#i'm doing a fucking art (history) degree

[tag-if]

Not sure if it's just me because my eyesight it's not the best but the color of the background and the font made it a bit hard to read other than that i love the start and can't wait for more

ah hell, still?

okay, it's late here at the moment, so i'll have a look in the morning— then reblog this when i've done it so you can, collectively, check it over and get back to me

i might just overhaul all the colours and redo them completely, to be honest— would you be able to tell me whether it's dark or light mode that's causing issues? or is it the tumblr?

i'm glad you're enjoying it overall though!!

[oneforthemunny]

what is and what should never be (remastered) |older!dilf!eddie munson x reader| II

prompt: you agree to go on a date with mr. munson- eddie.

part 2 of the older!eddie x reader series, remastered version lol!

contains: age gap (eddie is early forties, reader is late twenties early thirties, all consensual), language, drinking, smoking, p in v sex, oral (fem and male). mentions of divorce & eddie was previously married. 18+ minors DNI I'm so serious.

Your knee bounced underneath the table, freshly polished nails tapping against the faux-leather lined menu in your hand. You couldn’t will yourself to look over at Mr. Mun-  

Eddie. You had to remind yourself, cheeks heating at the playful reminder he’d given you earlier.

“Mr. Munson? Makes me feel old, sweetheart.” He had teased you when he picked you up. 

He’d held the door open for you and everything, a bundle of red roses in the passenger seat.  "Told you I was old school, sweet thing." Eddie purred, sending you a wink that made your thighs clench together, hoping he couldn’t see the way you’d squirmed in blistering heat under his gaze.

 Eddie sat across from you, an envious kind of calm in his demeanor that you desperately hoped you could channel. He was so collected, a painstaking reminder of his seniority over you. It made your heart flutter and jump every time his eyes would meet yours, peek over the menu at you.  

“So,” Eddie placed his menu down, breaking the silence that fell between the two of you. “Brielle tells me you went away for college?” 

“Yeah,” You squeaked, swallowing your beating heart with a slight cringe. “I mean, yes, I did.” Your eyes met his, the low light of the art deco lamp shining in them. 

“What did you study?” Eddie pressed, tongue rolling on the inside of his cheek. 

“Don’t laugh,” You gave him a soft glare, lips curling in a playful grin. “I majored in Art History.” 

“Art History?” Eddie’s lips spread in a smile that matched yours. You noticed the creasing in his stubbled cheeks, dimples peeking through. “You know I gotta ask the question now.” 

“Oh, please don’t.” You groaned, shaking your head. 

“I’ve got to.” Eddie shrugged. “What are you going to do with that degree?” 

“C’mon,” You laughed, lips pursing, lashes batting at him flirtatiously, satisfied at how his brows raised. “Uh, you know… I thought I would be like Charlotte York, y’know?” 

Eddie blinked at you. “From Sex and the City?” You blinked back. 

“Is that… A movie?” 

“No.” You gasped playfully. “You don’t know Sex and the City? The show? I mean, there’s movies too, but it’s a show. The best show.” 

“Sounds like a good one.” Eddie purred, a seductive tone in his humor that had your tummy flipping, rushing with exciting heat. 

“Um, so, I-I wanted to buy and sell art. Work in a museum, do the whole thing.” You tilted your head slightly. “Didn’t exactly work out.” 

“You’ve got time.” Eddie hummed. 

You rolled your eyes lightly. “I don’t know. I feel like it’s probably unrealistic. Probably will end up being the part time art teacher at the elementary school for life. Maybe even work up to a full time spot.” You giggled, crossing your fingers playfully in the air. 

“Is that what you do now?” Eddie asked. 

“Yeah, that and the barista thing. It’s easy. Both of them are.” Nerves bubbled in your chest under his gaze. You knew you were rambling, fuck you were rambling, but how could you not? When he was looking at you so calmly, when he was looking right through you. 

“The, uh, the district can’t pay a full time art teacher, so I come every other week.” Your nails tapped against your thighs to keep your fidgeting hands from ringing under the table. 

“Yeah? That’s cool. Bet it’s fun.” Eddie grinned softly. “I always liked when Brielle was little, and she’d come home with some creation.” Your heart swelled at how he beamed, how he lit up when he talked about Brielle. 

“Especially after my- well, my divorce.” Eddie smiled shyly, and through the dim lights of the restaurant, you swore you could see a blush. “I was living in this shitty little apartment. I had nothing on the walls, didn’t even really unpack because it was like, what’s the point, y’know? Brielle would always bring me drawings and stuff she made in art class to hang on the walls. She told me it made it look less boring.” 

Your giggles mixed with his own soft laughter, shoulders relaxing for the first time, tension finally breaking. The waiter came with your glasses of wine, a gentle break from the affection blooming between the two of you. 

“So,” You swirled the riesling around in your own crystal glass, looking at him over the rim. “Now I have to ask the question.” 

Eddie’s right lip tugged in a smirk, one he tried to hide with a roll of his tongue. “Lay it on me, sweetheart.” 

Your cheeks tingled with prickling heat, taking a steadying breath to soothe your jittering nerves. “You’re divorced?” 

“Yeah.” Eddie snorted lightly. “You think I’d be here if I wasn’t?” 

“No, I didn’t,” You shook your head, chin ducking to hide your burning face. 

“I’m kidding.” Eddie soothed, knee brushing against yours under the table playfully. “What do you want to know? I’m an open book.” 

“When’d you get divorced?” You said into the crystal of your glass, voice echoing before you swallowed your wine. 

“When Brielle was eight.” Eddie continued, fingers drumming against the wood of the table. “We were married eight years, together almost a year before that. Gina- my ex- she got pregnant, and… I don’t want it to sound like that. Brielle, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me-” 

“-No, I get that.” You nodded. “I get what you’re saying.” 

“I thought it was the right thing to do. We were really young and- honestly? We were scared shitless at the time. Figured we should do it together, and…” Eddie trailed off with a sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat. 

“And?” You pressed, the alcohol in your system already, loosening up your nerves. 

Eddie’s lips twitched, a small huff blowing through his nostrils in soft amusement. “And when your seven year old asks Santa for her parents to stop fighting for Christmas, you have to make difficult choices.” 

“Oh,” Your brows creased gently. “Yeah, I guess that would do it. You two fought a lot?” You couldn’t stop the question from coming out, tumbling past your lips in curiosity. 

“Yeah, we did.” Eddie said with a small laugh. “It… We just weren’t good together. We hated each other- well, I shouldn’t say that. I didn’t hate her. We just couldn’t get along. Couldn’t get aligned no matter how hard we tried to, and when you’re raising a kid? You need to be aligned.” 

You nodded, an iron grip on your wine glass as you took another sip. Your brain raced with the urgency to fill the uncomfortable silence, coming up blank and void of anything. 

“What about you?” Eddie broke the silence. “Your parents divorced?” 

“No they’re not.” You shook your head. “Still together.” 

“That’s nice.” He nodded. “You’re from Hawkins?” 

“Pretty much. Moved here when I was in second grade.” 

“So not that long ago.” Eddie’s lips curled in a wicked grin, eyes lighting with something so exciting. Filled you with rushing heat from head to toe. 

"Ha-ha." You deadpanned sarcastically, lips rolling to try and bite back your own grin. 

Eddie held his hands up in mock defense. "I'm just trying to address the elephant in the room, sweetheart.” 

“What elephant?” Your eyes rounded innocently, feigning confusion. It was adorable, Eddie’s heart skipped at it. This was fun- you were fun. 

“C’mon,” Eddie faltered, a breathy laugh slipping out. “I mean, it’s not a secret I’m a little bit older than you.” He pressed his pointer finger and thumb together, and for a moment, you got to see the etchings on them.

“What’s wrong with that?” You were shocked at your own boldness. Eddie certainly was too, brows lifting before his lips spread in a wolfish grin. “I’m having a good time.” 

“Yeah?” Eddie’s eyes lit up. “Me too. Between me and you, this is the first date I’ve enjoyed in a while.” 

You pressed your lips together, fighting back your own giggly grin threatening to show. "Oh, this is a date?I thought this was just a thank you dinner, Mr. Munson?" You challenged, playfully raising a brow. 

You smirked when you saw his cheeks flush underneath the light, lips twitching and twisting into a smug smile. "If that's all you want it to be, that's all it'll be." Eddie said, fingers tapping on the table. "But I really am having a good time talkin' to you. Enjoying your company."

"It's been nice talking to you, too." You agreed with a breathy sigh. "It’s been really nive, actually. The last few times I've been on a date it's been..." You cringed at the memory. "This is way better, let's just say that."

"So it is a date?" Eddie teased, raising a brow playfully. The wrinkles in his forehead deepened as did the small ones by his eyes, a grit to his look that left you feeling flustered.

The waiter returned with a refill, saving you from a response. Your body burned when Eddie nodded, motioning for your glass to be refilled. 

Eddie lifted his whiskey out to you in a toast. "To you. A thank you for the other night, and tonight." You smiled bashfully, clinking your glass delicately against his, a familiar giddy rush of heat you hadn’t felt in a long time returning to the pit of your belly. 

You weren’t entirely sure how it happened. 

If it was the wine, or the countless stories Eddie told you exaggeratedly that left you laughing so hard your sides ached. Maybe it was the dimples, how they’d crease in a wicked grin when he’d say something that made you blush. How he’d catch his tongue between his teeth, eyes darkening in the most exciting way. 

Maybe the wine was to blame. Two glasses turned to three, you’d slipped beside Eddie in the booth after the waiter filled your fourth glass. Gone was any apprehension about the night, nerves disappearing with every wine soaked giggle. 

You’d shut the place down, the last two lingering in the same booth as the staff cleaned up, loudly stacked chairs and passive aggressive sweeps under your table until Eddie finally paid the bill. “Let’s get outta here.” 

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders on the way to the car, smitten at the way you leaned into his side. Eddie had opened the door for you, not at all ready for you to fist his shirt, pulling him in for a sloppy kiss. The strong scent of his spicy aftershave overtook your senses, blended perfectly with a hint of cigarette smoke. You could taste the whiskey from before on his tongue, mixing with the remnants of the wine left on yours, a perfect collision that left your head spinning deliciously. 

Your hands found his hair, tangling your fingers through his curls, pulling him deeper and deeper into you until you found yourself here- pressed in the backseat of his truck, his weight pressing you into the leather seats. Forearms planted on either side of your head to keep himself above you, Eddie’s lips moved against yours expertly. You thought he’d be a lousy kisser, too old to be good at it- it was a pleasant surprise that he was quite the opposite, clearly with years of experience that perfected his craft. 

You were beneath him, writhing and grinding into his thigh, feet sliding the length of his calf. Insatiable- needy, even. 

"Sweetheart, hold on." Eddie breathed, pulling apart so he hovered above you. “Wait.” He laughed, pushing away when you clawed at him, desperately trying to pull him back to you.

 His curly tendrils fell onto your cheeks, ticking them when he looked down at you through thick, dark lashes. Your eyes rounded so sweetly up at him, lips swollen and kiss bitten. 

Eddie sighed gently, a content yet sharp exhale you could feel, your chest still on his. "This is great. Really great, but..."

The hummingbird beat of your heart stilled entirely, taking a sharp breath in. You knew it was coming. The inevitable 'I can't do this with you'. The fall, the crash back to reality. It was too good to be true, too odd to work anyways. You cursed yourself for letting him get you this far. You were stupid to think this was going to work. You knew better.

"I just,” Eddie huffed, smacking a hand against the headrest, pushing up. Your legs tightened around his hips frantically, one last desperate attempt to stop him. 

“Hang on. I gotta move. My back is killing me." Eddie sighed, shaking his head as he adjusted so he knelt awkwardly between your legs, still hunched in the back of the car.

You blinked. "What?"

Eddie scoffed lightly, grinning, face still inches from your own. "C’mon, I'm not young like you, baby. Can’t do the backseat as easy anymore. Not as good as I once was." He smiled, tossing you a wink that had your body screaming with excitement. 

You smiled shyly, scooting back into the seat to make room for him, mumbling a quiet apology. "No, it’s not- I wanna do this. I just-I gotta go somewhere where I'm not so cramped. If you wanna do this.” Eddie added the last part quickly, eyes scanning your features carefully. 

“Yeah, of course.” You giggled, lip tucking between your teeth. 

“Back to my place?” Eddie grunted, fumbling to find the door handle. You nodded, pulling to adjust your clothing. 

The two of you stumbled through the front door, limbs clinging and grabbing the other, fisting and shoving clothes off in between feverish kisses. A trail of clothing following the two of you to the living room. You dropped to your knees before he could pull you into the room, stopping in the entrance, his hands planted on the door frame above you.

Your hands shook with excitement, fumbling with his belt. “Easy,” Eddie rasped, looking down at you through lidded lashes. “Take your time, baby. No need to rush. ‘M not goin’ anywhere.” 

Your thighs squeezed, rubbing together for friction, his hands finding your hair as you licked his tip. One hand gripping the back of his thigh to keep you steady, and the other cupping his balls, squeezing as you rolled them, smug at the grunts and hushed moans of pleasure spilling from his lips.

"Fuuuck, baby." Eddie groaned, stilling his hips. "Just like that. All the way. Good girl." He groaned, looking down at you through half-lidded eyes. You felt another trembling gush of excited wetness flood your panties, clenching around nothing but an aching desire to be filled, taking him deeper.

You swallowed him as far as you could, only gagging when he pushed past your throat. "C’mon, you got it. You can do it. Do it f’me? Ah, yeah, just like that.” Eddie panted, head tipping back when he touched the back of your throat. “Atta girl, good girl. Such a good girl for me, aren't you, baby?" Your nose brushed against his coarse hair at the base of him, eyes pricking with tears.

He pulled out of you unexpectedly, a small whimper leaving your lips. "That's a good girl." Eddie cooed, calloused fingers wiping the wetness from under your eyes. "Someone's gotta take care of you, huh? Your turn now, hm?"

Eddie led you to the couch, hands gripping your waist, baring you for him. Your body trembled at the way his eyes darkened, looking at your puffy, slick lips with a hungry, nearly predatory look. Legs over his shoulders, your nails digging into the cushions behind you as your hips bucked, held into place by his steady grip until you were crying out his name. He was a pro, that much was for certain.

You told him that, body still shaking with after shocks of pleasure that left  your mind spacey from your second orgasm. He'd simply laughed. "Years of practice, baby doll." Throwing you a wink, smooching the inside of your thigh sloppily before letting his fingers run through your slick, sensitive folds.

He'd finally got you into his bed, stumbling down the hallway, before you propped yourself on all fours near the edge of the bed. He'd fucked you, hard. The squelch of your pussy being filled with him echoing off the walls, mixed with whimpers and groans from the both of you, a sinful melody that neither one of you wanted to end.

You'd pushed him on the bed, climbing on top before you sank down on his cock. It was a thank you for the dinner, you decided, and for everything afterwards. Nails digging into his tattooed chest as you sank down, brows pinched and eyes shining taking- feeling every single inch of him inside of you. You felt so full of him. It was overwhelming, dizzying the way he felt inside of you. The head of his cock bumped, teasing the sensitive spot that made you gush, leaving your body burning and aching for him.

Eddie's hands dug into the meat of your hips and ass, a low grunt falling from his chest. Your hips swiveled, sucking him in with ever pleasure filled gallop on top of him.

"You close? Y'gonna cum for me, sweet thing?" Eddie whispered, your whiny response making his cock twitch, groaning at the squeeze of your walls around his length. "Doin’ so good. Shit- feel so good. Go ahead. Cum f’me, baby." His fingers traveled up your body, flicking and twisting your pebbled nipples.

You clenched, rhythm stuttering, sitting fully and grinding against his base for friction. "Oh, fuck," You whined, high and nasally. "I-I’m really close- oh!” Your body stuttered when his calloused thumb pressed to your clit, circling it and sending you spiraling into pleasure.

Your brain blanked, eyes rolling back as you clamped down on him, leaning forward for support as he held you up. Eddie smirked, moving you so you were on your back, still buried inside of you.

"'M gonna finish up, alright? I'm close." Eddie whispered, pressing lazy kisses up and down your neck, breath ghosting over your collarbones leaving you shuddering. You nodded dumbly, sensitive and starry eyed still as he thrusted in you.

"You're such a pretty thing, you know that? Beautiful, baby." Eddie teased, nipping and sucking at your neck. The stubble of his beard rubbed against your skin, leaving it raw and chafed in its wake, not that you minded. He collapsed on top of you after he finished, chest slick against yours. You could feel every stuttering, ragged breath. 

Your thighs were trembling, still covered in a sticky sheen of sweat, dizzy as your body slowly settled. Melting into the mattress, the realization of it all came flooding back into your mind. Your eyes cut to Eddie sheepishly, anticipating a look that would send you into another deep wave of shame. Instead, he lit a cigarette next to you, jimmying the window open just barely, letting the smoke pass through. 

He looked over, handing it over as an offering, which you shook your head. "Good," Eddie's gruff voice said, blowing smoke in the opposite direction. "Nasty habit. Don’t start it, you’ll never be able to stop." He grinned.

You felt a blush coming on, one that never quite made it. Your own body too exhausted, heavy with sleep, the effects of the wine finally settling in your system. "Thanks for takin' me out tonight." You sighed, cheek pressed to the cool linen of the pillow. "'M glad you asked me out."

"Anytime, sweetheart." Eddie said through a cloud of smoke that fell from his lips. “Had a good time too. Let’s do it again.” That same wicked grin spread across his lips, devious and daring. Your body tingled with excitement, nose pressing into the pillow to hide your sleepy smile.

[anghraine]

My Rings of Power re-watch is continuing slowly now that I have more time (though not always more attention span for anything except games, thanks dissertation -> my mother nearly dying -> getting COVID). But one of the things I'm really enjoying about Galadriel in ROP is that it doesn't always frame her as the wisest and most insightful person in every interaction she has, and in fact it is clear that she's fucking up in very significant ways because of how hard and relentless she's become through her eons of suffering and her determination to exact a price for it. She is not well!

However, she is nevertheless right about some very important matters that most people don't want to see, and she's being condescended to by men of her people who are much younger, less experienced, and less correct than she is, and it's continually emphasized that she is the most individually powerful and competent Elf around regardless of any of this and that her fuck-ups, while disastrous, are cool and sexy of her also.

So many male action heroes are troubled men haunted by whatever their particular tragic pasts are, but these men are also super impressive and badass (often to a degree far beyond all probability) in a harsh, capable way founded on never giving up ever, so while they are permitted to make major errors, it's in a cool and sexy way that just makes them more appealing.

This isn't a condemnation of that; there's a place for that kind of action hero and I tend to enjoy them when it's not copaganda or something. But I like women, and I like women to benefit from a full package of tropes that are often watered down when female characters get any part of them at all, so I enjoy a female character in something that historically has been such a dudefest getting full unhinged brooding hypercompetent action hero treatment.

I even fully support the show prioritizing Galadriel getting the good wig. Her hair flowing dramatically in the wind is actually more important than someone like Celebrimbor getting dramatic impractical action hair (with love, he's an arts and crafts nerd hung up on his academia celebrity grandfather, nothing about this demands good hair).

But I also like it not only in general and not only for a female character, but also for Galadriel specifically. I was just re-reading the description of her in the Shibboleth of Fëanor, and (Teleporno aside) it tracks pretty well. The whole thing about young Galadriel's burning determination to pursue Fëanor to the ends of the earth and thwart him in whatever ways she could seems exactly the sort of thing ROP Galadriel would do, and while ROP is set much later, the Shibboleth suggests that Galadriel was still recognizably that person for long afterwards:

"Pride still moved her when, at the end of the Elder Days after the final overthrow of Morgoth, she refused the pardon of the Valar ... It was not until two long ages more had passed, when at last all that she had desired in her youth came to her hand, the Ring of Power and the dominion of Middle-earth of which she had dreamed, that her wisdom was full grown."

There's a lot of Galadriel material that Tolkien wrote and he continually overhauled, revised, discarded, and amended the Galadriel backstory to such an extent that her history is one of the most chaotic, tangled, and irreconcilable zones of Tolkien lore. I don't think anyone is obligated to prioritize Shibboleth Galadriel if they have a different preferred version. But I really love that version of Galadriel and it does make her seem like probably the best canon female character option of this era for Action Hero Disaster Area (In A Cool and Sexy Way).

[lullabyes22-blog]

FnF Characters in an Acting AU + Shipping AMV Reactions

For you @frostybearpaws

<3

Mel: Former model. Not just any model, mind you. We're talking Iman or Naomi Campbell levels of powerhouse. She is the muse for a dozen fashion brands, from Versace to St. Laurent. Fluent in a half-dozen languages. Has an MA in art history. A prodigy at piano and harpsichord. Her social media is sublime eye candy; she is lauded as a style icon, and highly sought after by Vanity Fair and Vogue for covers.

Champions tirelessly for better roles for black women in TV and film. Outspoken advocate of the #MeToo movement. Passionately antiwar, and works with a number of educational advocacy groups. Has even made a formal speech before Congress.

re: the AMVs - "Oh this is delightfully done." Flattered by the passionate responses of fans, and amused by the spirited fanbase split between Meljay and Melco. When asked who she ships: "Meljay, I'm afraid. Silco has his charming qualities. But Mel needs someone who will prioritize her, and only her."

Violet: Relative newcomer. Mostly typecast in sporty 'tough chick' roles. Had a big breakout role in a "Bend it Like Beckham" type early 2000s film. The scriptwriters chickened out with a heteronormative ending, but fans latched on to all the queer subtext in film. She's got a huge Insta following, due to her popularity in the fandom, her status as an LGBTQ+ icon, or her being an ex-pro athlete.

She's a big proponent for more diverse representation in pop culture. She also has a degree in gender studies, and is an avid fanfiction reader. She's even written some smutty one-shots of her own <3

re: the AMVs: "Wow. Just... wow." Speechless at how horny y'all are.  Like, off the chains horny. And she's totally not judging. At all. But... "Damn. Take a cold shower, guys."

Sssh. She ships CaitVi too.  And she agrees the Nao arc was uncalled for. "Idk what the writers were thinking. Vi would never cheat on Cait. Even if they did break up." </3

Jayce: Child actor who was thrust into the limelight after starring in a 1990s sitcom. It was cancelled, but ended up having a massive cult following. His last big project was the 2000s comedy flick, "Freaks of Zaun," which, despite a critical drubbing, remains a favorite of the genre. He's kind of a douche irl, but fans are still super into him. He's also an influencer, and runs a successful YouTube channel where he posts workout routines, travel vids, and other lifestyle-adjacent stuff.

Huge fanboy of his own character, and never shuts up about him.

re: the AMVs: "You know what? I kinda get it. These are pretty good." Is a little miffed at the whole "Jayce is an idiot" meme.  “Look, he's a fucking scientist. I don't think a stupid guy could pull off the invention of Hextech." He also doesn't appreciate the ship wars, especially when it gets into toxic territory. "C'mon, guys. It's acting. There are no actual relationships. Don't turn this into a hatefest."

Has gotten cancelled once already. He's since learned not to touch that particular can of worms.

Ships MelJay and tolerates JayVik. Blanches at the mention of JayCo.

Jinx: Total newbie to the industry. Was a former gymnast, and an Olympian in the making. A torn meniscus put her out of the competition. Her agent, who'd been trying to convince her to switch to acting, seized the opportunity to get her in front of the camera. She's never had a day's training. But she's a natural. Her energy is infectious, and her charm is unmatched. A real sweetheart, too. Loves dogs and is a vegan. Advocates tirelessly for animal rights.

re: the AMVs: Shrieking at the first video like a kid in a candy shop. "Is this real? How do I join?" The first to suggest livestreaming the cast's reactions. She's not a fan of shipping wars, but has a live-and-let live attitude. Will scroll through instagram liking any video or post that has #Timebomb in the tag - her favorite ship, btw. She also likes Melco, Sevilco and JayVik.

But not Cait/Vi. Or Jinx/Silco.

"Just... yuck."

(CaitVi shippers accuse her routinely of homophobia. She's not homophobic. She's ace-aro. She's just finds the CaitVi pairing boring.)

Sevika: A rising star, and a fan favorite. She was a former MMA fighter before an accident left her with a paralyzed left arm. She'd been content to go the rest of her life as a trainer, until a talent scout noticed her. She was cast as a supporting character in a cop procedural. It ran three seasons, but her charisma made her a longstanding fandom icon. Audiences in FnF have been clamoring for more screen time, and the writers have been accommodating. Rumor has it that they're working on an origin story arc, where she'll be the main character.

re: the AMVs: "How'd this become a thing? You're all fucking weird." Has an opinion on every video. Doesn't hold back. Her reviews are highly anticipated, and fans love her blunt commentary. She doesn’t ship anyone. But she will like any MelCo tags that cross her Twitter feed.

Not because she thinks they're hot, but because she hates Jayce, and thinks it'd be fun to watch him suffer.

Married IRL to Mel, whom she met on set<3

Caitlyn: Nepo baby. Her parents were both Academy Award-nominated actors, who met while filming a romcom. They've had an on-again, off-again relationship for the last thirty years. Cait has been in the industry her whole life, and acting professionally since she was five. Her resume is filled with romantic comedies and period pieces. She's been compared to Audrey Hepburn, and is considered a classic Hollywood beauty. Originally, she was cast in the role of Nandi, opposite "young" Silco. But the Vekauran community derided the casting as whitewashing, and her chemistry with young Silco was totally lacking. She was recast as Vi's romantic interest, and the rest is history.

She's a huge fan of CaitVi, and is known for her frequent appearances at Comic Con. Always happy to pose with cosplayers of her character. She also has a penchant for weird memes.

re: the AMVs: Has a very strict rule about never Googling her name. Opts out of the shipping wars, too. "If it makes people happy, who am I to judge?"

Vander: Former action star, and a fan favorite. Played a superhero vigilante in the late 80s. Known for his iconic lines: "We can do this the easy way. Or the hard way." He had a string of hit films before the industry shifted away from the genre. His career suffered, and he found himself typecast in a string of poorly-received knock-offs of his old films. His final movie tanked at the box office, and he nearly threw in the towel. But his manager convinced him to audition for the show.

He and Silco are known for their on-screen chemistry, and were the subject of a lot of "Are they?" questions. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Vander even stated, "Look, I'd do Silco. It's no secret." Which caused quite the stir on the internet. Sources still aren’t sure if he meant the actor or the character.

He's a huge fan of the show, and a proud member of the fandom. He ships Jinx & Silco, but as platonic soul-family. He's also a CaitVi and Timebomb fan.

re: the AMVs: "Aww, this is cute." He's the most positive out of the bunch.  Is a bit weirded out by the fan obsession with his love life. "I mean, I'm flattered, really. But c'mon, guys. I have a husband." Is super active on Twitter, and frequently replies to fans.

Viktor: Little-known actor from a small country in Eastern Europe. He'd been an up-and-coming romantic hero, guest-starring in a popular soap opera. When a visa snafu kept him from appearing on the show, he was replaced. But the fans revolted. They loved the character, and didn't want to see him gone. The studio listened, and after he found good legal representation, he was able to secure a permanent work visa and keep the role.

Very sweet and reserved; he's not really into social media, or even the internet.

re: the AMVs: Totally geeking out over them. Has a huge crush on Jinxtor, but doesn't realize it's a no-no in the USA as Jinx is 18, and Viktor is 34. He enjoys JayVik as both a scienbros dynamic and as a romantic couple.

Favorite ship is SkyVik. He's even collaborated with a few AMV creators on Youtube on a whole collection of SkyVik videos.

"It's a tragic love story, no?"

Silco: Indie darling. He was a teen star in the early 80s, and garnered a small but loyal fanbase. His first film was a horror flick, where he played a troubled runaway who'd been possessed by a demon. The raw animalism of the performance garnered him a Golden Globe nomination, and his subsequent projects had a similar gothic flair. He's also starred in a number of subversive art house films. His breakout role was the dissolute vampire king in the cult classic, "Blood for Blood" - for which he snagged an Oscar nod.

IRL he's a vocal advocate for unionization, and regularly attends protests in support of worker's rights. Conversely, he's also a vocal proponent of capital punishment.

re: the AMVs: Is mystified at first. Then intrigued. Then appreciative. "This is quite good. The editing. The cinematography. The music. It's not all amateurish, as one might expect." Mostly, he's a silent observer. Always watching, and seldom commenting. A veritable mystery.

He ships CaitVi, but only for the aesthetic. Jilco gets a raised eyebrow and a headshake. Vanco gets a crooked smile. Sevilco, and he'll actually chuckle.

"You are a strange, strange people."

His favorite ship is Melco. Largely because he and Mel had a fling irl during his tenure on the show.

Ekko: Hearthrob of the fanbase. He's an influencer, and runs a YouTube channel where he reviews tech toys and gadgets. His fans are mostly teens, and he has an adorable 'too cool for school' schtick. He's a huge nerd, though, and is actually a prodigy when it comes to mechanical engineering. His parents were scientists, and he was homeschooled his whole life. He got his first TV role by winning a game show, where he had to create a prototype toy that would be marketed and sold to kids.

He's also the funniest out of the cast. And he knows it. Always quick with a zinger, and can turn even the most awkward situation into a comedy routine.

re: the AMVs: Cracks up over the first few videos. Then becomes an avid fan of the whole genre. Has a soft spot for Timebomb, but he and Jinx are friends irl, so he doesn't want to make things weird. Comes up with his own random ships to troll the fanbase.

Ekko/Vi - "A disaster. Imagine how awkward that would be."

Ekko/Mel - "She's totally out of his league. But I'm down to see how it would go."

Ekko/Sevika - "Now, that would be something. She is one hot mama."

Ekko/Jayce - "I'd top him. There, I said it."

Ekko/Cait - "She's totally a virgin. She'd die."

Ekko/Silco - "Fuck this guy, amirite? Literally."

[locke-writing]

Okay, I made a rant post about it, but Tumblr posted the draft rather than the finished one, so my points went uncomplete, so let's try again. Yes, this is about the N*zi drama bullshit happening in the EverymanHYBRID fandom.

TLDR; Stop defending Summer. EMH fans are not the problem. EMH itself is not the problem. The problem is N*zi supporters clinging to the N*zi reference and twisting it for their own agenda.

People defending Summer are not grasping the full situation and are contributing to sweeping harmful content under the rug instead of doing something about it.

It does not matter what your intentions are. If you draw a N*zi/Swast*ka in a cutesy little art style, it's a hate symbol. It's hateful content and makes you look like a N*zi supporter. Putting anything of this nature in a remotely good light is going to ruin your chances of ever being respected.

Summer drew a cutsy little N*zi in a sexual situation and then turned around with, "I don't support them!!!" Are you actually being real right now? Holy fuck.

I literally couldn't give a rat's ass about talking to Summer about this because holy hell, their "I feel so bad" guilt trippy shit will not work on me. There was no formal apology and no deletion of what was made. Summer is not sorry, they just don't want the heat.

Well, guess what? Brandishing a swast*ka is exactly how you get it, and until those posts come down and it's acknowledged in a non half assed way, you're gonna keep getting the heat.

Summer is making ALL OF US look bad. Summer is scaring people away from joining the fandom.

Depiction does not equal romantization. EverymanHYBRID used N*zis to disgust the audience and make HABIT a universally hated character. It was a throwback to an old media trope that mainstream movies do all the time. "Ooo, N*zi experimentation created a monster, ooo, spooky corny villain!!!" This is not the problem. Movie depictions of these fuckers were always made in a mocking light, and it seems like EMH did the same thing.

HABIT could barely remember who they were and spoke about them like they were shit on his boot. From what I've heard and seen, both the creators and the fandom agreed on minimizing and rewriting this reference out of EMH. You know why? Because people turned HABIT into a slutty fanonized mess of a concept. HABIT was not made to be romanticized for a fucking reason. They thought they were safe to use this trope because they weren't banking on people being ravenously thirsty and then using that reference as an excuse to connect N*zis with the "sexy serial killer" thing. HABIT was not to be sexualized in any way, shape, or form. HABIT was a mockery of real-life evil people. Dehumanizing monstrous people.

And then people turned around and humanized him to a terrifying degree. They made him "relatable," and people are raving about making him the new Tumblr sexyman.

Some of you guys, not all, but some, have no idea what the hell HABIT was made to do and it creeps me the fuck out.

Summer drew HABIT wanting to fuck a Jewish person. They drew a swast*ka next to a drawing of a real-life, non-celebrity, volunteer actor. It's disrespectful and just fucking mean, dude. On top of that, the Amon Göth quote??? The dude ran a labor camp, you've got to be kidding me.

"I'm just a history buff!" All N*zi supporters are history buffs. Your excuses mean nothing. If you didn't mean it, those art posts would be gone.

It's not the fandom or EMH itself. We agreed on being mature about this. Don't pin some 18 year old kid's edgy N*zi bullshit on anyone else but the person doing it.

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

i absolutely lost my mind discovering your blog this morning. i absolutely adore your style and your story/concept ideas SO MUCH. i love your love for chang and i adore how you draw him and just the love and care you have for the characters and their stories, their history-just everything. oh my god your art and animations are incredible thank you so much you made me so happy this morning 😭😭😭

Thank you very much! I just feel like the Tintin universe has a lot of potential for deep dives. Herge often drew inspiration from the real world so that naturally brings a lot of richness - I'm just lucky to have the privilege of having nearly a century of hindsight and an Internet connection for my research!

also fun fact, I draw Chang the way I do for multiple reasons. I ramble so here's a Read More:

The first is just to update how Chinese people are depicted in this style - I'm Chinese myself (British Chinese) and while I do appreciate Chang's original appearance was basically modelled off a real guy and Herge really did try his best with depicting Chinese people sensitively I wouldn't be comfortable sticking exactly to those original portrayals (tbh it’s mostly the eyes and the skin colour I have an issue with, I liked the weird rubberiness of early Herge!). I also would like to update how the Japanese characters were portrayed too as man those designs are viscerally uncomfortable (like those characters were villainous because they were doing imperialism, not because they're Japanese man come on)

The second is - Chang is a fucking shapeshifter. I swear he looks different in every appearance he makes in official materials. You're telling me these are all the same guy??

From left to right: Chang from a postage stamp that uses artwork from The Blue Lotus, the middle is from the 90s cartoon and the one on the right is from a... cheese sticker??? His nose, hair and face shapes change quite a bit

To get his design I mixed together the 90s cartoon version with the original. People have mentioned The Cheekbones Chang has in the 90s cartoon but I actually like how they give him a distinct shape, it helps differentiate his shape language from Tintin who's all round and soft.

For his young adult design I initially thought to reference Tintin in Tibet but he's so malnourished and close to death his portrayal there probably wasn't intended to represent what he's normally like. I just took my design for Chang and pushed the shapes more. I thought it would be cool for him to look pretty different when he grows up as a contrast to how static Tintin is as a character.

The third (and funniest) reason why I draw Chang the way I do is I actually look a lot like Blue Lotus Chang to a frightening degree, like to the point where it looks like my likeness was stolen 70 years before I even existed. I do not like thinking about my physical existence! I do not want to draw myself! No thank you!! my self insert is haddock if we’re being real

[crow-girl-cock]

Hai :7

I love you!

yes you!

click this.

now for introduction.

my name is Renée Corbeau

but you can call me ren or crow

I love crows! they feel like family to me and I hope next cycle I get to experience the life of a crow.

I have gone through alot in life and fancy myself some sort of activist by proxy of that pain, am I perfect? fuck no! I am still learning and probably operate under toxic bias still despite all the effort I have put into growth.

I'm adhd, autistic, anxious, depressive, dissociative, probably some degree of plurality.

I'm a gender non-conforming transwoman, definitely puppy coded, and severely down bad for women, especially butch women!

that being said the human body is beautiful. especially fat bodies, I'm a sucker for meat :3

all my guys, gals, and non binary pals deserve kisses (assuming that they want them)

I love gender fuckery, people who actively blur those lines are doing the lords work.

despite being very friendly and appearing slightly outgoing sometimes, I am very shy and dont have a very large social battery.

if I ever dont respond dont take it personally there are loads of reasons why this could be.

U⁠^ᴥ^⁠U U⁠^ᴥ^⁠U U⁠^ᴥ^⁠U

I am kind of a red mage when it comes to special interests, I know a little bit about alot.

(all lists are not ordered and not exhaustive)

some examples include;

from gaming~ pokemon, zelda, elderscrolls, darksouls, minecraft, osu!, space sims (elite dangerous, astroneer, dyson sphere project, hardspaceshipbreaker), roguelikes (noita, deadcells, gungeon, vagante, slaythespire)

from other media~ pokemon again, bluey, adventure time, atla, bee and puppycat, studio ghibli (nausicaa is goat), csm, bleach, dragonball, naruto, she-ra, dungeon meshi

from *gasps* real life~

space (and metaphysics), nature (it's peculiarities and the many funky adorable little guys born in it) I'm definitely a poser but skateboarding and rollerskating (I really want to get into rollerderby) philosophy (to the extent that any skid is);

History!

(not as well read as I would like because there is so much of it, and so much of the truth is buried under misinformation, but I have deconstructed the whole western myth of how things went and painted myself a much clearer picture as to how things got so bad and am learning new things about the world all the time, please feel free to info dump about anything history related I'd love to hear it. anthropology and archaeology too obvs)

Art!

(this is my chosen field for better or worse >⁠.⁠< I am going to college for web and graphic design (2024-2026) I might extend that an extra 2 years to make it a bachelor of design and hope to one day make graphic novels, beautifully illustrated with deep thought provoking stories)

໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -｡꒱ྀི১ ૮꒰՞⸝⸝- ༝ -⸝⸝꒱ა ໒꒰՞⸝⸝. ̫ .ܸ⸝⸝ ꒱ა

Kink! (definitely subject to change)

petplay, musk, intox, bondage, impact, cnc, degradation, somno, hypno, blood, knives, size difference probably more I haven't thought of

I'm poly and very t4t

I'm a switch but this hellsite has been steadily turning me into a bottom day by day heheh

but no actually

I used to be a hypersexual dom pre-transition

but E has made me alot less uncontrollably horny and far more sensitive and inclined to seek vulnerability, all my drive to dom has dissolved

also I suck at tagging and will sometimes will reblog art/random things from tags without checking bios

if that upsets you or makes you uncomfortable please see the block button for more info ;3c

.♡. .♡. .♡.

anyways since you made it this far

here have some headpats

spread kindness please and thank you ^v^

As above, So below.

Hai :7

I love you!

yes you!

[randombookposts]

Canaan University Au

Ok I thought of a college au for the locked tomb a awhile ago but I never bothered to write it down until now. Anyways I think they would all go to this imaginary university in New Zealand and it’s like the first book but with a lot less murder. Here’s what I think each house would study

Judith- Criminal justice major. Huge stickler for rules and doing homework. If she’s not in the gym reading a textbook while doing push-ups, she’s in the library getting into a heated debate with a Corona. Had a huge crush on Marta and went to the same college as her to hangout, just getting over it, may or may not have feelings for Corona, maybe.

Marta- In law school, was a mentor to Judith when she was in high school and that’s how they know each other. Gently turned Judith down but they’re still friends and study together sometime. Is the DD at every party.

Corona: Majoring in marketing with a minor in fashion merchandising. Doesn’t do great on tests but aces every presentation. President of her sorority. Can and will gaslight frat boys. Everyone wants her but she only has eyes for the stuck up criminal justice major.

Ianthe- Management major with a minor in maybe finance. Commits tax fraud and gets away with it. Sometimes does Corona’s homework for her. Doxxes people online (mostly Babs), smokes in the dorm hallways. Flirts with Harrow during their study sessions, which Harrow ignores.

Naberius- Economics major, and major fuck boy. Makes thirst traps and is doxxed. Hangs out with the twins even though they bully him. Doesn’t do shit during group projects. Will get a job at his dads company post graduation.

Jeannemary and Isaac don’t go to college but are tutored by Abigail at her house. They just silly teens who experiment with makeup and clothes to find their look. Talk loudly about anime in the school hallways. A little cringe but they’re doing their best.

Abigail- Anthropology professor and is really cool. Tough grader but genuinely loves her students and shares trivia with them. Brings donuts to test days. Will accidentally derail class to talk about books or her husband. If one of her students brings up one of the incredibly niche topics she likes, she will talk about it for hours.

Magnus- Not a teacher but visits Abigail's classes often. Nice guy, helps look after Jeannemary and Isaac. I'm not sure what he would do as a job, maybe chef or stay at home husband lol. Regardless, he's the one making all the meals.

Palamedes- Pre-med, wants to become a doctor so he can save Dulcinea save people. Smartest guy in the room always, a go to for anyone struggling with their biology homework. Has a friendly rivalry with Harrow (it's more rivalry than friendly for Harrow but she grows fond of him over time). Is the one derailing class with philosophical debates.

Camilla- Physics major, too cool for you. Really into sports, just not sure which, like gymnastics or soccer or rugby or fencing. Works hard but actually remembers to eat and sleep too. Probably in student government as well. Her and Palamedes are attached at the hip, they later get an apartment together and that's where all the main hangouts with the other characters happen.

Dulcinea- Suffers from chronic illness and focuses her life on learning and traveling rather than getting a traditional job. She's got multiple degrees in stuff like literature, philosophy, and art history. She is active on social media and has a blog, and sells crocheted animals on Etsy. Became mutuals with Pal and Camilla on social media and they met up later when they went off to college.

Protesilaus- Dulcie's caretaker, helps her with her medical stuff. Becomes like a cool uncle figure to her and her friends. Hangs out a lot with Ortus and they share poetry.

Silas- Double major in theology and philosophy. Freaky teen prodigy who graduated high school early and attends university. Little shit who people are either freaked out by or straight up just don't like him. Will snitch on anyone for anything he doesn't like. Really only friends with Colum.

Colum- Silas' nephew, but way older than him, weird dynamic. Not in school but drives Silas to his classes and Silas lives with him during the school year instead of in the dorms. Nice guy, looks out for Silas' well being the best he can but tries to keep him from being too nasty to others.

Harrow- Double major in theology and archeology. Studies at all hours and forgets to eat and sleep. Local cryptid. Autistic with special interests in religion and burial rituals. Went to Catholic school and had a suffocating home life. Trying to grapple with that as she starts to navigate adult life. Also trying to mend her relationship with Gideon after being so harsh in her younger years.

Gideon- Kinesiology major, butch vibes to the max. Does swordfighting and weight training in her down time. Has kissed both Ianthe and Corona at some point, though it never went anywhere after that. Wears her sunglasses at all times even in class. Finds the worst fashions from thrift stores and wears them to piss Harrow off. Grew up with Harrow in a foster home Harrow's parents ran and also attended Catholic school with her but they rarely interacted beyond antagonizing each other. Reconnected after being randomly assigned roommates. Now they're buddies and hang out alongside the 3rd and 6th, (also the 2nd and Dulcie sometimes too). They all do stupid shit together like sing karoke off key and hit up Taco Bell at 2am after binge watching movies.

[tired-reader-writer]

Smth smth a fan of a story abt literature lacking any respect for literature smth smth—

No, actually, you misunderstand.

AoB is not a story about literature. It's about books. Making books. The contents of said books has never mattered. Not to Myne, not to any of the characters, not to the author.

We never get to hear any of Effa's stories despite it being the first thing Myne makes into a book. Not even a summary. It's as though the narrative doesn't care about the actual story, only that Myne has material for book-making!

Nevermind that storytelling is a rich art that has existed for as long as we've been human, nevermind that stories have been a companion to humanity since the dawn of time, nevermind that oral history has been dismissed and looked down upon by scholars but is so so so rich with information and value and—

Nevermind, of course. It doesn't matter. It's never mattered to Kazuki.

The titles of the books published and distributed also have like. Generic-ass titles. Royal Academy Love Stories. A Ditter Story. Nothing is said of their contents, except that Boys Like Ditter Books and Girls Swoon Over Romance. Nobody in the fandom ever talks about any of the books in the story because there's nothing to talk about. What can you gush about in A Ditter Story? It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter at all. Never has, never will.

Tell me again how this is a story about literature? Nay, nay, the art of writing and storytelling is given no significance or weight in this damn story and trying to pretend otherwise to give it more credit is... disingenuous, in my opinion.

For all that fucking Pandora Hearts isn't a story about literature, it's about so many things (a story about a story a story about love a story about imposter's syndrome a story about realness and the human about a story about so many things but about literature it is not— even if it was based on Alice In Wonderland wait I'm getting sidetracked), anyways it has an in-universe novel series that's published by the volume, Holy Knight, and we get little glimpses into what goes on in the story! One of the characters, Edgar the valet dies in an act of self-sacrifice for his lord Edwin who cuts his hair in mourning after losing Edgar in the end.

Now, why does this matter? Because the novel was actually narratively relevant to the story of Pandora Hearts— Mochizuki Jun is a meticulous writer whom I really look up to— Holy Knight became the connecting common ground that let Oz, the protagonist, befriend Elliot and Leo (master and valet duo) when they first met as they are avid fans of the series (well, two of them were, Leo wasn't to my memory but I digress). It is not only a nifty little tool to give these characters a common ground but it also becomes relevant to their characters in other ways— it sheds light on their characters, Oz who has the self-sacrificing Edgar as his favorite character values his own life so little, is suicidal to some degree, and views himself as expendable. Elliot on the flipside is the opposite— he very notably said “People who think so lightly of their own lives do not have the right to protect anyone!” (which is also a major theme in Pandora Hearts but shush, me, shush, I'm not here to proselytize about an actually well-crafted story here, fuck). Normally I'd avoid spoilers for this kind of series (full of mystery and plot twists and everything good) because it's so good you should experience it yourself but I know that nobody in the AoB tag will give a shit about checking out a well-crafted story (if they think AoB is the height of literature, do you blame me for thinking so?), I'm gonna spoil it. Elliot dies! In an act of self-sacrifice! His last words were directed to his valet: “I'm sorry, Leo.” HOW FUCKING IRONIC IS THAT? And Leo cuts his hair in the aftermath/fallout of Elliot's death— where his grief leads him down a self-destructive spiral. A role reversal between Edgar and Edwin.

From this example provided, you can very clearly see the singular in-universe novel Holy Knight fulfilled multiple narrative functions: reinforcing/establishing the manga's themes, establishing characters, and foreshadowing.

Have I mentioned I love Pandora Hearts to death?

And it's not even! A story! About literature! As many claim AoB is!

How fucking cool would it have been to have something similar with AoB's in-universe novels, something to foreshadow events, stories bringing characters together (no, the library committee only half-counts bc it's books that brought these ppl to gather, not a love of literature and storytelling specifically), stories affecting characters and giving them hope or solace or whatever, stories being used as a narrative device by Kazuki to push certain themes and such?

I could go insane over the utilization of Holy Knight in Pandora Hearts but there's just cricket noises for the novels in AoB bc. I'm. Given. Absolutely fucking nothing! Nada! None! And I'm someone who's like a bloodhound that hunts for symbolism and symbolism only! I have a whole tag dedicated to my character design sheets where I cram in symbolic shit in the designs and over-explain every aspect! (Here's the tag if anyone's interested, probably not but hey, shameless self-plug) If someone like me can't find anything to go insane over about an in-universe novel or story, that's dire! That's so fucking dire! I'm someone who looks at smth ppl say “isn't that deep” and grabs a shovel to make it That Deep. Do you fucking realize. How bad it is that I can't find any narrative significance for stories and storytelling. In a series about making books. Do you understand. Do you fucking understand.

On the note of grabbing a shovel to make things That Deep, yeah let's talk about that. People wish I was actually talking about the themes of the story, engage with them, instead of throwing it all in the trash. Which, yeah, fair!

Except it's not because that's literally what I'm trying to do.

What the everloving fuck did you people think I was doing when I published that post? I was trying to talk about it, from the perspective of someone whose country was colonized by Japan, trying to engage with it from my perspective, trying to get people to critically think about and engage with it too instead of blindly accepting the story's biases, trying to offer my perspective which is of someone who doesn't worship AoB and doesn't immediately shut down criticism of the stories I like because I can't pretend people ever disliking it for legitimate reasons. What is this if not me talking about it? Also, to tell one critic to not just chug the entire thing into the trash and to tell another critic to just stop reading... Pick a lane, y'all. Pick a fucking lane. (In the first place you could've chosen to not read the anti-FerMyne post, yeah it wasn't tagged but there's a summary above the cut that said “IT'S BAD” like what did you think the content under the cut was gonna be. What the fuck did you think it was gonna be.

In the first place people kinda seem self-admitting that they care about nothing outside of the romance-not-romance in AoB, as it doesn't occur to them that someone could be continuing to read the series for other characters they liked, other plot points, anything at all outside of the main romance— The romance only became explicit in the last two volumes, before that it's completely possible to think that the series is not going to end with them getting together if you have an entire fandom gaslighting you into thinking Myne is aro.)

(But then again maybe it's not so out of left field that these people cannot fathom anyone staying for anything outside of FerMyne— people have loudly admitted to hating the version of Myne that existed before she met Ferdinand— since there really isn't much to sink your teeth into except if you like ranting your tongue off about the characters canon either neglects or retcons or tries so hard to make hateable)

(Like I said, not a speck of respect for stories in “a story about literature”)

Anyways, I have never once seen a fandom so resistance to criticism, critical discussion, and anything of the sort like AoB fandom is. Well, except for Moriarty the Patriot but being compared to that fandom isn't a favor because they would aggressively try to chase dissenters out. I would know. I was one of the targets for a mass Twitter campaign. AoB fandom... is shaping up to look like that.

Like, my Naruto mutuals and I have been talking about financial abuse holding supplies hostage dehumanization sexual exploitation misogyny in the narrative etc and the FMA poc community is in a corner discussing narrative framings of Scar and the importance of named characters and individual wrath vs justified anger at the system and how the series mishandled Ishvalans and AoB is just here incapable of understanding that any of it is bigoted, or that AoB has racist/classist/xenophobic themes going on. Beyond a token acknowledgement of there being a “sprinkle” of racist/classist themes in AoB, nobody here ever openly talks about those themes, never criticizes them profusely like there exists thriving critics communities in other fandoms— probably for fear of being ostracized, lol.

To that, I borrow some quotes from the ever lovely Dr. Bret C. Devereaux, an ancient and military historian who currently teaches as a Teaching Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University:

George R. R. Martin: The Dothraki were actually fashioned as an amalgam of a number of steppe and plains cultures… Mongols and Huns, certainly, but also Alans, Sioux, Cheyenne, and various other Amerindian tribes… seasoned with a dash of pure fantasy.

Dr. Bret C. Devereaux: But at the same time, a ‘dash’ only goes so far; if I ask you to add a ‘dash’ of pepper to a recipe and the end product comes back 51% pepper by mass, we need not debate semantics to understand that something has gone really rather wrong.

Dr. Bret C. Devereaux: It seems that our ‘dash of pure fantasy’ has turned from a little bit of salt to flavor the meal into a barrel of salted fish with with all the fish removed.

Dr. Bret C. Devereaux: We might say he has added ‘dashes’ of pure fantasy until the ‘dash’ is the entire soup, but the truth is clearly the reverse: Martin has sprinkled a little bit of water on a barrel of salt and called it just a dash of salt.

To read this wonderfully graceful and eloquent episode of this historian shredding GRRM: here ya go, tis the link.

I wish I could be as eloquent as him. Oh, well, one day.

Forgive me if I seem condescending or haughty by dragging in other better-written stories or a historian but AoB fans have been condescending to us in the first place— equating us to children, sweeping over our words and cultural backgrounds and experiences with “well yeah I need to check what the Experts say first” and trying to de-legitimize any of our arguments with “well clearly you're just not paying attention because Japan is culturally different and you're just ignorant on How Things Are Over There” well newsflash asshole the only two critics in this entire fandom tag are both Asian too! Japan wrecked our countries! I brought up something Japan did, something that it continues to deny to this day and something that many Asian countries are still affected from, shouldn't that count at least on some level as paying attention to whatever mystical “cultural differences” y'all insist we're willfully ignoring? Aren't y'all the ones consistently ignoring and trying to shut up our voices and criticisms? “Is it racist to have your only prominent foreign country be a mishmash of Asian-coded brown people whose only traits are being violent killer rapists and who your white protagonists kill all of before sealing off the border from the foreign invaders” is absolutely entry-level “Can you recognize xenophobic sentiments in media” critical thinking! I can't believe I'm having to say this! What Japan did isn't even some niche distant mystical “Asian history”, it's World War II history. The fact that people are so willing to excuse ableism and xenophobia and anything like that with “b-b-but cultural differences!” is xenophobic in of itself. Is Japan a fucking alien planet? What makes you so vehemently defend the idea of Japan while trying to kill the voices of other Asians? Are we not Pale Enough for you or something?

What in this god damn novel series is so good, so worthy of these people stooping so low?

[leoslosttoolbelt]

What I think the demigods would major as and why

these are personal head canons dont take them too seriously :)

Percy: Education. I know that we usually hc as a Marin biology kinda guy but I genuinely think that he wouldn't be too fond of the workload but instead want to work towards being a teacher and being the kind of teacher he needed as a kid, y'know? Alternatively, I can see him being into something like baking and pastry art to take over Sally's shop.

Annabeth: Architecture. I really don't think I need to explain this one to y'all but yeah she's an architecture girly. But if we want to branch out I can also see her studying law and working in the area of Child Protection.

Leo: Astrophysics. I have this head canon of him panicking because of the sheer amount of choices that he's presented with and choosing the first one of the alphabetical list. Lucky for him, he's insanely good at it AND it'll pay well in the future. He minors in mechanical engineering and realises that although he has all the practical knowledge because of his father, his theoretical knowledge isn't as strong lol.

Piper: Food Science. I'm trying to be unique here because yeah, she could do environmental studies but I also think it would be super cool to see her learning about food and developing new vegetarian versions of food because it's something she's visibly passionate about in the books.

Nico: I can see him getting a history / philosophy related degree for his bachelors just for him to get a  doctor of philosophy (Ph. D.) in mythology or folklore. His hyperfixation runs deep and he sure as hell is going to fuel it as much as he can.

Jason: Doesn't go to college!! Is severely burnt out <3. No but like idk man I think he'd legitimately want to take it chill if that makes sense? Maybe he'd do a business major just so that he can get a job somewhere but I can't think of somewhere he'd fit in nicely. Jason does have a lot of part time jobs though!!

Frank: Nurse! Nursing school! Despite being the son of Mars I can see him being in the medical field because he wants to help people in need. It's a long journey with lots of ups and downs but finally getting his degree makes it all worth it.

Hazel: Geology because rocks. And also women in STEM!! This one directly correlates to her powers in the books as well as both of her parents! On the other hand, I can see definitely see Hazel studying in the field of archeology with the goal of being an archeologist and then eventually a museum curator :)

Reyna: Psychology!! Listen, I know this seems out of the blue but Reyna gives me the right vibes. Everyone is skeptical at first because they don't think she'd fit the mold of a clinical psychologist but that's okay because Reyna wants to further herself in research! She studies Neuropsychology and becomes a prominent researcher in her field! Please tell me you see the vision.

Will: From what I can see in the books, Emergency Medical Services degree seems like the right field for him. He's already basically a paramedic at Camp Half Blood so he knows it's naturally the right step for him. On the other hand, for something a little different - he seems like the kind of guy who might be interested in studying cinematography or art history maybe.

Travis: He studies Economics because he's so fucking convinced that he can become the next Elon Musk if he studies this. Alternatively, he studies music because he wants to travel the world and like sing with the wind and all that shit.

Connor: he's a communications major because he's a really popular youtube and technically doesn't really need to go to college but oh well he can study communications.

Drew: She goes to cosmetology school as the first step to start her own makeup and skincare empire. She's super nice to all of her clients and helps out all of the other students when they're having trouble with something! I will not tolerate any Drew slander let my girl breathe.

Pollux: Chemical Engineering. He got influenced by watching breaking bad and somehow landed himself a degree in chemical engineering. He doesn't know how he survived that degree but it doesn't matter because he decides to not give a fuck and open a coffee shop that becomes really popular because all the drinks are to die for.

Thalia: I don't really know the right terminology but she has an art related degree / tattoo apprentice so that she can work as a tattoo artist!! It fits with the thalis vision and also she is the eldest daughter who loses it lowkey so she doesn't follow your usual education route. Tattoo artist Thalia for the win!!

[fyrefrostanimus]

Day 1 (AU Prompt): Bad Ending

Man I underperformed for this one imo. I wanted to do more but the art block fucking slapped me just in time

So after asking the event host puhpandas if just talking about this was enough and getting yes as an answer, I present to you this AU I came up with after the release of Ruin but didn't know how to share it, we have this AU (it's original name was the Illustrated Lullaby AU but I'm not sure if the name really sticks for me).

TL;DR in case my insane ramblings about this AU I have never mentioned anywhere before but have had in my mind for months are incomprehensible: Burntrap Ending is canon, Gregory dies while separated from Freddy, possesses Daycare Attendant, and when Cassie eventually shows up come Ruin Gregory tries to tell her what actually happened to him, eventually having to do it through comics since he can't really get through Eclipse.

------

Everything is the same as the base game's Burntrap Ending until the actual ending cutscene. Glamrock Freddy gets stuck behind while Gregory, who's smaller, can still move forward. He hates having to leave Freddy behind after bonding the whole night, but Freddy also wanted him to keep going and get out of the flaming sinkhole as quickly as possible. The problem is that he got lost. Any way out he found was already either on fire or blocked by the fallen debris, until there was no way out. Eventually smoke inhalation killed him from being near the fire for so long.

I'm not quite sure how Gregory ends up possessing the Daycare Attendant in the original just-after-Ruin cut, but then I noticed just how similar this was to Charlie's death and possessing the Puppet, so I decided to stick with the "history repeats itself" idea to a degree. The Daycare Attendant finds him once the fire dies down: Gregory is still alive yet past saving, but at least getting him out of the hell pit in case anyone comes looking for him would be nice. Little guy dies shortly after the two of them get out of the sinkhole (it's easier when you're tall and used to climbing things like the DCA).

I know this is about Gregory but imagine being the Daycare Attendant watching this kid die, only to hear him "wake up" 30 seconds after in your head. That's pretty much what happened here and both parties freak out. FazEnt. wiped most of the popularly-known stuff about the animatronics being possessed so it seemed more like a joke when kids' grandparents brought it up. Sun and Moon didn't expect it to be a real thing, or that they'd be stuck with the ghost kid for an indefinite amount of time. Gregory took a little longer to realize he died since he wasn't fully conscious when it happened, but when he did figure it out he was pretty much bawling (he usually holds it back or suppresses it, but since he could feel Sun and Moon's emotions, he guessed that they could do the same with him and it was pointless trying to hide it this time).

It's kinda random stuff to bridge the gap of a few months between base Security Breach and Ruin. Gregory meets Sassy Sun (A.K.A. how Sun ACTUALLY acts as shown in HW 2) and that's pretty funny to him since before the sinkhole they genuinely seemed childish, they draw stuff together since they all enjoy art, etc.. They're all stuck together, so they have to get to know each other if they don't want to go absolutely insane. Only about half of the daycare is destroyed (it would definitely be more if I'm being accurate to real sinkholes) and it's a mostly safe place as almost every dangerous animatronic melted in the pit. All three of the bodymates have pretty much agreed not to go back down there, for understandable reasons.

Ruin arrives, and Cassie's getting a call on her Roxy talkie supposedly from Gregory that he's in the sinkhole. We all know where this leads but hey, dramatic irony. Everything once again goes as Ruin does at the beginning minus the Monty attack and Glamrock Chica appearing, except after rebooting Eclipse, they join her (after a lot of pushing from Gregory since it became clear she wasn't leaving). He tries to tell her that he's there, but since Sun and Moon merged to make Eclipse, he doesn't really have much he can do in the terms of speech. But he's still given the freedom to draw, so he tries using that. And it somewhat starts working. Whenever Cassie isn't one the move, he's making a clue as to try and at least let her know that whoever is on the other end of the line isn't him.

I don't know how I want this AU to actually end. Part of me wants to lean completely into the "history repeats itself" idea and have Gregory start Puppet 2: Electric Boogaloo, but he's also his own character and might not do that simply because to him, this is hell, and he doesn't want Cassie experiencing that even if it means she's gone for good. Or maybe it has a good ending where the cycle doesn't quite repeat, and she goes free with closure on what happened to Gregory. I'm definitely leaning to "history repeats itself" though.

And a height chart because it's all my dumb ass could draw before the art block took my lunch money

Idk if this is actually how tall the DCA is but the idea of them being comically tall and towering over the kiddos is fun okay

@ggyweek2024

[saltineofswing]

Hello! I'm the person that made the rant post about my dislike on the lack of natural dichotomy of the Pyramids and Traveler since the introduction of the Veil that turned into a whole thing. You mentioned a lack of pulp in your reblog and it's stuck with me since then. I wasn't familiar with the term and did some research on it, but I still don't think I get what it is. I tried looking it up but a lot of articles and videos I could find explain the history of pulp and its influences in modern day sci-fi but not necessarily what it is, especially in a way that would give me context to better understand your reblog. If it's not too much trouble, can you explain a little more what the "pulp" is that destiny is lacking?

I’d be happy to try and give you a little more insight into what I feel are important tenets of pulp as a genre/concept! I decided this might be a good opportunity to talk a little about it generally because I am really feeling its absence generally in the past couple years, so I included some historical backing which you’re probably already familiar with – hope that’s OK.

I did a little digging personally, for some good places to familiarize oneself with the basics of pulp as a concept and/or genre. It was nice to re-affirm some info that I’ve felt secure in holding as true without a ton of evidentiary support, and I also learned some cool new stuff as well! I think a good place to start would be to link to the TV Tropes page about pulp magazines, which does a pretty good job of explaining the origins and foundational aspects of the concept in a way that is easy to digest. It also has a lot of examples available to peruse. I also found this cool article on the golden age of pulps, which is an interesting read.

This got long, so below the cut!

To reiterate, the original ‘pulp’ terminology and vibe comes from early/mid-20th century magazines, which were cheap and easy ways to access genre fiction and action/adventure stories before comics, paperback novels, and TV/movies were really on the scene. Pulp magazines spanned a very wide array of genres, but because of a lack of appreciation for the medium, a majority of pulp magazines and aspects of what I would consider to be pulp as a genre have been allowed to fall into obscurity. There are places where I feel it is particularly obvious, especially the superhero genre (don’t get me started we’ll be here all week) but also in fantasy and science fiction – a term which was, in fact, coined by Hugo Gernsback, an editor for pulp magazine Amazing Stories.

They were cheap to make, cheap to buy, and easy to serialize; they could be really schlocky, crass, and unpolished. They could also be fucking incredible! The Shadow is a good example of an early pulp property with screaming highs and frankly peat-bog lows. Lovecraft published a lot of what is considered to be his ‘best work’ in Weird Tales! Conan the Barbarian, too! They kind of came out of the gate with a somewhat negative connotation associated with ‘low-brow’ forms of literature like dime novels, but where other magazines of the time tended to incorporate non-fiction articles and photography, pulp mags tended to be fiction stories only – short stories, or longer stories split into serialized chapters. Early on, not many of them had art, though with the advent of comic books that changed (you could argue that books like Creepy and Eerie are direct offspring of early pulp mags). Similar to what Weekly Shonen Jump does with manga.

If you think of a genre as a toolbox, pulp is a box full of tools that function fine alone, but excel at assisting the function of other toolboxes. I would almost liken ‘pulp’ to the concept of ‘camp’, which are also two concepts that can and do overlap with a high degree of synergy. Pulp has its own foundational attributes that are distinct from camp – for example, camp is gay relies a lot more on its self-awareness, at being able to wink at the viewer or participant, and telling you ‘yeah, we know it, but isn’t it fun?’ Pulp, on the other hand, is the (no pun intended) straight man counterpart to this aesthetic sensibility; pulp is at its best when it is being completely earnest. The quippy lines and dramatic proclamations are meant to be taken on their face. Nowadays it’s the kind of stuff that memes are made of – ‘That Wizard Came From The Moon’, ‘I don’t have time to explain why I don’t have time to explain’, ‘Whether we wanted it or not, we’ve stepped into a war with the Cabal on Mars’. Saying shit that has no explanation with your whole chest. Trying to be cool on purpose, the ultimate cringe move.

Nowadays I think that this kind of thing has mostly died out of modern media, but the counter-motion is still prevalent in mainstream superhero movies. A good example is the ‘Would you have preferred ~YeLlOw SpAnDeX~’ line from the OG X-Men movie. Hey dickhead! The yellow spandex is cool if you, the guy making the movie, believes its cool! Crucially, while a lot of modern superhero stuff is quippy and irreverent, it often uses these tropes in a self-aware or cynical manner – afraid of being earnest, committing the aforementioned cardinal sin of trying to look cool on purpose.

(God damn it, I’m talking about superheroes again. Sorry. Before I get back on task this is why I loved the recent Moon Knight run so much; Jed MacKay is NOT afraid to have the characters say some absolutely batshit thing but it comes off as so, so cool. And yes, a little cheesy.)

And then, where modern sci-fi typically has an ultra-detailed explanation on-hand, I think a lot of early pulp stuff just… didn’t. Ask a sci-fi property for an explanation on, oh I don’t know, ‘where did these super-humanoid sapient machine warriors come from’ and it will likely have a molecule-deep explanation of how those unnamed machine people were created. Ask a fantasy property for an explanation on the same and it might say, ‘no’. It’s not that a pulp-leaning property won’t give you the answer to that question… it just might not have it. The ‘why is it/how is it’ is not as important as the ‘what is it’ and ‘how is it relevant’; a writer had a limited amount of page real estate, as multiple features were typically crammed into a single magazine. Even if a feature was serialized, much like television episodes (before the binge trend), one had to keep information digestible, and not too reliant on a prior or later edition that a reader might never see.

Explanations tended to be in service of an emotional beat, or to a theme, versus as a grounding agent to immerse a reader in the world. For the record I don’t necessarily think of either method as being better or worse, and heavy worldbuilding can still utilize pulp as a veneer or filter to engage audience expectations in different ways. Pulp stuff relies a lot on suspension of disbelief without utilizing a rigid lore-based framework to – though, you know, your story/setting still has to have its own internal logical consistency.

(I feel that it is important to note, as a partial consequence of the time period in which these magazines were being made, and when pulp fiction was most heavily consumed, xenophobia and racism are also heavily present in pulp works. I think everybody knows at this point about how much Lovecraft sucked but it’s a valuable example of how a lot of ‘fear of the unknown’ in that time was transliterated into ‘fear of the different’, in general but especially relating to genre fiction. If you decide to explore material in this genre, in this time period, be forewarned! Some of it was pretty glaring!)

So, let me tie some of this stuff to my previous statements about Destiny. I think that Destiny is an excellent example of how pulp tropes, aesthetic, and genre conventions can be used to enhance and streamline a setting… and how stripping too much pulp away can have a detrimental impact on the depth of a narrative.

The original narrative and worldbuilding of Destiny drew very heavily on pulp aesthetics to create a foundation, both in its appearance and its lore. The ‘Golden Age of Science Fiction’ was a period of time in the mid-20th century that sort of transitioned sci-fi out of pulp magazines and into its own thing, but the foundational structure of science fiction at this time was still heavily pulp-influenced. I think this is very well-represented by the portrayal of Venus as a ‘garden’ (jungle) world, very lush and with sulfurous and sometimes acidic rains. Before advancements in astronomical technology went and fucked everything up for us writers, Venus’s opaque cloud-covered atmosphere was impenetrable enough that there could be anything under there – and a popular portrayal of Venus was a muggy, humid, rain-heavy world that sometimes also included lush jungles. In Bradbury’s short story The Long Rain (WHICH ran in Planet Stories, a pulp mag, by the way!) this portrayal is a central obstacle to the narrative; it’s also used in Heinlein’s novel Space Cadet.

The color scheme that Destiny uses for Venus also matches a common color scheme for Venus in this era – see this cover for Fantastic Adventures. Visually, I think that this comparison between the postcard that went out with the D1 limited/collector’s edition and this Planet Stories cover for The Golden Amazons of Venus demonstrates the influence, at least regarding terrain and biome.

In fact, I think that you can see from this Eververse postcard – which could have been peeled off of any era-appropriate paperback novel – that the influence goes bone-deep. Destiny even refers to humanity’s halcyon age as ‘The Golden Age’.

(Below: Is this image from Destiny dev, or a science fiction paperback from the 60s? Who knows! I know. It’s Destiny.)

In the modern era of Destiny storytelling, though the visual elements of the universe remain largely rigid relative to this early framework, the pulp underpinning of the narrative has been largely left behind. The original game’s story, and the stories of subsequent DLCs, felt very pulp-inspired – this ranged from ‘sort of effective’, like in House of Wolves, to ‘game-savingly effective’, like in The Taken King. Pulp lends itself to straightforward conceptual executions, and brisk narratives, because of its roots as short-form literature. The narrative of D1 was simple and to the point; Light good, Dark bad, humanity is in the shit, think you can kill a god? The surrounding world scaffold was rich but not deep. As I like to say, sometimes a river can be wide but shallow. This is not a commentary on its quality – something can be good but not complex, and IMO, sophistication is not necessarily synonymous with complexity. Destiny managed to pull off a trick that many high-quality pulp stories employ: it made the river look deeper than it was. This is the whole reason that Lovecraft’s oeuvre has the staying power it has: other writers got to play in the space because it felt very deep, even though the stories themselves were fairly straightforward.

I also don’t mean to say or accidentally imply that ‘morally grey storytelling cannot exist within pulp stories’, because that would probably get me torn apart; that’s just not the kind of straightforward foundation that the original Destiny was built on. ‘It is what you see, but what you see could be anything’, you know? The problem that began to muddy the waters in the Destiny narrative is that they started to say, ‘You know, actually, it ISN’T what you see’.

Tentpole narrative additions to the Destiny 2 game employ varying levels of pulp. As I said in the other post, the Hive have a potent pulp influence built into their foundational coding, and so subsequent portrayals of the Hive as a main antagonist have higher degrees of pulp genre naturally present in the narrative – it’s hard to separate the two of them. Shadowkeep and The Dark Below draw strongly on the ‘sword and sorcery’ convention, a subgenre of fantasy that is a heavy (perhaps 1:1) blend of fantasy and pulp; think Conan, or Elric of Melniboné (who, hey! Showed up in a novella feature, in an issue of Science Fantasy magazine, named… THE DREAMING CITY). The Witch Queen leaned away from pure sword and sorcery and more towards noir/detective pulp – though, I think, TWQ is a good example of the pulp slippage in its narrative, resulting in some more bland moments and things that feel ham-fisted in a bad way. Part of it, I think, is the need to make these expansions ‘long’ and complicated without making the player feel like they’re slogging; in a more pulp-forward TWQ narrative, the reveal that Savathûn is actually NOT evil-aligned and is a potential ally would come much earlier in the story, and the central mystery would be MORE about ‘what the fuck is she trying to do/prevent’, leading to the Witness reveal as the centerpiece of the finale and the ‘solution’ to the central mystery.

The decision to start retroactively appending more complex connections between disparate pieces of content naturally leads to a reduction of pulp prominence, in my opinion. If you imagine Destiny as a vessel that is mainly full of three component liquids – Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Pulp – you can say that adding more of one genre pushes out another to make room. You can always pour more of one genre in to re-balance, but in response to increasing levels of sci-fi the narrative seems reticent to reintroduce pulp back into the mix, instead favoring fantasy. But another problem is that once you take it out, Pulp is really hard to put back; once you solidify and unionize world-lore, every subsequent retcon risks diluting and destabilizing that world-lore until a) nobody cares about it anymore and b) it stops being mutable at all, and becomes sludge.

The lore behind the existence of the Exo was originally very pulp, with no real explanations given for exactly what they were and where they came from, and how they attained sapience. Early hints that Cayde and a few other Exo having once been human didn’t preclude other Exo from having other origins – for example, implications that Exo war-frames eventually achieved sapience as a result of the ‘Deep Stone Crypt’, and that they were originally simple AI-equipped warriors designed and overseen by Rasputin to minimize human casualties. This early mystique around the origins of the Exo is classically pulp: we don’t need to know how the hyper-advanced robots were made, we just need to know what they are, why they are relevant to the story. It allows You, The Player, to engage with it at whatever level you want. In a game where You, The Player, are also being asked to step into the role of You, The Protagonist, this is beneficial to engagement for people (like me!) who like to think too much about the backstory of the your-name-here protagonist on-screen. It is also beneficial to not distracting the player with conflicting information, or accidentally contradicting previously-established lore.

Enter Big-Head Bray. The Beyond Light-era explanation of why Exo were created and how they were made is a retroactive nuclear strike on the Exo lore; it strips away a lot of flexibility and thematic richness from the concept of the Exo, shoehorns them into a single narrow use case, and directly conflicts with early-game Exo lore implying their connections to Rasputin (which they then had to go back and hastily shoehorn back in later) or existence as war machines for the Collapse. If D1 lore is wide but shallow, the D2 lore is narrow but deep. Just because something has a lot of ‘depth’, I.E. many layers to traverse before you reach foundational bedrock, it doesn’t make it good.

Same thing with the Fallen. Season of Plunder felt to me like an attempt to reintroduce pulp genre back into the setting, but it fell flat because of two reasons: it didn’t really want to be pulp, and it was more concerned with its tethers to the science-fantasy exterior world than it was with creating its own cohesive narrative. Why was Mithrax doing evil pirate shit when he was young? Because he comes from a race of fucking evil space pirates! It Does Not Need To Be More Complex Than That! But the exculpation of pulp from the D2 narrative means that if Mithrax doesn’t have a good enough reason, WRT the larger narrative, it would be a glaringly obvious plot hole. By Plunder, Destiny had already undertaken the task of filling out the Eliksni lore with sympathetic science-fantasy excuses for why they were trying to exterminate humankind – the more earnest, pulp-forward explanation would just be that desperate, hurt, suffering people will do desperate things, hurt people, and may perpetuate the cycle of suffering.

Oy. There’s a lot you COULD get into. How the Destiny macro-narrative seems to be decaying the rigidity of good and evil in its original lore vs. how the micro-narrative is obsessed with trying to recapture that good/evil dichotomy in order to give players a reason to like the main characters. How the determination to connect and explain everything has resulted in a general flattening of the background lore, and the subsequent trivialization of many things the game included in earlier iterations of the narrative/lore. How the narrative has basically nothing to do with the Vex because they wrote themselves into a corner by trying to explain them too much while simultaneously not altering the foundational lore of the race, meaning there were too many things they can no longer do without retconning again.

Overall, I guess I will just end by saying that many of the things that Destiny is CURRENTLY doing, feels like the game is straining to rip the part of it out which proudly asks its audience not to think too hard about sweeping, dramatic statements that built a lot of the things people love about the game’s setting and narrative… and in doing so, is just ripping itself to pieces.

[sketching-shark]

Hello! I know you aren't a big fan of LMK, but there's a sideblog run by @digitalagepulao named @digitaldoeslmk that is doing a rewrite of the show by following book canon, and their ideas and art is FIRE so please have a look if you have the time. Also, I remember seeing a few lines that Sun Wukong has medical training during his years of learning. Would he count as having a degree in medicine in modern terms? How is he during childbirth? Do you think he'd be able to do a human childbirth successfully? Have a great month, enjoy your food, and don't forget to sleep early regularly!

As a matter of fact @angstandhappiness I am recently familiar with @digitaldoeslmk and let me just say WEH @digitalagepulao has done an amazing job at creating one of the most fun and interesting Monkie Kid aus out there!

I'm honestly really appreciative of the though and care they've put into a version of the lego show where JTTW happened according to Wu Cheng'en's version, and particularly the way this means that A) Sun Wukong is a genuinely good mentor & that therefore there's many a lovely shifu-tudi moment between him and MK (plus SWK is his book canon size here so that's an automatic improvement over LMK canon lmao), B) Red Son gets more time in the spotlight both as a character and as a source of insights into the histories of the JTTW canon characters, and C) the stakes aren't of the constant end-of-the-universe levels & therefore MK gets a Fucking Break from the Horrors & also gets to make a lot more friends in stuff like a theater group.

tbh I was pretty delighted by this plot idea @digitalagepulao put out where MK is getting ready for a theatrical production of Havoc in Heaven where he's playing Sun Wukong but then both the actor and the understudy who played Erlang Shen got ill, & that this was resolved by MK getting SWK to play his one-time nemesis. That's a really fun idea for a number of reasons, not the least being it seems like a great scenario for the Monkey King to have actually understandable stage fright & some genuine conversations about his past & what he learned from his experiences BUT ALSO for it being a great way for Monkie Kid to give a respectful nod to past retellings of Xiyouji even while letting MK & co. shine.

In conclusion people should definitely check out @digitaldoeslmk.

As for the second part of this ask, you probably couldn't say that the Monkey King has anything like a contemporary medical degree going strictly by Xiyouji canon, but he does prove himself to be a clever primate when it comes to medicine! Honestly it could make for a kind of funny JTTW future story where SWK goes through medical school to get an MD so that he can be an officially licensed doctor in the 21st century lol. And while we never see SWK helping someone with pregnancy or childbirth in the og classic (discounting the mpreg arc lmao), his status as both an extremely old communal grandpa who's seen a lot and a protector of children seem to both suggest that he'd be pretty good at assisting in childbirth for humans, monkeys, and yaoguai alike.

Enjoy your food and sleep too!

[rmorde]

Trigun Manga Reaction

Continuing with Volume 1 - Chapter 2

The double spread of Vash here and the grim history of the planet they're stuck in being contrasted by the title "LOONEY TUNES" is darkly funny ngl.

Then we cut to this?!

I know Vash is flexible and can get into wacky pretzel poses a lot from '98 and a bit less so from Tristamp, but this is something else. Combined with the sound effects, one would think this is a NSFW manga of a different genre.

Nightow loves to use sharp lines and triangle shapes, doesn't he? Not an expert opinion tho. Just something I'm noticing.

Did.. DID HIS HEAD JUST BOUNCE OFF CONCRETE?!!!! BABY GIRL!!!

Ahhh.. Dark humor. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Gremlin Baby Girl Vash using the age old tactic of hide-and-seek: people rarely look up!

I love their dynamic so much which I miss a lot in Tristamp. I mean Roberto-Meryl mentor dynamics was good and the series gave her a good origin, but still... I can't wait to see Milly again.

I think this is manga only, right? I don't remember something like this in '98. Meryl can be silly but it's a different kind of silly. Remembering how in denial she was in '98 about Vash being Vash is funny.

LMAO!!! His face! HIS FUCKING FACE!!!

Ok. So, in terms of art, '98 really gets the manga. TriStamp can be goofy but not to this extent... yet. I think Studio Orange is really doing their best to maximize 3D animation in replicating silly anime/manga expressions. They did it during the Jeonora Looney Toons Chase and a bit when Wolfwood was flyswatted by Meryl with a van. Maybe there'd be more next season (?)

Ok. Remember this from '98.

"WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO USE THE GRENADE?! HE CAN'T BE IDENTIFIED FOR THE REWARD IF HE'S PILE OF PULP, YOU DUMBASS!!!"

The trials these insurance ladies have to go through. OMFG. And this is just the start!

Oh... I can print this into a bookmark actually.

Oh. This is very different from '98. But between a bandit or a mob, Meryl and Milly have better luck making a bandit listen to what they have to say. Also, swapping a megaphone with dozens of doughnuts here won't improve matters either.

Meryl and Milly's anime counterparts had it easy at first. They had a trial run! Poor Manga Meryl and Milly didn't get that at all!

A black cat in these despairing times?

Ok... This was a bit later in '98... I think.

But I think TriStamp followed the manga's line of events more closely.

Wow... There'll probably more of these but the double spreads in this manga are always good.

Badass Ladies in longcoats!

What else is there to say about them? They're mad and they know how way over their heads this situation is, but they do their job anyway.

LOOK HOW THEY CRUMPLED THE CHAIRMAN LIKE A TISSUE PAPER!!!

Sigh... A terrible sight it is. This is the third iteration I've seen. It's the same old thing just in another coat of paint I've missed until now. This is tiring and frustrating as a reader/watcher.

While these people do show a bit of remorse because they acknowledge how nice Vash is and the story makes it clear that this was a last resort, it's practically a flimsy band-aid on a bleeding fatal wound.

Oh fuck. Was this number also mentioned in '98?! I can't remember.

But fifty?! Oh, Vash...

And he can't even cry to mourn his sisters...

And another incredible spread in here. Is this style just a Nightow thing? Two pages split into three sections of narrow-wide-narrow? I don't know the correct term. However, it seems to show up a lot. Trying to remember if other mangas I've read does the same...

Ooof. This was not easy on the eyes and it took a while for me to understand what happened. When I did tho... Oof... Vash Baby Girl.. Ow...

However... I know anime physics means character can bend their body like pretzels easy peasy, but what if Vash and Nai just have cartilage in place of bones? Or would that be just weird? All I can think about it '98 Wolfwood bending and twisting Vash 180 degrees during their first meeting.

Wait... What if Wolfwood's bones have been turned into just cartilage too during the experiments? No... These do not make sense!!!

And here it is again! Two pages split into three: narrow-wide-narrow.

AHAHAHA. MILLY NOOO LET MERYL BREATHE!

[otrtbs]

Hi! First off I started AHB and I'm loving it so far! So thanks for writing it! I see that you're an art historian, and I'm going into college as a history major and I'm really nervous about it (even tho it's my passion) and I didn't know if you have any advice/encouragement? Idk I'm super freaking out about it. Anyways if you don't respond to this, thanks again for introducing me to my first Jegulus fic.

it is never a waste doing what you love !!!!!!!!!!!!! it is never a waste pursuing your passion !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i had the best time in university !! the BEST time. i cared about what i was learning about, i looked forward to the readings, i loved my professors!!!!

that's worth everything !!! and maybe the job prospects will be a little bleak (a new study just came out that said art history majors are the most unemployed major and most underpaid major and most educated major with many of us having masters and phd degrees!! (at least in the u.s.) not slay!! trust me, post-grad me was in the PIT!!!!!! ) but i'm not saying this to scare you, because now I have a job in my field and im still pursuing my research interests and constantly learning,, that's invaluable. doing something that makes you want to keep learning, that makes you question, makes you want to contribute, inspires thoughts and critical engagement,,, even after school,,, that's rare. and that's what was important to me, and it was because i was passionate about my major!!

and also,,, if i can do it ,, trust me,, you can do it!! this is a promise!! cause i had zero idea what i was fucking doing 😭 and somehow still did it. (am doing it????)

do what you love, but also start early! make connections with your professors !!!!! get involved in clubs if you can !!!!! it is unfortunately about who you know a lot of the time,,, so get to yappin!!

i am wishing you all the best of luck with your university journey!! you've totally got this!! also, thank you for the kind words re: ahb! <33

[antigone-ks]

MARVEL MASTERLIST

LANTERN OF EVIL (IN MY PANTS)

Summary:

“You’re in a good mood today,” Natasha commented, holding the phone steady as Tony and Sam devolved into a slap fight. “Haven’t seen you smile this much since, y’know.”

“This is quality entertainment,” Steve said. “You don’t get this every day.”

“No you do not.” She turned the phone toward Bucky, who whistled as he sprinkled sea salt over the meat. He looked up, winked directly at her, then tossed the rest of the seasoning like a long-haired Salt Bae.

“But you seemed pretty chipper when you snuck back in before the show started.”

***

Or, Steve gets de-serumed and falls in love over art, old movies, and taxi dances.

Rating: E for Explicity, Eventually

Tags: Steve Rogers/Reader; Plus Size Reader; Natasha Romanov (Marvel); Tony Stark; Sam Wilson (Marvel); James “Bucky” Barnes; background Bucky/Nat - Freeform; Skinny Steve Rogers; Pre-Serum Steve Rogers; Post-Serum Steve Rogers; De-Serumed Steve Rogers; all of the combinations of serums and Steves; Slow Burn; Awkward Flirting; Awkward reader; Awkward Steve Rogers; neither of these goobers know what they’re doing; shameless Letterkenny reference; False Identity; horrible misunderstandings; love in art galleries; love on bridges; love on front porches; will earn rating in later chapters; I hope; inappropriate use of a history degree; Short Reader; Profanity; Fluff; Angst; Fluff and Angst; Smut; Oral Sex; Vaginal Fingering; Making Out; definitely third base; not all-the-way parking but pretty close; Biting; Cunnilingus; Fellatio; Vaginal Sex; Steve wants to be clear that this isn’t fucking; Making Love

Chapter One: The Greens of June

Chapter Two: July Flame, Just Out of My Reach

Chapter Three: The First Night in August

Chapter Four: Under an August Moon

Chapter Five: The Autumn Days Swung Soft

Chapter Six: September, We Danced

Chapter Seven: In September, When the Leaves Come Falling Down

Chapter Eight: And the Leaves that Are Green Turn to Brown

Chapter Nine: When the Autumn Leaves Start to Fall

Chapter Ten: Autumn in New York Brings the Promise of New Love

Chapter Eleven: I'm Still in Love with You on this Harvest Moon

Chapter Twelve: November Skies; I See You Everywhere 🔥

Chapter Thirteen: Remember November

Epilogue: An Eternal Beacon of Light

NELL'OSCURITÀ, ROSETTA

Summary:

“It’s been weeks since we were near a city and the fellas need to relax. They’re going to if she’s willing, unless you tell them not to. Just figured you might want first crack.”

“Does she look willing to you?”

Bucky gazes at the woman, winks when she meets his eye. She doesn’t smile, but she doesn’t look away. “There’s willing and then there’s willing, Steve,” he says, and Steve is forcibly reminded that Bucky’s spent a lot more time here, a lot more time in a war zone, and he might be intimately familiar with all the things Steve’s barely imagined.

***

He's a soldier, just like all the rest, and a GI knows the value of a can of C-rations when he wants some attention.

**Heed the warnings & tags. This is not a romance.**

Rating: E for explicit and dark

Warnings: dubious consent

Tags: Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s); Steve Rogers; James "Bucky" Barnes; Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan; Gabe Jones; Jacques Dernier; basically all of the Howling Commandos/original female character; but everyone except Steve is offscreen; Dubious Consent; Extremely Dubious Consent; Sexual Coercion; Rape/Non-con Elements; non-con sex work; Period Typical Attitudes; period typical attitudes about sex; period typical attitudes about STIs; which is to say not entirely accurate or polite; sex in wartime; Virgin Steve Rogers; Angst

Read "Nell'oscurità, Rosetta" here

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