#i would have liked to write a more focused meta about a specific aspect of this but ideally this catches the broad strokes of my thoughts

[sparring-spirals]

i want to ask your thoughts about ylfa from neverafter because eeeeee some many thoughts and i love your meta

thank you! :D i am Also full of Neverafter thoughts, and ESPECIALLY Ylfa thoughts, albeit with minimal time to ruminate on them, much less write meta. We're nearly at the next ep being released so I'm just going to toss some half marinated angstier thoughts at you for now rather than delay it another week! My apologies in advance for haphazardness!

tldr bc it got a little long: ylfa and rage and fear and preteen girls and that self sacrificial streak and monsters and princesses and. idk. its not super coherent ok.

In a rough order:

- God, I love Emily Axford's commitment to playing her characters as like...unflinchingly true to what she says they are. This IS an awkward preteen girl with all of that aching sincerity and hunger and rage and kindness and growing discomfort and also just. Tooth-aching awkwardness. Perfect.

- Emily Axford has Such A Big Brain for the way that this little Red is a barbarian, is a werewolf that she doesn't want to be. Little preteen girls with a rage that rips the world apart, the rage only matched by their bone deep fear of it.

- Red says over and over: I really appreciate a strong authority figure. I appreciate having some rules enforced. I like having guidance on what to do next. And I just. Augh. Of course! Of course. Shes a kid. She's a kid. She's not quite a kid anymore. She is outside of a house, hulking and dangerous and her skin and body different, and she is pleading in a voice distorted by something she is scared of, asking her mom to open the door, please. She's her kid. She's scared.

- Red is scared- Red was scared of the wolf, of what happened after straying, but in front of that house- by the time we meet her- Red is not quite scared of the wolf. She is scared of herself. She is scared of the damage she can do, the damage she brings. She is scared of monsters, but mostly the ones in the mirror.

- Red says: Women are either princesses, or monsters. And she's not a princess.

- (I love this refrain, this detail from her so much, there's SO MANY LAYERS to it. Like yes Rosamund and herself, yes Emily's comment during AP about werewolves as a puberty story and others perceiving. Its also about binaries and falling short of a bar and monstrous failure and "i think there's something wrong in me that others don't have, something fundamentally flawed-" and- god its fucking good. This could have its own meta.)

- Red is- wildly self sacrificial, and from tactics POV, like great! Barbarian tank! but also. Like. Fuck! This is a little girl. Far from home, with all of that unsureness and shyness and regret and something deeper that makes her keep. Putting herself out first. Everything she says to Mother Goose about: I think Rosamund is the key, so I'll protect her. I think you and your book might be the trick. I'll put myself in front of you. I create a bottleneck and stare down a sea of furniture to give my companions their shot. I breathe through the pain and let the girl fade and the beast take over.

- Red just wants an authority figure and some assurance. She just wants friends, she wants companionship and understanding, she wants to keep the people around her safe from the danger in her, she wants something to strive for.

- Red is at a fork between an easier story and a harder one and says. I want the easy story. I want soft endings and cookies and kindness. I don't want this hardship.

- Of course she doesn't. She's a kid.

- She's human.

- Red follows her grandmother down the harder path, eager for a guiding figure. She is tricked, maybe. But at the end of it- hearing about greater stories, about Mother Goose needing her help- she looks the hardship in the eye, and chooses to keep going.

- She comes back more wolf, less girl, this time. Stars in her eyes when she talks to Rosamund (a princess! In all the ways that matter.). Apologies for the claws and the flaws.

- Ylfa turns herself into forms that best serves the people around her, and apologizes profusely for it, and eagerly accepts guidance and correction. Ylfa says some girls are not meant to be princesses, best make the most of being a monster.

- "You royals keep beasts at your side! I will fight alongside you proudly."

- A bunch of cowards and the bravest little girl in the world. the bravest little girl, nothing to lose. the bravest little girl, scared to the bone and apologetic and furious and monstrous.

- "I'm thinking that- Survival doesn't feel inspiring, but I guess protecting does."

[burningsuitfire]

Essek and religious trauma

Saw this post from @balleater here and having been meaning to write a meta on the subject, theorizing about what we know.

Essek admits to being seriously traumatized when Caleb talks to him in the Grove.

(141) Caleb: Somewhat hypocritical coming from me, but try to be kind to yourself.  Essek: You, more than anyone, showed me that trauma doesn't define you.

The simplest conclusion is religious trauma, along with neglect and abandonment.

In the wrap-up Matt puts serious emphasis on Essek's parents and family being "very deeply steeped" in the religious culture alongside how Essek has "very much eschewed" the religious culture, that no one has ever genuinely cared about Essek beyond his influence and talent, that his family didn't understand or support his focus on dunamantic research (or his career), and draws clear lines about the negative aspects of Dynasty's theocratic authoritarianism and uncompromising cultural zealotry, at points Mercer even compares it to evangelicalism and doomsday cults.

He also gives us hints that it's a bad situation for anyone who doesn't follow the official faith, like in Eiselcross when Caleb asks questions about the mandated religion and Kryn theories on the beacons:

(124) Essek: It is an interesting idea, though I would caution to keep it close to the chest. Such conversations might be considered sacrilege in some circles of the Dynasty.

Which as word of god tells us Essek had a very bad relationship with his powerful authoritarian den family that didn't understand him or his goals, and he grew up in the Bastion (which is a temple to the Luxon), when the Dynasty laws are founded on the faith and enforced by the military:

(EGtW) The laws of the dynasty, which stem from the faith of the Luxon, are enforced by a network of trusted Aurora Watch captains and soldiers

To the point where Matt emphasized how even petty criminals in the prison were systematically "beaten and emaciated", sacrilege could have ugly consequences, even growing up.

Especially considering that all we know of his father is that he seemed to have a temper to the point of extremely self-destructive tendencies, and that he was possibly military and thus law enforcement (warriors function as both in the Dynasty).

Even in the dinner conversation when he was being outstandingly open, Essek was very careful not to tell the nein anything that could allow other Kryn to question his faith:

Marisha: So his lying about it [consecution] was just about going along with the zealotry and not- Matt: Exactly, because he didn't want people to think that there was something up.

And then there's Essek's massive trust problems, which are specifically focused on the word "trust":

(131) Caleb: We feel we can trust you more than my old teacher. (You see, when you say the word "trust". It's simultaneously like seeing a small hit to the heart... and whatever icy bit that cracked melts away for a minute. There's a moment of him hearing the word and letting it wash over him.) Essek: I'm thankful for the trust you put in me. And I hope to make this up to you.

(124) Essek: I've never really been trusted and so I did not trust. When I- when you gave me trust, it gave me a perspective that was so agonizingly striking. So easy to see that I refused to acknowledge it at first, even. (135) Essek: The more I begin to see Beauregard, yourself return with these markings- I've only just recently learned to trust. It's hard to begin to mistrust so quickly.

Where there's a theory that it might stem from the Dynasty's training for echo knights and dunamancers (when we've heard Essek tell Caleb that the training is comparable to that of scourgers), and we even see the echo knight in Zadash react very strongly to the word "trust":

(13) Mollymauk: We just need to know who we can trust and who we can't.  Thuron: You cannot trust anybody in this city. You cannot trust yourselves. Anyone who has not bound themselves. They are the enemy.

Other context and info gives us that consecution and worshipping the Luxon and following the umavi-written "system of pure faith" created from their interpretation of the beacons (as EGtW dictates the Luxon is canonically silent and unconscious) is required for people to hold Dynasty political/spiritual/military office and influence, to work for the theocratic government (comprised of the 12 noble religious den families), and that dunamancy and the Dynasty's dunamis research is only accessible to those working for the government.

And it seems like Essek hints at unattractive consequences to others discovering he's been lying about his faith (and/or the dangerous nature of his career):

(131) Essek: I just know that I've also survived this long, weaving the intricacies of deceit like I have, by knowing how best to keep myself out of the complications as best as I can.

Finally, we have Essek's relationship with punishment and pain, alongside the Dynasty's systematic religious corporal punishment:

(57) In the shadows there look to be multiple figures. Some human, some ogre-ish with more reinforced bars, drow. Emaciated, beaten. Not looking happy and healthy, but then again, what good Dungeon of Penance would?

(77) ...days of chosen sunlight in which the nightfall is dispelled and the people of Rosohna and Xhorhas bask in the sun. Even those who find pain and challenge in its presence, as it is part of the worship. (EGtW) The Kryn drow who emerged from the shadowed depths of the caverns beneath Xhorhas now endure periods of sunlight as part of their worship. Periods of days, sometimes weeks, will transpire in a state of perpetual evening, enabling the darkness-bound denizens to go about their work. Such periods briefly come to an end to usher in periods of scheduled, mass worship under the sunlight.

(99) Essek: I will take my leave for the night. Thank you for not throwing me into the water. (97) Essek: The pain is somewhat comforting because I am my own punishment. (91) Essek: I have seen those far older than you that have experienced maybe half the pain I see in your eyes. Age isn't everything. Experience is what hardens you, prepares you for the worst. (138) Beau: My essence will haunt you. Essek: And I would deserve it, like I deserve all of the things that haunt me. Jester: Aw, Essek... Essek: Don't- offer me any solace. (141) Essek: Maybe it's time I just found my way. Really began my penance. I've procrastinated long enough in dealing with my sins. I convinced myself I'd be alone for so much of my life. It's hard to say goodbye when I don't feel alone anymore, but… I understand. I understand and accept what I've done.

[mumms-the-word]

Illithid Souls

A Deep Dive Series

I've collected all my deep dives about illithid souls here for your convenience! These posts look into the question of if illithids have souls inside or outside of the BG3 game lore, with a more focused look in parts 2 and 3 at the cases of Tav/Durge, Orpheus, Karlach, and Gale.

Ultimately I came to my own conclusions, but I'm by no means trying to sell you on the idea that I'm the expert and can't be wrong. I wrote these mostly to gather lots of lore in one (or three) contained space(s) with both a textual and visual aspect, so that it makes lore-gathering/reading/viewing more fun.

As with all my deep dives, these posts are designed to equip you with some lore so you can build your own theories and ideas, but I do guide and organize my thoughts in ways that make sense to me, and present theories that I think are interesting or feasible. But lore is always a little hazy so I’m bound to be wrong or you’re bound to interpret things differently. Just have fun with the lore!

Without further ado~

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Illithid Souls - Part 1

What’s up with mind flayers and souls anyway?

This post begins by defining what D&D calls a soul, which is notoriously hard to define in any capacity both in or out of D&D lore. We look briefly at what happens when a soul dies normally, what Withers has to say about mind flayers and souls, and what D&D guidebooks like the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and Volo's Guide to Monsters have to say about the afterlife, souls, and mind flayers. Basically, this is your intro to D&D souls lore before we get to how the game follows or ignores that same lore.

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Illithid Souls - Part 2

The Case Studies: Tav/Durge and Orpheus

This post dives into some interesting context from the game for the Emperor, Tav/Durge, and Orpheus. Though I use Tav/Durge as the official case study here, looking at dialogue and reactions when Tav/Durge turns into a mind flayer, it's worth nothing that most Origin runs handle the mind flayer thing exactly the same way. This is where the D&D lore gets left behind a little bit and we get to really see how the game changes or adopts the concept of mind flayer souls. Read this one if you'd like a little more info about how your OC Tav/Durge might be affected by illithidness!

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Illithid Souls - Part 3

The Case Studies: Karlach and Gale

The final post looks specifically at in-game evidence or lore for Companion!Karlach that turns into a mind flayer, as well as what unique options an Origin run Gale gets if he decides to become a mind flayer at the end of the game. I ended up with a lot of questions while writing this post and I don't have answers for all of them, but it was fascinating to see some of the unique stuff you only see if you make Karlach a mind flayer, or are playing as Gale and decide to become illithid. Karlach provides some additional context to what it's like to be a special mind flayer in BG3, and Gale's Origin endings as a mind flayer are certainly unique and strange. Worth reading parts of if you're interested in either character!

---

As with all deep dives and metas, this is all just for fun! Yes, I called days of research and writing and editing fun, because I'm a...well. A thorough bitch, as Swoop would say. But I couldn't fit everything that exists in these posts and I did make a couple of decisions to leave things out, like extended conversations with the Emperor and basically any mention of Omeluum (sorry Omeluum, love you buddy! you have a soul in my heart) because I just didn't know where to put those things in.

So basically, this is not the end-all, be-all of lore! I'm happy to answer questions in the replies or in asks as well, just know that everything will be couched as my opinion and that you are encouraged to interpret the lore in ways that suits your play styles, headcanons, or beliefs.

Just have fun with it!

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

The Artist and the Fan: Further Meta of Tiny Moments in Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

So it’s possible I did a third rewatch just because I’m convinced my favorite character is queer-coded. And that’s fine. I’ve written about Guangyan as queer-coded before. But what if it’s not just him?

Behold the first scene where Guangyan gets hit by a ball during gym class:

Before the first hit, the camera focuses on him subtly watching something as he runs around the track. What is to his left? The field where Yiyong is. Guangyan is surreptitiously eyeing Yiyong as he runs.

Right after Yiyong smacks the ball at him, the camera chooses to focus on Yiyong’s face. No comment on the expression here...EXCEPT we know later in the series that Yiyong didn’t push him down the stairs, is very gentle inside and wasn’t actually sure whether it had been Guangyan scoffing about his dreams the first time they met, so this is probably not revenge. When some kid brushes past Guangyan in the hall, he automatically thinks it’s Yiyong, meaning Yiyong pushes past him a lot. So given the comedic twists of this show, my queer little brain jumped to, eithrr he has the worst pattern of aim and walking in history, OR he is trying to get Guangyan’s attention in the dumbest “doesn’t know his own strength but maybe third times the charm” kind of way. Think about the dumb shit kids do on the playground to get someone’s attention. We’ve talked about Guangyan nursing a quintessential “of course I don’t like him, I absolutely hate him and his beautiful eyes” crush on Yiyong since high school, but a specific aspect of the rewatch made me think…maybe Yiyong, master of hiding his feelings and desires, master of expressing himself in writing and drawing, wasn’t entirely immune to Guangyan in high school either.

AND I HAVE EVIDENCE *jams tin hat on head* (although I respect that this could also just be a really solid non-romantic bond, see my note at the bottom)

Yiyong’s comic:

Literally two seconds after Yiyong (post coma 1) shuts down his comic, Guangyan (who is, as we later discover, the only reader of the comic) is frantically trying to get him to continue it.

Because it’s a cute little subplot that we know Guangyan is a fan, I got curious about what Yiyong’s art is all about, so I paused on his comic when he clicked on it shortly after waking up from coma 1; we surmise that the last time he worked on it was back when he was in high school, right before the accident.

A thank you to a translation by @betty5271 for explaining what Yiyong’s comic is supposedly about, according to the title and summary he has written for it on his page. The title is King of Flashfire, with the summary “What kind of bloody storm will a gifted high school student unleash on the campus?"

(Genres listed are battle, school life, and comedy)

Hmmmmmm. So it’s a story Yiyong wrote as a student…about a gifted student who gets into “battles”….

Now look at his two characters that are the figures from his comic. Remind you of any two people’s hairstyles and clothes?

*adjusts tin hat*

Guangyan is the only reader of the comic Yiyong has written about a stormy bond between two high school boys. A comic Yiyong wrote before ever having an actual conversation with Guangyan.

It makes this moment even more precious:

Now, to be clear: I do see this as a coded pre-romantic relationship, BUT this could also be an incredibly sweet friendship, too. Just as amazing. I would love a second season where they get their shit together, if that’s where the story is meant to go. Even if it never heads in that direction, I would still love this show so much and I can’t wait for their relationship to grow as they do. Our boys are soulmates, this comic subplot shows their coming together on the monster squad was meant to be.

(Chuying’s main meta is next if anyone has requests or thoughts on areas to cover with her)

[ultraviolet-cello]

Alright since the @tristampparty is Well under way now I'm gonna do a little day by day analysis or details I like about the episode of the day, along with my usual art hustle :3!

Because this is going to end up being Super long we'll put this under a cut! [Spoiler warning for All of Trigun, primarily Tristamp and Trimax]

Tl;dr? I'm normal about how Knives is in Tristamp

So I'll be going point by point in chronological notes that I kept while writing abt this episode :] thank u to Mal for putting up with my rambles hehehe.

So the Seeds ships specifically are reminiscent, to me at least, of the Angel Arm (probably moreso the tristamp version which, can you believe, is incredibly difficult to get a screenshot of lmao)

That's interesting to me because it could be just a design choice but if it is an in-universe thing, it does,... imply some things about Plants. Granted, Independents probably weren't known abt when the Seeds ships launched, but is there another aspect of Plants that takes that form? And is that impactful enough for a human fleet to design their ships after that? Much to think about for something that's probably just symbolic lmao

Now for Knives! So a little bit of context that I will elaborate on as we watch, but I think the narrative is heavily biased against Knives when he was a child, and that we will get some recontextualization next season that's more in line with how we know him in Trimax.

In particular, I think the beginning flashback is possibly theeee most unbiased depiction of events because all the rest are specifically memories being told to others by Vash or Knives, or the whole memory thing in July. Granted it's still very Vash-focused but it gives us two major things.

Knives seemingly wanting to take Rem along with him. In Trimax, it's semi-implied that Knives would have initially wanted Rem to live and spirals very hard into telling Vash he hates Rem as a coping mechanism (which I will elaborate on if anyone's interested in my reading of those scenes), and it seems to be even more overt here.

He doesn't stop reaching out either until Rem shuts the escape pod/pulls the lever (Unclear on when that is)

2. From that scene, the only time we see Knives' face/expression again is when the escape pod is being like. Slung out of the ship. The rest of it always blocks his face and expression in favour of seeing Vash's far louder and emotional reactions.

and we just straight up do not see knives again until his big maniacal speech thing and that's,,, well we just don't know how long it's been since they crashed. could be minutes. could be hours. could be enough for knives to have had a breakdown and start laughing at the sky because he just doesn't know what else to do

i think (hope) season 2 might end up having a lot of the same flashbacks from knives' pov/an unbiased pov :]

Moving on with the episode: Roberto! I love Roberto a lot actually, he definitely grows on you. Something I did notice is that throughout this ep he says that Meryl and Vash would not last long on this planet which. That's interesting, considering he doesn't say that to Wolfwood, and yet Wolfwood and Roberto are the ones doomed by the (sometimes meta) narrative.

So when Vash is found he's been strung up by the Bad Lads gang (who have far more presence in episode one than I originally thought lmao), and he looks... a little dehydrated maybe, but overall fine.

The guys next to him, though? not doing remotely as well. Now while there is the possibility that he just got tied up later there's also the possibility that. While he does need to eat he doesn't need to eat as much as the average human. Which. is a lovely thought for the two dead guys. [Also a possibility that if Vash does need to consume less than a human, it could be another justification to himself for his eating issues]

The bounty! So it's technically Knives' bounty but whatever. [Sidenote: the idea that Vash and Knives look very similar is hilarious to me because they do not and never have to me] The particular notes are that Knives definitely had a hand in this - Vash is the only person specified alive, the bounty is obscenely high (compared to the other wanted posters), and it's specifically stamped with July Military, which. Well Knives and Conrad operate in July, and Conrad (by extension Knives) very clearly has a Lot of power in that City because he has the tower, that massive lab, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones who initially created the bounty/wanted poster.

This Thomas carrying co... coffins? Are they coffins??

Background wanted posters for B.D.N, Marilyn Nebraska, Rai-Dei, and some other characters from trimax/98. And also for Nightow. for 30 $$ you can bring in Nightow the Comix Artist dead or alive! Wanted for Couch Crimes

Roberto kinda fascinates me as a character, especially when he sticks up for Vash and suggests a duel. My friend Mal describes him as a tsundere for friendship and. yeah okay that works lmao. for all his,,, roberto-isms, roberto has a a bit of a moral streak (he gets maddddd when he learns that children have been experimented on, hesitates in defending himself against Elendira, and lies to the police to get information out of them). He's just a Lot jaded, and we're already primed to like Meryl because, well she's Meryl, but he tends to be right when it comes to Meryl's inexperience. i like him. It's also, come to think of it, possibly because Vash fascinates Roberto a little bit. Roberto really saw Vash and went "I gotta study this guy" lmao

Vash having absolutely Perfect trigger discipline lmao

OKAY SO THIS PART IS MY FAVOURITE. For reference I am a black belt in a couple different martial arts, and working to become a sensei in Goju Ryu Karate, so this sequence is delightful! Let's break it down :] The initial block is one we use to open up a person's body - if that arm is clear out of the way you can keep control of the gun arm in this case by just pushing outwards (And with Vash's additional strength in his prosthetic that's Pretty Dang Effective, especially because in gun situations you want to keep the gun barrel away from you, so you're taught to use two arms - Vash doesn't need to do that)

From there, he goes and grabs the guy's shoulder to pull him forward unexpectedly - this throws him off balance and shifts his weight onto Vash's, so Vash is taking all that bodyweight. From there, all Vash has to do is maintain his grip on the gun arm's wrist (keeping the gun away from both parties in case he accidentally fires or there's a misfire), then turn sharply and let the body follow through!

From there he keeps the grip on the wrist and twists, which sends the gun out of the guy's grip and out of danger. At the same time, he spins his own gun's grip and hits the back of the head with the barrel - Notably he lets go of the wrist, which, if he'd kept holding it, would break the arm. I'm not entirely sure which martial arts were referenced for Vash's style, but this is exactly the type of thing I teach! [For anyone interested, I practice Goju Ryu karate, aiki jiu jitsu, iado (sword), self defense, and general okinawan kobudo (weapons like the bo staff, sais, and nunchaku)]

okay i blacked out and am no longer in teaching mode. Vash's arm, when he picks up that rock, glows very very green

what does that mean? I have 0 idea, it could be that it's overstrained, or using more power than usual. I mean, he did rip a rock out of the ground.

Zaziecam birdworm heading to July from Jeneora Rock! Probably how Knives got word of where Vash was

This fucking scene. man y'all this scene HAUNTS me.

It's so. unreliable at best. this scene goes adult vash saying he has a brother into this flashback. knives says, in order, that "he finally did it", not to worry because the plants are fine, he got rem killed, and tells vash not to get mad because he's already his accomplice, and nothing else. now we Know that that's not the case because Knives directly adds in information in future renditions of this flashback (That Vash gave him the launch codes). Which. What else don't we know about this scene. Clearly it's been a little while, the fire is burning, and Knives had all this time to climb the tower while Vash was (unconscious?). I want to see it from Knives' pov.

Knives keeping a bunch of last run plant corpses as statues to.. remind himself of his goal I guess. I read Tristamp Knives as Trimax Knives taken to the extreme (will elaborate in one of the flashback episodes), so I think he's a touch uh. Extremely unhealthy.

And that's it for episode one! I hope if you read this you had fun and it wasn't too much of a slog to read lmao i'm just rambling. I hope you had fun if you made it this far :]

[spider-xan]

What’s the beetle

Okay, so I've decided to answer this in good faith, more for the benefit of my mutuals and followers than anything bc I suspect this was meant to be bait given that (a) I never once said the title of the book in any of my recent posts, yet anon knew exactly what I was talking about (which means you already know what the Beetle is, don't you, anon?), and (b) at least two other people received this exact same anon at the same time and there is a clear pattern to who received these messages, though I seem to be the only POC who got this.

Anyway.

The Beetle is gothic horror novel written by Richard Marsh that was published in 1897, which is notable bc that is the same year that Dracula was published - but while the Beetle is obscure and Dracula is a major pop culture phenomenon today, it actually outsold Dracula back in the day; the plot is similar to Dracula in that it is a xenophobic and racist reverse invasion story, this time featuring an Arab villain who turns into a beetle and uses mesmerism (similar to hypnosis) on a British man whom he sexually assaults to help him get revenge on another British man; (as a side note, I think there has been confusion about the villain being Muslim, but as far as I can tell, he seems to worship the Egyptian goddess Isis); there is a reveal at some point where the villain, an Arab man, turns out to have a vagina, which is both transphobic and Orientalist; (I think people get why it's transphobic, but the Orientalism is in Eastern men being 'feminized' as a negative comparison to Western men being 'masculine' as part of the broader idea of the Orient being 'decadent' and 'feminine'); the book is also very badly written, at least by modern standards.

I have no problem with people reading the novel bc ofc consumption is not endorsement and reading 'problematic' (I hate that word, it's so fucking vague) books isn't inherently a reflection of personal morals, and there is value in studying a novel like the Beetle for its historical significance (and how not to write a novel) and what it says on a Doylist level about important topics like colonialism (specifically the British in Egypt), Orientalism, gender, popular tropes during the Victorian era and what they say about Victorian society and its social anxieties at the turn of the century, etc.; for all of its faults and bigotry, there is a lot of thoughtful commentary to be written about the book itself on a meta level.

However, what does and did make me uneasy last year was the fandomization and memefication of the book, which is part of a larger phenomenon I won't get into right now, and fandom analysis often focuses more on Watsonian analysis, especially of characters like real people; I'm not saying you can't have fun or that you need a racism disclaimer on every post or should self-flagellate if you're white, but there are some books where fandomizing might not be the best way to engage with the material or certain aspects of a book - like, joke fanart of an Arab man as an animal molesting a white man is a really weird way to engage with the Arab man as a rapist and animal tropes (definitely Orientalist in at least two ways), especially if you are white and not the target of that kind of racism (like, quick, why is it funny to you?), and I saw very little grappling with how maybe there should be context provided for why that shit is racist, in stark contrast to how Dracula Daily did frequently discuss the bigotry in the novel.

Like, maybe I guess people thought the racism was so egregious, everyone would get it, but as we saw from DD, a lot of people genuinely don't know these things, and that's how you get serious racist, xenophobic, and Orientalist tropes that do very real harm to actual people - we're seeing this happen right now where Orientalist beliefs about Arab men being violent rapists and the idea of Arabs being a threat to the Western world are being used to justify violence and genocide - either being glossed over bc it's not fun or treated as a joke; and I'm not saying the Beetle is responsible for current geopolitics, but while fiction is not reality, fiction can reflect, affect, and reinforce beliefs that shape reality, and it's naive and denying the power of literature to act as if that isn't true.

Anyway, all that to say that I just think people should be a little more sensitive and thoughtful about how they engage with the novel instead of jumping immediately to irreverent fandomizing and memes, especially with what's going on in the world right now.

[zahri-melitor]

Recent reads discussion:

Gotham Central: I really enjoyed this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was a Rucka-Brubaker collaboration. They’re both great writers and one of the reasons their Batman-‘Tec runs worked really well together is they understand how to write around each other. This helped fill out the department - by each having their own detective teams to write it made the department feel busier as they handed stories back and forth. Next, 2003-2006 was a smart time to put out a cop book in Gotham. There was a real resurgence in police procedurals around that time, so having one in the Batman office makes sense.

It also had a really good launching pad: the one/two hit of NML followed by Officer Down put the GCPD into an interesting situation where the most visible Gotham cops were out of the picture (Gordon, Bullock) plus there was a bunch of turnover following NML. This gave a nice mostly blank slate for the two to build a police department on (and let Rucka revisit what is clearly one of his favourite NML storylines - Montoya and Two-Face’s relationship).

I don’t think as a title it would work as well now, and it would need to interrogate different things. But focusing on the GCPD solving crimes despite Batman in a period when Bruce WAS on one of his downswings worked well. It was across the other events going around it enough that references work - Helena WOULD drop in to talk to the cop who has family mafia connections about a case. Brubaker WOULD write a Catwoman storyline from the other perspective. The Dead Robins case is all the more gripping for occurring during the second half of URTH, because what if it WAS Jason. Plus, Renee’s slow descent into leaving to police is really well illustrated all throughout - these days you go into the story to watch it, but at the time you’d have been hanging waiting to see what happened.

It’s rightly praised. Right team, right title, right time.

Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity: another first meetings story. The interesting aspect of it being the Trinity rather than Superman/Batman is that the title didn’t lean into the classic echo panels that every good “we’re exactly the same/nothing alike” World’s Finest team up can’t help but run (I love that trope so much). There still WERE some parallel moments but not nearly as heavy handed and needing to focus on all THREE relationships.

It had an interesting choice of villains. Ra’s Al Ghul, Bizarro and a very young Artemis were an unbalanced set (Ra’s obviously running rings around the other two), but still took the time to let everyone get in the mix.

I also notice just the SLIGHTEST bit of processing going on here given that Clark gets to avert a 9/11 moment at LexCorp tower. Well, it was 2003.

I enjoyed it. It’s not my favourite first meeting for these three but it was a solid one.

Robin & Batman: first of all, the art on this is just so dreamlike, which is good for a retelling of an event that’s been covered and recovered so many times.

Dick’s first missions, first meeting with the Teen Titans, and the origin of his uniform is a story they love to tell and retell.

I really enjoyed that the story grasped the level of how absolutely broken-headed both Bruce and Dick are, and Bruce’s habit of crossing boundaries but thinking it’s for your own good.

I liked that this was a strong reinterpretation, rather than a redo of other versions. That said, it was a bit TOO self-aware and fusion for my taste.

The constant references to Nightwing were one thing, as was the constant Bruce and Alfred debate of child v child soldier v son. I get the meta you’re playing with, but it’s possible to be a little less blatant in it.

But the way the story merged a whole bunch of other events into this one was rather “I see what you’re doing but I’m unsure if I like it”. Stealing from Jason, Tim AND Damian’s Robin periods, particularly things that were specifically linked to THEM rubs me a bit the wrong way.

I’m resigned to the inevitable long pants but DICK DIDN’T HAVE LONG PANTS.

Waylon Jones is linked to Jason’s pre-Crisis circus origin, not Dick’s. It feels a bit icky to graft him onto Dick’s (also the altered setup of how Haly’s worked).

I did like that the trap was a reinterpretation of the Hanging Judge trap (though honestly just redo Two-Face for me again, I like that story).

D&D is Tim’s thing. I promise you you can come up with a group activity for Dick to join his classmates in that isn’t heavily linked to one of the other kids.

Equally I’m pretty sure only Damian was ever a Gotham Academy kid. It actually amuses me that all the boys largely went to very different schools (though Damian’s now at one of Tim’s!)

Those quibbles aside, it’s a good retelling. I just don’t like it when comics go ahead and merge character traits belonging to other Robins into each other - it’s lazy and it confuses newer readers.

[ask-marios-apprentice]

The Compass

I just came across the compass for the first time in like months.

I kept it in one of the drawers underneath my bed.

And I realize that I never got down to what exactly it was?

So I decided to get around to see if I can get any insight.

Egadd

Egadd is a scientist who seems to not really specialize in any one specific thing. So I figured I could bring it to him since I know it's broken.

The astonishing thing was that despite all the test he ran on it, it's engineering was sound, theoretically it should be fine. It seemed to be broken in some way other than mechanics.

I decided to take it somewhere else.

I bid good bye to he got as apparently he qualified for a grant to work on his next project.

Tari

She is one of Meggy's friends. And apparently a wiz when it comes to software. It has something to do with the metal hand she has. Apparently she's a Meta Runner. I'm not really sure what that is but it sounds cool.

Her eyes glowed for a bit when she was trying to hack into the compass software (I saw that they were microchips in it earlier).

The only information she could give me before she got booted out due to some defense measure was "It's attracted to good" there might have been more stuff. But that's all they could tell me.

I decided to try and see if I can find anyone else to help fix it.

I said goodbye to Tari had to get ready for some esports competition later that day. Apparently she and her team won due to a lucky shot.

Rosalina

I thought since the compass might be a bit more...magical. in a cosmic sense at least.

I managed to not land on my face at the Comet Observatory. Good thing too. I would have ruined my gift, a Roomba with a Knife taped to it.

Rosalina and some Lumas Analyzed it with COSMIC MAGIC...

I left them to it while I used the restroom.

When I came back. There was a meteor that crashed into the area. It had a bunch of Sapphires and Rubies and a Really Big Garnet inside it.

They were all rich... Except for the one Luma who got hit with the meteor. They had been embezzling funds from the Cosmic Engine Repair Fund.

The portion that he would have gotten would repay for his embezzled funds AND a repaired Engine.

Rosalina had been ecstatic. So Much so that I had to get a raincheck. I have to reschedule for another analysis.

They have to go to a space bank or a space pawn shop or the space black market. Anywhere they can sell the gems they got.

______________________________________________________________

Hi. I wanted you guys to know that in the original draft. I was going to use Super Mario Logan content.

But due to the controversies, I have decided to cut out future storylines and phase out SML characters and content.

I had not really had to write about SML, so I did not feel obligated to address it.

SML had gotten into a lot of controversies. But since I focused more on the fictional aspects, and had not monetized the blog, I figured that it was okay.

But with the recent events that happened back in April, I feel like it's best if SML should not be part of the blog anymore.

Maybe I will reconsider. But do not get your hopes up.

_____________________________________________________________

Garth signing out.

[auguryanxiety]

I don't understand the intensity and insistence from some fans for bdsm/rough sexual actions/implied violent tension for Ed and Izzy dynamics being canon or the main aspect of their relationship?? Specifically that they both want it because it seems much more likely that mostly/only Izzy would. Looking through canon/the show it seems like the only times Ed physically harms Izzy is when Izzy instigates it - 1. Telling Ed it's for the best the Navy executes Stede and rambling on so Ed punches him 2. Izzy getting in Ed's face about what he believes Blackbeard should be and threatening to backstab/kill Ed if he doesn't fit that image. Like Izzy caresses his face after being choked and Ed clearly doesn't like it because he shoves his hand away and looks angry or uncomfortable about it (this could be an objective pov because of different analyses of his expressions but /shrugs). I know Izzy says "there he is" which could be interpreted that Ed has done this before but I'm not certain on this type of interaction being an established thing for them just from what we had seen in the show. Maybe in the earlier years they sailed together?? But that's just speculation unless we get some flashbacks in season 2. I could imagine Izzy watching Ed inflict violence on those who deserve it or for intimidation like with the French captain tied to the mast or when he orders him skinned alive and thrown overboard for the racist comments and wanting that/liking it. Maybe in earlier years Ed was a more active role in those types of orders or actions, maybe years with Jack had more events like that. Again, it's just speculation. Izzy could have some weird gremlin fantasies but I'm not sure Ed touches Izzy overly much (anymore?) just based on his face when Ed had patted him on the back/shoulder in earlier episodes. I could see Ed being rough with the right partner(s) but not with Izzy/in the way Izzy wants - a Blackbeard type of fantasy violence play. I could see Ed using information that he knows about Izzy to his advantage, I guess like convincing Izzy of the retirement plan with the outcome of Izzy becoming Blackbeard or using intimidation or his position as captain to get Izzy to get on with stuff. But even in their platonic relationship I see people have Ed be far more violent than in the show (prob the racism) where he "became" the Kraken and when in distress he's doing it more for self defense than sadistic pleasure. I'm not confident enough to deeply analyze these characters but I'm just a bit baffled by the fanart/fics/other types of posts where they have this intense (Izzy-focused) dynamic. Because from the show I don't get the vibe that Ed enjoyed it. And I'm writing this as someone who enjoys some content with bdsm elements or rough play when it's clearly mutually enjoyed - which we can't guarantee from them both. Edit: a meta post by some other users somewhat answers this

[bonesandthebees]

Okay so, I have a few questions and was curious to see your takes on them :D

A) what’s your opinion on c!tubbo, because I see a lot of varying opinions

B) what got you into writing? Or writing fanfiction?

C) what’s your favorite fanfic you’ve read?

D) what your favorite fanfic you’ve written? In terms of characterization, plot, and just overall really :^

-🍄 anon, unless there already is one, in which case 🎭 anon

ohhh these are such interesting questions!!

A) okay starting off, I really love c!tubbo as a character. from a meta standpoint I know that we as a fandom tend to analyze c!tubbo with way more intent than how cc!tubbo wrote him, but it's so funny how so many aspects of the subtle parts of c!tubbo's characterization were likely just accidental or nonintentional on cc!tubbo's end, but work so well with him as a character. c!tubbo is logical, isn't good at dealing with high stress situations/emotions (with his tendency to just shut down and not talk if he's really upset), and has a really interesting shift in character from the early l'manberg days to the manberg era and then to new l'manberg all the way to snowchester and the nukes with his growing aggression and defensiveness in response to all the trauma he's experienced. I'm not a c!tubbo main, but god I do love his character and I love all the c!tubbo mains i see who analyze him. you guys are doing blessed work

B) tbh I've written stories ever since I first learned how to read! I got diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7 years old, so I always had a major tendency to 'zone out'. I would dive into my imagination and create stories, but then because I was bad at staying focused, I'd get distracted and lose the story in my head just as I was getting to the good parts. so I started writing them down. so I'd always written for fun, but when I was about 13ish I started getting serious about my writing and wanting to develop it as a skill. then when I was 15 I discovered fanfiction, and realized I had a way to put my stories out there and actually get feedback on them, so I dove headfirst into it to get writing practice and I've been writing fic ever since

C) man, favorite fic ever?? god that's so hard, I've read so many. I'd say one that's not in the mcyt fandom but has always stuck with me is a cardinal hits the window which is an atla modern au fic about yue and sokka. like, god it just hits hard, y'know? favorite mcyt fic would probably either be unlikely events because of just how well-written all the emotions and characterization is, or his curse of binding because of how well-written it was with balancing humor and angst with such great characterization, and I remember intensely waiting for each new update with bated breath it was just so so good

D) aw man favorite fic I've ever written?? that's so hard because I like all of them for different reasons. but if we're talking a shorter one shot, rotting fruit is my favorite because of the metaphors I used and my prose was really satisfying, especially in terms of creating a specific atmosphere. if we're talking about one of my more medium-sized fics, under the brine is always going to have a special place in my heart, again because of my prose and the atmosphere I was able to create, plus it was my first foray into writing horror and I really loved exploring that genre. then out of my long works the world forgetting by the world forgot is a fic that while I know I could've done some parts better, I also really am proud of how I described such complicated dynamics and emotions throughout the whole thing, so I'd say that one is my favorite

ty for such a fun ask mushroom anon!

[gallavichprompts]

Gallavich ‘Meta’ March

A Gallavich-themed trope challenge for March (or whenever you’d like to take part!) If you are new to writing or a writer who’s trying to get back into the swing of things - why not try writing some meta? (And you don’t have to be a writer, this is really a challenge that’s open to everyone!)

So, what does “meta” mean?

Fanlore: 

In fandom, meta (also meta essay) is used to describe a fan-authored piece of non-fiction writing discussing any aspect of fandom, fanworks, or the source text. This can include discussing characters and their motivations, fanfiction tropes and trends, fan activity, particular plot elements, choices by canon creators, alternate possibilities for canon and much more.

Meta [is] a blanket term to include things like headcanon, ship manifestos, theories, and character analysis.

Fandom talking about itself or its interests in a thoughtful way is the best description we can come up with. When it comes to intention, pretty much anything that isn't fictional or conversation would count. Meta can be very long (even a series!) or it could be just a few paragraphs. 

Meta is thoughtful, respectful discourse and analysis about characters and storylines. It is a thought, or a series of arguments with examples of the character’s actions that helped you draw a specific conclusion OR an analysis of the situation that you’ve focused on. Anything with detail, evidence, and explanation is a meta discussion.

What’s the challenge?

With 11 seasons and over 14000 fics on ao3, there’s a lot to discuss when it comes to Ian and Mickey and their relationship. So, whether it’s a topic or idea that’s been discussed many times before or something that hasn’t been analysed quite as much - try writing some meta!

It’s a casual challenge meant to encourage people to get writing more or try writing a different format. There’s no set time to submit fics, or a limit to how short (a paragraph) or long (an essay) the work can be. You can share your work anytime in or after March - tag it with #gallavichmetamarch and @gallavichprompts.

And don’t forget meta can be very casually written. There’s a lot of amazing meta that people put in the tags of posts that they may not realise is meta or may not feel confident sharing, but just know that you can and people would love to read it. You could even just share questions or ideas you think other people might like to explore.

There’s a list of Gallavich meta prompts under the cut, rounded up from previous prompt posts, as well as some new prompts!

Three lovely people who have written some excellent meta have very kindly shared some quotes:

@gallavictorious - “Sometimes you sit down with a finished observation or theory and you put that into words because you want to share it with others. But sometimes you only have this vague notion – something that tugs at you, an inconsistency or contradiction or hole in the text – and then the very act of writing becomes the act of exploration: as you put the words down, new ideas suddenly occur to you, new patterns become visible. By hashing it out on the page, you hash it out in your mind. Then you release it into the wild, and in the best of worlds someone pick up your tentative thoughts and take them further.

This process of shared discovery and discussion is what I love most about meta; I think that some people see excessive meta-ing as a compulsive need to explain away any and all inconsistencies in the text, but for me it’s not a pursuit born of frustration, but of curiosity and joy and a lust to engage with the text. For me, meta is an (often) intellectual game but it’s also, and more importantly, play: let’s pretend that all this is real. Let’s do it because it’s more fun if we do.” (meta)

@dreamylyfe-x - “When I finished binging Shameless and picked up the show live I was SO hungry to talk about it. I had this deep, insatiable thirst that fic couldn’t touch and the only thing that satisfied was reading meta. I just wanted to know what people THOUGHT. Really great meta reveals something you didn’t notice or think of. It brings a different perspective to the whole thing. It points out patterns, observes new details, or breaks down fandom ideas that maybe don’t have the deep roots you think they do. I love to write meta about Mickey and Ian because I love these characters down to their atoms. I am interested in the most granular details. So much of this story is in the subtext and meta is where you find people discussing that. One of my favourite things about this fandom is how deep people here go.” (meta)

@whaticameherefor - “I love reading and writing meta because there is so much to explore within these characters and storylines that simply wasn't addressed or presented as best as it could have been in the show. Especially with characters like Ian and Mickey who either hold things so close to the chest or need to present a false front -- it's really fun to get into their heads, figure out why they may have done something or what their thoughts were during a certain moment. Meta can help bring a better understanding of two people often misunderstood. I also really love the sharing of opinions and ideas. The sort of validation you feel when you see someone think the same way as you, or the lightbulb moment when reading someone else's meta like, "Wow, I've never thought about that before!" It's just another level of loving and appreciating these characters and their love story. I love meta!” (meta)

Resources: 

@you-are-so-much-better-than-that​ - Shameless Timeline

Ian Gallagher - Shameless Wiki

Mickey Milkovich - Shameless Wiki

Fanlore - Fandom Wiki for everything fandom related e.g. tropes, genres

Gallavich Meta Prompts - Part 1 // Part 2

What underrated tropes/genres would you like to see more of in Gallavich fanfic?

Do you have any headcanons about Mickey’s mother? What impact do you think she had on his life?

Are there any moments/scenes that you feel aren’t discussed or explored much when it comes to Ian and Mickey and/or their relationship?

What kind of relationship do you think Mickey has with his siblings post-finale?

When do you think Ian and Mickey realised they were in love with each other?

Do you think Ian stays working security with Mickey post-finale or do you think he decides to try a different job?

What kind of conversations do you think they had in early seasons that we didn’t see in canon?

Do you think they see themselves as best friends?

What things do you think they have learned from each other over the course of their relationship?

What songs or music do think worked well for their scenes? Or what songs or music do you think would have worked better?

How you think Ian and Mickey express themselves through their clothing/style?

Which serious issues do you think the show failed to explore when it comes to Ian and Mickey and/or their relationship?

How do you think Ian and/or Mickey see themselves at the beginning of the series versus the end? How have their opinions of themselves changed over time?

Which reunion do you think is the most important to them?

What sort of parallels do you see across the series - could be in terms of their behaviour, or their emotions, or things that happen to them?

Are there any underrated lines of dialogue or non-verbal actions that you think should be explored more? (Think about looking at gifsets and edits, you never know what you might not have noticed before that could be interesting!)

[army-of-mai-lovers]

in which I get progressively angrier at the various tropes of atla fandom misogyny

tbh I think it would serve all of us to have a larger conversation about the specific ways misogyny manifests in this fandom, because I’ve seen a lot of people who characterize themselves as feminists, many of whom are women themselves, discuss the female characters of atla/lok in misogynistic ways, and people don’t talk about it enough. 

disclaimer before I start: I’m not a woman, I’m an afab nonbinary person who is semi-closeted and thus often read as a woman. I’m speaking to things that I’ve seen that have made me uncomfy, but if any women (esp women existing along other axes of oppression, e.g. trans women, women of color, disabled women, etc) want to add onto this post, please do!

“This female character is a total badass but I’m not even a little bit interested in exploring her as a human being.” 

I’ve seen a lot of people say of various female characters in atla/lok, “I love her! She’s such a badass!” now, this statement on its own isn’t misogynistic, but it represents a pretty pervasive form of misogyny that I’ve seen leveled in large part toward the canon female love interests of one or both of the members of a popular gay ship (*cough* zukka *cough*) I’m going to use Suki as an example of this because I see it with her most often, but it can honestly be applied to nearly every female character in atla/lok. Basically, people will say that they stan Suki, but when it comes time to engage with her as an actual character, they refuse to do it. I’ve seen meta after meta about Zuko’s redemption arc, but I so rarely see people engage with Suki on any level beyond “look at this cool fight scene!” and yeah, I love a cool Suki fight scene as much as anybody else, but I’m also interested in meta and headcanons and fics about who she is as a person, when she isn’t an accessory to Sokka’s development or doing something cool. of course, the material for this kind of engagement with Suki is scant considering she doesn’t have a canon backstory (yet) (don’t let me down Faith Erin Hicks counting on you girl) but with the way I’ve seen people in this fandom expand upon canon to flesh out male characters, I know y’all have it in you to do more with Suki, and with all the female characters, than you currently do. frankly, the most engagement I’ve seen with Suki in mainstream fandom is justifying either zukki (which again, is characterizing her in relation to male characters, one of whom she barely interacts with in canon) or one of the Suki wlw pairings. which brings me to--

“I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!” 

now, I will admit, two of my favorite atla ships are yueki and mailee, and so I totally understand being interested in these characters’ dynamics, even if, as is the case with yueki, they’ve never interacted canonically. however, it becomes a problem for me when these ships are always in the background of a zukka fic. at some point, it becomes obvious that you like this ship because it gets either Zuko or Sokka’s female love interests out of the way, not because you actually think the characters would mesh well together. It’s bad form to dislike a female character because she gets in the way of your gay ship, so instead, you find another girl to pair her off with and call it a day. to be clear, I’m not saying that everybody who ships either mailee or yueki (or tysuki or maisuki or yumai or whatever other wlw rarepair involving Zuko or Sokka’s canon love interests) is nefariously trying to sideline a female character while acting publicly as if she’s is one of their faves--far from it--but it is noteworthy to me how difficult it is to find content that centers wlw ships, while it’s incredibly easy to find content that centers zukka in which mailee and/or yueki plays a background role. 

also, notice how little traction wlw Katara ships gain in this fandom. when’s the last time you saw yuetara on your dash? there’s no reason for wlw Katara ships to gain traction in a fandom that is so focused on Zuko and Sokka getting together, bc she doesn’t present an immediate obstacle to that goal (at least, not an obstacle that can be overcome by pairing her up with a woman). if you are primarily interested in Zuko and Sokka’s relationship, and your queer readings of other female characters are motivated by a desire to get them out of the way for zukka, then Katara’s canon m/f relationship isn’t a threat to you, and thus, there’s no reason to read her as potentially queer. Or even, really, to think about her at all. 

“Katara’s here but she’s not actually going to do anything, because deep down, I’m not interested in her as a person.” 

the show has an enormous amount of textual evidence to support the claim that Sokka and Katara are integral parts of each other’s lives. so, she typically makes some kind of appearance in zukka content. sometimes, her presence in the story is as an actual character with layers and nuance, someone whom Sokka cares about and who cares about Sokka in return, but also has her own life and goals outside of her brother (or other male characters, for that matter.) sometimes, however, she’s just there because halfway through writing the author remembered that Sokka actually has a sister who’s a huge part of the show they’re writing fanfiction for, and then they proceed to show her having a meetcute with Aang or helping Sokka through an emotional problem, without expressing wants or desires outside of those characters. I’m honestly really surprised that I haven’t seen more people calling out the fact that so much of Katara’s personality in fanon revolves around her connections to men? she’s Aang’s girlfriend, she’s Sokka’s sister, she’s Zuko’s bestie. never mind that in canon she spends an enormous amount of time fighting against (anachronistic, Westernized) sexism to establish herself as a person in her own right, outside of these connections. and that in canon she has such interesting complex relationships with other female characters (e.g. Toph, Kanna, Hama, Korra if you want to write lok content) or that there are a plethora of characters with whom she could have interesting relationships with in fanon (Mai, Suki, Ty Lee, Yue, Smellerbee, and if you want to write lok content, Kya II, Lin, Asami, Senna, etc). to me, the lack of fandom material exploring Katara’s relationships with other women or with herself speak to a profound indifference to Katara as a character. I’m not saying you have to like Katara or include her in everything you write, but I am asking you to consider why you don’t find her interesting outside of her relationships with men.

“I hate Katara because she talks about her mother dying too often.” 

this is something I’ve seen addressed by people far more qualified than I to address it, but I want to mention it here in part because when I asked people which fandom tropes they wanted me to talk about, this came up often, but also because I find it really disgusting that this is a thing that needs to be addressed at all. Y’all see a little girl who watched her mother be killed by the forces of an imperialist nation and say that she talks about it too much??? That is a formational, foundational event in a child’s life. Of course she’s going to talk about it. I’ve seen people say that she doesn’t talk about it that often, or that she only talks about it to connect with other victims of fn imperialism e.g. Jet and Haru, but frankly, she could speak about it every episode for no plot-significant reason whatsoever and I would still be angry to see people say she talks about it too much. And before you even bring up the Sokka comparison, people deal with grief in different ways. Sokka  repressed a lot of his grief/channeled it into being the “man” of his village because he knew that they would come for Katara next if he gave them the opportunity. he probably would talk about his mother more if a) he didn’t feel massive guilt at not being able to remember what she looked like, and b) he was allowed to be a child processing the loss of his mother instead of having to become a tiny adult when Hakoda had to leave to help fight the fn. And this gets into an intersection with fandom racism, in that white fans (esp white American fans) are incapable of relating to the structural trauma that both Sokka and Katara experience and thus can’t see the ways in which structural trauma colors every single aspect of both of their characters, leading them to flatten nuance and to have some really bad takes. And you know what, speaking of bad fandom takes--   

“Shitting on Mai because she gets in the way of my favorite Zuko ship is actually totally okay because she’s ~abusive~” 

y’all WHAT. 

ok listen, I get not liking maiko. I didn’t like it when I first got into fandom, and later I realized that while bryke cannot write romance to save their lives, fans who like maiko sure can, so I changed my tune. but if you still don’t like it, that’s fine. no skin off my back. 

what IS skin off my back is taking instances in which Mai had justified anger toward Zuko, and turning it into “Mai abused Zuko.” do you not realize how ridiculous you sound? this is another thing where I get so angry about it that I don’t know how useful my analysis is actually going to be, but I’ll do my best. numerous people have noted how analysis of Mai and Zuko’s breakup in “The Beach” or Mai being justifiably angry with him at Boiling Rock or her asking for FUCKING FRUIT in “Nightmares and Daydreams” that says that all of these events were her trying to gain control over him is....ahhh...lacking in reading comprehension, but I’d like to go a step further and talk about why y’all are so intent on taking down a girl who doesn’t show emotion in normative ways. obviously, there’s a “Zuko can do no wrong” aspect to Mai criticism (which is super weird considering how his whole arc is about how he can do lots of wrong and he has to atone for the wrong that he’s done--but that’s a separate post.) But I also see slandering Mai for not expressing her emotions normatively and not putting up with Zuko’s shit and slandering Katara for “talking about her mother too often” as two sides of the same coin. In both cases, a female character expresses emotions that make you, the viewer, uncomfortable, and so instead of attempting to understand where those emotions may have come from and why they might be manifesting the way they are, y’all just throw the whole character away. this is another instance of people in the fandom being fundamentally disinterested in engaging with the female characters of atla in a real way, except instead of shallowly “stanning” Mai, y’all hate her. so we get to this point where female characters are flattened into one of two things: perfect queens who can do no wrong, or bitches. and that’s not who they are. that’s not who anyone is. but while we as a fandom are pretty good at understanding b1 Zuko’s actions as layered and multifaceted even though he’s essentially an asshole then, few are willing to lend the same grace to any female character, least of all Mai. 

and what’s funny is sometimes this trope will intersect with “I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!”, so you’ll have someone actively calling Mai toxic/problematic/abusive, and at the same time ship her with Ty Lee? make it make sense! but then again, maybe that’s happening because y’all are fundamentally disinterested in Ty Lee as a character too. 

“I love Ty Lee so much that I’m going to treat her like an infantilized hypersexual airhead!” 

there are so many things happening in y’alls characterization of Ty Lee that I struggled to synthesize it into one quippy section header. on one hand, you have the hypersexualization, and on the other hand, you have the infantilization, which just makes the hypersexualization that much worse. 

(of course, sexualizing or hypersexualizing ANY atla character is really not the move, considering that these are child characters in a children’s show, but then again, that’s a separate post.) 

now, I understand how, from a very, very surface reading of the text, you could come to the conclusion that Ty Lee is an uncomplicated bimbo. if you grew up on Western media the way I did, you’ll know that Ty Lee has a lot of the character traits we associate with bimbos: the form-fitting pink crop top, the general conventional attractiveness, the ditzy dialogue. but if you think about it for more than three seconds, you’ll understand that Ty Lee has spent her whole life walking a tightrope, trying to please Azula and the rest of the royal family while also staying true to herself. Ty Lee and Azula’s relationship is a really complex and interesting topic that I don’t really have time to explore at the moment given how long this post is, but I’d argue that Ty Lee’s constant, vocal  adulation is at least partially a product of learning to survive at court at an early age. Like Mai, she has been forced to regulate her emotions as a member of fn nobility, but unlike Mai, she also has six sisters who look exactly like her, so she has a motivation to be more peppy and more affectionate to stand out. 

fandom does not do the work to understand Ty Lee. as is a theme with this post, fandom is actively disinterested in investigating female characters beyond a very surface level reading of them. Thus, fandom takes Ty Lee’s surface level qualities--her love of the color pink, her revealing standard outfit, and the fact that once she found a boy attractive and also once a lot of boys found her attractive--and they stretch this into “Ty Lee is basically Karen Smith from Mean Girls.” thus, Ty Lee is painted as a bimbo, or more specifically, as not smart, uncritically adoring of Azula (did y’all forget all the non-zukka bits of Boiling Rock?), and attractive to the point of hypersexualization. I saw somebody make a post that was like “I wish mailee was more popular but I’m also glad it isn’t because otherwise people would write it as Mai having to put up with her dumb gf” and honestly I have to agree!! this is one instance in which I’m glad that fandom doesn’t discuss one of my favorite characters that often because I hate the fanon interpretation of Ty Lee, I think it’s rooted in misogyny (particularly misogyny against East Asian women, which often takes the form of fetishizing them and viewing them only through a Western white male gaze)  

(side note: here at army-of-mai-lovers, we stan bimbos. bimbos are fucking awesome. I personally don’t read Ty Lee as a bimbo, but if that’s you, that’s fucking awesome. keep doing what you’re doing, queen <3 or king or monarch, it’s 2021, anyone can be a bimbo, bitches <3)

“Toph can and will destroy everyone here with her bare hands because she’s a meathead who likes to murder people and that’s it!”  

Toph is, and always has been, one of my favorite ATLA characters. My very first fic in fandom was about her, and she appears prominently in a lot of my other work as well. One thing that I am always struck by with Toph is how big a heart she has. She’s independent, yes, snarky, yes, but she cares about people--even the family that forced her to make herself smaller because they didn’t believe that their blind daughter could be powerful and strong. Her storyline is powerful and emotionally resonant, her bending is cool precisely because it’s based in a “wait and listen” approach instead of just smashing things indiscriminately, she’s great disabled rep, and overall one of the best characters in the show. 

And in fandom, she gets flattened into “snarky murder child.” 

So where does this come from? Well, as we all know, Toph was originally conceived of as a male character, and retained a lot of androgyny (or as the kids call it, Gender) when she was rewritten as a female character. There are a lot of cultural ideas about androgynous/butch women being violent, and people in fandom seem to connect that larger cultural narrative with some of Toph’s more violent moments in the show to create the meathead murder child trope, erasing her canon emotionality, softness, heart, and femininity in the process. 

This is not to say that you shouldn’t write or characterize Toph as being violent or snarky at all ever, because yeah, Toph definitely did do Earth Rumbles a lot before joining the gaang, and yeah, Toph is definitely a sarcastic person who makes fun of her friends a lot. What I am saying is that people take these traits, sans the emotional logic, marry them to their conception of androgynous/butch women as violent/unemotional/uncaring, and thus create a caricature of Toph that is not at all up to snuff. When I see Toph as a side character in a fic (because yeah, Toph never gets to be a main character, because why would a fandom obsessed with one male character in particular ever make Toph a protagonist in her own right?) she’s making fun of people, killing people, pranking people, etc, etc. She’s never talking to people about her emotions, or palling around with her found family, or showing that she cares about her friends. Everything about her relationship with her parents, her disability, her relationship to Gender, and her love of her friends is shoved aside to focus on a version of Toph that is mean and uncaring because people have gotten it into their heads that androgynous/butch women are mean and uncaring. 

again, we see a female character who does not emote normatively or in a way that makes you, the viewer, comfortable, and so you warp her character until she’s completely unrecognizable and flat. and for what? 

Azula

no, I didn’t come up with a snappy name for this section, mainly because fanon interpretations of Azula and my own feelings toward the character are...complicated. I know there were some people who wanted me to write about Azula and the intersection of misogyny and ableism in fanon interpretations of her character, but I don’t think I can deliver on that because I personally am in a period of transition with how I see Azula. that is to say, while I still like her and believe that she can be redeemed, there is a lot of merit to disliking her. the whole point of this post is that the female characters of ATLA are complex people whom the fandom flattens into stereotypes that don’t hold up to scrutiny, or dislike for reasons that don’t make sense. Azula, however, is a different case. the rise of Azula defenders and Azula stans has led to this sentiment that Azula is a 14 y/o abuse victim who shouldn’t be held accountable for her actions. it seems to me that people are reacting to a long, horrible legacy of male ATLA fans armchair diagnosing Azula with various personality disorders (and suggesting that people with those personality disorders are inherently monstrous and unlovable which ahhhh....yikes) and then saying that those personality disorders make her unlovable, which is quite obviously bad. and hey, I get loving a character that everyone else hates and maybe getting so swept up in that love that you forget that your fave is complicated and has made some unsavory choices. it sucks that fanon takes these well-written, complex villains/antiheroes and turns them into monsters with no critical thought whatsoever. but the attitude among Azula stans that her redemption shouldn’t be hard, that her being a child excuses all of the bad things that she’s done, that she is owed redemption....all of that rubs me the wrong way. I might make another post about this in the future that discusses this in more depth, but as it stands now: while I understand that there is a legacy of misogynistic, ableist, unnuanced takes on Azula, the backlash to that does not take into account the people she hurt or the fact that in ATLA she does not make the choice to pursue redemption. and yes, Zuko had help in making that choice that Azula didn’t, and yes, Azula is a victim of abuse, but in a show about children who have gone through untold horrors and still work to better the lives of the people around them, that is not enough for me to uncritically stan her. 

Conclusion    

misogyny in this fandom runs rampant. while there are some tropes of fandom misogyny that are well-documented and have been debunked numerous times, there are other, subtler forms of misogyny that as far as I know have gone completely unchecked. 

what I find so interesting about misogyny in atla fandom is that it’s clear that it’s perpetrated by people who are aware of fandom misogyny who are actively trying not to be misogynistic. when I first joined atla fandom last summer, memes about how zukka fandom was better than every other fandom because they didn’t hate the female characters who got in the way of their gay ship were extremely prevalent, and there was this sense that *this* fandom was going to model respectful, fun, feminist online fandom. not all of the topes I’ve outlined are exclusive to or even largely utilized in zukka fandom, but a lot of them are. I’ve been in and out of fandom since I was eleven years old, and most of the fandom spaces I’ve been in have been majority-female, and all of them have been incredibly misogynistic. and I always want to know why. why, in these communities created in large part by women, in large part for women, does misogyny run wild? what I realize now is that there’s never going to be a one-size fits all answer to that question. what’s true for 1D fandom on Wattpad in 2012 is absolutely not true for atla fandom on tumblr in 2021. the answers that I’ve cobbled together for previous fandoms don’t work here. 

so, why is atla fandom like this? why did the dream of a feminist fandom almost entirely focused on the romantic relationship between two male characters fall apart? honestly, I think the notion that zukka fandom ever was this way was horrifically ignorant to begin with. from my very first moment in the fandom, I was seeing racism, widespread sexualization of minors, and yes, misogyny. these aspects of the fandom weren’t talked about as much as the crocverse or other, much more fun aspects. further, atla (specifically zukka) fandom misogyny often doesn’t look like the fandom misogyny we’ve become familiar with from like, Sherlock fandom or what have you. for the most part, people don’t actively hate Suki, they just “stan” without actually caring about her. they hate Mai because they believe in treating male victims of abuse equally. they’re not characterizing Toph poorly, they’re writing her as a “strong woman.” in short, people are misogynistic, and then invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of feminist theory to shield themselves from accusations of misogyny. it’s not unlike the way some people will invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of critical race theory to shield themselves from accusations of racism, or how they’ll talk about “freedom of speech” and “the suppression of women’s sexuality” to justify sexualizing minors. the performance of feminism and antiracism is what’s important, not the actual practice. 

if you’ve made it this far, first off, hi, thanks so much for reading, I know this was a lot. second, I would seriously encourage you to be aware of these fandom tropes and to call them out when you see them. elevate the voices of fans who do the work of bringing the female characters of atla to life. invest in the wlw ships in this fandom. drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic (please, drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic). read some yuetara. let’s all be honest about where we are now, and try to do better in the future. I believe in us. 

[jostenneil]

Additionally, I also got spoiled with this but the ending was to be expected after watching b*each and naruto, but I can’t believe ametris continues to run as a militant, imperialistic state! I know you talked about the characters and what you wished what was addressed, but is there something you would change with the plot or writing? I think my overall thing among the several other poor plot points, i wished there wasn’t a “big bad.”

i have a few ideas so i'll just bullet point them

have ed and winry be confronted with their racism during the briggs arc and begin to slowly reformulate their stances based on that. with winry esp i think there was a lost opportunity when she was traveling among the slums that ishvalans migrated to bc it would have given her an idea that these were people who suffered far more than she ever did

quit having other ishvalan character patronize scar by telling him he's being too violent or that he can only solve the problem from within the system. acknowledge his agenda as specific and calculated to address state alchemists and their genocidal power, and acknowledge it as a valid one

let riza kill roy in the tunnels lmao! i have meta about that here and here so i'm just gna link it instead of rehashing my thoughts on that

fit hohenheim into the narrative regarding the ishvalan war. this is actually one of my bigger gripes that i think goes pretty unaddressed in fandom bc people are so focused on hohenheim as a father. where was he during the ishvalan war? as someone with such overwhelming power and what with him being intimately familiar with genocide being used to make philosopher's stones, how did he not have a part to play when the ishvalans were dying?

also regarding hohenheim, let him survive another year after the main events of the series are over. i think another big tragedy with him is he has such vast stores of knowledge and a far broader world view than either ed or al possess, and it's like. why kill him before either of them can be exposed to that like i get that it's about him coming home and being prepared to die at trisha's side finally but idk. another year wouldn't have prevented that

OH! also something i've talked about previously but let winry find out her parents chose to stay in ishval and that they treated as many ishvalan patients as they could despite the threat to their own lives. that way she recognizes their selflessness in comparison to her selfishness and can begin to sympathize with the ishvalans the way they always did

an obv progression, but let the war tribunal actually happen after the series is over lol. let the disaster of the coup and the military corruption pave the way for a new form of government to take shape in amestris rather than just propping up another fuhrer with not entirely righteous intentions

make the effort to restore ishval a civilian one. why would the ishvalans ever let the military back onto their land regardless of how sorry they are. let people like ed and winry and the people of liore or other similar slums who also know what it's like to be rendered into collateral damage of war and selfish intentions come together to help ishval prosper again. the military can send their money instead lol

i realize i haven't mentioned al enough but let him actually have more political presence within the story. i love his character and his arc is impt but it's undeniable that he's mostly used to prop up ed and that esp holds for him as a political presence bc he pretty much. . . has none. he obv voices outcry about the philosopher's stones being made from human lives but it doesn't extend much beyond that and idk i think it's such a disservice to his potential bc i think his specific experience lends him the potential to not be nearly as narrow minded in worldview as ed is. also i think it would be interesting to explore another aspect of how al challenges ed to be better

make ed and al leaving the military not just be about the fact that they only wanted peace for themselves but also as part of a stand against what they realize the system has become. also they need to be political activists like i'm sry but the fact that they just retire and get to live their lives in peace is such a liberal fantasy ajkfjgfklh at the least they should be dedicating themselves to helping rebuild ishval or even better to actively campaigning for abolishment of military practices esp those related to alchemy

i probably have more but this is what i can think of for now lol. i def get what you're saying about there not being one "big bad" like obv there had to be given father orchestrated. . . everything but it's definitely true that bc he was so emphasized we lost the plot with the military being a bad, corrupt entity and that was bad jgkdjgljfl

[aro-and-tired]

Aromantic Experiences in Fandom: Survey Results

PART 1 - PART 2 - ANALYSIS: TIME IN FANDOM - ANALYSIS: AROALLOS VS AROACES

As this is the second part of the discussion regarding results of this survey, I suggest checking out Part 1 before this.

This post will discuss how aromantic content creators in fandom feel when it comes to creating aro-specific content, and how aromantic fans feel when it comes to shipping and their preferences for it. There will also be a space for additional comments.

Content Creators Questions

The first question here was a check asking respondents whether or not they ever created fancontent, such as fanfiction, fanart, etc. 76.5% (701) of the respondents stated that they have created fancontent, while 23.5% (215) stated they haven’t. Non-creators skipped the rest of this section.

Question 1: Which kind of content do you create in fandom? 

Starting with the options I had given, from most to least picked we have:

Fanfiction - 71.3%

Fanart - 58.8%

Memes - 44.4%

Meta - 22.3%

Playlists - 16.3%

Fanvids - 7.3%

Merch - 1.9%

Furthermore, many people mentioned other kinds of content they create. This includes headcanons, edits, moodboards, roleplay, cosplay, podfic. translations, fan music and ask blogs.

Question 2: Have you ever made content focusing on aromantic headcanons, or other kinds of aromantic content?

Yes, in addition to other kinds of content - 57.2%

No - 41.5%

Yes, I only make aro content - 1.3%

Question 3: If you have created aro content, would you say it got more or less attention than your non aro content?

52.6% of respondents declined to answer or stated that it wasn’t applicable. Excluding these respondents, the results were

It got less attention - 68.1%

It got the same amount of attention - 29.5%

It got more attention - 2.4%

Question 4: Have you ever felt discouraged by your fandom when it comes to making aro content?

Yes, because I didn’t think it would get attention - 42.6%

Yes, because I was afraid to get hate for it - 35.7%

No - 39.2%

Question 5: Have you ever received hate because of the aro content you made?

40.7% of respondents answered saying they have never created aro content. Excluding these respondents, the results were

No - 81.5%

Yes - 18.5%

Shipping Questions

The first question was a check that asked whether or not the respondents were at all into shipping. 88% (806) said they enjoy shipping, while 11.2% (103) said that they are not. 0.8% (7) said that they are not into shipping, and not involved in fandom. Respondents who picked the last option skipped the following section, and were taken to the end of the survey.

Shippers

Question 1: How important is shipping to you when it comes to being in fandom?

Shipping is my primary form of engaging with fandom - 7.1%

Shipping is fairly important to me, but I’m also into other sides of the fandom - 22.5%

Shipping is about as important to me as other sides of the fandom - 38.8%

Shipping is not particularly important to me, I prefer other sides of the fandom - 29.7%

Shipping is the least important part of engaging with fandom - 2%

Question 2: Do you consider non-romantic shipping (shipping characters as queerplatonic partners, friends with benefits, etc.) to be a valid form of shipping, or do you think shipping only refers to romantic situations?

I think shipping can be both romantic and non-romantic - 71.2%

I think some types of non-romantic situations can count as shipping, but not all of them - 21.7%

I think shipping only refers to romantic situations - 7.1%

Question 3: When it comes to your ships, do you prefer content that focuses more on the romantic or sexual aspect of the relationship?

I prefer content focusing on the romantic aspect, I dislike sexual content - 33.1%

I prefer content focusing on the romantic aspect, but I also enjoy sexual content - 23.2%

It makes no difference / I like both equally - 31.9%

I prefer content focusing on the sexual aspect, but I also enjoy romantic content - 9.4%

I prefer content focusing on the sexual aspect, I dislike romantic content - 2.4%

Question 4: Would you say fans place too much importance on romantic shipping, leaving too little space for other kinds of discussions?

Yes - 84.7%

Unsure - 10.7%

No - 4.6%

Question 5: Here I will give you a list of tropes commonly found in shipping fan content. I ask that you pick 5 that you consider your favorites. You can pick less than 5 if there aren't enough tropes that you like, but please try not to pick more.

As a disclaimer, this question is not meant to judge whether or not someone is a “valid” aromantic or anything of the sort. It also does not necessarily indicate that liking the more popular tropes picked is an aro thing, especially since some of these are also popular in fandom spaces at large. It is only meant to highlight general trends in the community.

The five most popular tropes picked were:

Mutual Pining - 46.8%

Domestic Fluff - 46.5%

Slow Burn - 44.8%

Enemies to Lovers - 40.6%

Friends to Lovers - 38.2%

All of those tropes were picked by more than 300 people. Following these, the only trope picked by more than 200 people was Established Relationship.

Tropes picked by more than 100 people were, in order of popularity, Soulmate AU, PWP, Fake Dating, Getting Together, Porn with Feelings, and with the same popularity Friends with Benefits and Telepathic Bonds.

Tropes picked by less than 100 people were, in order of popularity, Unhealthy Relationships, Unrequited Love, Hanahaki Disease, Arranged Marriage, Hate Sex, Friends with Benefits to Lovers, Jealousy/Possessiveness, First Dates, Break Ups, and least popular Love at First Sight.

Question 6: Here I give you the same list of tropes, but this time I ask that you pick the 5 tropes you dislike the most. Again, you can pick less than 5, but please try not to pick more

The same disclaimers as the previous question apply.

The five most disliked tropes were

Jealousy/Possessiveness - 52.9%

Unhealthy Relationships - 48%

Hanahaki Disease - 42.9%

Love at First Sight - 42.4%

Hate Sex - 40.6%

All of these tropes were picked by more than 300 people. Following these, tropes picked by more than 200 people were Soulmate AUs, Break Ups, Arranged Marriage, PWP and Unrequited Love.

Tropes picked by more than 100 people were Fake Dating and Porn with Feelings.

Tropes picked by less than 100 people were Friends with Benefits to Lovers, Telepathic Bonds, Domestic Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friends with Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, Established Relationships, First Dates, Slow Burn, and least disliked with the same amount of votes Getting Together and Mutual Pining.

Once again, there is no judgement on anyone who hates popular tropes or loves hated tropes. The aromantic community is not a monolith, there is great variety between us, and no aromantic people is made up only of their aromanticism. There can be all sorts of reasons why one would like or dislike a trope.

That being said, some considerations can be made from these trends. For example, various aros have said that since romantic attraction is confusing we don’t quite get how can someone fall in love with people they barely know, or why is falling in love with a friend considered strange and not the norm. Many of the popular tropes involve characters who have known each other for a long time (Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn) while things such as Love at First Sight or First Dates are less popular.

We can also look at tropes various aros find arophobic. Hanahaki Disease is often mentioned as making many aros deeply uncomfortable, and we can see that here few people have it as a favorite, and many pick it as one of their most disliked tropes. Another one that is often mentioned in those discussions is Soulmate AU, that people are more ambivalent about - it’s both the sixth most disliked and seventh most liked. Maybe because it has much more variation than Hanahaki Disease, or maybe because people find it less arophobic as a whole. Or maybe simply due to personal tastes.

Non-Shippers

Question 1: Is the reason you don't enjoy shipping connected to the fact that you are aromantic?

Yes - 87.4%

No - 12.6%

Question 2: Would you say fans place too much importance on romantic shipping, leaving too little space for other kinds of discussions?

Yes - 97.1%

Unsure - 1.9% (2 people)

No - 1% (1 people)

Question 3: Do you think you would be more into shipping if people more often shipped characters in a non-romantic way, such as writing about queerplatonic relationships?

Yes - 82.5%

No - 17.5%

Additional Comments

People were allowed to leave additional comments here about anything that wasn’t covered previously.

Many people remarked on the general amatonormativity that is present in fandom spaces, in particular how it often seems as if fandoms are not interested in character dynamics that don’t involve romance. Some people also talked about often aro headcanons overlap with gay/lesbian headcanons because of the similar traits that can count as coding for both identities, and this can cause conflict within fandom. Overall, many people felt that aromantics are often a subcommunity within the larger fandom communities.

Some people also stated that they feel smaller fandoms are more open to aromantic interpretations than bigger ones. Various people mentioned fandoms that they felt were more or less friendly, often saying that small fandoms with few people tend to be more welcoming to aro fans.

There was also some discussion regarding the concept of non-romantic shipping. While many people agree that they enjoy viewing their ships as, for example, queerplatonic relationships, some also feel that using shipping terminology is inadequate for them. Shipping is by default assumed to be romantic by most people, and some don’t like having to using that word or words derived from it for non-romantic situations.

Part 2 Summary

Many aromantic content creators have felt discouraged by fandom when it comes to making aromantic content, either because they are afraid of not gaining any attention for it or because they fear receiving hate for it.The first concern seems quite valid, as a majority of people who did create aro content found that it got less attention compared to their non-aro content. When it comes to receiving hate instead, less than a fifth was a victim of it. This being said, there’s also a good number of aros who don’t overall feel discouraged when it comes to creating said content.

Out of the aros who enjoy shipping, most of them consider it neither the most nor least important part of their fandom experience, usually also enjoying other ways of engaging with fandom. Most prefer romantic content over sexual content, or enjoy both equally, with a minority favoring sexual content over romantic content. The majority also feels that fandom spaces can be too dominated by shipping.

An even higher percentage of aros who do not enjoy shipping find it too prevalent. A good number of them believe that they do not like shipping because they are aromantic, with many also saying that they would be more favorable to shipping if there was more space for non-romantic shipping.

Thank you for having paid attention so far! You can contact me if you have any questions. As I said in Part 1, I am also working on a couple more posts to look for potential differences in the opinions of a few groups, I will publish them in upcoming days.

[soulvomit]

I have to cop to this because I feel like it’s the biggest obsessive thing wrecking my life

This has taken the place of every possible special interest I could have.

Here's the thing:

My "special interests" in the last 15 years or more, have predominantly been internal/in my head. 

I'm obsessed with my own made-up social theories, meta, my own observations, shit from the inside of my head, etc... and I can write about it all endlessly online. Like I’m doing now! 

Then I get started analyzing my own thoughts then analyzing the thoughts about those thoughts. 

I can also spend all day just posting about myself and analyzing parts of my life.

I LOSE WHOLE DAYS. I can spend all day  just posting. I can sit here, not eat all day, and just post. In fact the whole “whether ASD” thing with me has triggered the biggest spate of nothing but longposting and navel analysis that I’ve done in a long time. 

When I get the urge to post something, if I indulge it, then one thought leads to another thought leads to another...

Thing is, if I didn't write online, I'd just talk the ear off of other people and I feel like just posting online is what siphons off the frenetic talk energy for me. Also I don’t feel like I can have these conversations with anyone IRL, online is my most fluid way to talk.

The way I put it to someone earlier, is that it's like having to sit on the toilet all day so that you don't poop your pants in public and end up socially ostracized. If I don't constantly post, I will TALK, and... it's my absolute most difficult sperg trait for other people to live with.

Also I feel like I am only "real" online. Like I'm not authentic with people I know IRL. And compartmentalizing my autistic self into the online world and only doing what I have to offline, has been my big way of coping. I would talk my partner’s ear off, rapidly and self-centeredly, without this.

I'm 48. I can't live like this forever. I have no real actual hobbies at present, I'm struggling with pushing my career forward, this is really fucktastic!

It's like there is an obsessive quality to this. I can dwell on the same topic for weeks in my posts, too, and restate some of the same points over and over.

I used to be an interesting person whose special interests were about *things* (such as medical science 2004-2009.) Who spent a lot of this writing/talking compulsion on writing fiction (prolifically.) Usually I had some topically related special interest coupled with writing a story that incorporated aspects of it. 

I have not done this in ages, very little gets as much attention as my longposting does. And it's like I use up my executive function, and become exhausted, doing it.

It's not even just the internet, because i only hang out in a tiny corner of the internet. It's not even just zombie scrolling; I am fine with just checking my Facebook 2x a day or so.It's the energy I spend writing longposts on Reddit and Tumblr. It's not even enjoyable. And because it is my Special Interest basically - I can't even really absorb anything else. 

I can't stop once I start. I can't keep myself from doing it again. I am beginning to hate that I do this. 

But it's like I pour the most self-focused side of myself into these spaces so I can act normal the rest of the time and only very minimally bring myself up in conversation.

It's like... I use the internet as the repository for certain things I need, because I have me-specific needs that the rest of my world can't really meet.

Also, so many of my special interest focuses in the last 15 years (10 of those are the heaviest period of masking I've ever done in my life) are entirely focused within myself - my own self-referential theories, my own made up social taxonomies, etc - as well as sometimes getting deeply into “how to people”/self improvement spaces - which I can't even really share with other people IRL, or talk about. I feel like I am wasting my intelligence and creativity on this.

 Somehow I fell down this weird navel-gaze rabbit hole years ago and can't get out. 

That said, I don't feel like the people around me are particularly intellectual. I feel like every time I have an intellectually based special interest, or get obsessed with something I'm reading, I feel very lonely. 

But I can always talk pop psychology and develop my weird theories that are basically mental masturbation and spread manifestoes across the internet basically and somehow that's less lonely? What's the logic?

It was this that made me start to believe that perhaps I wasn't autistic after all because I did not consider my internet addiction a special interest. 

My most intense period of long-posting about mental masturbation, ever, began roughly at about the time when I began to think that instead I had ADHD, a diagnosis I got in 2008, 4 years after my Asperger diagnosis.

But it's not that I wasn't doing something autistic, I was doing something actually extremely autistic in several senses of the term.

And making up my own bullshit theories has a compulsive quality to it. Perhaps it's that I'm trying to order the world from inside my head. I don't know.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

The Nightwing Suit

There are some absolutely incredible artists out here on tumblr, and seeing their fanart makes me cry tears of joy. Dick Grayson, one of my personal favs, is always a wonderful contender for fanart. His innate grace and agility and flexibility translate beautifully on the artistic spectrum. Bottom line: I love all the Nightwing fanart. However, there is something I want to address with his suit. I’ve been an aerialist ever since I was 7 years old, and I’ve taken gymnastics since I was 3. Now, I specialize in Lyra, while Dick obviously specializes in Trapeze, but when it comes to costume, we’ve got many very important similarities.

DON’TS

When it comes to aerial, we want as much mobility and flexibility as possible. So here are some things that absolutely will not be on his suit.

1. Shoulder Pads. I will scream it from the rooftops if I have to. The Nightwing suit WILL NOT have shoulder pads!! Red Hood? Definitely. Red Robin? Those shoulder pads are important for bo staff strength and support. Robin? Damian probably doesn’t need them, but they won’t hurt. Nightwing? No way. To me, one of the most important parts of my body when practicing and performing are my shoulders. They pull me into hangs and holds, let me rotate myself around, and basically support the rest of my body. This is partially due to user preference: I prefer arm-based stunts and hangs rather than leg based. But it honestly doesn’t matter that much. Nightwing will absolutely need 100% use of his shoulders. Him being able to freely rotate them can be the difference between life and death with his style of fighting. Shoulder pads will just hamper that flexibility. I will admit that shoulder pads look badass, but in this one hero’s scenario? Shouldr pads are a no-go.

2. Sleek Arm Braces. Nightwing, while being well recognized as a solo hero, does often work with a team. And on a team, he isn’t the type to huff angrily and say he can do this by himself. Emotionally? Yes, of course. Physically, and in a fight? He takes all the help he can get, with absolutely no would to his pride. When performing his flips and tricks and such, the other partner will grab hold of him by usually his hands or his arms. I’m just going to straight up say: catching someone by their hands is a Bad Idea. You will not believe the speed we travel when we go through the air, and catching by the hands will lead to dislocations and pain. For a few stunts it’s okay, mainly for the visual aspect of a performance. But when it’s life and death combat? Hands are a last ditch effort if you can’t catch someone by the arms. Because that’s what really counts. The forearms. When Dick is fighting with someone, and that other person has the strength to catch him/throw him from a drop or a flip, they will catch him by the forearms. If Dick’s wearing sleek ‘n sexy arm braces, he’s going to slip right out of their grip. I prefer to keep my forearms bare, but in regards to protective armor, the fabric around the arms better have a grip.

3. Extra Fabric. This one is a given. However, I want to get into the specifics. When you’re in the air, momentum is your most powerful ally, and if there’s anything opposing or hindering that momentum, that spells trouble. Extra fabric can sometimes be good, such as around the legs. Not too much, obviously, but wearing loose or baggy pants while fighting with Nightwing’s fighting style works (as long as you can, you know, actually fight in them and not trip over the extra cloth). Around the middle? Nuh-uh, nope. Anything looping around your waist, hips, or rib cage is a liability if it’s not skin tight. The belt that Robin often wears is okay, as long as it’s wrapped pretty tight around him and doesn’t move. For the kind of stunts that Dick pulls off on a daily basis? I don’t think anything but a skintight bodysuit will help. For arms, extra fabric is ~okay~ but not preferable. And anything strapped to his back, as long as it’s securely in place, will actually help his momentum (so his escrima sticks or any other weapon/item you want to put in there is fine). Nothing around the neck, at ALL. That one issue in Batman where Dick wears a scarf is hot as hell, and sort of makes sense because they’re in the desert. But on missions, at the speed Nightwing fights and flies through the air, anything around his neck will choke him. This entire section definitely wasn’t an excuse to say you should just keep Dick in a skintight outfit, nope, not at all.

4. Spandex. While we’re on the subject of skintight outfits, I just want to point something out that isn’t necessarily important or anything. It’s just a general preference for me. I prefer costumes with a little weight on them. The adrenaline rush is intense for some of my more advanced stunts, and those are things that I bet Dick would consider basic. I prefer something with a little substance/weight/texture to it. Nothing too serious, and nothing too restricting, just something to keep me grounded and focused. We all know how much Dick likes being in the air, but I’m willing to bet he also needs a little extra touch to keep his head in the game. So if you’re designing a serious Nightwing suit, not for crack or fun headcanons or anything, I would steer clear from the spandex, gauze, and showy-light-gossamer fabrics. They do provide extra mobility and flexibility, but that’s because they’re one drop away from naked.

5. Joints. Okay this may seem a little contradictory based on the last point, but around the joints, especially hips and shoulders, the protective padding needs to ease up. It’s one of the hardest areas on the body to injure, after all, even for a professional. And second, I know I’m sounding like I’m repeating the obvious, but flexibility is of utmost importance. If the fabric doesn’t bend with Nightwing, then there’s no point. It can’t chafe, it can’t grind against itself, it can’t break. The material around major joints needs to be malleable.

Dos

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about what you can absolutely add to Nightwing’s costume to give it either a little pizzazz, or just your own personal touch.

1. Boots. Yes yes yes, boots are an absolute must! And it’s not just me thinking thigh-high boots are cool. Coming out of a big drop and other major stunts requires rolling on your back and then onto your feet. But Nightwing doesn’t fight with the one-hit-and-done style. (That’s more Jason’s thing. He plants himself like a tree and puts power behind a punch, kinda like Bruce, which is why boots-especially boot soles- are important for them.) Nightwing gets in a punch and flips away, then bounces back and gets in a kick and flips away, then bounces back and gets in another kick and flips away. You see where I’m going with this. Dick is constantly on the move, constantly on the verge of flipping back. The main way he does this is with his feet: landing lightly on the balls of his feet to absorb momentum before using that to hit back. Boots with fricion-specific soles are important, he cannot slide or skid. Also, ones that go higher up aren’t bad either: extra support is always welcome. As long as they don’t cover his knees and allow for ankle flexibility, they’re good to go. They may even help stop ankle dislocation. Anything you want to add to the boots? Go ahead. As long as it’s not gauzy ribbon or something too extra, or something that can easily get caught in something else, it’s good to go. In my performances, I like to cover my shins with something, it can range from simple high socks or performance boots to go with my costume. I particularly like Damian’s long lace up boots, especially in Super Sons. It’s a cute outfit, and it won’t hinder his fighting at all. As long as Dick double knots, he can wear those, and any other variants of boots.

2. Gloves. I’m not actually sure if Dick has ever been called “Fingerstripes” in canon, but I’ve seen it in fanon plenty of times. Regardless, it’s one of my favorite nicknames for him, and it does have a basis. The stripes on his gloves are an awesome artistic choice, and useful too. Assuming they have a different texture than the rest of his gloves, those fingerstripes could help with grip. Grip is one of the most important tools an aerialist can have. I have had grown men look at me with shock when they shake my hand because of my firm grip (and the calluses, ugh). I firmly believe that Dick Grayson has one of the strongest grips in the DC non-meta world, and I bet you he surpasses even a good amount of metas. Having a good, no-slip grip is essential, even if you’re just swinging from the surface for a second, or if the surface is another partner’s hand. Gloves, once again as long as they’re not too restricting, would be awesome with helping with that.

3. Wrist Braces. I said before that Dick can’t have arm braces because of the whole partner-grip thing. But with the amount of force and pressure Dick exerts on his hands on a daily basis, dislocations and sprains should be as common as a bruise. Hell, I’m sitting here typing this and my left wrist is sprained. Fanfic writers, here’s a helpful tip: you can write Dick with a sprained or dislocated or just a plain sore wrist anytime at all, and having him rub his hands with a grimace, rubbing lotion onto them, or doing wrist exercises in his free time is a go-to for if you need anything filler. Or, you know, it could even be part of the plot. Wrist braces help with this, they keep the joints in place and add a little extra stability to his movements. As long as they’re not interfering with wrist mobility, wrist braces are a very very good idea. When you think how long, think about the length of Peter Parker’s handmade web shooters. Long enough to be there, but not immediately noticeable. Also, make sure the material is something cloth, wrap, or gauze based. Anything too hard could scrape against the skin, cause cuts and bruises, and even cut off circulation. Unless it’s armor, it’s not comfortable or easy to do aerial maneuvers with.

4. Back Harness. To be honest, I have no idea what the official name for this piece of equipment even is. But the thing that holds Nightwing’s escrima sticks to his back. The thing that holds Deadpool’s katanas (in the movies, not the comics). The back-strap-harness thingy. That’s a go-for-it when it comes to costumes. Not only does it look badass and hot when it’s on your costume and you draw your weapons from it seamlessly like a boss, it’s practical and doesn’t interfere with your fighting at all. As I said, a majority of Nightwing’s moves rely on momentum. The back harness thingy won’t harm that at all. As long as it’s strapped to your back, unmoving and steady, it stays out of the way and may actually help you with your momentum. Drawing weapons from it is easy and seamless, and one of the quickest moves you can perfect, aside from drawing your weapon from thigh/calf holsters. But as I said before, Dick would probably stick to the back because, once again, momentum.

Okay this got much longer than I thought it would. But regardless, I hope this helps if you’re ever drawing or writing about the Nightwing suit and need specifics. Or hell, if you’re a cosplayer and need some information on how to make an accurate costume, here you go. Now I need to take a breather and chill, because while I considered myself a pretty recreational comic reader and not much of an analyzer, I had no idea how much I picked up about Dick’s individual fighting style and how that fits in with my own aerial experiences.