#and the way some of them portray HL....

[inappropriatemetalfilth]

“Meet the Uruks” BAZUR, GRUGZÛK, LURKA (”DIGBY”), MAGROT,  VRATH, “FABIO”, “FURY(?)” (”unofficial names”)

Uruks in The Rings of Power   In the Nerd of the Rings interview (https://youtu.be/eDJ9SgAyjL4) the uruk cast talk about some of their orcs. They each played more (“at least two characters”) than the uruk we know the name of, some of them got a nickname from the cast. Most about the individual orcs is mentioned within the first 15 Minutes. How they portrayed them depended on aspects like what their job is (digger orcs or fighting orcs) and in general they “came from a basis of them trying to be more upright, not as crouchy than the ones we played in the third age.” Jed Brophy speaks more about them having a lot of talks regarding the physicality of the orcs with the movement coaches and about wanting to make them more upright. (e.g. as them trying to emulate their elven father, and because they are probably the first generation bred, rather than ones that were taken and tortured from elvendom, “if you give credence to what Tolkien was talking about.”) They talk about their physicality being not as broken as the one of the orcs that are seen in the Third Age. The way they approach playing different characters also revolves a lot around the different places of how they breathe and where they put the tension (~12:30) when moving etc.

Jed Brophy  VRATH  - Jed Brophy on twitter: “Meet Vrath . He’s a Scorpio and very handy in the garden. Likes quiet nights at home watching villages burning and chasing elves”  https://twitter.com/brophyjed/status/1569427731640877056  “FABIO” -  is the one with hair, starting the nampat chant, the one sniffing out Galadriel (~15:24) - and the modelling kind of guy; “Fabio is good at fighting, not injured yet, almost like an elf .. closer to elves in terms of uprightness in gait”  - In this context Jed mentions how a lot of how they portray the orcs and their backstory comes from the sculpt and how they look!  - Fabio the Uruk, #fabiotheorc, “the Uruk I named “Fabio”” gets mentioned in three of Jed´s Instagram posts. - Jed Brophy shared some great behind the scenes pictures (x)  of the uruk makeup.  https://www.instagram.com/p/CkETU-EDVet/?hl=de / https://twitter.com/BrophyJed/status/1584261382538608641 https://www.instagram.com/p/CjJTxIdB3lR/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CjcjgiLtVB7/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj58vY6Bs1Q/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CiTK838hFaZ/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CginH2IufpQ/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CgWDkBPu07P/?hl=de   Phil Grieve played BAZUR and another orc just mentioned as “OTHER ORC” that is bolder?balder?, in this context he mentions trying to stay on his feet, and having a reputation of slipping over and falling, there being a lot of obstacles on set; talks about costume, statue, physicality and “trying to be just an in charge kind of guy” for that orc.

[Unrelated gif of an uruk falling in 1x6 (bottom right corner)]

Luke Hawker  MAGROT  - Hawker mentions his scar, chipped away teeth and, how he had one of his shoulders always gnarled (also having a sore shoulder himself), with Magrot he was pushing forward from the chest and chin - has a thrakatul black speech line before the warg scene “FURY”(?) - can be seen at the treelines screaming when Arondir & Bronwyn escape  - played him much more aggressively through hips and back of leg muscles - was always angry and ready to murder and destroy - should be the same orc as the one he confirms as being him in an Instagram post  “PROLOGUE ORC” -  also plays an “ORC IN THE PROLOGUE” the one that got an arrow through the throat (~12:30) I´m guessing that one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiSG56WrXAA/  ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CjjL3RPPctr/   ///   https://www.instagram.com/p/ChbCiE9v1kg/   ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CfF5G11PhUW/

Robert Strange LURKA  - they say they were lucky they had a tall orc (but don´t go into why that´s lucky?) - For Lurka Strange tried to let the sculpt influence the physicality - but they don´t see the full makeup long before the shoot, there does not seem to be much time between the makeup test and the shooting - Lurka´s scar on the left side of his face and the cataract scarred contact lens meant that Strange let a tooth stick out on that side and did a limp on that side, as if this was a war wound or some kind of scuffle with a warg! - Instagram post: “Meet my first Orc baby: LURKA. He's a beast. Known fondly as DIGBY to me and the utterly astounding artists who birthed him”  https://www.instagram.com/p/CiX5fU6ohQ6/   ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CjYZJMdIVTI/  ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CipzycSI1h8/   Edward Clendon  was not in the interview but mentions on Instagram that he came in “at the last minute” to be part of the “awesome orc team.” His character is the “stunning beauty” GRUGZÛK. His name only gets mentioned in context with the scene where Adar burns his arm in the sun, and I was not sure if that´s the same uruk that can be seen in other scenes (e.g.. telling Adar they found what they were looking for while Adar watches the warg eat an arm) but the pictures on the post seem to confirm that.   https://www.instagram.com/p/CjONSQuvHNp/ Phil Grieve  has no specific orc post on Instagram but e.g. commented on Edward Clendon´s post: “Glad to have you on the team!”

[Gifs: Bazur 1x6 / Grugzûk 1x4 / Lurka 1x3 / Magrot 1x4 / Vrath 1x3 / “Fabio” 1x6 / “Fury(?)” 1x4 ]

[jewishvitya]

Content warning: a picture of Nazi propaganda

Okay, so, I had a couple of replies from someone who seems genuine. These are all points either I or other people made before, but I'll try to collect them in a way that makes sense.

I'm not going to reiterate the list of antisemitic issues in the goblins narratively, I did that twice, here and here. I'm going to talk about why it's antisemitic despite this being a fantasy race with traits that commonly go together. I hope you'll forgive me if I'll repeat or quote things I said in other posts. I'll also use examples I've seen given by other Jews, like I did with theineffableshe (from tiktok) before. So, credit to her.

Fantasy and SciFi are speculative fiction. They take us out of our own world and our own familiar reality to allow us to explore ourselves. All stories we tell are stories about people. We only understand our own minds. You can't imagine a color that you never saw, you can't create a reality that isn't grounded in human experience.

That's why very often the struggles and the traits of a fantasy race are pulled from the real world. Either the real struggles of real people (with some exaggeration or magical/futuristic elements), or the caricaturized traits that were applied to a real group of people.

This is not inherently bad. This is just how stories work. All stories are derivative - they all pull from the stories we told before.

Here is what you said:

If you seriously connect jews with generic greedy goblin characters with huge noses that work in banks, then it honestly sounds to me like YOU are the one being filled up with these prejudices.

But here's what I need you to understand: we don't think we look like the goblins. We don't relate the goblins to ourselves. We relate the goblins to how we were portrayed in the past, to demonize us.

Goblins in other pieces of media can look very different. Because those are fictional, they can be made to look like anything. And they look like antisemitic caricatures.

To illustrate, here's a comparison between the game and Nazi propaganda.

The first picture is from theineffableshe. She traced some of these from stills of the game, and some of these from antisemitic Nazi propaganda.

I know which is which - because I've seen all of the originals. But if you never saw them before, do you think everyone would be able to tell which ones are from HL and which ones are 1930's propaganda?

And the two on top? One of them is the trophy you get for killing Ranrok, the main antagonist of the game. The other, is again, antisemitic propaganda.

Just a reminder that I'm not blaming Rowling of writing intentional antisemitic caricatures into her books. This is more complicated than that, and that complexity is what this post is about.

I showed in two posts the narrative similarities between the goblins and antisemitic propaganda. Here, I showed a bit of the visual similarities.

It's the collection of all the traits that creates the problem.

And you understand this. I felt encouraged when I saw you say:

This discovery honestly makes me feel uncomfy. Sure, it's just a generic animal horn, which isn't solely special to jews, but it kind of does start piling up.

Which is exactly the point. You get it. I just want you to see that it's still true if you disregard the horn.

You also said this:

Most greedy characters are portrayed ugly, which oftentimes includes large noses. And greedy people working in banks isn't a huge jump.

Greedy characters being ugly, ugly characters having large noses and greedy people working in banks are all stereotypes that are portrayed in media fairly often- How exactly is this case in particular offensive?

So. I'll start by saying again that the original books had no problem with the goblin's noses. They weren't even described. The antisemitism was in the other traits. But in these messages from you, there are a couple of issues: what we consider ugly, and equating beauty with goodness. For that, I'll get into the issue of the noses.

Beauty is cultural. I have a Chinese friend and we had long conversations about it, because it's something that fascinates me. The beauty standards around them are very different from those around me. We spoke about how it influences art and fashion and make up. You can see similar things throughout history. What we consider beautiful or ugly is not neutral.

I'm not talking about personal taste right now. I'm not saying "if you have certain preferences, you're a bad person and there's something wrong with you." I'm saying that culturally, some beauty standards come from racism. Others come from classism and prejudice towards poor people. Others, from ableism and prejudice towards sick and disabled people.

That's why the idea of ugliness being tied to evil is not neutral. People in reality treat beautiful people better. They're more likely to be assumed kind, to be assumed innocent if accused of crimes. It comes from a concept of purity, an assumption that moral corruption will be visible on you.

And it wasn't invented by white supremacists, but it aligns with their ideology. White supremacists put on a pedestal traits they consider better and purer. And traits that don't fall into that idea of racial purity, were the ones seen as ugly. If marginalized people's traits are considered ugly, and ugliness is equated with immorality - marginalized people are seen as immoral.

Exaggerating the phenotypical traits of a marginalized group to dehumanize it, is common. It's how racist (and transphobic, etc) caricatures are created. In terms of phenotype, Jewish people can belong to any race. There is no one way a Jewish person looks. But Jewish people tend to marry other Jewish people, so sometimes we don't completely look like the non-Jewish populations where we live. This was the case for Ashkenazi Jews in Europe. We were more likely to be shorter, to have darker and curlier hair, darker eyes, and there's much more. The "Jewish nose" is part of that.

European Jews were not considered white, they were racialized, and being racialized meant being subhuman. So the traits that the Nazis associated with us were demonized.

"They're shown as ugly, and that includes a big nose" is not a neutral thing. It has a very heavy history of white supremacy and antisemitism.

When you ask "it's a well established trope, so how is this case in particular offensive?" you assume every other case is harmless. I'm not accusing every single creator who made hooked-nosed villains of antisemitism. I'm saying that the pattern has pretty bad origins.

These traits that you listed commonly go together - but why? Most real rich people who hoard money don't fit that collection of descriptions. So where did this come from?

We pull narrative tools from the stories told to us, and we do that without always thinking about how those tropes interact with the real world. The idea of greedy bankers has been tied to the demonization of Jewish people for a very long time.

Rowling wanted to write a bank, and she wanted to make it magical, and she reverse-engineered her fantasy bankers from there. But when she did that, she did write an antisemitic fantasy race.

Goblins are portrayed in many different ways in folklore and in media. Goblin is originally a term used for a collection of creatures that have different traits, not all of them associated with love of treasure. They can be tricksters, but not necessarily bloodthirsty. And since it's such a varied mythology, there's no reason for them to look like this. There's no reason for them to be only loyal to each other. To either not care about human lives or enjoy the idea of humans getting hurt - which we see in the books.

She pulled more from antisemitic stories than she pulled from real folklore. And it was enough of a problem that antisemitic producers were able to pick up where she left off and make it as bad as they did.

So you're exactly right. It's how it piles up. I just hope you can see that the issue goes very deep.

[ryqoshay]

20 Fanfic Questions

Tagged by @therev28

Tagging @lonelypond who is one of the few remaining active LL authors I follow here on tumblr

How many works do you have on AO3?

"Only" 21, but I tend to focus on multi-chapter works and collections

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

685,120

However, I must point out that at least a dozen k or so are duplicated, as I slowly fit my event entry chapters into their parent fics. I am tracking my actual word count in an Excel document, but I am a bit behind there as I have not tracked said event entries, just the ones that have been copied into their parent fics.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily the first four generations of the Love Live franchise. I have done a little with Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Dungeons and Dragons, but both portrayed as TTRPGs being played by the Love Live characters.

At least that is what I have posted on tumblr and AO3.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

How to Handle a Nico: A collection of stories that take place at various points in the lives of Maki and Nico from the School Idol Project generation. There are a few recurring themes that run through things to connect them, but I do try to keep them somewhat able to stand on their own as one-shots or short arcs. It is mostly canon compliant. Other ships in my LL fleet show up from time to time.

Happy Life: Like HtHaN, it is a collection of stories that take place over the course of the focal characters' lives, but this time the main couple is Riko and Yoshiko Yohane from the Sunshine generation. I label this work as an Angelic AU, but I have challenged myself to do so in such a way that it remains canon compliant.

Tri-Arame: Like HtHaN and HL before it, it is a collection of loosely related chapters. This work is also my first foray into writing an OT3 as my flagship for an LL generation, as I was indecisive about which ship to sail as said flagship, so I just put them all together. Thus, Yuu, Ayumu and Setsuna from the Nijigasaki generation are a trio here.

How to Handle a Maki: An RPG styled AU with NicoMaki as the primary pairing. This one was inspired by some wonderful fan art by one of my favorite artists. There's only one chapter so far... one really long chapter... and I've written a few extra things as event entries that I've yet to integrate into the parent fic. But I definitely need to get back to this one soon'ish. I really like the idea.

Promptober-2021: My first time participating in an event in the Idol Fanfic Heaven Discord channel. This collection started my habit of worldbuilding my monster theater AU, Putting on Hairs, in event collections. The AU really lends itself easily to many prompts.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love responding to comments, and even feel bad if it feels like too much time has passed before I do so. As for why I love responding, it is because it is a way for me to interact with my readers. I also know how much courage it takes to leave a comment, as it is something I myself struggle with, so I want to show my appreciation with a response.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That really depends on how one defines "ending"...

Taken as a one-shot, The Incident in HtHaN would be pretty angsty. The play, Detective Otosu (name may yet change), in PoH, has an angsty/depressing/downer ending; I wrote other scenes from the play for the same event collection. And many of the characters in my unposted D&D story have pretty angsty endings to their arcs; e.g. one has their spirit/soul trapped in a gem where they remain in a state of semi-consciousness but unable to communicate with the world around them.

That all said, I don't really do much angst. I prefer happy fluff.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, this depends on how one defines ending. I focus on collections or anthologies that will likely be added to as long as I retain interest in doing so. As such, were I to choose specific entries in these collections, I would say that the chapters where the primary pairing or trio finally gets together would be the happiest. These chapters are Morning in HtHaN, the Revelations arc of HL, and Change Overnight in TA.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

While I would hesitate to outright call it hate, I definitely reached a point of utter frustration with a thread of comments that I decided it best to delete them. A graveyard of (Previous comment deleted) tombstones remains on a chapter of HtHaN, forever reminding me of the fated exchange, and that I apparently deleted them in the wrong order, according to the FAQ of AO3.

That said I have received more hate via direct message on various social media platforms for having the audacity to ship NicoMaki and YohaRiko, than for any fic chapters I have posted to tumblr or AO3.

However, I have mentioned a time or two that I deleted my first fanfic.net account due to hate/harassment. But I've done my best to move on from that.

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind?

I have written some smut prior to getting into Love Live, but I have never posted it online for others to see. And I likely never will. And the longer I go without writing it, the less interest I have in doing so again.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Sorta. As mentioned above, I have written DS9 and D&D stuff, but as TTRPGs played by the LL girls. This isn't to say I won't write some crossover AU in the future.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I suppose it depends on how one defines cowrite. My D&D story takes place in a world that was already established by my DM. I take pride in expanding their world with my stories and happily brainstorm with them even to this day, despite not having written much in the last decade or so.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

NicoMaki has been established in my eternal flagship, and I do not see that changing anytime soon. And YohaRiko and YuuAyuSetsu are fighting for second place.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I honestly hope I can get around to all of them. But with how things are going, what little I've started writing for my Phatom of the Opera crossover of HtHaN, HL and TA, and my Broken Mirror crossover of every iteration of Yohane across my works.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Finding creative ways of saying things; thesaurus.com is one of my favorite sites.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably exposition. I'm constantly second guessing myself about whether I'm writing enough or too much. Occasionally rereading my posted works, I will wonder what I was thinking dumping so much as to risk distracting the reader, or hoping my readers know what is going on.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I mean I happily use Japanese honorifics in all of my posted works, so that may count. I also occasionally use words that I feel translate awkwardly. However, when someone talks a lot in a language other than the primary one of the scene, and the focus character of the scene understands it, I will simply enclose the dialogue in brackets and mention the language used.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically, Star Trek, but that was years before I posted anything online. I may still have the wide ruled notebooks with those handwritten stories.

Lucky Star was the first fandom for which I posted fics. But the account associated with those works has since been deleted, and I'm also fairly certain my copies were lost in a harddrive crash.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Honestly, How to Handle a Nico (1), will forever hold a special place in my heart as it rekindled my desire to write, having not done so for years. When I first posted that short exchange between adult aged Nico and Maki, mostly as a joke, on School Idol Tomodachi, I never expected that it would turn into the 124 chapter, 224k word collection. Nor that I would follow it up with over 400k words spread across multiple other works. Nor that I would retain the desire to continue writing for the LL franchise over half a decade later.

[holyshit]

But how would we know that the hypothetical relationship is real when "everything we see is work" so the general consensus in the fandom is if we see it we're meant to see it so it's PR... I'm a larrie and not trying to stir anything but I struggle with this concept... I'm interested in different opinions

well, i personally wouldn't fully agree with the idea that "everything we see is work" and the accompanying conclusion drawn by people that that means everything we see publicly is entirely fake- it depends. i do think the majority of what we see from celebrities is manufactured in some way- i.e. paps are called more often than not and it isn't all random spottings, fake pr relationships exist, "no publicity is bad publicity" scandals are produced on purpose, deals with tabloids exist to suppress things, etc etc. but, there are some legitimately random sightings from either regular people or the occasional random pap sighting, so you can't truly say everything public is work. a LOT of it is, but of course big celebrities are sometimes gonna be caught off guard and spotted naturally occasionally without a PR agenda. then, even when it IS work (such as a scheduled pap walk), it doesn't mean everything being portrayed is entirely fake, necessarily. sometimes it is completely fake, sometimes it is real, sometimes it is somewhere in the middle.

for example, taking the classic "two co-stars of an upcoming movie/tv show are possibly dating!!!" pr relationship we see often in the media can be one of two things typically: 1) either a completely fake, manufactured "couple" produced entirely to get people interested in the project, or 2) two co-workers who actually got romantically involved and then are used incidentally to get publicity for the project. both of these types of couples would be papped a lot and used for PR for a project, but some are entirely fake and some are entirely real couples. even outside of specific pr couples used specifically for publicity for a movie or w/e, nearly every celebrity couple has been papped at least once in their lives, but that doesn't mean all of them are fake. people are just particularly interested in celebrity couples on a basic gossip level, so they're bound to get papped at some point or used as publicity for something even when they're real. essentially, sometimes things can be both work AND real, and sometimes it can be both work AND fake.

no random uninvolved person at home on their computer can really 100% know which pr relationships are fake and which are real couples just being used for pr, so long story short, it all just comes down to your own common sense, perceptions, and observations based on what you are shown publicly imo. based on my observations, i never believed h-livia to be a real couple because it followed a lot of patterns that felt incredibly fake and manufactured to me and it never convinced me that it was anything beyond PR for DWD. obviously i can never know 100% since i don't know anyone involved personally, but that was my perception of it. then, there are plenty of celebrity couples who get papped often that i think seem like very real relationships. if one or both of H/L end up getting into relationships that ends up convincing me over time that they are real couples based on my own observations, that's something that would make me think it's possible HL have broken up at some point. i haven't seen any public relationship from them that has convinced me so far, so, shrug! that's how i view it lol

[eleanorrosecooke]

Self Portrait Research and planning

I'd like a self portrait approach with no rules, a more fun approach showing me in a more literal sense rather than abstract emotions shown in a deep thought provoking way.

Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts is a famous fashion photographer who began working professionally in the late 70's. He won many awards for his fine art work and also directed music videos too. HIs work has featured in The Rolling Stone and Vouge magazine to name a few.

I like his self portrait work because his eyes are always captured in such a striking way. They are wide and wild looking adding a sense of craziness and unknown which really compliments his known creative personality. Only his eyes are sharp which really draws you right in. The dark glasses add even more contrast to the whites of his eyes as well making them pop out. His pose is unusual swell showing his hands. which I think is good as photographers work with their hands so they are very much part of them. the hands are also face framing too. the eye contact and the hands looking through to the camera lens adds a connection to the viewer.

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman's portraits are very much fun and themed and her trying to look like something else but her eyes always stay the same so you known that's a constant throughout all her self portraits. They are usually from a time period or fantasy and quite weird and creepy sometimes. I like her creativity and use of face paint , makeup and props to transform a look and add colour and history.

Ideas and Planning

I like this album cover for Beabadoobee's Fake it Flowers album. Its her face divided into two and I though this could be usual in showing two sides to a person as sometimes I feel I live a double life. With this idea I might have the first glance, maybe more superficial version of me and the other side something showing more interest.

This photograph was taken by her photographer friend Amir Hossain, who is an artist, photographer and director based in London.

Styling and what it portrays about me

I think for styling my portrait ill dress in an outfit I really like and also for the more mundane side something more regular but still me. I want to add 'props to the side of interest maybe like my headphones and paint in some album covers that i like since music and art make up a lot of what I'm interested in, for more deeper side of myself is shown just by the fact I'm split in tow as going home means I have to pair back my appearances and hide a lot of what makes me me.

I'm going to try full length and different poses as well.

Sources

https://www.instagram.com/blacksocks.studio/?hl=en

[agape-28]

Yep I’m in the camp that Harry and Louis’ personalities are more similar than people think too. Think people just see Harry in Gucci and Louis in a tracksuit, Louis smoking and Harry not (publicly anyway that’s not for a movie) and think yep too different. They both have quite a sarcastic sense of humour, like to joke make someone laugh and tease/call people out. Than say Zayn who was normally quite quiet in interviews.

They both obviously love HOME (duh) and family and have the same meaning of measuring success, football, where they come from, amongst others things we don’t even know about.

I hate when people use the louis is sassy excuse because Harry can be as well. Calling out peoples boyfriends on stage and whatnot. Not to mention he’s seen flipping people off too. It’s not a ‘Louis’ thing anyway there’s my ramble

so true anon 🙌 🙌 ramble your heart out, babes

they've shown so many times that they're pretty similar. and you know, even if there are differences, that is perfectly okay! not everyone has to be completely the same as their partner. it's just frustrating to me, when people frame their personalities differently, to the point that the "harry" and "louis" they talk about feel so... divorced from who they actually are.

[non-binharry]

Hello maam... opinion on wallstermelons nonapology? U can answer in tags :) i’ve entered this fandom fully believing that harry is a cis man but after a while I’ve read trans people’s opinions nd beliefs nd am open to the possibility of harry being trans... just that wallstermelons posts made me feel like its wrong for me to think or believe that harry is trans. And i follow both bottomharrykingdom and blouisparadise for the fics- is that wrong???

lmaooo okay i know i wasn't going to talk about her on main anymore but i just went through her blog like 👁️👄👁️ and also 🍿🤏 all i can say is DRAG HUH

and you're lovely anon! as much as people claim we're trying to force our beliefs and cancel anyone who doesn't worship at the shrine of trans harry, all we're asking for is a little open-mindedness for our harry ❤️ there's nothing wrong with thinking harry could be trans based on everything we know about him. we're not forcing this identity on him, we're just saying we see the similarities between him and ourselves and we'll support him no matter what.

[taylors-fourth-cat-meow]

You something else i hate about Acotar?

Its the way family is portrayed.

Weather it be the IC dynamic or the Archeron family dynamic its just so fcking messed up!

Both the families revolve around one person (Rhys and Feyre) and the characters are judged based on how they treat/talk to that person. They are defined and labelled 'good', 'bland' and 'evil' with respect to that one character. Lets look at the IC first then we'll get to the Archeron family.

Mor is a girl boss, and "loves freely". She can tell Nesta, a traumatised child in comparison to her that she deserves to be sent to a torture prison from which she escaped and that can be justified by saying she is "protective over her family".

Now, I personally fcking hate Mor. And i also know that her being queer is a retcon but fck! it says so much about her relationship with her so called family. After 500 years she still doesn't feel comfortable coming out to them? Now thats saying a lot.

In acosf, Amren, Cassian, Mor almost everyone treat Cassian like absolute shit. He is their brother yet Azriel says that Elain should not be out in danger but its perfectly ok to put his brothers mate in danger? Amren totally treats Cassian like some jock whose acting out again cause he wants his dick in some bitch. Mor, don't even get me started on that dipshit. If she supposedly loves freely, she wud actually think about how it must hurt those she cares (feyre and Cassian) about because of the way she treats someone they care about (Nesta). Like the way the entire IC treat Cassian like absolute shit throughout the entire book. Force him to watch as they slut shame his mate, force him to watch as they put her in dangerous situations, force him to watch as she is kidnapped into a dangerous rite that can get her killed, force him to watch as the force her to seduce another man?

AND RHYSAND.

He legit treats Cassian like he is nothing more than his dog. He is a fcking general of the armies yet he treats him like he is a dumb hunk who needs to improve himself to be of any use? what was even the part of making him play courtier? who gave rhysie the right to "test" cassian? This is not the relationship between two brothers who are equals. This is fcking toxic if not downright abusive.

Also with the Azriel bonus chp. Instead of understanding and consoling how his brother, who feels left out (rightly so) and calling him out on his fck boy behaviour towards his sister in law, he just orders him around and pulls out his HL status.

And then with Mor, inviting her abusers into her safe place (Velaris), making deals with her ex-fiance who was the cause of said trauma, ( I highly doubt she's saying the full/true story bout that) that involves Eris to visit frequently. All this without her knowledge. He invalidates her? No wonder she doesn't feel comfortable coming out to them even after 500 years.

Now one could argue that Azriel and Casshole are brothers. And uk what yeah to some extent I wud agree with u. The only brotherly love shown is between those two. And uk why? Because the power dynamic is equal. They are both ostracised bastards. They are both powerfull Illariyans. They both hold High Positions in the NC. But Rhysand on the other hand? He literally pulls out his HL status all the time. He uses his power over his family members. It's doesn't matter that he doesn't like doing that. He still does it.

Mor, Azriel and Cassian all came from fcked up backgrounds but they didn't find love and acceptance among each other. No they found it in Rhysand. Their position, power and family only exists because of Rhysand. Because he deemed them worthy of being his family. And that gives him power over them. Which ultimately makes the whole concept of family fall apart.

I mean thats not the Inncer Circle, its the Rhysand Worship Circle.

[twopoppies]

Dan on his and Phil's podcast was saying speculation and talking about people who are not out is not good for them or using socil media to pine over someone that you think is closeted ..so does he think people shouldn't speculate at all like larries? I'm a larrie but I feel conflicted by what he said it's not like I'm the type to ask is larry real in Niall or Liam's live chats or send larry questions to any of them that is breaking the fourth wall but he made it sound like just discussing stuff like larry being real was damaging to people in the closest?

I’m not in that fandom, so I can’t speak with any real accuracy about this, but my overall feeling is that everybody’s experience is different. Perhaps for him/them it made it difficult but I don’t know his background or what happened in that fandom. I truly don’t think you can take one case and make it apply to everyone. And people will bring up Lauren from 5H which, again, is very specific to her situation (she was queer and Camilla wasn’t and it made Lauren uncomfortable that she was portrayed as the aggressor in their “relationship”). I get that.

But for those two stories, there are others that have a much more positive take on shipping and fan speculation. Ronen Rubenstein just came out last week and said one of the reasons he felt so comfortable doing it is how supportive fans of his TV show were about his character having a boyfriend. Vocal and visible support for queer artists/actors etc is important, IMO. There are so many out there that need to know their careers won’t be ruined by them being who they are.

I’m sure that there were times when fandom’s interest and fixation on finding every touch and glance did make things difficult for HL. They probably got in trouble more than they would have without social media speculation. But I also think in the early days they very much encouraged it and felt supported by it. They were told their fans would never accept a gay couple in a boyband. They were told they couldn’t even appear to be friends anymore. But they found ways to communicate with and to thank the fans who supported them and I think our support buoyed them through some hard times.

There were just too many lyric posts and coincidental twitter follows and signals and bears and coded clothes for them not to want fans to see what they were doing. That doesn’t mean they loved every single minute of our attention, but I think they appreciated it more often than not because they would have stopped doing what they were doing if they wanted us to go away.

And sure, some idiots people will say it’s all Larrie baiting or we’re conspiracy theorists and all conspiracy theorists think their theory is right... but I know what I’ve seen with my own eyes. I know the stories I’ve heard that are too accurate and too consistent to be made up.

And I’m sorry Dan/Phil feel the way they feel. I’m sorry it was hard on them. And there are definitely fans in this fandom that go way too far (but seriously... have you seen the disgusting things the hets post about Harry? Why is this ignored but Larries are demonized for speculating he’s in a committed relationship with a man? Just curious). IMO, that’s the behavior that needs to settle down.

These days I don’t think HL feel the need to rattle the cage as much as they once did, but I think they do appreciate knowing there’s still a huge amount of support for them as queer men and, assuming they’re still together, support for them as a couple.

[vore-rambles]

I don’t really like it in vore stories when the pred treats the prey like food - so I wrote a ficlet with a situation where I would like.

This contains soft/safe/clean vore. Don’t like don’t read. Written with Benrey and Gordon from hl//vr/ai. 

~~~

It'd be something he'd ask for. They wouldn't do foodplay very often, but this feels different somehow, even then.

Benrey would lift him to his face, remarking "oh sweet, a snacc." with a horrible wink that would nearly have Gordon laughing. Benrey would lick him, saying how tasty this particular treat is, then lick him again, pulling him into his mouth. He'd roll Gordon around, and Gordon would just melt under it, wiggling and playing and being completely lavished by his tongue, giving Gordon the complete focus of his attention. He'd hum apreciativly from time to time, wordlessly remarking on how wonderful this particular treat tastes.

Eventually, Gordon would just go limp, relaxed and tired out, anticipating the swallow, and Benrey would do so without warning, aware that Gordon was ready and swallowing because of it. Gordon really does melt at that, this moment where the choice is out of his grip, as he moves down the throat, completely surounded by Benrey and feeling like one more part of him. He's completely limp at this, this moment where he surrenders and does so willingly, this moment that he would have needed so badly.

Benrey would check gently on him, once he reaches his destination, like he always does, but beyond that there wouldn't be much interaction between the two throughout the day. Ocasianally he'd put a hand to his stomach, feeling Gordon slide around some, but mostly, Benrey would simply continue on with his day, feeling a constent sense of fullness but not nessesarily thinking about him every moment, just doing his own thing while enjoying Gordon's precense.

Gordon would end up catching up on sleep he'd dearly been missing out on, safe in the knowledge that there is nothing he needs to do, nowhere he needs to go, and feeling Benrey above and below and around him with every moment. simply enjoying that Benrey is there and relaxing at how it's like he's a part of Benrey, how he doesn't have to do anything and can simply relax and rest, how he can enjoy knowing that he is a small part of a large universe and that his World is kind.

~~~

Commentary about this trope below the cut. It’s longer than the fic itself o.O

There are many different tropes in vore that I do or don’t like - many themes that can make or break a story for me.

One particular trope that I don’t like is when a pred treats the prey like food - it’s often used by malicious preds to dehumanize the prey, and doesn’t sit right with me.

Of course, as is my nature, whenever I see something I don’t like, I eventually try to pick it apart, to understand why I feel that way, and how it would have to be portrayed for me to like it.

That was why I wrote this bit. It’s not everything - this is still something I’m not used to writing, and I could certainly push the theme of the prey being food farther - but it is the context that I would want most of the time, the general themes that could make or break the story. Otherwise, even just an off-hand comment, without some preexisting agreement between these characters, can completely change my feelings on the fic.

This isn’t, of course, a problem with fics that do contain those themes - everyone likes or doesn’t like different things, in different places. 

I myself do read fics with themes of dehumanization - and like them - but it’s not something I would like in vore. 

It’s not what I want out of vore. Iit is harsh and grisly. Sometimes I want harsh and grisly - but not from this. This is what I use for comfort, for relaxation and calming down, just as much as another person might read vore because they want horror, or fear, or tension. Those are all good themes, all themes that work with vore, but - even though I have written a little vore fic over on AO3 with some pretty strong themes of psychological horror - they are not themes that I go to vore to find.

And I have read vore stories with great tension! Sometimes I do want that, sometimes I do want to sit on the edge of my seat, full of these character’s fear - but some things will always make me uncomfortable instead of making me scared, will make me close the fic for my own comfort, instead of continuing on to the end. That doesn’t mean they are bad. It just means that, much like a meal that might otherwise be good, but has an ingredient I personally don’t like - it’s not to my taste.

[sareesonscreen]

S1 E3: Sex and Sexuality in South Asian Media

In this episode, we will be talking about Sex and Sexuality in South Asian Media. This is in essence the first half of a two-part conversation. In this first half, we hope to address the broader discussions around Sex and Sexuality in the media in our region. And in our next discussion episode, the conversation will continue into an in-depth discussion around Queer Media.

It’s been empowering to see many people speak about sex so candidly today. This was nearly unimaginable even a decade ago. Unfortunately, open conversations around sex and sexuality continue to be taboo in our society, but it’s been great to see a segment of people start to chip away at that reluctance to talk about such a fundamental part of all our lives.

There are a lot of great podcasters and Youtubers who share their experiences on this (linked below). And we highly recommend you give them a listen (links below). While we absolutely value the importance of sharing lived experiences, in this episode, we will specifically look at the media we consume - how it portrays sex and sexualities of women and marginalized people, and how it shapes the greater societal conversations around these issues.

We wanted to highlight the importance of recognizing that sex and sexuality is experienced very differently and uniquely by everyone. There is no universal women’s experience or queer experience. The specific socio-economic and cultural locations that shape our identities empower and disempower us in different ways, also change how we engage with sex and our sexualities. 

The movies and shows we plan to talk about in this episode come from Netflix productions, slightly indie parts of Bollywood, and the West Bengali film industry. While the chosen media here vary in their representations of language, socioeconomic class, urban/rural spaces, and to a degree caste, a common critique for all the movies chosen (and of us as well) is that it mostly still looks at sex and sexuality through the imposed universality of an upper class/upper caste gaze. We did our best to make note of this as we discussed the issues pertaining to this episode. 

The AIDS epidemic of the 1980s was the first time that conversations around sex and sexuality were forced into the public sphere, outside its usual legal, medical, and demographic confines. Then in the ’90s, with the rise in access to electricity and televisions, a new brand of more explicit sexual imagery entered South Asian homes and media. 

It’s not that sex was invented in the ’90s, or that people in the subcontinent didn’t engage in sex or non-heteronormative sexuality (including gay men and sex workers). It’s just that it became a more constant presence in the media that we consumed.

In the 2000s, there was suddenly more “sex” on local television and movies. Still heteronormative, still patriarchal, of course. We were showered with the overwhelmingly hetero male gazes in Imran Hashmi movies and the item songs that accompanied almost every movie of that decade. In even worse scenarios, there was the inescapable plight of gratuitous violence in the rape scenes. 

Luckily, even through that period - healthier works were being created in more indie industries or regional media. West Bengal, amongst others, was prominent in producing more “forward” and mature depictions of sex and sexuality.

What’s unfortunate is because of how inaccessible these local healthier portrayals of sex were, a lot of us who had the alternative of having access to Western narratives of sex/sexuality, kind of clung to it. Our vocabulary around sex ended up being heavily shaped by a culture that we didn’t live in. When it felt like the words for sex and sexuality are limited to medical terms or slurs, it was easy to just assume the western alternative (added with our post-colonial hang-ups).  

It’s been very fortunate that the film industries and the artists within it continued to push for better media in this realm. In the last decade, we’ve seen some very prominent works that highlight sex/sexuality that made it to mainstream success. In this episode, we’ll be primarily tackling 3 movies that have done so - Lust Stories, a Bollywood anthology hit, Parched - an Indie movie directed by Leena Yadav and Rajkahini - a take on the partition of the Indian subcontinent through the setting of a brothel and the issues faced by the sex-workers residing there, directed by Srijit Mukherji. 

Through these movies - we hope to tackle some of the major issues confronting discussions around sex and sexuality.

Often discussion around sex and sexuality is looked at with a male-centric gaze, especially in their depictions of women - this was especially apparent in Karan Johar’s short in Lust Stories as well as the portrayals of sex workers in Rajkahini. Some of these portrayals used women’s sexuality for the sake of shock value and titillation and did not take into account the multiple facets of people’s identities that influence their sexual expression. 

Parched was refreshing in its gentler, more feminine take on women’s sexuality showing empathy, affection, and agency as necessary elements of fulfilling sexual experiences. However, even Parched failed to fully consider the “unsexy” elements of how sexuality is affected everyday lives - the women who were the protagonists in Parched were shown to be from a remote, rural village in India, and yet no discussion on their sexuality ever included the structural realities that rural women face in South Asia, like the lack of access to basic sanitation, water or even, privacy.

Any depiction of marginalized people when exploring their sexuality is incomplete without understanding their material struggles. The film, though shot from a feminine gaze, is unable to shed its upper-class/upper-caste romanticization of marginalized women’s lives. This re-orientalization of disadvantaged women’s struggles to be consumed by a privileged, upper-class/ Western audience is an appropriation of the challenges they face, packaged to be palatable (even enjoyable) to its privileged viewers. It is also made worse when the cast and the culture is a hodgepodge of people from completely different cultures than the ones being portrayed.

Rajkahini, while claiming to be telling the stories of ‘forgotten women’ ends up using the women characters as props for the overarching narratives of loss and displacement during the Partition of 1947. Only one character - that of Begum Jaan is given agency and individuality and even she becomes a stereotypical version of the soft on the inside, harsh on the outside, raspy-voiced Madame. The other women characters are only shown to be recipients of violence and abuse and the script and direction do very little to empower them.

Zoya Akhtar & Anurag Kashyap both attempted to make shorts on the sociocultural power dynamics that plague sexuality and sexual interaction in their contributions to Lust Stories. While Zoya Akhtar was more slightly successful in addressing perceptions of the economic and class dynamics between two sexual partners, Anurag Kashyap’s short woefully fell prey to a tired narrative of the “crazy woman” even though it began with a laudable commentary on the predatory relationship dynamic between older women and younger men.

Our main goal in this episode was to examine how mainstream and indie representations of sex and sexuality further (or set back) important conversations around these issues. While Parched and Zoya Akhtar’s short made some commendable efforts, most of these pieces of media were unable to take on a fully intersectional lens to these controversial, but extremely relevant issues for the larger South Asian audience.

In our upcoming episodes, we plan to address topics in consent and rape culture which we briefly touched on in this episode. We also hope to tackle movies from other parts of South Asia as we do this. This episode was so important to us, be sure to let us know what you thought of this episode!

Further Readings + Content

Singh, Asha. “Are All Women’s Stories the Same?” Round Table India. Oct 19, 2016. https://roundtableindia.co.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8831:parched-and-feminism-are-all-women-s-stories-the-same&catid=119:feature&Itemid=13

Sander, Lalon. “Eleven Heroines Does Not A Feminist Film Make: A Review of Srijit Mukherji’s "Rajkahini.” The Caravan. Oct 31, 2015. https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/eleven-heroines-not-feminist-make-review-rajkahini

Singh, Poonam. “Film Review: Parched, Of Women Thirsting for More.” Feminism in India. Sept 26, 2016. https://feminisminindia.com/2016/09/26/film-review-parched/

Ghosh, Stutee. “Review: Women in Radhika Apte’s ‘Parched’ Are Bruised, Not Bechari.” The Quint. Sept 22, 2016. https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/film-review-women-in-radhika-aptes-parched-are-bruised-not-bechari-ajay-devgn-surveen-chawla-feminism#read-more

Podcasters

Masala Podcast https://www.soulsutras.co.uk/masala-podcast/

Brown Girls Do it Too https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08k5cp0/episodes/downloads

Chuski Pop http://chuskipop.com/

Liberating Sexuality https://www.instagram.com/liberatingsexuality/?hl=en

[ryqoshay]

OTP Ask Meme (Impatient Edition) YohaRiko

Again, I know the point of these things is to wait for followers to Ask questions from the list, but reading though this one got me thinking too much. About all of my flagships. And I wanted to answer all of the questions. And not wait for a handful to maybe be asked.

Anyway, credit again goes to @lonelypond​ for this version coming across my dash. Reblog that version if you want to do this thing correctly.

Also, just because I’ve already answered these here, I’ve expanded on some for various reasons and left others short if I believe the reasons are obvious. So if you still want to do the whole interactive thing, you can still ask for clarification or whatever.

And finally, there will be spoilers ahead for Happy Life, and to a lesser degree the AU, both for scenes I’ve written and posted, as well as some that remain in my Notes and WIP Warehouse. I’ll try to remember to link to the chapters mentioned.

1. Who wakes up first?

Riko. Yohane is very much not a morning person, especially after a late night of streaming.

2. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

Yohane. See above. However, if she doesn’t have time commitments for the day, Riko may occasionally want to stay in bed for some activities other than sleeping.

3. Who takes longer getting ready?

Either, though they are fond of getting ready together and helping one another, so in these cases, they’re done at the same time.

4. When they can’t sleep, what do they do?

Yohane has many rituals for inducing sleep involving all manner of meditation, incense, herbal tea, topical rubs, nightmare wards and more. Whether or not they work is up to debate, but Riko is comforted by the sentiment, as portrayed in Dream Warden. Yohane herself takes comfort from being near those she loves, particularly Riko, while she sleeps.

5. Who falls asleep while watching a movie?

Yohane, though it depends on the type of movie.

6. Who falls asleep last, watching the other with a small affectionate smile?

More often Riko, though Yohane does enjoy watching a sleeping Riko from time to time.

7. Who comes up with the cheesy pick-up lines?

Yohane. 100% Yohane. And she is well aware of how cheesy they are. And she knows how much Riko loves them.

8. Who gets extremely competitive playing Mario Kart?

Yohane gets competitive over games in general.

9. Who accidentally pushes a door instead of pulling?

Yohane is more likely to do so, though Riko can be absentminded on occasion.

10. Who sets the other’s ringtone to something loud and obnoxious behind their back?

Yohane.

11. Who rearranges the bookshelf/DVD shelf in alphabetical order?

Both have their reasons for their particularness in displaying their shelving; Riko likes to be able to quickly locate her favorite doujin while Yohane is considerate of the background for her ritual streams.

12. Who does the hands-over-the-eyes “Guess Who” thing?

Yohane. With as many different attempts at different voices and accents as she can.

13. Who points out a dog when they see one?

Early on, both, though for different reasons; Yohane out of excitement and Riko out of fear. Later, Yohane retains her excitement while Riko becomes more lax in her reactions.

14. Who’s prone to road rage?

Yohane.

15. Who’s prone to wearing socks indoor (or to sleep)?

Either

16. Who reminds the other to put on sunscreen before going to the beach (or pool)?

Yohane knows she burns easily and is pretty good at remembering, though Riko is mindful that her girlfriend can be careless at times.

17. Who carries all the important documents while traveling?

Riko.

18. Who gets the window seat?

Probably Yohane. Likely accompanied by some statement about missing being able to fly under her own power.

19. Who puts their cold hands/feet on the other?

Yohane.

20. What do they argue about the most?

Early after moving in together, Yohane had a bad habit of bringing home stray pets, despite it being against the policy of the apartment complex, as depicted in Hibagon. These arguments subsided once the policy was changed, as depicted in Phobetor.

21. Who’s clumsier?

Yohane, though Riko certainly has her moments.

22. Who texts more often?

Yohane.

23. Who is better with kids?

Yohane is better at keeping kids entertained with her antics while Riko is better at tending to their care, be it feeding them, calming them down when they’re upset or applying first aid; Yohane is pretty good with first aid as well, having had far too much practice on herself.

24. Who’s the better cook?

Debatable. As I mentioned in the Notes for A Roost for Weary Wings, Yohane is capable of producing higher quality results, but also fails more spectacularly. Riko may lack the skills and confidence to produce highly extravagant meals, but she is far more consistent in producing edible food.

25. Who mistakes salt for sugar?

Riko. Despite what one may assume from my prior answer. Yohane will still eat it, not only because she has a strange sense of taste, but also because her beloved Riri made it for her and she will be damned before letting it go to waste.

26. Who puts the fork in the microwave?

Possibly Yohane.

27. Who cooks at 2 in the morning?

Yohane.

28. Who lets the microwave play the loud beeping sound at 1 a.m.?

Definitely Yohane.

29. Who licks the spoon when they’re baking brownies?

Yohane. She’ll even bring her own spoon, as depicted in Valentine’s Taste Test.

30. Who likes doing the dishes?

Riko doesn’t mind it. Yohane dislikes it but is willing to balance the workload after Riko cooked.

31. Who has bigger cravings? What are they?

For food, especially exotic or exceptionally spicy food? Yohane. Although she does have a bit of a sweet tooth, as her favorites would imply. For enacting scenes from her favorite doujinshi with her girlfriend? Riko.

32. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Both, though for slightly different reasons. Riko believes it is romantic to know certain things about one’s partner. Yohane believes it is the duty of a fallen angel to know such things about their little demons… or fellow angels?

33. How do they eat ice cream? What’s their favorite flavors?

Yohane will often eat too fast and give herself a headache. Her favorite flavors are those of her favorite foods, chocolate and strawberry. Riko eats slower, more often out of a sundae dish than a cone, in part because a dish is better for eating at her pace, but also because it’s easier for Yohane to “steal” a bite or two. She enjoys Yohane’s favorites, but is also fond of mint and vanilla.

34. Do they go on dates? What are they like?

Absolutely. Riko prefers going to museums or orchestra performances, though she has dragged Yohane to several doujin stores over the years. Yohane prefers higher energy environments like amusement parks, though she has dragged Riko to several gothic Lolita clothing stores and occult shops over the years. Both girls look forward to events like Comiket.

35. What do they smell when they smell Amortentia?

Riko smells the slightly sulfuric scent of boiling eggs her parents made often while she was growing up, the clean, salty air of Uchiura, and a spicy, sweet and earthy scent to which she cannot match a specific memory. Yohane smells sweet black lilies, the lingering smoke from a myriad of incense that always permeates occult shops, and a spicy, sweet and earthy scent to which she cannot match a specific memory.

The last scent for both is an idea I had while Googling random stuff for this question. It’s basically how one website describe the smell of Dragon’s Blood resin when burned as incense. I want to bring it up in a scene or two in both HL and HL(AU), though there will be a difference between the kinds found here on Earth and up in Heaven, which may end up as a minor connecting plot point.

I realize this leaves Riko without something that she knows is directly related to Yohane, but I was trying to avoid using incense too much, as it already had three entries between them. Also, it technically is related to Yohane, she just doesn’t realize it right away. I’m hoping whatever I write someday will make that connection for her. Not that she’ll ever smell Amortentia in HL, but…

36. Which one is the secret snuggler?

It’s no secret that Yohane loves her snuggles. Riko is quieter about her desires, but can be quite insistent, nonetheless.

37. Which one offers their jacket to the other when they complain they feel cold?

Riko. Yohane is far more vocal about her discomfort, especially when it comes to temperature.

38. Who reaches for the other one’s hand while driving?

Riko is more likely to do so, though Yohane might as well. That said, I don’t believe I have them owning a vehicle in HL, so this probably won’t come into play anytime soon in my works.

39. Who leaves little notes in the other one’s lunch?

Riko, as the more consistent cook of the pair, she is more likely to make their lunch bentos for the day. (Bonus: What does it say?) Casual reminders of her love for her Yocchan.

40. Who is the most affectionate?

Both are quite affectionate, though Yohane is far more likely to initiate, especially in public though even in private.

41. Who is the big spoon/little spoon?

Riko is most often the big spoon. Though Yohane might try to have one believe elsewise.

42. What is their favorite feature of their partner?

Riko loves Yohane’s smile when she is passionate about something, be it her streams or games or whatever. Yohane loves the way Riko’s fingers dance across the keyboard.

43. What is the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Yohane becomes increasingly aware of Riko’s behavior and attitude toward Chika and has to make a conscious effort to avoid holding anything against the idol group’s leader; she likes Chika as a friend, after all, and is thankful that she brought her into the group in the first place. Riko starts to include Yohane in her fantasies.

44. What are their nicknames for each other?

Yocchan and Riri

45. Who worries the most? Over what?

Riko is constantly concerned that Yohane’s abysmal luck will eventually cause her actual harm, as in more than just catching a cold or getting a scrape or small cut. Yohane also fears that her abysmal luck will adversely affect Riko.

46. Who initiates kisses?

Yohane all the time, in public and in private. Riko, in private.

47. Who says I love you first? How did it happen?

Yohane said it first in Revelations.

48. Who tells their friends/family about their relationship first?

That’s actually a good question. I haven’t decided yet for this ship. I mean I have plans for revealing that the blonde Mari knows, but as for the couple actually telling people… hrm… Off the top of my head, I’d be more likely to say Yohane.

49. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Both are quite capable of entertaining themselves without the other. Riko can play the piano and Yohane can play her games until their fingers cramp if they are not actively doing something together. And they have Phobetor and Prelude to pet and take on walks and play with. It’s not until bedtime that they become more aware of the other’s absence.

50. Who gets overwhelmed by small acts of kindness?

Depends. Yohane is more the emotional rollercoaster and could easily be overwhelmed by kindness from the girl for whom she held a one-sided crush for far too long. Riko is also likely to moved, though more through something that fits into some trope she loves in her doujin; good thing Yohane can be quite genre-savvy when she wants.

[ittybittytatertot]

Hello! I have a question about being nonbinary? If I'm reading a nonbinary character in a book I'm not sure how to imagine them? Like what form would ideally pop into my mind if I want to respect the identity? I don't want to accidentally be disrespectful and then turn around and make OCs who reflect my ignorance. Do I ignore secondary sex characteristics or focus on androgyny? I hope this isn't inappropriate or unfair to ask this of you. I'm sorry if it is and I'll apologize again if it is.

Hi Anon! I can tell from your questions that you’re thinking deeply and genuinely trying to learn and be respectful. Thank you for that!

If I may start my answer with a question of my own:

When reading a woman character or a man character in a book, how do you imagine them? Do all the women look the same, as do all the men?

Perhaps that is an unfair question. After all, we’ve been taught to have a general concept for what “man” and “woman” look like even if many characters go against these ideas in some way. Most people don’t have even a basic template for nonbinary people, so I understand how you could be wondering where to even start.

The truthful answer is, there is no ideal/default nonbinary form. And most nonbinary people like it that way and don’t want any one look to become the “nonbinary look”.

However, that answer, true as it is, doesn’t offer you much helpful direction, does it? Still, I doubt you need me to tell you to simply imagine the character how the author describes them. Plus, that wouldn’t be addressing your worry about accidentally being disrespectful or creating characters that reflect a knowledge/experience gap.

Rather than giving you a list of Do’s and Don’t’s, I’d much rather be informative about common myths and tropes, so you can challenge your own assumptions and make your own decisions about nonbinary characters.

The following are common harmful myths real life nonbinary people have to contend with on a day to day basis. (If you have any questions about how these are false/harmful, I’m happy to follow up in another post).

Nonbinary people are all AFAB, never AMAB

Nonbinary people are just women trying to escape misogyny

Nonbinary people are intersex

Nonbinary is the third gender

Nonbinary is only a lack of gender

Nonbinary people have to be androgynous (and skinny and white)

Nonbinary people have to use they/them pronouns

Nonbinary people are all confused children

Nonbinary is an internet invention

And while nonbinary people rarely show up in media, there are still a few tropes that have developed from their occasional appearances.

Note, I am separating the media tropes from the harmful myths because tropes aren’t inherently bad. A lot of it depends on execution and personal taste. Not all nonbinary people agree on what’s best.

Nonbinary A.I./Robot/Alien

Nonbinary Magical Infinite Entity

Man and Woman Merged

Genderfluid Shapeshifter

Evil Nonbinary

Young, Skinny, White Androgyne

In my opinion, these tropes mostly go wrong when implying nonbinary people aren’t real or human, that their bodies inherently gender them or only certain bodies can be nonbinary, or that gender nonconformity makes them evil.

(Also, there’s a trope that’s kind of a nonbinary trope but it’s really more of a transmisogynistic trope: The Genderfluid Transfemme Caricature. Basically, this is a character who falls into a bunch of transmisogynistic stereotypes, but the story/creator tries to excuse that harm by claiming they’re genderfluid, not a trans woman.)

Outside of media, nonbinary people are real and human. We can look like anyone, come from anywhere, and do anything. There’s no one right answer for how to portray nonbinary people. But I think the best first step is to approach each nonbinary character as an individual rather than a representative of all nonbinary identities.

For references on different nonbinary looks, check out this portrait series by photographer Jackson Akitt: https://www.instagram.com/nonbinaryportraits/?hl=en

And here’s an article on non-binary celebrities (by no means a complete list!) https://www.insider.com/9-celebrities-who-identify-as-gender-non-binary-2019-6#liv-hewson-would-love-to-play-a-non-binary-person-13

[tomb-bloom-noctem]

I would love to see your rewrite on the DT series finale. It'd be awesome to read. Also seeing how you're one of the few people I know that actually pays attention to Big Hero 6 The Series, which episode or scene would you say the main cast (Ryan (Hiro), Scott (Baymax), Brooks (Fred), Genesis (Honey Lemon), Jamie (GoGo), and Khary (Wasabi)) pull off their best performance individually? To make it fair, don't use examples from the 2014 film that began it all.

I plan on eventually writing it! I'm focusing my efforts on The Attempt & The Aftermath right now, I'd like to try to get some more chapters of that done first. Also need to go over The Last Adventure a couple more times, make sure I've really got it down good. Give myself a bit more time to really cement my ideas and make them good. But eventually!

Ooooh that is such a good question hmmm ooh I gotta think.

Hiro: Legacies Part 1 and 2

There's way too many good ones to pick for Hiro but I'm gonna go with the one that made me cry the most. The episode Legacies Part 1 and 2. This one just hit me so good. As a finale it was intensive and interesting and Ryan really brought his game to the series as whole but this episode has me bawling. Everything involving Tadashi especially Hiro's speech at the end, just gosh got me good.

Gogo: The Fate of the Roommates

Probably an easy choice but honestly I love how we get to see the softer side of Gogo. We get to see Gogo's strong and stoic so much so having the softer side come through is good for the character and Jamie did wonderful.

Honey Lemon: Friendly Face

Okay not a fan of Season 3 honestly but this one was such a fun episode or well this half was. Genesis brought a lot of humor to the role even though for part of it she had to portray sadness. Something we don't see a lot of in HL since she's so happy. But there was still a lot of heart and comedy. Honey Lemon is just so adorable and lovely I love her. 😂 I know this isn't the only episode where we get some of that side but I just really liked this segment.

Wasabi: Fear Not

This was such a good episode for Wasabi. We normally see him experiencing OCD and intense phobias although he manages it and works hard at being a good student and friend and hero. But this episode was a great win for him. Khary did well with showing Wasabi scared and also his bravery pushing through.

Fred: Fred the Fugitive

I really liked Brooks' range on this one. I also considered Major Blast for the episode but I ultimately gotta go with Fred the Fugitive. Here we get Fred owning up to his mistakes and trying to make things right. Trying to be a good hero and friend and it was great how he was willing to put himself at risk.

Baymax:???

Honestly I can't pick for Baymax 😂 I love this funky Healthcare robot too much but in the nature of being a robot, he's got that rather monotonous voice. I can't really pick an episode that outshines any others. Rather I think Scott consistently gave Baymax a great voice that even though is a robot, still manages to feel human and warm. I guess if I reallyyyy have to pick, I'd say Mini Noodle Burger Max. Again not a fan of season 3 but the hilarity of the low battery voice Baymax and the way he begged for help to save his family, oof, good stuff.

Regardless though of my personal distaste for season 3, this show overall is great and an awesome follow up to one of my favorite movies.

[angels-heap]

My parents have a 11 year age gap and they're doing just fine! I've never really seen it as a problem. If people are portraying the ship as unhealthy when the relationship itself isn't unhealthy then that's an issue with the people drawing out the ship and not the ship

If it ain't your cup of tea just blacklist it and ignore it (given that it's not an inherently harmful ship). This just goes for any ship really

I've never understood shipping discourse when people are allowed to like what they wanna like (again, given that the ship in question isn't harmful)

Good for your parents! And thanks for sharing your perspective on this.

What’s really funny about ship discourse in the HL fandom in particular is that (a) the whole stasis situation means that shipping Gordon with anyone will entail some kind of technical and/or literal age gap, and (b) people who create fanworks of any ships involving Gordon tend to depict them in a very healthy, nuanced, self-aware way. Hell, exploring the consequences of the stasis/temporal displacement thing is arguably half the appeal of both popular ships. 

I know a lot of the folks who are suddenly freaked out about age gaps between adult HL characters are traumatized kids who have experienced and/or witnessed problematic relationship dynamics on- or offline, and I feel for them, but attacking fan content creators is not a productive way to process that trauma, nor is it helping victims of abuse find peace. If we’re really going to take this so seriously, we ought to remember that age gaps become exponentially less problematic the older you get, age gaps are not inherently problematic when everyone’s an adult, and even unhealthy relationships with age gaps are not necessarily unhealthy because of those age gaps (though that certainly doesn’t help).

Plenty of real-life couples have perfectly healthy relationships despite 10+ year age gaps. Zero real-life couples are dealing with that age gap because one of them was in sci-fi stasis for two decades. Shipping adult HL characters is not going to cause real-world harm, especially given how well most fan content creators handle the issue.