#i think that aspect of writing is often overlooked

[hollowed-theory-hall]

this is probably stupid to ask, but do you like snape? or the marauders? there's always fanwars happening between marauders stans and snape stans. tbh i'm just curious where you stand (i like both, and prefer their canon selves rather than the fanon which is btw really stupid. they feminized sirius so much its not even sirius anymore.) what made you like snape? if you do, or are you neutral with him? just for a change of question since i always ask about harry.

Thanks for the ask! I don't think it's stupid.

I prefer their canon counterparts as well, the Marauders fanon has so little to do with canon I can hardly call the characters by the same name. They just aren't the same characters. Anyway, I'm gonna try and summarise my highly subjective opinions about them here.

1. Sirius Black

He's my second most favorite character and my favorite among the characters you mentioned. I wrote about him a lot on this blog, so I don't really feel the need to write more.

But, he's smart, resilient, and goofy on occasion. His love for Harry is one of my favorite aspects of his character because he loves Harry so much. And he has his flaws. He can be cruel, cold, and arrogant and I wouldn't like him as much if he wasn't visibly a member of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black regardless of how much he tried to get away from his legacy. I love how messy his feelings about his family are. He left Regulus' room as it was, even though the rest of the house got cleaned by the Order. He stayed in his mother's bedroom even when all the conversations he had with her portrait were in screams. I love his distrust in Dumbledore after everything he's been through and how he chooses to remain for Harry's sake — he's willing to do anything for Harry's sake.

I just truly love Sirius.

2. Severus Snape

He's the next on this list because I do like Snape, he's not a character I'm passionate about, but I like him. I think he shouldn't be a teacher (I think he hates being a teacher more than his students hate him teaching them) but he's a talented potion maker and wizard. And he is a very entertaining character, even without knowing everything about him.

But what really makes me like Snape is that I find him interesting. I think his psychology is interesting, as is his dynamic with Lily, Dumbledore, and Voldemort. Snape is a fascinating character to study from a lot of angles, and even as a reader, there is quite a bit that's up in the air about him because he's that good at being a spy and not giving us anything.

The other major thing I like about him is his competence as a spy and wizard. If there's one thing I love in my fictional characters — it's competence (and intelligence). I often joke with my irl friends that Snape is the only competent Death Eater and the only competent member of the Order of the Phoenix. We then joke that if we were in his shoes, surrounded by a lot of people who don't actually do anything and we're the only ones affecting this war from both sides, we'd probably be bitter too.

A little note that seems overlooked about Snape often in the fandom, in general, is how we think, "Oh, he's so great at Occlumancy and not being emotional" — that's not strictly true. When it comes to Lily or the Marauders all his well-crafted Occlumancy kinda goes out the window. In books 3 and 5 he throws actual temper tantrums about Sirius Black. Like, I feel Snape, deep down is actually super not well adjusted and is an emotionally unstable mess, but he learned to pretend otherwise. Basically, all the cold facade is just that — a facade. He isn't really that stoic.

3. James Potter

I'm weird about James. Like, he's almost a nonentity and what we do hear about him is either negative or comes from biased sources.

I do tend to give him more of the benefit of the doubt than a lot of other fans who prefer canon James do. He was awful when he was younger, he was a bully and he assaulted Snape and there is no excuse for his actions. That being said, I can believe he changed. War changes you and you'd be hard-pressed to find a 21-year-old who isn't ashamed of a lot of what they did or said when they were 15. And yes, some of what James did is definitely more extreme than that of the average person, but it isn't that extreme compared to the environment he grew up in. Remus tells Harry everyone was casting Levicorpous on each other in the halls. I'm not saying any of the bullying is okay, I'm just saying it probably seemed normal to him and this is important context. Same as I don't think Snape is abusive towards students when put in the context of their culture and environment where, until recently, they caned students (Snape actually seems very averse to corporeal punishment. He also likely treats Harry very different than he does literally any other student, but this is the James section).

I just, like the idea of James changing for the better. I'd like to think he did. That life and war and loss taught him something.

4. Peter Pettigrew

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I like Pettigrew more than Lupin. He's awful, he's pathetic, he's a cowardly rat man and I find his sniveling funny. Whenever I try to think of a what-if scenario in my head, Pettigrew is somehow the key to it. Because he's a character that affects so much of the plot in some incredibly crucial moments — he betrayed James and Lily, he resurrected the Dark Lord, and later, he allows Harry's survival. Idk, I just find his situation and just how pathetic he could get fascinating. It's, like, there is no rock bottom for this guy, he keeps digging. Like, you can't get more pathetic than living as a rat for 12 years when you could've moved to Argentina or something.

And at the same time, he clearly has some residual care for Harry for his father's friendship. He has so many opportunities to kill Harry or kidnap him when he runs away to join Voldemort — but he doesn't. Even after Sirius escapes and he knows his time is up, he still leaves Harry alive. When he is supposed to kill him in book 7, he doesn't, he again lets him go and pays with his own life for it. Like, again, idk, it's just how I feel.

5. Remus Lupin

I know I placed Lupin last, and it's because I don't personally like him that much. Pretty sure this is a little controversial, but I don't really like book Lupin, he does not vibe with me, at all. (Though I'd choose book Lupin over Marauders fandom Lupin every time)

Like, it bothers me that he doesn't actually care about Harry (the only one on the list who willingly physically harmed Harry, in a moment of anger, but still). It was Harry who asked to be taught the Patronus, if it was up to Remus, he wouldn't be involved in Harry's life at all. He tried to run on his wife when she got pregnant because he was scared. Like, Petttigrew is given shit for being a cowardly Gryffindor, but, look, you need some guts to betray your friends, so I'd argue Remus is the most cowardly Marauder (it's easy to be brave when you don't care for your own life).

But, all of this is part of his character and the story wouldn't be what it is if Remus bothered to get his head out of his own ass and check up on Harry. How he behaves makes him my personal least favorite Marauder, but I want Lupin to be a cowardly guy who runs away from attachment and responsibility because he doesn't trust himself with anything (especially not anything good). He's not cool, or suave, and he's desperate for people to like him but without actually knowing him because he thinks that if they do they'd run away screaming like he wants to run from himself. Honestly, I don't get why the Mauraders fandom made James the people-pleaser when Remus Lupin is right there always telling people what they want to hear so they'd like him.

Again, these are all my own personal subjective opinions, but yeah.

[unravelingwires]

Orts

One of my recent projects has involved quote gathering. It’s based on an assignment from my creative writing class intended to make us think about turns of phrase in our free time: we were supposed to gather quotes from our everyday lives and read them aloud in class. After the class ended, I started writing quotes from the books I read on sticky notes and putting them up on my room walls.

Over Thanksgiving break, I gained six new quotes. I’m torn between two for my favorites. My first is a Brennan Lee Mulligan quote from The Wizard, The Witch, and the Wild One: “Many who have destiny curse it, but what a burden to choose any path under the sun.” My second is from Terry Pratchett’s Soul Music: “It was sad music. But it waved the sadness like a battle flag. It said the universe had done all it could but you were still alive.” 

I have an old love for turns of phrase so sharp my fingers bleed. It feels a little bit like blasphemy to steal sentences from their home, rob them of their context, and dangle what’s left from the walls of my room. I can’t help it, though. The brilliance of wrapping yourself in the wisdom of the world is too good to pass up. 

[wonder-worker]

Wild how we know that Elizabeth Woodville was officially appointed to royal councils in her own right during her husband’s reign and fortified the Tower of London in preparation of a siege while 8-months pregnant and had forces gathering at Westminster “in the queen’s name” in 1483 – only for NONE of these things to be even included, let alone explored, in the vast majority of scholarship and historical novels involving her.

[exoexid]

i won't let anyone tell me ever again that my history degree is useless. i won't allow anyone to say that humanistic and social sciences don't count under capitalism, and aren't able to help us all """progress""", or bring significant changes to our reality. we are seeing the roots of the "no one of us can be free until everybody is free" quote (thank you maya angelou!!), and how it all comes down to learning and studying and listening to our past and the people all around the world affected by a (western established) multifaceted system that is failing now more than ever because thanks to social media and the global connection it's giving to all of us it cannot look away anymore. a system (and its enablers) that slowly but surely are being exposed and forced to take responsibility in such a impactful and inescapable domino effect.

you start by reading about i/p and then you find yourself reading and informing yourself about yemen. about the ethnocide of the uyghurs. about armenia. about sudan and tigray and the congo. about why namibia is responding to germany. about south africa, and about the numerous human rights violations north american first nations have been suffering for centuries (about the residential schools, about how many reserves don't have clean drinking water...). about thousands of refugee camps and dangerous migrations and why people risk their lives to cross the mediterranean.

it all comes down to caring, even if just a little bit, about things that happened not too long ago actually. in history terms some of them practically happened yesterday. it's beautiful to see so many people fighting for justice and for a better future, but that can only be achieved if we know our past. one of our uni professors used to tell us that we don't study history because of that saying about how a society that doesn't know its past is condemned to repeat it, but because the day might come in which someone might try to deny a fact or event that definitely happened and definitely affected some group of people, and we have to be able to identify it and correct it. we have to be able to identify if oppressive tactics of any kind are being established and pushed again, even if they aren't exactly as they used to be (because they never are) to stop them. we are here thanks to our ancestors, and we owe it to them. we cannot, we mustn't forget.

[multiverserift]

An often overlooked aspect of character and relationship building is the question: "How do the characters adress each other?"

It's a surprisingly interesting facet of DS9. I think Worf not once calls Quark by his name, it's always "the Ferengi".

Rom calls him only "Quark", I think, once or twice in the whole run of DS9. Otherwise it's always "Brother" or "my Brother". While Quark uses "my Brother" mostly derogatively, but when things get ugly, he says "Rom!"

[For all people reading this not familiar with Star Trek, another example: When Dean Winchester says "Sammy" you know things are escalating horribly.]

If someone knows an instance where Worf calls Quark by his name, let me know. I am looking for this for years. Maybe I heard it in the german translation.

Sisko is always called "Ben" by colleagues, which looks like an intimate name. Until you realize that he is called "Benjamin" only by his most intimate familiar, Dax. And mockingly and twisted, by Dukat. His full name is his pet name, while the abbreviated version is his more distanced, regular used name. Awesome detail.

Odo even mocks Kira for being interested in Chief O'Brien. Excuse me, I mean "Miles" 😉 In my own comic (not Star Trek related, I'm not brave enough for that), I, as the time of writing this, have only three characters on screen. And I put a lot of thought into the question: How do they adress each other? And even made a bit of fun of it.

Why am I telling you all this? Because Garak and Bashir have a very interesting dynamic. Firstly, there is not one instance of Bashir calling Garak "Elim". Garak calls him "Doctor Bashir" or the classic "my dear Doctor".

Now when we imagine Garak telling Julian how he actually doesn't like him (at all!) and then he says "ok bye. Julian. wink wink 😉" I don't really know if it would feel out of character for Garak. Damn, somebody get Andrew Robinson on the phone and pay him to say it.

If Garak does it slowly with a thick, chocolady sarcastic tone and smirk, I think it would work. But it would also make him VERY vulnerable, no matter how he tries to overplay it. Which would be an interesting scene, to say the least. So it would have the need to feel earned.

It would also be an interesting callback to early twink Bashir, hopelessly in need of human(oid) connection. He forcefeeds Kira the "HEY KIRA I'M JULIAN CALL ME JULIAN! SAY IT!!! JUUUUUUUUULIAN!" stuff very early on. At the end of the Julian and the Federation Ambassadors-Episode, they respect him and call him Julian.

So Garak denying him that indulgence is an interesting trait. And if you're still reading this with me, maybe you agree on that. It's important to notice how our characters adress each other.

Garak denies Julian the un-formality of the first name (what Julian desperately craves), and would propably be shocked or even angry in return, if Julian himself called him "Elim".

What I'm saying it, it would be a big deal. Closing a speech with "Julian" could break that delicate balance and dynamic. Maybe it would work. Maybe it wouldn't.

I would love to hear what Siddig or Andrew think about the question. Or anyone other than the voices debating this in my head. Do you have other examples for this?

[oneatlatime]

I was thinking about city of Walls and Secrets again (because when I don't like things I want to know WHY) and it occurred to me how much power Iroh has amassed, just by being nice.

We've seen Iroh being nice to strangers, often in situations where he can't receive anything in return for his good manners, since the beginning of the show. I've usually written those occurrences off as Iroh smoothing over for Zuko's awkwardness or awfulness (think him interfering between Zuko and the ship's crew in The Storm), or as simply Iroh being a polite person. I don't think he was lying when he told Toph - while showing Toph - that he enjoys sitting down for tea with new people. He is sociable by nature, and if Azula's comment about him being a tea-loving kook is accurate in Zuko Alone (which is up for debate - she did a lot of lying and/or repeating what the adults around her think as her own opinions that episode), then he's always been a sociable creature. This seems to be a fundamental aspect of Iroh's personality.

So whenever I've seen Iroh being nice to strangers, I've never suspected that it had a purpose beyond the short term (cover for his nephew), or as Iroh being Iroh. But I think he's playing the long game with niceness. Let me explain:

When you're hiding under a false identity while posing as a refugee in a city that probably has a ridiculously large bounty on your real identity's head (and rightfully so), you'd think the smart thing to do would be to keep a low profile. And Zuko and Iroh are doing that! Sort of. They're staying in the lower ring, but they are working customer-facing jobs. And more importantly, a true attempt at lying low would include reproducing the awful tea that was being served at the tea shop before they were hired. But Iroh won't let bad tea stand.

I made a joke in my write up of the Tales of Ba Sing Se that it was a good thing that Iroh came to people's attention as the person who makes the "best tea in the city," because he was going to attract attention one way or another, and being a good teamaker is both less suspicious and more of a currency than just being a nice guy who stops babies from crying and compassionately redirects muggers. But now that I've thought about it for a bit, I think he was going to attract attention one way or the other because he has, all this time, been attempting to attract attention. It's not just his personality, it's not just him cleaning up after Zuko, it's him consciously attempting to build connections. It's a 'nice two birds with one stone' type situation that he can attract this attention while being paid to make tea.

Here's the thing: all these times that Iroh has been polite in situations where there could be no payoff for being so, I think he has been casting seeds. And City of Walls and Secrets is the first episode where we see the seeds of his politeness and (seemingly counterintuitive for keeping a low profile) network building bear fruit.

Jet accuses Zuko and Iroh of being firebenders. He's absolutely right. Given that Zuko and Iroh are members of the Fire Nation royal family, you could argue that they're the most firebenders a firebender could be. But Iroh has been being relentlessly polite to customers, and serving the guards such good tea that they declare he makes the "best tea in the city." Rather than playing it safe and letting people overlook him, he has given people a reason to like him. So the customers, the guards, even his boss, come to his defence when Jet accuses him. The guards are not going to let a man who keeps them fed, keeps them in tea, and keeps them company, be maligned.

Here's the other thing about these seeds of politeness that Iroh casts: they protect Zuko in the long term as much as the do in the short term. Sometimes Iroh's politeness is just covering for a single remark from his nephew, which I always view in the short term as smoothing over offence. But Iroh being polite also goes a long way to protecting Zuko from Jet's accusations. Lest we forget, Zuko steals a guard's swords, at least participates in the destruction of the tea shop's table, and at least participates in the disorderly conduct outside the tea shop. If the law were fair, half of the consequences heaped on Jet would fall on Zuko. And (this is speculation) I would argue that if Iroh had kept his head down and played at being a refugee rather than everyone's friend, Zuko at least would have lost his job for destroying some of those tables. But the goodwill Iroh has generated with customers, guards, and his boss stretches to cover Zuko too. Which is handy, because Zuko is not looking like he's in a place where he can expend much mental energy on anything beyond taking it one day at a time at the moment.

Iroh knows there is power in being nice. The incident with Jet shows that being nice can carry more power than being truthful. A lot of that is down to presentation; Jet didn't exactly endear himself, and frankly season 1 Jet would have been ashamed of season 2 Jet's lack of charm, but that's a post for another day.

All this makes me think two things: first, I wonder if any of the other one-episode characters that Iroh has tossed a throwaway polite comment to are going to come back. Second, Iroh is playing a somewhat risky game by attracting attention; so far it's paid off. I wonder if there will come a point where it causes trouble instead.

[cupcakeslushie]

I have a question and you might’ve been asked before, but animation, do you have any tips for beginners? Love your content btw 🥰

Even tho my degree is in animation I must be honest…😬 nowadays I very often don’t have the patience for anything more complicated than animatics. So I’m trying to stick to tried and true advice lol…

Probably the biggest tip would be that, yes the beginner exercises may be boring, and not look very cool, but they are essential to getting those skills you need down. The flour sack exercise, the wave principle—doing squash and stretch, and timing studies to really nail the way that movements should “flow” properly. These are absolutely necessary skills to master if you want to make fluid animations.

Planning is also another important, but sometimes overlooked aspect of animation. Some ppl (read:me) wanna just jump straight to animating. But planning in those first simplest stages really helps save you headaches in the later stages, when things are getting more complicated and all over the place. Storyboarding helps you plot your timing, choosing where key shots will go, camera angles, pacing ect.

And speaking of camera angles. STUDY STUDY STUDY cinematography! Something doesn’t have to be animated for it to be applied to animation. Perspective is a massive beast to tackle once you start storyboarding and unless you want boring shots and stagnant compositional framing, you need to learn all the ways you can frame a scene and your characters! Idk if you’re up for watching some horror movies, but those are a great source to pull from, as they tend to always frame, pace and even light their shots in really interesting and dynamic ways!

It’s also great to practice with free programs before you spend money on things like a subscription for photoshop or any other fancy software. Most interfaces are similar enough, that beginning with something free like Rough Animator or Blender can give you some good practice before you commit!

That’s all I can think of right now! And sorry if that wasn’t exactly what you were looking for…if you want me to try to give more specific advice on something just drop me another ask—I’m willing to keep rambling on!

Lastly, just few good videos I have saved!

Good traditional habits for digital animators <- basically Toniko Pantoja’s whole channel is a goldmine of knowledge!

Drawing figures in perspective

Every Frame A Painting is also a great channel for breaking down film/composition/writing—there’s a video for virtually every aspect of cinema

-Chuck Jones -the evolution of an artist

-Akira Kurosawa- composing movement

-Satoshi Kon- editing space and time

[dallasgallant]

“Ain’t nobody call the Fuzz in this neighborhood cause they know better!”

This line sits with me as a very telling one that often goes overlooked, as it’s lost in the blur of energy before the rumble. Now most of this is going to be from existing knowledge but it did prompt me to dig into poor communities a bit more. The line is said differently between the Book and the movie but both are said within the idea of pride and community— when they’re caught up in the high of before a rumble, all the energy close to bursting out of them- repping their kind and going on this spree of yelling stereotypes and taking ownership. In the movie Steve’s much more happy and hyped as he yells it— in the book he also says it to correct Darry but in a more exact tone.

In a surprise to no one cops aren’t friends to poor communities. Economically poor, crime heavy communities tend to be over policed and often met with force, brutality etc. We know the boys get hauled in a lot, sometimes just for the assumption they did something. Cops pick out, they stereotype and often target within the neighborhood.

There’s a social aspect as well that’s not so direct to do with police action and that is the social isolation. Lack of resources, mistreatment and disapproval from those outside creates strong communities that further isolate. In a lot of ways it’s a helpful thing, mitigating the effects of poverty by having a social net and trust. A detail I like is that Darry seems to be a part of a phone tree when Pony was late the first time (not exclusive to poor areas but a great example of having networks.) People help each other out “help their own” building networks. A lot of work is under the table or can be barter based - questionable legality of work, building/fixing things, way of general running of life. Perception of law is different.

This isn’t to say everyone in the neighborhood has broken the law at some point but it’s likely a lot have at least something of questionable legality or more likely have family members who are greasers, criminals etc but will protect them. All of the guys instantly flock to go help Dally after he robbed the store and have been stated to hide and protect the guys whenever they do something like this. It comes back to the “help/protect your own” … no one in the neighborhood is calling the cops because they know what will happen if they do. A family member or friend might be taken in, potential brutality, people coming in and uprooting the way you live your life because it’s “abnormal” etc etc etc.

If someone does call the cops who do you think they’re going to help? A bunch of no good, greasy hoods or the nice boys from the other side of town with their khakis and new cars and clothes? It was probably a greaser who threw the first punch too… doesn’t matter their side of town or what its over, or if some Soc is standing over some bleeding greaser kid. It’s systemic. (An aside but this is also why it drives me nuts people would assume the boys to be bigots because they’re … lower class in the 60s… let’s do some introspection there. Added to the fact that, there’s a lot of overlap with racial issues, their community would likely be FAR more integrated than the west or even rest of the town. Not that their wouldn’t be ignorance but the assumption— that’s not the point of this post but a pet peeve of mine)

Anyways, the Outsiders often gets reduced to a simplistic “use vs them” of just Greaser vs prep like it’s one of the beach movies they watch. When in reality it’s actually a lot to do with class and societal expectations/conditioning.

—

Papers if interested Here and here

Either for general interest or potentially helping with writing. Ones an older study (which skimming and certain sections I found interesting), the other IS Wikipedia but it’s for the general idea

[hostdoozy]

The horrifying implications of Meat Sweats powers.

Rupert (mainly known as meat sweats) is possibly one of my favourite side-villains within Rottmnt as of this moment. Down his writing and animation, the Gordon Ramsey parody is an absolute delight to watch.

Something about his mannerisms is beyond fascinating to me. He's a double threat, both cunning and robust. I could go on about for hours about this overgrown porky pig characteristic and how he is so much more than the very thing he is parodying.

But I'll spare you that mercy and focus on ONE aspect of his character.

His mutant powers. (read more down below)

In 'Nothing but Truffle' we get a lot of insight into how his abilities function. Using the strange tendrils that make up his arm and hands, he can latch onto his prey and suck out their 'essences'. Temporarily possessing his victim's powers while his victim is either immobilized or die after the process (implied). The key word here is "Temporarily" During the episode, after Mikey is betrayed by the British Meatbag we get this little exchange between the two.

"B-but- i thought you were nice now?" "Oh. that wore off hours ago...and by the way, you play lousy mandoline" This shows us, that once he absorbs his victim's powers- throughout the course of an entire day- they only last for a short period. This shows us, that his mutant form can quickly burn off "essences". why is this horrifying? I'll get into it soon enough, sit tightly. Let's us examine what exactly he IS absorbing.

We see that whenever Rupert is absorbing something- it is always GREEN and you what else is green? Empyrean. the source of yokai power, the ingredient used to create mutants. His mutant form requires Empyrean. What do I mean by "require"? well then. We established that Rupert can quickly burn off Empyrean after absorbing it. now i'd like to point out something to you. Notice how Rupert is often described as "cannibalistic" or "vampiric" by other characters, merch and even concept artwork. Notice how often he hunts, he jumps at any opportunity to catch any prey. See how within the show, there are many instances of him having cages upon cages of mutant/yokai saved for special occasions. Almost like, he NEEDS a constant onslaught of Empyrean not because he enjoys the power that comes with it but rather, out of necessity. It is VERY possible that his Mutant form needs it to survive. Normal food won't simply cut it, He hungers for yokai and mutants alike.

So is that it? seems pretty simple enough, right? AHAHAHAHAHA NO MY DEAR READER, WE ARE NOT DONE YET! you are stuck here with me. I had a shocking revelation, one that seemed rather far-fetch but please bear with me.

Rupert has minimal control of his powers.

When the metal gauntlets come off, Rupert cannot control what his tendrils can absorb. An example of this is featured is once again, in "Nothing but Truffle". The second Mikey pulled Rupert's arm to the weretree, the tendrils began draining it upon contact- against Rupert's will. He can't stop it. This is just one of the many instances of it. We know that Rupert can form "claws" with his tendrils based on this one Ep but this is the only time it happens. Usually, they are untangled instead of interconnected

While this could just be an animation inconsistency- please just. indulge me for a moment. Rupert is known as most dangerous mutant according to Tmnt and there's good reason for this. Despite Ruperts disadvantages, he is capable of working AROUND them. He is dangerous not because of his mutant abilities but for his intelligence. we the viewer don't suspect it because He is capable of making split-second decisions within a fight. Rupert is competent in many others ways that we overlook and mislead into thinking he's in full control of his powers. (Idk if he's autistic but he'd be a master at masking lol)

So NOW why is this horrifying?

Keep in mind. Rupert was a human- a shitty one but still human regardless. His mutation wasn't by choice. His cannibalism wasn't a choice. Imagine, you are at the height of your career and in the middle of your show- in front of an entire audience- you suddenly feel a pinch. everything is painful. Your body contorts into a horrific pigish amalgamation in a matter of minutes. The world has its eyes on you. people are watching. All you see is RED.

You've become a monster.

Once the red is gone. All that is left is the hunger. You are reduced to nothing more than a creature lurking within the shadows. A wall is put between you and the remaining semblance of your old life. Everything you work for, Gone. Left to rot away.

No matter how many scraps you pull out of NYC's trash piles. You are still hungry. This disgusting form of yours demands more. The only thing you can do to survive. is give in. indulge. you didn't just become a monster. you ARE the monster.

Whether or not Rupert was deserving of this faith is up in the air. We know that he's always been an Asshole. (both Mikey and himself go on to confirm this)

This isn't meant to suddenly paint Rupert in a sympathetic light nor be an attempt to "redeem" his actions. Far from it. This is meant to further insight into him as a villain and why he acts the way he does. Rupert still values his humanity. Rupert resorts to extreme measures to ensure his own comfortability and his legacy (i.e his restaurant) but thats a topic for another day.

To finally conclude this tangent. While Rupert is scummy sod, the situation he's forced into is unsettling when you sit down and think about it. If anything. he might have become a bigger asshole due to his mutation. (now excuse me- im going step inside this man's food truck and kiss him)

[secondhandsorrows]

3 Quick Tips on Writing Dialogue

Okay… so one of the biggest writing hurdles I often face is writing dialogue. Good dialogue. I know such a statement can be pretty subjective, but there’s something to dialogue that demands attention. There’s things involved like subtext, purpose, characterization, and sense of realism. On the other hand, there’s also character voice, expression, body language, and dialogue tags (sparingly, if you can)… all of which can be important, too. Sometimes it’s tricky for me to get a handle on writing dialogue that sounds natural, less stilted, and more as though the characters are real and conversing like we humans would (not to say dialogue should include unnecessary filler-words and repetitions we tend to overuse in our day-to-day conversations). 

Today, I’m going to share three quick tips I’ve accumulated from research and from my own experiences in creative fiction workshops on improving your dialogue. 

1. Avoid needless filler-words and phrases.

Let’s just get this one out of the way. I know this was already mentioned a few sentences ago, but it needs to be further cemented. This is the kind of fluff that we use in day-to-day chatter, like misused grammar, useless small talk, and talking in circles that, more often than not, comes across as boring and trivial. We may think this is a good way to create realistic dialogue, but alas, there is such thing as too-realistic dialogue. Focus instead on crafting dialogue that sounds as natural as possible. At least, try to get rid of the fluff, or use it with caution, as it may bog down your pacing and slow down your readers. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t utilize some small talk, repetitions, filler words, or speech patterns like stammering. Rules are sometimes meant to be bent, just a little. It can be used to create distinctions between unique character voices, lighten the mood, express an emotion that is being felt, if you know where to put them. Dialogue can — and should — be personalized to each character. 

This brings me to the next point:

2. Refrain from revealing too much information at once. 

Not only is this considered info-dumping, but giving away a ton of detail in a piece of dialogue can come across as stiff and out-of-place.  Though it may seem convenient to utilize dialogue as a way to pass information to the reader without getting all repetitive or boring within the narrative, it tends to break away from what the character (or a real person) might actually say. Especially when it’s given to a character that has no reason or incentive to recite drawn-out exposition to give the reader some background. This can be attributed to being uncharacteristic. 

Try tweaking it as to fit your character’s voice: their mood, how they communicate their values, which aspects they find more important to discuss, which topics they actively avoid or tend to overlook. Also keep in mind who they’re speaking to, and whether or not they need to hear the information, as well. 

3. Think about what is being left un-said.

Now, I’ve mentioned subtext quite a bit, already. Subtext, as the definition goes from Literaryterms.net, is “the unspoken or less obvious meaning or message in a literary composition, drama, speech, or conversation.” Knowing this, we can implicitly communicate to the reader covertly a truer meaning or mood within a conversation or interaction between characters: that a character is smiling through a grimace trying to look as if he’s enjoying what his friend had cooked for him when in reality he’s forcing it to spare their feelings. Or, when a woman says “she’s fine” when actually she’s not fine (real). Her answer is forced, her tone clipped, her arms are firmly crossed and she’s angling herself away. How about when a character is pining for another? They might stammer over their words and are prone to blushing whenever they’re around. 

There’s a lot of different ways you can go about using subtext. I probably could’ve added a lot more, but all I want to say for now is that the beauty of subtext allows to stir interest and to further character examination, especially in dialogue. There is more that can be said, but the characters may choose not to. It could also be used to hint at the reader, to foreshadow, facilitate themes, make contradictions, to build tension and emotion… there’s internal conflict that can be explored here. Let your characters tell their own stories in their own, unique ways.  

That’s all, for now. Hope this helped!

[saintsenara]

Thoughts on Sirius/Harry and Regulus/Harry?

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

sirius black/harry potter

i've never really vibed with sirry. this is not, i think, because of the aspects of it which are transgressive and/or taboo [i think these can be interesting for authors to explore and, even if i didn't, i am neither a cop nor a priest], but because it often seems to focus on things which aren't what i'd consider interesting to examine within the premise.

i never like the idea - influenced by the films - that sirius struggles with separating harry from james, and that any relationship between them would feature sirius acting out his unrequited love for his best friend, repressing his grief by thinking of james as still living, or trying to relive his youthful relationship with james through harry.

i do think sirius would be uncomplicatedly horrified to find himself attracted to harry - whether or not that attraction was reciprocated, and for him to regard it as a major betrayal of the paternal relationship james wanted them to have when he made sirius his son's godfather.

but does this mean he'd never give into temptation? no.

but i think that one aspect of sirius and harry's canon relationship which would really come into play - but which is often overlooked even when writing them platonically - is that there is a reversal of this parent-child dynamic in order of the phoenix, as sirius finds himself lacking the emotional capacity to look after harry because he's trapped and depressed and regressing while stuck in his childhood home and harry takes on the adult role in their dynamic, going out of his way to protect sirius, not wanting to burden him with his problems, and not expecting him to offer him the emotional guidance a child should expect from a parent.

this would enable - in a sexual and/or romantic relationship between them - a really quite interesting power balance, in which sirius would have the power inherent in him being the older of the two [although, obviously he doesn't actually have much more life experience than harry] and the person who is most obviously transgressing the boundaries which are supposed to exist between them [because he's harry's legal guardian and because, as the adult, he's supposed to reiterate that boundary if harry attempt to cross it], but harry would feel a responsibility for sirius' welfare which made those boundaries feel less tangible to him.

i think you can do some really thorny stuff with that.

regulus black/harry potter

harry canonically suggests he thinks regulus is mid - and nobody wants to date a man who's constantly thinking about how they're less attractive that their own brother.

[cuppakouhii]

I'm here for the "Senshi is trans" headcanons because of the most recent episode, and I hear you. But an often overlooked aspect of fantasy writing and character design is the for dwarven folk, women can be just as masculine as men. It varies depending on the source, but depending on the culture, author, and/or creator, dwarven women can have beards just as magnificent as dwarven men, and I choose to believe Ryoko Kui knows this and is going to acknowledge this within the world of Dungeon Meshi (if she hasn't already, anime only here). KEEP YOUR TRANS HEADCANONS THO, I DON'T WANT TO DISCOURAGE Y'ALL!!!!! I just think it's a neat little aspect that we don't see often, and I hope to see it in this series.

[alpaca-clouds]

Explaining Solarpunk With The Help Of Princess Mononoke

Recently I was asked to write an essay about Solarpunk - and especially the "punk" of Solarpunk and how it is used to tell stories - for a German publication that will be released later this year. Originally someone else had been asked to write an essay, but the publishers were not happy with that essay, becuase that essay very much focused just on the history, and worse, on the history in "the west". So, I did what I already do in this blog over and over: Ramble about Solarpunk. Though for that essay I tried to get it a bit scientific sounding. ;)

I did talk about the history of the genre, too, and about how the punk genre came to be. But with Solarpunk I especially talked about the influence of Hayao Miyazaki and Ursula K. LeGuin. And while discussing how those stories influenced Solarpunk as a genre, I realized one thing: The most Solarpunk Ghibli movie is Princess Mononoke. In fact, that movie is so Solarpunk, that I think it can be used to explain the genre more than anything. And that is despite the fact that this movie is not science fiction, but set in the Japan of the 14th century.

Because, well... I will repeat: No, Solarpunk does not necessarily need to be a SciFi setting. You can write a story that is fundamentally Solarpunk in almost any setting.

Now, let me talk a moment about Princess Mononoke, for everyone who has not watched the movie (at least in a while):

Princess Mononoke is the story of Ashitaka, the prince of the Emishi (one of the technically erased indigenous cultures of Japan). After his village gets attacked by a corrupted god, he travels west to find one of the last mountain gods in the hope that this god can heal him. Before he finds the god, however, he gets drawn into the conflict between a settleman calling itself Irontown and the minor gods of nature living around it. The gods try to bring down Irontown, which is lead by Lady Eboshi, as the iron extraction is destroying nature and with it the gods themselves, too. On the side of the gods, there is also San, a girl who had been abandoned in the forest by her parents and was taken in by the wolf gods. Ashitaka finds, that he will have to help both sides to find a peaceful solution.

Now, the movie is very interesting from so many Solarpunk aspects.

The central conflict is very much a conflict between men and nature, but one where both sides are shown with a lot of nuance. As well as having some aspects that a lot of people tend to overlook - like the importance of Ashitaka's perspective as an indigenous man.

Now, the movie could have been quite simple, but Miyazaki chose to not make it that way. Because the quite interesting point is, that Irontown is filled with people from the Untouchable Caste of Japanese society. (Because yes, Japan has a Caste system - untouchables exist to this day.) Untouchables were prostitutes, people who worked certain other jobs like mortician, sick people and such. And Eboshi is a former prostitute, who knew of this and decided to fill her town with only other untouchables, often rescuing them from abject poverty. And she does care about them. She wants to help those people. She just does not see the value in the nature she is destroying compared to the value she can create for herself and her people by selling weapons.

The mythology shown in the movie, rather than depicting classic Shinto mythology, actually is build more around what we know about pre-Shinto Japanese mythology, which has a lot more animalistic gods than what it evolved to with Shinto.

And again, the very interesting aspect that a lot of people ignore is that Ashitaka is indigenous. He is not Japanese, he is Emishi - he is from a culture that the Japanese culture (that came from Chinese and Korean colonialism of the Japanese islands) eradicated. But within the world of the movie some Emishi have survived and have hidden in the mountains.

Which brings me to the point that actually makes me say, that this is the most Solarpunk movie: The ending. Because the ending of the movie is, that both sides decide that they will need to find a way for both of them to live. And they will learn that with Ashitaka staying with the people of Irontown and helping them live together with nature.

Because the movie quite clearly says: Yes, the methods that Eboshi choses are wrong. But her goals - helping those people outcast by normal society - are still good ones. And there has to be a way that these people can live a good life at this place surrounded by this ancient nature without being antagonistic towards it.

Now, of course the movie leaves in a very open end. It does not say whether they manage and how they manage. But they at least try.

And I think that is what makes this movie so inherently Solarpunk: The mixture of those themes. The indigenous culture. The nature and its protection. And the survival of those outcasts. That is a lot of themes - and it is the themes that I think are at the very core of what Solarpunk should be.

Again... I keep harping on this in this blog, but I will say it again: No, Solarpunk is not an aesthetic. It is about themes and content. Which is exactly why so many of the stories people will tell you about when you ask them about it, are not very SciFi in fact - and not at all fitting with the tumblr aesthetic. They are a lot more like Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä. And... Well, I think that this is something people really should take more to heart. Allow for it to be more thematic - rather than necessarily fitting with the aesthetic.

[trans-cuchulainn]

you tend to write about irish mythology but at the same time you seem knowledgeable about other myths, so i was wondering if you could answer a question? my question is, would be offensive to create a version of arthurian myths but with most of the christian elements removed? christianity seems heavily baked into each and every arthurian story so i was wondering if it would be wrong, or outright offensive, to remove it?

i don't think it would be OFFENSIVE (christianity being a dominant religion so it's not like erasing a minority culture; the texts being literary rather than for religious purpose themselves means it's not like using canonical religious material – people share a belief system with the stories rather than believing in the stories themselves, barring probably a very few outliers; plus it's definitely been done before, tons of modern retellings don't engage with the christian aspects although frequently this is done in a boring way)

arthurian literature comprises a huge range of stories written over a huge time period for a variety of purposes. some of them are super duper christian. some of them are just kind of culturally christian because they're being written by christians within a christian context and that's what they know. some of them only have a light touch of it and some of them are dripping with it

i think whether it can be done effectively without leaving you with a story that no longer bears any resemblance to the story you started with depends very much on which stories you decide to retell. for example, a lot of the lancelot-grail stuff is extremely bound up in christianity and removing it without patching the holes is probably gonna weaken the story. now, you might want to reimagine them entirely within a new belief system. i would consider that to be patching the holes, as long as it's done carefully and effectively as with all worldbuilding. but just taking the story and excising the christian elements and not doing anything else is probably gonna undermine the story a lot

on the other hand there are other stories, particularly some of the romances (knights getting up to shenanigans in a self-contained story within an arthurian setting) where christianity is just the set dressing, and taking it out isn't going to leave such massive gaps; these would be easier to rework in a new context without needing to develop an entire belief system for the characters to be operating within. although tbh the whole of chivalric literature does rely on some pretty specific assumptions about hierarchies, loyalty, obligations, righteousness etc that are often bound up in, though not synonymous with, medieval christianity, so even there you do need to think about what is going to replace it

i would say if you're trying to keep a medieval western european setting, you can't really take the christianity out (of the setting, and really of the characters too in 90% of cases) without making it completely ahistorical. so it also depends if you're trying to retell it as in "i am reworking this story in a world and context of my choosing" (sure, do whatever you want) versus "I am producing a version of this text to introduce people to this story" (taking the christianity out makes it far less accurate and misrepresents the text, maybe don't do that)

i would also say that medieval christianity is much more exciting and weirder and often very different from modern christianity, and a lot of modern engagement with those aspects overlooks this fact and makes it boring and staid. but actually a lot of it's batshit and adds some fun colour to the stories in a way that can be enjoyable regardless of your personal beliefs about any of it. taking it out as many modern retelling seem to do often just makes the story more boring, so something interesting needs to fill the holes imo

so tl;dr. morally wrong, no, not in my opinion. narratively wrong, depends on the story and your purposes.

[chaifootsteps]

i think a completely overlooked aspect to verosika is that blitz didnt make her cum. im serious.

"he did no reciprocation" and "a selfish imp in the sheets" is SUCH an great way to naturally add development to an openly sexual woman! a woman's orgasm is often seen as this afterthought or chore to men, and blitzs misogynistic language (especially in s2) just rubs salt in the wound.

im still surprised that viv (100% viv! she wrote ozzies on her own!) could maturely write a woman struggling with sex and pleasure in an realistic way, all while letting verosika look at blitz with pure hatred without it being treated as a joke.

i just dont think itll be explored. at all. if anything, angel, stolas, and fizz are probably gonna have arcs about their sex lives and being exploited, that wont come close to the potential verosika had.

God, I remember looking over the character pages on TvTropes and people were openly speculating that Verosika's an unreliable narrator or lying on this point, the sole reason being that Stolas never complains.

Never mind that Blitzo has to get Stolas off if he wants to keep his business afloat, and also that Stolas's satisfaction has nothing to do with the fact that Blitzo refused to go down on Verosika.

[justafriend-ql]

rewatching my school president with the knowledge that homophobia does in fact exist within the universe of the series is such a crazy experience because it adds an extra layer of meaning and interpretation to so many lines and moments that we often either overlooked or explained away during the first watch-through.

first off: the music club's rule about not having lovers as a kind-of-sort-of metaphor for society not being accepting of LGBTQ+ couples (i.e., main obstacle in tinn and gun's relationship)

the fact that tiwson knows about tinn's massive crush on gun before the beginning of the series (meaning tinn trusted tiw enough to tell him)

gun's stunned silence when tinn admits he's hitting on him during the pool scene and the kind of scared look on gun's face when he gets flustered after looking into tinn's eyes in episode 3

tinn pointedly asking gun "are you okay with that?" after he indirectly confesses his feelings by the pool in episode 5/6

gun saying "you can't control something like this, can you?" after tinn's previously mentioned confession of feelings at the beginning of episode 6

gun's anxiety about what it means to accept that tinn likes him and he likes tinn back (e.g., "has it ever occurred to you that there are things you want to ask, but you're too afraid to?")

the look of trepidation on sound's face after filming the medal kiss scene with win in episode 6 and realizing he has Feelings

everyone in chinzhilla being on board with filming a bl version of the 'just being friendly' music video (because they're all gay or allies lmao)

tinn interpreting gun's mention of the dating rule after his implied love confession as rejection + gun clarifying that "it doesn't mean he feels bad about it" in episode 6 (music club dating ban as a metaphor for homophobia again)

tinn and gun having to hide the fact that they are seeing each other while at the aquarium with yo and nook, who can openly date (ostensibly because of the music club dating ban, which oddly enough doesn't prevent yo from pursuing nook - there's that music club dating ban metaphor again)

gun repeatedly voicing his concern that it would be easier for tinn if he decided to hit on someone else (e.g., a girl)

tinn's out-of-control gay fantasies as a possible coping mechanism for the fact that he can't be open about his feelings with his family or anyone at school (besides tiw and gun)

yak telling sound he has to accept "what he's really into" in order to write a good love song (and sound clearly glancing at win afterwards)

gun telling tinn "be patient. when i win hot wave, everything will get better. at least with our friends" when they hide from tinn's mom outside of tinn's house at the beginning of episode 10 (music club dating ban metaphor again + hints at concern that tinn's mom may not accept their relationship)

tinn feeling comfortable enough with gun's mom to tell her about his crush on gun while keeping it a secret from his own mom

tinn's mom not knowing tinn could sing as an allusion for how she doesn't know about other aspects of tinn's true self (i.e., his sexuality) either

gun telling tinn that after hot wave, "whatever shitty rules there are" can't stop them (foreshadowing the hostile reaction they get to their relationship in episode 12)

there's probably more but these are the ones i can think of off the top of my head. many of these comments/moments could make sense in the context of a universe without homophobia (i.e., due to general shyness/anxiety about relationships, the music club's dating ban, etc.), but it's neat to interpret them through the lens of heteronormativity/homophobia too.

it's interesting to me that we as a fandom didn't really pick up on the fact that there was homophobia in the universe of the series as it was airing despite all these "signs." it's almost like the show was leading us to ignore or explain them away, just like many of the characters do before they're forced to confront homophobia in episode 12.