#it's even worse if you're a huge fan of both series

[fabled-lady-twilla]

"So, how's the Jujutsu Kaisen/My Hero Academia fandoms doing right now?"

DANGER, DANGER! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALL HANDS ON DECK! SPOILERS AND MISERY AHEAD!

WE ARE NOT OKAY!

WE ARE 100% ABSOLUTELY NOT OKAY!

IN THE SPAN OF LITERALLY LESS THAN FOUR DAYS, BOTH FANDOM'S BELOVED WHITE-HAIRED FAVORITES, WHICH GEGE & HORIKOSHI HAVE TEASED/HINTED/TORTURED US WITH POTENTIALLY GETTING A HAPPY ENDING, ONLY RIP THAT POSSIBILITY OUT FROM UNDERNEATH US LIKE NOTHING!

THIS IS LITERALLY THE CURRENT STATE OF BOTH FANDOMS:

HOW DO YOU THINK WE FEEL, TF? WE ARE EXPLODING ALL OVER TUMBLR/TWITTER/REDDIT/ETC. ALTERNATING BETWEEN YELLING AT OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER AND DROWNING OUR SORROWS IN COPIUM JUICE. 😭😭😭

[vivwritesfics]

Shine A Light Into The Wreckage

Chapter One - Spilled Coffee

Bob Floyd was many things. He was an instructor at Top Gun, a lover of Tolkien books and a huge fan of coffee. But Bob was also clumsy. That was how he bumped into the table, knocking her drink onto her notebook.

He felt bad about it. Bad enough to come back time and time again, in the hopes that she would be there. And, every time, she is. Each time looking a little worse for wear. It doesn't take Bob long to realise he has to save her.

1.9K

Warnings: Abusive relationship! Abusive hair pulling! Abusive slight choking! Forceful sex! Seriously don't read if you're affect by stuff like this

Okay so one day I was reading Stiff Competition by @roosterforme and the next day I was writing this and I haven't stopped since

Series Masterlist

Bob Floyd was a coffee man. It had started at the end of high school, when he used to wake up early to study. It continued on when he joined the navy. 

Through his first stint in Top Gun, Bob would go on regular coffee runs. They took it in turns, always going on their own and challenging each other to carry as many coffees as possible.  

It was a habit that Bob had kicked after Top Gun. He knew it was a bad habit, relying on coffee to wake up. So, he stopped.

But then he was once again at Top Gun. After graduating once, he was back again. And, once again, the coffee runs restarted. Bob redeveloped his habit for a cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles on the top. From the first sip, he couldn't remember why he had given it up.

Even after that mission, Bob stayed in California. The man from Montana stayed at Top Gun, becoming an instructor, along with Natasha Trace and Jake Seresin. Rooster returned to Virginia, said he had a girl out there. The rest of the squad returned home or were stationed overseas. It wasn't the easiest to keep up with. 

The coffee runs continued. This time, with just himself, Nat, and Jake, the coffee runs were a lot easier. Especially when the barista put the takeaway cups with one of those cup holders meant for four. 

The coffee runs changed every day. One day Nat would go. And then Jake would. And then Bob. Always one at a time, always in that order. 

Whenever Bob was on the coffee run, he looked around the café. His eyes moved from table to table, looking at the people sat there. An older couple drinking coffees by the large window, a teenager eating a sandwich with headphones covering his eyes and people on their lunch break. One at the back of the café tapped away at her computer keyboard, periodically taking a break to sip at her drink. The other sat at the table by the door, her bag on the other seat as she scribbled away in her notebook, a full mug of coffee beside it. 

Bob didn't make any other observations as he collected his coffee and turned to leave. He had both hands on the cup holder as he turned to leave the café. 

He wasn’t clumsy. Well, he sort of was. Making a mess at the hard deck while ate peanuts, that time he accidentally hit Bradley in the stomach with the pool cue. 

But Bob couldn’t deny his clumsiness when he hit the edge of her table. Maybe if his hands weren’t full, he could have caught her drink before it fell over. 

A gasp left her lips as it spilled over her notebook, staining the pages brown. The writing on it was indistinguishable beneath the coffee. 

But that wasn't what this young woman cared about, not at first. She stood as she furiously wiped off her pencil skirt. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He cried, grabbing the napkin that sat under her glass. But the napkin was already soiled. 

Bob jumped into action. He put his coffees down onto her table and rushed to grab the napkin dispenser from the counter. "I'm so sorry!" He cried, grabbing napkins  and helping her to wipe off her skirt. 

But when the water stopped scalding, she stopped wiping at her skirt. Instead she dabbed the napkins at her notebook as a frustrated sigh left her lips. "Let me get you another drink," he said as he threw the used napkins in the bin. 

She shook her head at him. "No, I've got to get back to work," she muttered as she picked up her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and tucked her ruined notebook beneath her arm. 

"I'm sorry!" Bob called as he watched her disappear from the café. 

***

She sat at her desk, inspecting the darker grey patch on her skirt. It had been new, bought just the weekend before. But she didn’t much care about her skirt. That could be replaced. Sure, she'd have to take out money she didn’t have for a new one, but it was just a skirt. 

Her notebook was in front of her computer, months of work stained with coffee. The coffee had smudged her writing, making it unintelligible. It wasn't just the top pages, wasn’t just her most recent piece of writing. It was everything. 

Almost all of her writing was gone. 

Frustration ran through her. Frustration and then sadness. She couldn’t bring herself to be angry at the military man. It hadn't been his fault, really. 

But her writing was gone. It was months, years, of work. Her only way of escape and, within a matter of seconds, it was gone. 

As she sat through her shift, she tried to salvage what she could, making notes of the plot points she could remember. Tomorrow, when she went to the café, she could rebuild. This time she could spend all day there, not needing to run off to her job. 

It wasn’t easy to concentrate on her day job as she wrote down what little she could remember from her stories. But, too soon her day job was over. She still didn’t put her sopping wet, coffee stained notebook in her bag as she got ready to go. "See you Monday," she said to one of her co-worker as she pulled her jacket over her blouse and placed her bag on her shoulder. 

With her notebook on her arm, she took off. She looked down at her shoes as she rode the elevator down to the ground floor of the building she worked in. 

The elevator arrived at the ground floor far too quickly. She sucked in a breath, held her notebook against her chest and walked out of the building. Each step she took was heavy, as if her feet were reluctant to take her home. 

But her apartment building was far too close to her place of work. She opened the door and started up the dimly lit staircase, up to the top floor. Around her the yellow wallpaper was cracked and peeling. 

She missed the step ready to collapse in on itself and avoided the suspicious damp patch on the carpeted top of the stairs and pushed open the door to her apartment. 

"Hey, Ken," she said to her boyfriend, the man she shared her apartment with. Kenneth Johnson hadn't been called Kenneth since he was a boy. He went by Kenny to his friends or more importantly, Ken.

 She placed her notebook on the sofa, her bag on top of it, and hung her jacket on the back of the door. 

"Hey, Barbie," he said in a way she hated. It had been a joke back in high school - his name was Ken so, obviously, she was Barbie. "I cooked you dinner." 

*SERIOUSLY IF YOU'RE AFFECTED BY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS I'D STOP READING HERE*

She looked at the small, round table in the middle of their kitchen. 'Cooked' wasn’t exactly the word she would have used to describe the half eaten microwave dinner on the table. "Ken, where's the rest of it?" She asked, her voice light. Almost as if she was talking to child. 

The smile dropped from his face as he yanked open the fridge. "Can't you just be grateful, for once?" He growled as he opened his can of something (she didn’t look up, didn't see what he was drinking as she ate what he had left of her dinner). "I make you dinner and you just want more of it."

She ate in silence, finishing her food quickly. When she was done, she cleaned both hers and Ken's plate away. 

As soon as she was standing up and walking to the sink, Ken looked at her up and down. "What the fuck happened to the skirt I just bought for you?" He asked as he clenched his can. His grip was so tight his can crumpled, liquid spilling everywhere. 

"C'mon Ken. It was just a little spill. It's gonna wash out before Monday."

The still full can clattered to the floor, spilling beer everywhere. "It doesn't matter that it will wash out," he said, keeping his voice calm. "What matters is that you're pissing away my hard earned cash!" 

"Ken-"

Suddenly he was in her face, fingers wrapping around her hair and pulling her up. An involuntary cry left her lips and she dropped the dishes back into the sink. "Don't talk back to me," he growled, voice low. His hand snaked around her throat, but he didn't apply pressure. Not yet. "Don't ever talk back to me."

Gulping, she nodded as best she could with the way he held her. And then he let go of her hair, but he didn’t release her neck. "You know I hate doing that, baby," he whispered, stroking her cheek. It didn’t matter how gentle his touch was, it was still searing. 

There was nothing she could do but whimper as he walked her out of the kitchen, leaving the mess of the dishes and the spilt beer.

She walked willingly to the bedroom. But really, how willing is it when you fear so much for your safety?

When Ken told her to strip and get onto the bed, she did just that. "Throw this out, I can’t have you looking like a slob," he said as she stepped out of her skirt. 

"Kenny," she started to say. But, suddenly she was on the bed, laying on her stomach. "Ken, please-"

But Kenneth Johnson wasn't listening to what his girlfriend had to say. He held her body down, hand on the back of her neck as he pulled her underwear down.

He freed himself from his trousers and pushed his cock through her folds. 

There was a time where they weren't like this, a time where they really were in love. Back in high school, back when she didn't mind being Barbie and Ken, he was sweet. He brought flowers and chocolates to her while she worked weekends. He visited her regularly when she went out of state for college and moved with her to San Diego.

It was a few months after they moved to San Diego together that Ken changed. It was a few months after they moved in together that his true colours began showing. 

She didn't cry anymore. There was no point when it didn't get him to stop. 

She laid there until he came and rolled off of her. Kenny laid in the bed and rolled away from her. Still, she didn’t move. She stayed until light snores left his lips. 

Only then did she climb off of the bed. She climbed into the shower that hadn't yet heated up and scrubbed her body. Hidden in an empty tub of body lotion was birth control. Birth control that Kenny wouldn't let her take. But she couldn’t have his baby, she just couldn't.

After cleaning up the mess left in the kitchen and scrubbing at the stain in her shirt, she crawled into bed beside him, but she didn't sleep. 

[bibibbon]

I made a huge mistake in going to the MHA subreddit. The braindead takes on 427 have me convinced I'm stuck in a parallel universe where we're reading a completely different story:

"It's great seeing Deku play therapist with the LOV, but all it seems to have done is make things worse!" A) Izuku shouldn't be having to play therapist to begin with, considering he's a 16 year old kid. B) most of the LOV don't see anything they did as wrong, so idk what the fuck Izuku can do about that. Also, WHY AREN'T PEOPLE HELPING IZUKU WITH HIS OWN GODDAMN FEELINGS?!

Apparently Bakugou killed Kurogiri, and there's absolutely ZERO reaction to it both in and out of universe. So of fucking course Izuku is a murderer, but not their precious Bakugou 🥱.

"I feel like Hori's really underrated as a writer!" Horikoshi doesn't know Show Don't Tell, how to actually develop characters, and how to craft actual stakes in the narrative from a hole in the ground. Also, MHA is one of the most popular mangas worldwide, so you're not even using underrated right.

"I feel like Horikoshi sees our discussions and then implements them in the story!" This I can kind of agree with, considering how much y'all hate Izuku and worship Bakugou. But on the other hand, I really doubt Horikoshi thinks the MHA subreddit is as important as you think it is.

"Bakugou's totally going to ask Izuku to start their own hero agency together at the end!" Jesus fucking Christ, just say you hate Izuku. How would that be a great ending for him? He not only has to see the source of his low self esteem and borderline suicidal feelings achieving the dream he'll now never have, but you want them to WORK together?!

@nutzgunray-lvt 👋

Well a lot of the time looking into Reddit is always a mistake unless you're asking a very niche question and you get an answer from 9 years ago or something.

I feel like a lot of people whether that be in universe or in fandom forget that izuku is a 16 year old child soldier. Izuku is more than a decade younger than a lot of the villains in the leauge. He is a child who has been exploited by the system and abused. We have seen in 425 izuku try and talk to someone but simply get brushed aside and while I don't blame shoto or ochako for doing that as they probably didn't mean it and are traumatised themselves it kinda of shows how much this has effected izuku. Also this doesn't help BECAUSE HORI GAVE US NO FLIPPING INTROPSECTION ON IZUKU'S BIT AGAIN!! Also Iam not sure if it's just me but Izuku's eye bags are heavily prominent in this chapter especially when he is talking to spinner.

The fandom especially the lov stans side of it love babayifying the actions of the leauge and hyper fixating on the humane soft side they may have while completely ignoring the horrible actions they commited. I talk about this better in one of @palesweetscherryblossom asks

I still can't believe that bk may of killed kurogiri. I don't even know when that happend and I checked the wiki but it says that kurogiris status is unconfirmed so I will be waiting until the last chapter to fully acknowledge if kurogiri is dead or not. However this brings up the point that the fandoms is being quite hypocritical if they're calling izuku a murder but not bakugo. They both killed people but for some reason it's izuku thats put into public light and bashing instead of all the other characters that have killed in the series including villains.

Yeah sometimes it feels like hori is looking at discussions of his series and implementing ideas but I think that goes more for his Japanese fans than us to be honest because after all they're his target demographic. I remember when I first joined Tumblr one of my earliest posts talked about how horikoshi's writing decisions were heavily influenced by his fans which may or may not be true.

At this point IAM convinced that izuku isn't getting a proper happy ending. Every time I think it can't get worse it does. Just by your comment of them starting an agency together haunts me just like the possibility that bk may become the number one hero

[silmarillisms]

Criticizing the Critics: ROP, Sexism, and Racism

This is a bit of an anti-anti-anti post, if that makes sense. Before I get into it, please understand that I am absolutely not saying that there are no sexist or racist criticisms of The Rings of Power. I am also not saying that none of the people viciously critiquing or review-bombing The Rings of Power are sexist or racist. I am certain that there are those among them who are.

My argument is that the majority of individuals criticizing the show are not doing it for those reasons and that painting them all with the same broad brush of "you're just racist or a misogynist" is making the divide in the fandom worse.

Anyway, I argue with a lot of people on both Reddit and Tumblr about The Rings of Power and I'd like to bring to the table some trends that I've noticed among them.

The Peter Jackson trilogy was the introduction to LOTR for most modern fans. Most of them have never seen the Bakshi film or listened to the BBC audio drama.

Fewer still have read the whole trilogy, especially recently. Even fewer have read the other adjacent works like The Silmarillion, History of Middle-Earth, Nature of Middle-Earth, et cetera.

A lot of these people are wrapped up in the nostalgia of Peter Jackson's films. There are huge parts of Tolkien's mythos (there isn't any hard canon for a vast majority of his world, which was a purposeful choice that he made as an author) that have no hard canon at all but rather several competing explanations or interpretations. These are portrayed largely inaccurately or entirely ignored in PJ's films - and I understand why. There's only so much you can do in a limited amount of run time.

The Rings of Power is actively digging into a lot of that ignored or broadly brushed over mythos - mythos that people are not familiar with and do not associate with the franchise, on a large scale. Many people have put up blockers in their mind and have no interest in learning about the actual mythos we are presented with in the main and extended works on Arda.

As an example, someone on Reddit called me pedantic for explaining the difference between Sauron shapeshifting and Sauron's fea being disembodied from his fana, which is what we see in episode one of season two, and for explaining that the black slime that comprises his form is probably a nod to Gandalf saying that Durin's Bane, also a fallen and corrupted maia, took on a similar form when he slew it.

These are simple concepts from the mythos that Tolkien wrote but PJ excluded and they are often the most hotly criticized by people who dislike the show.

I think these objections, for the most part, stem from the fact that PJ's trilogy is what a lot of people know and where their nostalgia is rooted. A different adaptation can feel threatening to something they know and love. Imagine you got into some series as a kid not knowing there was a book series behind it and never reading it. You grow up on it. As an adult, it's remade and it's not like the series you remember. Do you care if it adheres more closely to the original source material that you're not even that familiar with? If the pacing and themes and character choices are different from the series you loved?

Look, I'm not excusing these people from being assholes. I just don't think that most of them are actually upset about strong female or POC characters. Some of them definitely are, but in my experience those aren't the arguments that I'm actually coming across in true droves. Reducing their arguments to racism and sexism does nothing to combat their actual complaints, which in bulk seem to stem from ignorance rather than malice.

It's possible to argue in good faith, but we all have to participate. A bigger fandom is better for everyone. Unless someone is obviously being a bigot, try to extend them a little grace if you reach out to them. You might be surprised by the people who come around.

[imjustabeanie]

hi! I was curious if you could do a hazbin hotel match up? <3

I go by she/they. im pansexual, im not too picky. I'm originally from Guatemala but was adopted to America! I have dark brown eyes with gold rimmed glasses with peircings; nose stud and septum. Im also a bit on the bigger side like mid size, im super insecure about it due to family problems making it worse. im getting bette with it though! I'm a Pisces and an infp. When first meeting me I'm normally shy and keep to myself and I've been told I look mean since of my resting face but trust I'm the silliest person you have ever met. when getting close; I love to joke around and I tend to be rude and "out of pocket " with my humor. (think of like smiling friends or oneyplays for reference) I love helping others if it be medically or just listening. speaking of medical; I'm almost done with schooling to get my EMT certification! I've always wanted to help someone every since I was a child. since I chose this field I am a real stickler for anatomy and physiology, with that being said I like to point out mistakes in movies which can get super annoying but it's something I love to do. another thing I love is the elder scrolls series! I love the real life inspo it's taken for the game universe, plus I love the medival vibe it has. I also love history such as artifacts from the past, historical texts, and medical practices back then. I'm a huge horror fan as well; scream, thanksgiving, SAW, Halloween, the omen. I love the classics! I also love crime cases too. I also love music,my favorites being malice mizer, gulu gulu, nirvana , ice nine kills, korn,slaughter to prevail and powerwolf! I like gothic type clothing but I normally dress in a baggy shirt and jeans so I feel out of place lol. I'm not the super touchy type (depends on the mood) because it gives me the ick. I'm more of acts of service and quality time type of lover.

I hope this is enough information! I love your writing < 3

Your hazbin hotel match is...Husk!

Your runner up is Lucifer but I eventually settled for husk.

Husk is an understanding lover who tends to be rude at first and takes time to warm up. But when he does he really cares about you in his own way.

On the outside, people really wonder how 2 individuals with an RBF got together. While in reality you two are an exemple of grumpy x sunshine. You're silly and he secretely loves it. It can be seen in the way he looks at you when you do your things. He even broke a glass once cuz he was watching you. Angel never let him forget that. Husk actually likes your jokes and always add a little comment of his own. He's also funny but in a sarcatic way if it makes sense. His humor also tends to be dark.

Husk is really proud of you for wanting to help people and for choosing your field. In his entourage, he is surrounded by selfish people (besides charlie and vaggie but they're recent and an exception). To him you're the sole light in his dark world. He always has your back, supporting you the best he can by making your life easier (he keeps the house relatively clean etc).

You two always have quiet date nights at home. He enjoys watching horror movies with you and probably has some nice horror recommendations but they're books. Those dates also include a dinner made by him or the both of you. He shows off by making some dishes only made in his time lol but you're the queen of snacks he admits it. He makes some very good cocktails for the both of you and the nights is spent watching movies and having talks that rabge from serious ones to silly talks that make him sigh lovingly.

He doesn't mind that you're not a big fan of touch and respects that. Overall he's a rough boyfriend but still very caring. He'll do his best to make you feel loved despite his flaws

[silver-wield]

i find the whole tifa "SHOULD" be buff on twitter really sad. Some people are really taking the white Knighting complex and missing out why some are saying factual stuff about her. If the OP didn't try to force their way that she's a pugilist (which she is not, she's a monk but they're probably referring to ff14 pugilist -> monk system which didn't exist in FF7 yet.....but they really do no want to be corrected and would rather tantrum instead ... seriously so "mature" goddamn it, that's why I blocked them off) and that she should be buff otherwise you're kissing SE's/Nomura's ass. It's sad, really sad.

Do they even really love tifa just as she is? Then why ask to change her? Almost even removing most of her chest which is a part of her whether they like it her not? One could have a preference surely....but they shouldn't shove it down people's throat and call them names if they don't agree. If they don't want people to comment, then why post it on public then? It's the internet? I really don't like OP, they're being too defensive and insecure with their own work.... Just because people liked it, doesn't mean the majority will accept it, twitter is not the world. That isn't tifa, that's somebody cosplaying as tifa instead. Seriously..... If OP didn't say shit that she "should", this wouldn't escalate at all. there have been plentiful buff < - > ultra buff tifa fanarts made all throughout the years before but don't need to assert a stupid stance like this, acting like it's a fact when it's not. They should stop forcing tifa to be their poster mascular body type character in FF series and demand SE to create a new one instead. They should leave tifa alone and stop forcing their ideals on her, Tbh her best design for me will always be dissidia tifa.

Personally, I think remake tifa could use a bit off current Rose Namajunas' body type to balance with her huge chest and add more strength to her *design shape....but what OP drew was no offense, "not effective" at all in the grand scale of things. Completely deflated her chest and muscle size like compared to cloud lol would look like a sore thumb with the rest of the cast too. Perhaps they wanted a Reika Saiki....instead? But this muscle idol, unlike their redesign is still able to keep her feminine vibes though??? Hmm

Anyway, I don't appreciate op being too defensive and aggressive I think it was them who ultimately made it worse and those who sincerely do have muscle fetish too (in the guise of pro muscular women), Im sure cleriths are taking advantage of this moment. There are indeed bad takes from clotis as well but most of them are only there because OP brought up what should and shouldn't be, no different from people who assert her breast should be larger than it already is. I clearly see no difference and "both are still objectifying tifa", it's just that their taste are different from the other. They don't even realize their hypocrisy smh. Tifa.... When will they ever stop talking about your body. You trully are the most realistic character I've ever laid eyes on 😢.

This was long but also silver, I may not always agree with you but I wish I could be more Idgaf in my life when it comes to shit like these, how the hell do you do it? It's incredible.

forgot to add srry! Not making tifa cute is like a no go especially in japan. Her youthful, feminine, cute design is like that for her (specially her), for a reason, especially when her looks are supposed to be reminiscent of general japanese Beauty standards and not western ones.

Op has zero respect for the devs or fans by being all idgaf about canon and my interpretation should be what the devs do because that's what I want.

I literally do not give a fuck if people draw Tifa different from canon. I also draw Tifa different from canon. The point I made from the start, and have stuck by is that op is body shaming women who aren't overly muscular like women can't be slender and athletic. They're disrespecting the devs creative process and acting arrogant af because they got a description from fucking Google that doesn't even match Tifa's job. She's a monk, not a pugilist. Op acting like they're being bullied when they were the one antagonising people with what they said is so much garbage I can't even.

You'll notice it's never any other character being demeaned this way. Cloud lugs an 80lb sword around but nobody says he should be more muscular.

Op even thought they had some gotcha by saying they'll draw Aerith overweight, but unless she also says this should be canon then she's just being a fucking body shaming moron. They're not doing it to celebrate bigger women, they're doing it to piss people off, and at the same time implying Aerith's canon appearance isn't adequate either. Women look like Aerith. She has a straight up and down frame. When people warp that by making her look like Tifa and then try and claim she has curves that also pisses me off because she doesn't. It's not so much the art, although I also don't like it, but typically ignore it, it's the mindset of the people making and commenting on it like their opinions should be taken up by the devs and the game changed to suit them.

And comparing a body type to a haircut is ridiculous. Anybody can get a haircut. Tifa does get a haircut in AC. Hair is not body type.

Tifa's design is canonically cute and adorable. She's yamato nadeshiko

People can draw Tifa how they want, but this is how Nomura canonically designed her. She emulates the delicate beauty, so screaming that should be changed is just a disrespect to Nomura and ffvii.

If y'all are fans then why you being assholes to the creators?

[storyshark2005]

Oh I love this game!

Paul / "Who are you?" and Intermission: Heart sound fascinating! 💜

Thank you my friend!!! Let's see, the Paul fic will be fun for Oasis fans! But I'll talk about the other because I loved Smallville and haven't thought about it enough the last couple years!

(KEEP READING, if you like!)

"Intermission: Heart" is the middle part of this big fucking Smallville saga I started Fall of 2020; I don't have any of it published but it's like 160k+ words, and probably 80% finished, and it's both kind of a mess and maybe some of the best writing I've ever done. But the scope is big, I like that, I like big projects, and it's basically split into two novels. Here's a synopsis of Book I I typed up a couple of years ago:

The entirety of East of Eden’s story arc plays out over two books: ‘Book 1: In the Garden’, and ‘Book 2: The Land of Nod’. The first half of the story sketches a 2020 landscape of the characters a decade after we last saw Clark and Lex in the show Smallville, but leaves some of that established canon at the scrapyard. Lex never died when he destroyed the Fortress at the end of Season 7, but he almost did, and part of his salvation includes a different twist on the origins of his son, Conner. In this story, Lex made the plans to create Conner, but it is his half-sister Tess who finishes the job in order to give her brother a reason to keep on living. Tess creates Conner, the genetic hybrid of Lex Luthor and Clark Kent.

So one of the 'villains', is John Corben, in the DC universe he's Metallo. He's got a heart made of kryptonite, and it's a threat to Clark and to his son Conner. In the comics, John's a stock Superman villain, but Smallville at least attempted to give him a sympathetic backstory. They gave him a murdered sister, and made him a former war correspondent for the Daily Planet who worked in Afghanistan. And then through a series of comical yet touching events (Lex Luthor involved, of COURSE) he gets kidnapped and experimented on, and his heart and vascular system are replaced by a liquid kryptonite artificial heart, which was painful and tortuous for him. He basically takes his anger out from his sister's death, and his unasked for surgery, out on Superman. Even though Smallville post-Season 4 was mostly terrible, I really liked John.

So he's in my story. I won't spoil plot points, but "Intermission: Heart" is tentatively slated to act as a middle piece, a John POV one-shot that would slot right between the main two books in the series. I love it. I loved John's voice, and I had a lot of freedom with him. I made him born in central Kansas, I gave him and his sister a close bond over basketball, I made his mother bipolar and killed his father off with a heart-attack at fifty-two-- I gave him this weird, funny kind of odd-couple roommate relationship with another rogue's gallery villain named Winslow Schott. I gave him a romance that's totally nowhere in canon.

Anyway, I was always hoping to finish the second novel before I started publishing any part of the series, so I would love to do that at some point and get this out into the world.

SORRY FOR LONG WINDEDNESS but if you're still reading, here's a snippet!!

*****************

Winslow is a freak, but he’s a genius, too. He used to work for Queen Industries, but got fired because he was caught sneaking explosives into consumer products. 

Into children’s toys. 

He opens his life to John, sets him up in an extra bedroom in his basement apartment on the southside of town. The neighborhood is dark and dangerous, even worse than Becca’s old place. But the apartment is renovated and clean. There’s a spacious kitchen and a huge common living area, half of which is taken up by Winslow’s lab-- long black counters full of ongoing projects,  chemistry sets and piles of wire and batteries; weird, half-constructed robots and one-eyed dolls; Winslow talks to them and sometimes, they talk back.

In another life, John would have run the other way. But he isn’t the man he used to be. John doesn’t have any family left, he doesn’t have any friends, and his meteorite heart is failing. He can only stay awake a few hours a day, he shuffles around the apartment, leaning on walls and trying to keep food down. 

Winslow finally sits him down to have a real look. He gets the lead plate off easily, with a blowtorch and a hammer, and it’s a literal weight off John’s chest.

“It’s the meteor rock,” Winslow concludes, pushing his magnifying lens to the side. “The apparatus is burning through it too fast. It wasn’t designed to run long-term. Shoddy engineering,” he concludes, with a click of his tongue.

“Am I going to die?”

Winslow grins. “No. I’m going to fix it.”

Two days later, Winslow slots in a new central cylinder with freshly machined parts. He replaces all of the silicone fittings around the conduit and he even polishes the metal casing. He tells John he put in some kind of regulator too, so he shouldn’t get any more adrenaline spikes. It’s the most normal-- no, the most human John has felt since before he got hit by the truck.

John taps his chest experimentally. “And they call him the Man of Steel,” he jokes. It’s maybe the first one he’s told since Becca died.

“It’s not steel,” Winslow shakes his head from the kitchen, opening a cabinet to pull down a loaf of bread. “It’s some kind of new alloy. Alien, maybe. LexCorp was always messing around with alien technology. And kryptonite, of course.” 

“Kryptonite?” 

“Smallville meteor rock, from the shower in ‘89. That’s what they call it. Everyone from 33.1 was there because of the radiation exposure. It changes people, turns them into freaks.”

“Hold on--” John’s latent journalist brain is spinning, Smallville, LexCorp, meteor freaks-- 

John was only a little kid but he remembers his first-grade teacher pulling one of those TVs on a cart into the classroom, turning the lights off and explaining what was happening. And he remembers other articles, years of fallout, dead crops and cancer rates and other radiation-induced bizarities. He also knows LexCorp’s original headquarters were in Smallville, years before the big LuthorCorp-to-LexCorp rebrand in 2008. But he’d never heard of anything called 33.1. 

“What the hell is 33.1?”

Winslow stops and turns, knife halfway into the peanut butter jar. “You don’t know?”

“No.”

“But-- who do you think did that?” Winslow points his peanut butter-covered knife at John’s chest. 

John still remembers dying in the street, the taste of asphalt and blood and garbage, parts of his brain shutting down like lights going off in a house, one by one. 

“I woke up on a table...” No heart, more dead than alive. “What did you mean, LexCorp was messing around with kryptonite?”

“33.1 is LexCorp’s meteor freak experimentation program. They find people like you, or people who were changed by the rocks. And they keep them, run tests, experiments, whatever  you want to call it.”

“How do you even know about this--”

“Ollie Queen,” Winslow giggles, turning back to his sandwich. “He’s been trying to bring Lex Luthor down for years, but he could never get enough hard evidence to take him to court. But he was always letting things slip when he was touring the lab, shooting his big fat mouth off.”

“So LexCorp did this to me?”

Winslow licks his fingers and picks up his sandwich. “All I can say is that the parts were manufactured by LexCorp; that I am completely sure of.”

***

[after-witch]

Different anon than the one who's sent the Small Spaces asks so far, but I just recently devoured the series and was SO excited to see your posts on here! (I figured there wouldn't be very many other people interested!) HUGE fan of the Smiling Man and love seeing all the appreciation he's getting, and I felt very similarly re: Empty Smiles. The buildup was very good, but the climax from Coco and Brian getting to the park on was bizarrely rushed and the ending was abrupt, but the amount of Smiling Man content made up for a lot of that so I couldn't be *too* upset. Given how abrupt the ending was, I appreciate that there was a certain amount of open-endedness, leaving room for more adventures in the future. I absolutely believe that Ollie, at least, will see him again.

Again, really really loving your content and so glad to see the Small Spaces enthusiasm on here!

Thank you for sending this in!! I definitely agree that the climax/ending felt rushed. I also feel like the writing in the scenes that weren't longer interactions with the smiling man often felt more clipped than it did in previous books, particularly the non-Ollie scenes. The writing for the first book remains the best, IMO, but yeah all the smiling man in this one definitely made up for my criticisms.

Re: The future, and whether she sees him again.

I remember the author tweeting that she's often asked at schools if Ollie ever meets the smiling man again. And she said she had her own ideas, but she doesn't share them and leaves it open-ended because she wants readers to be able to imagine what they like.

I can see it both ways, as to whether they meet again.

On the one hand, I think the experience that she had with the smiling man would definitely make her far more aware of the vulnerability that comes with taking his way out. With wanting his help, with accepting it. There's these pitfalls and the horror that comes along with it.

Like, sure, you get your dead brother back, but your life is in the smiling man's shadow until you're taken away. And in the end, your brother chooses to come with you anyway, to keep your twisted self company. And it didn't sound like Caleb had ever had a relationship or children, despite so many years passing, so what was Caleb's life like? "A drowned man breathed back to life."

So I can see Ollie, even if she faced some terrible hardship, swallowing down any urge to ever want his help. She knows that no good will come of it. She knows the price she'd have to pay.

On the other hand...

I can see Ollie, like anyone, being desperate. I can see something terrible happening, and Ollie, wild, hysterical, just reaches out with everything in her soul to the one being she knows can fix it. Despite the price.

There's a certain danger that comes with the knowledge of the smiling man, isn't there? Because yes, you know how he works, you know he's tricky, you know he'll take your soul or worse. But you also know what he can do... and if you find yourself with no one else to turn to, in a situation that cannot be helped by any ordinary means, there's that part of you that aches to call out to him for help.

On the other other hand, there's also scenarios where they might meet again, but not through Ollie's direct request. Maybe she walks into one of his traps--like the carnival, but something different--by accident. Maybe he’s people watching, eyeing potential targets, doing what he did in Book #3 and planting a trap, etc etc, and she happens to walk by. He smiles at her in the crowd and she glances at him and for a second, she thinks... could it be? But her kid pulls her along or someone jostles her and then he’s gone. Maybe it was just her imagination. 

Also fic promotion: I have a WIP Small Series sequel fic I've been pecking at since the fall where they do meet again, but not because of Ollie's actions, rather those of her daughter.

[mrultra100]

I know that I haven't talked about this show on here alot, but I feel like the original run/canon of Dr. Crafty, even after being canned, still has its own charm. And while his artistic work has been slower now due to him being a streamer, Crafty is still a pretty good artist and character designer. What I'm going for here is going over the main Dr. Crafty cast, sharing my thoughts about 'em. I have some personal thoughts on especially a few of these peeps, and it'll show as we go on. With that said, let's get Crafty.

(WARNING; Spoilers for Dr. Crafty are gonna be brought up alot. If you haven't seen this show, check it out)

Given how they were the main duo of the series, along with being at the center of its conflicts, I wanna start with Dr. Crafty and Nurse Worse. The chemistry (Pun not intended, I swear) between these two easily makes for some of the best character interactions in the show. Between the light banter they had in Season 1, and the more serious bits of personal trauma and flaws that the show in later seasons (Crafty and his past with Sasha and how it's negatively affected him after she left, and Nurse's trauma from Mindstein), they're some of its more fleshed-out characters. If there's anything that might be considered a flaw, the show ending so soon means that these characters aren't gonna have their arcs completed. As someone who stuck around in the show's early years, that kinda blows. And as much as I understand why the series ended the way that it did (The show being too expensive for more episodes to get made, along with the voice actors moving on to other projects), I feel like something could've been added for these peeps.

As for the main duo themselves, I feel like Crafty is a very good mix of funny and complex, and Nurse serves as a good co-host-type of character. As someone who's a big monster geek, I can really get behind the idea of a mad scientist and a cute Frankenstein girl running a web show together. Overall, Crafty and Nurse are a nice duo of protagonists.

Out of the show's roster of co-hosts, Pepper is the one that I have the most to say about. Between both of her designs (The one that was used for the show, along with the recently revamped one made by Blue-Paint-Sea, Pepper and Pickles' creator), they both do an amazing job showing off this gal's traits. A gentle giant, BBW octopus lady who's also a chef and has an air-breathing sea cucumber as a lil' buddy is a pretty out-of-the-box idea, but it works so well. Pepper is basically the biggest sweetheart of the cast, and her mannerisms, looks, and personality all help with that aspect. And while he's only one part of this duo, Pickles himself makes for a interesting character in his own right, with part of his charm due to how there's no other character in the main cast who's similar to him.

If there's any aspect that these two that I love the most, it's how even after Dr. Crafty as a show has ended, they're still around! Due to how Pepper and Pickles also fit in as characters made by the aforementioned Blue-Paint-Sea, they're still gonna be around as part of their own story. If you haven't seen Blue's work already, I highly recommend it, especially if you're a huge fan of Banjo-Kazooie.

Debuting alongside Pepper and Pickles in the same year, Messibelle was the third co-host to join the cast. While I don't have nearly as much to say about her as I've had for Pepper, Messi herself is still a fun character to talk about. Similar to other characters in this series, Messi's very concept is one that's rather unique. A lesbian slime maid who's thirsty as all hell is a fun character concept that the shows goes all-out on showing off. Her being the youngest out the bunch is another aspect to Messi's character that's shown off pretty well, as well as technically being Crafty's daughter due to how he himself was responsible for creating her after dumping a bunch of cleaning products down the sink.

Aside from how she's changed and matured as a character in the later seasons due to how some people had a problem with how she was written early on, my final note for Messi is how she was voiced by the incredibly talented Toxicsoul77, who appears to be one of my favorite online artists. The woman has plenty of talent when it comes to these sorts of things, and it definitely showed here.

For what I've got to say on Crystelle, I feel like she's a fun character that didn't get enough spotlight due to the show being canned. Don't get me wrong, she's had a good amount of moments ever since she was introduced in Season 3, but part of me feels like if there was a chance to fully flesh her story out alongside everyone else, it should've been taken advantage of. Aside from that, Crystelle's design is one of the best and most creative out of the entire cast. A fortune teller is one thing, but having their own head be a crystal ball is a very neat idea that I don't think I've seen elsewhere. Aside from that, the Questionable Qloest spinoff is my personal favorite of the main show and its various spinoffs. There's just something so chill and calm about it that I very much like, as Crystelle is not only the perfect host for a show like it, it plays a big part of this show by sharing out bits and pieces of lore about the greater Crafty universe as a whole. It's sweet, I like it.

I honestly feel like Stylene was the character that was done the dirtiest by the show's cancelation. I'm not saying that it was the show runners' fault for this, I'm just saying that they were cooking for this witch is gonna be banging. Even with how her story is gonna remain unfinished, Stylene herself was still a pretty dynamic character. And as someone who likes redesigns of characters, she basically speaks to me on a personal level, considering that's basically what her spin-off show was all 'bout.

As for what else I could say about Stylene? Well, it's my personal headcanon that she's definitely gay on some level. Probably bi, if we're honest. This woman is the pure definition of be gay, do crime.

Now that the Crafty Crew's taken care of, we can move on to essentially my favorite character of this entire show. Sasha is absolutely GREAT, y'all, and it kinda feels like she would’ve been the type of character to get popular onto her. Not only is this a very effective design for a cosmic horror, nor how she's adorable in both of her forms, how she's written very well as a character that plays in a huge part in Crafty's past, has gotten plenty of character development, or how she fits well with the other characters she's on screen with personally (Including a certain hunchback old lady(?) that we'll get to shortly)... she's just that versatile as a character in her own right. There's basically two sides of Sasha that perfectly capture what I'm trying to say here...

(Remember, these two designs are from the same exact character. One side is a terrifying eldritch abomination capable of permanently erasing you from existence if she wanted to, and the other is a goofy, lovable nerd)

If I can be real here, I honestly feel like gushing about Sasha on here is something that should happen more. This absolute goof of a lovecraftian horror is one of my personal favorite characters in fiction, and she deserves alot more love these days. The last thing that I wanna say about this woman for now is if there was some sort of way to easily deal with the whole conflict of who Crafty eventually falls in love with... Have him, Nurse, and Sasha be in a polycule together. Nurse has been hinted to be bisexual alot in the show, and she even blushed upon seeing Sasha in her human form for the first time, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to be into both Crafty and Sasha. And Sasha would feel like she would be absolutely bi. Again, alongside Messi being a lesbian and Pepper being grey-asexual, the other Dr. Crafty characters would certainly fit with the IGBTQ+ community.

What I'm trying to say here is this: let Sasha be gay, dammit.

Regarding my feelings about Mindstein.... Well, in my very humble opinion, Mindstein is kind of a mixed bag, if I'm really being honest. On one hand, she's got quite a bit going for her; Pretty good design that highlights her personality well, Oliva Steele doing a great job with her voice, as she's a horror buff, and being very horrifying as an irredeemable monster. On the other hand, however, I feel like she could've had more as a character. I'm not saying that she shouldn't be as much of a bloodthirsty, power-hungry psychopath that revels in the chaos and terror that she causes, as she was in the show whenever she showed up. All I'm saying is she should've been a bit more comedic, if that makes sense for this lady.

I get that this lady came about in the first place as a potshot towards White Diamond and how the show that she came from literally had no problem with redeeming a literal dictator, but I feel like Mindstein had a sort of weird silliness that could've been taken advantage of. With a name like DR. MINDSTEIN., that would definitely be the moniker of a villain who's both funny and threatening at the same time (Think something like Jack Horner, but a mad scientist lady). If it was possible, I feel like making this blue-brained bitch a complete nutcase and girlfailure who's absolutely petty as all hell would've been very fun. Have this woman be annoying the ever-living hell out of her victims as torture, getting into the most petty arguments imaginable on purpose, get herself into trouble when her plans blow up right in her face, and having Screw drag her out of it, much to her chagrin, go into mad fits of insane-induced laughter, taking the chance to toy with her victims personally for pranks while not working on her evil plans, and just being an absolute bratty gremlin to deal with, all while keeping her power-hungry motivations and sadistic tendencies. This would also fit in with being a sort of dark foil to Crafty. She's absolutely rotten to the core, she shouldn't be trusted anywhere near divine artifacts, she's in possession of far too many needles, she probably has rabies (and probably more than happy to bite you to get you infested), she knows she's the most insufferable bitch on the place...

And she's very proud of it.

Getting a legacy is only second to her biggest drive in life; Being an absolute troll.

To be honest, I don't have alot to say about either Screw or Metal Crafty. I like how Screw had a redemption arc planned for her after Season 4 (Sadly, due to how the show's canceled, we'll never see it happen), and it's been revealed she herself secretly planned the coordinates for UA High when punching Crafty off into the distance, ensuring that he'll find help in wherever she sent him to. Again, going back to the dark foil thing a bit, Screw would absolutely be tired of her master/mother's bullshit.

As for Metal? I'm really gonna be honest, outside of him being introduced in a few Sonic-based episode to highlight Mindstein fucking with the Crafty Crew, he really doesn't have alot going for him. Again, maybe that could've turned out differently for him had the show continued, but that's just how the ol' ball bounces. Also, the guy who voiced him was uncredited due to how he was caught being a transphobe, getting fired in the process. Thought that would be something to point out.

What was originally a running gag character, Disgustilda has gone to be hinted to be alot more important to the show's plot than she was letting on. Yeah, she's definitely a buffoon, but given what was planned for her later on if the show didn't end, you'd be very surprised.

See this? The suspiciously-looking Infinia-like abomination that briefly appeared at the end of Season 4's Sonic Month? The original plan, according to the show's What Could Have Been page on TV Tropes, was to not only reveal that Disgustilda was an Infinia. Get this.

DISGUSTILDA IS SASHA'S MOM

I have no idea what would've happened if the show fully revealed this twist, but whatever it could've been, it could've been a McFuckin' spectacle. Given how the castle that the Crafty Crew lived in was revealed to be hers, Disgustilda already had alot layer of plot brilliance to her. I can see her both helping Sasha with expressing her feelings and wanting to make up to Crafty for leaving him behind in the past (along with having her ask Nurse out), but also smacking the ever-living hell out of Mindstein when her full form was revealed.

All and all, Dr. Crafty was a crazy experience to someone like me, and I feel like it certainly fits the confines of this blog well. While Crafty himself has moved on to his V-tuber career (hope that goes very well for him), I wanted do justice to the original show's canon and characters by talking about them. If you haven't seen this show on Youtube, give it a watch.

Still tho, Crafty, Nurse, and Sasha should've been in a polycule. They deserve each other, dammit.

[the-final-sif]

A03 and the SMP Problem

Hello Tumblr!

If you've been a fan of any major SMP for the past however long, you may've noticed that we've got something of a problem on A03. For reasons unknown to me, SMPs are constantly categorized as Video Blogging RPF. Characters on the SMP are forced to share a tag with their content creators and be listed as RPF even when that isn't accurate and makes tagging complicated. Worse, if a content creator plays more than one character, both characters are merged into the cc tag. Which is incredibly confusing, and hard to follow tags for.

In the past, I've contacted A03, and gotten this reply:

Thank you for writing in about Dream SMP. We are currently reviewing the Dream SMP situation and having discussions about creating a Dream SMP fandom tag. The tag wranglers will look into other servers of similar types in the future. If an SMP is canonized, all fandom tags that clearly reference the server will be moved over to the new canonical tag. There are a number of issues we need to work through before we can do so, including ensuring that users are aware the tag is for Dream SMP members, not for other Minecraft streamers. While we can't promise that all the issues can be resolved, please do know that we are doing our best to resolve them.

Now, I was hopeful when I got this message back in November that changes would follow. However, we are now at well over 5 months past, and there's still no changes for any tags. Tags keep getting wrangled and forced into categorizations.

A03 is a fandom space, it is supposed to be by fans for fans, and it's ridiculous that a huge chunk of fandoms, including Dream SMP, Hermitcraft, Last Life, Empires, and more are forced into RPF tags that aren't remotely accurate or reflective of the works. It sucks for the people writing about the SMP, and it sucks for the people writing actual RPF. Series like Critical Role or The Adventure Zone don't have their actors listed, so why should SMPs be forced into the RPF tags?

Thusly, I would like to propose a coordinated campaign to put pressure onto A03 to create proper fandom tags for SMPs, separate from RPF tags, and with separated tags for characters and content creators. I think that a show of support for this change would help demonstrate how many people are currently being effect, and that this isn't something that can just get brushed off. They need to see how many fans are actively upset about this failure of tagging. At the very least, we deserve a public statement with what's going on and the timeline for fixing this problem.

If you're interested in participating in this campaign, my proposed dates are May 1st - May 7th.

During this period, people can, and should:

Send polite, constructive, messages to A03 support requesting:

Separate tags for SMPs and RPF, for fandom and for characters.

Separate tags for characters on SMPs, with character tags only using usernames/character names, not the names of content creators.

Separate tags for distinct characters played by the same content creators.

Reblog and create posts discussing this issue on social media. Encourage your followers on different platforms to reach out to A03 and ask them to fix the mistagging. You can use the tag #SMPsNeedTagsToo on any platform to help spread the word.

Within this tag, it would also be lovely if lists of SMPs that need this change could be created, as well as a list of characters + other tags that will need to be split from the RPF tags. These lists could also be sent to A03 to make the process of splitting easier.

If you are already planning to post a chapter or fic on A03 during this period, consider including an author's note encouraging your readers to reach out to A03.

Remember to remain polite! This is not a harassment campaign, A03 is an amazing website, and the point of this is to call attention to the issue and improve the website we love. Not drag it down.

Equally, please do not be nasty or judgemental towards RPF readers/writers. We're not trying to shame anyone for what they're reading or writing, we just want to have proper categorization so people can post their works correctly!

If this is something that interests you, reblog this post to spread the word, and when May 1st rolls around, get started! If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions, feel free to add on to this post or send me an ask!

[vivwritesfics]

Shine A Light Into The Wreckage

Chapter Eleven - Motels

Bob Floyd was many things. He was an instructor at Top Gun, a lover of Tolkien books and a huge fan of coffee. But Bob was also clumsy. That was how he bumped into the table, knocking her drink onto her notebook. He felt bad about it. Bad enough to come back time and time again, in the hopes that she would be there. And, every time, she is. Each time looking a little worse for wear. It doesn't take Bob long to realise he has to save her.

Series Warnings: Abusive relationship! Abusive hair pulling! Abusive choking! Forceful sex! Domestic abuse! Seriously don't read if you're affect by stuff like this! Talks of stalking (but in a non serious manner), talks of non consensual groping. she gets called a whore, choking, SA, 'missing' birth control, blood, pregnancy, hint at child abuse (not explicitly written)

Series Masterlist

The car was packed up, and she was in the passenger seat, waiting for him. Bob, though, was focused on other, more important things.

Natasha stood in front of him, nodding along to everything he said. He was being an overbearing mother, the both of them knew. But this was Frodo we're talking about, and there was no such thing as overbearing when it came to Frodo.

"One tin of food in the morning and one at night," Bob said as he placed his house key into Natasha's palm. "If he wants brushing, he'll let you know. But if he gives no indication, don't brush him. He should be okay all day on his own but I don't know how he'll react without me there."

Natasha closed her fingers around the key. "Bob," she began, her voice full of scepticism. "You know he's a cat, right? Frodo is gonna be just fine with me." She looked past him, at the woman waiting in his truck. "There's someone that needs you a little more than Frodo does right now."

She was right, and Bob knew it. "Thank you for doing this, Phe," he said and Nat gave him a nod. No sappy shit, that was that they'd said when they were the pair selected for that mission all those years ago. And it stood today, no sappy shit.

"You do what you need to," she said and backed towards his house. She raised her hand in a wave and said, a little louder this time, "We'll be there when you guys get back! Have fun!"

Bob walked back towards his truck. He gave Natasha one last wave as he pulled open the door and climbed his way in. "Ready to go?" He asked the girl in his truck, the one that had been watching his entire exchange with Nat.

She sucked in a breath, hand settling on her stomach. There wasn't even a bump, but the response was involuntary. She'd been doing it ever since she'd taken those positive tests. "Ready," she said and blew out a breath of air.

There was no reason for her to be nervous. She wasn't the partner meeting the parents for the first time. No, she was the friend in a shitty situation, being helped out by the sweetest man in the universe. Because that was what Bob was, wasn't he? The sweetest man in the universe.

He started the truck and pulled out of the driveway. They waved at Natasha from where she stood in the doorway, until she disappeared into his house. "When was the last time you went home?" She asked as they drove down his street.

"Not for a while," Bob answered honestly. He swallowed, his palms hitting the steering wheel as he turned right at the end of his street. "I should have visited them more, but I thought that they'd be-" He sucked in a breath, all signs of his nerves. "-disappointed."

Immediately, she shook her head. "Bob, you're in the navy. Why the hell would they be disappointed in you?" She turned towards the window. She muttered something under her breath, something that sounded like 'fucking dumbass'.

There were several stops planned on their trip up to Montana. They had to, it was a twenty-one hour long trip. "Wanna start on the snacks?" Bob asked as they headed out of the state.

She looked back. A series of snack foods were sitting on top of the few bags the two of them had packed. She grabbed the closest one, a bag of chips, and opened them. With his eyes still on the road, Bob reached into the bag and pulled a handful out.

"Barbecue ribs, my favourite," he said as he ate them.

She turned up the volume of the radio. The eighties station, it was very Bob. Her head moved slightly as Bob sang along, entirely unbothered by the way she was watching him. But she wasn't staring out of judgement. He was so comfortable around her, so free. She loved it.

They stopped for lunch just a few hours into their journey. Bob help her hand as he helped her hop out of the truck. "My mom is gonna make us the best food when we get there," he said as they walked towards the diner.

They were walking so close, so close that she knew she should have been touching him. Holding his hand or walking with his arm around her shoulders. Even if they walked with his hand on her not yet there bump, she wouldn't have minded.

They walked into the diner and slipped into a booth. "What are we hungry for?" He asked as he opened the menu.

"Grilled cheese," she answered without looking at the menu.

If it was a grilled cheese she wanted, it was a grilled cheese she was going to get. "No worries, Doll," he mumbled as he stood. It would have been so right to press a kiss to the top of her head before he headed over to the counter. But he held himself back and strode over, giving their order and their table number to the waitress.

Their stopover in the diner was very short lived. They ate their food before they hit the road, half a grilled cheese sandwich in a takeaway box.

The motel Bob had in mind was only a few hours away. With her belly full, she couldn't hide her yawns as Bob drove on. "We'll be there soon," he mumbled. He went to pat her knee, but thought better of it. His hand settled back on the gear stick.

Bob didn't know when she fell asleep. He turned the radio down slightly and took a second to look at her to make sure she was comfortable.

Just an hour later, Bob pulled into the motel. It was definitely dingy and grimy, and certainly not the sort of place he wanted to take her to. It should have been a fancy hotel, with one of those big beds covered in rose petals and a bath big enough for two.

He fought with himself before he woke her up. If the area wasn't so dark and terrifying, he would have left her there to sleep some more. The shadows surrounding the car had him holding her hand as he helped her out of the truck and walking over to the reception.

She was hardly awake as Bob got them a room. The last one, according to the receptionist. He handed over the key as Bob handed over the last of the cash in his wallet. He didn't miss how the guy's eyes moved over her, and how she pressed herself closer to his side.

"Come on," he whispered, arm protectively around her as he pulled her back to the car. He knew he didn't look like much, knew that guy probably thought he could easily take him on. But Bob would be damned if he let anything happen to her.

They got what they needed from the car and made their way up to their room for the night. The last room in the motel, apparently. Bob's anxiety spiked as he let go of her just long enough to unlock the door.

A single bed lay in the middle of the room. "Crap," Bob hissed as he walked in, immediately locking the door behind them. "I guess I'll take the floor."

A motel room floor. There was no telling when it was last cleaned, or what the suspicious stains were. Yeah, there was no way Bob was sleeping on the floor.

Silently, she walked over to the bed. "Yeah, I think we can both fit," she said as she sat on the mattress. Even with the duvet beneath her, she could feel the springs poking through. "It'll be a tight squeeze, but it'll be cosy."

Bob pulled his lip between his teeth. "I don't know," he muttered and looked into the bathroom. If he found a spare blanket, he could sleep in the tub. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"It was my idea, Bob," she said as she fished through her bag for some pyjamas. "I won't be uncomfortable, I promise."

Bob sucked in a breath. The roach in the tub seemed to stare at him the moment he switched on the light. He quickly flicked the light off and walked back towards her. "Maybe don't go into the bathroom," he mumbled and sat on the end of the bed.

His body fell back as she pulled her shirt over her head, not much caring that Bob was there. He turned his head to the side, looked at the damp and peeling wallpaper opposite. This wasn't the sort of place he wanted to take her. This wasn't the sort of place where you rented rooms for the whole night.

"Done," she said and laid herself down beside Bob. They weren't trying to touch, but they had no choice in a bed this small.

While Bob got changed into his own pyjamas, she climbed beneath the scratchy duvet. The entire room felt unclean, including the bed. But she could stick it out for the night.

Bob climbed into the bed beside her. The two of them laid there, stiff as a board, waiting to fall asleep. They laid there, unmoving, hyper aware of their own breathing and just how loud it was.

It felt like an hour, but it couldn't have been an hour. Bob ran his hands over his face and rolled towards her. "Can I touch you?" He whispered.

She nodded as she rolled away from him, the both of them facing the wall with the peeling wallpaper. Bob was still hesitant as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in. "I'm sorry about this," he whispered, his fingers moving across her stomach, just light enough to not tickle her.

Still in his arms, she rolled over. "Don't apologise," she whispered. Her hands came up to touch his face. She could just about see him in the darkness, see him without his glasses on. "It's just one night, Bobby," she whispered.

He looked down at her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair. God, she looked so right beneath him, looked so right in his arms. The more he looked at her, the more the shitty motel room didn't seem to matter.

Bob kissed her. He leaned down and captured her lips in his. This time he initiated it, and she was happy to hiss him back. His hand slipped to her hip, pulling her as close as possible. When she pulled away, he tried to keep his face neutral. "We're really doing this, huh?" She asked, no sound of regret in her face.

"Yeah," he answered and she shuffled closer, her lips pressing against his throat. "Yeah, I think we are."

She kissed him again, lips on his as she pushed at his shoulder. But there was no bed behind him for him to fall back on. His sharp intake of breath alerted her to something wrong and she grabbed hold of him, pulling him back on top of her.

Bob was quick to flip them over. She was on top of him, legs on either side of his hips. Bob held her still, stopped her from grinding down on him.

Bob was breathless when his head fell back, hitting the pillows. "Sweetheart, I..." But he struggled to find the words, struggled to articulate just how he was feeling. "Not here, not in this shitty motel room."

He leaned forward, went to kiss her again, but, this time, she pulled away. She sat up in his lap, hand settling over her stomach. Over her non-existent bump. "You're not gonna want me when she starts to show."

Shaking his head, Bob took hold of her hands and pulled her down onto him. "You're wrong, doll," he whispered and kissed her quickly. "I'm always gonna want you."

She cradled his face as she kissed him. She was right, he really was the sweetest man in the world.

Taglist: @nurse-floyd

@not-nyasa

@burningwitchprincess

@darksparklesficrecs

@primroseluna

@littlemsbumblebee

@wretchedmo

@imaginecrushes

@calpalsbestie

@hiireadstuff

@lyn-js

@emma8895eb

@teacupsandtopgun

@finnydraws

@writtingrose

@afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff

@callsignwidow

@mp0625

@els-marvelvsp

@daggersquadphantom

[luanna801]

Despite everything, does Birds of Prey #8 still hold up?

So the simple answer to that is that, for me (and I can't really speak for anyone else), yes, it does.

But because I'm me, I'm also going to go a bit deeper here. And for some reason, this got SUPER long, so I'm breaking it into multiple parts and putting this under a cut:

Part 1: Chuck Dixon and His Politics

To start with, I'm assuming that by "despite everything", you're referring to Chuck Dixon's frankly horrifying politics (as seen in his bizarre recent series Alt-Hero), and the understandable backlash against him as both a person and a writer as a result.

I get this, absolutely. It's honestly a very complicated thing for me to know that Dixon wrote some of my favorite comics in the late 90s and early 00s, and also know that he's someone whose beliefs I find repugnant in so many ways. And it isn't just BoP #8 - Dixon's runs on Birds of Prey, Nightwing, Robin and so on in that era were incredibly influential. He basically WAS the Batfam in that era. He created the Birds of Prey team. He co-created Stephanie Brown. He had a huge influence on shaping Tim Drake's character and the various relationships between the Batfamily members. In many ways, Dixon is responsible for the incarnation of the Batfam that I love.

Nor can you pretend that his politics have nothing to do with his writing, because Dixon's values have always informed what he writes, to good and bad (like his rather infamous statement that "superhero comics are, whether die-hard fans like it or not, ostensibly children’s comics and perhaps not the forum to be informing children of homosexuality, heterosexuality, or sexually transmitted disease", an obviously questionable statement since he wrote numerous heterosexual romances in his comics but disapproved of gay characters being included, or included in what he considered the "wrong" ways.)

I will argue that, from what I can tell, Dixon definitely wasn't always as extreme a conservative as he is now - current Chuck Dixon would never have written this scene, for example, and would probably criticize it as the kind of "pushing a SJW agenda scene" he now condemns if someone else had written it. Some of the values 90s/00s Chuck Dixon promoted in his comics were, in fact, things I agree with and enjoyed about them. You don't have to be a conservative to enjoy wholesome family dynamics or a subtler approach to sex and romance, even though I obviously disagree with certain things he excludes from his definition of "family friendly".

I also think that, overall, 90s/00s Dixon wrote female characters with respect and nuance, and while he may not have always gotten it right, he also clearly cared deeply about writing Babs as a badass, complex, lovable disabled character, and he wrote some of my favorite scenes with her in that era. And while his writing definitely had some issues with characters of color, I'd argue it was no worse than most comic writers of the time, and better than some who are avowedly liberal (like Devin Grayson).

None of this is me trying to be like "Well, twenty years ago Chuck Dixon was Good and Unproblematic Actually", but I do think that he seems to have become alarmingly radical over time, in a way that I think goes far beyond anything that was ever reflected in his classic comic runs. And when it comes to BoP #8 specifically, I think you don't really see much political subtext in it, even to the degree that this was already present in his writing then. So if you can appreciate any of his work in spite of his current politics, BoP #8 is a good bet. But to those who can't appreciate anything he wrote anymore, I obviously understand.

Part 2: "Holding Up":

I think when we ask if a work “holds up”, we’re usually talking about something that was popular when it first came out, but might be viewed differently now because of how society’s shifted over time, whether that’s with regard to serious social issues, or just our standards for what we consider good storytelling (for example, we might criticize the special effects in an older movie for not “holding up”, where the original audience might have thought they looked awesome.)

The thing is, though, I didn’t read Birds of Prey #8 when it first came out, or anywhere near it. It was published in August 1999, when I was only seven years old, and I didn’t even become a comic fan until long afterwards. At a guess, I think I first read it sometime in 2012, shortly after I started becoming a serious DC/Batfam fan (the first post about it on my old blog is from January 2012, but I’m not sure if I’d read the full comic yet or just seen certain scenes/pages posted.) So in a sense, the fact that I read it well over a decade after it was originally published and loved it in the first place is proof that it holds up, or at least did then.

I can only imagine how much more exciting it must’ve been to read it when it first came out, honestly - Dick and Babs weren’t a couple yet then, nor had they ever been despite some flirting, and unless I’m mistaken it’s the first time an entire issue had been devoted to their relationship and their potential romance like that. It must’ve been incredibly exciting for shippers to read it and realize DC was actually serious about those two, and watch the relationship continue developing over the next several years.

But that wasn’t my reading experience. By the time I came along, nothing in that issue was remotely new or groundbreaking, and yet I loved the heck out of it and still do.

On the flipside, I’m sure there are people who read it at the time who absolutely hated it, and would say to this day that it can’t possibly “hold up” because it was never good to begin with. I got into a debate a while back (seven years ago, if you can believe it!) with a fan who clearly feels that way, and while I still think a lot of the points they raised don’t hold much water, I’m sure there are plenty of people who share their opinion.

Part 3: Disability Representation

Obviously, one of the biggest questions in whether BoP #8 “holds up” - and a far more loaded one than whether it holds up as a good romance issue (which I think most Dick/Babs shippers at any rate would agree it does) - is whether it holds up as good representation of a disabled character, and specifically of a disabled character finding romance.

I certainly see fans, to this day, using some of the panels from this comic as an example of the strength and confidence Babs had in her role as Oracle, and what was lost when DC took that away:

Babs: Y'know, a lot of the time it's like you Batguys want me to hold onto the past because you can't get over it. Understand -- I have. I have a new life now, one I like -- one that fulfills me. It's not the same one I had before, but it's good. Maybe even better.

But she also talks about how difficult the healing process was and that to some degree she’s still not “over it”, which I suppose could make the representation either better or worse, depending on your perspective:

Babs: Everyone talks about 'closure' now. When tragedy strikes they say you need 'closure'. What a crock. I wanted revenge. Swear you won't tell anybody... part of me still does. I remember that night every time I answer the door. And I think about what was taken from me.

Personally, I like the complexity! That she’s not just some perfect aspirational figure, but feels like a real person with messy and conflicting feelings about what happened to her. She’s allowed to be proud and confident in her new role, and yet a part of her is still angry and bitter and in mourning about what she went through. That feels real, to me.

Then there’s the romance angle: I’ve certainly seen this issue (and more largely, this arc) praised for how it defies stereotypes by giving a disabled character a fulfilling love life, and showing a disabled woman as unambiguously romantic and desirable. At the same time, some people might not appreciate how Barbara’s insecurities, which at least partly stem from her disability, are treated as an obstacle to the relationship (“I don’t like to be pushed around”). They might find that stereotypical or demeaning. Similarly, I’ve certainly seen people who find Dick’s attitude pushy or condescending, and feel he should just be listening to Babs rather than pushing her to heal on his terms:

Dick: You know better than that, Babs.

Babs: Does that mean you'll get me down?

Dick: That means you have to trust me.

Ultimately, I’m not a member of the disabled community and I’m definitely not paraplegic or a wheelchair user, so it’s not really for me to say how this issue holds up as disabled representation. I’ve pointed out some elements I think are strengths and some possible criticisms, but that’s all I can really say. Ultimately, it’s for the people actually being represented here to decide if they think this still holds up in that regard.

So those are my overly-long thoughts! The tl;dr is yes, I definitely think it holds up and I still love it. But there are a lot of factors to consider, and I certainly know there are others who would feel differently. I’d welcome other people adding their thoughts, if anyone thinks I missed something relevant or has more to contribute to the conversation!

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. What I don't get is you have LO fans defending the questionable art choices as "that's just her style!!!" which sure ok, but but then shouldn't we give that same leeway to artists who draw even more sexualized, over-sexualized art too? It's their style, right? Like jesus christ LO fans, just let people critique it constructively over policing all thoughts, because you're only opening yourselves up to being called hypocrites and excusers for far worse in the name of refusing even minor criticism.

2. literally the only HxP media i've seen that's almost all universally loved is Hadestown and that's it lmao, but go figure LO fans hate it. Where's this idea LO critics love other greek myth pieces of work unconditionally or don't critique them? All my homies hate PJO too.

3. ya know the massive gap is also bad because rachel obviously wants to put persephone in sexual situations (ares, hades, and hermes as examples) but because made her SO young that unless this all just HAPPENED to all happen in the last two years of her life, then we're left with the realization that persephone could have been an underage girl being naked and physically intimate with ADULT MEN. this could have been avoided if she was even just 119 but no, that's asking too much apparently.

4. IDK how anyone is supposed to buy RS is some masterclass in mythology knowledge when the few times she tries to set it in reality she has them being in ITALY. There's so much resources pointing to HxP and Demeter's worship and origins being in Krete/Athens/Eleusis, but she'd rather go with their imported worship from literal centuries AFTER Hesiod, Homer, and other poets already wrote down the hymns and myths? She doesn't even let them be in GREECE for her GREEK myth story. Like what the fuck.

5. The reason Leuce or any half way decnt relationship doesn't exist between Hades or Persephone is because that would require RS having to actually develop Hades and Persephone as realistic people with lives that don't revolve around obsessing over each other and not write through the most black and white mentality in recent memory. She's trying to push the "soulmate" idea but instead because of the lack of actual relationships/development it really just comes across as "this is all that's left".

6. I wonder if one of the reasons LO is being dragged on is because RS know anything she makes afterwards will not be as successful. There's another creator who had a popular romance series but is now upset their new comic isn't as popular and I can see RS having the same issue. Her thin skin with criticism is well known, so we can safely guess how she'd react a post-LO series not being the company darling. Better to cling to the pedestal as long as she can before someone new takes it.

7. another popular webtoon creator was called out for their use of sexual assault to push a story along and of course rachel came to their defense. im not saying as victims themselves they cant write about this stuff, but them trying to police how other people (especially other victims) feel hurt by their work and their use of a serious crime as cheap drama/"character development" by going "oh youre just haters!"/blocking/harassing them is not very helpful or a mature way to go about criticism,

8. I know this is a ~design quirk~ but why does Rachel love drawing women with their mouths open so wide that it looks like they're just screaming? Does anyone else notice this? I swear she has the most bizarre facial expression designs and it makes trying to make sense of the tone (both in scene and dialogue) very confusing most of the time.

9. Listen I’m not going to dictate what Rachel likes to draw, that’s her thing, but it is a show of a weak artist that she can’t even try to diversify her characters design beyond hourglass women with huge boobs and bulky men. A lot of male comic artists are rightfully called out for drawing their characters this way, so why should she get excused for it? Especially when her style is so less detailed than more traditional comic artists? She has no excuse for it beyond laziness and lack of skill.

10. it's not just the lack of short kings, where my tall queens at?? apparently minthe, artemis, demeter, and hera are supposed to be "tall", yet they're all a head or more shorter than every man? especially artemis, who you would assume she'd be as tall or close to it with her twin brother. athena i guess is the "tall" woman but even she shrinks down whenever next to a man. does rachel know it's ok for a woman to be over 5'2 and the men don't always have to be looming over everyone. it's ok rachel.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

[ihopesocomic]

I saw in another ask you guys said you haven’t read Warrior Cats in a while and I know you guys don’t want it brought up again. I actually just want to say that with everything the Erins are doing horribly just makes me appreciate creators like you more- they just confirmed that Frecklewish being in the Dark Forest is canon for not helping Mapleshade’s kits, that she broke the Warrior, That along with other stuff, makes me no longer want to associate with Warrior Cats. One of the Erins even states Tom is in ‘a kittypet place in the sky’, learning to be kinder by lovelier kittypets and when a fan says that they feel like Tom got something he doesn’t deserves, this Erin compares the fan wanting Tom to get punished to Tom wanting to hurt Turtle Tail, that they are both acting from the same base impulse & what good would punishing Tom do other than satisfy that one fan. The rest of the conversation was difficult to read due to the website being weird but I was shocked and uncomfortable by their first few responses to that fan. It’s like they let these horrible characters get away with their actions while characters are victims just get worse treatment and they try justifying that.

You guys actually handle sensitive topics with care and seriousness, you guys actually listen and interact to your audience, and even not afraid to admit & apologize when a mistake is made. It honestly surprised me when I saw how interactive you guys are with the ihs fandom because I don’t see much creators interact this much with their fans and due to the MP and Warrior Cats, it honestly was a huge sigh of relief to see how respectful you are towards us and how you’re handling the serious situations that are I the comic better than they are. And this fandom is actually incredible! Really amazing- heck, we all are on board with wanting to see horrible characters get punished and it’s great.

Being in the I hope so fandom is such a breathe of fresh air after being in the Warrior Cats fandom for years. So again, thank you so much for being awesome! ^^

I just think how it's interesting how the Erins are quick to discuss this whole issue with Frecklewish and the Dark Forest or whatever but not the issues that other people have raised recently with the series that I feel are just as important and worthy of addressing, like the Native appropriation, for one. They’re never going to change their spots with what you’ve described but completely ignoring how their books are coming across to Indigenous folks is just... wow. 

But with all that aside, thank you so so much, anon. We're not perfect, our storytelling isn't always going to be perfect and we like to depend on our fans to pull us up when they feel it's necessary.

For example, Hope's entire confrontation with her parents was never going to involve her being accused of being a traitor. Jasper was just gonna blame cacklers and everyone was gonna roll with it. We put up the script on Patreon and a very helpful Patron pointed out that this didn't really make any sense and Hope being believed wasn't very believable and they were 100% correct. The wounds that Jasper had could not have been made by cacklers, for one.

So, we tweaked the script to what we had now and we're so glad we did. It just ties everything together more nicely, especially Vicious thinking that Clever was never really any good and was jealous of her relationship with Jasper. Because that's better than admitting that maybe - just maybe - you're in an abusive relationship and everyone can see it but you.

But anyway: thank you so much for sending this in, anon. We truly appreciate you and all of you. We do this comic for you and you do us a service by supporting it and offering us advice and suggestions. Y'all never forget that! - RJ

[nicanario]

this post is a product of its time

tw: discussion of racism, homophobia, misogyny and a short mention of sexual abuse.

ok, this is basically gonna be a very long rambling post about my not fully developed thoughts on the justification many people give to bigotry when talking about the past: "it was a product of its time"

it would be fair to say, with me being a raging SJW socialist scumbag, that I don't think this is a very good argument and is most of the time actually an excuse to not think about the problems inherent to our society, historical or not, and, by extension, the problems with ourselves. but I do think that sometimes, just sometimes, this can be a valid point, or at least one that raises some interesting questions.

I'm going to cite examples from several pieces of media, but fear not, I'll try to make this as accesible as I can.

so, let's take Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) as our first case study. this show has, correctly, been called progressive by everyone except for clueless people who don't know much about Star Trek's history, Star Trek's crew, Star Trek's cast, or, frankly, Star Trek. because if you ignore the clear, sometimes in-your-face political history and present of the franchise, I don't think you know much about it at all. I do think you can call yourself a fan if you like it, you may have watched every single episode for all I know. but lots of mental gymnastics are needed to ignore the political progressiveness Star Trek has had since its very beginning.

episodes like Let That Be Your Last Battlefield are obviously anti-racist, at least in their intention. but the episode in question really is "a product of its time," and at the very end fails to uphold its ideals. the episode ends with the two aliens (who are LITERALLY. BLACK ON ONE SIDE. AND WHITE ON THE OTHER. BUT IN THE OPPOSITE SIDES.) fighting each other on their devastated planet, and the crew is like, "oh yeah if they both would give up on their hatred that they both share both of them equally" when it has been firmly established that one is the oppressor and the other one is the oppressed.

and that's a lot of Star Trek, not just TOS. even Discovery, one of the most recent series, has done Bury Your Gays (and Trans) TWICE (though both times literally rectified it, which is cool). there are episodes of the franchise that are overtly racist, or misogynistic, etc. TOS is lauded, mostly justifiably, as very progressive, especially for the standards of the time. they put a woman of colour as one of the senior staff, for fuck's sake. of course, when you analyse that same character, as with most of their intentions at being progressive, you'll see that she was relegated and sometimes even outright mistreated when she had the potential to be much more. but, at that time, it was a lot.

I had a friend (emphasis on "had") who, after I told him about TOS's both progressiveness and constant misogyny, told me something like "imagine feminists trying to complain about a show from the 60s." so, with unearned spite, he was, in some way, trying to make the argument that it was a product of its time.

you could say Star Trek, all of Star Trek, is "a product of its time" in the sense that it's not always perfect. uh, yes, I would agree. but that doesn't mean people have to accept it. well, I mean, the show is kinda over, you have to accept it's that way. but you don't have to accept that it's not wrong just because it was a product of its time.

H. P. Lovecraft, as another example, was a greatly influential writer whose works still shape a lot of people's ideas to this day. I have only ever read like one of his stories, so don't expect me to have an opinion on his works. but I can have an opinion on what I know about him as a person (he did have a life outside his writing, after all). and, yeah, he was a huge asshole. if you want to know more in depth about the subject, please watch Hbomberguy's video on him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8u8wZ0WvxI

but basically, he was incredibly racist & homophobic. some people might even say, "he was a product of his time." well, there are two possible rebuttals to that. the surface level one, and the one that examines why that argument is wrong to the core.

The Surface Level Response to "it was a product of its time": um, no it wasn't. Lovecraft was more racist than a lot of people even in his time. he wasn't just a guy who carried the racist beliefs of his society like everyone else, he was a reactionary who actively thought and discussed how racist he was, and how right he was for being that way. but that's only applicable to Lovecraft. one can't argue the same for Star Trek: TOS, because TOS did try to be more progressive and more anti-racist than the rest of its society. that leads us to the next response.

The Response that Actually Deals with the Fact that No Matter How Progressive You're Trying to Be, Your Failings Can Still be Criticized: the thing is, trying to excuse Lovecraft's or Star Trek's bigotry because they were "products of their times" misses the fact that racism is still wrong, and some people knew that in those times as well. people from these times weren't all naive or stupid or whatever. they had the capacity for rational thinking. they could stop and think, "hey, maybe what we're doing is wrong." and the fact is, some people did. not perfectly, not to our standars, but they did. everyone could have stopped and think. but most of them didn't, and we can criticize them for it. racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. HURT PEOPLE. horribly. massively.

also, even if you agree with the "it's a product of its time" argument, some people aren't criticising people's or work's bigotry: they're explaining why they don't want to experience it.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a 1977 Doctor Who serial, and it's one of the show's more racist stories. almost all the villains are Chinese, every single Chinese person is a villain. there's yellowface, slurs, stereotypes, the Doctor speaking nonsense words instead of actual Chinese, and a general belittling of Chinese culture.

note that I'm neither Chinese nor of Chinese descent. I have been searching for hours for a few posts I've read a while ago (some by people who are of Asian descent) about this episode and I can't find them. sorry.

suffice it to say, even though I love Jago & Litefoot (the audio series and the characters), it's not an acceptable episode at all. but it's also important to remark that, because of it, some people aren't going to want to watch it. sometimes, people aren't saying "the episode shouldn't be this way," which causes others to answer that it was "a product of its time." sometimes, people are just saying, "this is an episode that attacks real people. I don't want to see it. I don't care if it was common in that era to be racist, i don't want to experience it."

however, there is an interesting point to the "it's a product of its time" argument. after all, everything is influenced by its society, for better or worse. and we can't change it anymore. TOS sometimes didn't quite understand the political themes it wanted to explore. Lovecraft was a horrible bigot. Talons was racist towards Chinese folks. and that's that. I don't think we should change the episodes/stories or anything. edit them in any way. that would be, in a sense, changing history. and we wouldn't learn anything from it, about how we can do better.

I think there are two solutions to this:

1. warnings before starting the text: this was done with The Talons of Weng-Chiang. on Britbox, where you can watch Classic Who, this serial has a content warning before the start. that's good.

2. the removal as a whole of the text from some places: I think before applying this one, there should be a lot of thought put into each case. I don't think removing a whole serial of Doctor Who or Lovecraft's stories from anything would be, well, fair. especially on tv episodes a lot more people worked on those, not just the writers and the directors. Lovecraft's writing influenced thousands. we shouldn't erase them or anything. but sometimes, for some cases, we should.

those in the US might seen a Confederate statue being taken down. that is, in a way, a form of removal of a piece of history.

but that is a good removal. statues glorify. one sees a statue and probably thinks "this was a person worthy of admiration." they should be taken down, maybe even with a permanent mark of why this was done (a plaque that reads "a statue of X was here, but he didn't deserve it because of Y" could be put in place of the statues, for example).

another example is the removal from DVDs of the short episode A Fix with Sontarans, a Sixth Doctor minisode that featured Jimmy Savile, a presenter who was later found out to be sexually abusing children.

the removal of that minisode is good, actually. it's not a full episode (it's not even Doctor Who). some might say that's "erasing history" but, like, you can still find it online or information about it if you want. this minisode deserves removal from DVDs and Blu-Rays and whatever more than content warnings. it's not an important part of the show and it prominently features a horrible person who did horrible things during that time.

so, after all that, I have explained why I don't like the "it's a product of its time" argument. it is an interesting point that deserves to be examined, but it's not very good.

I have had this in Drafts for so long I've probably forgot some of the points I was going to make, but eh, what can you do? hope you enjoyed reading this.

bye