#its cool if you just ignore her. but. do not write a one-dimensional

[rin-enjoyer]

-_-

[roxy-morinaka]

I don''t mean to intrude in your ask box but this is actually an interesting conversation and one that doesn't appear often so forgive me fo this super long ask.

Do you think it's a bad thing to have characters that are created to be love interests? I think its worse when you have characters who are popular and have a fanbase and then get reduced to playing second fiddle in a relationship.

A love interest that I'm thinking of that became beloved is Lois but she may be the exception. I think it works better when characters are created to be love interests because then they fit within that world and can be developed from there. Dick and Barbara are more of examples of heroes who have their own fanbases. If you are a Dick Grayson fan you can choose from a number of ships. Barbara Gordon fan? You only have one ship and if you don't like it too bad. In Pre-crisis she dated so many different civilian men but that all stopped and no writer has ever invested in trying to let her date again or if they did a little you knew it wouldn't last because you knew who she was going to go back to.

From 2016-2023 the Nightwing title and Batgirl title were about their romance. There were very few issues where they weren't together or thinking about each other. And its been reinvented over and over again. N52 Dick is older than her and written like a cool older guy. Rebirth they share their first kiss as kids together. Currently they were best friends with each other. Young Justice they were schoolmates. Okay, in the 90s if you shipped Dickbabs there was content for you, and if you didn't ship DickBabs you could easily find something to read that didn't have it and ignore it while still enjoying the characters. You could ship Dinahbabs, or TedBabs, or some rarepair because there was content and flirting between characters to do so. Returning Barbara to Oracle doesn't solve the problem that these two have been at the hip for several years now. You can make that writing better but still doesn't solve the problem. Barbara Gordon was not created to be a love interest. She should have love interests in the same way you can list all of Dick Grayson's. Or Tim's. Or Bruce's. Heck, even Jason Todd has a list and he has the closet gap out of the batfamily in creation to Barbara and he was created after. And this goes for all the Batgirls too.

Not everyone likes romance and that's okay, but it is a part of these heroes lives but it shouldn't be the only part. Comic writers have abandoned the civilians they are supposed to care about. The supporting cast and people they are supposed to help. It's all Batfamily this and Batfamily that. And that's another thing, Dick has soooooo much lore and history. He doesn't get hurt by any changes to his history he just keeps growing. Barbara Gordon almost got her own movie. She's a symbol and considered her own hero but she doesn't feel like it. She gets replaced on the Birds of Prey and didn't even star in the movie. They would never replace Dick on the Titans. Batgirl comic was bad? So was Nightwing's but that didn't get cancelled.

And look, people can ship what they want but there is such an unfairness that has been happening here and been happening for a very long time.

I have always thought the best way to write relationships in comics is with time and growth. You create a whole array of characters that can have non romantic roles in multiple stories and see where the chemistry and story lead you. The relationships feel more organic and the characters less two dimensional.

Then when the romantic relationships end they rarely rekindle and are not forced back together again and again because certain writers or editors shipped it when they read comics.

I hated that N52 thought they could reduce and cheapen backstory to refresh everything but then just tried to force the same familial and romantic relationships in a less interesting way. I am not sure for me that the comics ever really recovered.

While I am not a particular fan of Barbara Gordon I am very frustrated with the dilution of her character over the years to the point where she has been reduced to a love interest and member of the 'bat family'.

I think individual character titles should build thier own characters and only feature cameos from other established characters as a small part of a story. Not move them in as regulars and further reduce thier chances of having thier own runs.

[caribouv]

Been malding over how bad console-based 3d rpgs for like two decades now, how they're ruining video games. This Harry Potter game is as good as any reason for me to vent, lash out, and write it all up.

To get the obvious out of the way: JK Rowling is a violent transphobe. She targets trans women knowing her followers will ping off her and harass them. Buying this new game puts money in her pocket which she sees as support for this violence. Buying this games supports violence against transwoman. Also, learn to fucking pirate bay if you really want to play it. And yet, for all the reasons below, trust me you don’t. 

Console-based 3d rpgs are shit. They are shit because a console controller is shit. A console controller takes your 10 fingers and cuts 6 of them off. This leaves you with 4. This creates a huge load of problems. I love n64. I grew up on n64. And yet, when console tried to push 3d rpgs they were shit. All the problems with modern based 3d rpgs can be traced back to the horrendous 3d rpgs of the n64. All the problems outlined below existed then and they do now.

4 fingers is not not enough to control a character in 3d. You need both thumbs to move and look around. This leaves you with nothing to hit abilities with. So you have to flick your right thumb back and fourth, back and fourth. It's clunky and slow and not fluid.

Consoles tried to get around this by introducing things such as sticky combat or sticky cover. This dumbed the fuck out of games because they're not freeform anymore. You stick to something, can't look around, control gets limited, and now it's clunky as hell. Take someone like Counter Strike or Quake and compare it to Gears of War. One is fluid and smooth while the other is almost turn based with how clunky and you're a dumbass glue boy that sticks to everything.  

Proof: look at every speed run world record for any Dark Souls game. They are all set by mouse/keyboard peripheries. Look at any FPS tournament: the esports players are using mouse/keyboard. Hell, whenever I see a console loser in DBD or Sea Thieves I cackle like a swamp hag on meth because it means easy meat.

The other problem with only having 4 fingers is that all systems get dumbed down. You want crafting? Cool, it's going to get dumbed down because of how hard it is to navigate menus, find objects, combine ingredients, add enchantments, etc. You cannot have complicated systems with only four fingers. Skill webs or skill trees? Sorry you get a one-dimensional skill line. Play Divinity Sin 2 on PC v. console to see what I mean. Console based 3d rpgs will make the game and system for ease on a console, then port to PC later, which means everything will be dumbed down and simple.

The abilities are also limited with only 4 fingers. ABXY is it. Maybe hold a bumper or trigger as a modifier. Compare to a 110 keyboard with CTRL+SHIFT+Alt modifiers, rebinding keybinds, etc. You begin to see how a console will dumb everything down to fit into the narrow ABXY concept v. it's master-race 110 God.

To further elaborate this point, console players are getting pissed and seeing how even console games are getting dumbed down by mobile games. Take the 4 fingers of consoles with its limitations in systems, and dumb them down even more to cater to mobile gamers.

So then because the above means console based 3d rpgs are shit, they focus instead on graphics. Beef the ever loving shit out of graphics to make a catchy 2 minute gameplay video or sample at whatever gamescon. Hide all relevant gameplay video or sincere analysis of systems. It's just a Marvel movie now with no depth or substance. And then ignorant consumer whore masses will buy because they are too stupid to realize other.

Graphics are, quite frankly, the bane of all video games. An entire budget goes into this while story and systems are left out. This makes games incredibly bad. To illustrate: what's one's favorite game and why? Chances are it's an "older" game with outdated graphics and it's a favotie game because of gameplay/story content, not because of visuals.

Do not get me wrong: graphics serve a purpose. There's a spectrum to what we will enjoy and what we will not. It should serve a utility to the game to enhance the systems or story, not the other way around. This is why games like Ultima Online, Warcraft3, WOW, Pokemon, FF7, and Minecraft are widley considered the greatest games ever made. The graphics are stylzed and last into perpetuity as they serve to give something generally nice to look at within the incredibly content based gameplay and systems. Games like COD or whatever the top selling shit on PS5 is right now will be forgotten in five-month like whatever dumb number of apple brick is on the shelf right now.

Consoles do one thing right: and that's basically every game ever made for the SNES or GBA. 2d games. PC cannot generally not compete with 2d games. Side-scrollers, 2d isometic, 2d fighting, etc. I think the one exception would be racing games. Because of the simplicity of driving, it's the one 3d game that consoles do very, very well. Consoles need to stay in their fucking lane.

So given this, and looking at the new Harry Potter game, this shit isn't even worth pirating. It's a typical console-based 3d rpg and it is going to be fucking trash. You can tell because it's so incredibly hard to find actual gameplay footage of anything. All the videos they allowed to be released are just prepacked eye candy nonsense. AKA shit ass Marvel movie trailers.

I was actually able to find 1 (one, just one) gameplay video and everything I said above is so spot on. It's built for console with PC as afterthought which means everything is shit. Basic crafting system (if you can even call it that) with no depth. Sticky combat that is clunky as hell. Clunky movement that's almost like moving an oil tanker around instead of a person. Terrible 3d controls. No customization of interface or interaction with the map. One dimensional dialogue with no choices. One way to solve everything. Basic combat damage computations. No skill line or character customization. Narrow ass story (which is the story of a working class uprising told form the perspective of a bootlicking cop / bourgeoisie) where you walk in a straight line and that's it. Oh but I guess the graphics are so good!

So yah, this shit isn't even worth pirating. Fuck console based 3d rpgs.

[capwilsons]

i wish ppl would stop writing nat as a manipulative asshole

[siswritesyanderes]

SUFFER SADIE SUFFER. How would she like Newt, do you think? Would Sadie be much different in that time period, or shall we say a dimensional wormhole dropped her from the future? Would Newt let her bring Brillig?

Lol, I won't lie, I often find myself thinking "What if we threw Sadie at them?" about various yanderes. This one isn't as solid as I'd like, but here it is!

Sadie (my OC from a yandere Twilight fic, if you're new here; I'm going to have her be a Muggle in this, if that's cool) would be somewhat different in the time period. Ignoring the racial aspect of it– because that's a bummer and I don't feel like dealing with it –the fact that psychology was a very different field of study back then would impact how she feels about it. Like, a present day Sadie has ethically-conducted studies to look to and more comprehensive and compassionate scientists to refer to. In that time period, (and forgive me if I'm not an expert on the subject) there was a lot of Freudian thought going around. I feel like Sadie, in that time period, would be frustrated by the potential of psychology and how it's held back by so many biases of its practitioners and those paying for it to be studied.

That would parallel Newt's feelings about magizoology; most books on magical creatures are extermination guides at that point in time, and he wants to write a book that will help people understand these creatures, instead of just regarding them with fear or disgust. Sadie feels similarly about human mental illness (or– because again, time period –things that aren't mental illnesses but were treated as such).

As a result, she would earn Yandere Newt attention pretty much just by talking about her interests for upward of two seconds.

He actually wouldn't jump right to kidnapping, because he'd initially just be so glad to have someone to talk to who Gets It. They would have a fair number of conversations where they just listen to each other getting passionate about their respective sciences, the associated stigmas, the ways it could be bettered. He starts following her around even after they've parted for the day, just because he feels so happy around her and he doesn't want their interactions to end.

As she returns home after a long day, he lurks quietly in the background, watching her fit her key into the lock. Letting out a sigh when she disappears inside. She's a Muggle, and he's only barely managed to keep wizardry a secret during their lengthy talks. She's so easy to talk to, he almost slips up sometimes. (Instead of "in the wizarding world", he's more than once had to quickly change gears and say "in England".)

He finds himself drawing closer and closer to her front door.

He whispers, "Alohomora," and hears the lock click.

He slips his wand back into his coat pocket.

He stands with his hand on the doorknob for a long time, breathing. Yearning.

He opens the door a crack, then he hears a dog barking and quickly closes it. Locks it back. Walks away quickly, his face warm and red.

He rationalizes tirelessly, but as much as he knows– and he does know –that he could take wonderful care of her, and make the best home for her imaginable, he finds himself hesitating. He knows her ambitions, and they're like his. How can he justify keeping her away from what she wants so badly to do and become?

It has been minutes since he left her front door. He wanders the city, finding the dangers (especially to a Muggle!) more and more obvious the longer he thinks about it.

He would just have to make the most enriching environment he can. Give her things to study, things to learn about. Let her write out her findings, publish them for her, under her name; he could be her agent, in a way. She could still live out her dreams, in his care. In safety.

No. It would be wrong.

He finds himself back at that same front door. He's been wandering for hours, changing his mind over and over. It's midnight, now. There is no light in any of the windows.

He slips inside.

...Just to see. He leaves his suitcase at the door, casts a disillusionment charm on himself, and explores each room of the house.

The dog barks at him but is easily soothed. Newt gives him a treat and spends a bit of time petting him.

(Newt would get along well with Brillig, in a different way than Eleven would; where Eleven would be chaotic with Brillig and talk to him like he talks to everyone, Newt would pretty effortlessly train Brillig. Where, early on, Brillig might bark at him or jump on him because he's a stranger, it wouldn't take long for Newt to get him to calm down, behave, and respond to silent commands. Newt is good at navigating the wildest, least understood magical creatures, so he would figure out Brillig very easily.)

Sadie is sleeping.

On that particular night, she has a book still in her hand and her bedside lamp (I looked it up; it's not an anachronism) still lit. Newt turns off the light, slips the book gently from her hand, and maneuvers her into a more comfortable position, so she won't wake up with a crick in her neck. He sets the book down on her beside table.

He's just caring for her. That's all. He's giving care where she needs it.

He doesn't sneak in every night, but he does let himself in when he feels the need. Brillig doesn't bark at him anymore; Newt throws him a treat as soon as he walks in, and Brillig snaps it up out of the air.

He makes sure Sadie is warm enough or cool enough. He rids the floor of stumbling hazards: shoes left out, things like that.

If she notices any of it, she doesn't bring it up to him. She doesn't seem worried about anything.

For a while, all is well. Maybe he could have managed to limit his obsession to those parameters. Cared for her without drastically changing her way of life.

Then, MACUSA has to go and intervene.

They say that his infatuation with this Muggle (Well, the term they use is "No-Maj".) has been noticed: that they placed him under official observation as soon as they found that he was tied to the abnormal magical activity in a Muggle neighborhood over the past few weeks. They advise him to limit his contact with Muggles while on US soil.

They want him to stop talking to her during the day and to stop visiting her at night.

They want him to leave her to the mercy of the Muggle world.

They want him to leave her.

Very soon after, Newt knocks on Sadie's front door, opens his suitcase, and announces that he wants to show her something.

Sadie is awed by the revelation that magic is real (and Newt beckons Brillig inside after them and shuts the suitcase). She is amazed by every creature Newt shows her, and she asks loads of questions, and he loves answering them.

He introduces her to the bowtruckles, who climb all over her body. She laughs, amazed and ticklish, her shoulders hunched in pleasant surprise, and he's sure he has never been so in love with anyone.

While she is distracted, he sneaks away. He exits the suitcase, shuts it, and apparates to the room where he's staying. Then he returns to the suitcase to explain to Sadie that her memory will be erased if others of his kind catch her, but he'll make sure that she has everything she needs right here.

(I briefly entertained the thought that he might bring other humans into the suitcase for Sadie to psychologically study, but I think that's more yandere Volturi territory.)

[infectedpaul]

for the character ask thing, hitori hatobf and natsuki ddlc!!

HORRIBLE BF AND MY BABY GIRL? OKAY

favorite thing about them

OKAY fr i rag on him but i think his charcter is SO cool i super strive to write ppl that arent antags but protags either, like theyre 3 dimensional and they do really BAD things but you fully understand why!! and i just think thats COOL and also hes pretty have u SEEN how hes drAWN MY HEART SKIPS A BEAT!!!

least favorite thing about them

uh. where 2 start fr?? LIKE ON ONE HAND HE MANIPULATED AND MURDERED MY OTHER F/O ON THE OTHER HAND HES HOT SO I THINK HE GETS A PASS

favorite line

IDK MAN I HAVENT PLAYED ANYTHING HES IN how abt just "oh u didnt score too bad........no actually u did u did wow ur an idiot hiyoko"

broTP

literally lose my mind at the brotherly relationship between hitori and nageki I KNOW HE CARES ABT HIS BABY BRO SO MUCH N I SOB

OTP

so a part of me wants 2 like quail bfs cuz in mirrorverse i think itd b cute but in canon im sO conflicred abt it can i just say me and him again

nOTP

WHAT A CNCEPT but him and nageki srsly why . why theyr are brothers. shoutouit also to shuu and hitori its not a notp but i dont like it

random headcanon

stole this from dj but his narcolepsy is a stress response (one time in an rp monika was getting up in his grill cuz hes (fnaf vhs voice Criminal) ad he just PASSED OUT ON HER)

unpopular opinion

I THINK HITORIGATE WAS FUNNY ITS SO FUCKING STUPID AND IDK HOW PPPL TOOK IT SERIOUSLY BUT THE IDEA IS SO FUCKING FUNNY??? DNI IF U LIKE THIS BIRD FUCK YOU I FUCKING HATE YOU

song i associate with them

DONUT HOLE BY HACHI esp the the miodiodavinci version

favorite picture of them

THIS THIS THIS THIS IS THE PIC I FELL IN LOVE WITH NOT EVEN KIDDING IM FUCKGIGN HGHGH AHGHHH

-----

favorite thing about them

i REALLY love how they took the tsundere concept n really expanded on it, like no its not cool that natsuki treats ppl rudely under the guise of cutsines but its also not cool that natsukis treated badly by most of the ppl in her life pre-club and she deserves respect and love for who she is too

least favorite thing about them

less abt her and more abt the ppl ho talk abt her who ignore her entirely unless its to make tasteless transmisogynistic jokes (which im rly happy dan shot down asap but still)

favorite line

"I ALREADY KNOW WHO YOURE GONNA SHIP YOURSELF WITH" ME TOO FLDJGDSLGJDS assignoing f/os gang

brOTP

her n sayori i rly loved Balance so much. i rly deal with both needing to give ppl space and with admitting when i need space so i rly loved that story

OTP

natsuri cuz im basic but also theyre SO lesbian it hurts genuinely

nOTP

uhhh ig mc cuz he doesnt deserve love lmao

random headcanon

her n yuri move in together after school ends. they have a cozy little apartment and a dog! (its yuris service dog buut still!)

unpopular opinion

ONCE AGAIN YALL GOTTA GIVE HER REP BESIDES MEMES IM SERIOUS.

song i associate with them

kuromi's cover of oto melody!!!

favorite picture of them

I JUST THINK THIS IS SO CUTE OKAY HUSH hush huhsh

[themountainsays]

(CRUELLA SPOILERS AHEAD)

Ok ok i'm not done. There's this one criticism of the Cruella movie that I find increasingly frustrating and it comes down to a disdain for the very existance of such a film.

"Why do all villains need to have a tragic backstory or a complicated motivation? Why can't they just be evil for the sake of being evil?"

You know. As if people didn't have a problem with villains being one-dimensional pieces of cardboard before. As if character development wasn't celebrated by everyone and their mom. As if nobody protested one-dimensional characters and demanded depth. Now that Disney listened and said "Got it!" and took note for their following movies, everyone is complaining their characters have too much personality now. God forbid not everyone who's happy and healthy in real life was born as unhinged as to skin puppies on a whim. God forbid writers aim for realism when developing their characters. God forbid Disney wants it's live action adaptation to be less cartoony.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with villains having any semblance of an explanation for their cruelty! It's clear you guys like it when the villain in question is Zuko or Catra or Azula or even Maleficent, who as far as I remember was better received. And i understand Zuko's character could put all Disney movies to shame, that's not what i'm talking about. Ya'll had no idea how Disney was gonna handle Cruella's batshittery in the film just from watching a trailer. It's not about the quality of the villain themselves. It's that suddenly, for some reason, people became averse to villains with a backstory (as if characters in general having a backstory wasn't the norm) and demand to go back to their cartoon carboard villains.

And look, I understand some villains don't need a personality. Ozai from AtLA wasn't a particularly deep person, but Ozai was more of a symbol of colonialism than his own character. Colonialism isn't evil because it's dad was mean to it. It's just something evil you need to get rid of. I could list a thousand examples like this one.

But these kinds of villains have their time and place and when your story is about a character's descent into evil, then they HAVE to have a certain level of development. There's no fun in watching a character become evil if they already eat puppies for breakfast and always have simply because they're °○☆~evil~°○☆. And if THAT is what bothers you, the fact that the writers even dared to tell a story about Disney's most batshit villain, then you're not addressing the quality of the writing! You're just mad the story isn't what you would have written yourself! That's not serious critique! If it makes you so mad don't watch it!

There are problems with the writing in Cruella, yes. I think her descent into madness and evil could have been better handled. But jesus i'm not mad at the writers for daring to try! We should analyze the message they intended to send, where they succeded and where they failed at that instead of complaining there's a movie about Cruella de Vil at all.

Plus?? I think people are approaching the text in bad faith. Okay. Okay, this is another criticism that bothers me:

"Cruella wants to skin dalmatian puppies because her mom was killed by dalmatians (and this is bad)".

This. This is the most cartoonish interpretation of the text you could come up with. Its a Dr. Doofenshmirtz backstory. And while I think there's more to it than that, if this is what you take away from the film, then why are you complaining? Cruella hates dalmatians because dalmatians killed her mom. Here is your one dimensional cartoo villain backstory! Do you want your cartoon one dimensional villains or not? Because no one complains when cartoon villains have backstories with the depth of a puddle.

And i don't even think this is what the writers were going for! Cruella watched dalmatians kill her mom. Dalmatians were the weapon the Baroness used to commit the crime. Girl has a trauma with dalmatians. It's not a simple dalmatians killed mom -> I want to kill dalmatians. It's less rational. More unhinged. Cruella is a bit mad in case you haven't noticed. I think the place dalmatians have in the narrative makes sense, actually. Through the story, Dalmatians haunt her and she tries in more than one ocassion to have control over them, and this thematically mirrors her gaining the upper hand over the Baroness. By the end of the film, she's able to control the very same dogs that killed her mother. She's in power. She's no longer scared of dalmatians. And we know she's later going to go and skin dalmatian puppies! It's the culmination of her character arc as a villain. It makes perfect sense to me. Its use of dalmatians one of the film's strenghts. The fact ya'll treat it as a meme strikes me as jumping onto the Cruella Hate bandwagon because your mutual laughed at this, so it must be funny. But personally? The silliness is flying over my head. It doesn't seem strange to me at all.

Plus, she clearly had a cruel side as a child, with no explanation or justification. She was just a mean kid. There you have your cartoon villain with no backstory.

And one more thing, and this one really makes me scream into the pillow:

"Disney wants to make the puppy skinner more human and sympathetic."

Holy shit what kind of Twilight-induced satanic panic room did these girls who aren't like other girls came from? Movies aren't trying to teach you morality. Cruella doesn't want you to sympathize with a puppy killer because puppy skinning is good actually. They just want to give you screentime of an evil lady being evil. And when it does make you sympathize with her, it's on perfectly acceptable matters. Like the Baroness insulting Cruella's mother, killing her etc. Cruella wants revenge. And even if you're sick of Cruella, you want revenge too. You want to see the Baroness suffer. Sooo you kinda do root for Cruella on this one. Cruella and the viewer share a common interest. Because God forbid we write villains with sympathetic motivations among their more unjustifiable ones.

No dude Disney doesn't want you to think skinning puppies is good. Is this what paranoid twilight parents did to society? Do we assume films are trying to teach us how to live our lives now?

And Cruella's story is clearly not about girlbossifying her. During the very beginning you see her mother begging her to keep her cruel side (nicknamed "cruella") inside as to not hurt others. She wants her to be Stella, her more loveable side. This isn't like, a Frozen case in which parents repress the child's true self or whatever. Lots of kids are little shits and are told not to take their anger out on others. Repressing "Cruella" is presented as a good thing.

Then Cruella talks about honoring and avenging her mother, being someone she'd be proud of etc etc. She may have mentioned at some point being unable to do so and openly embracing her "evil side", but if she did i can't remember. Ignore this point if that's the case. But as she pursues her goals, she takes on Cruella's persona more and more, eventually killing Stella and becoming Cruella full time. And she seems happy but the viewer who remembers what her mother said and is aware Cruella insists she's doing this for her mother's sake, will realize her happiness and fulfillment are misguided. Cruella becoming Cruella isn't portrayes as a good thing. And the movie ends with her feeling satisfied even though she spent the whole movie going against her mother's wishes and insisting she was making her happy. She doesn't even realize. It's a tragedy IT'S LITERALLY HER VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY

I'm getting distracted. I wanted to wrap up sharing why I think people hate the fact a Cruella movie as much as exists. It's because nothing is ever good enough for people! Because hating Disney is cool and trendy! Everyone hop onto the Disney Hate train! Nothing Disney does could possibly not suck. It sucks by virtue of being a Disney Live Action adaptation. Even though, by telling it's own original story, i'd compare Cruella more to Maleficent than to any other recent Disney live action film. But, you know. No one wants to be convinced skinning puppies is good actually.

Or to watch the movie before shitting on it at the very least

[j-mysticalien]

🔫 the oc content, hand it over /lh

you don’t have to if u don’t want to lol I just saw you said something about ocs and 👀 I am interested

FIRST OF ALL 🥺🥺🥺

SECOND OF ALL OKAY OKAY HERE TAKE IT 

(I ended up dumping a lot ... I saw the opportunity and ran with it I didn’t mean to oops)

These guys have been in my head for y e a r s and even though I'll abandon them for months at a time, there are plot points I've forgotten, it’s very very unfinished, and clearly influenced by my freshman year interests, they're some of my favorites to imagine and write like every time I do a picrew chain or something I make them too for myself okay okay-

So. Exposition. For ages the demons and dark things have slipped between the veil and into the world. As evil rises, so do those who stand against it. In some parts of the world The Order was established not to eradicate or wage war against the demons, just to keep everything in their proper dimensions and destroy those who refuse. Members of the Order work in groups with assigned roles, often passed down generations. 1: trained in the physical aspects of fighting creatures, they have the unique and mysterious ability to survive in the other dimension-at least better than the average mortal. 2, “Alchemist”: Usually a witch, human descendant of a magical being, or a particularly skilled mortal even. they provide the magical aid since the other cannot perform magic themselves. (Though Witches tend to form their own communities or work with the demon realm which historically has caused tensions) While fewer and well hidden, this secret society guards the mortal realm to this day... 

There’s a small, quiet town in the northeast. Nothing much happens- the power may go out or the weather may turn within seconds and figures may appear and shift into the shadows but it all turns out fine eventually. Nothing to worry about. But those who know a  little too much know where to go when things need to be taken care off. Bloom’s Florist and Garden Shop, a sweet little store in the middle of town staffed by the owner’s two teenaged kids. They’ve got a lovely selection of flowers and herbs. If you hear noises from their basement, best to ignore it. If you see the kids sprinting down the street, best to stay out of their way. If they tell you to avoid the woods one night, you listen...

OCS MY BELOVED HERE THEY ARE

 Dante Achilles Sindweller. He is type 1.  He’s tall, thin but muscular, almost dangerously pale. His hair is blue, eyes blue though they sometimes look red. Riddles with piercings and pale scars. Cocky bastard but well deserved. Friendly and deadly all at once. He’s good at what he does and is always up for a challenge. Low key high key losing his sense of humanity. You see actually being in the demon dimension is draining because of the pure chaos of it but returning to reality is rough too. Because of the hunter’s ability (I’m pretty sure they have this ability bc the og demon hunters secretly fucked a bunch of demons so Hunters have demon blood and cannot “die” in the hell dimension but idfk at this point) they can adapt to the word with a combination of demonic attributes and idealized forms that disappear when he gets back. So um the mental toll is very much a thing that he hides very well...at least at first. He doesn’t actually have to travel too often thought, just during emergencies and later he genuinely visits some chill demon friends there.

Cordelia Emerys Bloom, “Cordie”. 5′2″, dark brown skin, black hair she keeps in two short braids, round rimmed glasses. She’s the alchemist. a few of her far off ancestors were fae. Her own magical battery is low so she’s become skilled in working with. potions and magical plants. She’s the most serious member. of the trio. She knows the job, she has a rhythm, she doesn’t like change. This group had three braincells and 90% of the time she has all of them. She likes her plants, her books, and Dante. She’s a little high strung and stubborn but she’s clever, intelligent, and really warm person once you get past her shields. She grew up way too fast and with all her adult figures gone, Dante slowly slipping (though she denies it to the point where Alice bright it up and they didn’t talk for a week), and this irritation turned fear that Alice’s presence is temporary leaves her with some issues but it’s okay im determined to let her be happy, she just has to let herself accept happiness.

Alice Barnet. A witch. Thick, bright red  hair, hazel/ blue eyes. Absolutely stunning. and a fashion icon. She moved to attend to uppity private school right outside of town. She stumbled upon the shop and immediately sensed the great power hidden in there. So she just walked in- because of the dimensional portal not because the girl at the register she saw through the window was so pretty what are you talking about it was witch instinct only- and announced herself and offered her services. She’s a flirt, though a sincere one. She projects a confident, fun vibes even if she doesn't actually feel it. Fake it until you make it I guess. Coffee addict will memorize your birth chart, Starbucks order, and all the little behavioral things. Most of my early drabbles with her involve her sitting on Cordie’s desk sipping her iced coffee while Cordie is like “how tf did you get in here” “good question. Better one: they didn’t have the black tea you like is green okay?” She actually is part of an informal coven but that’s a whole side story with its own cast of characters I haven’t touched in ages

Dynamics dynamics so Cordie and Dante are siblings in all but blood, they’ve been together for almost their entire lives. (Cordie’s parents are almost always away-either on Order business or just vibing idk they’re cool though. Dante’s parents are dead but only Dante himself seems to know that-Something about demon blood and dimension hopping doesn’t let their kind live long) They’re really close. If they met at this point in life they probably would never have been friends and Cordie probably would despise him but as they are they love each other and *know* each other. Technically Dante is older but Cordie is the eldest sister of the relationship.

The two of them have opposite reactions when Alice enters their life. (This entrance is one of the few *full* scenes I actually wrote down) Dante is allured-not by her but by the potential adventure she represents. She states her case and he’s like oh this’ll be interesting. They become best friends almost instantly. Their sass, confidence, and more adventurous sides click harmoniously- much of the time to Cordie’s dismay. To Cordelia, Alice is something unknown, something potentially dangerous. She makes her assumptions (prissy, incompetent, entitled, inexperienced) and tolerated her. Alice has had a crush on her since day 1. She was determined to prove herself to the group and really she’d just like to get her trust and friendship at some point, gushy feelings be damned. They fall in love slowly, they learn to trust and be weak and learn to know each other and be themselves Alice is genuinely interested in all the stuff Cordie knows about the magical world and Cordie gets to try to be a person outside of that world. The recent stuff I’ve actually written down involves a lot of sleepy conversations and whispered confessions and soft touched and hhh

Some of the non-human characters

“Lady”: the ghost that haunts the basement/ Order base. She can’t really speak and isn't always visible, never fully. They don’t know who she was or why she’s there. She helps out when she can though. Might help Dante in the very end. 

All of the actual demons are off ideas. Like each deadly sin has it’s own demon (they didn’t realize some humans had grouped them together for some time but they think it’s funny, sometimes they hang out just because of that) The gang doesn't directly meet a lot of them but 

Curiosity aka “Apple” aka “Heather” aka “Bee”aka...:The spark that fuels innovation ne the spiral of a downfall. frequently visits human world, team switches between stopping them from blowing up a building to playing Mario kart together. Like he definitely causes trouble and should not keep escaping through the portal but like...he’s fun to got to the mall with. Funky Lil dude who’s there for a good time and some chaos. Changes aliases all the time.

Nostalgia aka “Honey-Lavender”: the kind that leaves the ghost of a smile on your face, the kind that drowns you in the past, the kind that makes you want to go back, or forget. mostly stays in hell. One of the demons Dante visits and is acquainted with. They lay and talk. She can be a downer but he doesn’t mind, he appreciates the company and some days she keeps him tethered to his life and sanity (on the bad says she has the opposite effect, she can’t help it)

OKAY AHAHA THATS ENOUGH OUT OF ME THERE THEY ARE THANKS

[ginnyzero]

The Discriminatory Werewolf Archetype?

I love werewolves.

I hate werewolves in most fiction. Werewolves in most fiction are abusive, out of control, OCD, monsters that are usually white males that promote things like incest and rape and well, there tend not to be female werewolves. Werewolves in fiction are representations of toxic masculinity at its worst.

So, why do I love werewolves? I mean, who doesn’t want to be nature’s answer to the chain saw every once in a while or have four feet and run in the forest. I had a wolf dream once and I was so at peace in that dream. Best dream ever. (I blame an old roommate and her love of old WW Werewolf: the Apocalypse Tabletop RPG too.)

But the representation of werewolves in fiction is problematic and that’s putting it lightly. In mainstream traditionally published fiction, female werewolves are rare or they don’t exist. They don’t lead packs. Forget black werewolves or Asian werewolves or Latino/Hispanic werewolves. They don’t really exist either except as “token” characters. And nine times out of then there aren’t gay werewolves, or if there is a gay werewolf they’re outcasts because somehow other werewolves just can’t handle them being aroused by men?

Then there’s the alpha to omega and submissive pack hierarchies that are easily abused. The fact that werewolves are so “grr” angry all the time they can’t form normal or healthy relationships. Then some writers buy into the cult and noble practice and sometimes downright redneck mentalities that to be stronger werewolves you have to marry your cousins. And men are always in charge, always.

You see these werewolves always based upon the French idea of the Loup Garou mixed with bad wolf science over and over and over again. You want the out of control monster beast in your kitchen sink urban fantasy? You include a werewolf. Vampires are urbane and controlled. Fae are aloof, businesslike, and mystical. (Makes me wonder what fae stories these writers are researching.) It’s become a trope, an archetype.

I mean, usually, the conflict resolves down to that no one can understand the monster that is the werewolf. They can never love or truly be loved by a human or other type of being, be they human or supernatural. Angst. Woe is me! And if it’s a horror story, the werewolf dies at the end.

The fantasy romance genre isn’t immune to this. Sometimes they’re a tad bit better. They include female werewolves more often. But even then, the general rules still apply that are sick and twisted and mostly are there to support the premise that even monsters can be loved in the end. (Yeah, I’ve read my fair share of werewolf romance novels okay.)

Archetypes are archetypes. Tropes are tropes.

But in this era of MeToo and men being called out for toxicity and media being urged to be more inclusive of people of all races and sexualities, isn’t it time for our media to catch up including speculative fiction where vampires, werewolves, mutants, elves and so on are used routinely to represent the other, the disenfranchised and the discriminated against.

Viewed in this lens, the portrayal of the werewolf is sickening. This is the worst of the patriarchy on display in speculative fiction form. When women, LGBTA and people of color are the minority and not the normal, disabled werewolves don’t exist (or are killed) and men are always in control and their behavior is excused because they are “alphas” isn’t right. It’s wrong. It’s grossly wrong. Why are those in writing and especially in publishing and in Hollywood still pandering to these ideas?

“People like monsters.” Ugh. Rejection right there. Werewolves can be cool without being downright nasty and out of control monsters. There are more werewolf types than the loup-garou. Beep. Exit stage left please. “It takes time.” You say. “People aren’t ready for werewolves that have control of themselves and can have healthy relationships and are female and are all races and all sexualities.”

Bullocks.

The ideal werewolf novel by CrockpotCauldron has over 68,000 notes. Assuming even half of those were likes, that’s 34,000 people who are interested in werewolves that are women, LGBTA, POCs, based on good wolf science that have healthy relationships with those and others around them. (And what would a disabled werewolf look like? Ponder. I might have to figure that out. I have so much to else to delve into why not add another thing?)

Most books don’t sell 20,000 novels in their first year. Sure, okay, so many of those people who noted that post aren’t going to buy a book. So if you go with the 3% conversion rate of all the notes that’s only 2000 sales. And I’m going to say people aren’t probably going to buy the book because they may not like the plot presented. But you have to get the book in front of those 68,000 note people in the first place!

The day I wrote after I wrote this post I found yet another person complaining about alpha-beta/dom sub dynamics in werewolf fiction! The people are out there!

So that means you can’t just put out one inclusive werewolf story, you have to put out multiple ones until you find the one with the plot and world building that people are going to buy across all age levels. You have to get it in front of influencers like CrockpotCauldron and others like her.

(She also has a list of werewolves she’s excited about. Sadly, I’m not on that list.) (Yes, I sent her my first book. Oh well.)

Fiction is a reflection of our reality. It disturbs me that werewolves are still being presented this way. That the art I see is all about growling and werewolves dripping in blood. That toxic masculinity parades itself across the page and most times isn’t called out for what it is, wrong. (Kitty Norville did, Women of the Otherworld did not, Patty Briggs is halfhearted about it. Butcher is, omg, let’s not even go into Butcher. I swear Jane Yellowrock series ignored weres most the time. Charlaine Harris didn’t help anything. Kim Harrison’s werewolves were, well at least there were females! That’s the most I can say.) Many times the sexist and horribly toxic tropes are written in as world rules that can’t be gotten away from. (Women of the Otherworld, Blood and Chocolate.)

By the time I came across CrockpotCauldron’s post, I’d already written my books. I was already disturbed as much as she was by this one dimensional portrayal of werewolves and their origin and their dynamics. I wrote Heaven’s Heathens MC as a revolt of what I was seeing in werewolf media in order to start portraying that wolves are families that work together and not domineering hierarchies where the “Alpha” is in charge. That there can be werewolves of many colors and skin tones because well, a) medieval Europe was not white, white, white. And B) this is the future, and many people have mixed their blood together enough that’s it can be difficult to know what race they are. I have female werewolves. I have nerdy werewolves. I have big buff mad scientist werewolves who enjoy DnD.

And honestly, I don’t mention character’s sexuality at all unless it’s important to the story. I don’t base my characters around the idea that they’re LGBTA and that defines them. It doesn’t. If there are LGBTA characters in my stories I want it to come up naturally and that “oh, they happen to be this” rather than “this is a problem.” Because I don’t want sexuality to be a problem in my werewolf pack. That goes against everything my werewolf pack stands for. (If it is a problem for werewolf packs that aren’t the Heathens in the story then you know those packs are bad packs. Bad! Bad wolf packs. No biscuit.)

I’ll admit, writing people in healthy relationships that share emotional labor is difficult due to lack of personal experience to some extent and that it cuts out what is the fall back conflict of most television shows and books, aka miscommunication. (I hate miscommunication personally. It’s one of those growing up things.) This is how insidious toxic masculinity is! This is how deep the patriarchy runs. That even when you’re trying your best to stay away from it, you feel like it’s slipping in no matter how hard you try!

And I know this seems an odd thing to be talking about with all the problems going on in the “real” world. But I think that if there are those that would defend these werewolf archetypes and tropes, they need to be looked at hard especially if they are in the publishing business. Because Media reflects reality and any trope and any archetype that is as discriminatory as werewolves needs to be dissected (and Vampires need to be dissected too because they represent another side of toxic masculinity. But I can only do one post at a time) and then broken down and transformed.

That’s what werewolves are really about, transformation! So, locking them into one rigid role seems awfully backwards to what they are.

Is it discriminatory? I'll leave that to you to decide. I know that I don't like it and am trying not to pander to it in my books. And if this blog post wasn't enough for you, I also talked about this on Twitter.

[commenter2]

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart trailer analysis

For those that haven’t heard yet, Insomniac Games has released a trailer for there new Ratchet & Clank game yesterday, called Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

I don’t think I need to say how excited I am for it but I’m going to anyway. IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS GAME ! For those that haven’t heard about it yet, here is a link to a video showing the trailer for the game as well as gameplay of it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsnG-3-r6-Q

The game looked so amazing that I did na analysis of the trailer last night and thought Id post it on my Tumblr page for anyone to read. HUGES spoilers ahead. Also I apologize or the spacing as for some reason I can't separate the paragraphs any longer then they are now.

First is the trailer

First off we get a shot of the amazing animation of the game till Ratchet & Clank drop in, literally, but did they just come out of a dimensional rift ? This has to mean the Dimensionator has to be involved in this somehow. We then see another amazing example of the games design and graphics of what looks like planet Sargasso (which would be cool to go to again) till Clank brings up how they need to get to something, the Dimensionator maybe ?, till he is distracted by an Antropod/Terratrope followed by another rift releasing robots shooting at them and though I’ve seen the trailer already, I quickly got a Dr. Nefarious vibe from them.

Then something unexpected happens as Ratchet RIDES the bug and uses it to take down the robots ! Now I haven’t played Spyro in years but that charging attack reminds me a bit of the charge attack Spyro uses in the games, did anyone else think that? If that was on purpose then its nice to see that Insomniac Games still remembers there roots which gives me comfort with them making awesome Spider Man games in the future without worrying about them ignoring there Ratchet & Clank fans.

After some animal handling gameplay, Ratchet and Clank are thrown into a rift and we see a series of shattered pink/purple glass images of places only for them to quickly grind and slide though two planets, maybe existing ones at the night one kinda looks like Veldin while the city one could be Metropolis or Meridian City, with Clank saying the dimensions are weakening which again backs up the idea of the Dimesinator being involved.  I do want to say that during the quick grind rail segment, the Grind Boots looked much better in design compared to there previous appearances, which were kinda lazy in my opinion. I hope this means they and the Gravity Boots will be different in appearance instead of in color. I should also say it shown that you can DOUBLE JUMP while grinding, which is a cool small change for the iconic mechanic.

We then see Ratchet ride another animal, this time with wings, on planet Torren IV which though I’m not 100% sure I think I saw a Hoverboot boost pad. Could the Hoverboots be in the game ? Before I continue I want to say the idea of Ratchet riding and controlling animals is a really awesome idea, not only would this be an interesting twist to combat in the game but it would also be another interesting way to travel throughout the levels, which Id be ok with doing IF the Hoverboots aren’t in Rift Apart.

Either way this ends quickly as Ratchet & Clank hop to another planet, a new one according to them but again teleport to planet Ardolis where Ratchet fights robot pirates (AWESOME) who are dealing with a creature. I wonder if Captain Slag and Rusty Pete will be in the game ? During a fight we see Ratchet uses a new weapons, specifically a new BLASTER like weapon that has a rapid-fire feature, which I am thankful for cause I couldn’t take another game with the Combuster.

The fight quickly ends as the explosive barrel explodes and Clank gets thrown through a dimensional rift and is separated from Ratchet, NO ! but also AWESOME cause it gives a A Crack In Time like vibe. The hype is then taken up a notch where its revealed that Clank is on a planet run by none other then DR. NEFARIOUS, Clank saying they are to late, meaning those robots at the beginning WERE his and he is somehow causing all of this, maybe.

Speaking of which Im not sure how I feel about Dr. Nefarious being the main antagonist of ANOTHER game. Don't get me wrong he's still an awesome character but it would also be nice to face a new villain for a change, plus it makes me nervous that this could mean Nefarious could be defeated once and for all which could ruin a big part of the story of the R&C trilogy finale I made some time ago.

HOWEVER I think we can all agree that the biggest thing about this trailer is that while Clank is calling for Ratchet a blue and gray/white colored female Lombax with a robotic arm appears wondering who Clank is talking about, which again gives off A Crack In Time like vibes and…..she’s carrying a hammer ? A bit odd since Lombaxes are affiliated with wrenches but its still an amazing idea. Then we get the name of the game which though I hate to say, the text makes it looks a bit bad as its looks poorly rendered especially at the "and" section and what’s that thing between the words Rift and Apart ? Is that a dimensional rift ?

Other then that the trailer is amazing.

Now for the gameplay

So Marcus Smith does confirm some things about Rift Apart like how this will be a full length game and how those things teleporting Ratchet & Clank were dimensional rifts that will allow them to teleport form planet to planet which though cool its goanna be a bit sad not being able to use Aphelion in the game, I wish she could have more speaking roles in games as she IS one of the last few things from the Lombaxes.

He also says that the new graphic allows them to put something called ray trace reflections on Clank, which along with some other people I’ve seen, I agree makes him look really odd. Hopefully before the game comes out they fix this by toning it down  and maybe add a bit of white in there like his older appearances. He then says that the planets are denser with new creatures and that Ratchet has a new arsenal, which sounds perfect to me. He then states that R&C is close to the company’s hearts and can’t wait to show more of it, which again gives comfort.

We get to the gameplay and immediately were introduced to a new mechanic where Ratchet uses a gadget called the Rift Tether to go through a yellow rift similar to that scene in Avenger: Infinity Wars where (spoilers) Thanos uses the stones to pull Dr. Strange closer to him, pulling the area around him towards him in the process. We then see Ratchet fight a Thug for Less enemy, which is cool but not surprising since there were many signs that this game would make references to there other games and this is confirmed seconds later where we see Ratchet fight some Sandsharks. We also get to see several new species of aliens here.

During the Sandshark section we do see a NEW comet strike as unlike in previous games the Omniwrench is thrown diagonally and it looks like it returns to your hand faster. I feel like this change was done for the new female Lombax as I feel like she can do the same thing but since her melee weapon is a a hammer, it wouldn’t really work (or make since) if thrown horizontally, and it would be confusing to have two character with two different ways of throwing there melee weapon. Though I’m not that big a fan of changes I don’t really mind it, heck maybe its a one time thing.

After some more chaos like a giant tentacle creature coming out of the portal, similar to the one in the trailer, and what looks like an Ultra-Mech Unlimited crashing through a walkway Ratchet and Clank were in we get some interesting content in the next cut. One is Ratchet saying something about “break reality” again telling reality is coming apart because of theses rifts, quickly followed by Clank saying Dr. Nefarious has come out of hiding after years of hiding to take over the universe again which means that this IS a post Into The Nexus game, as I’ve seen some people debate about if it is or not.

We get another new game mechanic during the fight with some thugs. It seems that Ratchet can now jump to his left or right in order to avoid incoming damage by using a thruster on his boots, could this mean the Hoverboots are really in the game but are damaged ? It would be cool if during the game Ratchet & Clank or Ratchet goes to Azimuths house on Torren IV to find something about the Dimensionator but also find a part needed to fix his hoverboots thus letting Ratchet use them to get around, especially if the part of the trailer of Ratchet and Clank getting separated IS true.

Were also introduced to new weapons here. One is called a Shatterbomb, the bomb glove weapon, The Enforcer a shotgun like weapon and the Burst Pistol which is the blaster shown in the trailer and would explain its rapid fire ability. The most interesting weapon shown so far is the Topiary Sprinkler, a weapon that when thrown forms into a sprinkler that can project plants around it and shoots out a stream of water that can stop enemies in there place, plus I bet the plants around it is a form of defense system to protect the sprinkler for a time.

The gameplay ends with Ratchet destroying some Robomutts and going though a hallway where a statue of Dr. Nefarious or a mech in his image can be seen but also there is a moment where a purple energy ways rushes through the surrounding areas, just like in another R&C game but that’s for another post, no spoilers now.

Wow that was a lot to write but that’s because there was SO MUCH going on in theses trailers and I’m pretty sure I missed some things. I’m already working on a theory on what’s going to happen in this game, which will most likely come out during the weekend so stay tuned for that.

What were your thoughts on the trailers ? What was your favorite moment in them, and did you noticed anything in them I didn’t talked about ?

[faunusrights]

OFFAL HUNT REMASTERED LIVEBLOG // CHAPTER 17

IN THIS EPISODE OF CRYING CAT GALLERY:

“Nice?” Cinder laughed under her breath once, and returned to examining her threads. “Oh, come on, Glynda. Favor isn’t in my vocabulary, remember? It’s just a shame about your cape. The emblem looked good, and your new outfit would look much better with it. That’s all.”

CINDER FALL IS REALLY BAD AT NOT BEING GAY ON MAIN

we’re bacc baby B) let’s hop right in

When Glynda awoke from her dream of being consumed,

alright calm down we’ve literally JUST started we’ve literally JUST woken up can we chill Out,

“Cinder?” she yawned, surveying the room.

sneak peek of that Sweet Domestic Life we dream of once this enemies-to-lovers malarkey reaches the ‘lovers’ bit but no we’re just surrounded by enemies. two of them being the writers!

Still, she couldn’t go wandering around Cinder’s apartment in only her underwear, but rooting through the drawers and closet didn’t seem— 

STEAL HER CLOTHES BABY!!!! PRACTICALLY MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The clothes didn’t seem Cinder’s size or style; they were casual and soft, a black t-shirt and steel-gray sweatpants.

okay but the idea of cinder getting up and being like ‘do i have ANYTHING this Unit of a woman will fit into’ and like actually having to think abt it and then folding em up and leaving em there like ‘hope she finds em okay’????? peak. absolutely peak. shes so gay but does she know it? no,

The fabric had enough give to make it work, even if only barely, and she looked in the mirror to see the loungewear looking more like tight athletic wear. Funny that.

kc and diesel envisioning this: oh yes. oh YES. ohhohughohguhghuhu yessssssssss--

She had—trusted? Been trusted? She had told Cinder fragile little things, and had heard similarly earnest words in return. It had been strange. Nice.

i love glynda like. feeling out of the edges of her own comfort and Pleasant Feelings with this almost-wariness? like every word she uses to describe it just Edges a little closer to Softness but she has to taste the word first to see if it fits. her narration is SO fun 2 read yall what the shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

This was Cinder’s house. It wasn’t just any house. These were Cinder’s belongings, Cinder’s resting places, and she was wandering around without Cinder.

Voyeuristic was putting it mildly. Glynda needed to find Cinder, fast.

HJGDKJGHDFSSDF GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! glynda just. losing it at such LITTLE THINGS is so goddamn funny jesus christ. this is cinders house!!! her THINGS!!! fuck she NAPS IN HERE. SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

god i love how soft this is. i know exactly why this is happening and i know exactly how [REDACTED], but i’m living for this moment. living IN it.

Spread out on the table was a wanted poster with a mugshot of Cinder on it, defaced with black permanent marker and crease marks.

cinder: yeah they didnt get the eyebrows sharp enough and im mad abt it

“Well, your clothes are in the wash.” Cinder said, turning around, coffee in hand. It was so…domestic. “It would help if you had more than one set.”

shouting from a distance: you two should get MARRIED

“You’ve been wearing the same dress the entire time I’ve known you.”

look at these lil JABS... the JESTS... the JOQUES... i cant believe theyve been married 10 years already. im also deeply enjoying how very indulgent this section is. I Am Seeing,

Glynda scoffed, and when Cinder reached for the sugar on the counter, she gave it a subtle nudge with her Semblance. It slid out of Cinder’s reach.

JESUS CHRIST LOOK AT THIS WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! soulmates.

Cinder shrugged, still looking elsewhere. “Mercury thought it was funny.”

“Mercury?”

cinder: my son and BOY. and, one day, yr son and boy, tho he won’t take it lying down.

Cinder scoffed. “You just don’t appreciate my good tastes.”

i feel like the evidence is truly stacking up to very much prove this statement wrong but u kno what lets let her figure that one out for herself

“A souvenir from the brats,” she said. “And a letter excusing the mess they made of the place.”

KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS

She said, “I just didn’t know you had kids.”

KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS

“It’s fine,” said Cinder tersely, but not harshly. “It isn’t wise to advertise in my business, so keep it to yourself.”

KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOD YES that little like... indirect admittance that em and merc r basically her own kids is a fucking BLESSING from ON HIGH are you SEEING THIS SHIT????????????? we have been fed today. my crops r watered and my lambs bouncing over the green fields as we feast. what a moment. wow. what a chapter.

When Cinder finally finished hers and rose to get another cup, Glynda allowed some of her thoughts to solidify. She said, “I want new clothes.”

as a side note, i think it rly shows the strength of the writing that the feeling of the narrative can change so much, esp when u take into consideration that we jump between the points of view of TWO characters? like with cinder we’ve gone from sheer fury to gruesome sickness, and with glynda we’ve gone from Complete Dissociation to this gentle and soft morning and you can feel it absolutely fluffing up in every word! still love how good the writing in this fic is its NUTS

Cinder shrugged. Her usual clothes were still in the wash; right now, she was wearing high-waisted black pants and a loose top tucked in.

diesel i want you to know im thinking abt what u said abt the high-waisted pants mods in sims 4 and im giggling

The necklace with Glynda’s earring hung from her throat.

i didnt mention it before but this is the... second time this chapter its been explicitly mentioned? and i know we could be like ‘ah the MEANING’ but honestly im like glynda r u rly not over the bobbies y

“You aren’t dead in there, are you?” came Cinder’s voice.

“No.”

“Well. At this pace, I will be before we get out of here.”

cinder, who probably once spent 7+ hours choosing an outfit: look its only cool if i do it, dipshit,

Unsnapping the lone earring left to her, she brought it to her collar and fixed it there, under the clasped button to dangle just over her sternum.

When she stepped out of the changing room, Cinder looked up. A slow dawn of interest eclipsed the boredom on her face. Glynda stood very still as her gaze flowed up and down again, pausing over the earring.

Cinder touched the matching one hanging from her own neck, almost in surprise. She cleared her throat. Her tone was very deliberately mocking: “Cute.”

OOOOOOOOOOOH MY GOD are we for SERIOUS right now??? jesus christ. jesus christ. we’ve moved on past married now this is ride-or-die shit right here what the FUCK. jesus CHRIST. theres- i- i have THOUGHTS on this matter that are spoilery and so i will SIT ON THIS EGG but HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIT

“Nothing,” Cinder said, smoothing her expression into something unreadable. “I was just thinking—nevermind.” 

no, no, go on, speak yr mind, please do, because if u were abt to offer to embroider that shit then PLEASE say it aloud for the audience at home

“If I was a cop, you’d already be in jail.”

“You’re welcome to try to take me in, darling.”

im sure its obvious but im BESIDE myself @ this flirting. im losing it. this is SUCH a treat and i KNOW that [REDACTED] [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] but AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

“That’s because of your—” Cinder was already gone. Glynda pressed her lips together, but watched her go. Rolling her eyes, she finished, “—Grimm tattoos.”

Whatever. She could gloat about figuring it out later.

/CHOKES

WHAT

@kc and diesel: CALL ME RIGHT NOW WHAT THE FUCK

okay okay. wait. okay. wait. theres. wait. okay. i cant. am i safe to say anything. probably not. so. im not gonna. but. you WILL be seeing me in dms, friends,

okay okay im moving on im gonna. keep going. okay. okay. im going. (but i will be in dms)

there was a brief discussion of dinner: namely, that neither of them wanted to make it.

oh god why is this me

“Give me your new cape.”

“What?”

Finally looking up, Cinder said, “Your cape. Let me have it, and I’ll put your emblem on it.”

THANK YOU MA’AM AND THANK YOU FOR READING THE FIC HAS ENDED ITS ALL OVER WITH!!!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!!! WE RODE THIS WHOLE TRAIN TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!! UNFORTUNATELY IF ONLY IT WERE SO EASY.

Glynda ignored it for the time being and sent the vector of her emblem to Cinder.

i deeply love the idea of all hunters and huntresses carrying a vector of their emblem JUST IN CASE,,, SMTHNG HAPPENS,,, its right alongside the list of their next of kin and their will and testament,

Cinder Fall was a name built on Dust and money and extravagant demonstrations.

But Cinder Fall was also a woman with a family. A home. A favorite blend of coffee.

this is absolutely kicking me in the dick for reasons i cant say but also for reasons of SNOFT because oh my god. this is. like. this is why i rly vibe w. cinder in this fic and is also like one of my favourite characterisations of cinder of ALL TIME (which is why all my fav cinder fics typically have it as a Theme). shes SO good and SO dimensional and i just. god. GOD. i LOVE HER!!!!!!!!! ID DIE FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA CINDER FALL IS MY ANGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL

It felt like being told a secret, like being told a thousand secrets, and not knowing what to do with them. All she could do was hold them in her palms, delicate as she could, trying not to break anything.

GIMME ARMS TO PRAY WITH INSTEAD OF ONES THAT HOLD TOO TIGHTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /goes apeshit

And because of that, Glynda asked, “Do you have any more stories?”

Without looking up, Cinder drawled, “About Witches?”

“Or dragons.”

Gold flickered her way.

👈😳👈

“They’d already been built by the Witches that came before her,” Cinder replied. “But she’d been a headmaster at one of them, and a teacher before that.”

Something in Glynda’s chest gleamed.

lore lore lore lore LORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lets GET THAT LORE as i peer blearily thru tears,

“...You haven’t just been pretending not to remember things, have you?”

firstly: called out lmao JHGSDFKJHGFSD and SECONDLY:

“The moon?” Cinder made a face. “I’m not sure if it’s that literal. Your soul is powerful, but it’s not a physical thing. Besides, the moon is…”

“Broken,” Glynda finished for her.

“Yeah.”

hm what a fascinating thing hm how interesting hm hm HMMMM 👈🤔👈

Even as they ate, they both seemed lost in their own heads, but somehow, to Glynda, it seemed perfectly clear that both of them were wondering the same thing.

wait glynda. hey glynda. did u uh. ever. did u uh. text winter back or w

WE DID IT CHAPTER 17!!!!!!!!!!! this was a Lot (4,500 words? yall better be careful before those 10k chapters return to Haunt Us) and was also, a Lot. holy shit. theres. i. id make a spoiler edition but tbh its just the SAME SPOILER thats like. rly driving this chapter. i know what its for. i know it. i feel it. dont trust winter more like dont trust the writers

ANYWAY I LOOK FORWARD (?) EAGERLY (???) to chapter 18, unsure when the vibes will turn rancid for the worse. when. honey. theres a big storm coming.

[meetevieinthehallway]

my muse.

in which harry paints for a hobby and his lovie is his inspiration.

-

“baby love!”

it’s his favorite nickname.

it’s his favorite pet name that warms his interior and stretches his lips into a dreamy smile, a lovesick look in his gaze that has him at his love’s beck and call. he absolutely melts when she calls him that—he really doesn’t know why—because she says it with such a sing-songy voice and the cutest smile and skip in her step and harry has to convince himself that his wife is real.

he has to genuinely remind himself that he gets to spend the rest of his life and existence with this beautiful woman with the most angelic personality, the softest smile and the kindest eyes.

there’s no way silly, inferior paint can compare.

but he wants to try anyway.

harry walks into his small art studio with a cup of tea in his hands and he looks around the room. there’s paintings everywhere—ones of scenery and landscapes and the ocean and of home—and he keeps it simplistic because it calms him and takes away his stress. he’s never attempted something like this— he honestly doesn’t think he’s that talented.

he wants to paint his love.

he wants to create her skin and her eyes and her smile and— something so beautiful like his wife should be everlasting.

but he knows it’s utterly impossible to take her extensive beauty and minimize it to a two dimensional form— he’d be lucky to even capture a sixteenth of her radiance.

so he stands and stares at his ocean landscape—that she told him should be hung on this wall, that it deserves to be in a museum but that this would do for now —his mind whiring of mediums and techniques and brushes and layering and he’s biting his lip because if he’s going to do this—

it has to be as perfect as possible.

he could use pencil for meticulousness— for definite lines and precision and shading and he’s pretty sure he has a color that matches her lips somewhere around here—

or there’s acryclic paints, which can provide great contrast for the glitter in her eyes and deepness in her eyelashes and they can solidify her skin tone—

but then there’s those beautiful watercolors that she bought him for his birthday— the ones that he teared up at as she smiled at him with blushing cheeks and a soft do you like it?

he has always been shy about his art and his artwork, but he loved it so much despite his confidence being so low.

so for her to buy him paints and to write a small note of keep painting, baby love! i love you! made him emotional and mushy and he simply looks at her with a soft teary smile because he’s so appreciative that she thinks about him so deeply and believes in him.

she smiled at him, her eyes rounding when she saw his tears and her voice quieted to a whisper.

are they okay?

they.. t-they’re better than okay this is amazing, love, you—

he shook his head at her and grabbed her waist, pulling her to stand between his legs as he hugged her.

thank you. i love you.

those watercolors can so capture the grace and flow and elegance of her glowing smile and twinkling eyes and downy hair.

his indecisiveness is already frustrating and he’s still staring at this stupid ocean landscape, trying to determine if he can do this.

harry huffs, moving away from the wall and sighing.

he remembers painting this room with her.

it meant to be her office when they first bought this home— but she had scrunched her nose and told him it was unnecessary. so he had gazed at her, biting his lip, a glowing look in his eyes as he bounced on his toes.

“lovie, if y’not gonna use this room... do you think... perhaps could i—”

“yes baby, you can make it your art studio.”

he had grinned and hugged her and spun her around and mumbled thank yous between his kisses and she only giggled at him and shoved him away.

harry remembers asking her to help him paint the room and before he could even begin to roll the color on the wall, there was a wet splat on his cheek and he gasped and paused, dropping the roller.

his eyes flickered over to her, gauging her smirk and fingertips coated in deep blue paint, dripping from her hand and landing on the floor. she was silently challenging him, blinking innocently as his eyes narrowed.

“oh, you’re gettin’ it now.”

her eyes went wide.

he moved quickly, his hands falling deep into the blue paint can as she backed away with a smile, his hands coming up so his palms were facing her. the smirk had switched from her face to harry’s, his eyebrows lifting as she grinned and squealed, moving away.

he had chased her around the room and her laughs rang and echoed off the corners of the walls, her back saturated in blue at his many attempts to catch her by her jumper. she squealed when he successfully caught her from behind, grabbing at her waist and smearing the paint over her stomach.

hazza!

his hands lifted to wipe at her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, and she’s giggling so hard that tears are falling from her eyes and harry is laughing hard, breathlessly hugging her after they were both officially covered and stained.

i love you so fuckin’ much.

they were still both laughing.

love you, h.

harry realizes that he’s been staring at the paint splattered wall—that he never bothered to fix, and never plans on it—opposite of him with the dopiest smile on his face, and he blushes at the effect she has on him when she isn’t even home. he shivers, the smile now small and soft and he scratches at his scruff, humming. he pads over to his desk at the further end of the room, pulling out his chair and plopping in his seat harshly and exhaling slowly.

there’s so many options to how he could paint her.

just those two memories right there are perfect— her with a soft smile and hopeful eyes, or her with a michevious gaze and a smirk gracing her lips, paint splattered across her cheeks.

his love is so beautiful that how can he pick just one expression for him to paint; she has five different smiles and fluctuates between makeup looks and— god she’s just so fucking angelic in the simplest of circumstances.

just like this morning, he—

oh—

this morning.

his eyes flutter closed as he’s staring at a different wall this morning was when he decided he was going to do it— he was going to paint her.

harry heard the rustle of the comfortor.

once.

the second time was longer, louder.

thrice.

and a fourth.

his brain was really only half registering it, his clouded and sleepy mind making it really hard to determine what was going on. he scrunched his nose, letting out a quiet whine when he feels his love moving around their bed.

baby love...

she reached out her thumb and it traced along his lips without her telling it to, the gleam from the infiltrating sunlight detaching every thought until it possessed its own senses. the pad of her finger lightly graced the crevice of harry’s lips, curling around skin and pressing along the outline.

he heard a whisper in his ear.

psst. babbbbbyyyy!

he felt her bury her face in his neck, kissing at his jawline and he hummed, eyes still closed with his half awake mind coming to, little by little.

...wake up...

her voice was music to his ears and he hummed again, his arm lifting lazily to wrap around her back. he pulled her into his frame, turning his face so his nose rested at the top of her head. he nuzzled into her hair, mumbling a soft “hi, lovie” in a low voice.

his eyes broke open when she giggled into his skin.

“g’morning, handsome.” her voice was a whisper and it made him shiver, because she leant over him with that melodious voice and sparkling eyes and the early sun was pouring through the curtains and windows and radiating her skin and her hair.

“morning.” he whispered, blinking up at her.

her skin looked so soft and smooth in that lighting, and she looked at him with the biggest smile on her face.

he grinned lazily, “you look so good right now.”

she giggled, “yeah?”

“yeah.” he licked his lips. “y’breathtaking.”

and as he stared at her, time slowed, and he realized that this moment would be a beautiful painting: her eyelashes rested on her blushing cheeks, and her smile adorable as she scrunched up her nose. that face— that beautiful, sheepish little smile and twinkling eyes is a image he will never remove from his head.

the most beautiful image ever.

so now he’s groaning.

his forehead is pressed to his desk and groaning because just the reminder of her beautiful face makes him shiver.

but he lifts his head up and his eyes scan for his watercolors, grasping the palette in one hand as he reaches to open his desk drawer with his other. he’s pulling out a canvas as he’s mulling colors over in his head— soft whites and olive greens and cool toned yellows and—

he’s so inspired, he’s so ready.

—

he has paint on his eyelashes.

he feels the scratch of it when he blinks, but the blur of crimson that invades his vision isn’t bothering him— he’s much too focused.

he’s hovered over this canvas that he’s moved to his easel in the corner, and he had long ago turned on the twinkling fairy lights to help illuminate the room as the sun set in the distance.

he has the handle of a paint brush between his teeth, the tip of the bristles dipped carefully in a shade of white, and it’s touching his cheek and staining it ivory when he moves his face too quickly.

but he’s grinning, he’s smiling ear to ear as he’s painting because this looks fucking beautiful. he supposes that the radiance glowing from this canvas it’s ninety percent her doing, but he’s still really fucking proud of himself because he’s staring at the picture and his cheeks are blushing because it looks like he’s looking at his stunning wife.

his wrist is cramping and the top of his back aches but he ignores the pain completely, sighing happily as he steps back with his hands on his hips and his lip between his teeth.

“my beautiful love,” he murmurs to himself, softly, smiling small.

he hears the front door open and he jumps, eyes flickering around the room until he sees the completely darkened sky and the clock on the wall that reads 8:14.

have i really been painting for six hours?

“baby love!”

he hears her call him and the cutest smile falls to his lips, and he rushes out the door and catches her attempting to kick off her heels. she’s trying to undo the strap with her toe, too lazy to bend down, and harry grins at her endearingly when she fails multiple times. so he bends to his knee, reaching to help, and she sighs and murmurs a you’re the sweetest, my love, my feet are killing, with her eyes closing.

“how was girls’ day, lovie?” he’s helping her left shoe off and she hisses when her foot touches the ground.

“good.. long though, missed you.”

he blushes as he stands to his full height, palms immediately moving to her cheeks and pulling her lips to his. harry sinks his mouth to hers and she moans softly, kissing him gently and staring at his eyes when he pulls away. they’re glimmering at her and she smiles easily, tilting her cheek into his palm.

“missed you more.”

it’s a murmur and she smiles wider, arms coming up lazily to drape over his shoulders as she sighs.

“hi, h.”

she leans forward and nuzzles her face into the base of his throat, where his collarbones meet, sighing into his t shirt and inhaling his smell.

“you painted, hm?” she mumbles, noticing the staining on his arms and shirt, and she feels him nod into her. “stressed out? or jus’ for fun?”

“for.. fun, i suppose. was inspired.”

“what’d you paint?”

she pulls back to look at his face and sees that his reaction has changed to one of hesitance, a shy smile placed between his pink cheeks. “nothin’.”

“y’not gonna show me? c’mon.” she pouts, “i love your paintings.”

he bites his lip. “this one’s different. not even sure if ‘m done yet,” it’s a complete lie and he’s bad at lying and somehow he forgets that she reads him like a book— she notices his drifting eyes and shifting hands and her gaze narrows.

“show me!” she’s whining and he laughs nervously, backing away, scratching at the nape of his neck. “c’mon,” she pleads, “you just started showing them to me! you’re so talented, love, lemme see!”

she’s chanting it and hugging him and twisting their bodies and his laugh is ringing loudly in mix with her mantra but his brain is whirring.

he should have thought this through. what if she hates it? what if she thinks it’s ugly— that would mean he’s implying she is ugly which is far from true but the painting looks pretty fucking close to her appearance and now he’s freaking out internally because he doesn’t want to offend his love in any way. did he use the right color for her eyes and the right shade for the shadows under her cheeks and what if the background was too messy—

“please, baby love.”

and he shivers.

he doesn’t know why that stupid fucking pet name makes his body melt and puts him under her spell but it does— and the feeling of love when she calls him that sneaks through into his ears and warms his face.

she’s gazing up at him with puppy dog eyes and a pouted lip and here’s a perfect example where he has to remind himself that this woman is his reality.

his beautiful, flawless reality.

“o-okay.” he mumbles, “gotta tell me what you really think though, okay?”

she grins, nodding furiously.

so he exhales through a puff of air and he walks behind her body, his fingers coming up to rest on her eyes as he presses his body into her back. she’s giggling because her harry is the sheepish little thing when it comes to his art. he’s so unbelievably talented and she can’t comprehend how he doesn’t see it— his landscapes are like photography wnd his still-lifes are so lifelike that it looks like you can touch the objects and knock them over. her harry is the most humble artist—

but her harry is freaking the fuck out.

her fingers come to rest on the top of his knuckles, starting to walk forward when she feels him shift behind him.

“keep ‘em closed, love. ‘s a... surprise, yeah?”

she gasps “did you paint cooper?! i’ve always wanted you t’paint him!”

“no, love,” he chuckles “not our dog.”

she pouts with a “hmph” and keeps moving forward slowly, harry navigating her body carefully until they’re standing in the doorway of his studio and she’s mumbling about how he should promise to paint him one day.

but she gets a whiff of paint and smiles softly, her words halting and her hands falling to harry’s wrists, caressing gently. “can i look now?”

he hesitates. he bites his lip and he looks straight at the painting standing in front of her, and he hesitates.

“yeah..”

he lifts his hands away slowly.

she’s still smiling, and her eyes flutter open.

the lights are twinkling throughout the room and admist the romantic lighting there’s his easal, a canvas sitting atop of the edge.

she thought it was a photograph.

but she gasps and leaves his touch, stepping closer and staring with wide eyes when she realizes—

he painted her.

there’s a watercolor background behind her flowing hair: a mix of deep acrylic lines and lighter watery stains, indicating harry’s indecisiveness but also portrays that it’s blowing in a gentle breeze. her eyes are unimagineably lifelike that it’s almost scary, a soft glint to her gaze and she’s never believed her irises were that clear and beautiful of a color. there’s a faint blush to the skin of her cheeks and her lips are a deep pink and now her vision is blurring and she can’t see the details that well anymore—

“harry,” her voice is a whisper, “y-you... you painted me.”

he swallows, nodding, hands folded in front of him as he bites his lip.

“do you like it, lovie?”

it’s quiet, the only sound their matching breathing and she’s not responding which is scaring him badly. but she turns around slowly, colors pulsing in her head and she looks at him with tear-filled eyes and her lips are parted— she doesn’t know how— what to say to him.

“you... h this is—” she swallows, laughing with wetness trailing down her cheeks, “like it? i-..i love it.”

his eyes widen and his cheeks flush, “really?”

“yeah.” she sniffles. “i mean—” she scoffs and turns to face the canvas again “y’made me look beautiful, baby love.”

he frowns at the back of her head, shaking his own before looking down.

“you are beautiful. i just painted you how i see you.”

her heart grows a couple sizes just at those eleven words.

she turns towards him again, rushing into his arms and placing her head on his chest, tears coating his shirt as she hugs him tightly. she then looks up at him, her body rising on her toes as she kisses him once.

she reaches her fingers up to his hair, twisting at the paint that’s coated a curl completely.

“you are so.. incredible, y’know that?”

he smiles shyly, “y’really like it? be honest.”

“h,” she shakes her head with a smile, “i love it. can’t believe it— it looks so much like me.” she looks over her shoulder at it. “can’t believe you did that.” her eyes gaze back into his, his thumb coming up to wipe at her undereye. “you are the absolute sweetest person i’ve ever met.”

he grins, cheeks red and he bends his knees to press a lasting kiss to her cheek, “as are you, my muse.”

[nandalorian]

Since I posted my thoughts about how Roswell has adequately represented queer men on the show and completely shit the bed on their representation of most everything else, I need to address the epically fucked-up treatment of female queerness and the queer female gaze in the context of Isobel and Rosa. This has been bugging me for a few weeks, and the reveal of Noah as the fourth alien pretty much cemented my feelings on the matter. I know there are people who feel the way I do about it, but if there’s another post on the subject I just haven’t seen, please link me. And if you disagree completely about this too, that’s cool. Let’s discuss.

While in my last post I applauded the show on its treatment of Michael’s bisexuality, I still don’t feel great about the introduction of a Michael/Alex/Maria love triangle. It’s one thing for Carina to double down on her defense of love triangles and insist they are not an overused and biphobic trope in popular media--news flash, it is, and in this case it’s also potentially damaging to the one black woman on the show, who will almost certainly bear the brunt of fans’ ire for “stealing Michael away” if they go through with a Maria/Michael relationship. I’m sorry if I don’t take a random straight white woman’s insistence to the contrary as gospel. Saying your formative years were shaped by straight love triangles doesn’t change the fact that it’s an insulting trope to women and an outright damaging one to queers, not even taking into consideration how the two intersect, or further when you consider POC characters, etc. You can’t compare straight relationships with queer ones, in the same way you can’t compare white experiences with nonwhite ones. To insist otherwise denies a whole system of privilege that drastically shapes and influences people’s lived experiences. 

But that isn’t what I want to address, because it’s another thing altogether to come for female sexuality and queerness. If I was willing to maybe give Malex a pass on the good-intentions-written-badly front, this is a hill I’m ready to die on. Isobel’s arc in season 1 of RNM demonstrates a lack of understanding that these are identities equally vulnerable to attack, exploitation, and misrepresentation--maybe even more so--as male queerness. That the outrage about Malex drowns out this other but no less important conversation kind of reaffirms the point I’m trying to make.

More under the cut.

Female sexuality has always struggled to find positive representation in popular media, no matter the time period or culture. Compared to male sexuality, it is not taken seriously, always played against the male gaze, or disregarded altogether because it excludes men. Queer female desire challenges societal structures around male desire and sexuality because it just… doesn’t require men to function and in fact actively rejects them. This is obviously a problem because the patriarchy loves it when men are shown to be extraneous and irrelevant. 

A lot of us know what it is to be invalidated as queer women, socially and sexually. Put your hand up if you’re a woman (in which I include cis and trans women, of course) or nonbinary individual who desires women and has been told, oh, you just haven’t met the right man yet, or oh, you’re just putting on a show for male attention. We have all been there and experienced this kind of erasure to various degrees of aggressiveness. This refrain is especially loud for bisexual women, who suffer erasure and ridicule from queer and straight communities alike, but the fact is, women’s sexuality has always been portrayed as less than or dependent upon that of a man’s. That isn’t to say bisexual men don’t also experience bi erasure. They do, and this is as much a product of homophobia as it is the primacy of the queer male gaze even within queer spaces and contexts. But in this case I’m addressing that of female and nonbinary bi-erasure and biphobia.

Furthermore, the role of queer women in society and popular media has always been underrepresented compared to that of gay men, or seen as more harmless or less significant, groundbreaking, or offensive for a couple of reasons: namely that a lot of people have played down or played off the existence of female sexuality and desire because they doubt its validity to begin with, or it’s “allowed” because it’s desirable to the male gaze. In some ways this has worked in our favour because subversive or queer female behaviour and desire in media have been able to fly beneath the radar, but it’s still a symptom of a greater problem.

I include this preamble because the writers of Roswell New Mexico have stunningly managed to ignore or remain ignorant to this context. The straight women on the show are shown to express their sexuality in upfront or positive ways, even opening up conversations about kink and reversing gender roles, but often in problematic ways too. The show sometimes fails the Bechdel Test or reduces characters, especially WOC like Maria, to having no purpose but to desire male characters and be desired by them, or portrays them as unable to want sex without quickly falling in love the way Maria seemingly has done with Michael. They’ve known each other for over a decade, and yet Maria only catches feelings after they’ve had sex, a night that, supposedly, meant nothing to her but quickly is revealed not to be the case. Interesting.

But beyond even that, my beef is with the whole Isobel-might-be-bisexual-and-in-love-with-Rosa-Ortecho storyline. I was excited about it at first; I couldn’t believe our luck that we had not one, but two bisexual characters on the show, and one of them was a bisexual woman married to a really awesome and seemingly caring South Asian man. But it was not to be, and this to me is ridiculously tone deaf and offensive in light of the fact that she was possessed by a male alien the whole goddamn time.

This tells us two equally disturbing things about the writers’ take on the queer female gaze and queer female sexuality: a) according to them, in this context, it literally doesn’t exist, and b) it is wholly a product of and subject to the male gaze.

From the promo for 1x12 it looks like they are going to delve a little bit into the mindfuck around consent due to Noah effectively brainwashing/tricking Isobel into marrying him, but one aspect of this I’d be surprised if they acknowledge is how he has also robbed Isobel of agency over her own sexuality. Not only has she been in a nonconsensual relationship with Noah this whole time, but he’s stripped her of the ability to discern whether her desires are her own, including the possibility that she is bisexual. As a woman, how can Isobel take her own sexuality seriously/see it as valid when she’s been forced to reconcile with the fact that, until now, it hasn’t been?

And that’s not even scratching the surface of the fact that a man used a woman, against her will and without her knowledge, to kill another woman. All over the simple fact that Rosa didn’t desire him/Isobel by extension. This stupid-as-fuck storyline is literally about weaponizing queer female sexuality in order to do violence against women. 

Just think about that for a second.

To make matters worse, Noah is a South Asian man and represents a community that is already marginalized in white media and society. Brown men have, in white culture, been relegated to two-dimensional stereotypes, rejected as love interests, and often portrayed as villains, and instead of positively developing an Indian character in a multiracial relationship and using that representation for good, he’s been made to violate his wife and use her to kill another woman. My girl @insidious-intent has written a really fantastic post to that end and I’d encourage you to read it. According to Carina, hiring Karan Oberoi to play Noah was colourblind casting. But viewers aren’t naive enough to buy that it’s ever that simple, or it shouldn’t be. I don’t see how you can write a nonwhite character the same as you would a white one and not expect it to have deeper or more damaging implications.

So my point, or at least one of them, is this: the failure of Roswell New Mexico to its queer viewers isn’t just that they’ve desecrated a ship as sacred as Malex or, at best, totally failed to do it justice. Roswell has failed us by invalidating and retconning female sexuality, and if this isn’t something we should all be angry about, straight and queer viewers alike, I don’t know what to tell you. While people are justified in expressing their anger to Carina about Malex, I think it’s also important to acknowledge and protest JUST AS LOUDLY the queer female angle. When you are thinking about how to represent, express, and phrase your disappointment to the production team, remember this goes far deeper than Malex. She has let us all down in ways that have nothing to do with our ship potentially not becoming a reality by the end of this season. She’s let POC viewers down just as resoundingly hard, both distinctly and factoring in the intersectionality of their writing choices.

All writers make mistakes. I want to put that out there. And I also want to put it out there that the issues around queer and POC representation are serious and disappointing, but not insurmountable if the writing team shows a willingness to learn, improve, and listen if the show is greenlit for season 2. But that isn’t what they’re doing. Carina has taken a stand, via Twitter, that they’ve done nothing wrong, and that is a big red flag that the writing team isn’t as woke as it likes to pretend and definitely not interested in listening to criticisms about their politics or how they try to convey them. So are her efforts of trying to silence bisexual viewers with legitimate criticism, or POC viewers doing the same thing. She and the writers would rather praise themselves for their token representation than acknowledge, listen to, and learn from real people expressing real concerns and sharing lived experiences.

[homespork-review]

Spork Introduction

CHEL: Hi! I go by Chel, they or she pronouns, and I’m the one spearheading this project. I still like at least a fair percentage of Homestuck, but after the ending disappointed me a great deal, I got bitter, and when Hussie pissed me off further by Godwinning himself, I decided to do something about it. I’m no longer angry about it, but I felt I’d benefit from picking out what I hate from what I love so I can focus on the latter without annoyance getting in the way, and also to benefit my own writing efforts.

BRIGHT: Howdy! I’m Bright, and I got into Homestuck fairly recently. After ploughing through the archive and digesting for a while, I realised that I was thoroughly annoyed by how something enjoyable had fallen apart so comprehensively. I am looking forward to the time-honoured practice of ripping the story apart to identify its weak points and shout at them.

FAILURE ARTIST: Hello, I’m Failure Artist (call me FA for short), she/her/herself pronouns, and I’m so old-school they burned the school down. I was introduced to Homestuck via Something Awful’s Webcomic thread. I checked the old mspadventures.com site and the latest update was [S] John: Bite Apple. After watching that bizarre piece of animation, I had to know what the hell happened before then. I found I enjoyed the wit of the comic though I didn’t really care much about the plot. It was only when Act 5 came around that I became a serious fan. I currently have 122 Homestuck works on Archive of Our Own. I have a lot of free time, you see. I am very disappointed in how Homestuck ended. Possibly there was no completely satisfactory way it could end but it still could have been better. I feel like Hussie was a juggler who threw a lot of balls into the air and ignored them as they fell to the ground and some fans think not catching them was a master move since you’d expect he’d try to catch at least one. Sadly, lots of the problems with the ending are embedded deep within the canon.

TIER: Hi hi. I am Tier, a very late newcomer to the wonderful world of Homestuck (2018 reader!) and average fan overall. I love this webcomic to bits, but the low points are deep and I enjoy seeking out what the heck went wrong. Not particularly analytical myself, hope that's cool!

CHEL: Cool by us! We’ve already done plenty of analysing before we started, as you may realise from my Tumblr’s “homestuck ending hate” tag (at @chelonianmobile).

FAILURE ARTIST: But let’s put that aside for a moment and talk about the good stuff. 

Homestuck is incredibly innovative. It is the first true webcomic. It’s not just a print comic posted online. It uses not just still images and words but also animation, music, and interactive games.

Homestuck is the latest adventure in the series MS Paint Adventures. MS Paint Adventures started as a forum adventure. In forum adventures, the OP acts as a sort of Dungeon Master and other forum members give them prompts. Andrew Hussie’s previous works under MS Paint Adventures were Jailbreak (which is little more than Hussie dicking with the prompters in scatological ways), Bard’s Quest (Choose-your-own-adventure), and the actually-completed Problem Sleuth. Problem Sleuth lacks the music and animation and despite the weird physics shenanigans is a simpler story than Homestuck. The characters aren’t even two dimensional.

Homestuck (and the previous MS Paint Adventures minus Bard’s Quest) are set up like adventure games. Adventure games are where the player is a protagonist in a story and are usually focused on puzzle-solving though sometimes there’s combat. In the beginning, these games were purely text. The player would type what they wanted to do and the game would spout back text describing it - assuming the computer parser understood you.

CHEL: Oh god, I HATED that. I wasn’t around for the heyday but I’ve played a couple and

Pale Luna

was barely an exaggeration (horror warning).

FAILURE ARTIST: As graphics improved, adventure games started using them, but the commands were still in text. Only later was the point-and-click interface created and players didn’t have to guess what exact sentence the computer wanted them to type. Homestuck and the other MS Paint Adventures play with that frustration while paying tribute to the genre. The game within the comic uses RPG elements but the comic itself is set up like those good ol’ adventure games. In the beginning, Homestuck was guided by commands from forum members. Even after he closed the suggestion box, he used memes and fanon created by readers.

CHEL: How good an idea this was varies, as we’ll be showing.

We probably don’t need to describe Homestuck much more. Everyone here who hasn’t read it will doubtless have heard of it. Almost everyone with a Tumblr will have seen fanart, almost anyone at a convention will have seen cosplay. Shoutouts have been made to it in professional works such as the cartoon Steven Universe, and the Avengers fandom latched onto “caw caw motherfuckers” as a catchphrase for Hawkeye to the point that it’s now often forgotten it didn’t originate from there.

FAILURE ARTIST: The Homestuck fandom term “sadstuck” for depressing stories/headcanons somehow leaked into other fandoms. Using second-person is actually cool now and not just for awkward reader fics. Astrology will never be the same again.

CHEL: Now, in the interests of fairness, we will say that when Homestuck is good, it’s amazing, and it’s good often. The characters at least start out appealing and are all immediately distinguishable; even with the typing quirks stripped, it’s easy to tell who said what. The magic system is one of the coolest I’ve ever seen, who doesn’t love classpecting themselves and their faves? Hussie also shows a lot of talent for the complex meta and time travel weirdness, and it is fascinating to watch a timeline thread unfurl. And whatever else one says, it’s a fascinating story that’s captivated millions. I think it is deserving of its title as a modern classic.

However, as the years have passed, we have ended up noticing problems, big and small, and they nagged at us until we decided it had to be dissected. Our intention here isn’t to tear apart something we loathe entirely. It’s to take a complex work and pick out what works from what doesn’t. As I said, when Homestuck is good, it’s very very good. But when it’s bad, we get problems of every scale from various offensive comments to dragging pace to characters ignoring problems and solutions right under their noses to an absolute collapse of every theme and statement the comic stood for before.

The comic is ludicrously long; eight thousand pages, or thereabouts, to be specific. Officially one of the longest works of fiction in the English language, in fact. Naturally, we can’t riff that word by word in any timeframe short of decades, and we can’t include every picture, even if that was permitted under copyright law. Instead, as comics have been done here before, we’ll recap most of the time, and include sections of dialogue and pictures when particularly relevant to a point.

Here are the counts we’ll be using, possibly to be added to later if we find we forgot anything. Most of these counts will only start to climb post-Act 5, but we’ll be keeping track of them from the beginning. Most of them could have been fixed with a decent editor, which is sadly a hazard of webcomics, but still frustrating to read.

TIER: Note: we started this endeavor months before the thought of a "technically not but still we'll count it" set of canon epilogues were a twinkle in the eyes of the fandom. That is, by the way, a whole 'nother can of worms that will be dealt with at a later date if that ever comes around. We're judging Homestuck the Webcomic as a whole, so no after the credits stuff is to be noted for whatever reason.

ALL THE LUCK - Vriska Serket constantly gets a pass or gets favored over every other character. This count is added to every time she pulls some shenanigans with which others wouldn’t get away. ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY? - Sometimes it’s not entirely clear whether a thing is supposed to be taken seriously or not. We don’t require hand-holding through every joke, but when, for example, we’re supposed to take one instance of violence seriously while a similar case is supposed to be funny, this count goes up. CALL CPA PLEASE - Instances of creepy sexual behaviour (and perhaps particularly gratuitous acts of violence) from the thirteen-year-old cast. Now, mileage may vary on this one. We won’t pretend that thirteen-year-olds are perfect pure angels, especially thirteen-year-olds growing up in what is openly supposed to be a nightmarish dystopia. However, when full pages focus on said behaviour, there comes a point of it being very uncomfortable to read. Clarification: does not refer to cases where the adults do something heinous, this is strictly when the kids do. CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS - When an offensive joke or comment is made, particularly when not justified by the personality of the character involved, or presented in the narration as being okay. GET ON WITH IT! - When the pace drags. ‘Nuff said. Hazard of the format, but it makes archive bingeing very annoying. GORE GALORE - For unnecessary and/or excessive torture porn which is treated less seriously because it features troll characters, and therefore less “realistic” blood colours. HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC - When the comic does something mentioned in How Not To Write A Novel, and it isn’t justified by the webcomic format. HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING - Characters repeatedly neglect to do something about or even react to terrible happenings, either because they don’t care even if they should or they forget they have the capacity. Not necessarily anything to do with their magical powers, either - characters ignore personal problems that are right under their noses, too. IN HATE WITH MY CREATION - For reasons that are unclear, Hussie chose to create characters he apparently hated writing, or at least ignored in favour of others. Every time he’s clearly disrespecting one of his own characters, this goes up, whether it’s by nerfing their powers or changing their personalities. RELATIONSHIP GOALS? - Romantic relationships in particular get fumbled quite often. Ship Teasing is used with skill, but that skill tends to be lost when the characters actually hook up. Fumbled friendships and family relations can also come under this heading. SEND THEM TO THE SLAMMER - When characters other than Vriska get away with something morally questionable. Covers everything from sexual harassment to not trying to save people from the apocalypse. SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS - Later on in Homestuck’s run, Hussie tried to make up for the offensive humour and casual -isms counted by Clockwork Problematykks above. How successful he was at this varied. This count goes up whenever an attempt at progressivism is waved in front of the reader but doesn’t stand up under scrutiny. WHAT IS HAPPENING?? - When the already confusing plot kicks it up a notch. Admittedly this is as much a selling point of the comic as it is an issue, but either way, we’re going to keep track. Points will be added to when it gets confusing, and taken away when a previous confusing thing is explained adequately. WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM - What is shown about Alternia repeatedly contradicts what we’re told about how different it is from Earth. For example, trolls still use heteronormative terms even after it’s established they reproduce bisexually, and the demonstration of the class structure doesn’t always add up. This count goes up every time that happens. It also goes up every time something happens which strongly implies Hussie was envisioning the human kids as white, despite his later claims that they were always supposed to be “aracial”, and every time their economic statuses don’t add up either.

[simplystefanie-rae]

got series finale

Anyway random thoughts i had last night that I can remember:

I remember wanting to block out the first half hour because this ‘dany is a 2 dimensional villain used only to cause jon man pain’ was just torture to get through

tryion walked WAY too fucking long. are long tracking shots where people walk the only thing they can direct, do they think its artsy. you can only do so many of them before you get bored

greyworm im so sorry they had you end up this way

why is this show acting like the devastation the smallfolk suffered actually matters when they never gave a shit before

if jaime and cersei took like 5 steps back they would have been fine and not artily crushed to death

(tyrion to jon: ‘you heard her speech, did it sound like she was finished?’

me: but she wasnt speaking english)

i snorted at that scene where drogons wings were used as a backdrop on dany. Like yeah it looked really fucking cool but at the same time it was so stupidly on the nose evil lol

emilia clarke as just been carrying the entire season with her face acting alone and i cant believe im saying that now when i thought she couldnt act, i guess it really was just shit directing, surprise surprise 

they made jon such a fucking idiot, all because they wanted him to be tortured by this decision in killing dany

tyrions entire talk about how all her righteous killing is a slippery slope is such fucking bullshit, they framed EVERY one of those scenes as a triumph we should root for. And with the exception of her burning the Khals religious place, why WOULDN’T we cheer for her executing slavers. like why is that being questioned. oh wait i know why they must have read some anti dany meta online and decided to ignore their own story for the sake of this bs dany is a crazy bitch plot

why didnt drogon also kill jon, like literally the entire time i was like ‘oh shit jons gonna be burned alive holding dany, well that makes sense, BECAUSE I SURE DONT KNOW HOW HE’D GET OUT ALIVE OTHERWISE CONSIDERING HE JUST KILLED THEIR QUEEN’

little did i know

why wasnt jon killed on sight because you know this bitch just went right up to greyworm and was like ‘i killed her’

whatever. anyway sure glad drogon can understand basic ASOIAF themes even if the writers couldnt. not that burning the iron throne mattered in the slightest

and again how dare they act like the smallfolk and what dany did to them matter NOW when they just go right back to ignoring their existence, nay, downright LAUGHING at the thought of them getting a say in how theyre governed 

urgh

fuck this is long. okay well the entire outdoor council scene was really dumb. greyworm was all like ‘we control this city and demand JUSTICE’ but allows their prisoner tyrion the Most Moral Man to choose an opposing king. why. what??

have fun when bran dies and this council cant decide on a new king/queen

also poor fucking edmure, why was he even there. see this is how you know D&D dont understand these characters, like yeah im sure sansa would totally disrespect the last tully, her MOMS BROTHER. but lolol its comedy i guess

robert arryn + breast milk= jokes on us for making fun of him all those years i guess lol

seriously i dont understand why tyrion has this much clout with anyone

so is the underlying thing here that bran just NEEDED jon to know that he was rheagars son just so he, BRAN, could be king. that he knew what dany would do and that it would force jon to kill her making way for him, bran. to be king. 

can bronn even read

what math does he know

why isnt brienne sansa’s queensguard

bran: ill find drogon 

okay like what then tho. god i kind of wish there WAS a little ending scene where drogon took dany to asshai and she was resurrected 

jon losing his man bun = coming full circle in D&D’s eyes

sansa’s dress already had major points in my book for not being black and bdsm-ish looking. it was so gorgeous, i need better stills of it

that said as much as i liked her being crowned queen it felt hollow, not just because her family wasn’t there for it, but because there was not ONE face we knew there that I could see, and there was hardly anyone there at all in the first place.  

glad arya found her family just to leave her family. again. 

if this were a better show, i could like the starks not being able to truly be together again, at least in body. So much has changed all of them, they’re all on different paths, and as long as they all know that they’re okay then the distance shouldn’t matter. But this show didnt earn that type of nuanced ending

and i guess thats it. i feel like i should say something about jaime and brienne but i think everyone said what im thinking last episode. brienne writing in the book just felt like a knife twisted in the gut since once again they’re doing this thing where they’re pretending this significant thing matters after they got their disrespect juice all over it

[misterewrites]

Can you do a spiderverse au with Marco as Miles and Star as Gwen?

Hiya! Sorry I was sick and I thought I could write some stuff no problem but noooo. No I was wrong. Very wrong. So I’m sorry this was late! Also I have not forgotten about the other prompt you sent me. I just had a long year but I haven’t forgot. I will get to it I promise. 

A special note about this. I will not be doing a spiderverse au beyond this. Myself and my good friend @hains-mae have a spiderverse event planned to add to our homecoming au so I don’t want to mix aus and get people confused about that if we ever decide to commit to the homecoming au. I mean honestly I’m perfectly happy to write regular spiderverse drabbles and chats if I’m ever in the mood. So it’s just a heads up but for now, enjoy!

TheNew York City skyline never looked so good as it did in this momentfor its resident webswinger and visiting guest: Buildings brightlylit in the darkness of the night, the harmonic sounds of angrydrivers and cars filling the air as, most importantly, nothing was onfire.

NewYorkers rarely paid attention to matters that did not concern thembut if they were the noisy sort of bunch, they would’ve caughtsight of two figures relaxing on a random rooftop, their laughter atease and joyful.

Butno one noticed or cared really. Everyone in the Big Apple had grownup under the protection of Spider-man and it was a general rule ofthumb to ignore whatever web crawler was up to. While this Spider-manwasn’t the hero they had all known and loved, he proved more thanworthy of the mantle.

Marcosnorted, his cheeks burning despite the chilly night air.

“Seriously?You webbed him to what?!”

Starsnickered, her short hair whipping about in the gentle breeze “Imean we were in the middle of the ocean! What was I supposed to do?Web him to a boat? Sure that’ll make great news: Spider menace websbad guy to getaway vehicle. Jane Joey Jameson already hates me. Idon’t need give her more ammunition.”

Marcorose an eyebrow “So that just a thing for all spider people?Disgruntled newspaper editors screaming at us on a giant televisionscreens?”

“Prettymuch.”

“Okaythen” Marco nodded in acceptance “How are you feeling by the way?Not glitching right? No pain? I have some antacids.”

Starchuckled “Don’t worry safe kid. I’m perfectly fine! Thedimensional watch seems to be keeping me together just great!”

Asif to prove a point, Star pinches herself, yelping in pain beforegiving a cheery smile.

“See?Safe, sound and totally not glitching in pain.”

“Andwhere did you get that watch again?” Marco quizzically stared atthe sleek, sliver band wrapped snugly around Star’s wrist.

“Spider-person.”

“Which?”

Stargave a casual shrug “No idea. Seemed helpful enough. So, no moredistractions!”

Marcogave a nervous chuckle “What? Distractions? Whose distracting? Andfor your information, I am not safe. I live dangerously. I go up todanger and say…”

“Hey?”Star finished with a smirk.

Theblush spread across the embarrassed superhero’s face quickly as hepouted in mock anger.

“Notcool.”

“Notcool” Star continued “is you bringing me up here on ourinterdimension hang out without telling me why we’re here? Somean.”

“Alright,alright” Marco rose his hands in defeat, reaching for the bag thatlay at his side “I thought you might be hungry so I brought…”

Thebag was barely in his grasp when it flew out of his hand with a mutedthwip.

“Impatientare we?”

Starcoughed “Whaaaat? You said I might be hungry. I’m hungry, so sueme!”

“Goodthings come to those who wait” Marco countered, thwipping the bagof tasty treats back into his hand.

“Maaaaarco”she whined “Please, I’m dying! DYING”

Marcorolled his eyes, reaching into the bag and pulling out the carefullywrapped hotdog from within.

“Oooo”Star gratefully took the meal and held it gingerly “What’s sospecial about this hotdog?”

Marcoscoffed “This hotdog is the best hotdog in all of Brooklyn.”

“Youdo know I’m from New York right? I have a Brooklyn too. Wellanother Brooklyn.”

“True”Marco agreed ‘But this isn’t your Brooklyn.”

Stargiggled softly, unwrapping the hotdog and allowing the deliciousaroma fill the air.  

Thetwo smiled brightly towards the other, bumping their meal together ina toast.

“Cheers!”

Thetwo spiders happily ate while comfortable silence settled betweenthem.

“Thisis so good, right Star?”

Marcoturned to the blonde girl only to find her staring at him, her blueeyes soft and content.

“Star?”

Starflushed as Marco cutely tilted his head curiously.

“Youokay?”

Stargave a quick nod, trying to ignore the thundering of her heart.

“Ofcourse. I was just thinking…..”

Starsighed happily, leaning her head against Marco’s shoulder as thetwo gazed across the New York Skyline.

“Thisis nice.”