel is real big into making the TVA a thing, in giving it focus and giving that element attention while overlooking Sylvie. Marvel itself doesn't seem to think she'll sell or get attention. She is only being used as on extension of the series.

Look how marvel tries to push Captain Carter everywhere they can, look how quick they were to capitalize off Agatha and they don't show a smidge of that for Sylvie.

Hell, the fact Gwen Stacy is even going to be in the tva comic. Her movie rights are owned by sony, the MCU can't use her for their movies or series, but they are still using her image to sell a comic that's purpose is just to promote the MCU say something

I think the first season came out Marvel saw fans squick at the ship and quickly brushed Sylvie under the rug and put all their money on the tva to be the thing to bring people in