#like the canon material doesn’t understand the depth of their characters

[ruinofchimera]

I would like to analyze this comment in depth, so it is more convenient for me to do so in a separate post.

Actually, this is a very interesting attempt to challenge my point, because you answer your own questions with your examples. I understand that it’s hard for you to draw parallels between the Iliad and Harry Potter because the Iliad doesn’t possess an overgrown modern fandom, but you were the one who brought it up, so I just oblige. The Song of Achilles is indeed an original piece of work, and that only proves my point. You see, it’s a separate piece of work (although based on something else), thus it has its own fandom. Fans can claim that the events of the Song of Achilles and the personalities of the characters are absolutely canonical only as long as they discuss this particular book. But they can’t cross the line of their fandom and say that something originally written only in The Song of Achilles is true for the Iliad. For the Iliad, it would never be canon, only a violation.

As I said in my post, I don’t care that modern Marauders fans created their shallow playground of headcanons, but I do care that they try to impose it on Harry Potter fans as canon. If you only take out the names of the characters and some bits of the plot, then mutilate the very essence of these characters to the point of unrecognizability (greetings to the sassy biker boy Sirius, who was turned into a hysterical femboy), it's no longer Harry Potter fandom. Congratulations, you've created your own fandom; play in it as much as you want, but leave Harry Potter fans alone.

There is no need to organize massive bullying of Harry Potter content, which follows the book canon, not your self-proclaimed canon. And even more so, you have no right to impose your canon on content within the original fandom. The only one who can make canonical changes is the author, and in Harry Potter case, that’s J.K. Rowling. I really don't care who the author of your handmade fandom is, just as I don't care about your newly formed fandom in general.

Given the current legislation on intellectual property rights, your fandom has very dubious grounds. However, Since all you have left of the Harry Potter characters are their names and some out-of-context biographical details, you have nothing to fear. It would probably not be difficult for you to change the names altogether, and then no one would ever guess who you are talking about. Your characters could even become original. There are so many ways to go, but you choose the most unethical one, namely, barbaric raids on people from the Harry Potter fandom itself. No matter how hard you try to gaslight the fans, your canon will never become canon in the original material of another author. The Song of Achilles will never become the canon of the Iliad. Your canon and the canon of The Song of Achilles have the right to exist only within your fandoms. That’s all. Make peace with it.

[sailorgundam308]

Being the angst sucker that I am (but also a coward that doesn’t want to feel too depressed about bad endings), I headcanon a lot about the dynamics and end/post game canons for Astarion and Karlach as a couple (no shit!).

I know a lot of people ship Karlach with Dammon. I obviously don’t, but not because I think they don’t fit well together or whatever. I have this thing in my head of how I view Karlach which puts her relationship with Astarion as more realistic, more fulfilling, and more attractive to me (duh).

Dammon as a character is a nice, hard working guy. He’s also crazy handsome, has the hots for Karlach and some mechanics knowledge to be able to help her a bit. So yea, cool. I like him a lot so that’s not it.

BUT.

Just gonna blurt it out: I think Karlach is too fucked up to be with him in the canon universe we have. It’s a similar reason I have for how I see her reaction to the love test in the Circus in Act 3, which I made a post about. Had Karlach never been betrayed by Gortash, had not been irreversibly damaged (in more ways than one) and not been transformed by her 10 years ordeal, Dammon would be the ‘perfect pairing’ for her - a gentle, good hearted, generous and hot piece of ass. Thumbs up.

HOWEVER.

She’s not that girl anymore. She keeps it bottled up, pushes it down and shuts herself to what her trauma did to her and while it’s commendable, imo, it’s not real. She wants it to be so bad because she’s got so little time and is desperately clinging to her life before she started making mistakes (now being back in the Material Plane after so long). If she doesn’t die, though, she won’t keep this up forever. She’s carrying pain, remorse, ANGER, jealousy, self pity. A LOT of it. Much more than she let out in her post-Gortash breakdown. All these are very human emotions, and very understandable in her situation. She also changed, physically, mentally, emotionally. She grew, she learned- and it wasn’t all pretty and nice things. I like the idea that she’s being the most genuine character in the game while ALSO being the one wearing the most impenetrable mask. It’s wild and damn cool to see her through that lens.

Which brings me to Astarion.

He is also wearing a mask, but a much more frail one. He’s cracked. He tells and shows us these ugly emotions, his selfishness and hurt, much more directly than Karlach does. He’s broken, wicked, mean. It’s clear his trauma completely changed him (though I don’t think he was a good guy before it either), and is entrenched into who he is when we meet him - and will continue to be part of him even after he heals.

I think Karlach is attracted to him not in spite of how mean he is - but because of it. I don’t think she’s aware of it, though. She says something about Astarion having a good heart beneath it all - and while he might have something like a better heart inside that can be rescued, he’s not inherently good, nor he was before being turned (nor he wants to be). The dynamic of Karlach using goodness and positivity as a lifeline, as if to counter the decade of (literally) pure evil she’s been forced to endure, while also ‘surprisingly’ getting along so well with Astarion from the start, also being attracted to his wickedness, gives an incredible depth to their relationship. I see not only the idea of Karlach’s kindness, non-judgement and patience being a refuge for Astarion, but Astarion’s grey personality being a refuge where Karlach will be able to let her walls down - show the ugliness bottled up inside - without fear or shame, and knowing it will be completely and utterly understood. Astarion will never judge her for whatever impulses or thoughts she might have, for displays of selfishness, jealousy or violence. Imo, they can even work some of those out together (wink wink, but not only in that way lol). At the same time, I do believe Astarion saw from the first glance he had at Karlach (or in the first couple of days) that she carried a pain much like his. It’s why he respects her, why he is so quick to apologize to her and only to her, why he feels empathy for her suffering while being absolutely cold to the others. She’s the first one who gives him the opportunity of allowing himself to feel safe, to let his guard down if only for a night. His connection with her might be based on a selfish start (it’s about him - she is like him), but it grows to be more complex as they grow closer. I see him slowly falling in love with her as a parallel to him slowly learning to love himself, to forgive himself.

It’s all so beautiful, poetic and layered and shit (wow, me so eloquent).

But in all honesty, that’s all to say, while I think Karlach and Dammon look nice together, I see him as being the person who’d have been the one for her if she was just Karlach Cliffgate. However, she is not. She is Karlach Cliffgate and she is also Karlach Demonsbane - and for that ‘her’, Astarion - with his imperfections, his wicked ways and his darkness - is the one who truly fits her perfectly (or imperfectly, which imo is even better).

Thank you for reading all this rambling. I love rambling and will (can) never stop so good for you :V

AGH I LOVE bittersweet gritty messy romanceeeeeeee (but I wanna give them a better ending than the one in game - though if the patches weren’t broken, it’s improved a bit already)

[nerdyfan1]

Btw I’ll always argue Pentious is not just a gag character and his arc is probably the best one in season one. In fact not only do I like him more in the actual show then how he is in the pilot but, I think the show makes him in the pilot make more sense.

Idk I noticed some ppl were expecting him to be way more serious. Which doesn’t really fit season 1 at all. Here now we got a more interesting character with a good set up for depth later on along with something that both makes sense with what was established in the pilot (cus yes I actually do think deep down Pentious was always a bit soft and his behavior in the pilot along with towards the beginning before he got used to everyone in the hotel is him reacting to his environment) and fits the general tone. I noticed that a lot of ppl really wanted to seem more depressed or serious while having his softer more goofy side underplayed (or be just be completely dickish which sounds super uninteresting lol) without really trying to understand why he was written this way in the official show to begin with. They clearly wrote him this way to show his progress in the hotel. He doesn’t start sad wet uwu babygirl, go back it’s more of a result of him soften around ppl like Charlie and the rest of the cast. That’s kind of the point. Like idk I wouldn’t have this man be any other way. 💖

Hearing about the interviews and stuff including how they do plan to explore his backstory kind of tells me what I was expecting. Idk we can’t expect all the characters to be dark and serious in the first season we need to have some endearment first. Following this show as episodes reminded me why I usually hate following currently airing stuff cus ppl always assume stuff way too soon. I understand some ppl can have skepticism but, I do think ppl should at least try to trust the writers know what they are doing. The creator been working on this concept for god knows how long.

Besides I’ll always in favorite of a more openly emotionally softer male character in animation that the rest of the cast doesn’t mock specifically for seeming so “sensitive”. Especially in adult animation. I love how the cast realized this is just how Pentious is and don’t mind it. It helps emphasize the arc that Pentious just really needed someone who accepted him for who he was deep down. He able to open up and feel comfortable as himself. Idk I like that it’s a way more interesting direction to take.

Sorry btw for how ranty this is I’m a picky guy and as you can probably tell I’m pretty passionate about this specific character but, also the show as a whole. I try to keep in mind what the actual show is trying to accomplish when it comes to this and it’s so so sooo important to remember what the source material is like. Along with the creator. There are times when the creator insight ends up with a bad end result however I don’t see that here. At least in terms of season 1.

Idk if ppl really get this but, thought I’d throw it out there cus you guys seem to like when I ramble about this man so yeah while trying to figure out my Cherri Bomb theory post out um have unfiltered Pentious thoughts. Cus I never really went into detail why I like him in the actual show anyways. Cus my problems with uwuifed Pentious is more a community thing. Even at that it’s not as bad just sometimes annoying.

Guys I’m a Tobias Wilson fan, trust me I’ve seen far worse fandom butchering of a sad lil guy. Besides Pentious is definitely cute that issue more me being bothered ppl pretend the canon Pentious is exclusively a gag character who is soft and cute. Pentious is probably one of the most misinterpreted character along with Alastor.

[shaw-ni]

Let me tell you a secret,

Come closer,

Closer,

…

YOUR FANFIC DOES NOT NEED TO BE ANYTHING LIKE THE SOURCE MATERIAL!

…sorry for shouting but please, it’s fiction, it’s all made up, ‘canon’ isn’t more ‘real’ than your fanfic, characters don’t need to be anything similar to how they are in the show, you can make two characters who never interact get married, make the grumpy character soft, the flawed character perfect or the perfect character flawed.

Your story doesn’t need to be an in-depth character analysis, the characters are your toys to play with, don’t be scared of writing a Mary Sue. Don’t you remember playing dolls when your were kids, and your Barbie was a secret undercover agent ( and a vampire), Spider-Man was her second husband who was secretly evil and their child was a random dog toy you found under the couch? Your fanfic is your doll house, make your favourite characters kiss and ignore anyone who hates on it, they don’t understand the game anyway.

[metvmorqhoses]

If Alina’s hatred for Aleksander felt a little too contrived and compensating then perhaps that’s exactly what it was? Her character this season came off as someone desperate to prove herself; she was steamrolling ahead with blinders on and covering her ears at anything that challenged her (her goal of tearing down the fold and tada! happily ever after). It would make sense then that whatever feelings she has for Aleksander would be deeply suppressed and instead used as fuel in her anger towards him since she isn’t someone yet who is ready to deal with the messy nuance of the world she’s in and it’s contradictions, much less the complications of her own feelings. I do think Mal is boring but he wasn’t wrong for breaking up with her since he realizes he doesn’t really know who Alina is anymore. Aleksander on the other hand does know her in a way that only a soulmate can (“I have never turned away. I never will”). This whole season he was unhinged but in that desperation was a genuine worry for her. He wanted her to understand where he was coming from because he’s walked her path, he’s known what it is to hope and want to be a hero, and the inevitable heartbreak and pain it causes. It seems like he wanted to her to skip over that painful step if he could just get through to her. Unfortunately it is something she has to go through to grow. If season 2 was her stubbornly naive self in full mode, then hopefully season 3 shows us a more mature Alina who struggles to balance power and what it means. I don’t expect her to ever fully be on Aleksander’s side but I would like to see the understanding and at time’s tenderness, she feels towards him that was missing this season. Sorry I know this is nothing new to you but I’m still processing this season and always love your thoughts! An aside, Aleksander letting Alina kill him even while deeply disagreeing with her on a political and philosophical level, and still being amazed by her light as he marvels at “blue skies” killed me. I don’t care what anyone says really does love her.

From a pure storytelling point of view, this season and specifically Alina's arc (whatever it might be and under whichever lenses we might choose to look at it) was a writing failure. There is sadly no escaping that. It was crass, nonsensical, exaggerated, dull, colourless, problematic.

Even conceding her over-the-top and baffling behaviour was indeed done on purpose, no talented writer in their right mind could have possibly thought that good protagonist material, not even for the most black-and-white, simplest children's saga - especially having for canon a far more complex and valid characterization from the literary source (I can't believe I'm typing this, but here we are).

The fact that they managed to produce the worst books-to-show adaptation I've probably ever seen out of fear of a bunch of woke American mums and teens is genuinely disturbing.

This said, there are ways a good writer could salvage this, twisting this into sense and depth even, and you listed a lot of good points in this regard.

This idiocy galore could indeed be spun as Alina's hubris and blindness, her inexperience even, backfiring at her. It could absolutely be the arc that led to the wall she had to crush into in order to listen to what Aleksander was trying to warn her about, the proverbial finger children have to put into the fire themselves before believing it burns.

I could even raise the bar a notch and state that, psychologically speaking, when someone who isn't intelligent enough to understand their own being in denial is frustrated and angry with themselves, they funnily tend to project their own self-hatred and fury upon the person they trust the most and in general hold most dear. And this, even if I'm sure it wasn't absolutely intended, strikes me as particularly true regarding their dynamic in season two: no matter what Aleksander told her, no matter how much sense it made, no matter the obvious honesty of the feelings he was showing her (he opened a lot with her this last season despite her stubborn deafness, almost as if he had wanted to make up for the previous pretences and half-truths), she did nothing but choose him as her universal scapegoat and, quite absurdly, right because he was still the person she unconsciously felt closest to.

He was still her mentor and lifeline even the moment she decided to blindly sacrifice him on the altar of her own naive self-righteousness and hypocrisy. And he let her. Even in death, he wanted to serve the purpose of teaching her a lesson, open her eyes, and I don't think that ultimately, deep down, this truth completely escaped her.

A good writer would use all this to build season three. But I've honestly lost all hope at this point.

What I really don't think could be savaged is who Alina has time and time again proved to be as a person - she is someone who is in her twenties but has the brain of a not-particularly-bright infant; she is someone with the emotional capability of a rock; she isn't capable of complex thoughts, but above all she is self-centred and ignorant even when her personal life experiences should have at the very least taught her otherwise. I didn’t like her before, but now she is honestly ruined for me as a character. Aleksander deserved much better than her. He is everything she'll never be.

[tommykinrd]

Serious question, no hate or anything but why are so many people convinced that Ryan and Oliver would love for buddie to happen? Because everything they said sounds quite like the opposite, especially from Ryan. He said the same thing since 2019, he wants to portray this vulnerable, close, platonic friendship/bromance without it turning romantic. He also said he doesn’t even see or play Eddie as gay. And Oliver also said he doesn’t even know if he would actually want it to happen. Which means he doesn’t even think about it actually happening. Sure they love the (non toxic) fans and their love for the characters but I really don’t think they’re dying for buddie to happen. They always say they’re open to it if that’s what Tim decides and if it doesn’t come off as fanservice. But they know exactly it could never be anything but fanservice if it happens. And even if they absolutely wouldn’t want it to happen, they couldn’t say it or else they get called homophobic. So what is it that makes people believe they want Buddie to be canon?

Okay so I'm gonna answer assuming this was sent in good faith, but I really don't like the putting of words in people's mouths and also this extremism re: :they never said that", "this will never happen", etc.

I can only speak for myself, not for anyone else in fandom and definitely not for Ryan or Oliver since I don't know these people personally and I can only assume that you don't either. And as much as we joke about them being unhinged and out of PR jail and whatever, we have to remember these people are professionals who have been in the industry a long time and know how to interact with journalists and press because it's their job. They're never going to outright confirm or deny anything, they can only speak to what material they're given in the moment. As of right now, buddie is a vulnerable, close, platonic friendship. Neither of them have any reason to suggest otherwise. Also please remember that they are actors, they don't write for the show, yes they can offer input into the storylines but they cannot definitively change the trajectory of the show. Sorry anon, but Ryan and Oliver saying that they don't know the future of buddie does not mean they "don't even think about it happening". You don't know what they think, I don't know what they think, so let's stop with these extreme assumptions.

Also "they're not dying for buddie to happen"? I never said that they were. I said that from everything I've seen, I can tell that Ryan and Oliver know their characters and love their characters better than anyone in this fandom ever could. And understanding and loving Eddie means knowing the full depth of how much he loves Buck, whether that be platonic or romantic or some secret third thing. Same goes for Buck. I think if it goes the romantic route, Ryan and Oliver would have a blast getting to explore and portray another aspect to the buddie dynamic. If it doesn't go there, I think they would still knock it out of the park with how they portray a very important relationship in these characters lives, and I think they would still have a blast with it, like they've been doing this whole time. But again, I don't know them and I could be wrong, I'm just going off of the bare minimum info I have.

As for "they know it could never be anything but fanservice", did they tell you that? I've seen time and time again how this show surpasses expectations, I for one did not want an Eddie cheating with Shannon's doppleganger arc when it was speculation, but the show surprised me with how much I liked the way they did it. Same goes for buddie, if you think it can only ever be fanservice, just give them a chance to maybe surprise you. Ryan and Oliver are gonna get shit on no matter what they say in interviews. If they talk about buddie too much and hint about it being romantic, they're going to get accused of queerbaiting. If they don't talk about buddie at all or keep emphasizing that buddie is platonic, they're going to be called homophobic. It's a lose lose situation.

And another thing? Interviews are not word of god. This fandom (and any fandom) needs to stop placing so much weight on them. They're a fun behind the scenes look into the conversations and decisions surrounding different scenes and storylines, but that's it. Personally, I don't care what Ryan or Oliver might feel about buddie. It's fun seeing them be supportive of it, sure, but they could outright say that it was never going to happen and I wouldn't care, because they're not the writers or showrunners, what they say in an interview has no impact on the show. A lot of people weren't there or have forgotten when Tim made comments about how much he loved Taylor Kelly and wanted to pursue more journalist storylines, or when he said Eddie would have no PTSD after the shooting. So even if Tim confirmed or denied buddie in an interview? It means nothing bc it didn't occur in the show. We'll all find out whether Ryan and Oliver wanted buddie to happen or not if/when it does happen, or when the show ends. Until then just stay along for the ride or hop off if you're not having a good time.

[fernsnailz]

what’s your favourite version of shadow? like characterization-wise

i think my favorite instances of shadow characterization all come from various spin-off materials or games. they all have slightly different takes on the character that serve as an interesting insight into shadow, but i think these are my favorites:

Sonic X (season 3): i mean like. yeah no kidding. Sonic X feels like a very definitive and classic version of shadow, as it's very close to his characterization in Sonic Adventure 2. i really like season 3 because it raises the question of “what makes a hero?” shadow doesn’t consider himself a hero, and for good reason - he understands that he does some pretty heinous stuff for the greater good of the universe (namely trying to kill cosmo). and yet despite not being a hero, he still does heroic things. introducing the character of molly was one of the show's greatest ideas because it shows that some people DO consider shadow to be a hero, and his black and white viewpoint on the topic isn’t the only way to see things - plus, the comparisons between the two characters are a smart way to add some depth to shadow and lead to some absolutely heartbreaking moments. i dunno, Sonic X just has a really strong version of him and it’s fun to dissect his actions and beliefs. and also it makes me cry

Archie Sonic (post-issue 160): archie shadow pre-160 is one of the worst things in the world. but after that he’s pretty good! while archie shadow differs from his mainline counterparts, it’s in a very interesting way - archie shadow is surprisingly soft and a bit less subtle than most other versions of him, and this may be due to the fact that he never really went through the events of Sonic Heroes or Shadow the Hedgehog 2005. hell, he only went through like. half of the events of Sonic Adventure 2. while i don’t consider this version of him to be “definitively” shadow, he’s just so much fun. this take on him allows for some really great character work between team dark and a number of other characters. there’s a reason the treasure team tango arc is one of my favorite sonic stories ever - shadow goes through a very clear character arc in just four issues, and it’s really interesting to see how he gets there.

Sonic Battle: this one’s a bit of a wild card. i’ve never seen anyone talk about Sonic Battle on here, so for context it’s a 2D fighting game for the GBA that features a robot named emerl, an ancient battle android whose abilities grow when he comes in contact with the chaos emeralds. not only that, but emerl only gains character traits and his personality after interacting with the various sonic cast members. he’s a strange mix of sonic, tails, amy, knuckles, cream, rouge, and most importantly, shadow. this game’s version of shadow is really interesting - in terms of timeline it’s certainly debatable on where Sonic Battle fits into any sort of “canonical” timeline (i could make a whole different post explaining why). regardless, shadow has all of his memories back, but he’s EXTREMELY tormented through this entire game because Sonic Battle focuses directly on shadow’s feelings about being a living weapon. and it’s honestly amazing.

shadow spends most of the game trying to destroy emerl because the android is another weapon created to destroy the world, and there’s a number of good moments between the two of them and the other sonic cast members. i don’t really want to give much more away because the end of Sonic Battle is one of the most impactful endings i’ve seen in any sonic game - emerl’s last line in this game makes me cry every single time. if you’re interested, i’d suggest watching a longplay to see the cutscenes or reading the script online because i NEED more people to experience this game. it’s not perfect - the story is told entirely through video game dialogue and limited visuals so it’s a little clunky, but there’s so much good to be found in the character interactions. i love this game

[cloud-somersault]

This is in reference to your most recent post, but I honestly get so confused when people who watch LMK haven't read or at least done research on the source material(JTTW) because I feel like it dampens their experience of appreciating the characters. 

JTTW, which is what LMK is referenced from, is rich with tradition, meaning, and culture. Not understanding JTTW gives you a very one dimensional approach to all the characters but especially Wukong since he is currently one of the only original JTTW figures from the main cast. And in misunderstanding Wukong’s source material means that people really don’t understand shadowpeach like they should. 

Even if we were to only go from the context of the show, shadowpeach started out super toxic. LMAO! These guys were at each other’s throat constantly and were not amicable at all. The appeal is the fact that it is alluded to/shown that these two used to have a very close relationship but something happened to separate them. That’s where the intrigue begins, that’s what gets the gears turning in the viewer’s head. Something happened to make them this way and we want to know! In JTTW canon, Wukong did kill Macaque and it was actively against Buddha’s requests not to. Bro did not care, lol.  I think it is also important to realize that LMK and JTTW are still different BUT it’s honestly quite foolish, in my opinion, to completely disregard the book it is based on. And there’s nothing wrong with fans taking canon things from JTTW and applying it to LMK. Especially if it’s their own fanfiction or interpretation(like your fic). It has been a common theory that Wukong killed Macaque(pretty much since the show started), especially given a lot of the evidence we have been presented with. Disregarding one of the writer’s statements, it’s completely reasonable to make the connection between JTTW and LMK that Wukong did kill Macaque. Especially considering we are shown in the third season a flashback that they did have a violent brawl before his supposed death and subsequent resurrection. 

Shadowpeach IS inherently toxic, especially before there’s any character growth between them, and I personally feel like it’s okay to acknowledge that and embrace it. I understand people tend to gravitate away from any forms of toxicity because, yeah, it feels weird saying you like a ship of two people who hate each other. But that’s the fun thing about enemies to lovers! And shadowpeach has so much more depth to it because it can be interpreted in so many different ways. I wholeheartedly believe that their versatility and depth as a ship is largely the reason why they are one of the biggest ships in the fandom. And their depth comes from the fact that they are inherently flawed characters.  

This need to uphold Sun Wukong on a pedestal he does not deserve ultimately ruins the thing that makes them special. And that's how undeniably human he is. Someone wouldn’t know that just from watching LMK, especially since the show either glosses over the darker parts of JTTW or alters them entirely. Stripping Wukong specifically of the overflowing amount of wonderful source material he has completely dumbs down the beauty of his character. I think playing around with the idea that he did kill Macaque(in regards to LMK canon) doesn’t really change where they come from very much. Idk if anyone else has noticed, but the season 4 special is obviously still not the full picture. That little fight in the mountain is 100% not what makes them hate each other so much. That much animosity for an altercation like that?? It doesn’t make any sense. We still don’t have the full picture, and people are basing their attitude towards each in seasons 1-3 on insufficient evidence. 

Anyway, sorry lol. Seeing people not appreciate shadowpeach for the mess it is makes me so unbelievably disappointed and frustrated(especially if they know nothing about JTTW) and the internet is a great place to bounce off opinions. I promise this isn’t directed towards anyone in particular and it doesn’t come out of anger, I just think there is a common misunderstanding of shadowpeach’s complex foundation and I refuse to stand for it. /lh /nm

Okay, my weird rant is over, haha. I completely understand your irritation with comments like that, though, and I am so sorry you have to deal with them. 

Damn, I don't really have anything to add to this. I think you said it all. I can pack it up and go home LMFAO Can this be my new pinned post

Oh, I will say one thing. The fandom is def afraid or in denial that shadowpeach, in any iteration, is toxic. In order for it not to be, they'd have to be grossly out of character, and then guess what friends? That's not shadowpeach!

But a lot of people do that and are content with that. Which, okay, but stay off my porch LMFAO

[wilteddreamsofbaldursgate]

1. Fanfiction for Writers & Working with Source Material (+ Research)

First things first: 

I won’t go into detail about what fanfiction is—you’re probably already quite familiar with this category of fanwork and can identify it as such: a written story that’s borrowing characters, plot points and world-building from already existing works of fictional media. 

That means, as a reader, you get to enjoy your favourite fictional characters being put through countless different scenarios by other fans, yay! 

But fanfiction is a great way to get into writing in general, too! Unlike original works, fanfics give you, as a writer, a crucial advantage: You have pre-existing characters to work with that your readers already know and most likely love. So you’re basically getting a free fleshed-out character and an audience who want to read about them. That saves you lots of leg work, but don’t forget that your readers are coming for a specific character, so you want to have a basic understanding of said character. There’s no right or wrong way to interpret a character that’s not originally your own, but your readers will expect some established facts about the character you write your fanfic about—they love them for a reason, after all, and they want to recognize that character in your writing regardless of what your story will eventually be about. 

Being familiar with the source material will help you write your fanfic, but that doesn’t mean you need to know every last detail about it. Especially in the case of BG3, you don’t even need to play the game to write BG3 fanfiction—everybody has a different in-game experience to begin with since the course of the game depends on your choices. And even if you’ve finished the game once or even several times: BG3 is a huge game. There’s so much to explore that it can actually be a little overwhelming. I recommend picking your favourite parts of the game and doing some more in-depth research on them when they’re relevant to the fic you want to write. That can be about anything: the ins- and outs of Drow society, magic systems, time frames, locations, the history of specific characters, etc. 

There are lots of online sources you can consult for that!

Here are just some options for that:

BG3.Wiki  Forgotten Realms Wiki more specific (reddit) forums tumblr posts  fandom discourse (talk to other fans, honestly!) 

If you want to familiarise yourself with the source material when you’re unable to play the game yourself, I recommend checking out BG3 walkthroughs or compilations on YouTube! You just want to get a feeling for how the characters behave, what the locations look like, what’s at stake, etc..

Otherwise, there’s always the option to observe how other fans are working with the source material. What resonates with the source material; what is exclusive to this specific fanwork? Why does it resonate with you as a reader, or why doesn’t it? 

There’s so much discourse about what’s accepted as canon and what’s not, but you’re writing fanfiction—you can do what you want. Regardless of source material, if a specific portrayal/interpretation of one character/plot point is to your liking, run with it. Some people will like it; some people won’t. Writing, just like reading, is a lot about identifying your personal likes and dislikes! 

Next: Writing Set Up: Where to Write Your Draft

Masterlist

[carmenlire]

okay goddamnit, I watched the king: eternal monarch for the second time on the last friday of september and i have spent the weeks since completely and utterly consumed reading every fic I could get my greedy little raccoon hands on and I have things to say!

first of all, I think the sheer concentration of amazing fic for this fandom is unparalleled. I have read so many stories with an emotional depth and a dive into canon (before often diverging into the writer’s own plot) that has left me in awe. It’s been a month and I just read a series this morning that I absolutely adored. I’ve reread a few fics half a dozen times in less than a month. i’m unhinged and having the time of my life.

so saying, I don’t imagine that I’ll ever write my own tkem fic so I want to get my thoughts out somewhere on what I might have liked to have seen in the show or what I would want to do in my own fic because holy hell the source material is so rich and reading these fics has given me ideas and has helped consolidate what i love about these characters and relationships. So, going by relationship:

lee gon/tae-eul/jo yeong

1. the first fics I read on ao3 the day after my second rewatch were canon compliant with lee gon/tae-eul. then I read a few poly fics where yeong joins them and i really enjoyed the dynamic, with gon as the fulcrum for the three of them while tae-eul and yeong learn to meet each other on their own terms but, in the end, no less devout than their pull with gon. 

I would love to explore the idea of that further-- I particularly would want to play out either a) gon has been just as in love with yeong since he was eight years old but the pull with tae-eul and the badge was always in the background and as king, he chose the easier route (even with parallel universes lmao) of pursuing what the kingdom would expect. however, when shit all goes down, he’s forced to confront that it’s always been yeong and tae-eul and the three must navigate that.

or b) gon doesn’t realize how much yeong means to him in a romantic sense until he has tae-eul but something is still missing. it takes tae-eul? to figure it out and orchestrate things to her liking. we can go either full angst as gon agonizes over the worry that tae-eul will perceive she’s not enough (he doesn’t know she’s behind the machinations) or full chaotic fluff with her obviously encouraging him and him seeing tae-eul and yeong together and feeling how right it is.

lee gon/ jo yeong

guys. GUYS. the little snippets we get of the two of them makes my brain overheat with the possibilities. There are a few things that I would like to see more of/I haven’t seen yet with these two fated disasters:

1. I’m in love with the idea that jo yeong might have been in love with gon since he was too young to understand all that encompasses, but he has actively pursued other relationships and is experienced. I have a particular thing with gon discovering yeong with someone else:

a) maybe gon walks into yeong’s apartment just to find him in a compromising position

b) gon visiting yeong during yeong’s years at the naval academy-- only to see yeong and a fellow cadet in the shadows of a corridor

c) yeong, still a teenager, with a stable boy when gon decides to go for a ride one afternoon

d) the one time yeong decided to treat gon as hyung and not pyeha, the two of them “snuck out” (there was still a security detail, though gon doesn’t know it) and they both drink too much and gon looks for yeong when his best friend seems to have disappeared, only to see yeong in the middle of a dance floor dancing very intimately with a man before pulling said stranger closer and kissing him for all he’s worth.

the possibilities are endless. in all of the ones above, though, gon had no idea that yeong is gay and he is 1) betrayed that yeong didn’t feel he could tell him 2) immediately jealous and overtaken with the urge to say yeong is his. (in option d, gon feels immediate heat surge through him and is served with the awakening of his life). 

this of course devolves into years of mutual pining as, even when yeong comes out or doesn’t hide his preferences anymore, gon thinks yeong never feels that way for him and yeong has always felt like gon wasn’t into him and as king, nothing would ever come of his love for pyeha.

2. I think a compelling story definitely involves gon and yeong realizing their feelings and acting on them as children-- the adults around them allow it to happen up to a certain point (they’re only touchy with each other, they make it obvious each other are their favorite company, there’s a lot of talk of being together forever in the ways children do when they don’t realize life rarely works out the way it seems it should). 

however, there comes a point where gon is gently urged to pull away from yeong and set boundaries because he must think of the future and bear an heir. yeong is similarly talked to, with talk of how the king is unreachable and that he is the unbreakable sword and he must accept his duty. cue years of longing and angst.

b) equally as interesting to explore would be the two of them having a fling in their late teens/early twenties and it ends amicably as they both know nothing can come of it but both are hopelessly in love and it’s another ten years before they have the courage to say the other is it for them (i’m imagining gon ruthlessly researches each man gon shows an interest in and takes delight in threatening them behind yeong’s back. yeong, for his part, can never quite hold back his sneer or annoyance when gon mentions someone who’s caught his eye-- of course, gon only does so because it makes yeong so obviously jealous.)

3 Can we PLEASE talk about the ending of the show!! seriously, it struck me in the finale but reading the fics that mention it, I just need more exploration of the fact that in the end, it is YEONG WHO SAVES GON AS A CHILD! like i wanna talk about everything that means!!!!

a) after everything, yeong is gon’s savior. he is the one gon spends a lifetime looking for. yeong is the one who protects child gon and the loop of fate and destiny is sticky enough for me to choke on. i want to see them resolve their first timeline with that of the present day. with no tae-eul in gon’s past, i want to see gon realize what’s been in front of him all along.

(I love the idea of lady noh knowing it was gon back in 1994 and if i let my flights of fancy take off, i ADORE the image of gon carrying an unconscious, injured yeong out of the Cheonjongo just to be intercepted by lady noh. lady noh gains sufficient proof of who they are (decidely not lee lim’s traitors) and that makes the scene where they let four year old yeong interrupt the mourning rites even more significant and heartbreaking.)

b) the viewer is under the impression that yeong is fatally wounded after the second time at the Cheonjongo. I want to see gon 1) find yeong and see his world shatter at the price he thinks he might have just paid to fix things with his uncle 2) stay at yeong’s side at the hospital for days if not weeks and then he is there every step of the way for physical therapy 3) seeing yeong’s own reaction to nearly being killed and the aftermath of what must be severely traumatizing.

i) with this, i love the angst fest that is yeong deciding he’s given enough to the crown and gon and that he finally needs to live his own life. maybe he takes a step back, maybe he leaves indefinitely but i would LOVE to see gon finally being forced to realize how much yeong means to him and in what ways he wants him just for, at the same instant, yeong decides he has wasted enough time on gon and he needs to leave. can you imagine how delicious the angst and emotional journey would be as they find their way back to each other. my god.

ii) i would love to see yeong to be wounded and gon to save him, in a reversal of the bodyguard/king dynamic. in the show, we get eun-sop but gosh what if yeong had been the one shot? i wanna see gon’s reaction and see yeong treated with care.

4) I love outsider POVs and would enjoy the hell out of both yeong and gon being oblivious idiots in love but we see that everyone around them has known since they met the two of them that they would end up together: from lady noh to a tutor to an ex-girlfriend of gon’s to yeong’s parents, like everyone just being completely exasperated that these two just won’t make a move!

5) there are always rumors right? well give me a fic where they both play into it actively (while staying true to their characters). gon is always touching yeong, invading his space. those small hints of smiles we see when yeong is endeared or proud of yeong. there are whole social media accounts dedicated to tracking these small moments. neither gon nor yeong acknowledge why the rumors do nothing to make them uncomfortable, that they actually like it.

jo yeong/kang sin-jae

I didn’t even know this ship was a thing until I descended into the tkem tag on ao3 but I was immediately consumed! there are so many well written fics with this pairing and I just love the potential of it-- that in the first timeline, they are both men with a lot of baggage. two imperfect men meeting each other where they are and finding solace in each other. it soothes a corner of my brain that acknowledges that i’m a grown-up and i want to see messy people deserve happy endings too.

honestly, there are some very in-depth fics and i can’t think of many things i haven’t been lucky enough to read but i had to include this ship in this list because they ruined me. utterly and completely.

1) I wanna see sinjae/hyeonmin be at yeong’s side as the heir of the jo dynasty. he can go toe to toe with anyone no matter their title or influence and seeing yeong stand next to him, proud and in love at some gala or other is utterly lovely.

2) the two of them with kids! i love that these two people, flawed and a little dark, would be such good parents and would have that soft side for their children.

3) seeing how they play with gon. gon 1) being jealous and petty as a best friend to yeong 2) gon seeing how happy they are and absolutely doting and teasing them 3) exploring sinjae and yeong navigating the fact that gon will always be a man barely half a step below sinjae (which gets messier if you add in an element where yeong and gon have actually been in a relationship or slept together before).

Misc

with either sinjae or lee gon, i also love AUs!! rainhat has a bakery au with sinjae and yeong and i adore seeing their personalities in a different setting. give me rival teachers! an au where both yeong and gon are titled and on equal ground! a coffeeshop au! i love seeing the dynamics of these men and with either relationship, it would be so fun to explore outside of canon!!

[magnorious]

The Winchesters is Unnecessarily Competent

I like to have TV on as background noise while I work and the other day, I put on The Winchesters because I thought it would be dumb and campy and I wouldn’t have to pay attention. I’d forgotten a Supernatural prequel series existed until scrolling past it on HBO Max. I had never seen a trailer or read any press about it, and I had no idea what I was walking into.

I’m halfway through episode 1 when I see John Winchester team up in a poorly choreographed fight against a demon with Mary Campbell and I start paying attention, waiting for something to swoop in and roofie John to next Thursday, and wipe his memory. But that doesn’t happen. This John knows exactly what demons are.

Having skipped seasons 8-15, save a few episodes here and there, of Supernatural, I missed most of the Men of Letters and Jack shenanigans. But I remember very clearly that a ton of drama in the earlier seasons came from the boys having no idea that their mother was a hunter, and came from a long line of hunters, until a reveal in season… 4, I believe. John never had any idea of his wife’s history, as shown through a couple time travel episodes.

This was a big deal to Sam and Dean. Earth-shattering revelations had all around.

So when The Winchesters decided to retcon that… morbid curiosity had me paying attention solely to find out if this would crash and burn spectacularly with how little the writers seemed to understand about the source material.

Only, The Winchesters didn’t crash and burn. It has solid acting, decent period-appropriate costuming and set design, fantastic characters with a lot of depth, a very Supernatural main antagonist, especially toward the later seasons, and a very clear love and respect for the source material.

And I’m… baffled?

The show was clearly designed for those who had seen Supernatural. The title credits are the same font and the title card has the same sound cues from Supernatural. There’s that old familiar classic rock soundtrack and tons of winks and nods to famous lines from the show, “Saving people, hunting things” being one of them, “Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole,” as well.

When actors came to reprise their roles, the music swells upon the face reveal, there’s a big dramatic pause so fangirls can squeal and point at the screen like DiCaprio in that meme. Jensen Ackles reprised his role to narrate and eventually makes an appearance on screen. It’s a good time. It’s a fun time. They rely on familiar faces just enough to have a laugh, and let the main cast of this show have the spotlight, all the way to the end.

There’s some heavy character moments, like Carlos confronting Loki and really, confronting himself, and Lata finally opening up about her past. They also brought in some unique and interesting monsters of the week that felt like the old show. I did think the convenience of using CB radios in lieu of cell phones was a bit, well, convenient, but it never broke the immersion.

But it screws the canon up so badly that I was still baffled until the very last closing info dump explaining that (spoiler alert) this entire show is one big AU, explaining away why Loki (wink wink, nudge nudge) goes down the way he goes, why the actors look different than those from Supernatural playing John, Mary, and Samuel, why these Akrida are never mentioned in Supernatural even though they were a massive threat in this prequel.

At first, I thought that was a massive cop-out. Making this an AU removes any complications the writers would have to face trying to maintain continuity– none of what happens here matters in the main show and none of it adds any nuance because we’re not looking at the 1960s past of anyone we cared about in Supernatural. I’m also sick of multi-verses at this point and studios thinking “multi-verse” adds any sort of stakes to a story.

Then the credits rolled and I had some thoughts.

Now I will say, there is some weirdness. Team Free Will this time around is rounded out by Carlos, who’s gay and hispanic, and Lata, an Indian woman, and their Bobby stand-in, Ada, a black woman. And, the thorn in their side all season is a young, unmarried hispanic cop…. In Kansas. In 1960-something. Surrounded by white men.

All these characters are well-acted, well written, and well-developed, but given the time period, and the setting of middle-America… there’s no racism or homophobia? And, apparently, there’s a solid support system for vets suffering PTSD that totally, absolutely existed back then, for sure.

Weirdest nitpick to have, I know. I’m happy not having an obligatory racist or homophobe bullying these characters, but the script almost seems to ignore that it existed entirely. Maybe on this Alternate Earth, everyone was living in Candy Land, but something definitely felt too polished about how un-hateful the side characters were. Not even surly Samuel is racist. Unless I missed something, of course correct me, it was on in the background for some moments and I don’t remember every single scene after binging it all at once.

Dean’s ending expository monologue feels like an info-dump slap in the face, that can’t be ignored. The final fight ends and none of these characters know who he is, he’s there for the audience, so he’s talking and I believe only John and Mary even get to ask him questions. The other characters are awkwardly silent, standing off-screen.

Cas doesn’t exist. It would be weird to have him there when Sam never showed up, but given what happened with the Supernatural finale also pretending he doesn’t exist, it was a little disappointing not seeing an appearance of his character in another vessel, or any of the angels, back when he was his old, awkward, stick-in-the-ass self. Sam gets a name drop, Bobby comes back, Crowley isn’t mentioned by name, but there’s a wink and a nod there, and... no Cas. At all. 

But with all that said.

The Winchesters is just a fun romp in the past… and it knows it. It’s not burdened by the chains of continuity. It can make these characters do and be whatever it wants. And, watching it post-pandemic, when so much of TV is stripped and streamlined into one long movie with no room for filler or side-quests, seeing filler and side-quests was refreshing. (I recently watched season 1 of Gotham for the first time and that same nostalgia for old storytelling hit. Sometimes filler is a good thing, damn it). The Winchesters, for a prequel series to a show that ran 15 seasons into the ground and blew up with a spectacularly infamous finale, is unnecessarily competent.

[rejectofsociety]

Alright I got thoughts and I’m tired of not saying them

Honestly, I want to like the Stranger Things fandom. I enjoy the show (even though the writing is terrible) and I adore the characters and their relationships. But fucking hell the fandom is exhausting. Fighting over ships-- like Byler vs Mileven, Steddie vs Hellcheer (the worst shipping war of all imo)-- like children is ridiculous. Enjoy your ships, if you don’t like it scroll past it, understand it’s just a show, and quite frankly, who fucking cares. If you don’t like the end game, go into your little hole where you control your online experience, and read and write and enjoy the art of the ending you want. Quit fighting each other, you look stupid as hell. When it comes to shipping Eddie especially, that gets horrific. Steddie and Edissy or Hellcheer or whatever shippers are at each other’s throat so, so bad. Eddie’s dead for one, get over it. For two, he had great chemistry with everyone, but he also had very little screen time. He had extremely little screen time with Chrissy, and few interactions with Steve. Sorry, but Eddie doesn’t exist for romance. He’s a fucking gift and I love him because we have so, so much in common ad maybe that’s why the shipping battles with him piss me off especially. I just wanna enjoy his character but all the fans are so fucking weird about him, and they shove their ships down everybody’s throats and give a very aggressive fuck you to anyone who disagrees. I’ve gotten people in my inboxes demanding to know who I ship Eddie with and fuck you I just wanna be happy to see a fellow metalhead school freak who struggles in school. I’m not saying people shouldn’t have their ships, I’m just saying people have got to be more mature about their ships. 

Aside from that, some of the headcanons are kinda. Exhausting? Like, there’s all these long, intricate headcanons, a lot of them are heavily ship-based, and many of them stray really far from what we’ve been presented in canon. I read these headcanons and, congrats on the creativity, but where are you getting this? How does this relate in anyway to the source material? Having headcanons is fine, I got plenty, but some of these are really reaching and yet they get so popular. Plus, they overpower actual conversations about the show. And quite frankly, I’d much rather read an in-depth, sensical interpretation of a scene based on exactly what we were given. I loved Will’s speech to Mike in the van, let’s talk about that more. I love the parts where Lucas is really trying to reach Max and let her know he loves her, let’s talk about that! In general, let’s talk more about relationships that exist and are healthy like Max and Lucas instead of trying to prove who Steve or Eddie or whatever is in love with. I miss just being able to talk about the show and actually talk about the show.

“You control your online experience” so true and I’m a deep believer that you’re responsible for what you see on the internet. But the thing is with the Stranger Things fandom is that these things are so, so prevalent it’s really hard to work your way around them. Enjoy fandom however, have your headcanons, have your ships, but stop fucking fighting each other over this shit, be more mature about your ship, and please for fuck’s stake don’t forget the source material. 

[cowboycereal]

thinking about what literati could have been if they had been given the care they deserved

[lilabrds]

okay i’m about to ramble here, because i love that we have someone (aizawa of all people!!) acknowledging in canon that toshinori is actually very intelligent

i’ve noticed that often, toshinori gets portrayed as a goofball, someone who isn’t that smart, and just wanted to discuss how, even though he is a fool sometimes, he’s one of the smartest characters in the bnha universe. just looking at his ultra analysis stat block:

toshinori has a 6/6 rating for his intelligence stat. for comparison, other 6/6 intelligence characters are:

principal nezu (who literally has an intelligence boosting quirk)

momo yaoyorozu (who is so good at utilising her quirk because of her in-depth understanding of material science, chemistry and physics)

all for one (dude is old as fuck (lots of experience), extremely emotionally intelligent (which he uses to be manipulative), and tactically brilliant)

we don’t know david shield’s official stats, but as he is a nobel prize winner, it’d be a safe guess to say he is also 6/6

toshinori also outranks sir nighteye (5/6), aizawa shota (5/6) and recovery girl (5/6) for intelligence

next up, we have one of the few things we know about young toshinori: he went to college in the states. that alone doesn’t qualify intelligence, but what we can infer from two heroes does

it’s not a stretch to say that dave was almost definitely a STEM major - he goes on to become a world renowned, nobel prize winning scientist. his inventions are used as support items for heroes globally. dave almost definitely majored in either physics or engineering

what’s notable, is that toshinori is taking at least Some of the same classes as dave, which we know from when dave comments about them both being late for their lecture again. dave is smart, already an accomplished inventor at 21, implying that they’re likely both enrolled at a high ranking university

toshinori is therefore capable of meeting academic requirements for a high ranking and competitive university, and is also shown to be mathematically and analytically gifted, based on his (probable) major

next up is toshinori’s tactical abilities. it’s almost a shame that all might could solve almost every problem with a punch or two, because the few times a fight gets tough, toshinori is shown to be very smart and tactical. look at the usj fight, for example:

toshinori identified the nomu’s quirk (shock absorption), used an educated assumption to figure out its weakness (there must be a limit - apply too much force over a short period of time and it cannot cope), and quickly switched tactics to apply his deduction, which turned out to be true

now let’s look at the kamino ward fight:

brute force alone was never going to win the fight. afo, as mentioned before, is incredibly emotionally intelligent, and uses that against toshinori. and toshinori, also incredibly emotionally intelligent, is able to compartmentalise these revelations, whilst still leading all for one to believe he was compromised by this

toshinori feints a "final attack", plays into all for one’s ego, and all for one’s expectation that toshinori will fight honestly (as in, he wouldn’t use deceptive tactics), then brings home the final blow when all for one believes the victory is his

toshinori yagi, though sometimes a bit of a goof, is an incredibly intelligent person. he’s well educated and highly analytical, he’s very emotionally intuitive, and he’s tactically brilliant. don’t underestimate how smart this man is

[getoutofmyjaneway]

Beta Cannon: the Pre Voyager Era of Kathryn Janeway | Mosaic v The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway

This weekend, I got a copy of the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway from a local book store. For how frequently we speak about Mosaic in the community (despite having some flaws) I was shocked that I had not heard a lot about this book and assumed it was a bad thing. And yeah in some regards it was (see @mia-cooper’s post on the subject). I have a lot of feelings (I’ll post a proper review at a later point) but one thing that did stick out to me is the divergence from what we have considered Beta Canon, aka, the extended universe of Star Treks told through novels, short stories, video games, etc. After completing the novel, I jumped right into my old standby copy of Mosaic, which has dictated a lot of Janeway’s back story since 96. Both of these novels cover the beginnings of Janeway’s life and how she was shaped into the woman we know. 

TLDR The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway changes a lot of things for no reason. Some of these are for the good. Some for the bad. And some, for like no good reason at all, like it was fine as it was, and was accepted cannon for like 25 years, but sure fine whatever.

I will mention that, as Mosaic has been a book in my library and I have read it too many times, so of course, I do have a bias toward it. Additionally, I feel like it is fair to mention here that authors of Fanfiction have leaned on this as their bibles since 1996 as Mosaic is written by Jeri Taylor, one of the show-runners for Voyager. Because of its connection with a showrunner, Mosaic is also integrated into the canon of the show. It seems that most points that are taken from Mosaic in the Autobiography are only included because of their existence in cannon material.

Anyway, this review is going to focus on the characters that shape Kathryn and I will end with my final thoughts. This is long so to respect your dash, you are going to have to click keep reading. You’re welcome.

Obligatory Spoiler Warning for ALL of Mosaic, chapter 13 of Pathways, and chapters 1-7 of The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway

Edward Janeway

In all media, I feel like we can safely say that Kathryn Janeway is in fact a daddy’s girl. Her relationship with her father is very important to her, so it is interesting to see how it is portrayed very differently in both novels. In Mosaic, a lot of the highlights of Janeway’s earlier years revolve around time spent with him. From giving her special attention after ‘Your Sister’ was born, to consoling her after her losing tennis match and subsequent walk home in the rain, and trips to Mars, Kathryn mentions great fondness of quality time spent. In the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway he is more described as an absent father, one that she always wanted to see and please. When he was home, she wanted all of his attention and to impress him greatly. She wished to follow in his footsteps after gaining a love of flight and the stars with a plane ride and a telescope he gave her. He tried to prepare her by detaining the events of the current conflict with Cardassia and inviting Starfleet brass over for dinner. Overall, in her early childhood, it makes more sense for Edward to not be around often. There is not a lot of conflict between the sources, other than the details of the aforementioned tennis match and different childhood nicknames.  

Edward is in a crash aboard an experimental ship on Tau Ceti Prime which leads to his death. This is where the big differences begin. In Mosaic, Kathryn and her fiancé are also on board. In  Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway, Kathryn is still on the Al-Batani. The fall out of this event has a great effect on Kathryn of course in both novels. As this is a missive shaping event of Kathryn’s life, I felt it very jarring to be changed. This moment shaped Janeway and gives us good context for why she handles situations the way she does. I see this trauma and I understand her character better, for dealing with the loss of two of the most important people in her life all at once.

Gretchen Janeway

The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway was good to Gretchen Janeway as her character is basically a blank slate. We know little about her from Mosaic as it mostly focuses on Kathryn’s relationship with her father (and other male influences in her life). It is nice to learn more things about Grechen as with Edward’s job, it is likely that Kathryn was mainly raised by her. Other than being an artist, she also wrote some of the Flotter holos and wrote a number of children’s stories about the people of Bajor during the occupation. She does a lot of humanitarian work with the refugees from Bajor during the occupation. She loves to garden and get her daughters involved. She has a close bond with Phoebe due to their overlapping interests, but you can tell that she strives to support her in what she does. Overall, I like getting know Gretchen to be someone of than Kathryn’s mother.

Phoebe Janeway

 I was shocked when researching Memory Alpha for this review, Phoebe is never named in any Cannon media up to this point (Star Trek Prodigy could very well change this). We know Janeway has a sister and she is an artist, but that is it. Both novels keep her very similar personality-wise. In both stories, Kathryn is not looking forward to being a big sister. They also both mourn the loss of their father together. In Mosaic, she is not mentioned much. Kathryn tells her she is not old enough on an off planet trip and Phoebe plays pranks on her. The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway goes much more into depth. They don’t get along when they are younger. They fight a lot. I feel this is a very realistic portrayal of real siblings, vying for attention and approval, snapping when they don’t get their way.  They both excel at what they do, Kathryn in her studies and Phoebe through her art. They seem to need to one-up each other at every turn.  As they grow up, they grow closer together, as many siblings do. Points added for giving Phoebe a wife, something which has been included in a lot of fanfiction. Overall, there are no big conflicting points.

Mark Johnson

Kathryn’s fiance at the time of the Voyager’s disappearance, Mark is a very different part of Kathryn’s life in both novels. In Mosaic, he is a childhood friend and went by his middle name Hobbs. Seemingly always two steps behind Kathryn, he did a lot of the same activities that she did, tennis and swimming in the underground cave systems. He did these poorly, and this makes Kathryn always look down upon him. They reconnected after her father’s death and she fell head-over-heels for him. Personally, I always felt this was a little uncharacteristic of Kathryn, to run away from her responsibilities to be with a man. It just seems very out of character and has always bothered me. The  Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway takes a completely different approach. She meets Mark as a friend of Pheobe and her wife as a widower. They hit it off and they fall hard. You can see the conflict in Kathryn as she debates how to move forward with a relationship as they have different outlooks on life. She has a drive to explore but does not want to be an absent parent. She debates quitting, which I don’t think is something Janeway would have ever done. Overall she decides to accept Mark’s proposal just before taking command of Voyager. This makes the Dear John situation a lot more believable as it makes sense that he would want to move on with his life much quicker. Overall, I have to just ask, why? I know Mark doesn’t have a lot of character, but why change basically their whole relationship dynamic? 

Justin Tighe

Justin is a character I actually like for selfish reasons. This explains why I was very miffed that he was nowhere to be seen in the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway. Justin is Kathryn’s first love, they were coworkers, engaged and in love, and dies in the same accident that takes her father. As a person who always wanted Chakotay and Janeway to get together, this incident perfectly gives the reason. She is afraid to get romantically involved with a crew member because of the nature of the job. This dynamic is seen between Picard and Nella Daren in TNG very well. Kathryn has learned the hard way that she can lose a person under her command and how it feels when you are in love with that person. In early Voyager, you can see she isolates herself from the crew and it takes time for her to get comfortable. And during Night she relapses to her old ways. This is the way I have always justified Janeway’s reluctance to have a romantic relationship during their time in the Delta Quadrant. By understanding her background, I have a lot of respect for that choice. Her relationship with Justin really shaped how she handles relationships and without the impact he had on her life, it actually makes her character weaker.

Owen Paris

Owen is Kathryn’s mentor. In Mosaic, they meet as he is reviewing her junior honors thesis advisor on massive compact halo objects. From here they gained a relationship built on respect and learning. It makes sense that, as he was her personal mentor, that she would be close with his family, and why she would seek out Tom as a person to bring with her to the Badlands mission. In the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway, she does not meet him until she is on the Al-Batani. This doesn’t only weaken her relationship with Admiral Paris, but moreover weakens her relationship with Tom. If he was her superior officer, why would she develop such a ‘big sister’ mentality to Tom if she didn’t have as many opportunities to meet him?

Tuvok

Mosaic does not go too much in depth with Tuvok and Janeway’s relationship, but its sister novel Pathways does. In Pathways, Tuvok meets Janeway when he is an ensign under her command of the USS Bonestell. The Bonestell and the Billings, two ships that Janeway served on, tend to get confused a lot. Most sources have Janeway’s first command as the Voyager, Including Voyager itself -  “It doesn't seem like my first command is shaping up the way I expected,” Janeway Shattered. The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway has her and Tuvok meet on the Al-Batani. I actually really like the dynamic between them, as they grow to respect each other over a much longer period of time. I also like that, though Janeway climbs through the ranks, it does not change their relationship dynamic as she still relies on him and asks him advice as if they were equals. I think giving them a longer time to build their relationship. Also would like to note that Janeway and Tuvok also had a friendship with the original CMO of Voyager, Dr. Fitzgerald. I always wanted to know more about the Pre-Caretaker crew and I would have loved to see this dynamic and how the grief of losing a close personal friend in the Caretaker incident would impact them both.

Also I feel obligated to shout out the Janeway and Tuvok story in Star Trek Waypoint One-Shot. I need to get around to doing a series retrospective, but this short story I have not seen anyone talk about and I love it so much. Please read Waypoint. Okay next.

Other characters

Cheb - Janeway’s boyfriend in Mosaic. He was kind of an asshole and got her into trouble. He is not in the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway and I see no problem with this.

Boothby - “[he is the] head groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy. When I was a cadet, he used to give me fresh roses for my quarters,” Janeway Revulsion. Boothby is not in Mosaic. In the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway, it is explained that her mother loved to garden and this was something that Boothby did as a gradian figure to make her feel at home and destress. Makes sense.

Aisha - A childhood friend of Katheryn’s. Only in the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway. Mosaic has this weird thing about highlighting the relationships with only the men in her life, so it is nice to see her have some other female friends.

Nexa - Katheryn’s roommate at the Academy.  Only in the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway. Nexa helps broaden Kathryn’s horizons by helping to learn about Exoliguisticts, first contact, and the Betazoid culture. Again nice to see her have other female friends.

Riker - Yes they go on a date in Mosaic. He is not mentioned in the  Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway. I know he is a gag character but I still liked it.

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Final Thoughts

A lot of characters were changed between these two novels. There is a lot to like and a lot to hate. I really like what the Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway did with characters like Tuvok and Gretchen Janeway. Other characters were not so lucky (Justin, sweetie I’m so sorry that they would erase you like that, oh my god). It’s a mixed bag, but one thing I need say is... why?

We have had a good thing going here with the established canon as is. Mosaic (and Pathways) is the foundation of which the last 25 years of fanworks and the relaunch novels are based on. Why change history when it is already written?

Always, would love to hear your thoughts and thank you for reading my novel of a post. I will see you in the full review.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

I'm am completely tired of people crapping on villians and not trying to understand their perspectives I am really sick of the fandom doing all this

Me too, anon, me too. That's exactly why I create this blog.

I've said it before, but if someone decides to ignore the villains and their narratives through the manga, that person is not going to be able to read correctly the main arc.

In bnha / mha, the villains are not simple side characters. Shigaraki Tomura has the same relevance as Midoriya Izuku, for example. They are direct parallels and together they work as the representations of the theme. If my speculations and metas are correct, you have all the main characters directly interacting with the villains to reach the climax of the series.

Besides, it really frustraste me that people are unable to appreciate a character and how that character is written just because that said character is not "good". It completely takes the depth of the characters and the complexity of their buildings and create a shallow storyline. Even the characters in kids TV shows have different degrees of good and bad traits, because we are in an era of writing where we're exploring how real a character can get.

People can say "I like shallow, simple characters with very explicit plots that don't challenge my comprehension or my mind" and that would be perfectly fine, there's no shame in liking simple stuff. Instead, they invent every type of excuses to hate characters? And I mean, you can hate a character for your own personal reasons, but instigating a crusade against that character and the fans?

Also, many fans are unable to understand that there are not universal rules to judge characters WITHOUT the context. Lately I've seen so many people bringing things out of context and directly violating the original material not in rational ways (admitting something is fan modified, fan made, personal takes, etc) but in harmful serious ways, by telling others that what they see is the only possible point of view on the matter.

For example, I'm totally able to say that I hate Overhaul in the canon for what he did but I'm pretty much interested in the implications of his writing. I can write many aus about Overhaul without liking the character in a sentimental way, just because I as a writer want to explore the possibilities within this character. I can totally say Boku No Hero Academia is not the best written manga and still entirely love and rant about the worldbuilding daily.

When it comes to the villains, it is simply annoying to me how people refuse to acknowledge that they are some of the best written characters in the manga. Toga is one of the best written female characters in mha / bnha, Dabi has an intricate personal arc that involves the values of the hero system itself and Shigaraki Tomura is— I don't even have words for the amount of dedication Horikoshi put in Tomura. He's been driving the plot along with Izuku this whole time. I can even argue that Shigaraki is better written than Izuku, because he is way more deep in terms of motivations, psychological traits and way of acting.

People is free to hate the villains, but to refuse to see the greatness of their writing? And even then, it's incredible the amount of issues I've seen within the fans regarding the villains.

For example: Spinner as a character represents the racism within the bnha / mha world. He is an incredible character, he narrates the MVA arc, he's been there for the almost every arc of the villains... And yet he lacks popularity. Why? I know studio bones tends to take him out of the anime, but this also has a reason. Why studio bones thinks Spinner is not as relevant or popular as the others? It's safe to assume a group of fans don't care about him only because he "doesn't have the look".

Sometimes when I point out that the League is right about MANY issues within the hero system, some fans go great lengths to defend the heroes and shut down my arguments. I don't personally understand how people likes to ignore the fact that pro-heroes in bnha / mha are a mixture of the police-the army with the celebrity world. In the real world, we're right now living a whole situation regarding the values behind the police existence and the negative side of putting celebrities like they are gods. You can clearly see it reflected on the bnha / mha universe, the villains clearly point out the privileges of the pro-heroes and why the system promoting and manipulating such privileges has created the catastrophe they're going through. But apparently fans don't want to read that? Because heroes are supposed to be good and villains are supposed to be bad, I guess. They don't understand the hero-villain narrative has been dehumanizing the characters and the main arc of bnha / mha is working on it to show that more than heroes and villains and citizens, there are complex humans who don't fall into an absolute.

I'm sorry for ranting about this anon, but every time I read "villain fan" as in derrogatory, I laugh because I'm baffled. Most stories need a good antagonist for it to work. There are MANY types of antagonists and MANY types of villains and they just– they just ignore it? Like it is nothing? And then they pretend to judge the villains by only taking tiny parts of their personalities and stories and they pretend to say that is accurate?

I don't know what to say to that. I can only write meta to help people understand the villains better and show them why they are so important and impressive. If they don't want to acknowledge it, that's their problem.

I love to talk and discuss people with different points of view as long as we're able to keep things respectful, but the minute they start attacking me without even listening to my arguments, good bye.

I thank God for the block button every single day of my life.

Well, I hope you're having a great day, anon. Please remember to drink water, take your meds, eat enough, sleep enough and don't forget to breath deep and use the block button and the content and tag filters as much as you want.