#but i think there's nuance to it and i keep seeing people “fixing” bad comic art but they just make it

[argentoau]

ok idk how to word this properly, but sometimes it's not "bad" comic art, sometimes it's just an artstyle you're allowed to dislike

[bugeyedfreaks]

Hi, hello! I have something to say.

For the fandom and the rowdyruff boys. I went through your page and found myself agreeing hardcore with a lot of your opinions about the fandom and ppgxrrb.

First of all, I have absolutely no idea of who came up with Butch growing up to be a massive pervert. Going off the show, wouldn't technically all three of the boys be massive perverts? They are all misogynistic slime balls who see girls as inferior.

Some things I think the fandom gets right; the boys are pretty. at least cute. For two reasons, 1; they are splitting images of the girls, so if the boys are ugly then so are the girls. 2, canonically, Bubbles has admitted that she finds Boomer "cute." Also despite the ass kicking handed to the girls in the first appearance of the rrb, Blossom and Bubbles fawn at the prospect of having kissed a boy.

Then again they kissed Harry.

Also, I think a good argument is kid rrb IS cute, but they get that sort of golden child treatment where all 3 of them just eventually end up burning out. They don't care to keep up with themselves and with how gross and mysoginistic they are, they become very unattractive very quickly. They rot, basically. Also if they were discord mods, they'd have kittens they brag their rrb title too.

I will also argue that there is nuance in the boys. Boomer atleast, which is funny because he is the least popular rrb. There are many instances where he is depicted as "naive", "child like" and even "gentle." Like yeah, he was the guy who wrote "Flowers are pretty... dumb" but when he was revived from Him, he was waving at butterflies and being taken advantage of by his brothers. If you wanna go deeper, in the comic the boys actually team up with the girls in one instance.

Still, I see the rowdyruff boys in the same vein as the gang green gang. It's like trying to defend Billy because he has that one episode where he saves the girls after setting them up, but it's like people forget that the girls still had to pummel him because... in the grand scheme of things, the guy is a shitty person! The rrb suffer from major pretty privellege and being the hetero counterparts of the girls, age included. Forget all the other side characters like Elmer, Mitch, Robin even mike! No the gorls grow up to want the boys because, 'they can change them!' Oh my gosh Bubbles suffers drastically from this.

And "the reds" are so toxic it's sad. It's like every fic with them is angsty and incredibly shallow. I never get why Blossom spends so much time running back to Brick. Oh yeah! It's because he's so big and hot now, with fiery red hair and a masculine jaw line, and is cunning and calculative and he suffers from severe mommy issues. He needs a woman like Blossom to show him how much of a prick he is! To put him in his place and tell other women off who have interest in him, because how could a woman lower her standards so much for a punk, Blossom would never (#FEMINISM). Then arranging "private visits" with him so they can make out and talk about how arrogant they both are because "ooh. We're so bad for each other but it feels soooo good. So deep. so bad."

I love how the fandom pretends Blossom is above it all, but still some how succumbs to him. "She can fix him guys! No really! We just have to make Blossom into an absolute self-contradicting prude and have Brick loosen up because... convenience!"

And people seriously bend the hell out of Butch to get him to work with Buttercup, more than 90% of the fics basically make him into a Mitch stand in with powers but this one is hotter2.0. bUTCH LITERALLY HAS NO CHARACTER AND HONESTLY, Buttercup has been repulsed by him many times. She'd yeet that guy so fast, and yet, somehow, the greens are the most popular couple I CAN NOOOOOOOOOT. Like how... really. Why does Butch get so much fanon development? The fandom tries so hard to make him into this character he simply is not! Like even going to the city of clipsville episode, the most salacious thing the fucker has done is "looked at a magazine and whistled!" But like how come Buttercup is so smitten by this that she never, once, snaps out of her "attraction" to the guy? Was this not the same issue Buttercup suffered from ACE.

Wouldn't the idea of being taken advantage of by a villain, turn Buttercup off!?

I just can not imagine Buttercup tolerating Butch- unless he is super hot now and she's internally attracted to him, because nobody gets her like this deprived fuck boy who is misunderstood, and actually a romantic guy who cares about her under it all and blood thirsty- excpet when Buttercup is around, because Buttercup can fix him and "he knows not to mess with her!"

It was so funny seeing the push back for the cw's take, when literally reading that script reminded me of all the fanfics I have had to dig through for YEARS now. I was just thinking "but isn't this what you guys WANT?" And some people were even fretting that it'd attract unwanted parts of society to the fandom. Um. I don't know if the ppg fandom is aware of this, but the fandom is already FLOODED with unwated fans, from fetish artists, to those Pintresest face claim boards that remind me of RIVERDALE, the games have already started!

That one slip of a comic, that was supposed to be a joke, of the boys handing the girls flowers and asking to be their boyfriends is way too meta.

Oh, wow, I didn’t know a lot about how some of the pairings are portrayed (obviously, since I don’t really explore that side of the fandom often) but… well, some of that certainly gave me psychic damage, especially the Blossom stuff. 🤢 I can’t even begin to express the pain I felt from reading all of that but this is the closest I can attempt to describe it with:

I agree that all of the boys would be huge pervs, but I think Butch at least being the perviest would track. If, being Buttercup’s counterpart, he also expresses extremes in his primal emotions, that would just be another primal emotion he’d express to the extreme. Just in super gross ways no girl would ever find appealing.

As for Billy, I will sort of defend him because, out of the entire gang, he has a peanut brain (affectionate), and I think, without the influence of the other guys, he would be a good boy. He still definitely needed to get punished for what he did to the girls though. 🤣 But yeah, I think the main difference between the GGG and the RRB is that, if separated, the GGG could… potentially… be good, and have been shown to have varied nuance, whereas the RRB are Pure Evil and Like That no matter what, and there’s like 100% less nuance to them.

But you’re so right about the CW thing, it really did feel a bit like the kind of stuff people have been writing for years. Also, yeah, wow, despite PPG fandom being rather fractured, it has unfortunately already suffered from a lot of, to put it politely, unpleasantness. If “unwanted” fans flooded in… well, what else is new? 😮‍💨

…man, there was a lot here, and I appreciate it all, and agree with a lot of it. Thank you for the ask! 💖

[robotnik-mun]

I've been thinking more on Ken's Echidna Lore as of late, and I really think that the Knuckles comic might have worked better if Echidnaopolis wasn't as technologically advanced.

I say this for a few reasons. For one I think that Echidnaopolis being not some utopian future world would allow for two things- It gives the Dark Legion more of a motive and it also makes them more of a threat. Think about it. Knuckles finding a whole society of Echidnas who have been sealed away and are now suddenly in the middle of whats now a battleground adds tention and stakes to the plot. Knuckles (and by extention the Chaotix) now have to protect these people from an emposing threat with lots of numbers and weapons.

Which also fixes another issue I took with those stories in how the Dark Legion doesn't really have a motive besides "bad guys". Echidnaopolis already is technologically advanced. If they weren't the DL would actually have an apparent cause.

To conclude with these changes the comic would maybe be less "melodramtic drama with contradicting themes/messages". Have it be about a rag-tag group having to protect a civilization once thought to be lost.

(And thats not getting into characters and how Another easy fix would be to make the Brotherhood be a morally grey third party manipulating things from the shadows, but this is already long enough as it is. )

If you have read this far through my incoherrant ramblings, godspeed.

Yeah, pretty much. It's been observed multiple times that the Guardian-Legion conflict, as presented, comes off as a load of nonsense given that Echidnapolis is a modern city with high technology and all that jazz and as such you'd think the Legion wouldn't really have any reason to keep invading beyond spite at this point. The closet we ever get to the absurdity of it all comes from the observation that Echidnapolis' ruling council decides what pieces of technology can be re-introduced, and the multiple times its been brought up that the Guardians use Forbidden Technologies themselves.

Of course, nothing really comes of any of that, and Penders' emphasis on the idea of this being a war of philosophies just highlights how absurd it all is the longer it goes on. Not because that's the POINT, but because of how sloppy the writing and worldbuilding is. He'd have been better off just leaving it at "They were pissed off at being forced to live in the Twilight Zone and want Revenge."

You're correct that Echidapolis being a less high tech place might've given more incentive to see Knuckles and friends protecting it from harm in a more active way. That said, one approach I've seen with regards to the Legion thing is that it's not Pro-Tech vs Anti-Tech, but more like "Pro-Limitiation vs No-Limitations". Echidnapolis, thanks to the Enerjak incident, now has a very conservative mindset regarding technological progress and how it impacts the Echidna people. The LEgion by contrast would see things as "Progress No Matter What Damn The Consequences"... for them its not a matter of asking "SHOULD we replace our bodies with non-medically neccessary cybernetics" and more a question of "How MUCH of my body can I replace and how soon?", and them basically deciding they're going to force everyone to see how correct they are regardless of what people actually feel about the matter.

Of course, all of that would rely on a degree of insight and nuance that Penders couldn't manage if his life depended on it. Whatever merits his ideas have, they're always going to be hampered by Penders himself.

[dereksmcgrath]

I had said before that the number 108 can be unlucky. It wasn’t unlucky at all for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. But 108 is kind of unlucky for this episode: not only are we focusing on the Villains, but we just aren’t giving their story the structure and emotional weight it deserves.

(I either opened with those remarks or just made a bunch of corny jokes about how “Meta Liberation Army” can be abbreviated as MLA--and I’m saving those jokes for a future review.)

“My Villain Academia,” My Hero Academia Episode 108 (Season 5, Episode 20)

An adaptation of Chapters 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Spoilers up to My Hero Academia Chapter 325.

When I teach literature, I refer to the plot as a problem: it is something that the protagonist is trying to solve. This problem can take various forms, but it is often as an antagonist that the protagonist confronts. When this episode has the Doctor refer to a “villain” as someone “who turns nonsense into action,” that’s kind of the point: the villain is here to get the plot rolling. Without them, you don’t have a hero, you don’t have a story.

It has been long accepted by a lot of fans and scholars that superheroes tend to uphold the status quo. I think the first time I gained awareness of this popular argument--although likely not the first time I encountered it--was Dr. Horrible’s mangled remark that “the status is not quo.” More recently, however, I have been reading academic books on superheroes, and not only does that argument persist--that superheroes represent law, order, and upholding traditional norms even in the face of new evidence or out of sheer obliviousness to the need for systemic change--but the argument has become that, if a superhero story does not have the heroes doing something to effect systemic change, then it’s not a good story. I may be misunderstanding that argument, but if I don’t, then it’s not an argument I can stand behind.

The argument is that superhero stories tend to reduce complex issues to having avatars for each side of the issue--the good guy and the bad guy--get into a fight, where we are focused on the spectacle rather than on seeing actual people engaging in the actual work needed to address problems not on the individual level--again, one good guy physically fighting one bad guy--but on a larger scope.

I am oversimplifying this argument, as even those same scholars will point out that, initially, of course there were superhero stories that had the protagonist taking the fight against the system. Superman is one of the ones named most frequently, whether in his initial comic book premiere doing what police and media would not to face down a corrupt senator (a sign of things to come in his later fights with Luthor and in Justice League Unlimited) or fighting the Klan (in the meta sense, fighting their analogue on the radio show and, more recently, literally in the comics). It kind of makes Superman look like one influence on the Peerless Thief in My Hero Academia, but we’ll get to him far later in these episodic reviews.

Even with that exception of Superman, it’s not hard for me to agree with the argument that heroes prop up the status quo. That has been the plot point for My Hero Academia and why this war against the villains has been incoming: a system that depended on just All Might, now depending on a wife-beating abusive father like Endeavor with his crimes not popularly known, has a level of corruption that cannot stand up with just one man’s shining example of honest goodness and integrity to be the Symbol of Peace. It was why I appreciated the manga eventually showing that, yes, there was an entire network of assassins within the Hero Public Safety Commission to keep All Might’s hands clean--and, in retrospect, while Lady Nagant was our first named example, given what Hawks ends up doing to Twice, deadly force may be frowned upon by law in MHA but has to have been something Hawks was told he had legal authority to do. (Also, as I will never stop pointing out, Endeavor unintentionally and unknowingly killed another Pro Hero in Vigilantes, and we’re just supposed to pretend that was fine.)

But going back to this academic argument, about how superhero stories tend to stick to one-on-one battles and don’t let the heroes effect systematic change, I’m ambivalent. There have been a range of superhero or superhero-adjacent stories that have the protagonist making on-page, on-screen, obvious work to not just get into fisticuffs with the bad guy. I already pointed out Superman’s first appearance and his fight against the Klan. I can also identify other examples, some hamfisted like Captain Planet, others more nuanced like Korra reaching out to Kuvira in The Legend of Korra. While the scholarship I read bristles at the idea of reducing these fights to just avatars for good and evil, I shrug and say that kind of comes with the territory of a superhero story. I hate justifying tropes: it’s like saying “this fanservice is acceptable because that’s part of the genre”--which leads to its own set of problems, especially when I hear fools defending sexualized fanservice that is just not needed for the story and is abusive by gender and representation. Heck, The Brave and the Bold animated series had Equinox and Batman battle as giants representing the avatars of chaos and order--which is confusing enough, with Equinox having a vaguely yin-yang motif that debunks any clean separation between chaos and order. And yet, here I am, arguing that this kind of fanservice of a hero and a villain beating each other up is to be expected: you have a debate about ideals of what a hero should do when you see Iron Man and Captain America each representing a side in a fight, whether the poorly handled comic book Civil War or the better film version, and even then, that film also lets the individual personalities get in the way of saying anything meaningful about government oversight and individual agency, ideas better handled in that other Captain America film, The Winter Soldier, and even then that film also gets stuck in just being about Steve and Bucky’s relationship.

All of this is me saying that, when you add a superhero to the fight, you’re going to feel disappointed that almost nothing systematically changes in its setting, not only because, as I’m hinting, these are stories about individuals fighting each other and not stories about the individual against society or nature, but also because a superhero can only change so much of their world for the better before that world no longer looks like our own or a new societal problem has to emerge to create the problem that is the plot itself for wherever the story goes next. Once a hero makes the setting into a utopia, either a new problem emerges to show the fiction of that story and that a dystopia is always married to a utopia, or the utopia is revealed to be hollow (Shigaraki’s word of the day) and fake. My Hero Academia already showed the utopia of a world where people get to live with their Quirks is fake, not only by (largely necessary) regulation of those Quirks but also, as we’ll see more with Spinner, Compress, Toga, Gigantomachia, and others, looking different, or being socially aware, or having disabilities, or being the “wrong” size, excluded you from that society.

What I’m trying to say is that, once you add superheroes into a story to fix the problem, you can’t show what systematic change looks like. How do you write a story where it makes sense that no hero came to save Tenko Shimura from becoming Tomura Shigaraki? What’s a story like My Hero Academia supposed to do to show the problems with a society, if you have superheroes who can fix those problems by beating up the bad guys?

Solution: You have the bad guys beat each other up.

In this corner, the League of Villains, people who were made outcasts because they did not fit in--which reveals the flaws of a society that is not accepting people who may not be able to change their past or their bodily conditions.

And in this corner, the Meta Liberation Army--which reveals how society breeds people in business, media, and politics who abuse laws and societal norms to elevate themselves and create a social Darwinist nightmare.

Granted, these are some foolish schmucks for starting up this fight in public, but I’ll address how the MLA just doesn’t work in a later episode review.

But for now, let the fight begin. No matter who wins, at least we see how society at large allowed these Villains to emerge--and we can either see All For One’s dictatorial forces get wrecked, or see Re-Destro’s fascistic oafs get wrecked.

Unfortunately, no matter who wins, the Pro Heroes are going to lose, too.

I am overly impressed with myself for realizing all of this. And I say “overly” not only because this is arrogant of me but also because I’m pretty sure just about every other person following this series already came to this conclusion: if you want to show actual systematic change, you have to show what the villains are up to, because they are the ones showing the holes in our society that need to be fixed. Either a villain exploits those holes to cause damage to people, or the villain is themselves representative of unfairness in the system and, by breaking the law to save themselves and others, are unfairly maligned as villains.

That being said, I’m not a big fan of the “[Insert villain’s name here] was right” arguments. Yes, Magneto is justified in his goals and ethics, and the debate is the means he takes to them, so his existence is to show why the X-Men are screwing up and need to be more radical. Yes, Killmonger is right that Wakanda’s isolationism is reckless and allows for travesties to persist, but his choices are largely out of individual desire for vengeance, so he’s an example that T’Challa can follow. Taken too far, though, and you get people who preach anti-establishment notions without having an alternative or are just trying to sound edgy rather than actually pointing to the actual problem: it’s someone who celebrates the Joker without recognizing that, no, you don’t want to be that asshole, or who celebrate villain-turned-hero Vegeta just because he looks cool and without appreciating what steps he took to change and what fall he experienced before he got to the point of being a villain.

In all these cases, if done poorly, you have the same tired trend of a villain existing only so long so that the hero changes for the better. It’s as tiresome as I unfortunately sometimes feel reading post after post celebrating how complex and sympathetic the League of Villains’ members can be when, still, a lot of them are just assholes using empty excuses to defend atrocious behavior (primarily, just All for One) or, for the most part, are people put into desperate situations (Shigaraki, Toga, Spinner, Dabi, Twice) who are doing the best they can (Twice, Spinner) even if their actions are not defensible (Toga) or also out of line (Shigaraki) due to their own refusal to seek the legitimate help they need to work through their issues (Dabi).

It’s hard to read posts online calling the League members sympathetic when we have not had a chance in the anime to know their full story. And as with the slow revelation that this setting is not really as welcoming of people of all shapes and sizes as initially hinted, so too do the villains’ backstories show that they were justified in some actions they took, except for those that led to deaths. Too bad none of that really pops up in a meaningful way in this episode that would rather tease out Shigaraki’s back story, keep dangling the obvious answer to who Dabi really is, and short-sells what should be a meaningful friendship between Twice and Giran but is just dropped as fast as Shigaraki takes off Twice’s mask. Jeez, Shigaraki, that is a dick move to Twice…

But I’m already on Page 4 of this rant, so let’s get to the episode already.

Pulling back the curtain yet again, these reviews tend to follow a pattern. Since I first wrote about the MHA anime, my process would be to first re-read the chapters, then watch the episode in Japanese, then watch the episode in English, so as to retrace my steps in how I first encountered most of these stories, as well as to see any patterns in the production process moving from manga to anime to localization. But with this episode, that practice was made nearly impossible given how prevalent the hostility towards this episode, this arc, and this season have been, especially when a friend shared numerous reactions from other viewers about this episode. Seriously, for all the whining I just did the previous four pages, you could read this person or this person who are much better at explaining why the introduction of Re-Destro to the anime sucks, for more than one reason.

So, I had a different approach: I already had the flaws to this episode shared with me by other viewers, then I listened to the English dub, then I re-read the chapters, then I watched the Japanese dub with English subtitles.

And, boy, am I grateful I took that approach, because this episode is a ton of talking--too much talking. For an anime adaptation that cut so much of Spinner’s Leonardo from Ninja Turtles narration, I’m shocked that they kept the boring parts of his narration and cut the only good parts, including the very opening that had a lot more action and gave us a reason to sympathize with these Villains.

I know I’m a snob regarding animation; I have expressed before how, despite my love for animated works, I tend to appreciate them more for what they do with storytelling rather than the spectacle of the visuals. I really dislike works where the value of the work is in the animation alone: I am here to see a story unfold, and if there is no narrative, no plot, no beginning-middle-and-end, then what I’m encountering is a museum piece, not a work of cinema. (Feel free to bash me for that hot take: I’m still railing against Patty Jenkins’s ridiculous argument from this week.)

And as with most forms of karmic punishment I experience, I pay the price: if I rail long enough about works that are only all about the animation and not the story, then my punishment is an episode where all we get is a lot of story and not much in the way of animation. Yet I can’t even say we got a story here, so much as back story, exposition, needless narration--it’s Blade Runner only bad. As much as I have loved how this anime’s storyboards stick so close to the manga panels, the pan over the League listening to Shigaraki’s vague back story felt like the least interesting way to handle this scene, especially when it excises so much of Spinner coming around from questioning Shigaraki to sympathizing with him. Who would have imagined cutting so much of Spinner’s initial narration and the opening from Chapter 220 would screw up how to adapt Shigaraki’s back story from Chapter 222.

The anime cuts how this arc begins in the manga: Chapter 220 starts with Spinner facing off against an extremist group that hates him for his reptilian appearance--a moment that would have garnered more sympathy from the audience for these Villains than this episode is exhorting. We needed a scene to get behind these villains and agree with them, before we are shocked to hear Shigaraki say what we have long expected, that he just wants to destroy everything and make everyone as miserable as he has felt, to wake us up that, no, you may sympathize with these outcasts (to use Twice’s one-word self-description), but you shouldn’t agree with Shigaraki’s goals. (I know Shigaraki relents somewhat when asked by Toga, but it’s hard to backtrack from “destroy it all” to “destroy it all but not the stuff my friends like.” How on Earth is Shigaraki going to destroy Izuku when Spinner somewhat admires the guy and Toga...well, yeah, best left unsaid.)

While watching this episode, I also was reviewing other topics about anime and manga I’m going to go into more detail about later this month, and one topic of discussion is the assumption that anime and manga, by their visual style and story tropes, especially shojo and shonen, tend to be about big expressions--emotional outpours in words, movements, facial expressions, and actions to more easily communicate what is happening, regardless of context.

I hate to keep repeating “ambivalent” in my reviews (another academic word I need to expunge from my lexicon for a bit), but I’m ambivalent about that argument, that anime and manga, especially shojo and shonen, are better at communicating. If your character is unreadable, that likely has an intentional reason: we don’t get much of a read on the Doctor in this episode, not helped by his mustache and glasses, but we also don’t get a read on what Shigaraki is up to.

This episode only heightens my regard, not just about anime, manga, shojo, or shonen, but in animation and comics at large, that not everything is readable in what a character is planning.

On the one hand, I do agree that visual works tend to make ideas easier to comprehend for some people who can engage with such visual works. As someone who teaches English literature and writing in a United States setting, I use comics in my teaching to cross language and cultural barriers, especially for students for whom English is not their primary language or who are the first in their family raised in the United States. And this teaching approach also helps in reverse: I include manga and anime in my teaching to show how not all details cross language and cultural barriers in a one-to-one correspondence, hence the challenges of translation and localization, and how all of us struggle to make ourselves understood within our own primary language to someone else who is fluent in that language, let alone trying to translate into another language or to present ourselves in a different set of cultural norms.

On the other hand, anime and manga are not a fixed genre. Yes, I agree that the images tend to emphasize big eyes, big expressions, and big motions--but that’s like saying all animation is Looney Tunes, or all animation is Disney, or is Dragon Ball, and so on. Likewise, as I’ve discussed elsewhere, shonen is more than just one type of storytelling, and the same goes for shojo. This arc of My Hero Academia is placing focus, after admittedly far too long, on the Villains as the protagonists--and their behavior pokes holes in the idea that things are obvious, when the Villains are themselves such liars, so crafty, have their own hidden agendas, are keeping secrets from each other. It’s as if their behavior is a commentary on this plot and how BONES is adapting it: the Villains are keeping secrets, so this plot is going to keep its secrets for just who Re-Destro and the Meta Liberation Army are, what their personalities are like, and what Shigaraki and the Doctor have in mind for getting what he wants. We’re even kept in the dark as to Shigaraki’s full back story; we’re in the same position he is, knowing just little bits and able to make assumptions from a handful of visual cues and memories, without fully knowing who the hell Tenko is. Add to that Spinner’s struggles to narrate all of this and to get into Toga’s mind and Shigaraki’s mind, as well as Dabi’s own secrets and agenda with Hawks, and we have a story that blows up the notion that anime and manga are easier for reading a character’s mindset: no, they are not always easier, not when the creators deliberately mislead the audience or keep them in the dark for a surprise.

By keeping so much of the audience in the dark, so that we become aware of how deceitful villains can be, and we are put into Shigaraki’s place of not knowing where he came from. This should be a set of brilliant choices by BONES to adapt this arc in this manner. But the problem is, no, almost none of this gets anywhere close to brilliant. It’s not brilliant--it’s frustrating, because we already know what is going to happen. You can just pull up the manga at low cost with a Viz account and read all of this in the order it was originally presented and get the answers ahead of time. And if you’ve been reading the manga all along, you already know how this arc ends, and you know stuff from the next set of arcs so that you do know already what Shigaraki’s back story is, what Dabi was really up to, who survives, who dies. You even learn more about Compress’s back story--stuff that really should have been hinted at much earlier in the manga, and could have been hinted in this adaptation but as of this episode has not.

Maybe that is why the anime removes Re-Destro murdering his assistant: it’s such an odd moment that it is challenging for me to get a read on Re-Destro, as he alternates in the manga between being very friendly and devoted to his comrades but also violent and heartless.

It may be obvious that I didn’t like much of this episode. I think when I stopped taking this episode seriously was when I heard the voices. Like I said, I tend to start with the Japanese dub first before getting to the English dub. And I have nothing at all against English dubs: I would not be listening to them as much as I have, often first before I ever hear the Japanese, and I would not be a fan of so many English-speaking actors in dubs if I had any animosity to the craft, their work, and the benefit they provide for creating a larger audience for these stories. And nothing against Larry Brantley and Sonny Strait, but some of this casting feels off. I wasn’t able to take this episode seriously as soon as I heard the voice distortion that was used for Re-Destro’s phone call: that took me out of the story. If I had the chance for localization, I would really need Twice or someone to call out how freaking ridiculous that Mickey Mouse voice sounded. You have freaking Sonny Strait here: use the Krillin voice, use the Chibi Ragnarok voice, use the Usopp voice--use something, really go bizarre here, it’s just a voice distortion device! And as I said, nothing against Strait, but when I hear Re-Destro when I read the manga, that’s not the voice I have in mind. For right now, HIroaki Hirata in the Japanese dub is closer to that smoothness I expected for this character. But I have no doubt Strait will do excellent as Re-Destro’s empowered form: think Strait’s role in The Intruder II from Toonami. It’s just that Re-Destro in the English dub is lacking that odd refinement I was expecting.

Granted, it’s the same problem for me when I hear Brantley as Spinner: I am making unfair assumptions that don’t suit the goals of the creators when it comes to this character. It is sadly not as obvious in this episode as it is in the manga: this arc in the manga starts with Horikoshi invoking Laird and Eastman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by having Spinner, who is already a sword-wielding reptilian martial artist, narrating just like how Leonardo narrating at the beginning of the very first issue of TMNT. I wanted a voice for the English dub that is like Leonardo’s, a little higher pitch and more youthful, like what Brian Tochi brought in the live-action Turtles film or what Cam Clarke and Michael Sinterniklaas bring in the animated versions. I think, for the Japanese dub, Ryo Iwasaki’s performance as Spinner is very close to what I expected. But that also may seem too obvious: Spinner may be young, but giving him an older-sounding voice can belie his inexperience, youthfulness, and naivete, similar to how people make assumptions about him by his reptilian appearance. The anime is putting me into my place--I think of Spinner one way other than who he really is, so I’m no better than the people around him who have discriminated against him for his physical appearance.

Just as I have a set of assumptions that unfairly influence how I would cast Spinner, I also think Re-Destro should have sounded more refined and less graveley in the English dub. But my expectations belie that, just the Joker whom he resembles, Re-Destro puts on this cultured facade to hide that he is just another violent gangster thug, someone who would kill his own assistant. I know I cited examples above about how complex Re-Destro is, but it’s hard for me to see him as sympathetic just because he’s crying over something he did out of his own volition: he coldly killed his office assistant Miyashita, his tears and kind words don’t suddenly make this a warm and cuddly death, we don’t get to think of him as our woobie. It only makes it more irritating that BONES so far has cut not only that scene of Re-Destro killing Miyashita but also Re-Destro’s TV commercial: it would clue us in that the reason he has that gravelly voice is because, no matter how much he tries to present himself on TV, he is not that kind of a man.

But since I invoked the Joker comparison to Re-Destro, yeah, I’m disappointed we didn’t get Troy Baker as Re-Destro, as unlikely as I imagine that would be to happen, regardless of Baker’s previous work with Funimation. It does lend a bit more to conspiracy theories on my part, though, given casting director Colleen Clinkenbeard telling Twitter followers to stop expecting Mark Hamill in MHA, it’s never happening--we can’t even get Troy Baker doing his Mark Hamill Joker.

(I’m not being fair to Baker: I’m not saying his Joker is at all bad--it is not, he has been excellent as Joker, especially playing him and Batman in the Ninja Turtles crossover film, but it is obvious Baker is performing the kind of Joker that came out of Hamill, so I’m trying to say he’s doing the “Hamill Joker,” rather than the “Nicholson Joker,” the “Ledger Joker,” or the “Caesar Romero Joker”).

It’s also a challenge to sympathize with these characters when we aren’t getting what this arc should give them: a re-introduction. I hate approaching this episode in a post-James Gunn The Suicide Squad world, but seeing how much MHA owes to not The Suicide Squad of the comics but that motif in so many superhero comics, there is that missed opportunity to reacquaint the audience with who are the members of the League of Villains. So, where the hell is my freeze-frame re-introduction to each League member? There was that fan theory a long time ago that Giran was really Present Mic in disguise: imagine doing Present Mic’s introduction of characters by name, Quirk, and pithy comment, only it’s Giran in the announcer seat this time.

(Don’t even get me started on how annoying it is to have Izuku handling the post-credit preview: give that to Spinner.)

Again, maybe it is brilliant for BONES not to include some re-introduction scenes, whether narrated by Giran or happening naturally in conversation between these characters. These Villains barely know each other’s back story, so there’s no artifice where they would believably share their back stories to each other in conversation in this context. And as I said, Shigaraki does not know enough about his own past, and Dabi is hiding his real identity. But when we’re stuck with Spinner as our half-hearted narrator, who seems not to know why he and Toga are still here with Stain being gone, and when Toga is this dull in her answer about what keeps her going after Stain’s arrest, and when Spinner himself seems not to know what he’s still doing here, all of that does not communicate a reason for us to keep going with this story.

I know this arc is going to get better, storywise at least, just based on how it went in the manga. I can only hope that the animation can capture the chaos that the original manga illustrations showed. But I am trying to think what a new viewer is going to do if this is their introduction to this series. I’m not invoking the Episode 7 Rule, I’m not doing a hypothetical experiment to gauge which episodes are the best to bring a newbie into this series--I am asking, honestly, if a fan was already into this series, and was watching it one Saturday morning, and a friend or roommate or relative saw them watching, they would be utterly lost about why they should care about this. Even the explanation for why Twice is indebted to Giran is presented as such an afterthought that does disservice to a potentially emotional moment, to what is supposed to be a pretty deep friendship, as deep as it can be for a weapons trader like Giran and an outcast-turned-criminal like Twice, so that, when Twice helps rescue Giran, we feel that emotional payoff.

It is honestly shocking that, for all the throwbacks, recaps, and flashbacks we get, including how Giran’s fingers match up to previous places where the League fought, that this still leaves a new viewer in the dark. And the problem lies at the feet of MHA arriving at a fifth-season slump: the series has gone on so long that things feel lazy and making far too many assumptions on what knowledge the audience is bringing. You’re not getting a bigger audience if you keep appealing to the diehard fans and the people reading the manga. After all, why would you keep doing ridiculous recaps and flashbacks if the fans already know what happened?

But speaking of the recaps and flashbacks, that should have been how this episode redeemed itself. As I said last time, if you re-worked the order of episodes to start with the Oboro Shirakumo story, that would be more shocking. But what if this episode could have been the very first episode of the season, and following the trend of previous seasons, make it a recap episode? We already had Izuku narrating a clip show, Class 1A at the pool, a photojournalist visiting the UA Dorms--it would be so much more interesting seeing “League of Villains camping in the woods while in the background Shigaraki gets squished by a giant.” Have the Villains tell campfire stories about how they got here: it would be a great excuse to re-use the animation and save on the budget. You could fit in a few gags, as Toga starts telling a really gruesome story but gets distracted by all the blood in it, while Twice’s story bounces between sugar-sweet happy and grim-and-dark chaos, while Compress and Spinner are stuck trying to keep them focused. It’d be a hell of a lot more interesting than how BONES somehow screwed up a potentially emotional volatile moment between Izuku and Amajiki that would put into question whether Izuku is going to have to kill a Villain and just how devastated Amajiki feels after Mirio lost his Quirk.

And speaking of whether Izuku is going to have to kill a Villain: obviously, this arc is setting up how much more dangerous Shigaraki is than UA gave him credit. Back in Season 2, I hated how Nezu and UA staff referred to him as a “man-child,” given the connotations that have surrounded masculinity and being a man. I wrote that before 2016; in this post-2016 atmosphere, and the increased prevalence of toxic masculinity, I am, once again, that annoying word ambivalent. I am likewise ambivalent how well this series has shown Shigaraki to be able to form the plan he does by episode’s end. We’re only told by Spinner how much faster Shigaraki is getting and how much slower Gigantomachia has become--but the animation doesn’t show that. And we’re being told how great Shigaraki’s plan is--when it sounds ridiculous.

By cutting so much of Spinner’s narration from the manga, we also don’t get a scene where Spinner confronts Shigaraki to ask him what is his plan. Up to that point, Shigaraki has said that, with Kurogiri gone over the last month and the computers at the old League hideout destroyed, they can’t reach the Doctor. Spinner is insistent: what is the plan? Shigaraki responds that he just told them--as Gigantomachia crashes through their hideout. The other characters explain for readers like me who aren’t following: Shigaraki just said Kurogiri was gone; to contact the Doctor, Kurogiri sought Gigantomachia; Gigantomachia would sniff out where Shigaraki is and bring him to the Doctor. Brilliant--that shows more attention to Shigaraki’s planning and scheming, and now, it’s not even here in the episode to make me think this guy is that smart. (This episode also had Shigaraki reveal his plan to have Gigantomachia attack the MLA, whereas it was Spinner who predicted that was going to be Shigaraki’s plan--so, again, we’re not letting Spinner stand out as smarter than we expected, either.)

I know Shigaraki is supposed to be our chessmaster, given his association with gaming, especially when he was faking his ignorance about shogi to lower Overhaul’s guard before defeating him and stealing his Quirk-cancelling bullets. But I’m having the same problem I had when following All For One throughout this anime: it just feels like these two antagonists are getting ahead out of sheer luck and because everyone else is a fool, not because either of them are that great as villains. Give me a Xanatos, give me a Luthor, give me a Norman Osborne (not Clone Saga Osborne, a different one). Show me Shigaraki is more than a pawn for All For One and the Doctor, because I don’t feel anything here, not even when we’re supposed to feel that Shigaraki has some legitimate concern for All For One that just isn’t getting communicated to me, whether by my stubbornness or because the content is not giving the animators and actors what they deserve. Eric Vale can sell the hell out of a scene, but Shigaraki’s talk about All For One is not giving that opportunity to the actor.

My remarks this time are a lot more disorganized and doesn’t really arrive at any conclusion. I have more to say about how this arc works and doesn’t work, especially when it comes to how ridiculous the MLA comes across in underestimating the League, but we’ll get to that next time.

[itsclydebitches]

Why do people get hung up on whether a gay person in media is a good or bad representation of them? I'm gay and I can tell you we aren't all the same? Being gay is our 1 common trait. So as long as they're gay then you've done it. Gay people can be kind, mean, racist, open, kinky, reserved, shy, outgoing, sexist, and literally anything else under the human experience.

Because I am perpetually hungry, let's tell a story about cookies.

You are a bright-eyed, optimistic, baker in the making. Your goal is to wow the world with your culinary skills, so of course you head to The Best Baking School for your degree. Over the course of your studies you learn how to perfect a thousand different cakes, an equal number of pies, and more versions of brownies than most would even assume exist. But cookies... oh, cookies are your passion! You can't wait to learn about the wealth of cookies you can make too. Then, sure enough, that part of your education finally arrives.

Funny thing is though, it's just chocolate chip.

Surely there's been some mistake? The cookie experience is vast and nuanced! Why in the world are your instructors — supposedly the best in the world — reducing cookies to a single class about baking chocolate chip and chocolate chip alone? Hell, why are cookies so sparse in the curriculum as a whole? You're never asked to bake them as a demonstration, or practice with them, and they're definitely not a given across everyone else's baking experience. Cakes, pies, and brownies... they're the default. Cookies are comparatively rare and when you do get to study them, everyone is super focused on the chocolate chip.

Then you graduate and head out into the world, only to find that pretty much everyone is as cookie-blind as your school. A few years back you never would have found cookies in the average grocery store and yeah, the fact that there's a cookie section now is great, but it's, uh... all chocolate chip! Many bakeries still don't carry cookies at all, but when they do it's - again - chocolate chip. Chocolate chip out in restaurants. Chocolate chip at the bake sale. Your friend invites you over and proudly presents a massive sweets tray that includes a single, sad looking, chocolate chip cookie. They beam at you in pride. Isn't it so great?

"Uh..." you say. "Well..."

Every once in a while someone will switch out milk chocolate for dark chocolate, or add nuts alongside chocolate chips. One bakery was even crazy enough to exclude chocolate chips entirely! Crazy according to the press, anyway. Because for years now you've been shaking your head, wondering what exactly is so progressive about realizing that sugar cookies exist. You've found other bakers interested in cookies and, by god, there are thousands. So many flavors! Gluten free and allergy conscious! Someone even made a sweets tray that was predominantly cookies, can you believe it? The problem is, almost none of them are mainstream. Your friend baking cookies out of their personal kitchen is doing fantastic work, but their baking doesn't have the impact that those grocery chains and established bakeries do. Their work isn't going to fix your school's curriculum. Too many people still think that cookies are exotic somehow. They're not the default. And when they do acknowledge their existence, it's chocolate chip over and over. Until one of them adds those nuts and suddenly the whole country is losing its mind about how inspired, creative, progressive their baking is. Meanwhile, you're ready to scream because that baker doesn't even know that something as "exotic" as a gingersnaps exist!

The worst part? Most of these cookies are... bad. Like they exist, yeah, but good god most don't taste good. And that's the whole point of a cookie?? What is the point of buying cookies if the cookies themselves are awful? You go to these bakeries, these restaurants, your friend's house, and you try the very limited cookies on offer, only to find that they've been sloppily baked. Doesn't anyone care that the baker burned their cookies to a crisp? That another straight up forgot to add sugar? This one dropped his on the floor and still tried to serve it to you! But the overall sense is that you should be grateful for getting any cookies at all. "That cookie is an offense to my taste buds," you say and people shake their head at you, disappointed. "I liked the taste of it," one says. "If you don't like it, go buy a different cookie!" Well... easier said than done. "It's not that bad," another says, shrugging in defeat. "I mean yeah, I don't really like it, and the baker stopped making them two years ago... but I'm just happy to have had any cookie at all, you know?" You do know, but that doesn't mean it's any less frustrating. You look at the hundreds of cakes available, these bakers spending decades perfecting their recipes, and wish cookies had even a fraction of that work put into them. You find people who agree with you, absolutely, but there's this this prevailing sense that a cookie is a cookie. Any cookie will do. Supposedly.

Except go long enough and you feel like you're ready to lose your mind. You take some poor person by the shoulders and go, "Doesn't this bother you? Doesn't this make you furious? There is more to the cookie world than these three flavors, 90% of which is chocolate chip! And we deserve well-made cookies, not the crap they've been upholding as the next culinary masterpiece!"

But this person just shakes their head. "Well of course there's more to cookies than three flavors. There's a huge variety of cookies! I know that."

"Yes, but the world isn't selling that variety."

"Of course they are! Just last week I had an oatmeal raisin. That's amazing!"

"Yeah and how many years did it take you to find that?"

"Well..."

"And how did that oatmeal raisin cookie taste?"

Your prisoner pulls a face. "Ugh, not good. Oatmeal raisin is definitely not for me. It's hard as a rock! I really don't understand why someone would want to eat that on a regular basis."

"But it's not supposed to be hard as a rock!" you cry, waving your arms. "That's the problem! Oatmeal raisin is so goddamn rare and then the one time we get it, it was badly baked. Of course people are turned off by it. Everyone who already loves oatmeal raisin is getting pissed because their favorite cookie is misrepresented, they're unlikely to see more of them now, and everyone is still serving the most tasteless chocolate chip cookies I've ever had, acting like this is the pinnacle of cookie baking! Do you even know that a macron exists?"

The person pats your hand consolingly. "Of course I do. My roommate's sister's boyfriend used to bake macrons, you know. I don't know why you're so hung up on this. Cookies can be whatever the baker wants them to be. Provided they're a flat-ish sweet cake, they're still a cookie!"

You hang your head, giving up. "Yes, they can be so many things, but they're not. Let me know if you ever find a bakery actually making the variety you keep acknowledging exists. Bonus points if those cookies are edible. My soul if they're delicious, as a cookie should be."

"You know," they say, still patting your hand. "There's a bakery making chocolate chip with dark chocolate next year. Everyone is talking about it. You should think about buying one before they take it off the menu!"

You contemplate just walking into the ocean.

Now, incredibly long metaphor concluded... switch out "cookies" for "queer rep"! The representation matters because no, just making them gay isn't enough right now. You're right that queer people can be anything under the sun, but right now media isn't providing us with that variety. It's not enough to acknowledge that such variety exists, it actually has to make it into our books and onto our screen. Taking just characters who identify as gay and putting aside the HUGE variety of other identities for a moment (of which we are mostly lacking in terms of rep), where are the gay asexuals? The gay people of color? The disabled gays? Trans gays? Did your gay character appear for just a handful of episodes? Were they killed off? Are they nothing more than a stereotype or comic relief? Is this the only gay character in your entire story? We need to ask questions like this because though gay people can be anything under the sun, our media landscape has only shown a miniscule portion of that variety.

Today, even in 2021, our representation of gay people is still pretty limited to:

You are only coded as gay and evil

You are only coded as gay and queerbaited

You are canonically gay, but a cis, ablebodied, white person

You are canonically gay, but were written terribly/killed off/punished by the narrative/generally making the real gay people watching you feel awful about their identity

You are canonically gay, but you're not human. Gotta other the queerness by making you an alien/robot/fantasy being

You are canonically gay and that's your entire existence. There is one (1) narrative of how you knew by the time you were four, never questioned your identity after that, suffered through a family that rejected you, and now all your major arcs revolve around being gay. You are gay and that is it.

Despite being a list of six, that's still incredibly limiting. Are there exceptions to such a list? Always, but that doesn't mean the list isn't still dominating. We can look at any individual gay character and say, "Of course they can be evil/white/killed off/a joke/etc. because gay people can be anything at all," but when we look at the trends, when we look at ALL the media together, we see that gay people aren't actually depicted as being anything... they're depicted as being these handful of things, severely limiting how gayness is represented. Bad rep. If you hit up the bakery and question why there's only versions of chocolate chip available yeah, the baker can go, "But cookies can be any flavor! Including chocolate chip!" They are not, technically, wrong. The problem is not that chocolate chip exists, but that chocolate chip dominates and other flavors are rare, ignored entirely, or baked so badly it's actively damaging to that flavor as a whole. Yeah, your gay character can be mean. Or kinky. Or murdered by the story. But when so many gay characters are mean and kinky and murdered by their stories — when you're not getting other versions to balance that out and gay characters are still rare enough that it's just 1-2 characters trying to carry representation for an entire franchise — you start realizing that the claim of "Gay people can be anything else under the human experience" is an easy way to shut down the conversation of whether that variety actually exists in our storytelling yet.

It's not enough for the baker to acknowledge that yeah, of course there are hundreds of cookie flavors and of course cookies taste great! They've actually got to learn how to bake them properly and fill up their store with them.

[lacktastrophe]

I've got to say, Vero's comment on the page before this really soured me on Daisy as a 3-dimensional character. "She only defended Lucy a bit because Lucy made Daisy feel bad about Lucy’s own abuse. Which, I mean, fair enough! But just because you were abused doesn’t mean Daisy has to like you now :’D WHOOPS." It made Daisy a lot flatter of a character to me. It makes all of her interactions with Lucy retroactively so fake. Like, from what I can tell, Lucy has been a good friend to her since middle school. Supportive in her own way. The idea that Daisy is still grinding an Ax over childhood jealousy is so... petty.

I disagree, because this is an area that Daisy has yet to make any growth in and it really isn't like that at all; they aren't as close as people may believe. Daisy does respect Lucy and they appear amicable, but it's more because they share the same friends. Lucy represents some conundrums and personal insecurities and complexes that Daisy needs to overcome, and only when this is resolved can they be better friends. This was a real focus of the comic as far as Daisy was concerned for most Volume 1 but became less of one when she started dating Abbey and later when Lucy was no longer in the picture. It wasn't fixed. Now that Lucy is back and Daisy is single again, these issues have returned to the focus, and did so in 'It's all in the mind' and 'Moment's apart' when those bandaids were ripped off when's Daisy romances between both Paulo and Augustus were threatened and in jeopardy because of Lucy's existence again. So that axe is still sharp, and Daisy is now back at grinding away at it. It's not going to be an easy one to get over even now as Daisy agonises over moments when Lucy easily gets the boys to bend. As far as she's concerned, there's valid reason to be angry at Lucy while she thinks this 'innate ability' is a thing.

They aren't the best of friends because this is keeping them from being closer friends -- and I'd have to assume it's like that because of past trauma, starting with how Sandy found Mike through her; she might believe herself to be this conduit for people to find friendships and love, but she instead loses out.

I figure I've probably upset a few people and rocked that boat suggesting they aren't good friends, but this really is the case -- I think the time between chapters often helps forget some of the nuance that shows they aren't as close as it would seem. The friendship gets tested an awful lot and there are a lot of examples which not only show this but show contention between them. If you can believe that Yashy is Lucy's mouthpiece in Volume 1, it's clear how Lucy initially acts towards Daisy while personally seeming indifferent. Meanwhile Daisy sees Lucy as a rival, albeit that idea doesn't concern Daisy's every thought. While we see some developments into their friendship, including sleepovers, you've gotta keep in mind Daisy is a little weird in that she invites strange people, specifically Katie. Outside of these moments they are hardly ever on the same page as each other. Lucy never thought Daisy's heart was going to be with Abbey as far back as the end of Volume 1. Although this was true and a keen observation, it still invalidated Daisy's feelings that it would work out, just some examples.

I think the chance of these two being closer friends may have got the deathknell in Moment's apart when Lucy chooses not to attend Daisy's Birthday party. Birthdays have been an important theme in the comic, so with Lucy choosing not to make time for a friend's birthday party but rather unpack, there's little reason to think they're that close. A present was given and I think that's enough of a reason or a symbol that things are friendly between them, but Lucy choosing not to make time and not be absent on her birthday is enough to give the impression that they just aren't as close as we'd hope.

Given how Daisy had decided to hang out with Mike initially in Witch Hunt it shouldn't be surprise to anyone that Daisy had decided to put herself in Mike's camp for better or worse, otherwise she would've sought Lucy out much earlier. But Sue appears to be the one who wants to be a much closer friend to Lucy. And the scuffle between her and Mike isn't going to be enough to convince her to switch either. Daisy doesn't willingly choose to be on Lucy's side of things unless it suits her own interests and that was evident looking back. She will always gravitate towards Mike.

So yeah, she's staying in the Mike camp. Sorry PauloxDaisy and LucyxDaisy fans...I don't think it's going to be possible for the former until Daisy is able to be convinced that he's romancable, and the later...well, Daisy's still in the Mike camp.

[katytheinspiredworkaholic]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Title: Extraordinary

Pairings: HotchReid (side pairings Morcia, WillxJJ, others in flirtation)

Summary: League of Extraordinary Gentleman/Vampire AU;

Within the FBI there is a specialized team full of an elite selection of people. Unique individuals with very particular skill sets. And their job is to take the unusual cases: the ones that need to not only be solved, but are undetermined if the unsub is human, or something else entirely.

In a world filled with Vampires, non-human creatures, and subspecies unknown, there is only enough information to have them vaguely regulated. Rules that are so easily, and violently broken, all while hidden in plain sight among the unsuspecting public. Unrivaled for eons.

That’s where the BAU comes in.

Official Posting Date: Now posted on tumblr and Ao3, Click Here

Links: (Masterpost) (Snippet 01) (Snippet 02) (Snippet 03) (Snippet 04)

(TW/CW: This is pretty tame, Emily is just a little intense and eager because Spencer is... well, Spencer, and when she realizes all he can do? Oh she is chomping at the bit. Some trance-like things and witchy stuff and Hotch being territorial without being able to admit it.)

(the story so far/what you need to know for this clip at least: this takes place in chapter 02, what you will all see on Saturday evening, and this version is insanely unpolished (I’m about to go through and fix it up and give it a good make-over) but basically this is the first time Spencer is meeting Emily Prentiss and it makes... an impression. Also, Emily has been at the BAU for about 0.2 seconds and Hotch is already done with her. The sibling energy I love to see. It’s also hella long, as an apology for missing last week and being a day late. All you’ve missed is Spencer about ran into Emily turning a corner and she saved him from spilling his case files and coffee all over the floor. Now they are talking)

–

.

“I apologize, I thought you were an intern or still in the academy.”

“It’s alright, everyone does,” Spencer says without taking offense. He wouldn’t have gotten where he was or lasted very long if he did; however, if he had a nickel for every time someone had been surprised by his age, he’d be as rich as Father Rossi. His full hands actually aids him as he mentions, “I don’t usually shake hands with people, so don’t think me rude. I’m Dr. Spencer Reid.” He offers her a smile in exchange, and it is mirrored on her face just as her surprise kicks up another notch. 

“Doctor, my my I am in for a trip on this team, aren’t I?” she laughs, and it’s a melodic thing that stretches over an expanse of time and history. Ballrooms in Russia and palors of France, Elizabethan and the roaring 20’s and everything in between all rolled into one. He’s not sure how he sees it, an impossible thing, but he can read it like a book and that must have something to do with what she is. “Emily Prentiss, it is a remarkable pleasure to meet you Dr. Reid. Now, I have to ask--” her tone is so charming and playful and probing he barely notices the nuance, “And I’m sure it’s taboo around here, but I have to know -- your regeneration process. Tell me what it is or what you do. You look so young.”

“I am young,” he states simply, finally stunned by a question he’s not usually asked. 

“Yes, yes, we all can’t be a thousand years old like your fearless Vampire leader,” she waves off and Spencer’s eyes widen because… he hadn’t known Hotch was that old. Sure he’d said he’d been alive for the better part of a millennia, but he always said it like a hyperbole. A turn of phrase that’s off by a couple centuries. But --

 A thousand years old. 

That would put him… 

God, that would put him alive, as a human, just before the start of The Crusades. 

“Oh, did he keep that to himself? Oops, my bad. Pretend you don’t know. Anyway -- so are you a Shifter? Or use a particular spell? Oh, or is it a curse? I’m fascinated by curses, I don’t use them often myself but the rigidity of terms using a power so chaotic is just such a fun juxtaposition that I--”

“No, no, I’m… normal, human,” Spencer interrupts her, still the smallest bit shell-shocked, but now connects a few dots himself as she speaks. Realizes very suddenly that Ms. Prentiss appears ageless because she is ageless. She’s also a Witch. One of the broadest terms for subspecies categories, which really doesn’t do it justice. A Witch could be a number of things. Someone who uses magic and science and the very Earth itself paired with the spiritual planes to do impossible things. Witches are beings so powerful they should be uncategorizable. Something Spencer is fascinated by as well. He’s never met anyone like Emily. “I look young because I am young. I’m 27, I’ve only been with the BAU for the past three years. I’m a little excited to not be the newbie on the team any more,” he tries to joke, but Emily’s gaze has gone distant and sharp all at once.

“You’re only 27? And you’re a doctor?” She asks in clarification, Spencer nodding along each time. “You’ve been a doctor, since becoming an FBI agent?” 

“Um, well -- I’m not a medical doctor. I do have three doctorates, though; in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering,” he finds himself shrinking a bit under her intensely interested gaze. “What?”

“Chemistry?” she asks, vaguely more distant.

“That was my first doctorate,” he murmurs back, not sure what has her looking so contemplative. 

“You’ve achieved all of this: three doctorates, FBI agent, BAU -- in 27 years?” she questions, a grave yet wondrous sound.

“Technically I did all of that in 15 years. I graduated high school when I was 12,” he manages to do more than mumble, and Emily’s wide-eyed stare has him spewing forth information like it requires an explanation. “I have an eidetic memory, and I can read 20,000 words a minute, and my IQ is 187 so by human standards yes -- I’m a genius, and borderline on the advanced brain developments scale. But I’m still human. Nothing paranormal or extraordinary.”

The pause that follows is palpable.

“Oh,” she says in an exhale, “Oh, you young soul. You have no idea, do you? What you are capable of...” She tilts her head as she steps closer and Spencer is very suddenly aware that he’s not sure she’s blinked since they started speaking about his qualifications. What he can do, how he got to where he is. No one usually shows this much interest, he makes them uncomfortable for reasons he doesn’t always understand. 

Emily doesn’t look uncomfortable, she looks… hungry. 

“You are so very, very extraordinary. Exceptional, really. Look at all of what you’ve accomplished with just 15 years of life.” That astonished sound again, like she can’t believe her luck--

And then she’s in his space, gaze boring into his, and Spencer can see galaxies in the depth of her eyes. His breath stolen from him and feet rooted to the floor. So he doesn’t step away as she leans just the smallest bit closer, words resonating with echoes across ages.

“Imagine what you could do with a thousand.” 

“Prentiss,” the deep voice of Hotch’s monotone (edged in something vaguely aggressive, and more than a little aggravated)  breaks through their moment. The trance fading like a fog from Spencer’s eyes. “No recruiting. It’s in your contract.”

“You have such a gift, it’s a shame to waste it,” Emily whispers in a rush as Hotch approaches them from down the hall. More earnest than intimidating, now.

“Prentiss!” 

“Think about it,” she winks, and then turns to give Hotch a smile that’s all teeth so sharp she resembles a shark. “Oh, what a sour face. What’s wrong? Were you planning on asking him first? You snooze, you lose.” 

“Conference room,” he instructs, pointing the way Spencer had just come. “Team meeting in 20 minutes. Try not to summon anything between here and there.” She sticks her tongue out at him childishly as she leaves, and sends a quirk of a smile Spencer’s direction that shifts her whole expression into something comically entertained. He’s never seen Hotch interact with someone like this, like they were… familiar, even exasperatingly so. The closest in comparison is probably Father Rossi. But this is less like old friends and more like sibling rivalry. 

The space Emily had just vacated is suddenly filled with Hotch, an overwhelmingly welcomed presence and it eases the tension out of Spencer’s spine and shoulders that he hadn’t even realized was there. 

“Are you okay?” he asks, low and quiet. They’re the only ones in the hallway, but secrecy is a hard habit to break.

Spencer nods, still gaining his bearings once more. “I think so. That didn’t feel like hypnotism. I don’t know what that was.” 

“Prentiss doesn’t manipulate minds or the wills of other people,” Hotch tells him, which is soothing if not for the foreboding question of what just occurred. “She doesn’t need to. She can do a lot of things: change her face, her voice, make illusions and talk circles around anyone -- even you.” Spencer looks up to him at that, aware that his level of intelligence is the only thing that keeps him safe from JJ or Hotch’s influence. His mind can’t be bent, or tricked.

“Then what was she doing? I felt compelled but… not against my will. What was that?” he asks, also quiet but much more high in pitch as his confusion turns his voice to a winded sound.

Hotch’s thin, stern frown does nothing to alleviate the apprehension caught up in his chest like a bad cold. 

.

“Possibility,” he states, grim and not liking that Spencer had fallen prey to such a short moment with Emily Prentiss and her promise of what her craft could do for him. Hotch is well aware that Spencer’s gift of soaking up every speck on information he’s given like a sponge isn’t something to let wither and die like so many before him. There’s so much he could do with an infinite life, such as his and Emily’s, but the curse of living forever alone is not something to be taken lightly. And not to be decided by someone who still has so much more life to live unaided by other forces.

However, Emily was right about one thing. Hotch can’t deny that he’s thought about it. More than considered it as a definite possibility. 

An offer, all his own.

–

Tagged list so far: @physics-magic​, @thaddeusly, @ssa-noa, @ssa-sarahsunshine, @tobias-hankel, @reidology, @mintphoenix

[antiloreolympus]

Thinking a bit on this , and a easy fixes to the whole “Hades is creeping on a teeenager who is barely illegal” and “Demeter is made a bitch for no reason to make Hades look better ...... again” would be:

1: Make Persephone a bit older and more independent (21-25 instead?) She can still be naive and a bit clumsy , childish even , but have it where she actually knows what a bank account is and that she has had some experience with relationships before , not even sexual just like a guy or two (maybe even a girl haha)

2: Make Demeter a good mother. Considering who the other gods are and what they get up to (both in myth and comic context) , her being protective of Persephone makes so much sense and I just, don’t get why people in general make her out as horrible for not wanting her daughter to be abused? In the myths Demeter had her fair share of not so pleasant nights with men , so people making her out as horrible as mother Gothel in retellings feels so victim blamey.

She can still be over bearing to Persephone though, just , have it be more nuanced and complicated than “oh what an abusive monster keeping her child away from potential rapists”. This is where making Persephone a bit older would make sense in that, of cause a woman would want to be independent and not stay with her mother.

Instead of making Demeter a big bad , have the conflict between the two women be the struggle of a loving mother and a child spreading her wings , akin to that of Max and Goofy from a Goofy movie.

3: Have Hades prove himself worthy of Persephone, as well as prove himself to Demeter and Hera. It’s been talked about how everything bends over backwards for Hades , including Persephone (no sex jokes intended there). a Plot point has been that Persephone struggles with sex and that Hades is a creepy horny bastard.

Perhaps ...... Hades could respect Persephone choice to refrain from sex and virgin college thing? (In this version it would be Persephone choice here, cause Demeter is a good mother) and learn to think beyond his dick, until Persephone decides on her terms when she wants that D.

If Hades actually got some character development, than the bar scene with his brothers from early eps could be used as a way to make a comparison to how he could’ve improved.

We see that Hades is as dirty minded as his brothers , if a bit more shy, and has no issues with said brothers being creeps towards women, as well as his possessiveness over a teen he barely knows.

In the comic , Hera pops up and talks about how Persephone is young and how she disapproves , along with crude comments from the brothers. Yet a few eps later she’s ..... trying to hook Persephone up with Hades cause his..... sad looking?

In some forbidden rewrite we’ll never see, what ideally would have happened is that before Hera decided to get her best friends/sisters (are Demeter and Hera related in this?) daughter hooked up with her brother in law, a repeat of the bar scene happens.

This time however, the tone and situation is different. Instead of passively being a shy creep , Hades outright disproves his brothers‘ treatment of the nymphs working at the place and points out that women aren’t sex objects, even if it pisses off the other two kings.

idk what he’d say specifically here, something to do with Persephone that’s a complete 180 from how he viewed and talked about her in the first bar scene I think would be fitting

Being in disguise again and having witnessed this change of character from a king of all people, only than does Hera decide that she try getting the two together and that maybe Hades does generally care for Persephone.

No clue how he’d prove himself to Demeter though , but she also gives her own blessings to him once he does (but it’s made a point that it’s Persephone choice in the end if she be his queen or not)

This wouldn’t be a perfect fix and considering the inspiration behind the story the comic would still make some people uncomfortable but making Hades actually put in effort and have Demeter be more sympathetic would go a long way to humanise both characters in my opinion

I love this!

I'd prefer if Hades was closer in age to her as well though (like H - 400 and P - 200/H - 2000 and 119 if we keep the 19 thing)

She'd be half his age (or less) but also more mature and the characters wouldn't have as much of a problem with it as she has life experience.

[audreycritter]

IDK if you take asks from the woodwork so feel free to disregard, but this is prompted by your recent Arkham post. You mention video games and it made me think of the Arkham Asylum game. I really like your point about how games are organized towards the player’s interests—hitting stuff— but you also talk about how Arkham is a place of incredible nuance that (imo) can be both horror and ideally healing at the same time, and I guess I was just curious about your thoughts on the Arkham game(s) and their place in Bat-mythos, especially given they did try to thread some needle of “how do we bring Batman into a real(ish) world and all that may mean.” It was an exploration of the Asylum as a place with an intrinsic character, which I personally hadn’t really seen before save for maybe Serious House Serious Earth, but I was curious if you had thoughts/opinions you wanted to share. Love your blog, and have a great day!

I don't mind asks!

I haven't played MUCH of the Arkham games, and I'm not opposed to them. I like the horror concept of Arkham having its own kind of identity, or Arkham as a character.

But I am gonna stop you right there (kindly, gently). The Arkham games have their own stories-- some of them engaging, I'm sure-- but it's still fundamentally a video game. Video games aren't inherently violent, but the Arkham series is by design about being able to do lots of cool fighting. That's totally fine! Its fun! But we have to be really careful in engaging with media to not make the mistaken correlation between grimdark and realistic.

Good character models and emotional stories don't even make something realistic. It's a thing that comics, games, and movies have struggled with for a long time, and not just in Batman canon, but Batman canon does suffer pretty significantly. The Arkham games are in no way about a meaningful engagement with reality or what Batman would look like in the real world. We might be able to draw on some interactions and further explore those as fans in a way that connects closer to reality, but it's not at all the real world.

My guess is that a nuanced, realistic exploration of Arkham would be difficult to pull off because the actual daily grind of mental health care in institutions holding highly violent offenders is ... a grind. It's a lot of doing the same thing over and over for small returns, because it's hard for people to change. It's a lot of small victories other people don't understand the scope of, because just walking down a hallway and being civil can be a huge accomplishment for someone who actually tends toward the kind of social disconnect rogues are often written to have. It's a lot of disappointing setbacks, and if you hype up the drama of any of those things, it's going to feel exploitative. Personally, I'd like to read it? I'm sure lots of other people would enjoy it, too. But it wouldn't be the kind of high energy drama that people are drawn to in comics, and treating it with too much realism makes the world fall apart in other ways.

Within the constraints of the universe, the rogues aren't real. We've had good and bad media that's tackled the idea of criminality and mental illness, and I don't think that's a bad thing to try to deal with sometimes? But overall part of the conceit of comic-media (and its derived forms like film and game) is that we actually understand that the rogues aren't mentally ill, not in any realistic application of clinical terms. They aren't real. They're themey symbols of different kinds of evil or corruption or selfishness, designed to be cycled through struggles with The Hero, because readers find comfort in the familiar. And to do that, we need a holding tank for them so comics aren't accidentally implying they just rule Gotham when Batman isn't chasing them.

In a story that engaged with Arkham realistically, he'd put most of them in once and they'd never get out again. The few that did get out would maybe get out once or twice, tops-- years and years apart. There might be an outlier, but most of them aren't escape artists. The problem is, nobody really wants a realistic Arkham unless it's in a closed short story form, because a functional Arkham would break the narrative cycle. Fandom just ends up making the mistake of holding Batman as a character responsible for the narrative function of his own world-- they want to treat him as a failed hero for not correcting the things about his world that make the stories keep happening. Like, yeah, he could kill the Joker-- then what? Nobody writes the Joker ever again? That didn't work the last time he died.

He could "fix" Arkham somehow. Then what? The entire rogue gallery is permanently retired and a few of them "recover?" That maybe makes a great epilogue but it doesn't support ongoing stories, and then the second someone is used in a story again, it's somehow Bruce's fault for the narrative requirements of the fiction he's a character in?

Part of being a comics fan-- specifically a comic fan of an intellectual property that's been around for decades-- is understanding that we don't get final resolution. When LOTR ends, the story is over. We don't watch canon make Frodo & Co destroy the ring over and over in hundreds of different ways. Fanfic might explore alternatives, but canon has given us resolution to the plot. Batman doesn't get that in most media because Batman isn't ever over. And I think sometimes fans (and writers, ngl) make the mistake of trying to hold Batman as a character responsible for the cyclical nature of his own media, and the things we see as "problems" because we instinctively want resolution in a landscape that doesn't have it.

Anyway, I think I went off on a tangent. I don't mind the Arkham games, but they're just a another entry in a long line of media that likes playing with Arkham as a horror concept.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Happy new year everyone 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

I know 2020 has been hard for everyone.

And I want everyone to know, suffering isn't a contest and we all suffer in different ways. But I feel I should give my year in Review. Just some things that happened to me personally.

This was an intense, and long and spiritual and emotional journey for me...

I really discovered what it meant to have community, family and what my life means to me.

But I feel I need to get this in writing cause I can remember the year with vivid detail and I will probably forget if I don't get it down.

Do I have to share this publically online to my tumblr account for a bunch of strangers to see? not really.

Do I want to?

Yes. I think so. Just from how so many people on tumblr and real life have touched me.

This is kinda long and no one needs to read this.

(idk how to do a readmore on mobile. But this is where I would add it later. No one needs to read if they don't want to.)

January/February: (and some background on the last five years of my life cause.....well. it's important.)

As people knew, I got way into Invader Zim last summer. I spent most of my waking life working a dead end job at a grocery store. I lived a sad lonely life, going straight home to a single dark studio apartment. With not many material possessions outside of games, my laptop and my tablet to my name. Half of my material loves, such as home furnishings and books were still in boxes from when I moved in. In case I ever had to move again, or get some "big screenshot or copywriter" job in the city.

....

I lived in that city in the same dead end job and apartment for five years.

No friends. No social life. I often refused to make doctor appointments or attempt to establish myself in that city. I didn't even talk to anyone in my workplace.

Work. Go online. Go to sleep.

I lived like that for five years.

I thought it was good.

Even my therapist thought I was doing well.

When I really wasn't. My main character flaw I struggle with is motivation.

I can talk to someone about very detailed plans I have to fix a problem... But I tend to never follow through.

Just because I can describe in detail how to fix my personal problems, it doesn't mean I will do it.

(I have gotten better at this but it's a major struggle)

I might have been a Zombie during the day...

But by night I was pouring my soul into my AU and my analysis.

After being so thoughly ignored or overlooked by the Naruto fandom and the Undertale fandom, I felt like I had finally found my home and was settling into a community there.

I just loved that people loved what I had to say.

Especially my AU.

It's no secret that a lot of themes in my au revolve around found family, grief, and loss.......

Fatherhood, in particular.

What it means to be a father, how much do you need to try when you mess up, how willing should a child forgive their parent, especially those that have wronged you and how much of it is factually accurate and simply a self projection of what children want their parents to be and visa versa... What amount of forgiveness and change is nessasary...is it needed?

....

It's no secret that a lot of my AU is a giant coping mechanism for my Dad's death. Espessially the falling out and growing closer with a lot of my family members throughout the years following his death. (Most of the time I keep it ambiguous to how it relates to my personal life unless I include a readmore that states so outright. I feel my au can be enjoyed by a variety of people in the fandom who don't need to know me as a person or my life story.)

My Dad passed away in 2016 in February and my family still feels the aftershocks to this day.

It's part of the reason I moved to the city, alienated myself from my family and people that loved me and refused to experience life for five years.

My entire world was Zim, and I was okay.

March: When America finally realized and started to feel the effects of the pandemic....

A lot of people got scared.

Me included.

I didn't have any streaming services or access to the news. So I only heard accounts from my mom.

I didn't understand why the store was so dead quiet and empty for a few days, then it went into mass chaos and panic in the span of two days.

It felt like Retail black friday in the worst way. Everyone was packed like sardines. Everyone was yelling. The lines at the registers bled into the clothing department.

I was witness to customers shoving others for toilet paper, being rude to cashier's and just overall unpleasantness.

At the time, I didn't even fully grasp what the pandemic was, and I feel a lot of people at the time didn't either.

I ended up absentmindedly scratching my eyebrow in front of a customer and she screamed and villanised me for it. That they didn't want groceries touched by my "unclean hands"

I ended up breaking down into tears.

The customer behind me gave me a hug and told me I was doing a great job.

But the damage was done. It was the final straw, I couldn't stop crying and I was breaking apart.

Thankfully my Boss (the one who likes me) pulled me aside and asked what's wrong.

It was then that I quit. No notice. Same day. I had to get out of there.

I was planning to move to an apartment with my sister in the summer, but my Mom offered for me to move back in with her temperarily just so I can get out of the city and away from the pandemic.

So I did.

I got scared, broke my lease a month early and quit my job of five years that gave me nothing back.

He told me, "take care of yourself and your family, I won't keep you here, do what you need to do."

So I did.

April-June:

A very eventful few months.

My mom offered for me to live at her place, but for some reason she was acting like I would live there forever. That this wasn't a temporary arrangement, and that I didn't have an apartment set up already.

This was in large part to my sister, who had lived with my mom taking advantage of her for years.

Even though my sister and I were going to move in together, I was just never sure about it cause of how she never packed her stuff or made any effort to find a job.

My mom often acted like I was lazy and not searching and was treating me like... Well, an unruly teenager instead of a woman of 29 years. She acted like I was a failure for returning home when it was her idea in the first place.

I would have just been petrified in the city.

Like usual, I retreated to my au again.... And in the spring, something eventful happened.

In may, 8th 2020:

I was invited by @rissynicole to join an invader zim discord.

Now, I've never really used discord before. I always thought it's interface is too confusing.. and I'm a member of a few other iz discords and I usually don't follow them that closely.

Rissy assured me it was different cause some friends of thiers made it and it was smaller.

Before I knew it, I was sharing memes and getting to know everyone there.

It wasn't long after I invited my partner in IZ crimes, @paketdimensioncomic who was genuinely wary of iz servers due to a bad experience with the last one they were a part of.

But soon they were sharing memes and laughing with everyone else.

My eyes were starting to open and I was able to connect to fans of my work in an interpersonal way. And I was able to discover new artists and aus I never knew about.

I was also able to meet so many others of the community and invite them to the server myself.

The moo-ping 10 server kept me sane while I was living with my judgmental mother.

Not only that, the summer was very productive for my au.

Drawing was all I did, and it was a huge break from the job as a cashier I had.

Not only that, June came, and with it, me and Ceph's first collab fic:

A result of us just going back and forth in our DMs constantly about Professor Membrane and how he changed in ETF for the better and how much we adamantly stan "trying-to-be-a-good-dad-brane" and how much of his ETF development has to be implied off screen in order for the emotional resolution in the movie to matter.

The only reason I never professed my love for Membrane as a character in the fandom before the fic dropped was.... Well....

Membrane can be a decisive character in the fandom and I was so worried people would hate me if I did an analysis on him, simply because he's not the best parent in the world. (As an understatement)

Ceph and I really encouraged each other to scream our love for the science himbo loud and proud more frequently and so often.... I actually start to see less Membrane hate posts and breakdowns then their used to be.... I like to think it's a combination of Me and Ceph's influence, along with ETF and the Quarterly's painting Membrane in a slightly more nuanced light then he was previously.

I never wrote a collab fic before and it's such a rewarding and fun and unique experience that I don't think I'll ever have again. And I love working with Ceph on our fics so much.

So much so we did it again...

July-August:

I never thought I would be one of those people who writes NSFW IZ fic... But here I am.

The Brainbrane au started.... An au of my au where Membrane and the Computer fall in love and Membrane makes him a body.

This ship was based around the idea where we joked that Membrane and Zim's Computer would have funny interactions if they ever met, under the pretense Membrane thinks Computer is Zim's parent.

Our headcanons morphed and shifted until we just full blown started shipping them.

Just because Membrane and Zim's Computer have overall REALLY entertaining chemistry.

It's a character dynamic never seen in the show or comics (yet) and I imagine thier interactions to be nothing but entertaining banter.

The fic was also born from spite... Making fun of the troupes and cliches that we found personally destestible in some questionable zadr fics.

So an angry ace and a demi-bisexual collab on a porn and end up blessing the fandom with

Compapa headcanons,

Computer being recognized as a more common used fanon character,

The ship of Brainbrane.

The fandom having a crisis of "oh God, not only are we xenophiles we're technophiles too!!!" Or "why you gotta give Zim's Computer an ass"

More android Computer designs

It was an eventful summer.

In the midst of all this, I moved into my new place, got a new job, and I was able to see my friend (who is def my platonic straight soul mate) who lives in Indiana.

She came to visit, showed me how to decorate and how to take care of my body better! Things were looking up! It was great.

September-November:

My job was at a boat store. If was approaching the fall and my hours were being severely cut.

I was getting into a rut of depression again.

I thought things were changing but the same routine I was trying to escape from was the same thing coming back.

But instead of letting it take hold, I decided I was going to do something about it... I was gonna visit a museum and go with my sister. Just... variety stimulation.

Well that didn't happen.

I talked about this shortly in my au itself...but..

My sister had a complete mental breakdown.

She stopped taking her meds, went off the deep end and was in the hospital a total of five times throughout November.

A lot of it was acting out and the perfect storm of environmental factors that made her scream and act out so she would keep going back to the hospital.

It was traumatizing for me.

I just can't explain what it's like. For her and for me to be in that position.

I'm not telling the full story and a lot of bullshit things happened I won't share here.

She got diagnosed with bipolar one and my mom expected me to be a caretaker for her.

I threatened to disown my family and move away out of state.

It was just too much for me to handle.

So much I was a nervous wreck.

I tried to pick up a second job... Cause my sister was in the mental ward so frequently and couldn't pay the bills.

But I was fired within a week cause I was so stressed I couldn't retain the basic information they were training me for.

It was an office job.

My dream.

It could have been.

I was fired from something I really wanted.

I was only there for three days.

I could not retain any information.

I was a mess.

My sister was a trigger, my mom wanted me to live with her. I couldn't live like this.... I had to get out.

I had to get out.

December:

Remember my Indiana friend?

Well the first week of December is my birthday.

My 30th to be exact.

While I did pick up a seasonal position at Target (not my first pick)

I took the first week of December off so I could spend time with her. Cause she agreed, I needed a break from this crap.

Surviving 30 years is cause to celebrate and if I had to celebrate with my sister I would have cried.

I know there was a risk traveling out of state during a pandemic...

But I needed out, I needed a friend..

And I kinda wanted to look at the place since I was considering moving there.

My friend's mom was sick so she avoided me and her daughter and got us a hotel room.

It was fun! I got to swim in a salt water pool, we talked about Naruto, I showed her the iz and su art books I brought, also Computer and Membrane tea.

I also got to meet her other friends and get crunk. And her bf who is super nice and funny!

I had a super fun birthday....

Until her mom told my friend that her grandparents had covid and that was what she had. And my friend got sick within that same day.... As did I.

I owe so much to her family.

I was an entire state away...about a ten hour drive from home.... She let me stay at her house. "The covid house" we called it.

Cause everyone (except the father. He avoided everyone and booked a hotel immediately cus he was an ER doctor) had covid within a day.

I called in, the test results were positive and I had to stay with her family for ten days quarantine before I could work again.

Which would have been fine....

If my tumblr didn't log me out perminately of my old account. @dana-chan325 .... Which really sucked cause I had a constant headache and was too sick to engage with tumblr or much of the fandom. I didn't want to make a new account when my head was in a bad fog and I could barely breathe or smell.

It's not like I saw much of my friend either.... We all slept at different hours and she had more symptoms then I did.

It was just netflix, danganronpa v3 and cry.

I was miserable, but at the same time.... Not?

I really feel like God himself was the one who pulled me off from tumblr, and my living situation.

Maybe a whole extra week feeling like a bobblehead was what I needed.

It gave me some much needed clarity on my relationships with my mom and sis and friend.

Running away to Indiana was not the solution here.

Once I was better within ten days and no longer had a leave of absence, I drove home.

I am glad I fully recovered (but from how I understand it, my dear friend is still ill. I'm praying for her)

I might have gone to work a bit too soon, cause I had an asthma attack after trying to unload a single cart in the span of six hours.

My boss lectured that my speed was unacceptable, and even though I explained the covid situation and breathing problems many times, she threatened that I'd be fired if I'm that slow again.

Que the next few days of work where they put me on register.

Instantly I was sent into a panic remembering the last time I was on the register and how that panic attack caused me to quit.

I even asked if I could go back to stocking, since my breathing had improved. My boss assured me that I was put on the register cause they needed help and nothing to do with my covid thing.

Then as December concluded and the new year began, my boss said that this was the last shift for me cause my position was seasonal and they were letting a lot of people go.

I then asked why I was on the schedule for Sunday, and he told me to ignore it and I'm free to reapply for full-time.

I mean.... They can act smart about it...

But putting your general merchandise stocker onto register after she had an asthma attack and missed working the first two weeks of December due to covid.....

Not a good look.

So once again, I'm jobless once more.

Will probably continue to live with my sister for awhile.

But I do not feel as if it's a bad thing....

I met so many good people this year....

My friend's family even gave me 500 usd to cover my rent since I couldn't work for a majority of December.

I've seen evil and good from humanity this year. I've seen acts of god, good friends and what my real family means to me as well as friends I consider family.

This year really made me look back at the person in the mirror and say,

"I deserve better."

And actually worked for it this time.

Oh and after Christmas I got a horrible yeast infection that burns over most of my body currently.

Very accurate doodle to the pain I'm in right now.

(seriously my body is a fungus.)

But hey, good news, I respected myself enough to go to the doctor about it!!

So that's progress.

I really hope 2021 holds good things for me.

Thank you to the mooping 10 server for always being there and keeping me sane,

Thank you tumblr for liking my au and everything.

AND A SUPER SPECIAL THANK YOU TO @evartandadam and her family for housing me and my dumb diseased ass. Everyone, she is an angel and I can't express how much she means to me. Please check out her art and buy her stuff on redbubble.

Anyways... Byebye 2020.

I look forward to what I can accomplish for myself this year.

[trainsinanime]

Counterhottake: Saying „actually Wanda is the villain in Wandavision“ is not the interesting deep intellectual analysis some of you think it is. (This will contain spoilers)

The show actually outright admits that Wanda’s actions are bad. People tell it to each other; people tell it to Wanda, people tell it to Vision, Vision tells it to Wanda, even Wanda herself realises it around the midpoint of the story, but can’t bring herself to end it. But the show is not about that; it is trying to be more nuanced, to go past the old „is this good or bad?“ to „why is she doing that? What drove her to this really bad place, and how can she leave it again?“

That is more nuance than usual for Marvel fare, though in the grand scheme of things, not exactly that much nuance. It’s like mid-range Star Trek TNG nuance. But still, to make sure no pop culture critic is left behind, the show adds not one, not two, but three whole characters whose main job is to say, „actually, it’s nuanced“, with Monica, Darcy and Jimmy.

The show is about grief, about grief leading you to unhealthy places, and about grief causing you to hurt others. And it keeps explicitly saying so.

To be fair, some of the critics seem to have realised this, after this has been hammered in for nine episodes. Good job! But then they come up with clever counter-arguments, like: „Wanda should have apologised to the people of Westview“

Yeah, wouldn’t have hurt. Narratively speaking, though, does it matter? Imagine the scene right after she dissolves the Hex, when all the people are looking at her with fear and anger. Now imagine she’d have mumbled „I’m sorry“ a few times. It would have made no difference. Wanda does feel regret, and she expresses it through her actions, by dismantling her illusion and, you know, her entire family. You know, the characters who actually matter.

Alternatively, we get „Wanda should have been punished“. After all, her lashing out is so huge, you’d almost think it was a comic book level exaggeration, right? And we totally need to take this seriously and literally, don’t we?

This is just another attempt to go „must… force… Wanda… in… clear… superhero… or… supervillain… bin“. That’s not insightful, that’s reductive. Punishing Wanda wouldn’t fix anything, it would undermine the whole show.

See, the show has a clear central theme, and because this is the MCU, it explicitly spells it out:

„What is Meme, if not GIF persevering?“

Or something like that anyway. It’s about how grief can make you do horrible things, and stopping to do that. Wanda needs to learn that retreating into her fantasy world to deal with her grief causes actual harm. And she does. In the course of that, she arguably causes herself more grief, when she dissolves her family, but this time she is kind of okay with it.

Putting her in prison would tell her that people who grieve wrong deserve to be punished. Personally, I prefer the message the show gives instead, where it tells us that people who grieve deserve compassion instead.

There’s also some more in-universe arguments against punishment: For one, Wanda doesn’t need time to realise what she’s done is wrong, she already knows that; and even if she were in prison, we all know she could break out whenever she wanted, which would coincidentally happen to be right at the start of the next TV show or movie that needed her.

Maybe it would have satisfied some incredibly literal watchers if in the post-credit scene, Jimmy had issued Wanda a $500 fine and impounded her Scarlet Sedan, but would that have really been a better show?

Well, yes, obviously it would have been.

To clarify, I’m not saying that the people who say „actually Wanda is a villain“ are wrong, I’m saying that they’re boring and that they miss all of what made the show actually interesting, once all the gimmicks are stripped away.

Now, if you want to be more interesting, there are definitely debates to be had about how the show handles its themes. For example, there is definitely an issue where Wanda never actually learns how to deal with her grief in good ways; she just learns that what she’s doing hurts people, and so she… basically stops.

And while I keep saying that Wandavision is more complex than „good vs. bad“, it is still not actually that complex a story at heart. In fact, it seems like a very literal example of what Craig Mazin (writer of Chernobyl) outlines in his „How to Write a Movie“ podcast episode (there’s only a transcript available). Actually, if you compare Wandavision with the examples in that post, you can make a good argument that Wandavision has about the same complexity, similar theme and almost the same structure as Finding Nemo.

And that is fine. Or maybe it isn’t, that’s for you to decide. But if you just ignore that, then your hot takes will lukewarm at best.

[justmenoworries]

Oh my fucking God, I hate the “London Calling”-story line so much...

Spoilers for Tracer - London Calling!

There are so many issues with this whole thing, so let me just put it all into a list:

Once again we have the very tired “othering minorities”-approach to tell a story about racism and classism. Discrimination against Omnics is the main theme of the comic. Omnics are considered less than humans by a majority of the population and (It’s implied) the government. They have to live in slums, are often the victims of violent assaults and there’s a whole civil rights movement formed under one specific Omnic, Mondatta, who gets assassinated during a speech. Okay, I think we all get what’s going on here. Omnics are essentially the stand-ins for people of color and their history of oppression under white people. Does anyone ever draw attention to this? Nope. And honestly, I’m glad. Because I am so fucking sick of stories like this. I know the intention is to give a clear anti-racism message, but by equating oppressed minorities to literal robots who were originally built to serve - you’re very much doing the opposite.

Adding on to the first point: The White Savior trope is on full display here. The story isn’t actually about the Omnics, it’s about Lena and how the Omnics’ plight and their battle against prejudice affects her. Lena gains more intimate access to the world of the Omnics by making friends with an Omnic-woman named Iggy, who’s a big fan of human music and a follower of Mondatta. They bond over their shared interests and Lena resolves to help the Omnics out, by assisting them in fixing their home. However, she is met with hostility, due to being human. Oh great, so already we have the very tired, very incorrect “There racism on both sides uwu”-argument. Because minorities being mistreated for basically existing and minorities being wary of white people because of said mistreatment is totally the same thing, right? /s If the story wanted to shed more light on the Omnic’s suffering, why through Lena? Why not through Iggy? Iggy is the one directly affected by the racism against Omnics and the murder of Mondatta and  it’s immediate fall-out. Yet for most of the comic’s runtime we focus on Lena, a white woman. And I know what you’re thinking: “Well, Iggy is a side-character. They had to include a main character to keep the readers interested and connect everything to the main story-line.” Okay, so why not take Zenyatta? You, know, Mondatta’s brother? Who has been fighting for his people’s freedom and equality behind the scenes for basically the whole main story? The character who is sorely in need of some lore?

Kace. Just... Kace. You know that really nasty habit media has, of villainizing minorities who don’t take their mistreatment with angelic patience and refuse to be martyrs? That’s exactly what Kace is. Kace is an Omnic-rights-activist who is hostile and distrusting towards humans, because, you know. Him and his friends were basically driven underground and forced to live in the slums by them? He often holds inflammatory speeches, in which he encourages the Omnics to stand up against this injustice and defend themselves with violence if need be. So he’s basically a spear-counterpart to Mondatta, who preaches against using violence and for pacifism. This could lead to an interesting, nuanced discussion about the different forms of protests, if violence to protect yourself against an all-powerful oppressor is justified if peaceful protest was only met with more oppression. But this is London Calling, so we don’t do that here. Instead, Kace is villainized form the moment he first appears. We’re meant to see him as a violent extremist, someone who has “gone too far” and lost his once noble goals through his anger. And in the latest issue, he just up and fakes an attempt on his life, then in the cliffhanger tries to kill Iggy in front of Lena for the crime of associating with humans. This particular twist is so horrible. Why the ever-loving hell would Kace need to pretend there was someone who had it out for Omnic-leaders, him specifically, when we know for a fact that there is? The comic tries to have Iggy explain it away by stating that Kace “want[s] the Omnics to think [he’s] a leader like Mondatta” but that makes even less sense? Every time we see Kace hold a speech, there are dozens of Omnics surrounding and listening to him. Heck, he has enough followers to form assault teams who corner Lena in an earlier issue. Yes, not everyone in the Underworld (the Omnic-slum) supports him, but not everyone in the Underworld supported Mondatta either. They also try to assert that Kace doesn’t really care about his people, by implying he cares more about revolution than fixing their current home. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Mondatta never really cared about the Underworld either? In his speech he states he wishes for peaceful co-existence, but never actually addresses the issues, namely the enforced racism in the system, that makes this pretty much impossible for Omnics. But Mondatta is a pure, good saint who can do no wrong, unlike evil, violent Kace, so we’re just quietly brushing that under the rug. This entire twist is just so idiotic and only serves to hammer in the point that “Violence bad, mindless pacifism good”. No nuance, no discussion, nothing.

[janiedean]

Hi! I'm the Plato anon for before. First of, thank you so much for your offer, but I think I managed on me own. Second, could you elaborate on the "analysing as YA" vs "analysing as an adult" approach? I assumed that "discourse people" on this website generally don't go beyond "antagonist is bad because they are against the hero!" out of ignorance/lack of interest except to score Internet Fame Points, not that it was due a specific mindest. I also don't really read YA (except Tiffany Aching)

TIFFANY ACHING!! T_T ANON LET ME HUG YOU it’s like the only YA I actually liked in my entire life apart from nick hornby’s one book but that wasn’t typical lmao

THAT SAID, well your discourse people point is pretty much part of it but since I’m here and I can rant have the entire thing I was too tired to hash yesterday ;) so, in order:

first thing, we need to establish that ya books and **adult** books generally have different target audiences which is fine and good because obviously if you want to write a thing you’ll do that for An Audience That You Have In Mind; this doesn’t mean that adults can’t read ya or that teenagers can’t read **adult books** because everyone can read what they want (and personally for one I never cared for ya in my entire life not even when I was the target audience), but it simply means that some books are meant to be liked by one category first and eventual others later and they need to be talked about in that specific context first and everything else later - then there might be books that are aimed for kids/young readers or sold like that or that can be read on more than one level which can be appreciated for different things later in time (for example I read huck finn at sixteen and I absolutely loved it but it was a book that here is seen as good reading material also for eight year olds, and at eight I wouldn’t have liked it for the reasons I did at sixteen, and if I read it now I would still like it, while a bunch of the books for kids I read when I was seven is stuff I enjoyed then but forgot now and probably was good for that age but didn’t stick with me);

second thing, that means that when I discuss a young adult book aimed at teenagers I will never hold it to the standards I would hold a book aimed at a general adult audience, especially if it’s the kind of ya like dunno as stated the vampire diaries aimed at teenage girls which is obviously the kind where you have the fantasy world with the hot dark guy who swoons the high schooler protagonist off her feet etc because that stuff is basic teenage girl fantasy 101 and like... I’ll expect a bunch of romance tropes, the usual push and pull, the guy eventually being into her, the protagonist being someone a fourteen year-old can see herself in, probably a few sexual elements thrown here and there and so on, because that’s the shit marketed at fourteen year-olds who want to read that and like... it’s really not that deep. I can’t ask the vampire diaries to be moby dick because it’s not meant to be. or, if I read percy j/ackson - which is another thing I have zero interest in but I know about because I see tweets from the author - I expect to have a bunch of teens coming into their own coming from different backgrounds because the author wants to represent properly a lot of categories so most of his readers can have someone they can see themselves in and like if a thirteen year-old who suspects being lgbt or whatever sees themselves in the gay kid from per/cy jackson guess what that’s what that book is for, so I won’t judge it on like... being a faithful representation of greek myths or how good the style is or whatever, because even if to me it’s not top notch writing or has a plot idc about it has to be for teenagers and pre-teens, not for me, a thirty year old who again didn’t even like pre-teen aimed literature when she was a pre-teen;

third, I can extra clarify it using the damned hp discourse, as in: when I say I’m tired of people not reading anything else or reading everything like hp, it means that they read it when they were growing up/were teens and it was aimed at them which is fine, but then twenty fucking years later when the people in question are way beyond their twenties (guys I’m almost 32 and I remember when the first one came out come on) when talking about any single piece of media in existence (movies, comics, other books) use hp characters/situations as the terms of paragon - like guys I had to read sn/ape comparisons with theon and ky/lo ren on the basis that THEY’RE GREY CHARACTERS as if sn/ape is the only grey character that ever existed, people keep on talking about vold/emort as the only bad guy that ever existed and so on, and like... you can’t talk about, idk, asoiaf or any book aimed at an adult audience like you’d talk about hp, because at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if I read comparisons between sn/ape and ivan karamazov and I think I don’t need to specify how completely nonsensical that would be;

now, with all of this explained, what I mean is: ya in general - which is not a fault per se of the genre since it’s aimed at teens and pre-teens - tends to have... very fixed narrative schemes depending on which teens it’s addressing - like, stuff like tvd or twilight is obviously the romance teenage girl fantasy where you have the girl fighting to be with the dark beautiful supernatural creature in question, per/cy jackson is more like I’ll give you a bunch of relatable characters having cool adventures against bad guys with the occasional redemption so we can see that people are redeemable but you still have right vs wrong, hp is sort of like that in the sense you get relatable-ish protagonist with relatable friends growing up throughout the entire thing and fighting on the good side vs the evil side including the usual death of the mentor plus people who seemed bad actually not being bad™ except that PJ has more povs and better rep from what I gather but that’s not the point so it’s basically the growing up journey for the young protagonist(s) the kid sees themselves in, then there’s stuff like hunger games where you actually have the dystopian worldbuilding just written to be enjoyable by younger people who don’t want to get too depressed (and ngl I haven’t read the books but I’ve seen the first two movies and guys the way everyone ignores the classist commentary in thg to discuss the love triangle is... a staple of the problem tbh) but still try to introduce deeper themes and have more nuanced characters and at the same time are still written to be enjoyed maybe by the more adult side of the target, and at the same time I can’t say that thg is the same as 1984 when it comes to target audience because 1984 doesn’t make the ugly dystopian themes more accessible using the love story/teenage protagonist etc;

at this point the problem is: if you only ever read ya and nothing else in your life (which is what a lot of people here do - guys again when I got here in 2011 if people didn’t discuss hp they discussed john gr/een, the only *adult*-aimed book I see discussed on tumblr is asoiaf... because of got X°DDD) then you end up seeing every other piece of literature expecting what you do out of a young adult and then you expect adult literature out of young adults/ya to approach certain implications the way an adult novel would, which is... frankly ridiculous;

specific examples: I see blogs which are principally about like ya fantasy books ie acotar or shadow/hunters or whatever shitting on grrm because AAAAH HE’S PROBLEMATIC/MISOGYNIST/HE HAS VIOLENCE AND RAPE IN THE BOOKS BLAH BLAH and like... spoilers: if I wrote a fantasy series aimed at fourteen year-olds who want their fantasy romance with the hot dark guy who is maybe a tiny bit problematic but turns their leaf for them I would hold back on blood and violence, if I wrote a fantasy for adults where I want to be realistic about misogyny I will not, and the fact that grrm gets judged on what happens and not how he writes it (and again, saying that a guy who has 1/3rd of his pov characters female except that it’s actually 50/50 because there are no throwaway povs except for mel while guys have a lot more of them and all the female povs have narrative weight [and mel has it before she gets one] and all of them have a different personality and he also has the same trope [brienne and arya] in two people with wildly different personalities and needs which is basically a goddamned miracle is a misogynist because there’s misogyny in his fantasy world is ridiculous imvho) which is.... exactly expecting of asoiaf what you’d expect out of acotar, when grrm and acotar’s writer write for wildly different audiences. now, if I had read acotar at 15 and asoiaf at 15 I’d have had no doubt re asoiaf being more my thing because again the subgenre acotar goes for is not my thing because I never related to that fantasy while brienne is my rep, but in general a 14yo girl who likes the acotar-like stuff will not care for grrm.... which is normal because grrm writes for adults of both genders, not teenage girls (I mean teenage boys also have their own subgenres for which the same rules are valid), and someone who likes percy jackson (aimed at both genders but like... pre-teens early teens) who doesn’t gaf for grrm won’t because it’s not aimed at them unless they like grrm for other reasons ie idk they realize that they relate to jon snow idk but you see my point, so like tldr that’s what I mean with if you only read ya you’ll expect adult writers to handle their themes like ya writers would and like... sorry but if I write stuff for adults I won’t feel the need to specify that the bad guy is B A D with neon lights because an adult should grasp that from the narrative, I don’t need to make sure it’s obvious bc it’s aimed at kids;

reverse: when I see people saying ‘the vampire diaries is problematic because it’s about people who are a hundred years old preying on teenage girls so we need to stop teenage girls from reading that kind of thing because it makes them think it’s okay to go with someone that much older than them’, we’re at the opposite problem in the sense that you’re asking a young adult novel what you would ask of AN ADULT NOVEL when there’s no point in it. like, a teenage girl knows perfectly that damon salvatore doesn��t exist and vampires don’t exist and werewolves don’t exist - the entire point of tvd is that she gets to fawn over the hot supernatural dude who changes for the better thanks to the female protagonist she most likely sees herself in and she gets to have a few nice fantasies about that which is like... normal for people who are developing their sexualities, most people wouldn’t actually want damon salvatore the way he’s exactly in canon irl because they know it’s a fantasy and so it should stay. like, sorry but as someone who watched the show because ian somerhalder is hot in her twenties and tried the first book and gave it up at page 30 because I couldn’t do it, I can 100% assure anyone that the biggest issues with tvd books are that the writing is really fucking bad (for my standards at least), with the tvd show that from S4 the writing spiraled downwards and no one wanted the magical vampire pregnancy witch twins ridiculousness, but none of the content actually was shit that anyone would take seriously like that and I wouldn’t expect tvd to approach that subject realistically. if I read a vampire book aimed at adults who actually wants to write such a relationship as creepy WELL YES OF COURSE I’D EXPECT IT TO BE OBVIOUS ABOUT IT BEING CREEPY, but if it’s aimed at freaking teenagers... it’s a fantasy and not really that deep, take it for what it is and let teenage girls enjoy thinking about smooching damon salvatore (or stefan or whoever) without assuming they need to be protected from Horrible Vampire Fiction™, same as no one goes bitching about unrealistic sex scenes in serialized romance books because people read them because they’re unrealistic and escapism, not because they expect nobel prize worthy exploration of themes from them;

now, ^^^^^^ would not happen if people actually read variedly and studied some decent lit analysis in school - but like, after I had to read I think at some point that of mice and men is ableist... THAT’S the damned point - with ya you can take a lot of the plot at face value, with adult lit you can’t and you have to see motivation beyond the action of the characters and you can’t do that if you only read books aimed at pre-teens/teenagers where obviously that’s... more spelled out than it would be in a book aimed at an adult audience;

that by the way also means wildly missing actual adult themes discussion in ya, because again, I haven’t read thg but from the two movies I’ve seen it’s fucking obvious that the whole thing is an anti us-classism commentary from how the districts are built to how the games are rigged to pretty much everything in the worldbuilding, but all the discourse I see on tumblr is about either the love triangle or katniss being miscast or president snow being a jerk and whatever else, but I never once saw anyone saying ‘heeeeey the people in katniss’ district are an in your face metaphor of poor people in the us of a belonging to certain categories while the first few districts are absolutely the 1% and the entire point of it is that she wants to tell you A CLASSIST SOCIETY IS BAD AND WILL LEAD TO REVOLUTIONS’, which to me was... like, glaring, it was literally what 90% of the entire thing was about and no one ever discusses it in a fandom-wide sense (I mean... I saw a bunch of hg posts back when the movies came out, I never saw this brought out), which... is a problem because it means that the moment people are put in front of a ya product that actually tackles that kind of issue.... they go and worry about the love triangle (which seemed to me the excuse to draw the people in the story) not about the social commentary, and like, maybe a twelve year-old won’t catch on the social commentary, a twenty-year old especially from the us should, and I don’t see that happening;

and sorry but that is because if you only engage with content aimed at a younger audience than your target first you assume that every piece of literature should be consumable/readable/enjoyable by a younger audience (and sorry but no, some of us don’t want to write stuff making sure teenagers like it) and then ask of actual ya media to cater to their *adult* needs and not to the needs of the target audience because wow obviously if you’re 25 you won’t want out of literature what you wanted at fourteen;

and this also is valid for children’s media because again, I’m cutting it short, but adults watching st/even universe and sending people death threats because they don’t agree with their opinion of a cartoon aimed at an audience that’s at moooostttt eight years old is a thing that shouldn’t even fucking exist, and if you think steven/universe is that important at an adult age you need to re-assess your priorities;

tldr: adults should not expect media aimed at kids/teens to cater to their interests and shouldn’t analyze it the way they’d analyze a piece of media aimed at an adult audience and should not presume that every piece of media should have the scope/schemes of medias aimed at kids/teens because some of us don’t want to read that.

now, I’ll leave you with a nice short anecdote which hopefully will further clarify what I mean and add to another point which would be, kids and teens don’t give a fuck about what you, an adult, do: when everyone was in a frenzy about my little pony back in 2013 or so I had to see a ton of posts like ‘AAAAAH MEN/BOYS WHO ARE INTO MLP ARE STEALING THE SHOW FROM YOUNG GIRLS HOW DARE THEY ENJOY IT WE NEED TO KICK THEM OUT’ with added people saying that a ten year old male kid who tried to kill himself bc his friends bullied him bc he liked mlp deserved it and the likes, my only thought was that... when I was 8-10 in elementary school and was actually the target for cartoons and stuff, sailor moon was the rage between all girls my age me included, we’d spend recess playing pretend (and I’d get stuck playing sailor mars bc no one wanted her, sad) and our hugest first world problem in existence was that we needed technically a mamoru and of course no self-respecting boy in elementary school would have admitted under death threats to watching sailor moon because it was a girls’ thing (aaaaah gender roles in the early-mid 90s, how fun) so everyone despaired because ofc no one wanted to play mamoru... and the few times any guy actually showed up like HEEEEY I WANNA DO IT BUT PLEASE DON’T TELL MY FRIENDS I LIKE SAILOR MOON we’d all be like OMG YOU’RE OUR NEW FAVORITE PERSON PLEASE YOUR SECRET IS SAFE because we couldn’t believe we found the magical boy™ who wanted to do it, and if anyone had told us that the kid in question was stealing sailor moon from us we’d have laughed in their face.

like.

kids don’t ask of media what you, an adult do, and it’s unfair of you, an adult, to ask children’s/ya media to cater to your damned interests, which are amply catered to by the tons of adult literature around which also forces you to push on your views and read more challenging things and to not read/watch stuff at face value, which is why I would really appreciate it if the amount of 20yo people on here who I consider adults engaged with more adult media and let themselves be challenged instead of just going back to ya/kids’ things, which are good for teens and kids and can be enjoyed by everyone but should not be the only goddamned genre you measure all other literature against because then you get people saying that lolita is pro-pedo when it’s exactly the goddamned contrary, but if you think that pov character = protagonist = good guy (which is... staple kids/ya stuff for obvious reasons) then you decide that humbert humbert is someone you’re supposed to root for. too bad that you’re not and the author was an actual csa victim so it’s a completely ridiculous reading that wouldn’t happen if you didn’t read lolita the way you read hp.

... okay, I’m done, sorry for how long this was, I hope it cleared things for good xD

[dgcatanisiri]

So, I just want to speak from my personal, individual experience and viewpoint on the Dean/Cas THING.

When I look at queer representation, there is always this part of me that brings up the idea “when I started trying to come to terms with my sexuality, would this character being queer have helped me?” Meaning would seeing this character go through experiences on screen and undergoing growth and development have been able to tell that insecure and scared teenager that he’s not wrong or broken or anything like that for feeling the way he does.

It’s probably a good chunk of why I do seek out queer male portrayals first and foremost. Y’know, looking for those heroes now that I didn’t have then, no matter that I’m now years past that point when I need that to ground myself - I think that no matter how old you get, you’re always going to need heroes to look up to (and it’s why we get so defensive when people bring up how these heroes are problematic, because we’re still looking up to them).

And it’s why I’m always a little ‘...ehhhhh...’ about queer characters who are getting The Queer Narrative™, the stories that depend on them being queer, because the identity that I’ve grown into is not JUST my queerness - not just being gay, not just being ace, I have been through things that have impacted me and had nothing to do with my sexuality or orientation. So when I think about how that would have impacted that younger version of myself, I see him thinking “is this all there is to being this way? Because that’s not how I see myself, so, does that mean that I’m not? Or that I’m doing it wrong?”

See also, littered throughout my “another angry queer rant” tag, various comments about feeling isolated even among what representation I get - this is why, for example, I come away frustrated with a character like Dorian Pavus, whose gayness is the primary focus of his character questline, so making it The One Thing the game wants you to walk away remembering. 

So. Dean Winchester and Castiel.

These characters have always resonated for me. You know, characters both who are almost defined by the fact that they have this deep-seated feeling that they are broken in some way. It’s constantly referenced by characters that Cas “had a crack in the chassis from the assembly line” with his affection for humanity and Dean in particular - there’s a pretty obvious metaphor for homosexuality in that. Meanwhile Dean... Okay, digging into the parallels, situational and emotional, gets a little too personal to dive into for me, but suffice to say, when I started watching Supernatural, all the way back in season two, I clicked with Dean from moment one. 

So that lays the groundwork for the situation we’re in now.

And look, while I was still picking up DVDs and even the tie-in novels, I stopped watching live somewhere in early season nine. I recognized the baiting as bait and was just tired - I’d watch it later, on my time and on my terms, able to skip past the stale repetition of “I’m gonna do a thing that I say is for your good and keep it secret” style plotlines that had driven much of the series to that point. I was on record years ago as saying that I wouldn’t be happy with canon Destiel unless it had at least about half a season’s worth of growth or development - it wouldn’t have felt like they were risking anything in taking that chance, you know? 

But I was actually kinda interested in the stuff that I saw coming through for season fifteen. Storyline seemed interesting, and... I legitimately wasn’t getting my hopes up for Destiel AT. ALL. Like, we all knew Supernatural would Supernatural, it was all just bait, don’t get suckered.

And then... Cas admitted he loved Dean. And look, my reaction to that was a baseline of “conflicted,” for the reasons I pointed out above - decade of baiting, way too late to actually explore this, and of course the obvious element of bury your gays. But at a minimum, given this show’s constant revolving door of death, I wasn’t concerned about that. And... I wanted that win. I wanted to be able to walk away from this show saying that they’d managed to turn a decade of baiting into the foundation of a queer love story, even with all the flaws.

Because Supernatural, being a fifteen year old series, carries the baggage of its time. To say that this show built on toxic masculinity turned from that into a softer, better, more respectful story... It doesn’t undo the harm, but it shows an understanding of the harm inflicted and a willingness and desire to undo it.

But then the finale. And the editing. And cutting. And the discovery that there was a version of the script where this was all explicit. And that the network is the likeliest reason we DON’T have that changed story, that understanding and desire to fix it.

So we find out that the script was making efforts. And that the network, in a blatant and shameless effort to appeal to a particular crowd, the crowd they WANTED to be watching, and, by extension, who they want to follow from Supernatural to Walker, cut out Dean admitting that he loved Cas, and maybe even all the way to imposing the idea that the only way to even have that is by both characters only getting together in heaven, and then denying even that.

Like I realize there’s still an element to conspiracy theory in all of this, but based on the evidence we have, I don’t feel like it’s a stretch to go in that direction, which just says how bad this situation is - the situation that is the network imposing this on the writers, and in the name of defending their homophobic audience from facing even the possibility of this particular perceived bastion of masculinity be anything not straight.

That the network would only allow these characters to be queer literally over their dead bodies, and even then, they wouldn’t even let that be textual. 

That is the network saying that there MUST be this strict lineation between the stories for straight characters and gay characters, and we’re looking specifically at male characters here. Like, the Arrowverse shows might get a little more room to maneuver here because there’s at least been some advancement in the comics and they can’t wholly cut that out (and Greg Berlanti being gay himself - if one of the guys at the helm is pushing this, they can actually exert a little more pressure). But are these queer men in the position of having the show centered on them, like the narratives were for Dean Winchester on Supernatural? 

So if they are going to allow more nuanced portrayals of queer men exist, they want them strictly as side characters. Characters who, at least in their idea of the show, can be removed without an issue.

THAT, ultimately, is the driving thing for me. That the network says not just “you can only have THESE stories, you can only be supporting the narratives of the straight characters,” but even “don’t you DARE think that you can take center stage like this.” That for daring to try to let these characters express it, the network demanded that they DIE. And that they couldn’t even be reunited in their afterlife. 

It’s not just the characters deserving better (which, we really could go in on the fact that Dean spent the better part of the series in a state of suicidal ideation, of believing that he was better off dead but somehow kept surviving, and how gross it is to give this character that chance to live only to kill him off, but I’ve already gone on for like a page now). It’s the silencing of the queer narrative, of the queer characters, this striking down from these suits saying that for daring to want to be in the center of a narrative that lets them be queer without centering on their queerness as their only personality trait, these characters must die without even getting to acknowledge it.

That’s the part that gets to me. The part that says that the network would sooner pursue homophobic money and viewers by killing and silencing queerness than accept that this nonconventional story that resonated for queer viewers, that actively survived as long as it did BECAUSE of queer viewers (because there’s no way that, without the multitude of Destiel fans, Supernatural would have made it to season fifteen)... That it could be queer.

It’s not even that we’ve come so far and gotten nowhere. It’s that they KNOW this show depended on this audience, but they refuse to accept that and refuse to offer even this little sliver of thanks, because it would impact the viewership that they REALLY want.

[vicunaburger]

Admittedly, I’m Hard to See

Fandom: Beetlejuice the Musical Chapters: 13.2/? Pairing: Beetlejuice x OC (Holidae) The Players: Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, Holidae Bell Word Count: 2,815 Warnings: E for Adult Content

Notes: LMAO. Jokes on me, this half was longer.

Chapter 13.2 - In Which We Bask in the Company of Wolves

As quick as it had happened, the kiss was broken.

Holidae shrunk back against the arm of the sofa, her bottom lip trembling as though she were about to cry, her fingers falling away from his face and picking at the collar of her sweatshirt anxiously, “I… I d-didn’t… oh that was bad, wasn’t it? I’m sorry. I should have… asked? Or… something… right?”

Much as he liked to brag about his skills at being a full-blown pathological liar, Beetlejuice was actually terrible at hiding his expressions when he was caught off guard. Not many people had been able to surprise him: after being around so long, you start to pick up on common things between humans, little nuances that they all shared in one form or another. Even though he lacked the ability to blush, it was easy to tell he was blushing; the wide, doe-like expression etched into every inch of his face.

She had pulled him to her.

There wasn’t malice behind her touch; no dragging him kicking and screaming around by his tie or coat lapels. Being shoved away in anger or irritation? He had grown numb to that sort of reaction to his closeness, figuring any sort of attention was better than none at all.

But this? Holidae had willingly allowed -wanted- him near her.

Although, by the look on her face, this situation was not going the way he had expected it to go after she made the first move. This was something that needed to be fixed now. His internal insecurities could wait.

“Whoa… hey hey now, what do you have to be sorry for?” Beej took hold of her jaw, squeezing it to encourage stillness. “I’m pretty damn sure I’ve made it more than clear that this - you and me - is something I want. Like. Yesterday. You could pretty much do anything you wanted to me and I would be more than happy to let you. …actually the thought of that is like ridiculously hot.”

The was a noticeable pause as he stopped to focus on the image appearing in his mind: Holidae looming over him in a skintight vinyl getup, one foot pressed against his back to keep him on all fours. Clearing his throat, he made a mental note to suggest that idea for another time. Holidae, not being able to see what was brewing in that mind of his, took his silence for comical effect.

She allowed herself some quiet laughter, “Oh? Just how often have you thought about you and me, huh? Should I be concerned? What if it’s not as good as you expect?”

He shook his head, subtly moving himself further up her body, easing the sudden pressure underneath his boxers. Those near-glowing eyes of his were trained directly on her face, watching for any change in her expression as he slipped his hands under her sweatshirt. Her skin was so damn warm; and he took it as a positive sign to continue his exploration, wanting to know just how hot he could make her become.

“Impossible. But the only way to prove my certainty is to test my logic over and over… you’ll be a good girl and help me with that, won’t you? No fun alone.” Beej was growling low in his throat, lulling her into a daze the way a serpent would its prey.

Holidae’s chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, her muscles twitching with every new point of contact between his hands and her skin. Her brain felt fuzzy as she listened to him, each syllable gliding over her body like smoke. When did it become so hot in the attic? His skin was almost biting cold against her stomach, feeling his sharp claws trace the line underneath her bra.

“…you’re right, it’s no fun alone.” She mumbled, the wanton tone in her voice sounding so foreign. “I can be a very good girl if you let me.”

Just like that, Beetlejuice’s demeanor shifted into something wholly more predatory. There was no subtlety to his movement as he crushed her against his larger form, covering her mouth with her own. Holidae could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage when he roughly pushed her against the arm of the sofa, his nails digging sharply into the flesh on either side of her body. It felt like she had been ‘nicked by razors, stinging as she felt him drag his hands down her body, but in spite of herself… she liked it.

Breathless, she managed to dislodge the two of them from each other, gasping for air as he pulled her sweatshirt up and off of her body.

“I’ve thought about this, ya know. A lot.” He grinned wolfishly, showing rows of sharpened teeth. “But I gotta wonder if you ever did the same.”

Her hands wandered down the side of his torso, holding him at bay for a few moments while he sat up between her legs, “Oh… once or twice… I suppose. It might have crossed my mind.”

“You are the worst liar, babes,” He chuckled, leaning back to let her explore as she pleased. “I bet you had some late nights… laying in that bed of yours and thinking about me. All the things I could do to you.”

Holidae stared unabashedly at him, her hands immediately busying themselves with exploring the soft planes of his chest, taking note of each little imperfection. He wasn’t lean by any standard, but she knew how strong he was; his general frame was stocky, there was a bit of muscle definition to be seen, but there were more areas where he was filled out.

There was a moment where he moved his body away from her touches; when she got too near the scar, ugly and prominently on display. Wisely, she stayed away from that spot for now, her hands settling on a spot just above his hips, squeezing the flesh softly.

“You look like you wanna eat me, Holly-baby,” Beetlejuice laughed, falling backward onto the sofa and pulling her on top of him.

“Maybe I do,” Holidae’s voice was husky and deep, the adjusted positions allowing her to feel the rather large bulge he was sporting now. “Would you really just let me devour you?”

“There’s nothing stopping you. I’m at your mercy, completely helpless in your sexy grasp.” He chuckled, unhooking her bra with precision. “I’m a tough guy, I can take what you dish out.”

She rolled her eyes, straddling him for balance as she sat up and tossed the undergarment in a pile with her sweater, “Well, if you’re going to be so damn romantic about it, how can I resist?”

Beej’s hand traveled up her left side, tracing the claw marks he had made all the way up to her breast. Her face grew warm in a blush that trickled down to her neck as he idly massaged her chest before sitting upright himself, the movement shifting their hips together, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from the girl on top of him.

Humming in approval, the ghost leaned forward and buried his face against the crook of her neck, catching a bit of skin between his teeth. Holidae shivered, lolling her head to the side to allow him room to do as he pleased, tangling her hands in his hair. She could feel the groan he let out against her body, and she rewarded him with a soft tug on his pink-tinted locks.

Beej lavished open-mouthed kisses along her throat, his long tongue flicking at her pulse point, “Why are you so damn quiet? Didn’t peg you for the hush-hush quickie type of girl.”

“Quiet?” Holidae sounded breathy, lulled into laziness by his – surprisingly – gentle attention.

“Figured you’d be louder. Vocal. I wanna hear that pretty voice tear itself apart for me,” He mumbled against her skin, “We’re alone up here, babycakes. I’m gonna make you scream.”

She tugged on his hair sharply, enjoy the hissing gasp that came out of him, “Maybe this just isn’t doing it for me, Lawrence.”

He groaned loudly, bucking his hips up against her, “The fuck it isn’t.”

With effort, he pulled himself away from her, just long enough to snap his fingers at divest them both of their remaining clothing. Holidae wasn’t expecting the sudden nakedness, feeling the blush return to her face, a sudden spark of arousal prickling down her skin and sinking into her stomach. The girl was no virgin, but her sexual encounters were few and far between. She turned her head away from him, feeling not just nude, but bare all of a sudden.

Her arms started to fold across her chest, subtly covering herself, but he moved lightening fast to pull her arms away from her body.

“Nope, nope we are not gonna have any of that shit going on; I have spent too many hours thinking about these tits to just not appreciate them.” Beetlejuice huffed, “Ya get me?”

Holidae nodded, giving a surprised squeak as he rolled the two of them over on the sofa with ease. The furniture creaked loudly in protest, fitting itself to her body shape on the cushions.

Beetlejuice settled himself on top of her, running his hand in a slow path between their bodies, “Oooooh you lied to me, Holidae. Not doing anything for you, eh? You’re goddamn scorching. And fucking soaked. Right here.”

His hand pushed deliberately between her legs, his clawed fingers stroking her without shame or hesitation. Holidae turned her face to the side, trying to muffle the sounds that welled up in her throat, rolling her hips toward his hand. Beej took his free hand and grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look up at him, subtly pressing his hardened cock against her thigh.

“Noooo,” He leaned down and kissed her, his fingers pushing past her folds and deeper into her with ease. “I want to hear every sound you make because of me.”

Another jolt of arousal swept through her; brought to life by the roughness of his movement inside her, and the slight apprehension she felt whenever he put his hands near her neck. She knew those hands could have snapped her neck long ago – they still could – and the fear of it only seemed to heighten the sensations running through her body.

Holidae gave in to Beetlejuice’s request, a soft cry finally releasing itself into the quiet space around them. He rewarded her with another kiss, trailing his lips down to her jaw, and giving a bite to the tender skin. After a bit he slipped his fingers out of her wetness, adjusting her legs apart wide enough for him to move between, using his body to move her hips closer to his own. Grinning wide, he licked his fingers slowly… deliberately showing her his unnatural tongue as it moved between each digit, licking up every last drop of her.

It was embarrassing how much she was trembling against his body; how much she wanted him. He didn’t make her wait long, slowly positioning his cock right at her entrance. She knew that despite how wet she had become, it wasn’t going to be enough to make this a painless encounter. What worried her more than the fear of discomfort was how much she wanted it to hurt. All she wanted was to feel him inside her, to be completely at his mercy.

It was wrong.

Wasn’t it?

“Be a good girl and let me hear you, Holidae.” He whispered, snapping his hips forward and thrusting into her hard.

A shout tore itself from her throat, and her head pressed back against the sofa, her body arching up into his chest. Beej couldn’t hide his utter excitement at hearing her scream for him - because of him. A small voice in the back of his mind told him to hold still, however, knowing he might have gone a little too rough for their first time together.

“If… if you don’t start moving… I’ll exorcise you myself.” Holidae’s command was heavy with lust, her legs wrapping around his waist, pulling him in deeper.

Beetlejuice groaned loudly next to her ear, pulling out nearly all the way before thrusting back into her even harder. He set a rough, but steady, pace; keeping their bodies as close as he could manage as though he were afraid to let go of her. Holidae locked her legs around him, mimicking the harshness of his movement against her, meeting him thrust for thrust once she found his rhythm.

Her hands found their way into his hair, and she pulled him in for a deep kiss, moaning against his mouth. She knew she wouldn’t last much longer if he kept at it the way he was, already feeling the muscles in her abdomen coiling tightly like a spring. He didn’t seem in better condition, his thrusts becoming a little more erratic and shallow.

“Fuck,” Beej mumbled to himself more than her, concentration etched on his features, slowing down his pace. “Goddamn, Holly… If I would’a known… I would have fucked you in the graveyard that day. All mine now… all mine.”

He looked so disheveled above her; his hair sticking to the damp skin on his forehead above his brow, muscles stiff as he struggled to keep control of himself. Just seeing him like that – knowing that she had a hand in it – was enough to finally tip Holidae over the edge she was desperate to reach. She cried out his name in a sharp sound, voice cracking in a way that surprised her.

It was a desperate, wanting sound.

Almost helpless.

Sounds that were far more primal – predatory – came out of him and he sunk his teeth into the junction of her neck and shoulder. She knew he had pierced the skin, a small drop of blood running down her collarbone as he pulled away. Her body shuddered deeply around him, riding out wave after wave of pleasure until they begun to subside; her skin feeling as though she had been doused in ice water despite how hot she was to the touch.

Beetlejuice had slowed himself down during the height of her release, but resumed his brutal pace shortly after. He was almost frantic in those last moments, mumbling words she couldn’t make out against her skin, squeezing her impossibly tight as he finally spilled into her with few erratic thrusts. Holidae moaned softly, feeling impossibly full of him in that moment, holding him tight against her body as though he would vanish if she let go for an instant.

For what seemed like hours, neither of them moved.

Beej was the first to break their contact, slowly easing off of her and sitting himself up on the sofa next to her, brushing his damp hair away from his forehead. Conjuring his favored cigarettes, he deeply inhaled the smoke, letting it seep out of his mouth like a contented dragon. Holidae shivered, feeling the cool air against the thin layer of sweat upon her skin, her body screaming with aches she hadn’t felt in a long time.

She was unnerved by his silence, having expected him to make some lewd comment about his own performance, or hers. Was she expected to leave after a certain period of time? Slink back to her room down the stairs and not speak of the encounter again? Her previous partners had not been the most affectionate after sex, and she harbored no illusions of a  demon like him being any different.

Holidae began slowly easing herself up to sitting, her body protesting with even the smallest movement.

Immediately, an arm reached out and dragged her over to lay against his side, “Going somewhere, my little breather?”

She felt insanely embarrassed now, “You weren’t talking to me, so I assumed-.”

“I'm fucking worn out because of you, baby, you gotta give me a minute. Take it as a compliment.” He huffed, shifting himself up to rest his chin on the top of her head, holding the cigarette between his teeth.

“Oh,” Holidae eased herself against his body, willing herself to relax into the sudden affectionate gesture.

“Lemme just tell you: worth the wait. Have to savor it for a while, you know? Plus, I'm hardly the type to kick a little hellcat like you out of bed. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I pulled shit like that.” He laughed, drawing nonsensical shapes on her back with his fingers.

“So you want me here to save your gentlemanly reputation?” The pout was clear in her voice.

“No, I want you here because I just do.” His fingers stopped moving, his hand flattening out against her skin, “Is that a problem?”

Holidae shook her head, “No, I'm just surprised.”

“Mmm, had me worried there for a second.” Beetlejuice hummed in the back of his throat, “You’re mine now, and I'm not letting you out of my sight.”

“Oh, well, in that case I suppose I should stay.” She replied softly. “I won’t go anywhere.”

There was a very long silence that followed, and she had thought he’d fallen asleep in the wake of his exhaustion, like she was tempted to do herself.

Before she gave into the gentle pull of sleep, Beej’s voice broke through the quiet, “No, you won’t.”

Writing Tags: @mr-geuse @paxenera @leiasolo77 @go-commander-kim @ashemspirit @asriells

[itsclydebitches]

Why do you like Lore Olympus? I'm genuinely curious because I've seen a lot of harsh criticisms toward the comic, from its inaccuracies regarding its use of Greek Mythology to the plethora of harmful queer stereotypes. I tried reading it myself but honestly, if you took out all the Greek Mythology references and naming, it just seems like another "far older man courts a barely adult woman" love story with bad queer rep thrown it.

Happy to explain! Let’s tackle what’s perhaps the most complicated aspect first. 

As a former Classics major I can tell you that there is no “Greek Mythology.” Meaning, there is no singular Greek Mythology that can be referenced and consulted in any uniform way. Which is a really difficult thing to conceptualize in an age of print publications and careful record keeping. Unsure about whether Harry ever cursed Draco with such-and-such hex? Re-read the Harry Potter books to find out. Want to claim that Sherlock was horrible to Watson and frequently insulted him? We can comb through Doyle’s shorts stories and novels, tally every insult, and find out. These are canons and, as messy as the term “canonical” has become with more adaptations and transmedia storytelling, most characters have a set, fixed existence that we can return to and use as evidence. Not so with Greek Mythology. Born of oral storytelling, there are a hundred different versions of every myth, some changes more stark than others. Some of those versions were written down. Then written down again (differently). Then written down again (differently still). Then we realized they were almost all being written down by men and huh, I wonder if that has any impact on how they framed the story (spoiler: it absolutely does). And all of this doesn’t even take into account the issue of translation. Regardless of what Ovid may have put down on the page, you’re going to get a different experience depending on whether you read Melville or Gregory. There’s a reason why everyone was so excited over Emily Wilson being the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English. Her perspective and her experience as a woman by default changes the way she approaches the text. Even something as simple as a single description can have a HUGE impact depending on how it is translated. Take this excerpt from a NYT article: 

“The prefix poly,” Wilson said, laughing, “means ‘many’ or ‘multiple.’ Tropos means ‘turn.’ ‘Many’ or ‘multiple’ could suggest that he [Odysseus] is much turned, as if he is the one who has been put in the situation of having been to Troy, and back, and all around, gods and goddesses and monsters turning him off the straight course that, ideally, he’d like to be on. Or, it could be that he’s this untrustworthy kind of guy who is always going to get out of any situation by turning it to his advantage. It could be that he’s the turner.”

Is Odysseus a poor victim turned around by monsters and fate, or is he a schemer capable of turning it all to his advantage? It all depends on how it’s translated and whoever wants to make a case for Odysseus being a “good” or “bad” guy can point to this translation as evidence… or another. Or another. There are just too many versions for anyone to definitely say what these gods and others are “really” like. 

I put so much emphasis on this because the biggest criticism I’ve seen leveled against the comic is the characterization of Apollo. He would never rape Persephone! How dare you twist his character like that! Except Apollo isn’t a character that exists in a fixed canon. He belongs to an overwhelming corpus of complicated, contrary, contrasting myths… and yes, in some of those he raped. Arguably. It, again, comes down to translation and interpretation. Take this excerpt from Nancy Rabinowitz’s paper “Greek Tragedy: A Rape Culture?” 

Creusa, raped by Apollo years ago, conceived a child and abandoned him… For the purposes of this paper, I have to address the question of whether Creusa was in fact raped by the god. Hermes mixes the terminology in the prologue; he asserts that the god Apollo “yoked the daughter of Erechtheus in marriage (γάμοις)”, but he also says “by force (βίᾳ)” (10-11). Ion later (1524-25; cf. 341, 325) wonders whether Creusa was really raped, or whether she was just alleging that the god took her by violence to cover up an indiscretion of her own – a similar situation could be imagined in our own day, where false allegations may arise from young girls’ fear of confessing consensual relations to their parents. Lefkowitz argues that women tend to cooperate in their seduction by a god. While it might seem obvious that Ion is simply wrong, there is the further implication that though Apollo raped Creusa, she also desired him” (11-12). 

So if we’re looking for evidence that Smythe’s interpretation of Apollo is the “correct” one, it exists… depending on what you read and how you choose to interpret it: whether a mortal woman can ever truly give consent due to the power difference between her and a god, whether it was safe to say no, whether she might have lied to protect herself, whether it was something a part of her desired but perhaps didn’t entirely want, etc. It’s that last bit in particular—those difficult questions—that Smythe explores in her comic. Persephone wants to explore her sexuality. She wants a way out of her virgin obligations. But she’s also pressured into sex by Apollo. He doesn’t stop when she expresses discomfort. She doesn’t feel safe asserting herself and telling him to stop. It’s rape, but it’s a far more complicated situation than the rape scenario of “Evil man forces himself on woman in the back of an alleyway” and Smythe treats the tragedy with nuance and respect, even in a comic filled with so much humor. 

The people I see most upset about Lore Olympus are those who talk about the gods and their associated mortals as if they’re characters out of a book. They read one version once—or maybe two—and, as is natural in the 21st century, decided that This Is How The Story Goes. Even though every academic would be losing their mind over such definitive statements as, “Such-and-Such would never do this.” That’s simply not how records this ancient, sporadic, political, and downright messy work. So as someone with some knowledge of how Greek Mythology functions, I’m not at all put off by the comics’ “inaccuracies.” Because they’re simply not inaccuracies, just interpretations. Not liking those interpretations is fine, but that doesn’t mean Smythe was wrong for providing them. 

As for the rest, I’ll try to limit myself to bullet points: 

The age difference between Persephone and Hades is definitely A Thing and I admittedly didn’t realize that was the case when I started reading. I assumed that Persephone, like most of the cast, was hundreds/thousands of years old and just had a child-like personality. I basically realized around the time Hades did that she’s so young. That being said, the issue of age differences changes for me once you reach such insane ages. That’s why I still ship Ozqrow: Ozpin is hundreds of years older than him but at that point he’s going to be older than everyone. Always. Limiting his ships to only those who are close to Ozpin’s age means you can’t ship him at all (unless you ship him with Salem post-grimm pool and… no). It’s a similar situation with Hades. Yes, there are plenty of gods his age that he could date (and indeed he does) but he is always going to be thousands of years older than Persephone. She can literally never catch up to him, so if someone has an issue with the age gap then they have to accept that it will simply never go away. They can never be a couple in which case yeah, then the comic just isn’t your thing. 

Really, I think the bigger issue is not the gap itself but Persephone’s age, period. Again though, I appreciate that Smythe treats the situation with a great deal of respect. This isn’t a story of a much older man hunting a younger woman. It’s the story of a much older god who, like me the reader, assumed he had fallen for a slightly younger goddess… and then freaked out when he found out he was wrong. He’s called out for his ignorance. Others are incredibly protective of Persephone. They both try to stay away from one another and find themselves struggling. Which, to be frank, is an interesting dilemma to me. And it’s one I’m more interested in with gods as characters as opposed to humans. Because it feels less predatory to me. A man going after a much younger woman is threatening in part because we’re mortals who have so much to lose, including our youth. If you enter an abusive relationship that alone is horrible enough, but it also means you’ve lost all those years and all that experience to toxicity. When a god goes after a much younger goddess… they’re kind of static. They have eternity stretching out before them. Persephone potentially “losing” ten years to a relationship with Hades just isn’t the same thing as a mortal losing ten years to a relationship of their own. Gods, though they seem quite human, simply aren’t and thus for me questions of morality and what’s ethical in any given situation changes. We have a cast who, when Eros gets upset and murders a whole bunch of humans, Zeus shrugs and says they’ll just make more. Their concept of right and wrong differs from ours and it invites the reader to apply that to every situation: is it as wrong for an older god to go after a 19yo goddess as it would be for an older man to go after a 19yo woman? Many readers may decide it is—to some extent the text decides it is—but the story still possesses ambiguity and invites the reader to grapple with it. That’s compelling. 

Connected to this, I like how much agency Persephone has throughout the series. She’s very much a character who defies expectations, particularly when it comes to her sexuality. Far from being a meek, vulnerable woman who is preyed on by Hades, she is making constant, active decisions about her own romantic and sexual encounters. Even if that decision is just acknowledging how unsure she still is: does she want to remain a virgin? Does she want Apollo? Does she want Hades? Is it okay to make out with Ares? Wear this very short dress? Get drunk? Explore a city? Invite this person over? Have feelings for your boss? Persephone is grappling with a lot of questions that don’t have easy answers and the fact that the story gives her the room to do that grappling is fantastic. I’ve spoken before about my dislike of the Strong Female Character—someone who is not just physically intimidating but who also never, EVER hesitates. She knows precisely what she wants and she’s going to take it! Which is a great portrayal of one kind of woman… but I’m not that kind. I hem and haw and am anxious like Persephone. So for me it’s refreshing to see a story that paints uncertainty as strength. She’s allowed the space to be unsure and confused and is never belittled for that. 

Honestly I’m not sure what the issue with the queer rep is? Beyond the fact that Lore Olympus doesn’t seem to have any (unless I’m forgetting some. Very possible). Which, admittedly, is far from great, but if I dismissed every story due solely to a lack of queer characters I would limit a lot of my potential media. So for me, personally, that’s not a deal breaker. Taking a stab in the dark, I’ll make an assumption that people are upset about certain characterizations like Eros? Which, fair. But we also have the flip side that effeminate, flamboyant men do exist. It’s another complicated, touchy subject, but there’s a fine line between enforcing stereotypes and acknowledging that those stereotypes often do arise out of something. Some people hate the media image of the queer kid decked out in rainbows. Other people look at their own wardrobe and backpack and go, “Actually… yeah. That can be accurate.” For me stereotypes are primarily an issue given their prevalence. It’s an issue when that’s the only way queer characters are portrayed, but Lore Olympus doesn’t have that problem because, again, it’s focused on het relationships. Eros might potentially be a (non-confirmed?) queer stereotype… or he’s a battle-hardened warrior who also likes to gush about gossip while baking, the sort of complex gender portrayal that people claim to want. It depend on how you approach it. So no, Lore Olympus isn’t breaking any ground with queer rep but, as said, I do appreciate how it treats sexual assault—among other sensitive, relevant issues. It’s a trade-off. No piece of media is going to be perfect. I could say the same thing about so many great stories. The Mandalorian doesn’t have any queer rep! No, it doesn’t, but it is giving us a fantastic story about a bounty-hunter turned dad that challenges a number of Western gender assumptions so… trade-off. 

I likewise enjoy that characters call one another out on shitty, toxic behavior without completely losing who those characters are. (Again, supposedly who they are based on the lecture I gave at the start lol). Meaning, it would be kind of weird if Zeus wasn’t a womanizer. That’s what we expect of him, so changing that would likewise change one of the most fundamental aspects of what makes Zeus-Zeus in the general public’s perception of him. But we still have scenes of Hera and others calling him out on that shit, so it’s a balance between modern sensibilities and character expectations. 

The characters overall are just wonderfully complex. Persephone doesn’t seem so at first glance, but that’s partly the point: she’s nothing like what everyone assumes she is and it’s those assumptions that she’s learning to push back against. But overall Smythe has a real knack for emphasizing the human (or god) complexity. We hate Eros for helping Aphrodite punish Persephone. Then we feel bad for him because of his sob story. Then we pull back because he’s called out for being a dick and making himself look like the victim. Then we come to the realization that his side of the story was still accurate in many ways and finally end on… he’s flawed. He’s just a flawed person. He’s not a saint. He’s not the devil. He’s a guy who screwed up one moment and did something good the next. Perhaps it’s just me coming out of the nonsense that was Volume 7 of RWBY, but it’s refreshing to read a story where that complexity is emphasized and (most) flaws are forgiven while still being acknowledged. 

Overall I just find it to be a fun, entertaining story! lol. The artwork is beautiful. The humor is great. There’s a nice balance between plot and introspection. There are issues with the series, sure, but none thus far have kept me from enjoying the experience of reading it. I fully support anyone’s right to go, “Nope. Not for me.” For any reason. But I also feel like Lore Olympus is a good example of Tumblr’s recent emphasis on pure media: it must be PERFECT. Otherwise chuck it in the bin. Lore Olympus does a lot of the things that people on this site call for. Respectful depictions of assault. Emphasis on mental health. Storytelling from a woman’s perspective. Numerous types of woman characters. Being careful about who engages with sensitive material and how (each chapter that contains such issues has a trigger warning at the start, impossible to miss). Lore Olympus does a lot right… and some things wrong. Which is what we would expect of any good story. So it feels disingenuous of me—if not outright dangerous—to paint it as worse than I actually think it is. I want media to continue to improve, but I also don’t want to scare off authors from even trying because they were raked across the coals for not creating perfection. Smythe, to my mind, is definitely trying and that should be acknowledged.