#ollieanswers

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Timari!!

It makes sense. I've written it a bunch now so it compels me less than it did like 3 years ago. But its still a fun ship <3

[welcometohale]

Transvaal Daisy, Tropical White Morning Glory, and Tulip?

Flower Asks

Transvaal Daisy - What’s your favorite item of clothing?

It’s a toss-up between beanies and flannel (I’m so gay)

Tropical White Morning Glory - Describe your aesthetic

Someone who tries too hard to seem like they’re not trying at all

Tulip - What’s would be the best present to get you?

Homemade gifts!! If you make it I want it!! I love supporting people in what they make!!

[spaceaceofficial]

Welcome to nightvale reference?

Yep yep! I don't post about WTNV nearly as much as I ought to, but it's one of my main fandoms. :) I enen did a fem!Cecilos cosplay with my friend once!

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

What's your favourite trope?

Found family :D

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

For the ship rating: CassNette?

I've always felt that you could just read Kagaminette fics and get the same fix, but I think it's cute. Need more lesbians in the fandom. Especially considering how many of our authors are queer women lmao.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

in reference to your "if you like tom taylor's writing you're white" post, could you possibly elaborate? i don't want this to sound rude so i'm a little nervous about sending but!! i like his writing, i am also white, and i would like to know any issues in his writing that i can look out for so i can enjoy it critically. i realize i'm not entitled to an answer, but if you feel like it then i would appreciate it greatly!

Of course darling.

Now, I was just going to talk about some dumb plotlines if this ever came up (like the telenovela shit and the fact that he uses cameos from beloved stories to make up for the fact that very little of his plotlines are original) but I didn't expect such a genuine answer and I have some free time... so I guess I'm doing doing a breakdown of all of the bullshit in his writing.

For the record: I'm not going to speak on how he handles disabled people. It's neither on topic nor my place. Several people have done this well here, here, and here if this interests you.

There are two main reasons why (tw for a bunch of stuff, don't read if you're sensitive):

How he treats race

I bring to the stand: "the romani smile incident".

Listen, I feel like this one was good-intentioned. Maybe. Probably. However, it's just so fucking weird from every angle I try and look at it from.

Telling someone they have a "(insert race here) smile" is already just... a very strange way to do representation. If you want to call back to/confirm his Romani heritage, which I would be all for, do it in a way that makes sense. Please. Literally anyone that thought about it for longer than half a second stopped and went "sorry, what the fuck".

I saw some people theorizing that he probably thought that, since there's such thing as a "white person smile", there had to be something like that for other races. And I hope that's the case.

It's funny... and also way better than the alternative.

Because there is a phrase like that for Romani people: "they had a (g-slur) smile". It generally means all of the things that are stereotyped about that culture. Mischievous, free-spirited, mysterious, etc. Changing it so the slur isn't used doesn't change the connotation and continues the perpetuation of stereotypes.

And then there's the entirety of this picture:

I don't even know where to start with this one, honestly.

Damian has been whitewashed to hell and back.

Duke isn't even there. He is considered part of the core batfam nowadays, so it's very strange that he hasn't been included. Especially since he's the only black character. Tom defended himself by saying that Duke hasn't appeared in a Nightwing comic in quite some time, but he has control over who is in the comics. He is the writer. And, since Cass is in the background of one of the pictures, the whole "there wasn't enough room!" doesn't really work.

And, speaking of that, Cass is in the background? The people of color are just not winning today. She's even in the background of Steph's picture, which makes it worse. Steph isn't even a part of the batfam, she can't be for the sake of Timsteph fans, she's just a family friend. Why did the family friend get to be in the front of the frame? Why is Cass, an Asian woman, considered a literal background character?

... anyways.

Then there's the zionism

This was 2013, so I genuinely would give the benefit of the doubt here... but Tom Taylor recently defended his past self by saying that "it's fiction, that doesn't mean I agree that he should have forced them to sign a peace treaty!", which means he still doesn't understand what is wrong with implying that the war in the middle east isn't a group of people trying to fight back against their oppressors.

2. Performative activism

The reason I have this second, despite feeling like it's the stronger argument, is because performative activism isn't strictly a White Person Thing... but, also, yes it is. So, let's get into his politics.

The treatment of homeless people: It's strange to see Dick Grayson suddenly "discover" homeless people in the most recent Nightwing comics, especially since he was homeless for a while in a previous run. I brushed past this, originally, though, because I figured he just wanted to address the recent talking point about how Bruce Wayne (and, by extension, his kids) should be using his money to help people in need rather than beat up the poor and I wanted to see what he did with it. I no longer let it go, because Tom Taylor has nothing to say. Homelessness bad. Yeah? You gonna address it at all, buddy? Some solutions? Some explanations for why homelessness exists? No? "Donate to the homeless" is all you're gonna say? Alright. Thank you for all your wisdom and new ideas, I guess.

The whole 'school gun violence' plotline with Jon was whack. It honestly deserves its own post, but I refuse to spend even more time thinking about it. Instead I'm just gonna sum up the villain's motivation and leave it there: the villain... wants school shootings to stop and therefore tries to draw attention to them... by shooting up a school.

Jon Kent... honestly, his whole thing at the moment is very white-savior-y, which is already annoying in itself, but that's not the real point here. His whole thing is saving the planet in the environmental sense, but Tom Taylor loves "good billionaires". He made Nightwing a billionaire. For some reason, I don't have much faith in his understanding of the global climate crisis.

Basically, if I see one more person call Tom Taylor a leftist I will scream. I am a leftist, he's an annoying liberal. We are not the same.

More seriously, the reason that I think performative activism is almost strictly White Person Thing, though, is because most people of color think more about what's going on and have more to say. Not because we want to know a lot about things like this, but because we have to. Systemic issues are our problems to deal with and white people's problem to sometimes talk about when they want some "good person points". And yet they never seem to do anything more than point at an issue and say it's an issue. It's a privileged position to be in.

And, we're done. If you want more information, try going through the 'anti tom taylor' tag. I'm lazy and don't have enough time to do any more before class. Byeeeee.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Also. Joker is dead in this. Mari and Adrien sniped his pasty ass when they were in Gotham digging up Jason's body

(Enemy of my Enemy author note. I now require details.)

(The enemy of my enemy is ALSO my enemy)

Joker is dead. They sniped his pasty ass on the way to digging up Jason's body. Like a McDonald's run but like for murder. I don't know how I could be more clear about that.

But a little more seriously...

So. We've talked a little about how Enemy of my Enemy is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy in the comments before (Marinette and Adrien met Jason when he escaped Lazarus Holdings to yell at them, he was only in Lazarus Holdings because they got attached enough to want to bring him back). But just because they were told his name doesn't mean that it was enough to find his body.

A cursory glance over that and who 'Robin' was was more than enough for them to get a general idea of what had happened. And, well, I thought it would be an interesting parallel to have Jason kill Hawkmoth for them technically he dragged Hawkmoth down to eternal damnation but same difference, and Adrienette later takes out his main villain with their magic.

I like to think that Adrienette considered killing and bringing Joker back over and over again for funsies, but decided not to because Jason was still in Lazarus Holdings and they didn't want to force him to see Joker again, even if it was just for a few minutes. So instead Marinette just outright killed him and Adrien dissolved his body. They threw his ashes into the sea to make sure he could never be brought back again <3.

Anyways, you can't be siblings if you're not ready to literally commit murder for them at any moment I said what I said.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

You're lucky I <3 you and am not fully taking advantage of your ask game.

I <3 u too beloved

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

marijon

They're very similar and I think they'd made a cute couple. But also. I think it would be way funnier if they absolutely hated each other's guts.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Tell about the scene where Marinette sees Talia :)

(Satisfied Alt. Ending)

So, Talia al Ghul is a character that is commonly misunderstood. Mostly because of He Who Must Not Be Named (idc if he has since apologized, he has completely ruined her character). Since His interpretation of her is so vitally important for Damian's character, she is constantly screwed over in canon and fanon.

Ignoring that interpretation, though, Talia is pretty much the epitome of someone who got brainwashed by her parents and is still feeling the effects of it even years later, despite the good influences she now has she still sometimes falls back into what she had learned. Still, she is a good person, and is trying to do better. Not including her in the story where Marinette is healing from being Stockholm Syndrome-d into thinking of Harley as a mother figure would have been a wasted opportunity.

Anyways :D besides that, the scene starts off with Marinette making a terrible first impression that is quickly rectified. It parallels her misunderstanding of what the Pit is not that much later :)

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Ok so I don’t have a particular scene in mind, so could you maybe give me an analysis of how Stalker x Stalker came to be?

(Stalker x Stalker)

Stalker x Stalker was basically a character analysis that I added jokes to, to be honest. I know the humor is most of what it's known for (which is valid, it's hilarious), I can't really analyze that. So.

I saw their stalking tendencies and decided that I would make it my mission to make it all believable and understandable. I might have done too well because I still have people talking about how they're "goals" or whatever.

I wanted my audience to sympathize with the characters, which meant that I needed them to behave in specific ways that felt 'justifiable' from the audience's point of view. Hence why the POVs switch and the stalking is entirely mutual - it makes people feel like it's not quite as bad. But you have to remember, for the earlier parts they had no idea that they themselves were being stalked. It's easy to forget as an omniscient reader, but it's important to consider when talking about their moralities. They did not know it was mutual. Yes, Tim knew that he was being listened in on, but he thought it was her vetting him.

Which is what it started as, to be fair... speaking of! The slow descent was extremely important in this. If it went too fast, it would risk alienating the audience and pulling them out of the character's heads, meaning they would sympathize less, and that would defeat the point. This meant that the worsening of their states had to take time.

Of course, the starting point was... complicated. I needed to have them start off seeming... well, perhaps not reasonable, but understandable. Hence why Tim starts off paranoid about her getting hurt in a city known for its crime, and Marinette starts out concerned about him wearing one of her shirts because he just so happened to meet him on a secluded rooftop.

Speaking of, Marinette being cautious about having a stalker was a fun addition to the story. Both Tim and Marinette are against stalking. If they caught a stranger stalking someone they'd punch their teeth in. But they don't see what they're doing as stalking at all.

Their idea of stalking and crime in general is very much skewed towards the way it's portrayed on TV. It's why they overall seem chill around Rogues in this, outside of Joker (and Punchline, by extension). The other Rogues have understandable motivations and are sane like half of the time, so surely they can't be that bad. Joker, though? Cartoon villain, deserves to be in jail.

Speaking of TV! They watch two different movies with stalker main characters. Their behavior is normalized in their own minds.

And, in Tim's case, the behavior is normalized amongst his peers and family. The bats in this story, while not being as bad as Tim or Marinette, are also hinted to have stalker tendencies. Tim is a product of his environment - tendencies that were already somewhat problematic only got heightened because they were actively encouraged in the vigilante-field.

As for the original problematic behaviors... their motivation is loneliness. Partially because I knew it was one my audience would likely be able to relate to, but also because a lot of stalkers (the ones that aren't deluding themselves into thinking their 'love' is mutual) tend to be extremely lonely people, hence why they cling so heavily to those that do not care for them. Some of them believe that they just need to be given a chance, others crave intimacy and therefore long to know every little detail about a person, etc. And everyone deserves to feel loved, romantically or platonically, right? How can a person be bad when all they want is to care and be cared for? It's only human, after all.

And... there we go! That's why Stalker x Stalker works!

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Who is the smart person who figured out if you say depression in a French accent it sounds fancy? 👀 (could use some tips/hj)

Also I very dare 😇🥰

Haha it's a reference to a comedian. I think Trevor Noah? Something about his roommate or whatever calling Target ✨Tar-jey✨ to sound fancy.

Gosh. I talk to one person for multiple months and they turn around and do this to me. 😔

Anyways. You have found: Bound

Your snippet is

College is strange. Your professors don't care, you're living without your parents for the first time in years, and it's very possible to drop out and not have your parents notice for several years. Unless you're extremely unlucky, of course. Which Tim was.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

With the addition of Yuuka & Yuuta in "Episode of Savanaclaw" & "Episode of Octavinelle" respectively, do you have plans to add them as part of the gang in "Yuu can do it!"? Or is it going to be just the 3 initial Yuus for the rest of the fic?

Sobbing. I. Um. Well u see. I thought I was clever for accommodating a possible anime adaption making another Yuu. And then. Tragedy struck. In the form of way more Yuus than I could have ever predicted.

I have full character arcs planned out for the Yuus in the fic, and adding more (especially in the chapters after Scarabia’s, which I have devoted largely to actually delving into the Yuus’ psyches) would make it hard to do those while still giving the other Yuus ample time to be introduced/explored

It’s just… not possible with the way I have this plotted. And I’m well into the Scarabia arc plotting-wise, I can’t really go back at this point

On top of that, it would mean I’d have to wait until after each new Yuu was introduced before continuing through their chapter which would make this story take even longer. Especially if it turns out that the next light novel has more Yuus as well

TLDR: no only the current 3 Yuus but I’m also mad at myself for it. I’ll probably have lil bonus chaps where they cameo but otherwise I simply cannot

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

4. Lambasted. It's such a vibe. You hear it and you go hell yea that word means heavily criticized. It just feels so violent. Also it's fun to say, and since it sounds like that it's a lot of fun to be overdramatic with it.

31. I absolutely adore you guys. Sometimes I write down really nice comments and stick them in a jar I have, and when I feel down I pull one out and read it. It really helps with my mood. You guys have no idea how much I cherish each and every one of you. <3

34. Absolute necessity. Haven't you ever seen those examples of how terribly things can go without them? Simple example: I can say I have experiences with the Pope, a man and a woman. Yes, the correct way of saying that is that I have experiences with three different people, but it could also be read that the Pope is both a man and a woman. Which is probably blasphemy or something.

Also, I'm an author. I like commas.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

petition for the halloween where canary and red robin switched costumes. here’s puppy photos as incentive

A very cute dog I would die for them... but you have to understand, Canary is 200k including the Bad End and tweet collection............ I am very done writing it

You can have this outline of what I would probably do if I wanted to write that all out, though

Mari was using it as a chance to eavesdrop on important conversations and practice her acting. She gets caught up by a person looking for revenge on Red Robin. Stabs him because she has no problem doing so. Walks out and sees the media and whoops she has some very distinct red slashes of blood on her and the splatter pattern is damning. Vine boom sound

Tim did it legitimately just for fun because he’s a nerd that cosplays and it wasn’t uncommon for any of the bats to do something fun for halloween. It was also a great way to test their new voice modulators. 

They get home later that night and are mildly horrified to find themselves trending

Twitter argument over whose fault this is

Next time they fight they end up quietly discussing different cosplay tips

Time skip to 10+ years later for a round 2 (most of the ideas came from @izanae my beloved)

Tim pouting about how they n e v e r spend halloween together and she reminds him that Scarecrow would throw a hissy fit. He suggests sacrificing Adrien to his anger as a joke and she immediately agrees because Typical Sibling Behavior (and, maybe, she wants to spend time with her bf). He suggests getting some scary costumes. She says that's a great idea and takes his. He gets a little huffy but then suggests they switch it up for old time’s sake. She thinks it would be funny to see if people fall for it again.

They go out and she gets into it playing hero again. Tim eventually plays along and imitates Canary to his best ability, Marinette is horribly insulted because there's no way she's that melodramatic (she is). It turns into a pissing contest of who can be a better RR/Canary. The batfam is s t r u g g l i n g. The civilians that see are just very confused, especially because their cover for their relationship is essentially pretending to hate each other and now they’re both just casually making fun of each other.

Riddler fell for it. Marinette will never let him live this down… except yes she will please save her from Scarecrow’s wrath.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

for bragging rights, you can officially say Canary helped a college student raise their grade

I referenced/cited your fic for an example of a logical fallacy (equivocation, when Canary said Jonathan Crane would be in a cell and she put a crane in there) and I got some extra credit points so thank you

You have no idea how long I've been searching for the word "equivocation" oh my fucking god thank you so much I've been calling it "fae-speak" for years because I didn't know there was an actual word -