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spider-stark · 3 months

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hi!! i love all of your aegon works, always love reading your writing, you always have creative and imaginative ideas!! i was wondering if you have any tips or things you keep in mind when writing for aegon? i want to start writing for him but don’t really know/have a grasp on his character yet ^^

oooo I love this question so much! and thank you so much for reading my work, I'm so glad you like it! apologies in advance if this gets long, but I just really love talking about things like this!

Tip 1. Consume as Much Content as Possible

This goes for writing any new character. Assuming you've already watched the show, you can take it a step further by: reading fan fics, head canons, and watching edits!

For me personally, I find that this can really help to not only inspire ideas, but also help you to gain a better grasp on the character. You can take notes on their mannerisms, personality traits, appearance quirks, speech patterns, etc. by doing this!

Tip 2. Expand on those Traits

As of right now, Aegon's character is not super fleshed out in terms of the TV show because he had such little screen time. Because of this, it's your job as a writer to kind of "fill in" those gaps in his character!

For example, we see in the show that Aegon is at least somewhat insecure regarding how his family views him. Affection seems to be a somewhat foreign concept to him. A lot of his dialogue shows these little kernels of insecurity: "I've done everything you asked me to and I try so hard but it will never be enough for you or father." "My father never wanted this. He had twenty years to name me heir and never did." "He didn't like me." "Do you love me?"

At the same time, we also have examples of Aegon being rather arrogant and flippant: "You dare put your hands on me?" "You do know how the act is done, don't you?"

For myself (and many others) I interpret Aegon's character as being very indulgent and entitled, but also as using his arrogance as a shield for his insecurity. He craves what he's never had--affection, love, trust, etc.---but also fears that he isn't worthy of it. Because of this, he's just as likely to push someone away as he is to pull them close.

Tip 3. Don't be Afraid to be Creative!

Mostly with how you interpret his character and portray him!

Let's use mannerisms as an example. In a fic I'm working on rn, I write Aegon as having the same nervous tic as Alicent: picking/chewing at his cuticles. This is one of many ways that you can draw from the characters around him to be creative with fleshing out his character and making him more 'real'.

Additionally, interpret things however you want! Some people might not like it, but that's not what matters. Your fic = your world!

For example: the Aegon & Dyana storyline in the show. I've seen some fic writers use this as a reason to write Aegon as being misogynistic (which is totally valid). I personally use that scene more as fuel for Aegon being classist, rather than misogynistic!

Like many royals, I don't see Aegon as viewing servants and small folk as people---the things he would do to a servant, I don't think we would see him do to a noble born girl. Still makes him a morally questionable character, but it also adds more layers to his character that can be manipulated in fiction and add to a storyline. You can also disregard these more negative and darker traits all together as many other Aegon writers do!

Tip 4. Write :)

Honestly, the best way to get into writing for a new character is to just try it! Mess around and experiment with them and see what happens with it! Writings supposed to be fun, so just try to think of a scenario for Aegon that you wanna write about and give it a shot!

It can also be helpful to have friends that enjoy writing/reading to give you advice and help when you need it! If you ever need someone to go over an idea with or have questions about something you're working on or thinking about, I'm always available to help :)

#idk if this was helpful #my brain doesn't function #but I tried!#my asks #hotd #argon targaryen #fan fic writing #fan fic writers #fan fic

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neolxzr · 1 year

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i had ur post about twt stuff reccomended 2 me and ough. ive never been on twitter and i love aira sm what the hell are they saying about him over there.

sorry if this gets long this topic bothers me so much dghfk the first part actually answers your question anon the rest is just me ranting

amen to you for never looking at twitter but basically theres a lot of people on enstars twitter who HATE aira. it depends on the person but its usually some variation of "he's racist." ive seen several people on twitter get harrassed and have to go private over making tweets that boiled down to "aira is fine actually." there are people who like him on there but i get the consensus that hating him is a very normal and accepted opinion to have

there is one interaction of aira's that i think is bad and choose to ignore like most enstars fans do with at least one of their favorite characters because sometimes the writing sucks lol. like most people choose to ignore all of the weird transphobic comments towards naru that their favs have made but apparently aira isnt allowed that same treatment? lol

but in general the way he's treated over there bothers me for a couple of reasons

1) stop drawing conclusions about characters when you havent fucking read their stories!!!! i know for a fact that most people who hate aira haven't even read most of the main story or feather touch or any story that talks about his character and just take what other people say about him at face value and its annoying. also they just disregard his growth as a character entirely 2) most people take a very western centric view when looking at him so they disregard his struggle with being mixed race because they dont think hes like. oppressed enough? when most people dont understand how different the culture in japan is and how it might actually affect him (again. read his stories please) 3) aira is like. 15. and yes, he is mean sometimes. he is a child. the way he acts is pretty normal teenager behavior, especially for someone who is written as being really insecure 4) he is not real!!!! you cannot ask a fictional character to take accountability for their actions because he is not going to make an apology video about it

this goes back to the thing i was saying in my other post about twitter's weird obsession with having the moral highground when it doesnt matter at all. liking an anime character is like the least harmful thing ever and trying to police what characters are ok to like isnt social justice grahfghdj

TLDR twitter loves calling aira racist and i think its really annoying, reductive of his character, and kind of just plain wrong, but its a really good example of twitter users feeling the need to try and be morally superior to other people for no reason over stupid things

#cryn answers #anon #sorry for how long this is shfjghdg #i didnt even get into people hating hiiai #same sort of thing aira is racist to hiiro and aira is an awful person etc #like read any alkaloid story and youll understand that isnt true and also you are not protecting hiiro by hating aira #hiiro LOVES aira. he mentions him in every other sentence #whatever. anyway

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pebblysand · 1 year

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Hi pebbly, I hope work, life, and all the things are going well. Big fan of castles.

Question: What is your opinion on male readership of HP fanfiction/guys reading your works?

Sincerely, a male reader aware of his odd demographic status within the fandom.

aw, thanks anon! hope all is well for you too!

to be honest, i don't really have an opinion! i mean, i'm so glad you (and maybe others) are reading this fic - thanks so much for your support! that being said, i don't think i have any particular hot takes on this! i'm just happy you're there!

i am - of course - aware that my audience (and the fanfiction community in general) is majority female. that's been established by many studies on the topic. but, assuming that the audience for my fanfiction podcast is somewhat representative (even if it doesn't entirely line up with my readership), it appears that around 10% of our audience is male. around 20% is non-female. so this isn't negligible.

[sorry this is in french, idk why/how to change it. it says: women, men, other, non binary]

i've spoken about this before but i think the fact that men aren't super present in fanfiction communities is down to two big factors:

men (sadly) aren't encouraged to read. i feel like this is particularly true for straight men (although, to an extent, gay men as well): for some reason, in the past 40 years, someone somewhere decided that reading/writing books wasn't "manly". that somehow, sitting at home watching sports on the sofa was worthy, but not sitting at home reading a book on that same sofa - which, when you think about it, is basically the exact same activity. it's especially bizarre because when you look at literary history, a lot of our "great writers" are men - to the point that many women writers, at the time, were completely ignored/disregarded. so, like many things, it seems that writing/reading was a worthy pursuit for men, until women started reading/writing as well and being successful, which somehow lessened the appeal of the activity. i think it's a real shame and i feel like it's a chance that's missed by a lot of men who might actually enjoy the activity, if only they were given more of an incentive. anecdotally, i was once talking to a (female) friend of mine, saying that to me, if a man i could potentially date does not own at least one book, that's a bit of a red flag. she said to me my standards were too high (😆) and i think that's a bit sad. but, it does explain (partially) why men aren't in fanfiction spaces. they're (mostly) not in original fiction spaces either.

men are also socialised (at least in western culture) to value the pursuit of activities that will yield the most monetary returns. there is still, to this day, a lot of pressure put on men to be the main breadwinners and fanfiction, famously, is anything but that. writing fanfiction is a lot of work, for - guaranteed - no money. i think women are used to working for free: in the home, but also because of the gender pay gap. so, they're more likely to accept this situation than men who are like: 'what do you mean i need to spend a hundred hours writing a fic for no money?' when i was unemployed during the pandemic, i freelanced as an editor and you would not believe the number of men who sent me novels where they were like: this started as fanfiction for [x] (usually video games) but then i filed off the serial numbers because it didn't feel worth it to work on something i couldn't publish. then, fanfiction gets ridiculed as this thing that's only for teenage girls/women with no ambition, and men are even less likely to participate.

so, i think, naturally, this reflects in the readership (and writership) of HP fanfiction. it's unfortunate, but it's kind of an undeniable fact. and, this is worsened because when it comes to entertainment, men and women are also socialised to like different things. and thus, because fewer men write fanfiction, men who would only be readers don't necessarily find content that "speaks" to them, and thus don't read it. especially because studies show that men, because they are often cast and shown as the main protagonists in media, find it harder to project themselves in women/works written by women. they feel like they can't relate. so, it ends up being this chicken and egg situation of: women make up for most fanfiction writers, thus men feel left out and don't read, leading to fewer men writing it, etc.

and, to be honest, i feel like castles (and my works in general) is a perfect example of that:

i don't think i write for women. i think i write for humans. but also, i'm not dumb. my fics centre around themes and characters which mostly speak to women. i'm a hardcore, bra-burning feminist. my harry is definitely a man-written-by-a-woman (although, jkr is a woman too so i don't think i'm changing much, there). i write a lot of strong female characters. i write at length about violence against women. a lot of men don't want to read about that, because they don't think it's "for" them.

we all know and have seen in the past that the issue of feminism and women's rights is mostly owned by women. sure, some men are allies, i'm not denying that, but most of the campaigning and the shouting and the screaming is still the burden of women. we're still at the point where in order to get men to care about women's rights, we need to tell them: 'what if it was your sister?' 'what if it was your mother?' as though women don't have value unless they are part of their family. so, i'm not deluding myself into thinking that i have a large male readership because i know a lot of men don't relate to the things i write and aren't interested in trying.

that said, knowing that some of my readership (even if it's only ten per cent) is made up of men, fills me with joy. it fills me with hope that things might eventually change for the better. that men are starting to care/get educated, and also maybe see that feminism can benefit them too. the idea that some dude on his sofa is reading my very feminist fanfiction makes my day, really. i write about feminism and politics because i hope to see a change in the world and part of that is broadening my audience to people who might not be familiar with these themes. do i suspect most comments i get giving me pointless nitpicky/unsolicited criticism or telling me ginny is slut come from men? sure. but these are a minority and it's the price to "pay" when you write about these things.

so, my opinion on guys reading my works is that i don't really have an opinion, aside from the fact that i think it's amazing that you're there and my only hope is that there will be more of you in the future.

thank you so much for reading, and for being part of this community. it really means the world! 💚

#asked and answered #castles

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microsuedemouse · 8 months

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~ 15 questions & 15 friends ~

tagged by my much beloved @czarcaustic <3

1. Are you named after anyone?

My grandfather!! Courtney was his middle name. (That spelling was originally the masculine form of the name, though it's pretty rare to see it used as such these days.) My middle name is also a family name :)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uhh... oh it was a couple nights ago, when talking with my parents about my Nana. I still miss her a lot

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. At this stage of my life I can't say it feels super likely ever to happen, though I'd be lying if I said I don't feel a twinge of Something when I meet babies at work lol.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

lmao I have never played any. I am extremely unathletic by nature, and also always struggled to get my brain around the rules of pretty much any of them when I was like, a kid in gym class

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Sure, but not a lot? Probably an average amount I figure

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Man, I dunno - probably their faces or their clothes, depending on context?

7. What's your eye color?

Brown!

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Big big fan of both! I'm not a big sad endings guy, though. Even when it feels right for the story, it's usually not my jam. (I guess sometimes sad endings can be good for scary movies, but that's like... sort of its own thing? because it's about The Horror.)

9. Any talents?

This is always a hard question for me to answer, bc I feel like most of the things I'm good at are more skills than talents - they're things I've practiced and developed over time, like with my writing and art. Although I guess it'd be fair, if unusual maybe, to say I've got a couple naturally strong interpersonal skills. I'm very good at communication, including figuring out what other people are trying to say, and I'm also pretty good at making people feel comfortable and understood.

10. Where were you born?

In southern Ontario, in the city where both of my parents did most of their growing up :)

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing (fiction prose, mostly) and the many kinds of thinking that go with it (worldbuilding, character development, etc). Arts and crafts (of many kinds; I'm often bouncing from one thing to another. Currently I'm having lots of fun learning to crochet). Taking in stories (reading books and comics, watching movies and TV, playing games, listening to podcasts - I love stories in all their forms). Goofing off with my family, especially my younger siblings.

12. Do you have any pets?

We have three cats - Neverland, Louie, and Smudge :)

13. How tall are you?

Uhh my ID says 165 cm, so that's... 5'5"-ish? I'm genuinely so incapable of remembering that on my own, for some reason.

14. Favorite subject in school?

It was usually English and art, growing up. In university it was always my courses that delved into genre fiction - science fiction, children's lit, the fairy tale... also that graphic novel seminar I took

15. Dream job?

Iiii. [sweats] I wanna be a novelist, but also, that's hard in its own way, and I think it's gonna take me a while yet to really Get There in terms of my own skills, disregarding the challenges of publishing. Beyond that... is something I've been struggling a lot with lately, because it's hard for me to imagine myself in a job where I'm both content and competent, let alone able to support myself. I've been wondering a lot again about library sciences, lately, but I just don't know. It's tough out here!

I definitely don't have 15 people to tag, but. @izupie @werewolfin @serenabeanie @womanaction @mana-sputachu perhaps, if you're feelin' it?

#survey #ty KC ily <333

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moistvonlipwig · 1 year

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Some other frog fandom trends I've noticed:

-You mentioned how people sand away or dismiss Anne's flaws, but even many people who do fully acknowledge Anne's flaws tend to end their acknowledgement with "which she no doubt picked up from Sasha", implying that all of Anne's flaws she has to grow out of are solely Sasha being a bad influence on her, even though the show itself never says this (and even people who speculate how Sasha's flaws come from her parents divorce don't use this to disconnect her from her flaws the same way its done with Anne, i.e. Sasha's seen as more one worthy of being regarded with complexity, even by people who hate her).

-It also seems most of the fandom takes Sasha being more muscular and stronger than Anne as an excuse to forget that Anne is an athletic jock who can keep up with Sasha in every other physical field without any issue. I note this b/c as people use this to portray Sasha as super-masculine, they at the same time portray Anne correspondingly as super-feminine in ways that seem really dismissive rather than true to her character, and these two portrayals then bleed through into a lot of Sashanne fan art I've seen. I love buff Sasha, but the way some portrayed Anne in regards to this always felt weird to me.

-Relatedly, all of Sasha's feminine traits being ignored is usually associated with Anne's feminine traits being over-emphasized, and masculine traits ignored, to provide a contrast in fan art between the two.

-When Matt did an interview going over the finale, and how Anne and Marcy represented his goal of providing a more multi-faceted depiction and rejection of stereotypes for Asian people, both in real life and in fiction, the reaction of most fans was to ignore this and focus only on a gag question asking Matt about a joke in a S1 episode, that the fandom complains about being the worst episode -"Cracking Mrs Croaker"-, to proclaim that Anne was now canonically shippable with Sasha or Marcy.

-While people complain about Marcy not being mentioned enough in S3, they tend to complain way more about it for Anne than for Sasha. The implication for the fandom for some reason seems to be that its acceptable for Sasha to not want to confront what happened to Marcy, but for Anne its inexcusable, b/c, even disregarding the fact its a kids show, trying to avoid a breakdown over traumatic events means she's being written as a sociopath, apparently.

...Okay I promise I'll get to the rest of what you wrote in a moment but I have to call a big ole pause to go get my eyes checked because they're telling me that you just wrote that Amphibia fandom thinks "Cracking Mrs. Croaker" is a bad episode but that can't actually be true...right??? Please tell me you were joking because that can't POSSIBLY be a widespread opinion that people have. That's one of the BEST S1 episodes. It's got MRS. CROAKER in it aka THE BEST FROG CHARACTER. Hello???

I'll move on to your other points now but frankly if that's true then that is the biggest strike against Amphibia fandom yet. What the hell, guys. How is your taste that bad. (And if it's not true, then that was a very cruel practical joke to play on me, anon!)

Anyway, addressing each point individually:

ANNE, SASHA, & FLAWS

Yeah, now that you mention it, I've seen people attributing Anne's flaws to Sasha that way. Perhaps most bafflingly, I recently saw someone attributing Anne's behavior in "Girl Time" to Sasha's influence, saying that clearly Sasha must have forced Anne to enjoy girly things and that's why Anne was pushing girly things on Polly. (I guess they didn't get the masc!Sasha memo the rest of the fandom did lol.) What's extra ridiculous about this is that they apparently never considered that societal forces exist beyond Sasha "The Most Evil Girl In All The World" Waybright and that maybe, just maybe, the reason Anne acts like a sexist jerk in that episode is not because her best friend controls her every thought like some sort of mind-puppet, but because she has grown up in a deeply sexist world that reinforces sexist messages at every level and she has never properly been challenged to rethink any of these ideas she's absorbed and she certainly hasn't bothered to reexamine them on her own.

So again there's a refusal to engage with Anne's complexity. She is reduced to a victim, an empty vessel for other people to pour negative traits into. But I don't know that I agree with you that people are willing to afford complexity to Sasha either. It seems to me this reading generally flattens their dynamic as a whole and simplifies them into Anne the poor put-upon good person who has been led astray by the machinations of Sasha the evil toxic bad person who just sucks. Neither are granted the space to be full people. Which is a shame because part of the magic of Amphibia is that the characters are so well-drawn and do feel like full people.

SASHANNE, MASCULINITY, & FEMININITY

Yeah, Anne is someone who strikes me as having both 'masculine' and 'feminine' aspects of her gender presentation. On the one hand you have episodes like the aforementioned "Girl Time" which shows that she does clearly enjoy 'girly' activities and outfits, but she's also been shown to be a jock like you said and sometimes she dresses more 'masculine', like her suit from "Anne of the Year". Sasha on the other hand, while muscular and skilled in combat, is pretty strictly feminine and even the sport she's into is cheerleading which is considered classically 'girly'. I think fandom often conflates 'muscular' with 'masculine' or 'butch' which is...problematic to say the least. (Throwback to the days of She-Ra fandom when people insisted on describing Scorpia of all people as 'butch'. *shudders*)

MATT'S INTERVIEW

I think I know the interview you're talking about! So I'll say a couple things about this. The first thing is that I've seen an odd trend crop up in some fandoms lately, particularly children's cartoon fandoms, of fans feeling like they need the creator(s) to validate their headcanons in interviews and other extra-textual material. Not just wanting that kind of validation, mind you, but feeling like they need it in order to keep having that headcanon. For instance -- I don't always keep up with Owl House-related interviews and BTS stuff because, well, I just don't care as much about that show lol, but I know that lately Dana gave an interview where she basically said that the only thing that's canon is what's in the show and that her headcanons are just that, headcanons, and a lot of people for some reason were, like, taken aback by that? And I just don't understand that reaction at all, like...of course only the text itself is canon! Of course the creators' opinions are just their opinions!

So in the case of Matt's interview, I reacted to his statement about Anne finding Mrs. Croaker hot with a nod and smile and then moved on. Because to me...sure it's nice to know that was his intention, but also, with all due respect to Matt, I don't really care if he intentionally made Anne sapphic or not. I don't give that kind of weight to creators' statements. She reads as a lesbian to me, so to me, she's a lesbian. And she'd be shippable with Sasha and Marcy and other female characters regardless of anything Matt did or didn't say. But I also say this as a grown adult who's been in many fandoms before, so, maybe that's the difference? Maybe if you're a lot younger -- and children's cartoon fandoms do skew younger for obvious reasons -- and Amphibia or The Owl House is your first or second fandom, that kind of creator validation is more important to you? IDK.

I think the other part of this is that, in general, white-dominated queer fandoms tend to prioritize queerness over discussions of race. (Granted I have no data on the racial makeup of Amphibia fandom but most fandoms on Tumblr are white-dominated so, forgive the assumption.) Personally, if I could ask Matt about the show, I would be more inclined to pick his brain about the other things you mentioned, like how his experiences growing up Thai-American influenced the show and its portrayal of Asian-American identities and themes of diaspora, immigration, and the experience of being othered. Oh, and I might specifically ask about the show's portrayal of mixed Asian/white friend groups that are majority-Asian because I find that aspect of the show really interesting, especially as someone whose middle/high school friend group had that racial makeup.

WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE MARCY??? :(

You're right, I do see more people complaining about Anne not mentioning Marcy vs. Sasha not mentioning her. I also see more complaints about Anne not mentioning Marcy much in 3A vs. her not mentioning Sasha much in early S2 even though S1 also ended with Anne witnessing an extremely traumatic near-death (and in fact near-suicide in Sasha's case) of one of her friends.

A big part of this is I think general Marcy-favoritism. Now I love Marcy. If hard-pressed I would probably rank her over Anne in terms of favorite characters, although it's really close and some days I might feel the opposite. But the Marcy favoritism in Amphibia fandom is...a bit extreme. I guess it's something that for once it's not the one white character who everyone is obsessed with? Lol? But it still annoys me, I think largely because it leads to a lot of poor analysis of the show. It's one thing if the fandom favors a particular character and analyzes them correctly; it's another thing if they favor that character and then get them, and the show as a whole, wrong.

But yes, there's also probably a double standard at play. Now, granted, Anne is the main character and we do spend way more time with her than with Sasha in S3, and we also have a way better sense of Anne's relationship with Marcy than we do of Sasha's relationship with her. So to be fair, I think if you're going to be mad about the characters not talking about Marcy, then I do get why you'd be more frustrated when it comes to Anne. But to accuse Anne of being a bad friend or whatever because of it without saying anything about Sasha is just silly and unfair.

But that circles back to my main problem which is that I just don't think it's a valid complaint for either character. Especially since Anne clearly does think about Marcy throughout S3 because in "The Beginning of the End" she has basically already forgiven her and come to understand why she did it. That took some serious thought on her part! (To be clear, I think Sasha also thought about Marcy, but while in 3A Anne had Marcy's journal in hand and the clarity of being safely on Earth with her parents and the Plantars to think the situation through, Sasha was trapped in a terrible situation as a consequence of Marcy's actions just as she had been for...um...the whole show. Hence why they come to different conclusions.)

But I also think that beyond this specific case, this complaint points to a general problem I see in some fandoms which is a lack of understanding that sometimes what we might want for the characters isn't good television. Anne moping around and constantly talking about a character who isn't there would not only not be in the spirit of the two seasons that came before, it just plainly would not be fun TV. Especially not for kids, who generally have much shorter attention spans than adults. Writing for kids is hard. Because if a kid isn't entertained by your show they will probably just turn it off and go hunt for bugs in the backyard or something.

You know what is fun TV? The Plantars being fish frogs out of water on Earth, Anne and the Plantars interacting with the Boonchuys, Anne making mistakes and learning from them, and Anne and both her families trying to avoid the Cloak-Bots and the FBI while trying to open a portal to Amphibia, with occasional interludes set in Amphibia showing Sasha growing as a person, Marcy being consumed by the Core, and Andrias trying to capture Anne. That's fun TV. That''s in keeping with the spirit of the show. And that's exactly what 3A did.

#thanks for the ask anon! hope you liked this long ass post lol #frogblogging #long post for ts

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tuiyla · 2 years

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since we're bring up the subreddit's greatest hits, I think my last straw was the 5th post within like 3 days that was basically "how dare Santana taint the beauty of finchel by ruining their perfect prom memory". I'm not here to argue it was her finest moment, but my god, the way people blow that out of proportion. And all just to canonize Finn, as if he shouldn't have been kicked out of that prom in the first place anyway. frankly, I'm glad Santana "ruined" that cringe moment.

The subreddit's greatest hits and it's just the most tired takes you've ever heard lol. What a time it was to check it several times a day.

I feel like that one's a classic but one I haven't heard in so long I sort of just blocked it. People get so obsessed with that particular detail. Like, I'm sorry, but out of Santana's whole rant that's the thing you think is the worst thing she's ever said? Obviously it was cruel, but in the context of how I feel about the whole scene and 100 Pezberry stuff in general I really don't pay it much attention.

But my god people love to shit on Santana for that one thing in particular. Let me play Satan's advocate for a moment and be the blatantly biased Santana stan people think I am lol. She wasn't lying, was she? All Santana did was reveal that it was only because of her and Quinn that Rachel got the crown. Frankly, I don't know what Rachel thought happened. I mean, even in the scene itself she fears it's a joke. If I were Rachel, I'd be pissed that Santana would stoop so low as to want to ruin my prom moment, sure, but then I'd think for a second and realize what that stupid bitch was actually saying. That she and Quinn both cared about Rachel enough to want to give her the crown, completely disregarding McKinley's vote. That's got to count for something, and sure it got revealed by Santana being a bitch but if the Pezberry feud proved anything it's that Rachel's got to see Santana's good side more. But, I mean, yeah, it was a low blow from Santana. Not earth-shatteringly cruel tho by any means.

And also, and this is what gets me: the scene never brings up Finn. Santana never does, Rachel never does. It's the fans who automatically think, oh how dare she ruin that Finchel moment. And I think that's doing Rachel a disservice, who probably did very much like her dance and joint triumph with Finn but it meant more than that to her. She specifically highlights her friends' belief in her mattering the most. And that meaning stays even after the revelation because Quinntana believed in her, even if, in her hurt, Santana used the fact against Rachel. So what I'm trying to say is that, because of Cory Monteith's and therefore Finn's tragic death the fans have this tendency to consider certain things sacred. But it's them who gave that scene this meaning, not the scene in 100 that has nothing to do with Finn being gone and Santana somehow intentionally ruining Rachel's memory of him. That's literally not what happened and even Santana wouldn't stoop so low as to insult his memory, not to Rachel.

In general, season 5's approach beyond The Quarterback and special mentions here and there, like City of Angels and Bash IIRC is to ignore the Finn elephant in the room. And so it's annoying when people cherry-pick when he's relevant and what callbacks are specifically about him when, in fact, they're not. And it's like they're reducing s5-6 Rachel to Finchel, too, in a way, which is its own thing. I have seen people on the subreddit say they can't fully love Santana because of this particular action and I'm sorry, that's just bonkers. Specifically because she ruined this Finchel memory for Rachel? That's not even what the scene is about. You're getting mad at fictional character Santana Lopez because of a leap in logic you have made. At least get mad at her for the right reasons, geez, like her transphobic comment and overall behaviour in this scene. But no, it's one of those fandom things where an interpretation gets spread like wildfire and people forget what's actually in the text. It's like getting mad at Blaine for something he did in a fanfic.

And you know what Anon, I think I'm with you on being glad that moment was ruined lol. Because I find that moment so incredibly obnoxious and I think it's my top 1 worst Finchel moment, so. It's a contended spot though.

#that's what's so bonkers in the og scene there's NO mention of finn #when she talks to mercedes rachel doesn't complain about that memory beign ruined #people just think of that because of the irl tragedy #anyway i hate it when people narrow issues between women down to... a man #how fun #maybe santana sucks because of how she hurt rachel not because it was a finn memory my god #glee asks #anti finchel #remember when i was only neutral about them #anon #santana asks #glee subreddit #rachel asks

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obsidianfiles · 2 years

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Genshin Impact: A Look on the Last 12 Months as a Black Player

Hi everyone,

It's Maur, the moderator of the Obsidiant Files.

Part of this blog, this project really, is to talk about experiences as Black people when trying to engage in media that isn't "for us". Now what do I mean when I say that? Think about it, how many times have any of you heard one reason or another on why Black people or any people of color, are not or shouldn't be inserted in a specific media? "Ariel can't be Black because XYZ" "Elves aren't Black because 123" "Well there aren't Black people because *insert non-western media* isn't catered to you". Sounds familiar doesn't it.

I think to get the metaphorical ball rolling on this less-than-heartening sentiment, I oughta share one of my own. More specifically, I thought I oughta share one of my more recent negative experiences. Unsurprisingly, Genshin Impact came to mind and it's a recent piece of media I only got into in January.

See, I had heard about Genshin Impact in 2021 I think, didn't care too much about it and I actively avoided it for a fat minute before I decided to see what it's all about it and what the hype is (in reality, I caved for Kaeya after reading a really long Wiki post on his lore and I am a sucker for some gripping lore).

To make a long story short, I enjoyed this game for about three months, probably a little past March, and the only reason I was able to do so is due to the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about the in-depth mechanics of this game, the culture around it, nor did really engage with other fans. I took "Blissful Ignorance" very seriously and struggled through this game for a long while and ignored tutorials from other players, leakers, famous Genshin enthusiasts, etc., and wouldn't you know it? That was probably the most fun I ever had playing that game. Stressful, sure, but it was a good kind of stress that makes you want to play more. I didn't care about banners, I pulled for characters I basically guessed would help me progress (pulling Ganyu was the best choice I ever made) and I enjoyed it for a little while.

I can't quite recall when this changed, or why I decided to get involved in this game's "fan culture" more than necessary, but I did, and I think my joy playing this truly went downhill from there. I had...a vague idea of how volatile this community could be when it comes to Black people and darker people of color. That alone didn't shock me, having been deeply involved in the Supernatural community during middle school and high school, I'm unnervingly desensitized to it (and the Supernatural story is one for a different time and more awakeness involved). I think what tripped me up is how some of these fans managed to perpetuate all kinds of other bigotry in the name of insisting that characters like Kaeya, Xinyan, or more recently, the Sumeru characters can't possibly be Black or can't have darker skin and then proceed to provide the most absurdly racist reason one could muster up. Or in an equally baffling display, the overused and rarely nuanced take of "it's just fictional" that some of these fans will use for anything and everything will fly out the window and you're left wondering what mental gymnastics had to happen for that rationale to even happen. It's been about 12 months since this subsequent exposure of this community, and while I have still yet to fully interact with this madness, it's exhausting to watch.

It's this disregard for Black players, darker-skinned players, and other players who are not either of eastern Asian descent or white that makes trying to engage in this community downright undesirable to engage with. Another upsetting part is the sheer ability of a lot of these fans to stay eerily silent on the issues I mentioned but the second that something that is such a non-issue pops up, you suddenly have swaths of people vying to boycott or stop playing Genshin. The anniversary gifts for example. I do not and cannot care what anyone says, the sheer level of outrage people had for that versus the litany of other issues this game has in terms of the inconsistency in giving the cultures they pull inspiration from any real respect, the inability to create playable characters with skin tones darker than sun-bleached-paper-bag brown, the community itself just being unkind to Black players and fans specifically, nearly none of that is given the same time and energy. And you could say "well just don't engage with the fandom" but why should Black people have to stop fandom engagement simply because too many of you refuse to have a nuanced conversation on the problems this game has with treating specific minorities, their cultures, and their fans? I consume as little of Genshin content outside of the game as I can at this point, 12 months into playing this game. I know that if I don't the sheer level of exhaustion I got being exposed to that much racism when I did finally venture somewhat into the fandom, will seep into my game experience. And I'll be real honest, at this point, if Genshin stops functioning right now, I'd almost be glad. Too many games such as this one stimulate so much hatred and racism within these online spaces, and it makes it that much harder to enjoy these pieces of media as well as try to have a nuanced conversation on these pieces of media's problems. I enjoy this game where I can. I genuinely am interested in a few of the lore of these characters, the music, and the story involved. I'd like not to lose that due to this company and their fans making the ability to do so nigh impossible.

So...with all of that said...and yes it was quite a lot, I invite other Black Genshin players to share their own thoughts. The Obsidian Files is not just here to talk about positive experiences in engaging with media. The negatives have to be talked about. It's one of the only ways we can work towards developing positive conversations on how to avoid the negatives or work on them.

Until next time, friends.

#genshin impact #genshin impact fandom #mihoyo #black gamers #black fandom

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lord-of-the-ducks · 2 years

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Ok but everyone collectively having a Dracula book club is perfectly timed because I literally just started coming up with a Dracula AU for Our Flag Means Death yesterday for reasons completely unrelated to Dracula daily. I was a little worried that I’d be the only one who actually has any interest in that sort of thing, but I guess I’m very wrong lol

Anyway, so here’s a basic outline of what I’ve got so far. If anyone wants to run with this and write their own fanfics or something, go ahead, just tag me so that I can read the hell out of it

Blackbeard as Dracula because if you really think about it, their characters are EXTREMELY similar. In some of the more humanizing moments, Dracula laments that even if he knows how to speak English, that doesn’t mean that he’d actually fit in London, and that he’d still stick out like a sore thumb. Pretty much exactly like Blackbeard’s desire to fit in with the nobles in episode 5. Dracula isn’t even a name, it’s an epithet, and so you bet your ass I’m gonna run with the parallels to the Blackbeard title

Stede as Jonathan because they’re both chronic dumbasses who have no idea what they’re doing and completely disregard the red flags that everyone around them have been begging them to look at. Also because it is my firm belief that Jonathan and Dracula should have kissed.

Mary as Mina. I love Mina Harker and don’t want to just dismiss her as “the female love interest”, and I think that Jonathan and Mina have a very sweet relationship, but in a theoretical Dracula AU fit, Mary makes the most sense as “woman who doesn’t hear from her fiancé for months before he finally gets found in a hospital in Budapest with PTSD”. If I do end up writing a full fan fiction, I’ll try to make sure that she isn’t just an obstacle to Blackstede and that she gets to have the cool moments that Mina has in the book

Lucius as Lucy because they’re both polyamorous and they both get killed/almost killed by Dracula/Blackbeard. Also, someone on discord pointed out that their names are basically the same already

Jim as Van Helsing because the prospect of Jim as a vampire hunter who acts first and then explains nothing until the very last minute is perfect to me. Also, I’m pretty sure Van Helsing’s wife was killed by vampires, and that could easily translate into Jim having their family killed by vampires as a motivation.

Oluwande as John Seward. This is something I still need to work on a bit since a large part of Seward’s character is that he’s in love with Lucy, but besides that, Seward is one of the few characters who actually has brain cells, and he’s also paired up with Van Helsing for most of the novel and since Jim is already filling that role, it makes sense to have Olu as their sidekick.

Black Pete as Arthur Holmwood just because he’s dating Lucius in the show and Arthur is boring enough that it’s very easy to copy and paste Black Pete in his place.

Dracula’s wives are Izzy, Ivan, and Fang, just because that’s Blackbeard’s crew. The wives aren’t really developed in the book so it’s very easy to just throw them in. I am also incredibly amused by the prospect of Izzy being Blackbeard’s malewife and getting scolded for almost eating Stede

Buttons is Mr. Swales and I will not be taking any questions at this time. I’m correct.

That’s everything I have so far. I’m still trying to figure out who to cast as Quincey Morris, the third of Lucy’s suitors and resident cowboy. I’m tempted to throw in Calico Jack purely because of the cowboy vibes he gives off, but it doesn’t make much sense besides that.

I do have an idea of what the story would look like, and I’m VERY excited because it’s surprisingly easy to tweak the story of Dracula to fit OFMD, but I don’t want to throw all of my ideas out here since I’m genuinely interested in seeing other people’s ideas of what this AU might look like

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #a little #dracula daily #dracula #bram stocker's dracula #ofmd Dracula au

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impostoradult · 4 years

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This is time that was allotted to these storylines by canon, offering an expectation of meaning and importance, offering what results in a promise—not time the fans imagined or made up, not something they feel nebulously entitled to, but time they spent on plots the canon gave to them. (Cas means something to Dean after all these years and a love confession. Bucky means something to Steve after all these years and a snap. Jaime’s project of growth and his meaningful relationship with Brienne is something worth investing in.) But instead of saying, yes, you spent all this time watching these scenes, feeling these moments, taking this in—you grew with this character, with these relationships (grew in many cases away from the set starting point)—here is your promised meaning, again and again, these properties snatch the rug away and then pretend blithely they cannot understand why “entitled fans” are so upset.

I’ve been meaning to write my version of this argument for a while now, and I suppose this article is just as good a reason as any.

My thesis, in short, is that lack of queer representation actually isn’t what is creating ~the problem~ here. What’s creating the problem is the overriding power of heteronormativity as a kind of ‘trump’ story logic that is allowed to steamroller everything else into oblivion. (And yes, there actually is a substantial difference between those two things)

Sub-thesis 1: Representation Actually Isn’t A Strong Argument for Destiel (or any particular ship/character)

Controversial, I know. The representation argument (while an extremely valid argument as applies to popular culture in general) is actually not a very good argument when it comes to why Dean should be explicitly queer and Destiel should have been consummated.

For one, there’s no reason -- exclusively from the standpoint that it is a moral imperative that queer people are represented in media -- why any particular character or set of characters should be that representation. The ethical cultural mandate to represent marginalized groups does not mandate that any one character or set of characters in any particular given story be that representation*. Yes, even if you as a member of that marginalized group happen to identify with that character. Even then, it isn’t OWED to you. (I think writers should take those trends of identification seriously, and think about what it means to marginalized groups, and act accordingly. But I don’t think it creates an OBLIGATION)

*I’d argue the primary caveat to this would be in stories where the character’s situation or arc is directly related to struggles experienced by that marginalized group (i.e., casting mostly white actors in stories where those characters are experiencing racial oppression)

For another, if representation of queer characters were primarily dictated by fandoms, 90% of queer characters in media would be white, conventionally attractive men. (That might be overstating it a bit, but fandoms have serious biases when it comes to shipping and what kind of characters they latch onto for queer interpretation, and that’s one of the reasons I’m grateful queer representation is not primarily linked to our tastes/preferences).

The representation argument is a very valid argument when examining popular culture as whole, and when looking at broader trends for example, within a genre, or a whole network. But no particular TV show is obligated to make particular characters within it queer just because representation is a moral imperative as a broader cultural issue.

Sub-Thesis 2: Heteronormativity Creates Stupid/Badly Constructed Stories

The actual problem here is how heteronormativity creates a kind of trump logic that overrides coherent storytelling.

I’m not upset about what happened on Supernatural because I think we missed out on representation. There is actually plenty of ~better~ representation elsewhere, and there will continue to be more as time goes on. The representation issue is peripheral at best when it comes to analyzing what went ‘wrong’ with Supernatural.

The key issue here is that stories need to make sense, not just in terms of plot (although that matters), but in terms of character growth, emotional arcs, etc. The ending of Supernatural is bad because it treated massive pieces of character growth and one of the most significant emotional arcs of the whole show as if it was ultimately inconsequential -- which is bad storytelling and doesn’t make sense.

And YES, we are ‘owed’ stories that make sense. It’s not entitled to want a story to be coherent, because coherence is what makes a story a story, and not just a series of random meaninglessly assembled plot points/fictional anecdotes.

The problem is, Hollywood writers keep writing themselves into situations where emotional coherence basically requires an explicitly queer dynamic (or at least a strongly subtextual one), and then just being like...but these characters aren’t queer so we can’t do that. Instead, let’s end Steve’s arc by sending him back in time to live a heterosexual life with Peggy, disregarding the HUGELY significant plot points related to Steve/Bucky which grounded multiple entire movies within the MCU (Winter Solider, Civil War). Let’s end Sherlock by inventing a random, long-lost Holmes sister never remotely hinted at or foreshadowed and make that incomprehensible plot point the finale, when the entire series has been grounded in John and Sherlock’s relationship.

Let’s make it canonically clear Cas’s love for Dean is the one single act of pure free will in a world with a malevolent God trying to manipulate everyone’s lives for his own amusement, and that Cas’s love for Dean is the only thing keeping the primary story-universe of Supernatural intact, because every other version of Sam and Dean in every other universe kill each other as God intended. Let’s make it clear that Cas’s betrayal of heaven due to his love for Dean is literally propping up their entire universe, but then end the story by pretending like it’s not that important after all. Castiel who?

And it’s just like...THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE! It doesn’t make fucking sense. It’s bad writing. So why would you do it? (I mean, I being a bit facetious here. I know exactly why. Because the precious feelings of homophobes will be hurt, and companies don’t want to lose out on their money)

It’s not entitled to want a story to make sense. It’s not entitled to want major plot points and character arcs and emotional dynamics to have resolutions that follow from what came before in the story.

And I’m sorry, but you are a ridiculous person if you watched Dean grieve Castiel’s ostensible deaths in s7 and s13 (both times becoming nearly catatonic, nihilistic, more self-destructive than usual, and borderline suicidal over losing Cas) and try to argue to me that his shrug-it-off attitude towards Cas’s death/loss in the finale makes any goddamn sense at all.

It is utterly inconsistent with everything that has happened before in Supernatural regarding Dean and Castiel’s relationship. It’s incomprehensibly incoherent and just stupid. (And that is just the absolute tip of the incoherence iceberg because to fully explain why the ending of Supernatural re: Destiel doesn’t make sense we’d have to review over 300 episode’s worth of content, and there isn’t time for that)

I’m just so sick and so tired of being asked to pretend to be stupid because you know, man, heterosexuality. They’re not gay!!1!

The exhaustion I feel, as a queer viewer, in fact is not borne out of lack of representation. The representation issue is very much on an upward trajectory and I’m not worried about the future of TV not being queer enough. I’m not.

The exhaustion and frustration and anger I feel as a queer viewer is borne of having to repeatedly watch stupid endings to good stories because the story can only make sense if you make it queer (you cowards). I’m tired of being asked to develop dumb amnesia disease in order to consume endings to stories that had to blow everything up at the end to (re)enforce a heterosexuality that can only stand on a foundation of utter incoherence and contradiction to monumental things that came before it.

I am JUST SO TIRED of being asked to sacrifice my intelligence, my basic logic and critical thinking skills, and my ability to remember basic narrative beats at the alter of almighty Heterosexuality, supreme ruler of all cultural output and destroyer of good queer things.

Heterosexuality isn’t owed my stupidity, and I’m not entitled for wanting stories to make sense. YOU are entitled for demanding my stupidity when you wrote that dumb shit and expected me to act like it wasn’t dumb simply because it was heterosexual.

No, the heterosexuality is exactly the reason it IS dumb.

#Supernatural #Sherlock #Destiel #Johnlock #Stucky #MCU

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fipindustries · 3 years

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Creative Masterpost

i decided to recompile all my creative endeavors for ease of reference and as a quick presentation card to anyone who discovers me and might want to know more of the bullshit i get up to.

in here you’ll find DRAWINGS, VIDEOS, WRITING and even MUSIC!

DRAWINGS

*Unbeknownst to men.

you can visit the native art blog i have on this website with an unpronouncable name because back hen i was more concerned with cultivating an aesthetic than a brand and i still am! some interesting tags to look for specifically on this blog: Animation, comic, fanart,4chan,OC.

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*Disregarding reality

within this very same website you can also go to my semi abandoned webcomic, a project that i somehow managed to keep alive for three years and where i’ll still very occassionally dump a new quick comic that the muses dropped on my head. i would reccomend to focus on the Story Arcs tab in that blog as the most effective way to navigate that comic since many of the links are broken ever since the titty ban of 2018. and if that fails as well there is always the archive

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*Instagram

finally, if you want a slicker, more modern, more distilled and in line with modern social networks experience, i do have an instagram, purely for art and maybe the occassional ego boosting photo

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*Deviant art

a completly abandoned archive of my first works that i ever posted online, stretching from 2009 til 2016. you can, if you are ever an exceptionally curious person, go and see how my art slowly developed from the times i barel knew how to draw a circle to a close aproximation of what it is today. there is a lot of cringe and a lot of growing pains going on there but it is thorough and it is honest and i wouldnt have it any other way.

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*4chan

a repository, made by some kind anon, collecting all my works that i made for the 4chan tan project where each board in 4chan gets an antropomorphic representation/character/avatar. i focused exclusively on /co/ the comics and cartoons board, also known as Conrad. WARNING: it is 4chan so, yeah, there is a lot of ugly stuff there and i think someone misgendered me there but it is the solely existing repository of those works i did (most of which i was convinced were lost) so you take the good with the bad.

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id be remiss not to cap off this section with a link to my comission info if after seeing all this you decide you want some of this for your own, shaped to your particular needs and demands. im essentially always free to work on something, im am punctillious about my work and i deliver reasonably fast, depending on how much work i might have at a given time which is never too much.

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VIDEO

*Youtube

my youtube channel filled with miscellaneous projects, demo reels, vlogs, stream VODs, animations and weird in-jokes.

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*Jennyffer

more specifically in youtube, if you want to cut the fat you can go watch this small comedy mini series of animatics about a teenage transgirl dealing with the problems of being out and proud in her own unique shitty way

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WRITING

*Archive of Our Own

the main repository of any literary fiction i create. For the most part composed of original works. there is only one finished novel there, a bunch of incomplete ones, a bunch of short stories and three pieces of fan fiction regarding Steven universe, Ward and Pale

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*Writing

mainly my non-fic thoughts on the art of literary creation. it is rich of me to believe i have anything to contribute considering i never published anything and i barely managed to finish two novels and a couple of novellas, all of the shitty but hey, i like to consider myself an insightful person and one does not need to be a chef to talk about their favourite dishes.

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*Fip in the big city / Fip living life

my personal journal where i talk about my every day life, share personal experiences and show a curated view of my immediate surroundings and all the weird, strange things that occur to me and around me.

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MUSIC

*Music

a basic dump of the stumbling steps i made on the world of musical creation, mainly acapella works of original musical ideas i came up with or silly mashups that i thought were funny. there is a lot of extraneous garbage here, works from other artists that i liked, bad jokes and shitpost and i am still incredibly proud of all of it.

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iamnmbr3 · 3 years

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Some of the other Loki Series interviews have concerned me but this latest interview was the first one to legitimately upset me because not only did it disappoint me in terms of how they plan to handle the character, but some of what was said had really harmful real world implications.

1) “Due to the trauma in Loki’s life, I would even [accept a story] in which he is committed to being all bad.”

Regardless of what you think of the show, saying that is not ok. Basically what he’s saying here is trauma makes you evil. Now, trauma absolutely can affect people deeply and can make them act in ways that are destructive to themselves or even to others and can make people lash out or behave in ways that may seem irrational or strange to those who haven’t been through trauma. But that doesn’t mean that trauma makes anyone evil. It just doesn’t. The idea that being a victim somehow “breaks” you or makes you “go bad” is an extremely harmful one that has been perpetuated in media and that Waldron continues to perpetuate here. He’s moved from blaming fictional victims to full-on victim blaming. Ironically, in the real world acts of evil are far more often carried out by people like Mobius, who Waldron is quick to praise. Mobius is not driven to desperation by trauma but is simply a smug bureaucrat who is complicit in furthering the aims of a deeply harmful organization and who seems to enjoy having power over others, feels perfectly entitled to behave in the way he does, and who apparently never questions his own world view. That’s a realistic villain.

If you look around today or at history, that’s the kind of person and personality that is responsible for most actual villainy. It’s not the Lokis of the world. It’s the Mobiuses. And that’s something Mike Waldron utterly fails to understand.

2) “He is on his own, so, he is forced to reflect in a way he hasn’t. He can no longer blame everything on Thor or Odin [Loki’s father]."

This quote is completely bizarre. Because Loki has had to fend for himself during most of his screen time. It’s an especially odd thing to say since this show picks up before TDW and whether or not you think Loki is a villain he is most definitely the main antagonist of Thor 2011 and Avengers, the movies this show is supposed to follow, and as the antagonist he is very much on his own since he’s in opposition to the other characters. Was he not on his own in Thor 2011 when he plotted in secret to delay Thor’s coronation and then discovered the truth of his heritage and told no one and then fought Thor in the end on the Bifrost? Was he not on his own when he fell and was captured and tortured by Thanos? Was he not on his own in Avengers 2012 when he had the Other’s claws in his mind and also battled the Avengers and Thor???

As for the second part of this quote. I don’t even know where to begin. Talk about victim blaming. Basically Waldron’s take on Loki’s character seems to be that he’s a whiny, spoiled crybaby who just unfairly blames all his problems on his father and brother and now for the first time he has to man up and take responsibility. This is utterly unreflective of canon, promotes harmful attitudes irl, and also is just plain boring. It’s not new. We’ve already had that story. Thor 2011 was supposed to be about Thor being irresponsible and rash and then learning to take responsibility for his actions. We’ve the same sort of trope many times before. We don’t need it here.

3) “Tom’s soulfulness, charm and honesty is evident in the character. So, even when Loki is being mean or deceitful, people see the goodness of Tom in the character.”

Huh??? Yes. Tom seems like a lovely person although of course I don’t know him, but that’s not why I like Loki. Waldron seems to be saying here that people who like Loki can’t distinguish between the actor and the character, and yet ironically he seems to be the one who has that problem. He’s saying that Loki’s only charm or goodness comes from the actor playing him, rather than anything about the character. It’s not because Tom and the writing portrayed Loki with vulnerability and sympathy. It’s not because Loki’s motivations were understandable or complex. It’s not because wanting to prevent a war or being devastated that your family lied to you are sympathetic. It’s not because Loki has ever done anything good. No. It’s just because Tom is nice. That’s a huge disservice to Tom’s acting by implying that his portrayal of Loki as sympathetic was not a conscious acting choice but rather his real personality showing through. It’s also a huge disservice to Loki’s character and to his fans.

4) “Loki is an ass, and that makes my life as a writer, easy.”

*Sigh* Really? That’s all you have to say about this character? He’s an ass? No fanfic writer would dismiss him that way or describe him as easy to write. Maybe he seemed easy to write because you weren’t giving him any nuance or complexity. Loki has reasons for doing what he does. Often his actions are the product of many conflicting and contradictory impulses. If you reduce it to just “he’s being an ass” then not only is it out of character. It’s also boring. What a flat and uninteresting motivation.

5) “Just like the shape-shifting character that Loki is, we wanted the show to be [unpredictable] as well”

I mean. Surprising plot twists are fine. But this sounds like Loki’s characterization will be all over the place and they’re trying to pass it off as a good thing. Also surprising the audience isn’t everything. I’d rather have a good plot and compelling character arcs than just something unpredictable. Otherwise you just get Rian Johnson’s Star Wars....

6) “Owen is amazing. His character is opposite to that of Loki. He calls him out, and knows when he’s lying. That enforces Loki to be more honest.”

Really?! Seriously??? Mobius literally works for an organization that murders and enslaves people and that specifically chose to create a timeline in which Nazism and the Snap happened. Also he has not said a single correct thing about Loki in the trailers thus far. This better be the show being “unpredictable” by presenting Mobius as a friend only for him to turn out to be a villain. Bc otherwise. WTF?!?! Also why does he say that Loki needs to be more honest. He’s not a habitual liar. When he tricks people it’s for a specific reason. That’s why his lies work. Because they’re unexpected. It’s like this show completely disregards the movie canon it’s supposed to follow on from.

#Loki #Loki tv series #Marvel #MCU #loki series #loki show #loki 2021 #my post #loki tv series interviews

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urupotter · 3 years

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So while I've said before that I don't like the HP subreddit, I still frequent it because occasionally I read something insightful. This is one such case, where I read a reading of Lupin that I'd never seen before in response to a comment of mine analyzing the shrieking shack confrontation between Snape, Remus, Sirius and the golden trio, where I mentioned that Lupin was a gaslighter so I wanted to share. It was created by reddit user u/UsuallySiSometimesNo and is posted here with his permission. We had a little conversation in the comments. Read it under the cut

UsuallySiSometimesNo: That struck a cord with me, too. I didn't think about that on a conscious level before, but when I read it, it felt instantly true.

Honestly, I think the strongest examples of Lupin gaslighting are actually done to himself. The biggest, character-defining example, I think, is that after finding friendship with James, Sirius, and Peter, he becomes so desperate not to be ostracized from them (due to his issues of self-worth and his personal brand of impostor syndrome) that he deliberately and routinely feeds himself false narratives about their behavior until he can no longer tell fact from fiction, even as he's experiencing it.

Their relentless bullying of Snape? A childhood rivalry.

Their casual bullying of other students? Kids being young and stupid.

Their clear disinterest verging on contempt for Peter, someone less fortunate and vulnerable with whom they're supposed to be good friends? Just mates being mates.

Even actions taken against Lupin, himself, are revised in his memory to be 'no big deal', because he desperately needs that to be true. Let's pretend for a moment that Snape indisputably deserved to be slaughtered by a werewolf the night Sirius told him how to get past the Whomping Willow. Sirius did not send Snape to be killed by any old werewolf. What happened that night was that Sirius - one of Remus' best friends, if not his actual best friend - attempted to use Remus' curse/illness against someone (which is a big enough betrayal on it's own) without ever telling Remus that when he woke up in the morning (covered in blood and in the presence of a shredded corpse) it would be to find that he had committed the act he was most petrified he might one day commit. In setting Snape up to be killed by Lupin, Sirius, at the very least, risked Lupin's sanity, and, at the very most, risked Lupin being sentenced to death.

Now, I understand that Sirius wasn't thinking about all of that when he did what he did, and I, as a someone removed from the situation (and armed with the additional character/situational knowledge granted to a reader) can even understand why Sirius' own trauma led him to grant such a blind death sentence to Snape (which I think is related to a point you made elsewhere, u/Adventure_Time_Snail, about Sirius' "violence towards those who trigger his fundamental fear of wizard fascists" because of his abusive upbringing). But Lupin's perspective is not one of an unbiased observer. And once James found out what was happening and pulled Snape back before it was too late (which, I would think, was more to save Lupin than to save Snape) and once Remus awoke the next to day to discover everything that transpired the night before, I find it hard to believe there wasn't at least some conversation about the true gravity of the situation. And yet, even all these years later, Lupin doesn't bat an eye when Sirius not only doesn't display shame when the event is mentioned in POA, but offers something akin to regret, NOT at the fact that his actions could have gotten Lupin killed, but that that they DIDN'T get Snape killed: "It served him right...", he sneered. etc. etc.

I think the obvious question here, is 'Even disregarding what Sirius did to Snape - how can Lupin be okay with the knowledge that Sirius has no regret, at all, for what he did to him, even now that they're adults?' Well, we're not in Lupin's point of view in the books, which means we can't hear his internal monologue, but I think a satisfactory answer to the question is that he's done a substantial amount of internal gymnastics in order to get to a point where he doesn't see this as a big deal, or even as something that he has a right to be upset about.... just like a gaslighter does to their victim.

Again, because we're not in Lupin's POV, we can't point to the exact instances that such internal gaslighting took place, but, based on what we do observe from Harry's POV (and based on external knowledge of gaslighting as a true-to-life concept) I wouldn't be surprised if Lupin so desperately needs everything to be okay that he derides himself for feeling bad or betrayed, that he calls himself stupid for thinking terrible things that have happened to him are a big deal, that he wars with himself about how people who are his friends and who are so good to him and who are better friends than he thinks he deserves could possibly do something to harm him/others, and that he beats down whatever emotions and senses and gut feelings he has that tells him something his friends have done might be very wrong. What we see in the books is a man who makes excuses for his friends and harbors a warped perception of reality in much the same way victims of gaslighting do, and he seems to exploit his own insecurities in order to instill doubt in his own experiences in much the same way perpetrators of gaslighting do.

I can't help but think that, by the time Lupin tells Harry that Snape harbors a particularly strong hatred for James because James was a better Quidditch player, Lupin has become so adept at gaslighting himself that he actually believes it.

tl;dr: One of Lupin's defining characteristics is that he gaslights himself out of a desperate need to be liked by others, since he has a difficult time liking himself and seems to believe all of his relationships are incredibly fragile.

Urupotter:

This is a fascinating reading on Lupin that I've never seen. I don't read him the same way, in that I think Lupin actually does know that what he's doing is wrong, he just doesn't have the moral courage to act on his conscience. (I view him as the anti Snape, great conscience, but abysmal moral courage, while Snape had unbelievable moral courage but a shitty conscience. Their arcs are about growing their moral courage and their conscience respectively) Realizing that his negligence almost got Harry killed is what triggers his arc, concluding when he goes back to Tonks and Teddy after running away, taking responsibility for his actions for the first time.

But this reading is so interesting that I'll have to reflect on it. Do you mind if I post it on my Harry Potter tumblr blog? I'll credit you of course, I would just like to discuss it with my followers. Of course if you don't want to I won't.

UsuallySiSometimesNo:

Honestly, I think the lack of in-depth conversation about Remus Lupin (at least compared to fan favorites Sirius Black and Severus Snape) is a missed opportunity and a shame. Don't get me wrong, I can discuss Sirius and Snape until blue in the face, but Lupin's arc is just as powerful in an understated (and often underestimated) way. The muddy, oversimplified truth is, without the fatal-flaw decision making of all four Marauders throughout their lives, the series of events proceeding the first chapter of the first book don't happen, and the story we all know and love never comes to be.

And speaking of sparking a discussion about Lupin...

I think Lupin actually does know that what he's doing is wrong, he just doesn't have the moral courage to act on his conscience.

You know what? I agree. And that's what makes him so interesting, I think. He is constantly and dependably full to bursting with internal conflict. When his friends are wrong/do something wrong/say something wrong, he can and does immediately identify the situation as wrong. When he does something wrong, or when he does nothing in the face of something wrong, in that moment I believe he knows the full weight of the situation. Like you said, he has a strong conscience, as well as a deeper, perhaps more nuanced understanding of right and wrong than do, for example, James and Sirius. Now, Lupin needs his friends. They're not just people to hang out with, they're a lifeline for him. He's not going to engage in conflict with them if there is even the slightest chance that he might lose them (for a variety of reasons, he lacks, as you said, the moral courage to do so). But he's also a generally decent human being, and with a strong conscience comes the capacity for sincere guilt and remorse. So, not only will he not confront his friends, he needs it to be okay that he doesn't confront them. And it's at that point that I think the self gaslighting is triggered.

But Lupin is intelligent and nobody's fool, so the gaslighting creates only a thin layer of ice over the problem. Just enough of a cover that he can live with the things he would otherwise deeply regret. I do think he believes the alternative reality he makes for himself to be accurate as long as it isn't really challenged. Crack the ice, though, and we see him express remorse and reveal an underlying awareness of past and present truths. But then the moment is over, and the war between the uncomfortably and full weight of the truth and his need for the companionship of his friends returns, and then the gaslighting begins again, allowing him an easier return to his closest friends (and eventually his closest friend, singular, after the others have been taken from him as was his fear all along) without conflict and with minimal strain on his conscience.

Once Sirius, the last of his original chosen family is gone - truly gone, as opposed to 'located elsewhere' as he was when in prison - following OOtP, suddenly Lupin's arc takes off at a greater speed than at any point prior. He's now literally lost all of the people he'd been terrified of figuratively losing. Although there are still people and things he cares about, he isn't as dependent on any of them as he was on those foundational friendships, and the finality of their absence allows him to finally grow beyond his stifling cycle of reality shifting, confront the truths of his reality and his circumstances, and, as you said, finally take responsibility by returning to Tonks and Teddy - a decision that, ultimately, triggers his death (I don't mean to imply that it was a bad decision or that it's the sole cause of his death, but Rowling has said that being 'out of practice' contributed to his loss at the Battle of Hogwarts, which makes for a fantastic tragedy).

I don't mean to overstate the importance of this theory or imply that it's always present when he's on-stage, and, as with anyone, many other elements, of course, factor into his actions/words/motives. But I think it's a fascinating potential component of his character all the same. If you have more thoughts on this, I love to hear them - and I look forward to reading the discussion on your blog!

So what do you think? Is this a valid reading of Lupin? I'd say it is, but I'm interested in reading my followers thoughts!

#remus lupin #lupin #severus snape #sirius black #moony #padfoot #the marauders #marauders #harry potter #hp #mwpp

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greywindys · 2 years

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As someone who's starting to write Gorillaz fan fiction (very late to the party, lol), may I ask for tips for a good characterization of the band?? What character traits do you like to see the most when you write/read?

OOo congrats, and good luck! And of course. I'll try to answer the best that I can, but I'll be honest with you - I don't read much Gorillaz fic because I've historically had trouble finding work that matches how I see the band, and I eventually stopped looking for Gorillaz fic altogether (though this doesn't mean I won't read them if someone recs me something with my interests in mind). I've always been under the impression that my characterizations and interpretations of band dynamics have been pretty unique, though I make it work somehow by having canon justifications for all the choices I make. So basically....feel free to disregard my suggestions because I may lead you down the path of what's less popular, I won't be offended lmao.

Anyhow, this kinda leads into my first pointer - it's good to have at least some canon justification for the choices you make. This may sound limiting, but it doesn't have to be! I think too many people stick to one particular way of portraying 2Doc and/or the band in general and miss out on a lot of interesting, new directions stories could go. For example, back around last Christmas, I had a discussion with friends about a joke Christmas Carol AU. Initially, people were like, “Murdoc is Scrooge.” This makes sense! But why couldn’t Russel or even Noodle get chance at being in this role? It’s not as intuitive, sure, but imo, it could definitely work. Familiarizing yourself with the canon and how that could translate to an AU or a new scenario can go a long way and make your story stick out, and you might be surprised at the kinds of interpretations you can defend.

I always like to re-read ROTO when I'm getting into the Gorillaz writing ~zone. It helps me sharpen up on the dialogue and speech patterns.

Researching home towns, local slang, important pop culture and significant events of the past and present, etc can help add more depth to your characterization. I remember researching Brooklyn in the 80s for a Russel fic I did a while back, and I received a lot of positive feedback about how realistic and relatable it made my depiction of Russel.

Don't be afraid to expand on canon within reason. One of my favorite self-indulgent hcs is nerdy 2D. Canon establishes him as a horror/zombie film enthusiast. I like to take it a step further and throw sci-fi and fantasy into the mix. He makes the occasionally LOTR or GOT reference, or be setting reminders on his phone so he doesn't miss the newest terrible SyFy Channel original movie when I'm writing him. It makes him more endearing to me for whatever reason.

As for character traits...this is very subjective, so go with your heart. Your unique perspective, whether it matches up with what's "popular" or not, is important. A lot of times, it make the story feel more genuine. All interpretations are valid, too, and just because it may not be one person’s preference, doesn’t mean someone else won’t enjoy it. Personal favorites of mine include: Murdoc with a vulnerable side, Murdoc with a talent for writing, Latino Murdoc, guarded/introverted Noodle, taxidermy enthusiast Russel, self-centered 2D, egotistical 2D, 2D with a backbone, sports fan 2D.

I hope this sort of helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

#asks.#Anonymous

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vizowrites · 3 years

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“We” vs “Me”| or “Why BlitzStrike Works So Well For Me But Stolitz [as of episode 6].....Doesn’t”

Alright my Loves, so I said that I was going to talk in further detail about my feelings regarding Stolas and the multi-layered portrayal of his relationship with Blitz in the new episode, and today’s the day where that happens!! First of all, though, before I really get into my feelings about things, I want to just make it ABUNDANTLY clear that I’m not trying to sway anyone from one side to the other, or trying to shame anyone for shipping two fictional characters. I’m fully in the boat that you are completely entitled to ship whoever you want, but I also think it’s wise to at least be able to recognize the faults and flaws in a pairing--and especially to be able to recognize them in the context of an IRL relationship. In this analysis in particular, I’m specifically focusing on these two relationships within the realm of the Helluva Boss universe [......Hell] and within the specific context of their characters as they’ve been portrayed in the show thus far. And, my biggest disclaimer of all: I’m doing this for no other reason than I felt like putting my jumbled thoughts together into a cohesive post so that they don’t have to stay bouncing and buzzing around in my head. Please keep that in mind that this is just pure personal opinion and interpretation before anyone comes at me with torches and pitchforks. <3 <3

SO WITH THAT LONG ASS DISCLAIMER OUT OF THE WAY

Let’s finally get to the good stuff. And the not so good stuff. :D

So I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone who follows me here that I’m a huge BlitzStrike fan. What I think fewer people know is that when I first entered the fandom a few months ago, I actually was on board the Stolitz train like so many others that I’ve met here in the fandom. Naturally Stolitz was the first major pairing I was introduced to, and I did find both the characters of Blitz and Stolas incredibly interesting and compelling in their own rights AND saw the potential in how they could really come to grow into one hell of a relationshp over time. I was honestly really excited to see it happen, too.

And then I watched Episode 5 [still my favorite episode, btw] for the first time and had this sudden question hit me like a truck that even now is still relentlessly burning in the back of my mind because I still haven’t found a legitimate answer for it: Why in the FUCK wasn’t Blitz falling head-over-heels in attraction to Striker throughout this fucking episode??

And I don’t mean that in a “They’re so hot and I ship them now why didn’t they get together?? DX DX” kind of way--I mean that in the genuinely perplexed “I don’t understand based on what has been presented to me thus far about Blitz as a character and the storyline overall why he’s reacting so nonchalantly to this whole thing”. To Note: This is me wondering this from the context of what’s in the show itself, not from any extra fan materials like the Instas or Twitter or just straight up knowing that the most likely answer is that there are people on the creative team that ship Stolitz really hard and realistically wouldn’t have probably written Blitz as being attracted to Striker because that would just be--to quote Jack Sparrow--blowing holes in their own ship. No, this is me disregarding ALL of that and trying to rationalize this with myself from the perspective of a fan whose entire knowledge of the show and its characters comes exclusively from what’s in the episodes themselves. .....And that’s where I just can’t find my answer, except for the Stolitz positive “He’s not attracted to Striker because he’s in love with Stolas” answer. Which really doesn’t even feel like a satisfying answer, because the entire vibe I’ve gotten from Stolitz in the show has just felt.....strangely.....off. Like, the framework is there and the elements are there, but I’d felt as though they had so far to go still that it would be entire SEASONS before they got there.

And THEN the new episode [Episode 6] came out and I’d heard a handful of fans going crazy because the show was finally addressing Stolitz in full, and I thought to myself, “Well, maybe if the show really is going to go with saying that the reason Blitz wasn’t interested in Striker is because he’s in love with Stolas.....sure. I’m curious to see how they finally establish it in an episode, especially since there’s only two more episodes left in the entire first season.” And then I watched the episode. And then it hit me why Stolitz just does not do a damn thing for me but BlitzStrike does despite the fact that we’ve had 4/6 episodes [5/7 if you count the Pilot] of Stolitz but only 1/6 [1/7] of potential--not even canonical--BlitzStrike:

When Striker talks about Blitz, or interacts with Blitz, he always talks about them as a “we”. As a team. A partnership. OR he just straight up puts the entire focus on Blitz and his accomplishments and keeps himself out of it entirely.

When Stolas talks about Blitz, he always talks about them within the context of “me”--of himself--of what Blitz does or should do for him. Even here in episode 6, in the most “selfless” instance we’ve seen yet, where he does ask about Blitz’s safety first BEFORE going right back into how Blitz’s actions affect him and what Blitz should be doing in response for him. Stolas’s focus is always automatically set to himself--and even when it comes to the people he supposedly loves the most.

To explain what I mean here, let me give some examples directly from the show itself, starting with the Stolas side of things:

Episode 1

Blitz, in the middle of trying to hide so much that he actually clamps both of his hands over his mouth just to muffle the sound of his own breathing, knowing damn well that this psychotic bitch who already shot him once won’t hesitate to do it again if she finds him.....gets a call from Stolas. Stolas, who we clearly see from his leisurely hang out time in his bubble bath, is literally watching this happen and is fully aware that calling Blitz right then was potentially putting him in danger. But what does he say when he gets Blitz on the phone? He offers--not help--but Blitz the use of his book in exchange for monthly sex. Stolas literally uses Blitz’s peril as leverage here--consciously or not, though given the fact that he knows the situation at hand, I’d find it very hard to argue that he didn’t do this on purpose--just to get him to agree to be his bootycall until further notice.

Stolas not only doesn’t lift a finger to help Blitz once in all of this--even at the moment where he and Millie are about to be shot in the face--but instead continues to stay on the phone talking about all of the things he wants for their upcoming future rendezvous. He already got exactly what he wanted out of this and he still just continues to go for more for himself.

Episode 2

.....There are honestly so many fucked up things that happen here as far as Stolas and his relationship with Blitz goes but honestly the thing I want to draw the MOST attention to is actually Stolas’s storyline with his daughter, Octavia. I know it’s a little left field, but bear with me--this is actually something I want to use as comparison for Stolas’s relationship to Blitz as we go along:

When Stolas first decides that he’s going to take his daughter to Loo Loo Land, he does so while completey setting aside the fact that she doesn’t want to go. He just offers her assurances that it’s going to be so much fun because he remembers that she loved it so much when she was a little girl--effectively putting his memory above her wishes even as she’s sitting right there and telling him that she doesn’t enjoy the idea of going now.

Stolas doesn’t actually notice just how uncomfortable he’s making Octavia throuhought their entire trip by spending his time sexually harassing paying more attention to Blitz than he is trying to cheer her up. This tells me that Stolas--though I do believe he genuinely wanted to do something to make her happy--still wasn’t able to completely overcome his own self-centered tendencies at first even when it’s for her. And this is the person that Stolas loves more than anyone or anything else in the entire world. It still wasn’t enough.

It’s only when Octavia runs off and completely breaks down that Stolas finally gets the much needed slap-to-the-face of reality to understand just what he’s putting his daughter through--and, for the first time in the entire show, he actually puts someone else’s needs and well being above himself. It’s the one solid honest display of love that we see from Stolas in the entire show--and it’s how we as the audience come to learn that that’s how Stolas shows that he loves someone: When he puts their needs above his own with no strings attached or expectations of something in return. A true selfless act just because he loves them. **Keep in mind the parallel of Stolas carrying Octavia out of Loo Loo Land at the end, and how it compares to Stolas carrying Blitz out of D.H.O.R.K.S headquarters.

Episode 5

The. Fucking. Cigarette. I had no idea that something so small and quick would be able to infuriate me as much as it did, but the fact that Blitz used the post sex cigarette to free Stolas from his wrist bondage but then Stolas turned around and put the cigarette out on Blitz’s horn which is literally a part of Blitz’s body just.....honestly it sums up exactly what I’m trying to get across in this entire huge ass post: Stolas only ever thinks of himself first and anything pertaining to anyone else just doesn’t cross his mind at all unless you blatantly put it there in front of his face. And the fact that he’s still at this point with Blitz all the way here in Episode 5 is not.....promising for their relationship.

The fact that Stolas literally cannot stop himself from calling Blitz “Blitzy” or talking to him in such a condescending way no matter how frustrated Blitz gets and how many times he asks him to stop. I just--how is that supposed to be interpreted as someone talking to a person that they love? There’s no respect or dignity given to Blitz at all on Stolas’s part, and the fact that it seems to be presented as a “Oh teehee it’s just their cute couple thing” is just.....I really, really don’t like that. It also doesn’t match with the Stolas in the very next episode which I quite frankly think is because the creators have been listening to the feedback from fans and were like “We need to SHOW THEM that Stolas actually does speak to Blitz respectfully!!” but that’s just my personal opinion there and, also, it still didn’t happen.

Episode 6

Keeping in mind that THIS is finally the episode where we see Stolas actually save Blitz from danger and demonstrate even the slightest inclination towards his well-being.....I think that honestly makes the next few things here even more fucked up

First and foremost: “WE”. The second after Stolas asks if Blitz is alright and gets the assurance that he is, he roughly grabs his cheek and points out that “If you get in trouble, I get in trouble! WE don’t want that”. The fact that this is the first time that Stolas ever talks about Blitz in the context of “we”--when really what he’s really saying is that him [Stolas] getting in trouble is going to be a bad thing for all of them--is just.....so, so disappointing. At least with this I could hope that perhaps the idea here is that Stolas is genuinely afraid that if he gets in trouble, he won’t be able to protect Blitz from the undoubtedly much worse trouble that he would be in as an imp, but still. The fact that Stolas immediately reverts back to his self-centered perspective so quickly after supposedly being so worried about Blitz’s wellbeing, really makes it seem as though it’s just his own ass that he’s trying to protect. And that.....isn’t exactly what I’d been expecting from “the episode that confirms Stolitz is canon” feedback I’d been hearing.

"Am I going to get ANY thank you for the rescue Bltizy?” This for me was kind of what actually lead to me having this whole epiphany over Stolas’s selfish perspective in the first place. I realized that even here--even when he’s just been the most “romantic” towards Blitz that he’s ever been in any previous episodes up until now [and yes this shift in his character was incredibly jarring for me because of that]--Stolas still goes right back to thinking about what he’s going to get out of this now that he knows Blitz is safe. Let’s take this back to that thing I was saying about Episode 2 and comparing how Stolas rescued Octavia and how he rescues Blitz. Obviously they’re going to be different because it’s Stolas’s daughter vs his hook up BUT just think about where the focus is for Stolas in both of these scenes. With Octavia, Stolas is entirely focused on making things up to her--taking her to do something she wants to do--even if it’s something that he himself doesn’t fully understand or isn’t fully into. That doesn’t matter though, because the entire point is that he’s doing something just for her. It doesn’t have to be about him. But now go back to the scene where Stolas is carrying Blitz out of the room. What does he do? Ask what Blitz is going to do for him. That just takes the idea that this scene was a confirmation of their love and throws it right out the window. Stolas--as we’ve been shown before--would never ask for something in return from someone that he actually loves.

Now let’s take a look at the one and only episode we have of Striker and Blitz interacting together, with an honorary shout out at hallucination!Striker’s appearance in Episode 6:

Episode 5:

Striker knows Blitz’s name.....and he uses it. He’s literally the ONLY other character that we’ve seen so far refer to Blitz as “Blitz” instead of “Blitzo” or “Blitzy” by someone who wasn’t a member of I.M.P.. Aka someone who wasn’t a member of Blitz’s family. He shows Blitz respect at that basest level, and only builds on that from there going forward.

Striker first recognizes Blitz for being “the bold imp that started his own killin’ biz”. Not his hotness, not his skills in the Harvest Moon games because at that point he hasn’t seen them yet.....but for his accomplishment in starting up his own successful business down in Hell. He treats it as an accomplishment. With the kind of respect that comes with acknowledging another person for their accomplishments. Right there, within two seconds of meeting him, Striker demonstrates more respect for Blitz than Stolas has yet to do in the entire show.

The Harvest Moon Festival Games. Now this is something I find fascinating to think about from Striker’s perspective in particular. We as the audience are shown pretty early on that Striker has a strong desire to be the one who comes out on top. He likes the idea of being superior and he openly relishes in the praise and attention he gets for being better than everybody else. ....Except Blitz. When they tie in the games, Striker doesn’t seem bothered with sharing the spotlight with him at all. If anything, he--again--respects just how skilled Blitz is in rightfully earning his place beside him on the stage. That, to me, is HUGE. I’m not going to go so far as to say that Striker necessarily sees them as equals because I think that might be going a bit too far for his ego but he does still fully acknowledge that Blitz is in the same general class as him: that is to say, better than most. Worthy of the same kind of acknowledgement and praise that Striker gets. I literally can’t get over just how big of a thing that is for what we’ve been shown of Striker’s character, and I think it’s unfortunately something that’s incredibly easy to miss or gloss over. :(

And now--for what I personally think is the most significant thing of all--we have: “We”. How many times does Striker suggest during that final scene between them that he really wants Blitz to join forces with him as equals? He never demands that Blitz join up with him, he doesn’t threaten him into joining up with him--Striker barely even hurts Blitz at all during their fight scene compared to how he tried to straight up murder Moxxie--and, most of all, Striker continues to acknowledge that Blitz deserves better than his current arrangement with Stolas. And he’s right. But instead of putting it as “I’M right and this is why you should do this”, he always puts his focus on Blitz himself, or the two of them together as a partnership: “You are so above sucking on a a digusting rich pompous Goetia” | “We could be the most dangerous beings in Hell, Blitz” | “You could partner up with me and klll the unkillable--starting with the one that treats you like a plaything”. It’s just--I honestly can’t believe it’s taken me this long to put together why Striker appeals so much more to me as a romantic interest for Blitz, but really breaking it down episode by episode and comparing the differences in wording between Striker and Stolas’s dialogue when it comes to Blitz is just.....holy shit.

Honorary ShoutOut of Episode 6:

The fact that the only thing hallucination Striker has to say to him is “But you don’t want to do things alone Blitzo!” is really, really interesting to me in the fact that he’s.....not......wrong?? Like, To be fair, Striker, RoboFizz, and Verosika all spill their harsh truths, but the thing is.....Striker’s is markedly different in that his wording really isn’t harsh or aggressive at all the way the other two are. He’s just kinda stating a fact in an overexaggerated way because tripping balls hallucination sequence. It’s very interesting to me that that’s the worst that Blitz can imagine him to say--as well as the fact that halluci!Striker calls him “Blitzo”, which is really weird considering that Striker’s never called him “Blitzo” once in the entire show. Makes me kinda wonder where that came from tbh.

Alright so, in conclusion of this very long and rambly styie post: I want to take things back to where I started by reiterating that this is not me trying to convince anyone that BlitzStrike is “right” and Stolitz is “wrong”, or that you should stop shipping what you’re shipping in the fandom. This was just me honestly getting way more excited than I should’ve been over having my “Eureka!” moment for realizing why this new episode didn’t put me back on the Stolitz train like it did for so many other people--and why, in fact, it actually made me think even more favorably of the idea of Blitz and Striker being together.

Thanks for sticking around with me for this very long read, I hope you found it interesting, and I really really hope that it didn’t piss anyone off or rub too many people the wrong way. Like I said at the beginning, ship who you want to ship!! That’s part of the fun of being in a fandom. I’m just hoping that this might help make it easier to understand at least one perspective on why Stolitz is seen as being so problematic as a ship [as of where they are right now].

Here’s to seeing where things go from here!!

#vizowritesthoughts #BlitzStrike #Stolitz #Helluva Boss #hahahahaha I've been dreading posting this because I know it's going to lead to shit even though it's all just personal opinion :'D #but since I went to the trouble of writing this entire thing up I figure what the hell #might as well post it now #anti Stolitz

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