#and yes the differences between the vampire categories is VERY important

[izzy-b-hands]

Trying to drum up niche themed ns fw photoshoot ideas like:

-ofmd themed (knives, leather, the breakup robe, something with dark purple or red silk, etc)

-???? immediately realizing you don't know what else is popular anymore

-vampires (general)

-vampires (mcr edition)

-vampires (wwdits edition)

-vampires (iwtv edition)

-catboy? that's still popular right?

-return to previous panic

[lehdenlaulu]

Okay. Other aces have already weighed in on this eloquently and this is definitely not intended as some kind of manifesto in an attempt to change anyone's mind -- after all, as an asexual person I know it's no more possible for me to truly understand why the vampires having sex in the (show) canon is important to allosexuals than for them to truly understand the reverse.

But I just wanted to put it out there that growing up as ace, especially before I had any terminology for it or knowledge that it's a valid thing and there are others out there like me, it was very... comforting, in a way, the depiction of the vampires in TVC as effectively asexual by default.

Sure, that asexuality is part of what makes them inhuman and Other, which I understand rubs some people the wrong way, but what goth teenager doesn't like seeing their own Otherness reflected in a cool supernatural creature? This goth teenager certainly did. Especially since their lack of interest in sex wasn't depicted as equaling a lack of passion and drama, and most importantly, love. Which was extra comforting when as a teenager you're bombarded from every direction with the notion that Sex Is Super Important and only Boring Prudes don't actively want it and Love And Fulfilling Relationships Without Sex Are Impossible Actually.

Yet there we had these beautiful, powerful, immortal creatures who were completely capable of having intense, dramatic, long-lasting love affairs, with multiple people even, without anyone generally being particularly predisposed to take their pants off. A notion that you can love, and love intensely, without sex being a major component or driving force behind it. Imagine that. And yes, I've seen arguments that the human sex drive is just replaced by the bloodlust in vampires and therefore vampires are still sexual beings, just in a different way. Or that since they're mostly still intensely sensual, it's really the same difference and therefore the vampires not having sex is a silly, boring rule. And I guess that for allosexuals, those arguments make perfect sense. But from an ace point of view? The distinction matters. The idea that these characters and their relationships are not motivated by sex matters.

--

Furthermore, and this is no longer so much based on my personal experience as an ace as a personal opinion otherwise, I must say I'm a little concerned in general how the whole 'vampires have sex now' thing will change the character dynamics, within the coven and without. That the relationships that between asexual (or nonsexual if you will) vampires definitely have disturbing elements to them but due to that 'inhuman' aspect land just this side of off-putting (I mean, depends on who you ask I suppose) will now be squarely in the 'definitely fucked-up' category. I mean, obviously, the showrunners don't have to make all of those relationships sexual just because the characters are now apparently capable of and interested in sex, but... I feel like the temptation might be too strong to resist and I kinda dread the idea of 'watch how much ~scandalous~ sex we can cram in one show!', you know?

Neither do I personally want the characters to be changed to better accommodate the new status quo. For example, I personally feel that if you make Armand, as a character (the actor can obviously be a grown adult), a fully grown man and/or erase his very specific, traumatic past that is intrinsically tied to the fact that he is in appearance an angelically pretty teenager... He'll no longer be Armand but quite literally Just Some Guy (kind of like he was in Neil Jordan's film, tbh). I don't want the showrunners to completely shy away from the fucked-upness present in the canonical text, but I feel like with this new ~sexy~ status quo, there's a risk of it translating as bawdiness for the sake of shock value on screen. I hope they can find a way to balance it out.

Anyway, just my two cents.

[lady-of-disdain]

The argument against relationships like sessrin being portrayed positively as a version of romantic escapism for young girls.

(AKA I’m back on my shit again with my long, big-worded essays under the cut.)

As much as I laugh along with the people who drag Yashahime as Sunrise’s lolicon fanfiction I know at the end of the day that sessrin was not featured in HNY as a fantasy romance for creepy older guys who are into little girls. It was made canon specifically FOR the target demographic of the show: young girls.

I can go onto Twitter right now and (had I not already blocked all of the sessrin squad over there) easily find at least 10 tweets in no time that mention either: “Immortal being falling in love with teenager is a common YA romance trope”, “Sesshomaru was my crush as a little kid, so of course I wanted him to fall in love with Rin because I identified with her”, or “Haven’t ya’ll ever read Twilight?” or any variation thereof. And yes they are right in one sense, but totally wrong in another.

At the end of the day who am I to begrudge YA Supernatural Romance readers of their favorite “16-year-old girl meets immortal vampire and falls in love” trope?

But sessrin is NOT this trope! Many of us against it have often said how we would have had NO PROBLEM with sessrin if either Rin was older when Sesshomaru had met her, even if she was 15 like Kagome, and married and started having kids at 18+, -OR- if Sesshomaru had ACTUALLY left Rin in that village to be raised by humans, (you know never sending gifts, or stopping by to visit), and didn’t meet her again and start a romantic relationship until she was an adult woman (and no I don’t mean feudal era adult, gtfo you bunch of smelly, basement dwelling, armchair anime historian weebs!)

Essentially Sunrise tried to do this trope but failed miserably, just like they did in almost every other aspect of this sequel. They didn’t give us a shaky timeline that leaves Rin at 14-16 at the time of giving birth to the twins because they are a bunch of creeps who like little girls, they did it because they thought their 14-16 year old female audience would like it.

But where they fucked up was in reminding us that Sesshomaru had a very large impact on this little girl’s life at an even younger age. How they reminded us in the very first episode that Rin was a little girl who “adored” Sesshomaru (a little girl who was approximately 12 at that time). They imported a character directly from the original that even younger girls (who are DEFINITELY IN THE AUDIENCE, AND WHO THEY MAKE NO QUALMS MARKETING THIER SHOW AND MERCHANDICE TOWARDS) can identify with, and then gave her a romantic arch with an adult man.

So what’s the difference between Sesshomaru being romantically involved in a 12 y/o vs a 16 y/o? Well honestly I would hope that anyone with a brain wouldn’t need to ask this question, but for the sake of being clear, what the difference is between them from a piece of fiction to be consumed by a target audience of between 12 to 16 is the audience perception at these ages.

By implying that a romantic relationship could have started at any time with Rin between the ages of 12 to 14 Sunrise is telling a very impressionable age range that an older man showing interest in you is not only possible, but can be totally sweet and romantic. Simply put, 10-12 year old's are at a much more impressionable age then 16 year old's, and this kind of relationship dynamic is displayed very PERSONALLY, about a character who is THIER age!

At the end of the day, don’t come at me with all your little cherry-picked examples of this trope done a million other times that people haven’t had any problems with because THEY AREN’T THE SAME AS SESSRIN!

Media and tropes are not black and white. We can’t evenly divide every piece of media into neat little “right” and “wrong” categories. There are many pieces of media that show a relationship dynamic similar to sessrin that is portrayed negatively. There are pieces of media out there marketed for adults that show similar relationship dynamics as muddy, and “maybe it’s wrong, but maybe it’s right?” because as the intended audience are all adults the POINT of said media was to make you uncomfortable, or to inspire the adult audience to dissect the themes in deep discussion to find deeper meanings.

But at the end of the day there can be absolutely no question that Sunrise screwed the pooch with their trashpile of a sequel by trying to include a trope intended to be portrayed differently and botching it entirely. There is no lesson for little girls that attention from an adult man is dangerous. And this show is much too shallow to keep an adults attention to excuse the relationship as a theme for discussion amongst a mature audience.

tl;dr Sunrise’s writing is shit CASH ME OUTSIDE!

[thethistlegirl]

1. What’s your favorite character(s) to write for?

7. What story/headcanons do you feel the proudest of? 

10. What is the line you’re proudest of from "The bones of the past are not my burden to bear"? 

11. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

12. Who is your favorite author? 

15. What is the fanfic you’ve written that you’re most proud of? 

17. What fanfic tropes do you gravitate to writing for? 

21. Is there an idea you’ve always wanted to write, but haven’t yet? 

22. Do you enjoy making OCs for your fanfics, or prefer sticking to canon characters? 

29. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc) 

32. What story do you think showcases your signature style the most? 

34. Have you felt emotional while writing a scene before? What scene was it?

36. What fanfic of yours has the symbolism you’re proudest of? 

37. Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story? 

1. That's a REALLY good question…I would have to say there’s characters I like writing because they remind me of me, and then characters I like writing because they are fun to play with and write. So I’ll list three for each category:

Relatable:

Thomas Magnum - Remarkably ADHD coded, forgets important things and struggles with basic adulting stuff

Jack Dalton - The protective streak is real, as is the determination to be the one who takes the hits for everyone else

Desi Nguyen - Probably the character I tend to project on most when writing Wunderkind

Fun to write:

Murdoc - He’s the best kind of twisted villain who does things because he can

Samantha Cage - It’s insanely hard to write her mind games but when it works it’s top tier

Quincey Morris - Complete chaos and keeps telling me stories that have nothing to do with what I’m trying to write, but are great anyway

7. The headcanon I’m proudest of right now comes from “The bones of the past are not my burden to bear” about a movie set in WWII and it’s that because Ted Brinkerhoff’s last name is German-sounding, his family was of German origin, and he’s working in a special operations group because he speaks German like a native and thus can be trusted to pull off a believable undercover.

10. “It was the only language they knew how to say how much they cared in the right words in, and somehow that made me a monster.”

11. I would say character driven. There’s usually a plot, but that’s secondary to me to the characters themselves, and if the plot isn’t working around them, I’ll change it. I spend a lot more time making sure my characters are IN character (or at least in the version of their character that I think makes sense) than planning a logical plot, and it probably shows, but I don’t care.

12. There are, again, three I’m torn between at the moment: Bram Stoker (His characters are fantastic and so is the whump in Dracula, I got most of my vampire stuff from there) Victor Hugo (I love his complex characters, and once again there’s a pattern of authors who put their characters through hell and back) and Charles Dickens (again…I’m sure that has nothing whatsoever to do with the way he puts his characters through a ton of crazy stuff and often writes in really wild familial relation reveals).

15. Wunderkind. This fic is massive, and I love the way I was able to overhaul canon and create a cohesive and logical storyline that carries through it. I can’t believe how big this series is now or that I wrote that much, and I can’t help but feel like that’s probably my biggest accomplishment fic-wise.

17. Definitely whump (especially long term captivity and dark concepts), usually rivals to friends in partnerships, disastrous first meetings, partnerships that by all rights should never work but do, stranding characters who are very different and forcing them to work together.

21. Yes! An accidental baby acquisition fic for the three suitors from Dracula. Because I need those three seasoned adventurers trying very hard to figure out what on earth to do with a baby…And Quincey singing lullabies is going to be SUPER fun to write.

22. It depends! I like making OCs for larger works and getting the time and space to flesh them out. I don’t often create them for small one shots except as background characters, but there are some that I have who are more deeply built out and have a life of their own, but most often, I use canon characters who have little to no development in canon and make them bigger parts of the story.

29. Probably brainstorming, because anything is possible there. Once I write, I commit to one story, and it’s a certain track (or mostly so). But in brainstorming I can take a plot any of a hundred ways.

32. Answered in my last ask!

34. The one I remember best at the moment is the S3 “Christmas Special” for Wunderkind, the moment Jack sees his dad and is told that it’s not time for him to die yet. I can never make it through that part without tears. Any time I write a scene like that it kills me.

36. I think I’m proudest of how I reworked the Phoenix motif in Wunderkind. It’s incredibly fitting given the past Mac is leaving behind him, and it was really fun to make that the moniker he was given as a vigilante.

37. I actually have in the past, so absolutely would do it again!

[samnyangie]

Personal reviews on RSL filmography

Rsl, iI thought it’d be a good idea to record my thought on each films rsl was in, it was something I always wanted to do...

Rsl in total, was starred in (excluding tv series etc) 27-ish films, to be honest, considering his years as an actor(approximately more than 30 years) he wasn’t starred in that many. We all know why lol

Just saying I’m not a film expert, therefore the list is very subjective.

The reviews with trigger warning (r*pe, g*re etc): Tape, Killer: Journal of Murder, A glimpse of hell. Tho in the writing I’ve censored them with * since I don’t feel comfortable saying them here

There isn’t particular spoilers except for dps, tape, and ground control

The favourites (literally my life time films)

Dead Poets Society

I assume many would agree, and as many would have, it was my first ever rsl film, like I was on the plane and it was one of the films they offered, and I was like, oh I think i heard of this, so I watched and instantly loved it. The message is very relevant to this day, the cinematography is very beautiful and somehow nostalgic. I was horrified with Neil’s death. Tbh now I’ve seen too many memes and all kind of things from the fandom (which I’m grateful for!) I thought the heartfelt I once had would deluded a bit, however when I watched it again last April with my family at the cinema and it still moved me very deeply.

The age of Innocence

Okay, unpopular opinion here, I love this so much. It’s my all time favourite rsl film. It even outruns dps tiny winy bit haha. Aside from how he had tiny winy screen time, appearing at the end but the fact that he played quite an important role and him being gorgeous in it just<33 I couldn’t help but smiling! It just the whole film was so much of my cup of tea? The melodrama and the hypocrisy hidden by elegance among the upper social classes in 19th century is just what I needed. The more I watch it, the more I understand the characters and their emotions, it’s one of those films you should keep visit to discover the things you weren’t aware of before. I watched it again this morning and i couldn’t stop thinking about it. However, I know some people find it boring and I understand why, my sister is one of them lol(except for a bit where rsl was in) but i think it’s more complex than what it appears to be at a first glance haha. In conclusion, it became one of my comfort film to watch time to time. 

The ones I like<33

Swing kids

At first viewing, I didn’t expected much because it had underwhelming reviews but when I actually saw it, I thought it was quite decent and more and more I watched it, I felt like it was underrated. Yes, I think some directing choices were bit old fashioned and cheesy especially the ending, I’m not saying it was a perfect masterpiece but it deserves more recognition than it has now. Also in spite that there’re some parts being too simplified, it touched on something other films about ww2 normally don’t. It was interesting to see the German perspective on it than Jewish or the allies perspective like many of them does, but of course the latter perspectives matter, it could be argued that they more valid than the former, which partly was where sk criticised for, however, the portrayal of the varied reactions of the German people (in this one particular the teenagers) has its value in their on way. Anyway along side with it, the music and the dance scenes were great, without exaggeration, though Swing kids isn’t my fav, peter’s solo dance scene is my favourite scene in any movies I’ve ever watched. I mean that scene had both visuals and meaning as it demonstrated Peter’s determination as well as resentment with a hitch of unsureness. Rsl acting in that scene was just phenomenal, it’s not about showing off the dancing skills but he portrayed every mixed emotions peter has from his expression and the moves, I just can’t talk about this enough especially this scene was the reason I started fallen for him. lol

Much ado about nothing

Much ado is something I never seen anything like so it was a refreshing exprience. I barely watched Shakespeare on screen kind of thing. Though I felt there were some bits too cheesy for me but they are also the charms in the same time, and the cinematography was pretty also Claudio aka rsl, it was like an official announcement of declaring my worship on this man. Especially it was after SWING KIDSSSS so I couldn’t help it now everyone knows how I fallen for him but no one can blame meeeeee Anyway, it’s a really good film to watch when you want be relaxed with cup of tea maybe hehe

In the gloaming

I heard about it before I watched it, that it’s a heart wrenching, tearful piece, though I didn’t managed to cry, it’s just.... painful and in a way heartfelt. I liked that story telling was calm and collected rather than forcing you to join the sob party, just showing the characters to carry on. And thanks to the great acting from the cast, the characters could be emphasised and understood, personally the older sister was the most relatable character for me, well, eldest complex lol. In short I liked it but it’s not something I would watch it often.

Last days of Disco

As a person who looks at aesthetic in films, I simply enjoyed this for that tbh. I don’t know, I just liked the feeling. But I don’t think it’d be everyone’s cup of tea. I love the day time clothes the girls wore in the film. Tbh I love the music too, I think I love all the films of rsl with music in it. Speaking about rsl, oh rsl, he’s.... His character might be bit unlikable but he was just.... This is why I can’t unlove his characters even the debatable ones<33

They were decent! (I would recommend it)

Married to it

This is the first and last ever attempt of rsl of romcomssss The film itself is cliche to be frank it’s like love actually but it’s about marriage life + it’s not christmas but I like heartfelt cliche stories like this, if anyone also loves this type of story, it’s really worth watching, it’s one of my comfort films,��also, rsl is so pretty I mean he always is but to see him being a office man with a baby face made me go awww my baby grew up heheh I wish he did another romcom like this or more preferably, melodramatic romance, I’d have made a shrine of it and worship it every morning lol

The boys next door

I kind of smiled while watching it throughout, if you want something that is heartfelt and touch on some serious topic about social workers and the people with mental disorder, Rsl plays a character who has (I think it was) Schizophrenia and troubled relationship with his father(Deja vu I know) but general atmosphere tend to be quite humourous. I don’t get me wrong, though it’s light hearted, it doesn’t mean they treat the topic in the same way. There’s a scene where the protagonist imagining the one of the characters with the disorder talking eloquently and honourably at the court on the rights and the dignity of the people with mental disorders deserve to/should have and they’re just the same people as the people without mental disorders. It was a powerful scene.

My two loves

Rsl’s first ever screen debut film! Hehe it’s about a woman who is discovering her sexual identity and the conflicts within I personally thought it was fairly sensible depiction but I can’t say for sure whether it was accurate or else, since I don’t think it’s my place to say it:) But if you’re interested, it’s on YouTube, you can just search for it or go to this post I made. Fun fact: since it was his debut film, it credits him as he’s real name, Robert L. Leonard, I just find it amusing haha

Tape

It’s another type of film I don’t encounter that often, I enjoyed it, especially with Neil and Todd’s reunion lol. Rsl mentioned how he enjoyed it because it felt like doing a play, my first impression was that the structure is like a play, though the camera work made me quite dizzy haha. But the dialogues, the acting, I think it was quite spot on. Especially the human contradictions and hypocrisy side of it. The most people assume the baddie in the film is Jon the character rsl played and has a distaste for him. I mean how can anyone love a character who is accused of r*pe but to be honest, Vincent for me seemed just as problematic, both of them are hypocrites for sure in their own different ways but in the end we can’t be sure what’s really the truth or not. It’s about the vagueness, and phychology and the uncertainty from the audience on who to believe(well, myself included, most would trust on Amy’s claims since she’s the victim in the accusation, but by her denying the claims, making everything way unclear,) so I don’t know. I don’t really have an opinion haha tho I don’t believe nothing happened because Amy denied so, even Umma Thurman who played her, said that her interpretation was that Amy lied. I felt it’s endless rabbit hole this film. Sorry I couldn’t worded it better.

My best friend is a Vampire

It’s cringey and weird but there’re odd charm to it. Vampire rsl’s so cute as well.... and I think it’s the only film, he acted kind of flirty ? So for that itself I’d like to appreciate itttt And it’s so 80s/90s, like it has general odd nostalgia like all films from that age has. I saw a Korean blog about rsl films and this was mentioned, that- they said- it’s a bible of rsl’s adorableness and I think that sum up the film perfectly.

Mr&Mrs Bridge

Before this was in ‘I mean it was fine” category, but I watched it again and now I want to retract my statement lol Still isn’t my fav but I noticed how delicately depicted each characters are, Mr and Mrs Bridge in particular. This film is alternatively about the changes in the young generation regarding liberty, feminism, free expression especially on sex. It’s in the perspective of the bridges, the mother and father who is old fashioned and conservative (as it was normal in their previous generation) and the children who are the young generation, and the misunderstanding and conflicts between them. After all it all happened not only because of the difference but also the lack of communication, which rsl emphasised in his interviews. I found it interesting that they made it seems like the Bridges truly existed with the video footage and (with the ending) describing what happened to each family member in text with photos. When I watched it at first I was really confused if it was based on a real life. I think what they wanted to suggest was that the Bridges every typical American family at the time. It was something everyone was going through. I said previously I didn’t get why Rsl’s character (the youngest in the Bridges) treated his mother so coldly. Honestly I do get why, but I guess I felt so bad so the mother haha

I mean it was fine

The safe passage

It was okay but to be honest it didn’t stood out to me. It was okay. The story, the characters weren’t that interesting. I wish they extended it longer to go depth with their family relationship or something.

A painted house

I find it likeable, it has a chill, old folk story vibe, but same as previous one. it didn’t really stand out except for shirtless rsl, do close ups you cowards

Bluffing it

I was really fond of the premise of this film and I think it has great intention. It was specifically made to promote the awareness of illiteracy and how to get support. However, I don’t get the reason of Jack the protagonist’s illiteracy. Unless, it was common occurrence in America at the time, I feel like it’d have been more convincing if he was in poor family hood, so there was no time to learn at school due to working at young age...? I mean, just finding it hard to believe he passed the high school just like that, I mean the teachers or anyone should have noticed it, maybe I’m missing something here but it seemed unlikely to me.

Ground control

Again, I liked the message, as it depicted how frightening and difficult job the ground controller is, by one mistake could take away the lives of hundreds, especially as someone who goes on planes a lot... But it was quite cliche throughout, I just couldn’t get engaged to it. But I do admit at the end when the protagonist runs off to the landing zone see the pilot who he had just saved, they acknowledged each other and have eye contacts was truly wholesome. Rsl as cocky, bad boy was such a icing on the cake, I loved it so much. Chewing gum in every scene lol I hope he plays these sort of characters more often. I saw someone criticising him saying he has narrow spectrum of just playing nice boy roles like Neil but I really wanted to debunk the narrative and this could be one of the examples! 

Chelsea walls

I knew that this has split reviews but nonetheless I think worth to watch it, 1. Ethan and rsl re union, 2. Ethan is the directer of the film and rsl sing in it. But I have to say, it’s one of those hard to follow art indie film so I couldn’t finish it on one go. I feel like I have to devour it over and over again. Maybe later on I grow fond of it more lol But his character, I loved him so much. He’s just has everyone don’t touch me, I’m a cocky artist vibe, there’s a scene where his annoying friend annoying him and he looks up and says: ‘Fck off’. Absolute golddddd not to mention he sings and plays guitar so beautifully<333

Well... it’s not my cup of tea

The Manhattan project

I don’t think the film it self was that bad, it’s about high school boy who find out the existence of some nuclear energy research lab and stole the energy to make his own nuclear bomb. I just don’t get the thinking process of the protagonist. It really frustrated me. He seemed apathetic and unlikable I disliked him throughout and that’s why I didn’t really enjoyed it. I mean it has humour and ridiculous storyline might be humorous to some. But more importantly there was such little screen time for rsl!! LIKE WHY? WHY PEOPLE?? HE LOOKS LIKE A FRESH HUMAN MOCHI!!! It makes me soooo mad to think about it

Killer: Journal of Murder

Well, first of all, it had a lot of graphic things than I imagined, brutally murd*red bodies, execution, and r*pe scene, gosh I was strucken by it when I saw that, I had to skipped that scene. It’s based on a real event and a real criminal called Carl Panzram, so if you’re aware of it, it might be more intriguiging to see. But personally for me... meh, I don’t think directing was good as it failed to portray it enough for me to comprehend fully.

A Glimpse of Hell

This is also based on a true event of a tragic accident in the us battleship in Iowa in 1989. They shows tragedy lin a blunt, brutal way by showing horribly damaged bodies of the soldiers torn into pieces, all the horrid things directly so be warned about that. I was quite alarmed because i didn’t expect to see it haha there’s no much to say. The film quality was so so for me. I feel their approach wasn’t appropriate, they were clearly trying to make it dramatic which is fine but in a melodramatic emotional way. It didn’t work because first, there aren’t enough portrayal of the characters for me to get attached, secondly it added the unnecessary exaggeration it prevented me from being emotionally involved or even to think about it. In my opinion, I think it’d have been better if they made it more restrained, dry, focus on the accuracy. For example like 1987 or Zodiac, I mean both of them has dramatic elements since they’re not a documentary but they were not overdone, in a contrary added emphasis to their message/conclusion. I know it’s easier said than done but it was something I consistently felt during it.

Sir.... I’m sorry but-

Standoff

Haha... it’s very peculiar... the directing is off and it just weird. I knew it was bad already but I watched it because rsl as a cop with gunssssssss just... so rare and just.... something else. There’s no way of me missing that seriously. Tbh him doing an action stunt isn’t what I imagine when it comes to him and there’s really any actions scenes anyway but it really was something. Like the character he played here really became my soft spot Hehehehe he was pretty and plus, tbh it’s kind of film I’d make fun of while watching so everything was (alomst) forgivable. There is a recent thing I think about, since this is about a cult, I kind of hope he’d at some day play a role like Eli Sunday from There will be blood: a manipulative, deceitful and maddened priest with twisted faith. Though Paul Dano did a grand job, the idea was in my head the whole time. Well, it’s a shame he wasn’t any of those here lol

Driven

From what I seen, the majority of people seem to unanimously hate this film, and after watching it I became one of those ppl. At least Standoff could be make fun of and rsl held gunssss but this...... I want to say so many things... I feel like they should have chose either fancy, fast paced, thrilling racing film or detailed depiction of emotions/relationships with the racers and people involved in it, I know both can be done, but I think that was outside of their ability, but since they tried to do that at once, it became a mess that doesn’t go either way. And the characters, any of them, including rsl’s are narrow or impossible to understand. I mean rsl did great himself, it was not about acting, the problem lies on the script and editing in my opinion. Also there were so many unnecessary characters made me question of their existence. Luckily rsl’s character isn’t one of them, however because of them, he had to squeeze in and unable to elaborate, which is a shame as he was an interesting character and someone rsl rarely plays; a arrogant and opportunist agent/brother of the protagonist, who would do anything for success... ha.... whyyyyy

This is it. If I watch other stuff I might add to it in the future. Overall, I know I’m biased but I do like His filmography, I do have appreciations in every one of them in different way to the good ones to bad. He may have disagree, but I love his acting on screen, well, I barely seen him on stage (crying)

Edit: as some of you could see, I’ve edited this over and over again haha elaborating on thing or the contrary. I can say with a glimpse of hell I practically managed to watch every rsl films out there lol except for the i inside and the short film he did called a dog race in Alaska. But with the former I’m not interested and already know the storyline, and the latter is just impossible to find, trust me I did my best;; 

So to sum up: I HAVE MASTERED THE RSL FILMOGRAPHY!

[werecat]

Some musings on the genre/literary fiction distinction

(Aka: wow! categorization‚ huh!)

To me‚ and to (as far as I’ve seen) the contemporary literary fiction community‚ the literary/genre divide is not a matter of distinguishing between quality or merit‚ but rather styles of narrative. Both are crucial to the world wide tangled web that is storytelling.

Genre fiction‚ to me‚ has a beautiful goal; the modus operandi is ‘expand imagination.’ Make something up‚ then take it as far as it can go. Slice it up and make new things out of it‚ and keep going‚ and keep going. It’s about tunneling deep into the heart of your creations‚ and of the collective creations of those who came before you. Whether we’re talking sff, romance, horror, etc. It’s full to the brim with soul—human soul. We need this.

Literary fiction‚ on the other hand‚ wields stories like tools‚ much like how a metaphor is a tool for understanding. So literary fiction is metaphors within metaphors. The story is a metaphor for something else, and everything in the story is a metaphor for the story. It’s a matryoshka doll of metaphors. Unlike genre fiction‚ nothing here exists just to exist: it needs to justify itself in the narrative. This is just as necessary. We need these stories to make sense of our world.

To summarize‚ genre fiction is about stories-as-stories‚ literary fiction is about stories-as-something-else. Story servicing the story elements vs story elements servicing the story.

(Now is where‚ if you’re like me‚ you question whether every story can be sorted that way. Of course not. Here on werecat dot edu, we live for that grey area in between.)

Other distinctions:

Yes‚ literary fiction tends to pay more attention to prose and intricacies of language, because those stand out more in the absence of vivid plotting and characterizing. Genre fiction is by no means incapable of beautiful‚ intricate writing (N.K. Jemisin! Marlon James!).

Literary fiction incorporates “genre” elements! Very often. I’d say much more so these days. in fact‚ “literary fiction with sff elements” is a favorite category of mine. You are allowed to put werewolves‚ vampires‚ AIs‚ complicated fantasy creatures‚ ANYTHING into your literary fiction. (Please read Karen Russell’s short stories‚ she’s very good at it.) It can be trippy and bizarre and fantastic.

Additional thoughts:

The “literary fiction is character-centric‚ genre fiction is plot-centric” argument rankles me. A lot of literary fiction isn’t concerned with having compelling characters‚ they’re just there to be focalizers‚ so we can see through their eyes what the story is doing to them. And many works of genre fiction rely heavily on their characters and less so on the plot.

I don’t think “literary fiction” is limited to literature at all. Maybe a radical idea. Movies can be literary. Tv shows can be literary. Comics can be literary. Video games can be literary. Web fiction? You guessed it, Can be literary.

Though I hope this is now obvious‚ no one has the moral or intellectual high ground re: their fiction preferences. Here is a fun‚ sort of out-there example for you. I watched puella magi madoka magica recently. I liked it‚ but it frustrated me. See‚ it was sold to me as “a darker magical girl story.” Perfect! Love the concept. The issue? It wasn’t that. I mean‚ sure. There were magical girls. It sure was dark. But it wasn’t a dark magical girl story‚ because it wasn’t a magical girl story at all. I expected it to explore what a magical girl is‚ but it wasn’t built to do that. It was telling a different kind of story‚ one about the trials and tribulations, the grief and strife of girlhood. Magical girls were the conduit for that story, is all. And that’s the kind of thing I’d usually love! How intriguing! But expectations are important, and I didn’t appreciate being misled like that. I imagine my rewatch will be much better.

And that is why I think the distinction still has usefulness for marketing. If Karen Russell sold her fantastical stories as sff‚ sff readers would be (justifiably) pissed, even though the stories do have werewolves and vampires and things like that in them. Categorization is messy‚ and so incredibly fallible‚ but it’s very human of us to categorize.

[ginnyzero]

Publishing vs. Marketing Category

Okay, so book and writing community on twitter tends to have these flare ups of convos about books being shelved wrong and authors pointing out reasons such as their gender, or race, or even the content of their books being say, fantasy for them being placed on the wrong shelves in libraries and bookstores. Now, there is a human bias element to this. There are librarians and book buyers for stores who do see a female fantasy author and assume they must be YA no matter the content. Plus, everyone and their mother tagging things incorrectly on twitter or shelving badly on Goodreads.

Let’s dive into the INDUSTRY side of this though. The industry has two different and at times clashing categorizations of books, there are the publishing categories and there are the marketing categories. And while some, specifically some age targets and genres the marketing and the publishing categories will align, there are others that the age target and marketing target may be under the same “name” technically and then their aims completely clash.

Yes, I’m mostly talking about YA. (Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance can fall in here too.)

So, the publishing category of Young Adult, is pretty much what you’d expect. Young Adult should have protagonists of the age groups of 12 to 18, and most likely dealing with “coming of age” themes and “finding their place in the world” and quite possibly “being the chosen one.” I personally find theme categorization for age groups to be really limiting. But I read Brian Jacques from third grade on... so. .. yay fighting mice. (And I was into Star Wars at grade 7, like Timothy Zahn Star Wars. I am not the typical reader.) It’s just something to be aware of if you are querying agents because agents deal with publishing categories and not marketing categories. (And agents have biases too. Like, come on, Unicorns should not be limited to MG. How dull. Agents though will look for anything to clear stuff out of their slush pile, I guess.)

Young Adult publishing category books range between 40K words on the low end and 80K words on the high end. I’d aim for 50K words depending on age group. Remember, YA readers especially read upwards in age groups. So you’re 12 year old is going to be reading about 15 year olds and your later YA readers will have aged out into the adult category of books (supposedly. This is where MARKETING categories become a thing. More in a second.)

New Adult is not a thing. Until it gets a spot in bookstores. It is officially not a thing. Querying New Adult will get you nowhere. Don’t bother.

So, you’ve written your MS and it hits what you think are all the Adult markers, from age of the protag, to theme, to having ‘adult’ content such as sex, drugs, and violence. (Violence is so weird b/c we’ve normalized violence while keeping sex taboo. So, if your book has sex, it might be considered Adult, more than if your book has violence. Even then... marketing categories.) You’ve queried it as adult. You’ve got it through an editor and it’s been pitched to a publisher and they’ve picked it up and your marketing materials come out. And they, meaning the cover, and the blurb, all read Young Adult in their style and tone.

And this may be confusing because you wrote an adult book, why are they marketing it to YA? Like A Crown of Thorns and Roses? (Fae court romance is... err, dead on arrival btw.)

It’s because YA is also a marketing category which no longer equals the age group category. And there are some very popular book series you can thank for this, Twilight, Hunger Games, Vampire Academy, and Divergent are among them. These books were not only popular among teens. They were popular among their mothers. So, publishing quickly pivoted from YA being this age group category with certain things, to a marketing strategy to try and keep the attention of the moms of the teenagers with sex, and love triangles, and I dunno, forbidden romance. By the time ACOTAR came out, publishing decided maybe they should try for this college age, New Adult category so they could market these “sexy fantasy” type books to older readers and get the sex out of YA. So, they used ACOTAR to try and make New Adult happen as a marketing category for book buyers. It didn’t work. Because no one, like with Harry Potter, wants to split a book series across 2 sections. (And lo and behold Young Adult was kind of born because they didn’t want to keep the later HP books in the children’s section.)

And because it didn’t work, YA is now a mess. Because they still don’t want to give up those sweet, sweet, mommy dollars.

There is one very large aspect of publishing the author has no control over. Their marketing. Especially, their covert marketing done by the publisher. Covert marketing is the type of marketing indies salivate over, b/c covert marketing is basically the publishing house deciding where on the bestseller list this book is going to be, how much advertising it gets, does it get a fancy book launch, what is the advance of the author, when is it going to be published and will it have competitors in its genre that same month, who among the reviewers gets to read it, the style of the book cover, and more importantly, what, where, and how much book shelf space it gets in stores. Is the cover turned out? Is it at the front of the store? Does it get it’s own display? Or is it in the “new releases display?” Which book buyer at the chains gets to see it. How do Librarians get a hold of it and which ones? Because the buyer of say, romance, is not the buyer of young adult. The Adult scifi/fantasy book buyer is going to be different than say, mysteries. Same for librarians! There are more than one librarian in your system choosing your books! It is very important who your book gets to be put in front of, what they think of it to how it is going to be received and pushed on bookshelves. There was a very infamous romance buyer of a major chain store who refused to buy POC romances because she thought they didn’t sell.

If your book chain buyer, refuses to buy fantasy books or scifi books by female authors b/c they think they won’t SELL. Then, the publisher feels like in order to get your book to sell, they have to put it into a marketing category where it will sell, Young Adult. Because what do most of those “Young Adult” books have in common, women writers. (Urban Fantasy was almost an exception to the rule on SFF gendered authors. Then... UF became dead on arrival as they thought the market was glutted and yeah. Good luck on getting an UF published, you’d be better off writing paranormal romance. Same type of setting, different genre rules.) It’s not about the content of your book, or the age of your protag, or the theme of your book at that point, it is “What will make this book sell.” Publishing is an industry where profit is not a dirty word. Their job is to make your book sell and if they think it will sell better as YA, they will pitch it as YA.

Even if the book is written for, uses language appropriate for, and has content really intended for adults.

Be aware that Young Adult scifi is a very, very rare buyers market. For some reason, publishers don’t think they can market it? Dystopian yes. Scifi... no. So, if your YA is scifi, like either rewrite for adult or keep your eye open for that very rare time they’re willing to TRY and publishing YA scifi. Or, publish indie. (Dystopian is also I think DOA.)

Is this confusing? Absolutely! Because there are plenty of readers out there who are in the adult category, who don’t keep up with publishing trends, and don’t realize if they want vibrant fantasy books, they may have to look in the YA section of their bookstore. They’re adults. They want vibrant fantasy adult books. And I say fantasy because you see this happening MOSTLY with fantasy. It happens with other genres too, but it is a huge problem in fantasy due to, well, the combination of publishing trends (white, older, male) and the human bias. So, many times, if you want that cool marketed as adult fantasy book not written by a white older male, you are going to have to order it through the ‘zon because you aren’t going to find it most likely on your bookstore shelves. (Science Fiction is another kettle of fish. Outside of some very established authors, it’s not really publishing. It’s a very small category outside of indie. Like, Military SF was a thing for a bit in indie! Just... yeah. Sigh.)

Conclusion: Publishing category does not always equal marketing category. Even if the publishing category and marketing category are named the same thing. And it’s probably not going to change until something major happens that the big four are FORCED to change their current publishing and marketing methods. (Yeah, big FOUR now. Scary.) It’s a complicated system with the author having the most at stake and the least amount of control (and often the least amount of pay outside of agents.) I mean, when Disney of all corporations, doesn’t want to pay Alan Dean Foster his legal royalties for a book they acquired when they got Star Wars, there is a PROBLEM in the system.

Just be aware if you are going into this publishing game. I cover this and more in my FREE PDF “I Finished a Book, Now What? A Tongue in Cheek Guide to What Happens Next.”  Everything from editing types to querying to social media for authors.

It’s available for download on my website. https://ginny0.wordpress.com/books/

[writerforfun]

Book cover: Do It Right,

CHECK THIS OVER!

I'm not good at this either, so lets work on it together.

I have added videos and tips to help you.

#1 Cover Power

Focus on the emotion, not the details. Authors get too caught up in the exact details of the book, and they want their cover to match. But readers who haven’t read the book yet don’t care about those details. It’s much better to use a strong, powerful cover that gets them reading the book than to use a less powerful but more accurate one.

Find the best picture you can. Start with a beautiful picture and the rest will be much easier. Get a picture that represents the emotional experience your book is promising – if it’s a thriller, the picture should be dark and scary; if a romance, it should be light and romantic.

Use the right colors. You can easily change the color scheme of any picture by adding a color wash or gradient over the top – easy to do in Photoshop or with my online design tool. Each color evokes certain universal emotions, which is why certain genres will usually use its own palette. Take good images and make them even more powerful by adding strong colors.

Use contrast. Use lots of contrast between light and dark, but also color contrasts – take a look at a color wheel to see color opposites that harmonize well. Green and red and hard to pull off without looking Christmasy – but teal and orange are always winners, and purple and yellow can also work. Red only goes well with whites and blacks. You can use a vignette effect around the edges to get that extra “pop.”

Avoid bevel and drop shadow. The #1 indicator of an unprofessional cover is heavy bevel or dropshadow effects on your text. Amateur designers usually add it because they don’t know how else to make their text stand out against the background art.

First of all, your cover text doesn’t need to be as bold as you think it needs to be. Professional book designs have text with natural contrast but still with patches where the text may not be super clear. That’s fine. “Needs to be legible as a thumbnail” is a myth – your cover will also be displayed online right by its title in clear print. Having an impactful cover is more important than having text that is easy to read.

Choose your emphasis. A lot of authors aren’t sure whether to stress their series title, book title or author name. You can’t stress everything. Almost always, stress the title and have the series title very small. You can’t give readers so much information that they’re distracted from the images – because the image is what should be causing that emotional gut reaction. Hook their interest first, then they’ll click the thumb to read all the details. But they aren’t going to try and figure everything out if your cover hasn’t already hooked their hearts somehow.

Don’t be interesting. A lot of authors think they need to be novel, different or interesting to stand out or surprise readers. For almost all genres, that’s a big mistake. Readers have developed genre expectations; they’ve gotten used to how books in their favorite genres are ‘supposed’ to look. For non-fiction, it’s OK to have a very interesting central image, but that’s because it’s expected for that genre. If you’re famous, and have a million people ready to buy your book, you can do whatever you want with your cover. But for the rest of us, your cover is the advertisement – it’s probably the first and only thing potential readers will ever see of your book; and if it isn’t good enough to punch them in the stomach or pull at their heartstrings, they’ll never even read the summary. Don’t take risky chances. Make the cover tell readers very clearly the genre, setting and major conflict.

No collages. Authors usually think in terms of a “scene” – so they ask designers to make them this specific episode from the book. That’s very hard to pull off with stock photography and Photoshop, and will probably look bad. It’s also hard to match characters exactly. Don’t cram in 5 characters all doing something with their unique superpowers and pets and clothing, being chased by their nemesis. It’s almost always better to go simple, with one or two main characters (or none) with one main background behind them for setting.

Remember, it’s always better to make a powerful emotional impact than to be accurate.

Should you use stock photography? In my opinion, yes, always, because it’s usually good quality. Illustration or art doesn’t work well except in some non-fiction, children’s books or chick-lit. The danger is that other authors are going to use the same photo – that’s true, but in my experience it’s better to use a great photo that sells more books than it is to use something unique but weak. Just search the top 40 or so in your categories to make sure nobody else is using the photo you chose. Also, you shouldn’t really use a stock photo exactly as is, with no changes, especially if it’s something special like a vampire image. Especially if it’s amazing, a lot of other people are going to use it. It’s better to find a model and turn them into a vampire with Photoshop (you can hire someone to do that for you).good

Happy Writing!

[jawnkeets]

How are you so clever??? I’m new to your blog and I’ve been looking at your posts (not in a stalkery way but because they’re so cool) and you seem super intelligent! Like you always reference things I’ve never heard of and use fancy words and it’s just really awesome. How did you get so clever? Do you read a lot or are you just naturally clever? If it’s from reading then what books would you recommend to someone who’s interested in literature and also broadening their general knowledge? Thanks

awwww. well thanks for the lovely ask!! this is way too much detail bc i’m procrastinating work but

i read a ton as a kid, mostly horror books - i was obsessed with the supernatural, and especially vampires, and the idea of things changing into other things (in a magical way, but also stories where characters develop and end up very different, tales of betrayal etc). my favourite series when i was little was the spiderwick chronicles, followed a little later by the saga of darren shan. i didn’t read any classic literature at all though, as i’d decided i hated it for some reason. as a kid i always prided myself on my creativity/ imagination rather than my intelligence (it’s a distinction i’d always drawn and still do after a fashion), but i was and have always been obsessive, and also used to sit and play memory games for hours, too; i remember one where i’d have a list of cards and i’d put one down, say what it was, turn it over, add another one, say what the previous one and this one was, turn them over, and continue until i couldn’t remember every single card in order, and then i’d start again. i wrote a lot, especially poetry, and used a thesaurus often because i loved words. i had a very very vivid imagination and refused to live in the real world until the age of about 11 or 12. then from 14 onwards i read almost nothing (apart from like idk two of the hunger games books) until i was 17, when i finally started reading classic literature, triggered by the great gatsby, which changed my attitude to learning completely. until then i’d despised secondary school partly because of the way learning was presented (i got good grades at gcse but went through the syllabus and exams mechanically with little genuine love) and partly for… other reasons, and had almost given up on taking academics seriously. but i got very lucky and had an incredible english teacher throughout sixth form, who encouraged me to take risks and break from methodical, formulaic writing. at the end of the first essay i had to do for him i still remember that he wrote ‘literature is for you. now and always. carry on.’ at the bottom, and that changed my life. he also introduced me to philip larkin and romantic poetry outside of class. after that, i was gripped by the desire to read and discover as much about the humanities as i could, make links between works, discover new ones, recover the feeling that i was possessed by after finishing gatsby. tumblr genuinely helped with art, literature quotes, and making it all seem accessible, e.g. seeing text posts making jokes about shakespeare, keats, etc helped to demystify a bit. yes, dark academia, i’m also looking at you for making learning seem exciting, but tentatively and with narrowed eyes. general knowledge-wise, it helped me to begin to break down the barriers between ‘subjects’ at school (even if you’ve left school, it’s pretty branded into our brains); they’re sometimes very fuzzy and even arbitrary, and to separate into strictly-defined categories like this is not the only way learning can or should happen.

a work that i thoroughly recommend to everyone who asks where to start is letters to a young poet by rainer maria rilke. he relates so perfectly this idea that the first step is to let yourself be filled with how amazing and vast the world is, and how much there is to read, listen to, and see. that’s not something you can learn from reading, and it’s not something you can be taught by anyone (unless being inspired by someone counts). it’s instrumentally important because it will drive you, but i also think it’s inseparable from understanding (and to me, it is understanding, just understanding without the right words yet). this is the highlight, and it was the mantra stuck up on my wall at 17 when i decided i wanted to learn, and learn seriously:

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

i was relatively articulate before i started reading the classics/ reading widely, but not exceptionally articulate. here’s an example of two essay openings - one i wrote when i was 16, and one i wrote during my first term at university (2 years apart):

i’d say that since then my essays have probably improved by a similar proportion, as i’m as embarrassed to read the second as i was the first when i wrote the second, and the typos r annoying me (am too embarrassed to post recent writing :’( - doesn’t count if over a year and a half ago, hence posting the second :p). obviously, then, this isn’t natural intelligence (everyone has to get knowledge, big words, etc from somewhere, right?), this is natural receptivity and willingness to learn, which i genuinely believe anyone can gain at any point, coupled with A LOT of reading the opinions of others (i.e. literary criticism and theory), and reading literature from many different periods to discover how language is moulded by individual poets and by ‘eras’ more widely. but this is also synthesising everything i absorb into a personal vision (this is the hill i will die on soz i don’t think theory should be ‘objective’ like what does that even mean). you can and should put yourself into it!

in terms of what to read - if you like the rilke (really hope you do!!) then depending on what you like about it, you can search from there. try some of rilke’s poetry. or if you like that ineffable feeling it brings, try the romantics (keats’ ‘ode to a nightingale’ and blake’s songs of innocence and experience are good to start with!), or larkin’s ‘high windows’ and ‘the mower’. also try shakespeare’s hamlet, because that is INCREDIBLE (watching it is always easier, and the more shakespeare you watch/ read the easier it gets! andrew scott’s hamlet is the best imo). from there it’s a question of asking what you liked about what you just read (time period/ vibe/ themes/ subject/ style of writing) and finding things similar - often google works and i made use of it a lot to start with, tumblr too, otherwise ask people who you know (on the internet/ teachers/ friends etc). this is a personal journey, especially to begin with, i think (you have to jump in somewhere), and there’s no one who can give you a list of books to read in the order best for you, because - annoyingly, i know - that’s something it’s best if each individual works out through trial and error, and part of the fun in truth. there are western canon lists out there, e.g., which contain some fabulous works, but have very obvious problems. 

a really really rough chronological development of english lit: beowulf, any of the canterbury tales, hamlet, paradise lost, pope’s satire, romantic poetry, victorian novels (e.g. david copperfield, jane eyre), the waste land, waiting for godot (it would also help to read the iliad, the aeneid, and metamorphoses too, and as much of the bible as you can, especially genesis, exodus, isaiah, job, and the gospels, but genesis and the gospels first if ur stuck/ overwhelmed). this is the lightest of pencil sketches, but if they’re works that go some way towards defining each ‘era’ or ‘period’, then it becomes a little easier to search for works branching off from these that are influenced by or chafe against them. you can always come back to me if you’re struggling with what to look for next :+) also, i have a list of my poetry favs, if you want to check that out (it includes the stuff mentioned in the previous paragraph, as well as others).

hope this helps (?!) ❤️

[hangmansradio]

are you gonna change Grant's pronouns?

Well nonny... Let me answer your question but also explain the reasoning behind my answer. So I apologise in advance if this ends up being quite long-winded.  In short, my answer is no. But please don’t think any less of me and let me try to explain. I’ve talked to so many people about this and been having a really hard time trying to decide what to do. My knee-jerk reaction when I heard everyone saying they were going to change pronouns was that I didn’t want to do that. And then I felt like an awful person for feeling that way, and basically spent a day believing I’m a hideous person and trying to beat my brain into thinking differently.  I’ve talked to people who identify as cis, as trans and as non-binary. I have dozens of friends who slip up and down the gender spectrum sometimes on the daily and it makes no odds to me how someone identifies. You can ask me to call you by any pronoun you desire, you could tell me you’ve decided to live your life as a pot-plant, its all good!  I read the interview with Grant where they talk about their gender and how they were exploring things like cross-dressing as young as ten. And the whole interview felt very relaxed, and not at all like a sort of... coming out tale, for lack of a better phrase. Grant didn’t seem to be dictating (to me at least) that they wanted people to alter the way they talk about them. They were just discussing gender and new words for gender in the context of how times have changed. How they themself didn’t have words like gender fluid or non-binary when they were young, and that this is why things like the t slur ended up in the Invisibles. But I digress. Grant is now sixty years old, which means they’ve had roughly fifty years living their life as non-binary, even if they didn’t exactly have the words for it. Which says to me that they’re probably extremely comfortable with it, relaxed, and have no qualms or issues that tend to surface in young people. So... Why was my instinct reaction to changing my work anything less than joyful acceptance? I’ve asked myself this question over and over. I have been told I’m being ignorant. Have been told that as a cis person I have no comprehension of why pronouns are important. I spent yesterday evening crying to myself, when I was already sick in bed, and made quite the sorry sight.  And the thing is, as a writer, I’ve spent the last two decades getting into other peoples mindsets in order to write a myriad of characters. And so far, people tell me I do this quite well. I have a degree in psychology. I am working towards a masters degree in psychology. I have done separate studies into counselling specifically. Understanding people is my thing. It’s what I do.  So why then, do I not want to change the pronouns? In answer, I had to stop and think entirely selfishly. I had to look into myself and away from the all those voices telling me I don’t understand or that I’m ignorant, and question what made me feel uncomfortable. And the answer is quite simple. I write fanfiction, yes. But the characters I create are MINE. I do not write about Grant Morrison the comic book writer. I write about a character all my own, and slap the face of Grant onto it. I don’t read MCR fanfiction, or any fanfiction about real life people because it makes me uncomfortable, and recently I’ve been warring with myself about leaving the MCR category when it comes to writing, because for me... the disconnect between real people and my characters is wholly, utterly complete.  If I could explain it simply - I view my characters (all of them) as OC’s. But for the sake of writing in the same category I have been for years, and thus keeping the readers I adore so much and the friends I have made - I use MCR or Grant or their wives as the actors and actresses to play the roles of my characters. My fanfiction is a movie in my head, and the people whose names and faces I borrow are my cast. So for me... to change my fiction every time something changes in the real world just does not compute in my head. If Gerard Way was to act in a film today, and announce tomorrow that he prefers she/her pronouns, the movie wouldn’t be re-filmed to accommodate. If Grant Morrison decided tomorrow that they would like to act in movies, I’m almost certain they wouldn’t insist on only being cast in non-binary roles. Equally, I have read fanfiction in the past that gender-swaps all members of MCR. I have read fanfiction that casts them as trans characters. I have read fiction where they are gay, straight, ace. I myself have written them as vampires, werewolves, mafia dons...  For years, Gerard and Frank especially have talked about how frerard fanfiction makes them uncomfortable. Yet that has always been my main forte. I do not write it to be disrespectful, and it is my sincerest wish they never read it or have it mentioned to them. It is just fiction... it’s transformative work, and the morals are dubious I agree, which is why I still am considering leaving the MCR fandom for good. So... If I have been writing about two straight men and making them gay for years and years... If I have been writing Mikey (who we all know is a sweetie pie) as an evil character multiple times... If I have taken their straight wives and wrote them as lesbians... Then surely, surely, it doesn’t make sense for me to go back to the work I have written in the past and change it now for the sake of something happening in real life? Something that Grant themselves have not come out and made a statement about, and probably never will, because to them, it’s not a big deal. Or so it feels to me. In short (and I apologise again for the length of this answer), fanfiction to me has always been FICTION. I cannot stress this enough. I do not, and will not, factor the real world into it because the whole point is that it is a world of my own creation. If I decided to write a fic tomorrow that had Grant as a female presenting octopus no one would bat an eye. And to not change their pronouns is not meant as a statement or a slight, far from it. It is simply that those stories were written before the change, and were not about a non-binary character. And as someone who often writes erotic stories, is it my place to try and write sex scenes involving a non-binary character when, as so many have kindly informed me, I am ignorant in this matter? Especially when, in my eyes at least, writing someone as non-binary is not as easy as simply changing the pronouns and letting the story remain the same in every other aspect. I hope this makes sense and doesn’t make me come across as someone who is being cruel or stubborn for no reason. Or as someone who just doesn’t understand. If there is one thing I have learnt from talking to so many people yesterday, it is that there is no right or wrong answer, and the only true way to avoid hurting one another is to listen to each other and accept that we all feel very strongly about this, and sometimes for different reasons.  Fanfiction shouldn’t be something that others can dictate. It was always about reading and writing what you enjoy, and if you dislike it, then hit the back button.  That being said - The Devil’s Furnace and Domino will have the pronouns changed, out of respect to Ry who has requested as much and who owns the soul of those stories as much as I do. 💜

[epicstuckyficrecs]

How To Tag Stucky Fics Part 3: Additional Tags

The Additional Tags are probably the hardest to fill out, but also the most important! All of the other fields are pretty straightforward when it comes to what you need to put in, but here? It’s the Wild West! You can pretty much write as much or as little as you want, but those tags are really gonna be the ones that will let potential readers know what is in your fic. In fact, they’re probably as important as your summary 

If you want an easy reminder of what to tag for, keep in mind the W’s: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE? 

Under a read more because this is long!

Who

Character traits

We’ve already settled which characters are appearing in your fic, now it’s time to tell us more about WHO they are. This can include:

Physical traits

Personality traits

Jobs

Sexuality and other sex-related stuff

Religion

Nationality 

Disabilities and mental illnesses

Fantasy creatures: vampire, werewolf, angel and demon… you get the gist.

MCU specific stuff

etc.

In my opinion, these tags are useful if the characteristic in question is something that is memorable, important with regards to the plot, something that defines the character in your story specifically, or something that differs from canon. I don’t really need to know that your fic contains some Shy Bucky Barnes if it’s not somewhat important to the story; you probably don’t need to tag for “British Peggy Carter” since thats just the default canon, but you could tag “American Peggy Carter” if she’s American in your AU!

I’ve mentioned a lot of them in my Comprehensive List of Stucky Tags post, but it’s not actually a complete list! If you want to know all of the canon tags existing for a specific character: go on AO3 and click on the Search tab on top of the page > Tags > Enter the character’s name > Select “Freeform” in the list > Click “canonical”. 

And besides, if you can’t find a canonical tag for what you want, you can always invent one! Just remember: if you wanna create a freeform tag for a character, please make sure to use the characters’ LAST NAME too, in order to help tag wranglers! For example: if you want to tag for Steve having black hair, you should write something like “Steve Rogers has black hair”, and not just “Steve has black hair”, because at the moment there are 279 canonical “Steve” character tags so… who knows which Steve you’re talking about? XD

As for some things specific to the MCU, again, I’ve listed a lot of them in my Comprehensive List of Stucky Tags post, but I would tag especially anything that differs from canon, for example, “Steve Rogers as the Winter Soldier” or “Bucky Barnes as Captain America”. You can check out the post if you wanna have an idea of the canonical tags that already exist, but once again, you can always create your own tags and let the wranglers deal with it! :P Just make sure to use the characters’ last name in your tag.

Another tip: if there’s a dichotomy in the character roles or attributes, or opposite roles/positions between the characters, I would make sure to tag them both! For example: 

Don’t just tag “Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics”: also tag Alpha Bucky Barnes, Omega Steve Rogers, or vice-versa

Don’t just tag “BDSM”: also tag Dom Steve Rogers, Sub Bucky Barnes, or vice-versa

Don’t just tag “Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons”: also tag Angel Steve Rogers, Demon Bucky Barnes, or vice-versa

etc.

Relationships

Why am I talking about relationships again, you say? Haven’t we covered that in Part 2 of the series? Yes I did. But here’s a little reminder of what I said then:

“Any side pairings/friendships can go in the Additional Tags field (for example: Minor Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov or Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes Friendship).”

So there’s a few types of relationships that you can consider here: 

Friendships: you can decide wether you want to mention the friendship in the Relationships field, in the Additional Tags field, or both. That’s your choice!

Past relationships, minor/side relationships: I personally would put them only in the Additional Tags field (NOT in the Relationship field), and here’s why: 

Putting “past” or “minor” or “side” or whatever else qualifier in front of your ship in the Relationships field makes it a non-canonical tag (only the Additional tags can be non-canonical, or “freeform”. Like I’ve said in Part 2: try to only use canonical tags for the Fandom, Relationship, and Characters fields). That means that your tag is gonna be made a synonym of a canon tag. For example: the non-canonical “(Past) Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers” tag that a few people have used is a synonym of the canon “Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers” tag. That means that those past Peggy/Steve fics appear in the Steve/Peggy tag. Are people looking for Steggy fics likely to want to read past Steggy fics? You tell me...

If you’re tagging with the canon tag, but the couple is only a side/minor pairing, it might annoy people who are looking for fics in that tag and keep seeing fics that are not about their ship. This is especially true if the ship is less popular in the fandom.

So TLDR in my opinion: tag your main couple (if you’re writing a romance) or your main friendship/platonic relationship (if you’re writing a Gen fic) in the Relationship field, and tag everything else in the Additional Tags field.

POV

You can specify from which POV your fic is written from. Personally, I would pay attention to this mostly if your POV differs from the classic “3rd person” Steve or Bucky POV. Some existing tags tags to give you an idea:

POV Steve Rogers

POV Bucky Barnes

POV Sam Wilson or POV Natasha Romanov, etc.

POV Outsider or POV Original Character

POV First Person or POV Second Person

POV Alternating

POV Multiple  

What

This is pretty self-explanatory, but you want to tell your readers what’s in your story! What’s happening? What’s the plot about? What are some specific subjects/themes your story contains?

Genres

When I think about genres, I always picture the FF.net categories lol XD. But it’s actually a good way to look at it!Here’s a few examples on AO3:

Action/Adventure

Angst

Character Study

Crack

Crimes and Criminals

Crossovers & Fandom Fusions

Family

Fluff

Friendship

Humor

Hurt/Comfort

Love

Mystery

Pining

Porn

Romance

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sexual content

Smut

I wouldn’t say these are the most essential tags, but they can give your readers a general idea of the tone/content of your story.

Relationship

On top of that, we want to know what kind of relationship your ship has in this fic! What are they to each other? What’s their progression? Here’s a few examples:

Boss/Employee Relationship

Break Up

Childhood Friends

Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Established Relationship

Fake/Pretend Relationship

Friends to Lovers

Friends With Benefits

Getting Together

Long-Distance Relationship

Strangers to Lovers

Triggers

It can be hard to know what to tag with regards to triggers. I’d say better safe than sorry, and be open to suggestions and comments from your readers, especially with triggers. 

Here’s a few examples to give you an idea what to tag for, which are taken from this great triggers list, but I definitely suggest you take a look at this post and bookmark it for whenever you need to tag your fics!

Violence:

Death: main/minor character death, animal death, child death...

Suicide: suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, suicidal “insert character name”, ... 

Abuse: child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, emotionnal abuse, gaslighting... 

Assault

Torture

Kidnapping

Stalking

Sex:

Rape/Sexual assault/Non con

Dub con

Incest

Specific sex acts: like @kiragecko says in the post I linked: “some people search for, others want to avoid”. 

Specify if your characters are being Safe Sane and Consensual or not when engaging in kinky sex.

Health:

Drugs and/or Alcohol

Food

Illnesses (physical or mental)

Pregnancy: mpreg, miscariage

Self-harm

Panic attacks, PTSD, dissociation

Phobias: 

Any phobias that your character(s) have and are specifically mentioned/depicted in your fic

Common phobias: spiders, clowns, hospitals...

Gross content:

Gore

Bodily fluids

Smut

I’ve said it above in the triggers section, but you can tag sexual acts appearing in your story as a way to both attract readers who are looking for them and help readers who want to avoid them. 

If your story has a lot of smut, you might be reluctant to tagging all of them in fear of making your tag list very long. I would always at least indicate in your tags that there’s Sexual Content in your fic; then, you could do like I’ve suggested with the Warnings and add something like “more info about specific sexual acts in the author’s note” to your tags, and make a detailed list of sexual acts in your authors’ note.

Here’s a few generic tags about smut, and here’s a link to all the different canon “sex” tags (350 at the moment!)

Angst and Fluff and Smut

Angst and Porn

Emotional Porn

Eventual Smut

Fluff and Smut

Identity Porn

Mild Sexual Content 

Mild Smut 

No Smut 

Non-Graphic Smut 

Porn with Feelings 

Porn With Plot

Sexual Tension

Unresolved Sexual Tension 

When

MCU

In my post about Stucky tags, I made a list of a lot of tags regarding the MCU movies. Not all of them of course, this list was mainly focused on movies where Stucky would appear, but you get the gist. We want to know WHEN in the MCU your fic is happening.

I’m not gonna list every single MCU movie and all of their tags, but basically you have a few options:

Pre-movie

Movie

Movie mid/end credit scenes

Post-movie

Movie compliant

Not Movie compliant

Canon divergence

Canon divergence - post movie

Some movies also have specific tags for their trailers. I would recommend using the trailer tag if you are indeed writing your fic based on the trailer of a movie that isn’t out yet (you could also add the movie’s specific “spoiler” tag too while you’re at it!) in order for people to be able to avoid spoilers if they want to.

Moreover, in the case of movies that are canonically happening in another time, you could also add the relevant tags if it’s pertinent! (for example, with The First Avenger: 1930s or World War II). You can also refer to events that happened within the MCU (example: Battle of New York (Marvel)).

Alternate Universe

Whatever era or time your fic is happening in, there’s probably a tag for that! There’s a tag for every decade of the 20th century and pretty much every century too. Is it a Victorian, Ancient Rome, or a Future fic? 

But even if it’s just a simple Alternate Universe - Modern Setting with No Powers … there are tags for that too! :P 

If there’s a specific historical/fictional event that your story is centered around, you could tag it too! For example: PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, World War I, 2008 United States Presidential Election, Battle of Hogwarts, 75th Hunger Games, etc.

Don’t forget your holidays! Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, to name a few...

Where

Self-explanatory again, but where is your story taking place? :P Again, maybe not the most important tag category to consider, but I would use it especially if the story is taking place in a specific/unusual place for the canon or your ship. See examples below!

MCU

Avengers Tower

Avengers Compound

Red Room (Marvel)

Sanctum Sanctorum (Marvel) 

Wakanda (Marvel)

Asgard (Marvel)

Alternate universe

(Reminder: There’s sooooooooooo many different Alternate Universe tags!)

If your AU is taking place in a different country/city, you can mention it! You could either go with the AU tag or just the tag for the place itself. For example: Alternate Universe - Canada or Canada. 

But it can also be even more precise than that! Stuck in a cabin during a snowstorm? There’s Cabin Fic! Steve and Bucky are men of the Night’s Watch? Maybe tag Castle Black! You get the gist ;) 

And lastly...

Format

(inspired by this post from @salt-of-the-ao3 on tumblr)

If your fic has a specific format, you can specify it! Here’s a few suggestions:

Drabble

Epistolary

Songfic

Poetry

Reader-Insert 

And I think that’s it folks! All you need to know to tag your fics the best you can! :)

See Part 1: A Comprehensive List of Stucky Tags here!

See Part 2: Rating, Warnings, Fandoms, Relationships & Characters here!

You can also access a handy bullet-point checklist that summarizes these posts on Google Docs here! 

[afriendtokilltime]

Okay, fine. Let’s talk about parasocial relationships.

The term “parasocial” has been making the rounds as a very very smart sounding thing to say. It not only establishes that you know an unusual and complex word, but also that you are too smart to fall for marketing tactics, and that you are much too cool to show enthusiasm for anything!

So, what’s a parasocial relationship? It’s a one-sided relationship with a celebrity or fictional character--the entire relationship takes place in your head. You’re reading this on tumblr, which means you have lots of parasocial relationships. You’re very parasocially popular! Maybe you even have one with me. (Probably not, I stopped posting for a long time, so we probably don’t parasocially know one another at all.)

I first encountered this term being used as an inherently bad thing, something to avoid, as though the term referred to the negative version of itself. What I saw was not people explaining why it can be harmful, but speaking as if we all know it is (the way you’d use “alcoholism”).

I see people carefully watching themselves to make sure they aren’t engaging in a “parasocial relationship,” or referring to a behavior they don’t like as “borderline parasocial relationship behavior.” But, there is no such thing as “relationship behavior” other than closing the psychological distance between yourself and another person. “Parasocial relationship behavior” is doing this, but it’s one-sided. You get closer, and they do not. That’s it. That’s the only thing. Does that mean building a shrine to Kristen Stewart? Does it mean crying with joy at Hbomberguy’s Mermaids/Donkey Kong stream? Does it mean writing a 100k fanfiction about Hermione Granger, Vampire Slayer? Does it mean buying a David Bowie CD? Does it mean begging the show writers to finally make that queerbaity relationship canon? Does it mean killing the president? You decide! 

Becoming psychologically closer to people and characters is not inherently unhealthy, whether they know who you are or not. How you treat them and respond to that closeness, and how they choose to cultivate closeness, can of course be unhealthy...but so can reciprocal relationships.

What’s weird to me is that we generally seem to be aware that there are bad and good (healthy and unhealthy) relationships. I have a good relationship with @randomshoes because we support each other, are interested in each others’ success, spend quality time together, and communicate well. If I was to stalk her or kill a president for her, or if she was to abuse my trust and take all my money while falsely assuring me she loved me, our relationship would be somewhat less healthy. 

So, what’s so bad about parasocial relationships?

They don’t actually care about you and they are taking your money.

If a marketing team/a celebrity uses these relationships to prey on vulnerable people, that might be an abusive relationship...in the other direction. If I manipulate a friend I know out of her money, I’m the bad guy, right? But if I’m famous, and she’s 16, and I knowingly manipulate her out of her money, then she’s the bad guy, because teenage girls are dumb and they should feel bad for ever liking anything, forming identities, feeling attraction, or basically being uncool and childish in any way.

It is definitely a good idea to remember that transactions are a part of how art is usually consumed, and not to express your affection or deep identification with an art/artist by spending lots of money on tee shirts that depict them. However, even this type of interaction can be encouraged in a healthy, positive way.  Patreon seems to really make people mad, but it’s not the worst system for artists who Live in A Society and don’t happen to have any lembas laying around. “I’ll pretend to love you so you can make me a millionaire” seems kinda gross but “I appreciate that your support helps me continue making the art you love” kinda sorta does not.

Some people go too far and commit heinous crimes because they expect their parasocial affections to be reciprocated.

Those crimes would be heinous even in an already reciprocal relationship. (I  already mentioned this, but if I committed terrorism for my very real girlfriend who knows exactly who I am, that would probably make me no better or worse than Hinkley.)

You’re an isolated loser and need real friends.

Okay. Anybody pouring all their energy into one relationship is probably not doing life correctly, regardless of how parasocial that relationship is. But this is a point on which I simply do not agree. People engage in these behaviors regardless of how wide their friend circle is. If not with celebrities, then with fictional characters, or even historical or political figures (think more “little father” than “senator” though what you do with that Bernie Sanders picture in your room is between you and God). Oh speaking of God, relationships with religious figures might arguably have some similarities and speak to the same human tendency, but there is of course the difference that Justin Bieber doesn’t know who TF you are, but God does.

Uh, sorry, you didn’t address my point. Forming parasocial relationships stops you developing real relationships.

I actually think it encourages reciprocal socialization. I didn’t have many friends growing up. When I met two other kids who were obsessed with Harry Potter, we bonded over that, making up our own characters (next generation type of BS...still better than the book 7 epilogue), and this formed the basis of a friendship that lasted basically my entire pubescence. These parasocial relationships are generally part of a broader interest, and interests and hobbies help you meet people, break the ice, and uhm...form real relationships.

It’s not just interests, though. I was hardcore into dinosaurs as a kid. Literally every child likes dinosaurs, but that didn’t help me form any new friendships. The other reason I think parasocial relationships lead to better real relationships is...practice. You are engaging in social behaviors, whether or not you’re any good at them, whether or not you succeed. This is what’s required to learn any new skill, but it’s generally discouraged.

You don’t just learn about how to socialize, you also learn about yourself. You develop a sense of identity and learn what you like and dislike by associating yourself with favorite characters.

Children and teens often imitate their behaviors, and though that can be a bit annoying (why yes I do have the Spanish Inquisition sketch memorized but thanks for repeating it to make sure I got it), it also helps them figure out what kind of people they want to be (maybe you want to be funny, so you over time learn that what made Monty Python so funny was surprise, surprise and fear, and you develop comedic timing). Knowing what kind of person you want to be is important.

Right, but it’s selfish. You keep calling it “one sided” which it literally is. There’s no checks on your behavior.

Right. I think that’s good, though? I think it’s good for people to sometimes do selfish things. I think it’s good to cultivate parasocial relationships because they are a way to self-soothe, and get your own needs met, without burdening others. We are social creatures, and we absolutely need relationships, but nobody owes you a relationship. Nobody owes you affection or love. Having a way to cultivate that for yourself is actually incredibly valuable.

It’s worth commenting here that I think my strongest parasocial relationships are probably with characters I’ve made up myself. They are “a part of me” in that they are always there in my life, but unlike some writers, I do not base characters on myself or see them as reflecting specific parts of me. I relate to them in the same way I relate to Harry Potter, except that I was the one who made them up initially, and books I write about them can be published and I can make money off them. (On some theoretical plane of existence.) It’s pretty clear that I am the one doing all the work on both sides of this particular parasocial relationship, but it doesn’t feel super different to me than the fact I very intensely relate to certain characters not made up by me. I don’t conceive myself dating one of them, like I don’t have a Dorothy L. Sayers thing going on, but I don’t really think it would be wrong if I did.

What do you mean not being a burden on others? What about toxic fans putting pressure on creators?

Yeah...that’ll be in the “unhealthy relationship” category. But, okay, I guess where I am ending up here is I do think it’s good to recognize parasocial relationships exist and talk about them, because it reminds you that even if a relationship is not reciprocal, you do have responsibilities. If the other person is real, that means they are only human, and even if you have no choice but to stan, you should give them some breathing space. The Shinji Ikari ContraPoints in my head can be my super close friend, but if I expect the real Natalie Wynn to give me any more energy than she already does to her entire audience by making the awesome videos I enjoy so much, I’d be really rude, demanding, and honestly not worthy of her friendship if it was “real.”

Parasocial relationships are relationships which means, just like with reciprocal ones, you have to not be a dick. You have to respect the other person and recognize they are a human being separate from you. Even with characters, Harry Potter can’t be hurt by anything weird and demanding you do, but Rowling could, and so could other HP fans, so respect is still important. If it’s not already clear, I strongly disagree with people who suggest fanfiction is disrespectful, so.

If you understand that your relationship is abstracted, and that you do not deserve any kind of reward for all the energy and love that you pour into it...then enjoy your parasocial relationship, because it is absolutely normative, human, and can bring great joy and meaning into your life. In fact, almost all of what I just said applies to reciprocal relationships, too.

[smexy-boy]

Halloween costumes ideas by Lolitain

Hi guys! September is started and this is my favorite season! Do you know why? Because Halloween is coming and I want to prepare my Halloween mask for my favorite party! It only comes one time each year so it is better to order in advance for surprise everyone at this fantastic night!So I searched a lots of ideas on internet and I finally find Lolitain https://www.lolitain.com/halloween-2018.htmlI really love lolita fashion that's why I was very surprised to discover their site, they have Gothic lolita that it is a good idea for Halloween and only for this season they have vintage Halloween dress for girls. The site is very easy to use, every products have their categories so I choose for you 3 outfit ideas that will instantly make you stand out from the crowd!Let's begin with something for the girls:Little red riding hood, I am sure you know well this cute character and this one is their original designhttps://www.lolitain.com/a-little-red-hat-that-turns-into-a-wolf-redblack-lolita-full-set-p-5931.htmlI'm really in love with this one especially if you go with someone who can do the wolf! You can remove The Gothic cloack and show your tail and ears *__* This things are amazing! As you can see from the photo in details they have different materials: Cotton jacquard cloth,Cotton jacquard bamboo,Dyed plaid fabric,Jacquard little bit,Suede,Nubuck leather.We find the dress, now it is up to the shoes! There are so many cheap Halloween shoes and I choose this ones: https://www.lolitain.com/angelic-imprint-tshaped-straps-gothic-lolita-heels-shoes-with-detachable-angel-wings-p-6481.htmlYou can choose between red,black and white.Dont' forgot about Halloween cheap socks knee high there are so many models but white or black one like this https://www.lolitain.com/white-lace-white-lovely-slim-lolita-knee-stockings-p-6469.html  will be ok and you will look like a little cute doll.We also need a personalized Halloween bag! What's about this one? https://www.lolitain.com/rose-garden-series-gothic-lolita-shoulder-bag-p-7196.html the roses are very well done,they look real, you could smell them!Now we can chose our wig, yes they also have a lots of costume wigs online, this one is perfect https://www.lolitain.com/hime-cut-short-straight-hair-lolita-wig-p-7056.htmlblack like the red riding hood's wolf, It is high quality fiber and it looks very natural. But if you want to be a bad girl, you could be a witch! Here the Gothic lolita dress for this occasion https://www.lolitain.com/gothic-halloween-black-lace-witch-perspective-hooded-long-cloak-p-7349.html?search=witch with floor-length gothic cloack, lace detail on it which makes it super elegant. We can match it with this real witch hat in PU leather https://www.lolitain.com/halloween-black-pu-leather-gothic-lolita-witch-hat-p-7382.html?search=witch the hat for a witch is very important, more is big more you are a power witch!Complete this pretty Halloween look with punk lolita platform shoes https://www.lolitain.com/pure-black-front-zipper-punk-lolita-platform-short-boots-p-6946.html so you will be also very tall.and you can choose between a lots of wigs online like this one https://www.lolitain.com/dark-brown-fluffy-corn-perm-lolita-wig-p-7144.htmlYou can also add this particular mask if you want to look a mysterious witch https://www.lolitain.com/black-lace-masquerade-half-face-mask-retro-gothic-mask-p-7422.htmlWe absolutely need a bag for contain our poisons so this one is perfect https://www.lolitain.com/halloween-gray-skull-chain-shoulder-bag-p-7414.html scary,no? But for the boys? Don't worry Lolitain is also for boys style clothing and dress! Here my favorite gothic/Halloween outfitJacket: https://www.lolitain.com/punk-dark-asymmetric-hem-hooded-long-woolen-coat-p-6848.html You look like a vampire with this long Punk dark cloat, so I suggest to put on some fake fangs and blood on your face.This Top is very particular https://www.lolitain.com/black-hooded-hollowed-out-element-men-long-sleeve-tshirt-p-7337.html there are strings and holes that remember about a mummy!Steampunk Pants is a must and they look very cool https://www.lolitain.com/steampunk-black-slim-gothic-detachable-waistband-men-ripped-trousers-p-7341.htmlThen just complete your outfit with shoes: https://www.lolitain.com/punk-black-rivet-hightop-thick-sole-womens-roundtoe-martin-boots-p-6080.html be carefull! Don't kick anybody with them xD And if you want to look very scary..there are also professional Halloween masks https://www.lolitain.com/steampunk-pestilence-black-long-beak-doctor-gothic-halloween-party-cosplay-mask-p-6864.html?search=mask&page=2 What about to add this cross pendant? https://www.lolitain.com/punk-gothic-harajuku-rock-style-rivet-silvery-cross-pendant-pu-chocker-p-6127.html If you want to be in match with someone there is also this magnificent dress for boys and girls https://www.lolitain.com/lolita-crazy-hat-full-set-p-5972.htmlit's not scary but I fall in love with this lolita dress and you match it with another person with this dress https://www.lolitain.com/dark-alice-lolita-9-fullset-p-5944.html?search=alice It's a pretty Halloween costume that you wish you could wear on a night out at any time of year! As you can see there are a lots of  fantastic Halloween outifit ideas on this site,these were mine, but I know that you will see all the products and fall in love for their sweet lolita dress too. You can wear them whenever you want, for a tea party,for a fashion walk,at cosplay convention, lolita cons, birthday event, pick nick with friends and etc. You will always find the right outfit on Lolitain! Which will be your choice? Hurry up for receiving your lolita dress in time for Halloween!Choose only the best brands available on https://www.lolitain.comQuality guarantee,fast shipping and great service at your disposal!Specializes in designing and manufacturing various styles of high-quality lolita clothing based in China.  You can also ask for special commissions, you can design your outfit and they realize it for you as you dream it! You will also find thousands of  high quality products offered at incredible prices. They also ship worldwide so don't worry, you can receive it wherevere you are!

[bluewatsons]

Sabra Embury, Are We Too Quick to Call Everyday Assholes Narcissists?, Vice (August 17, 2016)

Vice: It seems the label "narcissist" is more ubiquitous than ever, used to describe every power-hungry egomaniac.

Kristin Dombek: My hunch is that the popularity of the word, as an insult, or a citizen diagnosis, these days, is partly about a fear of the internet itself, where it spreads. About how we have to deal with so many people so quickly, without being able to test who they are behind the images and words they put online. More generally, the commonness of the term these days is an example of the dominance of psychological language in our everyday ways of relating to others and thinking about ethical problems. It worries me that we've come to use psychological diagnosis in a very unexamined way in everyday conversation, as if it's scripture, as if its categories are clear and true, and we can just fit people into them. Historically, that kind of language has often had an agenda, under the surface.

Vice: For those who are unfamiliar, what's the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath?

Kristin Dombek: People must ask the internet this all the time—"Is my boyfriend a sociopath or a narcissist?"—judging by the number of posts on this topic on relationship self-help sites. Neither a narcissist nor a sociopath can give real love, people tend to agree about that. But while both are just tricking you and using you, or so the story goes, narcissists are more focused on getting affection and attention they need to maintain a grandiose, vain self-image, while sociopaths don't even give a shit; they're just trying to get power and win. The narcissist might drop you and then keep coming back to try to persuade you that he's actually cool and perfect, and that it's you who is the problem; the sociopath might just take off when she's done. The studies that claim to show narcissism is actually increasing are not convincing to me, so I got interested in the question of why narcissism [has become] one of our most common fears about other people. Fear of narcissism is a little different than fear of sociopathy or psychopathy; it's about fakeness, and performance, about the possibility that someone can seem to have a warm, charming surface, but under the surface, total absence of empathy, total emptiness.

Vice: And that emptiness is definitely more nurture than nature, right?

Kristin Dombek: There's a total lack of consensus in the psychology literature I've read. But dating self-help sites tend to present it as a natural thing, like an essential category--Some people just don't have empathy. You can feel better about your ex-boyfriend because he's essentially a narcissist, he's not capable of love, he'll never change . It's not that he chose not to feel empathy for you, he's not capable of empathy at all. You were fooled . The commonness of this story makes me suspicious.

Vice: Just as there's a spectrum of autism, do you think there's a spectrum of narcissistic personality disorder? Or do you see it working in stages--early inward versus full-blown zero-empathy monster?

Kristin Dombek: These are huge questions. If you look across the subfields of psychology, there's a good deal of disagreement about whether narcissism is a thing we are or a thing we do, if it's better defined as a clinical condition or a spectrum, a thing in the brain or a thing at all, a permanent and untreatable lack of empathy or a condition that can be healed. The lack of consensus is so great that the American Psychiatric Association came close to removing "narcissistic personality disorder" from the last edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . And yet there are hundreds of websites about toxic and fraudulent romance that dispense advice about "narcissists" as if the term is clear-cut. I've read enough to become a committed agnostic. When the word comes up in my head, it feels more useful and accurate to think of it as a thing we do—as a thing I do, and have to work against doing, and a thing others do, and I have to work to understand them. In other words, since the word is there, shouting at me, when I do something shitty or cold, or someone else disappears, I'm trying to make it more flexible.

Vice: In the debate of who did what wrong, I guess it's all pretty relative.

Kristin Dombek: There are assholes, of course. But yes—my hunch is that I'm fascinated by the way these diagnostic terms shape our stories about romance, gender, sexuality, generations—our feelings about the culture and condemnations of whole groups, like millennials. And worried by the way the word "narcissism" helps us fetishize our own empathy, as if "we" always have it and "they" don't.

Vice: You say that Freud argued that narcissism, at its base, stems from an instinct of self-preservation, especially when dealing with cold, cruel, or violent parents. Is this at all related to the type of narcissists who are constantly posting selfies?

Kristin Dombek: The social psychologists who warn of a narcissism epidemic today, citing selfie-posting and so on, actually believe that the thing they're calling "narcissism" comes from too much parental attention and coddling; they think narcissists have too high self-esteem—which is the opposite of what Freud thought. Are they talking about the same thing, even? I'm not sure. But no, we'd better hope that all people who post selfies are not necessarily people with personality disorders. Selfies are shared and shared for the sake of contact. I've noticed that some of my most wildly generous, empathetic friends post the most selfies. Why is this? It seems too simple to claim that anything that is expressed through self-representation is necessarily self-absorbed or vain. Sometimes selfies are posted for vain reasons, sometimes for no good reason, and sometimes for important, generous, even revolutionary reasons.

Vice: Speaking of revolutionary self-representation, you briefly mentioned novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard and the success of his memoirs being treated, by some, as a symptom of all this.

Kristin Dombek: What Knausgaard has done is mysterious, isn't it? Knausgaard has been called narcissistic, and many have cited the popularity of the memoir genre as a sign of a cultural shift toward narcissism. But this doesn't make sense to me. For every one person who writes a memoir, there are multiple people who read it, right? In the case of Jeannette Walls or Cheryl Strayed, a gazillion people. So even if Jeanette Walls or Cheryl Strayed were narcissists for writing about their lives (and there's just no way they are, or their books would be boring and non-revelatory and people would not love them as they do), then what about all the people who are reading their memoirs? It's hard to imagine cold, non-empathetic, entirely self-absorbed people caring enough to read hundreds of pages about someone else's life. My point is that maybe it's not the "I" that's the problem; maybe the "I", as a mode of expression, in image or writing, or music, for that matter, can be humble or tyrannical, generous or attention-seeking, conservative or revolutionary, and so on.

Vice: Is there a common "tell" you've noticed among people with full blown NPD? From all your research, have you noticed an ability to meet people and see characteristics of NPD emerge sooner than later?

Kristin Dombek: There are many posts suggesting "tells," ways to test people and diagnose right away. I'm more trying to learn how not to do this. Diagnosis can protect you from being exploited. Also, it's fun, sometimes, to talk about with friends. Maybe I'm a spoilsport by worrying over it. But there's a structural similarity with every kind of bigotry, everything that causes the horrors we see in the world--to put people in a category first and then decide how to treat them. I think most professional psychologists would agree we should be more cautious. The APA, this week, published a message to its members not to be tempted to diagnose certain political figures from afar; there's a standard that's been in place since 1972, the Goldwater Rule, that forbids diagnosing people you have not examined yourself.

Vice: Do you believe a symbiotic relationship between empaths and narcissists exists? That the empaths are "consumed" and emptied so that they too eventually become narcissists themselves, like some vampire apocalypse?

Kristin Dombek: That's a story that's told, again and again, online. And it's a compelling one—it must be. The thing is, everyone ends up, at one point or another, thinking that their partner is the narcissist, and they are the empathetic one, right? There are all these moments over the course of an ordinary relationship when your partner (or parent or boss) can look evil, and when you do, to them, too. In the book, I'm trying to tease apart that vulnerable moment when we fear the other's selfishness, and the way our habit of diagnosis overdetermines the moment, encourages us to label things as mental illness when we might be better off sitting in the difficulty without deciding what it is. What happens if we let the psychological language go, and the moral language, without labeling it "selfishness" or "vanity" or, especially, "pathology"? What if, in other words, we're able to let their actions not necessarily be about us? I think there's a lot of sweetness in the moment just after that, sometimes, when we accepted one another's temporary self-absorptions, and them, ours.

Vice: The age-old wisdom that says don't take things too personally.

Kristin Dombek: That's the joke that fearing narcissism always plays on you—when you start calling others assholes, you're giving up on them, and then you're one, too. You're interpreting the actions of others only as they affect you. So while that story about the vampire apocalypse can be true of some relationships, its popularity tells a deeper story about being human, maybe the deepest one. When others look more selfish than we do, that's often the moment when we're most stuck in our own position, mistaking it for the center of the universe.

[kuuderekun]

My Feminist defense of "Cute Girls doing Cute Things" and Yuri Anime

My Feminist defense of "Cute Girls doing Cute Things" and Yuri Anime 

First I'm going to talk just about "Cute Girls doing Cute Things" for awhile.  Then talk about Yuri at the end. I'm not really an expert on the genre, there are a number of important shows I have seen little or none of yet, Aria, Azumanga Dioh, Manibi Straight, Hidemari Sketch, Nichijo and Is The Order a Rabbit.  And the shows Digibro talked about in his How to Distinguish between Cute Girl Shows video.  All shows I intend to get to eventually.  Well Aria seems comparatively boring so maybe not that one. This genre of Anime is in a similar place to Twilight in that I can't sympathize with the Feminist criticism as much as I maybe should, since I know the hatedom is truly driven by Misogyny and Homophobia, yet because Sexists always try to deny their Sexist, they then use the Feminist criticisms as a shield.  The difference being I don't particularly like Twilight myself so have no personal investment in pointing this out for that one. Before most Western Feminists even heard the term "Moeblob".  The outrage against these shows started among 80s/90s Nerds who missed the days when Anime (or at least the Anime that got localized in America) was dominated by hyper masculine shows, from Giant Robots to Shounon fighting shows.  Who are deeply offended by the very idea of men enjoying girly shows, even if they are ones technically marketed to men rather then women.  Who see it as an example of how modern society is trying to emasculate them in their paranoid minds.   Before I became a full Otaku, most of the girly shows I liked were shows that were made for women, and are shows I still like to varying degrees.  From Buffy, to One Tree Hill, to The Vampire Diaries to Pretty Little Liars.  Before those I even recall being into Party of Five and Xena.  And of course one of my earliest exposures to Anime was Sailor Moon.  I've also genuinely enjoyed a number of Lifetime movies.   And all of this was stuff I got crap for on IMDB if it came up on a board where most of the visitors were typical male nerds. And my favorite characters have always been female characters no matter how male oriented a show or movie is.  And not just because I found them attractive.  Even though I'm Cisgender, I have a tendency to relate and identify with female characters far more often then male ones in the fiction I enjoy. And so Padme is my favorite Star Wars character, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain are my favorite Batman characters, Donna Troy and Raven are my favorite non Batman DC characters.  My favorite Narnia character was Susan.  Even when I read Children of Hurin I liked Niniel the best. With Pokemon it was weird at first that I didn't like Misty much, but then I got Lisa in the 3rd Movie, Domino in Mewtwo Returns, and in time May and Dawn, and Leaf in the games (I also like the Lass trainers). I want to write a show that would be essentially the Western Live Action counterpart to Lucky Star.  And the thing is I wanted to write that before I knew Lucky Star existed.  Back around 2010-11, I started working in my head on a show that ostensibly had a Sci-Fi/Fantasy premise, but most of the scenes I cared about were just my characters, which were mostly 4 teenage girls, talking with each other about random and often nerdy stuff.  So when in mid 2016 I discovered Lucky Star, and discovered there was an audience for doing that without the Genre pretense, I felt really liberated. Digibro likes to compare the appeal of shows like Lucky Star to the appeal of Let's Plays, or at least Let's Plays with more then one person involved.  And indeed the above show I planned even included a few scenes of them talking while the others were watching one play a Video Game, even though I hadn't really heard of Let's Plays yet. The first show I watched that could be considered a Cute Girls doing Cute Things show, isn't one strictly since it did have one prominent male character love interest, that was Engaged to the Unintended. Later in early 2016 I watched Yuru Yuri, that show really helped me through some stuff.  Then later in the Summer of that year when I watched for the first time Lucky Star, I knew this was a genre I wanted more of.  Lucky Star remains the best in this genre to me. Next in line was K-On, it is also really great but a bit too plot/story driven for my tastes.   The thing about K-On is it's only in the west Feminists (or anyone) complains about it, in Japan in-spite of being ostensibly marketed more to men, it was written and directed by Women and has a strong female fan-base. These shows generally do not have what I complained about in my Anime Fanservice post.  Occasionally one will have a little early on while hooking viewers and then completely drop it. I'm not the only male who's enjoyment of this genre overlaps with an ability to enjoy Girly Shows actually made for Girls.  I don't think it's a coincidence that the biggest advocate of K-On on YouTube was also once the original Brony, or at least the leading one on YouTube.  A number of Digibro's videos about K-On and Lucky Star are in my Kyoto Animation playlist. Digibro made a chart called A Guide to "Cute Girls doing Cute Things".  And then a YouTube video explaining it. A lot of the sub-genres in that chart fail to carry over all of the original appeal, in fact some unfortunately do become Fan Service heavy.  The first three categories are really the purest examples of the Genre.  Digibro also did a Podcast on his history with the Genre. Some of you might be annoyed how often I'm mentioning Digibro.  Well in a lot of ways he's smarter at explaining things then I am.  Yet still I think there is a slight difference between what I look for in the genre and what he does, so I do need to say more then just "Watch Digibro's videos". The reason I have come lately to mostly like these shows more then actual Shoujo Anime, is that unfortunately Shoujo Anime continues to be made under an assumption that a Het Romance is necessary for girls to care about it.  I mostly find Het romantic fiction boring, and believe it or not so do a lot of women. What I'm getting at is, these shows appeal to men who in some ways don't fit society's normal standard of masculinity.  So while these shows may still have problems, and some of the men they appeal to may still be sexist in some ways.  I think it helps far more then hurts that we have these shows. I mentioned in a comments section once how these shows all pass the Bechdel test rather easily.  And then got responses that I was somehow missing the point of the Bechdel test.  I'm well aware that what the Bechdel test points out is only a symptom not the problem.  The way to pass that test without actually treating the real problem would be a story with like 30 characters but only two are female, and there is no reason to expect or be interested in those two characters talking to each other besides being the only representatives their Gender has, yet they are given a single scene together and it feels forced.  I don't know if such a hypothetical scenario has happened yet, but it's something I suspect will inevitably happen. Shows that pass the Bechdel test not because of a single scene but because the show is entirely about women who's lives don't revolve round men, are worth celebrating even if they have other problematic issues. So that we have an entire genre doing that on a regular basis, in-spite of being technically marketed to men, getting almost no credit for it from Western Feminists bugs me. There is no point in individually criticizing a movie that isn't an ensemble and has a single male lead for not passing the Bechdel test.   The problem is films fitting that description have for decades been most of what Hollywood cares about producing.  Yet TheMarySue felt the need to do a whole article on Spiderman Homecoming not passing the Bechdel test, I still haven't seen that movie, there may be valid reasons to criticize it, but there is no reason to go in hoping it'll pass the Bechdel test. In the past I've gotten criticized for expressing the above with the statement, "just cause a film has a male lead doesn't mean it can't pass the Bechdel test".   Yes it's hypothetically possible, but there is no good reason to expect it.  And as someone who wants more female lead films, I don't want them to have scenes where the male supporting characters get together to have a conversion that has nothing to do with the lead character I'm watching the movie for.  Still at the same time I enjoy many scenes that others criticize for being useless to the plot, but those are usually scenes with female characters.  So I may not be the one criticizing a male lead movie for passing the Bechdel Test when it had no good reason to, but the criticism would certainly exist. I think the existence of films with Female Leads that still fail to pass it are far more worth criticizing.  Like The Force Awakens and Rogue One, and I currently suspect The Last Jedi will continue this with Rei spending at least half the film on an island with Luke.  The Wonder Woman film passes it only because of the scenes on Themiscyra, but at least it has a good reason to have Diana mostly interacting with men for the rest of the film.  The new Star Wars films are giving their female leads mostly male support because they seem to think that's just natural. In Anime this issue rarely happens, when Anime gives us a Superheroine, it also give her a lot of female support.  And if it's related to the Cute Girls doing Cute Things genre, it may well have no male characters at all. I'm well aware that this genre is kind of driven by a non-sexual objectification, sometimes treating Cute Girls like Cute Animals.  And that is the main Feminist criticize I sympathize with.  But that's relatively harmless compared to most ways a show can be sexist. The assumption that most of these characters are simply one dimensional doesn't hold up, at least not for the shows well known enough that they're the ones articles criticizing this genre default to singling out.  LadyGeekGirl has an article specifically singling out K-On as being a "Moeblob" show with no character depth, even though K-On has so much character development that they seem unrecognizable watching the pilot and finale back to back.  The development is just done subtly, rather then topping off every episode with a "what did we learn today" speech.  Fortunately AnimeFeminist has a good article praising K-On. Yuri is ultimately a separate Genre though with overlapping appeal.  And all Slice of Life Cute Girls shows have Yuri shipping in their fandoms.  Main reason I want to separate it from everything I said above is that Yuri shows are more likely to include to Fan Service.  But I'm not making a separate post because the Toxic Masculinity issue is relevant to what I have to say on both. A warning before reading on, I will talk about some sexual content below. Lots has been written online about why Yaoi and Slash Fiction would appeal to women besides the most superficial carnal appeal.  Lots of different appeals get discussed.  But with men the default is to just assume they only care about watching Girl on Girl sex, and most Western Lesbian Porn is indeed only cares about appealing that carnal desire. Digibro again has a Podcast on his personal history with the genre.  But later I'll get to the more insightful thing he said somewhere else. A lot of the criticism of Yuri is the Purity fixation.  And I agree that that is a problem, but for not exactly the same reason.  If your going off only the most mainstream Yuri Anime, it's easy to think the Purity fixation is why actual Sex rarely happens.  However there are Yuri Doujins like A Pure Heart (A Nao x Reika from Smile Pretty Cure Doujin) that are about rejecting the idea that Sex takes away Purity. Now you can say the reason that happens in the Yuri Genre is because of the whole problematic "Lesbian Sex isn't real Sex because there is no Penetration" idea.  However the reason Lesbain sex has been thought of that way, is intimately related to how society often thinks of Male sexuality as inherently violent.  Digibro said in the PCP podcast on Porn that he used to be inherently turned off by Penises in porn because he thought of them as inherently violent, but that changed once he actually had sex for the first time.  When he said that I felt relieved, since I now knew it wasn't just me. Just look at how many slang terms for sex, that were originally specifically about intercourse, are also inherently violent terms, Screw, Nail, Bang, the F word, ect.  Toxic Masculinity encourages us to be proud of that association, but for me it's inherently uncomfortable, and it seems like the only Erotica that's at least sometimes free of any violent subtext is Femslash Fan Fiction and Yuri.  And when violence does enter Lesbian Erotica it's always because of the need to have one of the women "play the man". And this also reminds me of why I really feel that Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of the best nuanced works of Feminist fiction.  What a lot of people miss looking at it on the surface level is that it criticizes it's own Protagonist when her Princely ideal leads her to Toxic Masculine behavior.  Sadly this is also the main area where the movie sort of falters. I shouldn't need to remove my own gender from the scenario for Sex to be non violent.  But the Patriarchy doesn't make it easy.   Interestingly, the one piece of Het Erotica I'm aware of that doesn't have this issue is The Song of Songs that is Solomon's. So yes, these two genres aren't perfect, and I'd like to see them improved.  But "Cute Girls doing Cute Things" being rejected out of hand by many Feminists annoys me.

[mandibierly]

31 Genre Show Producers on the Heart of Their Series

Over the last month, executive producers of more than 30 current genre shows have taken part in Yahoo TV’s “Why Genre Shows Matter” survey, either via email or by phone. We’ve learned which genre show was the first to resonate with them, which genre show they believe deserved more Emmy love, which current genre show they think is tackling an issue well, and, if they were a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, what moment, episode, or arc best explains why in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary.

Our final question to them: What is the issue you’re proudest of tackling, or most invested in, on your own show? Read on for their answers.

Related: Yahoo TV’s Complete “Why Genre Shows Matter” Coverage

Brian Minchin (BBC America’s ‘Doctor Who’)

The Doctor sees horrors in the universe and faces them with kindness and understanding. (While reserving the right to blow things up if required). That standpoint goes into everything, and is hugely valuable. I love that children watch a hero do that. (Credit: BBC America)

Source: Yahoo TV

J. Michael Straczynski (Netflix’s ‘Sense 8’)

We designed Sense8 to say that regardless of where we are born, what our ethnic background, gender or sexuality might be, we are more alike than we are different, that what unites us is stronger than what divides us, and that the common coin of our shared humanity trumps the forces that would set us at each others’ throats. At a time when we are being tribalized and factionalized and marginalized as never before, we felt that was an important message to convey, and it’s only become more relevant and vital in the last year or so. (Credit: Netflix)

Source: Yahoo TV

Eric Kripke (NBC’s ‘Timeless’)

I’m really proud of how Timeless shines a light on some of the lesser known stories in history, often involving the heroic contributions of women and minorities. I’m proud of how we’ve established ourselves as a warm, multi-ethnic, inclusive view of history. Because one, it’s the truth, and two, America’s history should be for everyone. (Credit: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC)

Source: Yahoo TV

Albert Kim (Fox’s ‘Sleepy Hollow’)

This season on Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane has gone head-to-head with a villain who believes that America has failed as a social and political experiment and that tyranny is how the country needs to move into the future. Which means Crane has been forced to defend the ideals of the country he helped establish over two centuries ago. It’s a situation that’;s allowed us to explore the question: What makes America America? Through that lens, we’ve looked at the stories of real historical figures like Benjamin Banneker, a Revolutionary War-era African American surveyor and engineer who knew that when Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase, “All men are created equal,” it sadly didn’t apply to everyone. Now, more than ever, seems to be a good time to be bringing up issues like this, even in a fictional context. (Credit: Tina Rowden/Fox)

Source: Yahoo TV

Robert Singer (The CW’s ‘Supernatural’)

I think as the show has matured, we’ve become very conscious of the idea that world is not black and white, and that the shades of gray in this life are not easy to deal with, but it is important to try. Sam and Dean have certainly, over time, found their moral center, and because of this they try very hard not to see the world in just black or white. This season, with The British Men of Letters, who do view the world in black and white, has given our leads moral challenges which for the most part they have been up to handling. When they haven’t been up to the task, the lessons learned from these episodes have been profound. I think the best genre shows try to do this, and while good lessons learned are very valuable, it also makes for better storytelling. (Credit: Dean Buscher/The CW)

Source: Yahoo TV

Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis (ABC’s ‘Once Upon a Time’)

There’s a saying on our show that we keep coming back to: “Evil isn’t born, it’s made.” Once Upon a Time is at its core a show about hope and optimism. We like to believe that the world is filled with good and when evil does rear its head it’s because circumstance conspired to create it. And if circumstance can create evil, then those same circumstances can be defeated, and the best of humanity can win out in the end. (Credit: Jack Rowand/ABC)

Source: Yahoo TV

Cheo Hodari Coker (Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’)

I love the fact that we have two black male characters that you’ve never seen before. You’ve never seen a burly 240-lb. black man that can throw stuff that’s also a bookworm, and you’ve never seen a musician that’s a gangster. And the fact that you have a gangster that is really just a frustrated musician is interesting. And what Simone Missick did with Misty Knight or what Alfre [Woodard] did incredibly with Black Mariah, I mean, it’s just next level… All Blaxploitation is, is the opportunity for an African-American cast or lead actor or actress to do the same things that a white action hero gets to do… The reason that Shaft has a dominant theme song is because James Bond has a dominant theme song… I wanted the show to not be embarrassed by the Blaxploitation roots, but embrace it. Then at the same time, open up the camera, so to speak — widen the aperture — to include other genres. I mean, honestly, what Luke Cage; it’s a hip-hop Western. And you have Luke Cage as the sheriff of Harlem. He’s basically Shane. He’s Shane or he’s any number of reluctant heroes as played by Clint Eastwood. (Credit: Netflix) Read our full conversation with Coker.

Source: Yahoo TV

Joe Henderson (Fox’s ‘Lucifer’)

In the second episode of the show, we established that our lead male character is bisexual, which I think is pretty rare on network TV. We worried the studio and network might push against it, but instead, they championed it. And when I mentioned it to Tom (Ellis, Lucifer himself) he just shrugged. “Well of course he is.” When it aired, the only reaction was positive. I’m proud that what we thought might be pushing boundaries/creating controversy was instead welcomed as normal. Because of course it is. (Credit: Jack Rowand/FOX)

Source: Yahoo TV

Jeff Davis (MTV’s ‘Teen Wolf’)

The idea of inclusion on Teen Wolf has always been something for which we strive. We’ve heard from fans that how being gay is treated so nonchalantly in the world of Teen Wolf has been something they’ve loved most about the show. (Credit: MTV)

Source: Yahoo TV

Ken Woodruff (Fox’s ‘Gotham’)

The story I’m proudest of is from this season (Season 3). We were able to take a popular character from the canon of DC Comics, Penguin, and tell a personal, real, heartbreaking love story between him and another male character, Edward Nygma. (Credit: Jeff Neumann/FOX)

Source: Yahoo TV

Melissa Rosenberg (Netflix’s ‘Jessica Jones’)

In the comic books, Jessica wasn’t actually raped — she was an imprisoned voyeur to it, and we just wanted to make it a more personal experience and more realistic. We really were just telling the story of this character and never said, “Okay, we’re going to tackle the issue of rape or domestic violence or any issue like that.” We’re just going to tell her story and be responsible about it and be honest with the character. And so when it aired, there were initially all these think pieces on how it addressed rape and domestic violence. And then we were like, “Yes, that’s exactly what we intended to do!” Obviously we were dealing with an issue, but we never approached it that way. The minute you step on a soapbox is the minute people stop listening to you. (Credit: Netflix) Read our full conversation with Rosenberg and The Magicians showrunner Sera Gamble.

Source: Yahoo TV

Sera Gamble (Syfy’s ‘The Magicians’)

We felt that sexual assault was really the core of the Magicians story. The reveal that the Big Bad [The Beast] evolved into a monster as a defense mechanism to protect himself because he was being sexually abused as a young boy struck my partner, John McNamara, and me as a really amazing use of fantasy, and it felt psychologically real. It was non-negotiable for us. We really wanted to tell that story. It kind of became the guiding mechanism for the whole show; just the idea that fantasy is used to explore darkness and the human psyche and the various evils that we do to one another and to human beings. When we got to [where] Julia is assaulted by a trickster god, it’s a very graphic rape scene. What was important to us was to be honest and unflinching about it. We didn’t want to find any trapdoors that we could go through that made it less personal for the audience. So for example, we could have made the creature that assaulted her look less human and we chose not to. We wanted him to feel as human and present in the room as possible. Most important for us, when we filmed that scene, was to stay in Julia’s point of view, to make sure we were telling her story, and that she never became the object of the story. She was always the subject of the story. (Photo by: Carole Segal/Syfy) Read our full conversation with Gamble and Jessica Jones showrunner Melisssa Rosenberg.

Source: Yahoo TV

Bruce Miller (Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’)

I’m proudest of the way the show deals with institutionalized sexism and misogyny. The show takes place in an alternative present where women are commodified and strictly oppressed under threat of violence. In a world like this it’s easy to get lost in categories, i.e. victims, collaborators, oppressors, but I’m proud of how our show tries to humanize everyone in Atwood’s Gilead. (Credit: Take Five/Hulu)

Source: Yahoo TV

Michelle Lovretta (Syfy’s ‘Killjoys’)

Consent and agency are important themes in most of my work, and are also just a natural fit when dealing with science fiction, especially as a woman. In Killjoys, a lot of our long arcs are about systems trampling on the rights of individuals… and then we sit back, crack a beer, and have fun watching how our smartass underdogs win out. (Credit: Ian Watson/Syfy/Killjoys II Productions Limited)

Source: Yahoo TV

Ronald D. Moore (Starz’s ‘Outlander’)

I’m proud of the way we depict our heroine as a smart, strong woman who is able to adapt to living in the past without losing her sense of self. She’s not a damsel in distress and she’s often the one to come to the rescue of the man she loves. (Credit: Starz)

Source: Yahoo TV

Emily Andras (Syfy’s ‘Wynonna Earp’)

I’m very proud of the female representation on Wynonna Earp — has there ever been a western with more women running around firing guns and kicking ass? — and I like to think we handled the LGBT storyline delicately with grace and good spirit. (Credit: Michelle Faye/Syfy/Wynonna Earp Productions)

Source: Yahoo TV

Marco Ramirez (Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’)

From the beginning, Daredevil has been concerned with characters who uncover truth, whether through vigilante activity or journalistic integrity. The Ben Urich story, which then became Karen Page’s story, is something that seems to take on a new and different meaning every year. Season 1, it was about taking down Wilson Fisk. Season 2, it became about uncovering the truth behind the murder of Frank Castle’s family. Maybe it’s The X-Files still in my DNA, but “the truth is out there” is a hell of a dramatic motor in TV. (Credit: Barry Wetcher)

Source: Yahoo TV

Terry Matalas (’12 Monkeys’)

12 Monkeys is pretty morally gray, through and through — which gives us great latitude to explore things like blind faith in any kind of doctrine.  We delve into how one can be driven to do terrible things: Fear. Love. Faith. (Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy)

Source: Yahoo TV

Mark Fergus (Syfy’s ‘The Expanse’)

You’ve got these middle-aged guys who have lived badly, or if they had convictions they lost them, they tripped and fell in life and they’re trying to find a way back to the light… That’s the story we gravitate to because I feel like we have something to say about that. It’s Children of Men, it’s Tony Stark, it’s Rick from Casablanca, it’s The Verdict. [In Season 2’s “Home”] Miller felt like his whole life had been the fabric leading him up to this moment, so the fact that he was a f–kup his whole life actually helped him in the moment where he needed to redeem himself. That final scene with Julie, that was the reason we wanted to make this show. That was the whole heart of it. It’s not only the heart of the book, I think it’s the heart of the whole show. (Credit: Syfy) Read our full conversation with Fergus.

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Bryan Fuller and Michael Green (Starz’s ‘American Gods’)

Fuller: We’re very proud of the coming-to-America stories. We told them because we were very moved by them as reminders of how we all got here. And when we made them, we thought everyone would be moved by them too and were very surprised to find out by the time it airs — especially after November — those immigration stories have become far more political than we would have ever expected. If people are moved by them, so much the better. If people are challenged by them, that’s there too, and not a bad thing at all. (Credit: Starz) Read our full conversation with Fuller and Green.

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Ryan Condal and Carlton Cuse (USA’s ‘Colony’)

Condal: We’re proudest of the human drama in Colony. The genre, the science-fiction, is just a backdrop that applies the correct pressures (i.e., an alien occupation of Los Angeles) to explore the themes in which we are most interested. This season, there are two particular issues that are addressed that really interested us. In episode 2.04 (“Panopticon”), we dramatize the very real and growing technological surveillance state as it applies to the world of Colony and, in particular, the Bowman family. What happens to a society when it lives in constant fear of being watched? Can anyone trust anyone? The answers are dark and approaching the nihilistic, which is why we were so drawn to it. The other issue is the true nature of resistance. When we think of the word “resistance,” in a science-fiction context, it tends to conjure images of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars and Sarah Connor in The Terminator. But real resistance is ugly. It’s politically motivated, it’s brutally violent, it is uncompromising, and it is often utterly futile. This is a big theme this season, particularly in the second half, and I think the audience will be surprised about what Colony has to say about the issue. (Credit: Isabella Vosmikova/USA Network)

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David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf (NBC’s ‘Grimm’)

Greenwalt: Grimm attempts to offer an explanation for monstrous behavior and the inexplicable nature of evil. Kouf: The environmental issue in episode 9 of this season, as the environment is an issue that’s important to me, and the senility issue in episode 10 of this season, as it is an issue we all have to deal with. (Credit: Allyson Riggs/NBC)

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David Eick (Freeform’s ‘Beyond’)

Beyond is interested in how a nuclear family holds together despite extraordinary events, and how growing up and becoming an adult is sort of like learning to be a superhero. (Credit: Katie Yu/Freeform)

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Julie Plec (The CW’s ‘The Originals’)

It’s all about family, for better or for worse, through the good and the bad. It’s about the bonds of blood. And as children of dysfunction and abuse and tyranny, it’s about how these kids grew up to be both the worst parts of that and the best parts of themselves in spite of it all. (Credit: Annette Brown/The CW)

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Damon Lindelof (HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’)

I feel most proud of the way our show addresses grief… how surprising and upsetting and nonsensical coping mechanisms can be, whether that mechanism is joining a cult or hiring prostitutes to shoot you in the chest. There is no more profoundly complex human emotion than the one associated with losing someone you love and The Leftovers is a constant examination of that idea. (Credit: HBO)

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Julie Plec (The CW’s ‘The Vampire Diaries’)

I think that we said a lot that this is a show about love and loss. And those are two extremely universal things that everybody on this planet goes through at one point in their lives. They, with luck, fall deeply in love at least once. Unfortunately, over the course of a lifetime, they experience loss more times than anyone could hope. It’s very difficult for people to express themselves emotionally to deal with those emotions. In the phases of managing and moving on from grief, it’s a very complicated journey. A show that tackles issues of loss and grief, like what we do, is just another tool out there in the universe to let you sit and have a good cry, or to see something about your own experience in this fiction. (Photo: Bob Mahoney/The CW) Read our full conversation with Plec.

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Nick Antosca (Syfy’s ‘Channel Zero’)

Loss and the experience of coping with it, in Channel Zero: Candle Cove. We’re a horror show, and loss is the most universal real world horror. (Credit: Allen Fraser/Syfy)

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Dana Gould (IFC’s ‘Stan Against Evil’)

Stan Against Evil is largely about moving on after loss. We start Season 1 at the funeral of our lead character’s wife, and by the end of the season, he has only started to come to terms with it. I went through a divorce a couple years ago, and didn’t realize until midway through filming that I had been writing about myself. (Credit: Kim Simms/IFC)

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Dan Harmon (Adult Swim’s ‘Rick and Morty’)

I am proud that our show addresses what I consider the root of all our issues: it’s better to have felt an unfeeling universe than never to have felt at all. (Credit: Cartoon Network)

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Drew Goddard (NBC’s ‘The Good Place’)

I believe The Good Place is the first show to explore sexual relations between an anthropomorphized afterlife information delivery system and a gentleman from Jacksonville, but it’s possible St. Elsewhere got there first. (Credit: Vivian Zink/NBC)

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David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’)

We spend a lot of time pondering the complexities of incestuous relations. Talk about a sticky situation! (Credit: HBO)

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