#there has been a renaissance for her character this year but this isn't news

[seethesunny]

the tess erasure has happened since 2013. actually. it doesn't make it better tho.

[artsekey]

Disney's Wish

Look, Disney's Wish has been universally panned across the internet, and for good reason.

It’s just…kind of okay.

 When we sit down to watch a Disney film—you know, from the company that dominated the animation industry from 1989 to (arguably) the mid 2010’s and defined the medium of animation for decades—we expect something magnificent. Now, I could sit here and tell you everything that I thought was wrong with Wish, but if you’re reading this review, then I imagine that you’ve already heard the most popular gripes from other users across the web. So, let me focus in:

The biggest problem with Wish—in fact, the only problem with Wish—is Magnifico.

Whoa, that’s crazy! There’re so many things about Wish that could’ve been better! The original concept was stronger! The music was bad--

I hear you, I do. But stay with me here, okay? Take my hand. I studied under artists from the Disney renaissance. I teach an adapted model of Disney’s story pipeline at a University level. I spent a ridiculous amount of time getting degrees in this, and I am about to dissect this character and the narrative to a stupid degree.

First, we need to understand that a good story doesn’t start and end with what we see on the screen. Characters aren’t just fictional people; when used well, characters are tools the author uses (or in this case, the director) to convey their message to the audience. Each character’s struggle should in some way engage with the story’s message, and consequently, the story’s theme. Similarly, when we look at our protagonist and our antagonist, we should see their characters and their journeys reflected in one-another.

So, what went wrong between Asha & Magnifico in terms of narrative structure?

Act I

In Wish, we’re introduced to our hero not long into the runtime—Asha. She’s ambitious, caring, and community-oriented; in fact, Asha is truly introduced to the audience through her love of Rosas (in “Welcome to Rosas”).  She’s surrounded by a colorful cast of friends who act as servants in the palace, furthering her connection with the idea of community but also telling us that she’s not of status, and then she makes her way to meet Magnifico for her chance to become his next apprentice.

Quick aside: I'm not going to harp on Asha as a character in the context of Disney's overall canon. Almost every review I've seen covers her as a new addition to Disney's ever-growing repertoire of "Cute Quirky Heroines", and I think to be fair to Asha as an actor in the narrative, it serves her best to be weighed within the context of the story she's part of.

As Asha heads upstairs for her interview, we're introduced to the man of the hour: Magnifico. He lives in a tower high above the population of Rosas, immediately showing us how he differs from Asha; he’s disconnected from his community. He lives above them. He has status. While the broader context of the narrative wants us to believe that this also represents a sense of superiority, I would argue that isn’t what Magnifico’s introduction conveys; he's isolated.

Despite this distance, he does connect with Asha in “At All Costs”. For a moment, their goals and values align. In fact, they align so well that Magnifico sees Asha as someone who cares as much about Rosas as he does, and almost offers her the position.

… Until she asks him to grant Saba’s wish.

This is framed by the narrative as a misstep. The resonance between their ideals snaps immediately, and Magnifico says something along the line of “Wow. Most people wait at least a year before asking for something.”

This disappointment isn't played as coming from a place of power or superiority. He was excited by the idea of working with someone who had the same values as he did, who viewed Rosas in the same way he does, and then learns that Asha’s motivations at least partially stem from a place of personal gain.

Well, wait, is that really Asha's goal?

While it's not wholistically her goal, it's very explicitly stated & implied that getting Saba's wish granted is at least a part of it. The audience learns (through Asha's conversation with her friends before the interview) that every apprentice Magnifico has ever had gets not only their wish granted, but the wishes of their family, too!  Asha doesn’t deny that this is a perk that she’s interested in, and I don't think this is a bad thing.

So, Is Asha’s commitment to Saba selfless, or selfish? I’m sure the director wanted it to seem selfless, wherein she believes her family member has waited long enough and deserves his wish granted, but we can’t ignore the broader context of Asha essentially trying to… skip the line.

Then, we get our first point of tension. Magnifico reveals his “true colors” in snapping at Asha, telling her that he “decides what people deserve”. This is supposed to be the great motivator, it’s meant to incite anger in the audience—after all, no one gets to decide what you deserve, right? But unfortunately for the integrity of the film and the audience's suspension of disbelief, at least part of Magnifico’s argument is a little too sound to ignore:

Some wishes are too vague and dangerous to grant. Now, there’s visual irony here; he says this after looking at a 100 old man playing the lute. The idea that something so innocuous could be dangerous is absurd, and the audience is meant to agree.

... But we’ve also seen plenty of other wishes that might be chaotic—flying on a rocket to space, anyone? The use of the word vague is important, too—this implies wording matters, and that a wish can be misinterpreted or evolve into something that is dangerous even if the original intent was innocuous. His reasoning for people forgetting their wish (protecting them from the sadness of being unable to attain their dreams) is much weaker, but still justifiable (in the way an antagonist’s flawed views can be justified). The film even introduces a facet of Magnifico’s backstory that implies he has personal experience with the grief of losing a dream (in the destruction of his home), but that thread is never touched on again.

              What is the audience supposed to take from this encounter? If we’re looking at the director’s intent, I’d argue that we’ve been introduced to a well-meaning young girl and a king who’s locked away everyone’s greatest aspiration because he believes he deserves to have the power to decide who gets to be happy.

              But what are we shown? Our heroine, backed by her friends, strives to be Magnifico’s apprentice because she loves the city but also would really like to see her family's wishes granted. When this request is denied and she loses the opportunity to be his apprentice, she deems Magnifico’s judgement unfair & thus begins her journey to free the dreams of Rosas’ people.

              In fairness, Magnifico doesn’t exhibit sound judgement or kindness through this act of the film. He’s shown to be fickle, and once his composure cracks, he can be vindictive and sharp. He's not a good guy, but I'd argue he's not outright evil. He's just got the makings of a good villain, and those spikes of volatility do give us a foundation to work off of as he spirals, but as we’ll discuss in a bit, the foreshadowing established here isn’t used to the ends it implies.

              While I was watching this film, I was sure Magnifico was going to be a redeemable villain. He can’t connect with people because he's sure they value what he provides more than they value him (as seen in “At All Costs” and the aftermath), and Asha’s asking for more was going to be framed as a mistake. His flaw was keeping his people too safe and never giving them the chance to sink or swim, and he's too far removed from his citizens to see that he is appreciated. Asha does identify this, and the culmination of her journey is giving people the right to choose their path, but the way Magnifico becomes the “true” villain and his motivations for doing so are strangely divorced from what we’re shown in Act I.  

Act II:

His song, “This is the Thanks I Get!?” furthers the idea that Magnifico’s ire—and tipping point—is the fact that he thinks the people he’s built a kingdom for still want more. Over the course of this 3:14 song, we suddenly learn that Magnifico sends other people to help his community and doesn’t personally get involved (we never see this outside of this song), and that he’s incredibly vain/narcissistic (he's definitely a narcissist). I think feeling under-appreciated is actually a very strong motivation for Magnifico as a character-turning-villain, and it works very well. It’s justified based on what we’ve seen on screen so far: he feels under-appreciated (even though he’s decidedly not—the town adores him), he snaps and acts irrationally under stress (as seen with his outburst with Asha), and he’s frustrated that people seem to want more from him (again, as seen with his conversation with Asha in Act I).

              But then… he opens the book.

Ah, the book. As an object on screen, we know that it's filled with ancient and evil magic, well-known to be cursed by every relevant character in the film, and kept well-secured under lock and key. But what does it stand for in the context of the narrative's structure? A quick path to power? We're never told that it has any redeeming qualities; Magnifico himself doesn't seem to know what he's looking for when he opens it. It feels... convenient.

I think it's also worth noting that he only turns to the book when he's alone; once again, the idea of connection and community rears it's ugly head! Earlier in the film, Amaya-- his wife-- is present and turns him away from taking that path. In her absence, he makes the wrong choice.

This decision could make sense; it contains powerful magic, and if it were framed in such a way that the people of Rosas were losing faith in Magnifico’s magic, as if what he can do might not be enough anymore after what they felt from Star, going for the book that we know contains spells that go above and beyond what he can already do would be logical. Along the lines of, “If they’re not happy with what I do for them, fine. I, ever the “martyr”, will do the unthinkable for you, because you want more.”

            It would keeps with the idea that Magnifico believes he's still trying to help people, but his motivation has taken his self-imposed pity party and turned it into resentment and spite.

 But, that’s not the case. Instead he talks about reversing that “light”, which has had no real negative or tangible consequences on Rosas. Everyone had a warm feeling for a few seconds. Again, it’s meant to paint him as a vain control freak, but… he hasn’t lost any power. The citizens of Rosas even assume the great showing of magic was Magnifico.

Act III

              Then, we get to the consequences of opening the book (and perhaps my biggest qualm with this film). The book is established as being cursed. Magnifico knows it, Asha knows it, and Amaya—who is introduced as loyal-- knows it. The characters understand his behavior is a direct result of the book, and search for a way to save him. This is only the focus of the film for a few seconds, but if you think about it, the fact that his own wife cannot find a way to free him of the curse he’s been put under is unbelievably tragic. Worse still, upon discovering there is no way to reverse the curse, Magnifico—the king who built the city & “protected it” in his own flawed way for what seems to be centuries—is thrown out by his wife. You know, the wife who's stood loyal at his side for years?

              It’s played for laughs, but there’s something unsettling about a character who’s clearly and explicitly under the influence of a malevolent entity being left… unsaved. If you follow the idea of Magnifico being disconnected from community being a driving force behind his arc, the end of the film sees him in a worse situation he was in at the start: truly, fully alone.

              They bring in so many opportunities for Magnifico to be sympathetic and act as a foil for Asha; he’s jaded, she’s not. He’s overly cautious (even paranoid), she’s a risk-taker. He turns to power/magic at his lowest point, Asha turns to her friends at her lowest point. Because this dichotomy isn’t present, and Magnifico—who should be redeemable—isn’t, the film is so much weaker than it could’ve been. The lack of a strong core dynamic between the protagonist and antagonist echoes through every facet of the film from the music to the characterization to the pacing, and I believe if Magnifico had been more consistent, the film would’ve greatly improved across the board.

I mean, come on! Imagine if at the end of the film, Asha—who, if you remember, did resonate with Magnifico’s values at the start of the film—recognizes that he's twisted his original ideals and urges him to see the value in the people he’s helped, in their ingenuity, in their gratitude, & that what he was able to do before was enough. Going further, asking what his wish is or was—likely something he’s never been asked— and showing empathy! We’d come full circle to the start of the film where Asha asks him to grant her wish.

Pushing that further, if Magnifico’s wish is to see Rosas flourish or to be a good/beloved king, he'd have the the opportunity to see the value in failing and how pursuing the dream is its own complex and valuable journey, and how not even he is perfect.

 The curse and the book (which, for the purposes of this adjustment, would need to be established as representing the idea of stepping on others to further your own goals/the fast way to success), then serve as the final antagonist, that same curse taking root in the people of Rosas who’ve had their dreams destroyed, and Asha works with the community to quell it. Asha’s learned her lesson, so has Magnifico, and the true source of evil in the film—the book—is handled independently. Magnifico steps back from his role as King, Amaya still ends up as Queen, and Asha takes her place as the new wish-granter.

This route could even give us the true “Disney villain” everyone’s craving; giving the book sentience and having it lure Magnifico in during “This is the Thanks I Get!?” leaves it as its own chaotic evil entity.

All in all, Magnifico's introduction paved a road to redemption that the rest of the film aggressively refused to deliver on, instead doubling down on weaker motivations that seem to appear out of thin air. Once the audience thinks, hey, that bad guy might have a point, the protagonist has to do a little more heavy lifting to convince us they're wrong.

Look at the big-bad-greats from Disney's library. There isn't a point in the Lion King where we pause and think, "Wait a second, maybe Scar should be the guy who rules the Pridelands." Ursula from the Little Mermaid, though motivated by her banishment from King Triton's Seas, never seems to be the right gal for the throne. Maybe Maleficent doesn't get invited to the princess's birthday party, but we don't watch her curse a baby and think, Yeah, go curse that baby, that's a reasonable response to getting left out.

What do they all have in common? Their motivation is simple, their goal is clear, and they don't care who they hurt in pursuit of what they want.

Magnifico simply doesn't fall into that category. He's motivated by the idea of losing power, which is never a clear or impactful threat. His goal at the start seems to be to protect Rosas, then it turns into protecting his own power, and then-- once he's corrupted-- he wants to capture Star. The problem is, there's no objective to put this power toward. Power for power's sake is useless. Scar craves power because he feels robbed of status. Ursula believes the throne is rightfully hers. Maleficent wanted to make a statement. Magnifico... well, I'm not really sure.

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a second chance

10:30pm, sunday, may 12, 2024

wow oh man i have forgotten how to do this!! but it's spring, it's the end of the term, it's the start of a new season and a new burst of creativity and, perhaps, a different routine-- so let's try again.

reading audio-books and ebooks have been my absolute constant companions all winter, but shout-out to the stack of paperbacks on my bedside table, which i am slowly but surely working through. finished italo calvino's if on a winter's night a traveler (a loan from @hematiterings), part of my now intentional quest to read calvino's whole oeuvre, and basically loved it. the whole 'first chapters of various novels you'll never get the rest of' was such a good way to showcase a bunch of cliches from, like, mid-century literary fiction. very meta, and very fun. the connective frame narrative, in second person, was a little more of a stretch (again, very mid-century literary self-referential/ironic/whatever, which unfortunately i did find amusing)-- and calvino's female characters are not great, except for in the nonexistent knight's narrator who i loved)-- but there was a section addressed to a female reader which did, in fact, feel like it read me for absolute filth. other finished reads from the last few months which i will mention here briefly: the angel of the crows, katherine addison; our wives under the sea, julia armfield; the bell in the fog, lev ac rosen; the nutmeg's curse, amitav ghosh; the ruin of kings, jenn lyons.

listening this would have been different if i'd written this last week, but have y'all heard beyonce's album cowboy carter?! i know i'm a few months late but i actually feel like i'm years late, like i haven't responded to a beyonce album this strongly maybe ever. i love the covers, i love the vocal layering and harmonies, i love the samples from old timey radio and everything familiar and texas and country about it...i keep thinking i have a favorite track, but genuinely i like listening to this one all the way through, as a cohesive album, as a work in itself. have a pitchfork review. pull quote:

"On Cowboy Carter, Club Renaissance is swapped out for KNTRY Radio Texas, an AM station hosted by an ever-hazy Willie Nelson. Here she re-contextualizes roots music—Americana, folk, country—for a contemporary moment, reminding listeners that Black artists were the genesis of these forms and never stopped playing them, despite what Hollywood or Nashville might have on offer....Despite drawing from the kitsch and fun of ’70s and ’80s country music, Cowboy Carter has an air of melancholy to it, a quality that reverberates through the scores of songs in minor keys about loneliness on the range.

^^ this is a playlist of the whole album on youtube, if you're into that. AMERIICAN REQUIEM, the opening track, is what hooked me-- i was in from the opening notes. but TEXAS HOLD EM' is also great. fuck yeah, rhiannon giddens.

watching so in addition to rewatching the entire sixth season of dropout's game changer today, last week we finished a truly wild show out of netflix italy: la legge di lidia poët / the law according to lidia poët, which is a historical mystery-romance like only netflix can make. is it bridgerton but for ninteenth century italian lawyers? is it the girlbossification of an actually interesting historical figure? yes, maybe, but everyone is very attractive and the costumes are bonkers in a satisfying way. she has insect themed jewellery, rides a bike, has a lot of sex, finds a decent relationship with her brother and, god help me, i do want a second season.

featuring, hey isn't that pasquale from my brilliant friend? and wow, they probably think this song choice is really cool but it is so on the nose in english it is almost distracting.

playing hollow knight! hollow knight. hollow knight. it's become a problem, actually, since i have quite literally turned my evening yoga time into gamer time, and would you believe, i am less flexible and have higher anxiety levels lmaoo. but i'm getting so powerful i don't care. i probably can't promise myself to beat this game any time soon, and should stop thinking i can, but look! two dreamers down?!

making patched the inner thighs of some jeans-- they will probably remain weekend pants, but they're further from dead than they were. similarly, clumsily darned a hole in my sweater. baked a caffeinated cake courtesy of a b. dylan hollis video (coffee loaf from 1959) . glued a wooden salad tong back together and i feel like the seams are actually quite subtle.

(this wood glue claims to be food safe after curing, pray for me etc etc).

working on ooof. i am done teaching but still owe two-three students emails. i survived my committee meeting but have done nothing to follow the schedule of deadlines we set me, despite being so excited to back on may 2 / so energized to do All the Things back on april 26. i have an article to prep to submit! a chapter to finish tweaking (reworking? reframing? changing from the ground up? lololololol)! not to mention a newsletter to draft and copy edits (almost done) to send back on a friend's article! but i can't stop playing hollow knight in all my free time, and really, what's more important here.

[landgraabbed]

hi Cat, can you share your thoughts/criticisms of DATV? i think the game is gonna flop.

hey nonners, idk. this is a complicated question. i mean, game's not even out yet so it's unfair to pass judgment on it. i can only judge bioware's approach to pre-release marketing. and i got a lot of thoughts on that.

honestly i think it will be a perfectly serviceable game and technically it will run well (i mean, it has been steam deck verified which tells me that performance was a big concern for devs). i don't think quality has much bearing on the love people can have for a game. and vice-versa. the people who are hyped to oblivion and want to preorder will like it. the people who hate it bc it has poc and queer and disabled characters will still hate it. people who analyze the game's mechanics and writing will dissect the game and be predisposed to finding things they dislike. over time opinions will mellow out and we'll see how the veilguard will be remembered.

i can't trust bioware to make an rpg that i will want to play after their last failures. different people will differ on where the string of failures started. from a quality standpoint my line is dragon age 2. me3 to me failed to deliver on the promise of the first 2 me games save for shining exceptions like the citadel dlc and javik. from a numbers standpoint the last successful game was inquisition which won goty in 2014 due to a serious lack of competition mostly, especially since witcher 3 was pushed back to 2015 (which pains me personally as that put it directly in bloodborne's path to goty in that year). thing is bioware seems to be doing all they can to avoid a flop. veilguard is bioware's hail mary after a string of failures. they are ditching the ea app to capture as many people as possible. the combat has fully careened into action, and although they keep telling us these will be the best companions ever, really, guys, the gameplay is more and more focused on the protagonist alone. the crpg roots of the series are getting cut down to attract a broader audience. perhaps at the cost of ostracizing some like me who enjoy the party-based, party-building mechanics like me.

how well this will go i don't know. on one hand i think bioware has been historically bad at showing the full scope to new and returning players. empress celene has been haunting the edges of the world since origins. the full grasp of her character is locked behind books. afaik some companions have been introduced already in supplemental materials. this sort of move didn't go well for ff15. on the other i think this game missed its window. the gaming landscape of today isn't the same as it was in 2014, and in 2014 the skyrim at home open world design was already outdated. i've been hearing about the crpg renaissance since 2016. i accompanied it. it remained a niche part of gaming until it didn't: baldur's gate 3 released last year to audience and critical acclaim. going forward i expect mainstream rpgs to take cues from bg3. and the mission based almost extraction shooter-esque design that veilguard seems to have might not land as well in 2024 as it would have in 2020.

eta: or it could go well, idk. morrowind and final fantasy were bethesda's and squaresoft's hail maries and saved those studios.

right now the marketing has missed the mark on me. it is patronizing and seemingly needs to punch down the previous da games to prop this one up. it concerns me that the game may be releasing in 2 months (as per jeff grubb) and we quite frankly haven't seen shit. just bioware telling us that trust me, these companions are deep. trust me, the combat is good. trust me, the city built on slave labor is totally the coolest one you've seen. everyone copies fromsoftware but they don't seem to learn to drop a trailer and shut up until they got more things of substance to show. and this isn't just a bioware issue.

[marypsue]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on S1 of ST being a tragedy! No main character dies, so I never thought of it that way before

I mean, nobody has to die for a story to be a tragedy (at least, in the modern definition. I'm pretty sure '(almost) everybody dies' is a requirement of Greek tragedies and Renaissance revenge tragedies). But also, no main character dies in season one...if you take season one as part of a series. Which it wasn't originally conceived as.

I am not going looking for copies of the original pitch bible, because I am lazy, and also I only saw them floating around this webbed site. But the show changed a lot from the initial pitch (Joyce had a Long Island accent! Lucas' parents were divorcing! Murray was there and named Terry Ives! Most of what ended up in Hopper's character originally belonged to Mr. Clarke! The original pitch bible is fascinating). And part of the original pitch was a proposal for possible sequels.

The Duffers' proposal for a possible sequel was "It's ten years later, and Eleven is dead".

So that's the setup. Everything that came after season one was made up wholecloth after season one was a hit and people wanted more, but also people loved the adorable little psychic murder child (cue the Duffers shockedpikachu.jpg) and Netflix obviously recognised it would be a bad call to make a new season without her in it. So it makes sense to take season one as a unit, as a self-contained story on its own. You can also take it as part of a whole, but it makes sense to read it first as a complete story. Especially given the thematic drift of later seasons and the way they are...I'm just going to say it, each new season is very much added-on to what came before rather than being built on foundation that the earlier season(s) laid. It is very clear there was never a planned five-season story arc from the beginning. (This isn't necessarily always a bad thing, when it comes to sequels, but it does mean it makes sense to 'read' each season as its own thing.)

Okay, now that we've established all of that. Season one has one very clear goal, one very clear stake for the characters: save Will Byers from the Upside Down. (I like this. It makes the stakes both extremely high and extremely personal, it makes it very easy to understand each character's motivation, it also keeps the stakes grounded in reality. I like this a lot.) And by the end of the season, that goal is accomplished. So at first blush, you're right, season one doesn't look like a tragedy.

But when you start to unpack it a little, you start to see just how many important things were lost along the way. It's most glaringly obvious with Mike and El, with Nancy and Barb. The whole Wheeler family is fractured down the middle, with Mike and Nancy on one side and Ted, Karen, and Holly on the other, and Karen, who's been trying so hard the whole time to be part of her children's lives and understand what's going on with them, is aware of the ever-expanding gulf between them but will never be able to cross it, and will never fully know why. Hopper's finally managed to snatch a kid out of the jaws of death, save a woman he obviously cares about from the pain of losing a child, and Joyce has finally had someone believe her, support her, trust her. But it became blindingly obvious to me on my fourth rewatch that Hopper's plan, from the moment he went to leave the middle school gym, was always to trade El for Will. And that decision (and the fact that Joyce obviously understands that he did something to get the lab to let them go after Will, but she obviously doesn't dare press him on what) has broken her trust in him, and left him with what looks like an equally heavy burden of guilt as what he was carrying before. The lab stays open. The government gets away with everything. No one will ever know the true extent of the hurt they've caused.

And in the end, none of it even saved Will. He's back. He's alive. But he's spitting slugs in the sink. He's permanently marked by the Upside Down, and by trying to hide it from his family, he's putting a crack down the centre of them, as well. They're losing Will, just as surely as they had when they thought he was dead, just without him going anywhere.

And there's still a hole in the world.

The fragile bonds of community, the things that people share in common, the way catastrophe can bring people together and bring out the very best in them, are the major thematic threads woven through season one. Human connection is the only thing that can change what seems inevitable, the only thing that can bring back what's seemingly lost forever.

And it's still not enough to protect anyone from the random tragedy of the world.

The love was there. The love mattered. The love bent the entire course of the world around itself.

And it still wasn't quite enough.

If that's not a tragedy, then I don't know what is.

[seoul-bros]

Getting back to the music

This weekend I stepped out of the BTS bubble partly due to work pressures but also partly by choice. I have a long and varied past, fangirling over fictional characters, but discovering BTS has probably been my first experience of parasocial interactions with real people and to be honest it shocked me to find out how invested you can become in the life of someone you have never met, living more than 5000 miles away.

There has been a lot of shit going down lately both inside and outside the fandom and it's been taking all the fun out of being here. So I've been asking myself why did I start this blog, why am I still here and what are the things that I can and want to do with it?

First and foremost, I am here for the music. I commented before on BTS's role in my musical listening renaissance. Discovering them was part of that, yes, but with them I also discovered multiple generations of Korean and other global artists.

So this weekend I've been concentrating on the music.

Listening to FACE listening to D-Day and putting together playlists that showcase these two talented guys but also other Korean and Japanese artists with a reminder that musical success isn't all about the numbers.

It's about making that connection with your audience. It's about having one of your songs make it to their forever playlist. It's about having another song make them smile as they sit drinking their latte at the coffee shop after a long bike ride.

We are used to big numbers as ARMY but there are plenty of really talented artists on Spotify that could never dream of the sales or the streaming that is being achieved for members of BTS.

Our guys are doing fine. They are in the privileged position of being able to do what they love and now, in the solo era, being able to explore their own interests and demonstrate their individuality through the music they produce.

Through their musical collaborations and Instagram recommendations they also throw a light on other talented South Korean artists with their own trajectory and extensive musical back catalogue to be explored.

Balming Tiger, So Yoon, Woosung and The Rose and Silica Gel just to mention a few I've encountered over the last couple of years thanks to different members of BTS.

And the BTS influence doesn't stop at the South Korean border. Also this weekend, I have been listening to Samara Joy, the American jazz singer that V posted on Instagram. She has an incredible voice. Today I booked tickets to see her at the London Jazz Festival in November.

Finally, it's already the 24th April in South Korea and time to celebrate one year of the release of With You by Jimin and Ha Sung Woon. This was my number one Spotify tune of 2022 and still has pride of place on many of my playlists.

I'm looking forward to whatever BTS members have next for us while enjoying the smorgasbord of great music we already have at our fingertips.

Post Date: 23/04/2023

[myupostsheadcanons]

Chilling Reflections (Villains' Code, Book 3)

I was able to finish reading the book while heading across state to the KS Renaissance Fair. (harhar, that the plot of the last 5min Sherlock book was also about a RenFair) I had planned on reading it all the same week it came out, but had meat-space stuff get in the way - sorry.

Yes, you should read "Villains' Vignettes" before reading this book. Events that happened in that Volume are talked about in this book. While it does do some explaining, the over all experience is a lot better if you already read what happened. The Halloween story and a young Ivan ending up an accidental hero in another dimension have elements that are important to characters growth in this one.

Spoilers Under Cut:

VRX77... yeah, i guessed she was an alternate universe Tori by the second time she showed up in the book. I first thought, by the title of the book that Vicki was going to be a cold-based version of Tori tho. But turned out the "Chilling" part of the book was because of Jokull the Frost Giant and his role within the C-plot of Faithful and Bert's schemes.

I do find it a rather interesting development with Ivan and Fornax, that whenever Ivan loses control and Fornax takes over, that once Ivan gets behind the driver's seat again, he is unable to maintain the same amount of dominance between his will and Fornax's will. That Ivan can't not access as much of Fornax's powers with out risking Foranx slipping into the driver's seat. It is a clean way to nerf Ivan, make it to where he can't just show up and fix everything, and Drew then doesn't have to keep throwing Hammers at the Earth (Or having Ivan go to another world for a while).

But what about Lodestar swooping in to save the day? She has only been back to work the last couple years, she did spend the past several years as a full time mom and not using her powers. There is only one of her, and she isn't as ruthless as people like Professor Quantum or the members of the Villains Guild. She has been taken out of fights before, or has been distracted by a larger threat while something else happens under her nose. This has happened at the end of both Bones of the Past and Chilling Reflections already.

Jokull counted on Lodestar to show up when he took Ivan. He knew that if Lodestar wouldn't kill him, eventually he would push Ivan far enough to become Fornax and get the same result. The latter happened, unfortunately.

Though not unfortunately, it did FINALLY clear the air between Ivan and Helen and they aren't pussy footing around their feelings for one another anymore... (hits Nexus with a rolled up news paper for being a peeping tom)

I would like to see more of the extended cast in the next book or in the VVV2. It does stream line the story focusing most of the POVs to a handful of groups. I do miss having more of Glyph and Pest Control, or even some of the other Villains... doing Villain stuff. It has been even commented in this book that Tori and Bev don't act very villainous, they just don't pull their punches like a Hero would, they are more Vigilante than Villain.

Cloe getting a taste of Edict's powers, and realizing why people who've ran into her counter parts put Edict on the same level as Nexus and Captain Bullshit. She was able to change Faithful's powers without him even realizing what happened, he probably doesn't even know yet, and i hope this comes back to bite him in the ass.

I've came across a few old science fiction stories that are based around Faithful's powers before. It is the belief that He is the only real person and that nothing else around him is real. He is a God in his own mind and he believes in himself thoroughly.

With Mr. AV coming back into the picture at the end of the book, it is likely that Donald/Cyber Geek is going to get that training that other Cyber Geeks were able to get. It was funny as fuck when Cyber Geek randomly found a guy named Full Bars with the power to amplify all cell and wi-fi signals just when he needed the help accessing the internet the most. I read that part out loud in the car to my brother and he thought it was funny too.

I have this sneaking suspicion that Rick and Ren/Medley are going to have a lot of common ground (on body image and shape shifting). And, just maybe, they can learn something from one another. something that Ivan can not teach. Perhaps Helen brings it up to Ivan as a possibility.

Kyle finally putting the pieces together that Tori just may be Hephaestus... that would be an awesome 'popcorn worthy' show down when it finally gets out into the open. All because Bev wanted a nice pair of caprices.

So... are we like seeing Professor Quantum become the true Villain? The first meta, paranoid as fuck, afraid of losing control, has back up plans for back up plans, treats people as tools, works against other heroes, has no problems with killing people that get in his way.... That was a dick move putting that mind-control chip in Ellie and making her see her "dead" friend.

Speaking of.... Ike and Settler are alive.... somewhere....

Ranking: 7 out of 10.

Too much going on sometimes. There are at least four different antagonist plots going on at the same time, on top of the monster invasion from extra space. Drew perhaps needs to step back a bit on the gas and put in some more Personal Life Drama stuff like he had in Super Powereds.

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR.

So. About that news about SWTOR, that it is slated to be transferred to another company - yeah. Let's chat about that. Or I will.  TL:DR version: The licensing agreement for SWTOR was set to expire this year. My own hypothesis is that the Mouse did not renew it and pulled the license from Bioware because they did fuckall with it. Also Bioware has been fumbling a lot of their other games. So this isn't quite a sunny transfer.

My final screenshot of Viri and Lana at home in Naboo (headcanon for the Alderaan stronghold), February 2022, just before uninstalling SWTOR. One thing I have not seen mentioned is the fact that SWTOR's licensing agreement with the Mouse was scheduled to end this year anyway. 2023. It's been said for some time. Is it really a surprise the Mouse would not want things to go on as they are?

Given the near complete lack of attention and care that has been paid to SWTOR for a good five or six years now, I can fully understand why the Mouse would not renew the licensing agreement. Onslaught and Ossus looked as though a fair amount of development money had been poured into them - Ossus, Onderon and Mek-Sha had the same sort of acheivements and datacron hunts you found on the OG planets - but they were bright spots in a very bleak period. 

The amount of content released in a single patch of some other MMOs is more than the collective total of what was released for SWTOR in years. 

The story was haphazard. The companion reunions had no continuity, with some characters not even recognizing NPCs they'd actually worked with before (Nadia Grell and Jaesa Willsaam not recognizing Lana, for instance) or behaving completely out of character (Risha being completely indifferent about the fate of her planet, for instance). The writers killed off almost every character that moved and pulled a "somehow, the Emperor survived" stunt (not with the Emperor). The head writer did not even know a timeline for the story and had to talk it out on the message board. 

The devs tried hard to shove everyone into PvP (both ground and space) and Ops, while alienating other types of players, and made story content ridiculous. Known game-breaking bugs remained in the game for years. 

There's been a lot of turnover in the dev team and numerous reports about management completely ignoring feedback from devs. A few devs were witnessed mocking players on dudebro discords, and the changes they made seemed to benefit a select group of players. A few message board posters were plants trying to deliberately provoke players into inflammatory exchanges or white knighting any and message critical of the devs. Or that criticism was removed outright. 

Players who had invested a substantial amount of time and money into SWTOR and put a lot of effort into developing player guides and fan sites said "fuck this" and walked. The Steam charts show playership of about 3000K players per day. People stopped going to the test server because it became painfully obvious that the devs were completely ignoring most feedback. Problems and bugs test players pointed out made their way into the released patches anyway. 

Meanwhile the staff of SWTOR was getting poached for Anthem and Dragon Age. Anthem failed. Battlefront II went into maintenance after only two years. The next installments of Dragon Age and Mass Effect were proving to be complete clusterfucks. 

Is there really any reason the Mouse would have wanted to keep the license with Bioware? 

I do think this is a way to get SWTOR into a safe place - away from Bioware - but given the profile of the new company, I doubt it means we're going to see a Renaissance. I think it means the game is going to have a safe place to continue in maintenance mode. That's how it is with two other MMOs they have. The number of devs, as someone pointed out, is going to be 50% of what SWTOR has now. 

I do think they will keep it in maintenance mode as long as they can; as long as enough people keep subscribing to make that profitable. But I do think overall, this is it for SWTOR. 

I have not played SWTOR in a year and a half. I uninstalled it on the day 7.0 came out. My characters are all parked in their favorite strongholds with their favorite companions. I headcanon the game itself cut from Ossus directly to Echoes, with the scene at the end of Echoes, with Lana and the PC literally flying off into the stars being the end of the story. I feel it's better that way. Given all that was happening with SWTOR I feel like this was inevitable, too.  All the same, given the positives that SWTOR had - some of the gameplay and class stories, the rich lore, the planets, some of the characters - it leaves me bitterly angry and disappointed by the outcome. It's such a waste. An absolute waste of talent and time and people who were so totally invested in the success of this game. At the end, that's all there is.

Farewell, SWTOR. 

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I posted 2,393 times in 2022

2,032 posts created (85%)

361 posts reblogged (15%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@therealvinelle

@theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin

@rankheresy

@franzias-cave

@odd-ysseus

I tagged 2,384 of my posts in 2022

#meta - 1,791 posts

#opinion - 1,730 posts

#twilight - 1,669 posts

#twilight renaissance - 1,614 posts

#headcanon - 1,424 posts

#twilight meta - 1,270 posts

#twilight headcanon - 1,143 posts

#vinelle - 568 posts

#therealvinelle - 563 posts

#bella swan - 496 posts

Longest Tag: 128 characters

#and the twilight people just want want to know what happens if edward explodes in this particular scene with a burning curiosity

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

What if Bella and Aro swapped places, like Aro was magically put in Bella's body in Forks and Bella is in Aro's body in Volterra (and they keep their gifts)

Well, it'd be a strange day for both of them, that's for sure.

I assume this takes place in Twilight since you don't specify here.

The Swappening

Aro wakes up a... teenage girl and a human with no coordination. Naturally, he first thinks Volterra's under siege and he's facing off against a vampire that has him tripping balls. That or he found some gifted vampire that he's forgetting about who he tested on himself and it's--a very very very convincing illusion.

The first thing he does is try to snap out of it. He slaps his newly human face, gives himself a pep talk in the mirror, and eventually he gives up and starts investigating who he's supposed to be now.

Rooting through her room with very little decency, Aro discovers that he's a roughly 5'4" American seventeen-year-old girl by the name of Bella Swan with a drivers liscence from Phoenix, Arizona, who seems to be lower middle class, lives in a temperate climate with a very densely wooded area that looks like it might be the North American Pacific Northwest.

Going downstairs he meets Charlie Swan, who is apparently this Bella's father, and on touching his hand Aro realizes why Charlie isn't freaking out that his daughter isn't his daughter yet: he barely knows the girl, hasn't seen her in eight years, and Bella suddenly decided to come live with him for unknown reasons that are now lost because Aro is not Bella.

Aro suspects something nefarious with the divorced mother, Renee, and her new husband Phil.

He's not sure how he feels about that.

Regardless, he decides that for now he'll go to this school and when Charlie Swan is at work he'll use the telephone to make a long distance call to Volterra to try to sus out if he's a) under an illusion or b) has legitimately swapped bodies with this teenage girl.

(He also muses that if he is stuck like this... They're just going to have to turn this Bella Swan and make her disappear. Aro's not sure he likes being a teenage girl, but he supposes he'll just have to get used to it.)

At least he still has his gift.

Aro goes to school, pretends to be a human teenage girl who definitely had a human teenage past (luckily for him, the citizens of Forks are easy to please), and holy god there are vampires in the cafeteria with...

Golden eyes. And the last name Cullen. And their father is a Dr. Carlisle Cullen who works in the hospital.

FORGET SCHOOL!

Bellaro never makes it to Biology as he claims a sudden stomachache, sprints out of the school (nearly tripping seventeen times) and drives to the hospital.

"CARLISLE!" Aro shouts and... Carlisle sees teenage Bella Swan, bursting into his office with a grin on her face, like it's every Christmas all at once.

"Can I help you?" Carlisle asks, very very very confused.

Aro then remembers he's now Bella Swan.

He speeds through the explanation, "Carlisle, it's me, Aro, either I'm hallucinating or I appear to have become a teenage girl named Bella Swan. Not sure which yet, BUT I HEARD YOU WERE HERE! Also, can I use your phone?"

Bellaro then touches Carlisle's hand and... After Bella then starts gushing about what Carlisle's been up to for the past three hundred years and referencing a lot of shit that happened in Volterra that no one knows about... This is Aro.

In Bella Swan's body.

What the fuck.

Carlisle asks how this even happened.

Aro shrugs, he hasn't the foggiest, weirdest day of his life so far.

THEN WHO IS IN VOLTERRA, ARO?!

"Well, given my current circumstances, probably poor Bella Swan. I imagine she's dreadfully confused right about now."

Carlisle immediately takes Aro home to call Volterra. They're put through and.... after five attempts Caius finally answers. Aro's out and he's VERY VERY BUSY. Aro then buts in, "Is Aro by any chance actually in but acting very strange and claiming to be someone by the name of Bella Swan?"

Caius says nothing.

See the full post

195 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

#4

What if bella, human, could read Edwards mind?

Well, she would have a wild time. I'm assuming that Edward can still read minds and that he can't read her mind, and that Bella can only read Edward's mind, for the sake of my sanity.

Alright, here we go.

Bella enters Forks high school, and the day goes as normal up until the Cullens enter the cafeteria. There, Bella is treated to a voice in her head (oddly melodic and pleasant sounding) rambling on about how he's in purgatory filled with mortal plebians and someone named Jasper is going to eat the entire fucking school.

Bella, needless to say, is very confused and very disturbed.

Her new lunchmates notice. Bella, what's wrong?

"Uh," Bella says as the voice in her head now seems to be dissecting her (and seems to find her overrated, mousey, and obnoxious).

Bella eventually says she has to go to the bathroom (the voice mocking her as she goes), where she huddles in a corner and wheezes into a paper bag. She calls home, telling Charlie she's sick, and spends the evening crying and hating herself for a) being a freak b) possibly going insane.

(Edward, meanwhile, doesn't share Biology with Bella Swan, has a grand old time, and thinks the new girl is highly overrated, an attention whore, and an invalid.)

The next morning Bella gathers her courage, alright, she can do this. No voices in her head today, thank you very much.

She gets to school.

There's a fucking voice in her head.

GODDAMMIT.

Bella nearly turns around right there but she's already the school freakjob who skipped her first day. If she has voices in her head--then she has voices in her head and this is just going to be the rest of her life. She endeavors not to let anyone ever know and go about her life as a normal person.

This turns out to be very hard.

First, it's very distracting having someone ramble sweet nonsense in your brain. Second, voice in the head says some seriously messed up shit.

The voice in her head appears to belong to a telepath who knows everyone else's thoughts (which means Bella gets everyone's thoughts through Edward), he seems to be a vampire? (he certainly wants to eat people and talks about 'control' a lot), and after half a day she's pretty sure voice in the head is Edward Cullen.

She looks at them in the cafeteria. She can't help but notice that even if she has a voice in her head--they don't look human. She could believe they're vampires. Of course, she might be hallucinating their appearance (she does have a voice in her head), she grills Jessica. Jessica admits they're insanely beautiful, weirdly pale, and also incestuous.

Bella--didn't know that last part. Huh. Well.

Bella's not sure she wants to attend class with man eating demons. But that would mean admitting she's a hallucinating freak. She goes to class.

She regrets everything immediately.

First, Edward stares at her like the shark in Jaws, second his thoughts have become terrifying. He's going on some weird inner monologue about his father? (the thoughts seem awfully... incestuous to be about his father) and is actively planning how to best murder the entire class to eat her while bemoaning that this is all stupid Bella's stupid delicious fault. Bella sits in her seat next to him in stark terror.

Bella somehow survives class (just barely as she now is witness to Edward's planning to lure her into the woods alone or break into her house so he can eat her). She wanders in a daze to her car and wonders if maybe, just maybe, she should go to Florida.

Well, it's a good day to die.

Bella tells Charlie that she has decided to camp out in the yard. Forever. Is it winter? Doesn't matter. She's camping out in the yard (this way, if Edward does decide to eat her, he's less likely to eat Charlie immediately after.) Charlie, who doesn't know how to deal with a daughter, throws his hands in the air and Bella now lives in a tent in the yard.

It's very cold.

Bella is shocked to learn that Edward did not kill her in her sleep that night.

She's even more shocked to learn that he's out sick the next day. (She doesn't think he's out sick). She hesitantly wonders if this means she's free.

A week later, she's not, Edward returns and per his thoughts he's decided he must reclaim his pride and face Bella Swan (his nemesis) head on. He also wants to learn what she knows in case he slipped and revealed his vampire nature in front of her (a bit late for that, Edward, Bella thinks to herself.)

Edward starts grilling her in biology. It's weird. Bella decides to give him as little information as possible (she does not need this guy knowing where her mother lives). For some reason, her answers intrigue Edward, Bella just dies inside. He still really really really wants to eat her.

See the full post

208 notes - Posted January 10, 2022

#3

What if, for some reason, let's say Bella had a Quilute ancestor at some point, Bella shifted in New Moon? Would Edward still be with her, despite the wet dog smell, just leave Forks, or eat her? (Bella gets eaten a lot on this blog)

Pfffft, oh, anon, this would have been both hilarious and awful.

Okay, so Twilight remains the same as at that point Bella did not smell. Well, she smelled, but she smelled delicious. So, we're all good.

Edward nobly leaves, Bella becomes seriously depressed, yadda yadda yadda.

Then, Bella gets sick, extremely sick, and Charlie's life gets seriously weird. His daughter has turned into a giant dog, it's like Kafka's the Metamorphosis, but with dogs. Thanks to sudden telepathy, Sam finds out about this and Billy is able to come over and have the world's most awkward conversation with Charlie.

Bella now gets the joys of running around the woods eating vampires (who exist by the way), getting oogled by teenage boys whenever she turns back with no clothes, having to chop off all her hair, and oh she might do this thing called 'imprinting' that's... let's not talk about it.

Charlie is a champ but he's very very very pissed off at whoever's ancestor had sex with someone in the werewolf line.

Bella's devastated. She's had to chop off all her hair (which gets her shit at school) she has 0 agency anymore, Jacob is staring at her naked, and she's a freak (being one of two shapeshifting women). Leah, I imagine actually takes Bella under her wing because of this and they become very close. Female solidarity (Bella is also just so very sad).

Added on top of this, Bella and Edward are over and everyone knows it. Not only did he now leave but now she can never be turned and he will look and smell disgusting to her. Just like Laurent and Victoria now look and smell disgusting.

Bella tries to tell herself she can get over this for love but Leah points out that Bella doesn't actually like Edward. Everything she lists off that she loves is how vampires look to humans, not shapeshifters. On further reflection, Bella realizes she knows next to nothing about Edward much less if she likes these things about him.

This is a horrible, devastating, blow that makes her almost grateful Edward left. SHE'LL ALWAYS HAVE HER MEMORIES.

Well, eventually Alice shows up, as thanks to being a shapeshifter, Bella has completely disappeared. Bella is once again presumed dead and... Oh dear god, Alice did not see this coming. Alice and Bella stare at each other awkwardly (Bella wants to cry because Alice smells and looks like a demon, Alice wants to cry because Bella smells like a dog and this ruins everything.)

It gets worse, Edward has decided to kill himself. This time, thanks to Bella being a werewolf, Alice can't see any way to stop him. If Carlisle has his phone on him this time around, she likely calls him to stall Aro and head to Italy. If he doesn't... Edward successfully kills himself.

Bella is even more distraught as, indirectly, she has caused Edward's death.

If he survives I imagine he comes back in a panic (as everything's terrible now and his plan didn't work out) and... Bella smells awful. Her beautiful, wonderful, torturous scent is gone. Esme thinks this is great, now it won't hurt for them to be near each other anymore and true love can win through. Better, Bella can be immortal and human! Just like Edward wanted! Isn't this great Edward!

Edward tries to pretend it's great because if it's not great then he has to admit that what he loved about Bella was her delicious smell and feminine aesthetic (gone as Bella had to chop off her hair). Unfortunately for him, Bella has admitted their relationship was superficial garbage and keeps insisting they're over. He spends Eclipse trying to win her back and convince himself he loves her new smell with increasing desperation.

However, in the background of all of this is that Aro has probably personally come to Forks to ensure this Bella girl gets turned (as Bella herself was not in Volterra and he probably had to appease Caius with 'I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT') Now, on the one hand, Bella appears to be a new species that cannot be turned so there's nothing for him to do and the secret is intact he supposes, on the other hand it appears this Victoria woman has summoned an army and gone insane. The Volturi deal with the army while Aro is a fly on the wall for the Cullen melodrama that is "Will Edward and Bella Get Together or Not", which of course makes everything worse. Oddly entertaining for Aro, though, even as he finds himself having to give poor Bella Swan relationship advice.

Edward doesn't end up eating Bella (she smells terrible) but their relationship very likely doesn't work out either. Though Edward ever giving up on them is... unlikely. Bella may have to throw him off a cliff somewhere shouting "I LOVE YOU!" while sobbing.

265 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#2

Why does Edward hate the Volturi so much? I mean pre-New Moon. He’s never met them, Carlisle has personally spent time with them and while he disapproves of their drinking human blood, he hasn’t painted them as warlords (that’s just Caius). He might have heard about Tanya’s mother, but after learning about the immortal child, that execution makes sense. Every point Edward has against them is either wildly exaggerated or false, and I don’t get the hate before NM especially.

A few reasons.

Carlisle Had a Life and Friends Before Edward

Carlisle lived several hundred years before he turned Edward. Yet, Edward, in his tale of Carlisle's life skips over nearly all of them. There's Carlisle finding the diet, he pursues and education, then suddenly we're in America and he's turning Edward.

Except, even Edward can't write off the Volturi.

There is a painting of them in his house, they are so important Edward relates them in the story to Bella. He downplays it as much as he can, Carlisle didn't stay long (twenty years), they were friends but the major ideological difference got in the way, etc. However, Edward can't leave them out.

This bothers him immensely.

He hates that painting, he hates the idea that the coven as it is didn't always exist, that there was a Carlisle he didn't know who had very close friends he lived with. Close friends who were not on the diet.

This profoundly disturbed and bothers Edward.

They're Not on the Diet and Edward Hates All Vampires

To Edward, vampires not on the diet are akin to Voldemort. They are inherently wicked beings who are driven by evil. While some are friends and Edward admits as much it's always with the feeling that they are lesser beings. They have no true ability to understand friendship, to form relationships with one another, and the Cullens and Denali are inherently better because of their diet.

The Volturi may be cultured patrons of the arts but they are not on the diet and have no intention of pursuing it. This in a way makes them worse as they pretend to be cultured, lovers of humanity when really they're just as soulless as all other vampires.

(And we'll skip over the portion where Edward left to eat people for years on his own telling Carlisle he wasn't the boss of him and doing it solely because he was curious what spectacular food he was missing out on.)

Does Edward Hate Them Pre-New Moon?

Not really.

I'd say he mildly respects them.

Oh, their existence bothers him and their law really bothers him when it means he'll have to either turn or murder Bella. However, he respects them.

Of the vampires who are Carlisle's friends he seems to view them as the most cultured, civilized, and dignified.

Again, he's not their biggest fan when it comes to what this means about Bella and when the law gets in his way, but he uses very mild language when explaining their role to Bella and he's relatively neutral when discussing them.

Remember that, when he wishes to kill himself, they are where he plans to go. He wants a noble, virtuous, death at the hands of these rulers.

The hatred comes in when they say no.

Edward hadn't planned on that.

Then, later, Bella is alive and suddenly they are A THREAT. They demand Bella be turned, the worst thing in the world, and suddenly Alice herself may be in danger.

I'd say Edward's hatred cements itself/comes into being in New Moon when suddenly the Volturi become far more than just a distant concept to Edward but instead the obstacle standing in the way of everything he wants.

If there were no Volturi then there would have been no need to turn Bella into a vampire, after all.

324 notes - Posted February 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Omfg!! Ffn is closing?? Where did you hear this? I don’t see anyone else talking about this!!

Okay, calm down people.

I didn't hear it from anybody. There's no official word. HOWEVER, I've seen the signs and the signs aren't good.

All Hints of Moderation Have Ceased

There used to be a pretty rigorous team of moderators who ran the site but it's noted (and not just by me) that for a while they haven't seemed as responsive if they've been responsive at all.

Fics that would have been pulled in a heartbeat stay up. Spam bots do seem to have taken over PMs.

Their Authentication Server's Been Wonky

The authentication server has sometimes been entirely non-functional for users. In my case, fanfiction has kept me logged in for an eeriely long time, far longer than it ever used to.

Their Email Server's Been Black Listed

Their email server has been black listed by a prominent email provider (i.e. mine). I'm not talking sent to junk, I'm talking it will not send to the inbox as in it has been straight up black listed. Their solution to this is to tell me, the user, to white list their email rather than improve their reputation.

This is a terrible solution and a sign that things are not good.

Rather Than Pay for More Servers They Use Cloud Flare

It's probably been noticed by everyone that they're employing DDOS protection via cloudflare. Well, that's nice and all, except that it's slow, clunky, and annoying. It's not a good user experience and the more expensive but good option would be to up the number of servers they have or use a more seamless DDOS protection solution.

This is a sign they're not willing to spend the money for the good stuff.

The Proliferation of Ads

Fanfiction is now riddled with ads when not using ad block. It's ads every few paragraphs, completely breaking up a story. It's utterl illegible. To me this reeks of trying to wring out every last cent out of viewership without putting in effort of attracting people.

They know people are leaving so they've stopped trying at all.

They Didn't Renew Their Cert

Now, this I heard from somebody else but this IS THE SIGN. They didn't renew the cert for their website. Now, it expires in several years, but when it does you will no longer be able to traverse safely to the site and it may not even exist.

What Does All This Mean?

Is fanfiction going down today or tomorrow?

No.

But it means that if the email server fails... they might not fix it. If the authentication server fails... they might not fix it. If one of their databases fails and they have no backup... those fics might be gone.

It means that access could be lost, certainly for me as an author, with no warning and I may not get it back.

2,304 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

BDSM ROMANCE AUDIO SALE 

The Dungeons & Doms series box set by Golden Angel Romances is now just $2.99 at Chirp!

Get the deal here: https://geni.us/DungeonsDomsChirp I

t's also on sale for Nook & Kobo listeners!  Universal: https://geni.us/DaDAudioSale

This group of gamers have plenty of experience points, but they're about to embark on some new campaigns - to win back an ex, to repair a marriage, and a battle for dominance that will leave everyone hot and bothered.

Book 1: Dungeon Master Rule Zero: The Dungeon Master Makes the Rules.Ten years after divorce, Leah is finally ready to move on. No more ex-with-benefits at the club she and her ex belong to. No more scenes together, no matter how hot they are. She's ready to find someone to spend the rest of her life with. So is her ex, but then Gavin drops the bombshell: he wants to move on by winning her back. Unfortunately, he might already be too late. When he shows up to declare his intentions, Leah's on her way out the door for a date with someone else. Gavin won her heart once and he's determined to win that battle again, no matter the odds. Book 2: Dungeon Daddy As life happens, happily-ever-after gets harder to hold on to...Two kids and two busy careers have taken their toll on Jax and Esther Johnson. Muddling through the middle of their lives, this Daddy Dom and his sweet and sassy babygirl have been in a rut for a long time. Esther knows motherhood and age have changed her body, and she's never been the sophisticated type that her husband spends time with all day at work. Worried that Jax is moving on to younger, greener pastures, Esther begins a campaign to win back her husband. There's just one problem: when Jax notices his wife is no longer acting like herself, he begins to assume the worst. Book 3: Dungeon Showdown In this battle of wills, only one dominant comes out on top... After months of relentless game night flirting, Aiden finally gets his shot with fellow dominant Cyana. Too bad it comes with a major catch. Submission has never been his style, but a bet is a bet and Aiden won't back down. As one night of total surrender changes everything he thought he knew, this big bad dom isn't prepared to deal with the consequences. How long can Aiden avoid Cyana and the pleasure that only submission can give him? Since they're preparing to stand by their mutual friends for a double wedding in lifestyle-friendly-paradise on a tropical island, probably not very long.

About the Author:

Golden Angel is a USA Today best-selling author and self-described bibliophile with a "kinky" bent who loves to write stories for the characters in her head. If she didn't get them out, she's pretty sure she'd go just a little crazy.

She is happily married, old enough to know better but still too young to care, and a big fan of happily-ever-afters, strong heroes and heroines, and sizzling chemistry.

When she's not writing, she can often be found on the couch reading, in front of her sewing machine making a new cosplay, hanging out with her friends, or wandering the Maryland Renaissance Fair.

Find Her Online! Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DplX3X BookBub: http://bit.ly/2G68e3O Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Ds7c0e Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2rt4rdL Instagram: http://bit.ly/2CkqiqZTikTok: 

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[sortasirius]

what makes you think the writers want deancas? not trying to be an asshole, i'm just genuinely curious as to why you think that. i know berens' episodes are pretty heavy with subtext so i can see why you'd say that he wants it, but i'm not so sure about the rest of the writers/dabb. it seems like meghan isn't a huge fan either, given her "they twisted it so fast" tweet :/ of course she's a very new writer (think she's only writing one ep this season?) but still

OKAY this is a great question, welcome to my dissertation.

I’m going to address the end of your question first. Meghan is actually DeanCas positive, she has been for quite a long time. She actually, a few years back, posted a picture of her reading a literal book about Destiel and captioned it “writing reading” or something like that.

This whole thing just comes out of a boiling over of tensions because of how nasty fandom twitter can be. Like I said here, I think this has just gotten blown out of proportion, they shouldn’t have posted all this randomly disparaging stuff, but also like...can you blame them? The fandom is a lot, we always have been, and they’re probably also under a gag order not to talk about the finale, and are annoyed that people keep asking.

So nah, Meg is not anti Destiel.

To the first part!! So let’s take a look at the show runners since Cas has been around.

Seasons 4 and 5: Kripke

Seasons 6 and 7: Gamble

Seasons 8-11ish: Carver

Seasons 11ish-15: Dabb

So starting with Kripke. Okay, yes, I will be the first to admit that we have some pretty incredible Destiel moments in these seasons, but it’s less directly written into the plot and much more from Misha and Jensen’s uhhhh ~chemistry~. The only times it was directly written into the script was when the episode was handled by someone like Edlund (“On The Head Of A Pin,” “The End,” “My Bloody Valentine”). And you have to remember, if in season 5, there are moments here and there where you’re like huh that’s suspiciously romantic dialogue, remember that Cas took Anna’s place. Anna was supposed to be endgame for Dean, but due to a myriad of issues and Misha’s general greatness, Anna was replaced with Cas.

Onto 6 and 7. Hmmm. Gamble. 6 and 7 are my two least favorite seasons and that’s no secret, and that’s not only due to the plain old weird shit in the overall storyline, but also that homegirl killed off Cas in s7 and then Bobby like four episodes later. (Also it ALWAYS rubbed me the wrong way they couldn’t have Baby in that season lol). We still had some great DeanCas moments, but again, it wasn’t really written into the overall arc (until they had to change the end of season 7 because of tanking ratings and bring Misha back lol, anyone remember the fact that Dean kept Cas’ jacket and would randomly dream of him? Yeah.). But we still had those moments, those distinctly romantic moments, probably the best example in these two seasons is from Edlund again, specifically “The Man Who Would be King,” I wrote a little about that here.

We move onto Carver, who gave us, at this point, the most overt DeanCas season with season 8 (season gr8 is a better name imo), and this is the first time Dean and Cas’ relationship is directly written as an arc of the season.  I mean, you have everything in Purgatory, Dean “seeing” Cas everywhere, the fact that he felt so guilty that Cas stayed in Purgatory that he manipulated his own memories to think that he was the one that failed Cas, because he couldn’t comprehend that Cas would want to leave him, and let’s not forget Dean snapping Cas out of Naomi’s hold on him in “Goodbye Stranger.”  It was a very obvious shift, not enough to alert the general audience, but more than enough for most of us in fandom.

It’s also important to note that this is when Andrew stopped co writing with Loflin and started writing his own episodes (”Hunter Heroici” anyone?)  I like Loflin fine, but Dabb was able to stretch his legs a little bit more once he stopped co-writing, and we also began to see some DeanCas themes in his solo episodes.

In any case, them and their issues being a big part of the seasons continued with Carver, and Berens entered the scene, his first episode (”Heaven Can’t Wait”) is one of my favorites, with human Cas and the fanfiction gap and Dean and Cas just generally being awkward and funny and sweet.  This is Bobo’s FIRST episode, remember that.  He comes right out of the gate with it.

Also in Season 9, this is when Dean takes the Mark of Cain, and the Cas/Colette mirror is born, so obviously, Dean and Cas are the fabric of the season once again.  This is also the season where Metatron says Cas is “in love with humanity,” and then immediately refers to Dean as Humanity so uhhhh yeah.

Onto season 10, Dabb and Berens continue with their greatness (I could write pages on the DeanCas date in “The Things We Left Behind” alone).  And then we have one of the best scenes in the entire show in “The Prisoner” where the Cas/Colette mirror continues and Dean, driven by grief and pain and rage and the Mark, still doesn’t kill Cas.  He still can’t kill Cas.

Season 11 is important because it takes choice away from both Cas and Dean, and shows us, as the audience, how much losing each other takes out of them. We saw in season 10 how much losing Dean takes from Cas, but what about Cas losing Dean?  Dean loses his choice with his connection to Amara this season, and loses even more when Lucifer reveals he’s been possessing Cas, and plays on Dean’s connection to Cas like a mockery.  It’s also worth noting that, similarly to season 8, Dean breaks out of the connection with Amara when he’s worried about Cas, and that’s something that even SHE is surprised by.

But then season 12, the beginning to the Renaissance.  This is when we get the writer’s that become important for what Dean and Cas are today, and, truly, why I believe they want canon Destiel as much as we do.

This is the first season with Dabb’s writers: Davy Perez, Meredith Glynn, Steve Yockey, and of course Bobo all come in with their incredible talents and gave us episode after episode of good content.  “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” is probably my favorite, probably the best example of what I’m saying.  An episode where Dean is called out by an enemy directly, told to “roll the dice” on Cas’ life.  And Dean won’t, it’s not even really a hesitation.  And this comes from a character that has known Dean for ten seconds.  I also wrote more in depth about this episode here.  There are also some.....distinctly domestic details we get this season, specifically in “The Future” (written by Berens and Glynn) with the mixtape.  The most tropey of tropes mixtape.  Yeah, I’ll just leave that one here.

And then season 12 ends with Cas’ death, but also with the parallel between Sam and Dean with Jess and Cas.  Sam literally has to drag Dean away from Cas, just like Dean had to drag Sam out of his burning apartment in the pilot.  The episode drives it home in every way that it can: Dean is the one left kneeling by Cas’ body, while Sam goes to find out what is upstairs.  Dean is the one who stares at the sky, finally broken.  This isn’t a random thing, this is Dean’s whole arc, it’s the entirety of the beginning of 13.  Dean’s pain, his anguish, his anger.

Season 13 starts with them burning Cas, with Dean, who has begged God to bring him back, who has split his knuckles punching a door, standing, staring at Cas’ pyre with brokenness on his face.

I mean.....

Anyway, season 13 is where it gets interesting (well, I think all of this is interesting but I’m a writer nerd so).  So Cas comes back from the Empty in “Advanced Thanatology” written by Steve Yockey, and then a wombo combo of “Tombstone” by Davy Perez next (”Brokebacknatural” as the PR said at the time).  Listen.  This is the part that SPN crossed a line that they couldn’t come back from.  With Cas being Dean’s “big win,” the fact that Dean and Cas watch movies together, “I told you, he’s an angry sleeper.  Like a bear.” Talked about it here.

This is where, in my opinion, the network stepped in, but the damage was already done.  They had already established that Cas was Dean’s big win, that Dean’s poor coping was not due to Mary’s disappearance, but solely due to Cas, and that Dean and Cas have more married energy than anyone else.  The network had nixed blatant canon at this point, and they writing room had been pushing the boundaries of what the network would allow. 

After these episodes, we see a marked drop off of DeanCas heavy scenes.  They’re still there, still a part of the fabric of the season, but not as...obvious as it had been in early season 13.

And this continued through season 14, we’re back to scraps of Destiel scenes here and there, but to me it always felt like there was something bubbling under the surface, something distinctly unsaid in the themes of the season, even after the walk back of obvious “Dean and Cas are in love” scenes.

And then we get to season 15, which, y’all know I talk about all the time.  What’s important here is that Bobo and Glynn are both executive producers, calling more of the shots than ever before.  Additionally, it’s important to note that, though they only co write occasionally, Glynn and Berens refer to each other as “work husband” and “work wife.”  Each episode has just turned up the volume, and, not for the first time, but certainly the most obvious, Dean and Cas ARE the season.  Sure, they’re trying to beat God, they’re trying to finally find peace, defeat the final big bad, but really?  This season has been about Dean, and Dean’s relationship to Cas.

And not only do we have obvious and clear Destiel in nearly every episode, but we have episodes like “Last Call” which canonize bi!Dean (wrote about that here).

And, maybe most importantly so far, we have “The Rupture,” the breakup, and “The Trap,” Dean’s confession (both written by Berens).  And here’s the thing.  These episodes feel connected, but also feel like they’re missing something.  Beren’s last episode is 15x18, “The Truth.”  We’ve all spec’ed about what could happen in this episode, and I think *I* know what it’s leading to.  But for it to be leading to that, it means that the network has to have approved what we’ve all been waiting for years for.

Who got this change to happen?  Who got the network to change their minds?  It wasn’t us.  It was them.  I am fully convinced that Dabb and Berens quite literally put their careers on the line for Dean and Cas.  They believe in them, they’ve shown that from the beginning, but the only thing standing in the way was the network, never allowing them to take the final step. 

So, to answer your question: I think the writers want canon DeanCas because they’ve already shown us that they do.  Take a look at their episodes, at Dabb’s, at Beren’s, at Glynn’s, at Perez’s, at Yockey’s.  They’ve been telling us what’s going on with Dean and Cas for years.

Sure, I’m not in their heads, I guess I don’t know for *sure* that this has been their thought process, but if we put it all together, from the marked shift when Dabb fully took over in s12, to the change right after “Tombstone,” to the new shift, the blatantly romantic shift in season 15, what else is there?

I’ve said for a long time that we, the SPN fandom, are beyond lucky to have the writer’s that we do.  They’re all going to go on to have prolific careers and we were lucky to get them at the end of our little show.  I give them a lot of credit for what we have in the show today.

Just remember, they’ve been telling us in all of s15 who Chuck is.  He says he’s the writer, right?  But a writer who doesn’t have control of his characters?  A writer who wants to do the same ending over and over because it “works”?  That doesn’t sound like a writer, it sounds like a network exec.

They’ve been showing us what they want for years, and the way s15 is going?  I think they may have convinced the network to let us have it.

[lupinealpineipa]

Avatar renaissance made me do it.

The new avatar team including some extra characters. More doodles and info underneath the cut.

some notes, the avatar cycle seems to have ended with Korra but many believe that the avatar is still out there, many are using their absence as a more practical stance to life. distancing themselves spiritually, having modern culture run rampant. We’re in what some people would think is the 50′s (if your into that western bs). zutara, taang, and sukki were endgame. (because mom said it’s my turn for the aus) 

I guess this is  called 

AVATAR: The Hidden Quills

(ha...get it?)

Michio:

He is the great great grandson of Zuko and Katara. He is the crowned prince for the fire nation. His mother, Fire Lord Emiko, has placed him in the care of many tutors and masters. Michio is a strong fire bender but he lacks control and in so makes his fear his own ability. He hears the old fire sages whisper about how his younger sister exceeds his own abilities filling his mind with doubt and shame. But he reminds himself that he is not a reflection of his families past, much how his waterbending mother shows him and his younger sister everyday. He has a knack at militia training and his natural sciences studies.

Sumiko:

She is Michios younger sister. Sort of following Zukos footsteps she asked her mother if she could take a small fleet in search for the avatar. Since Avatars Korra's passing many were afraid that the avatar cycle had been completely broken. But Sumiko wants to prove them wrong, she knows the avatar is out there and she will find them. She surpasses her brothers abilities in fire bending calling fourth the old tale whispered among the fire temples of the past fire lord and his mind broken sister. But sumiko heeds them no interest [and begs her older brother to do the same] she's much more interested in creating positive unity between all four nations following avatars Korra example.

Quinn:

She was a young orphan lost in the swap. She has little memories of when she was younger. She grew up being a surrogate big sister for the young earth bender Yong. They both grew up in a small foster home where they depended on each other. Quinn is a non bender but she has an incredible perspective ability. She can replicate any fighting and bending form to a T. With her incredible memorizing ability she also has a key sense of planning and guessing her opponents moves from a game of pai sho to a hand-to-hand combat. Quinn is incredibly innovative and an inventor in her own right.

Noa:

Much like Quinn was orphaned at a young age but he was quickly accepted into a family in an island of mixed benders. He grew up near the ocean feeling the strong connection he had with the water. Without special training Noa has helped kept the waves from hitting his adopted families home controlling strong waves and such a young age. His power is something to awe and fear and that's without adding his short temper. Noa has always had a sour outlook on his life despite having a caring adoptive family and a strong friendship with his 'brother' Junkai whom he grew up with. Though the family he grew up with wasn't rich they still made sure that he had everything he needed, and for that Noa is thankful

Junkai:

He comes from a long family of performative earth benders. well known for their tricks and adaptive abilities. Though sometime they can barely scrap by they still have each other. Junkai recently passed the 'Bull' test every member of his family must complete before being considered a master, wearing the red sash as a symbol of passing the family test. Junkai grandmother was an old student of the legendary Master Toph which many of her lessons were passed onto the family but Junkai seems to have his lessons go into one ear and go through the other. Though he is a talented earth bender, he lacks discipline and personally enjoys more of the modern aspects of the world. From low rider showcases to pop culture.

Huang:

The talented, gifted, middle forgotten child. She doesn't mind though. Huang is a grand child of the great master Jinora. She received her tattoo markings at the same age as her grandmother and has always had a special connection with her. Though she doesn't receive the same attention as her other siblings she believes that this gives her the freedom she wouldn't be able to experience otherwise. Huang is on her own mission to have her petition signed to secure a non profit organization to reduce the amount of appropriation done to her culture. Some sacred air temples have become tourist resorts and have placed her traditions underneath a flash camera for people to gawk at. Though Huang express the same spiritual connection of her grandmother before her, she cannot deny that underneath her calm and down to earth attitude lies a fiery and righteous anger.

Yong:

A small boy wise beyond his years. He and Quinn grew up in the same foster home where he latched onto her side immediately. He is a quiet and calm boy, but his bending says much different. His connection to his element is incredibly strong but Yongs demeanor isn't at the same level. Though he can be soft spoken he knows when to speak for himself and others. He has been a great comfort for Quinn.

Chīsai:

A young tigerdillo, animal companion to the Avatar. He's found as a young cub beside his mother when her was younger. He was nursed and taken care of by the avatar themselves. He express discontent when he can't sense his connection with the avatar and has trust issues with other humans; but once you get past his hard defensiveness Chīsai is a big cuddle bug.

[mulanxiaojie]

Disney is releasing a live-action remake of its 1998 animated film "Mulan" in March 2020.

Insider asked the original "Mulan" codirector Tony Bancroft and Mushu animator Tom Bancroft their thoughts on the remake along with its first trailer.

The twin brothers said they're interested in it for the same reasons which may make some fans upset. They're happy it doesn't look like the remake will feature Mushu or be a musical.

"I want these remakes to be as unique and original as possible... It should feel reminiscent of what it's based on, but not be 'The Lion King' in CG animation that is like shot for shot," said Tony Bancroft.

Tom said while he kind of wishes Mushu was in the movie a bit, he says he probably would have been "a little disappointed."

"Mulan" is one of the next Disney movies that's getting remade for a new generation, and already has  the thumbs up of the team behind the original movie.

"I was excited about that," Tony Bancroft, the codirector of the original 1998 animated "Mulan," told Insider of the coming remake.

Tony, who worked at Disney Animation for over 12 years during its renaissance period, watched the trailer almost immediately after it came out in July. He remembers receiving a notification about it on his phone while walking to church. He stopped right then and there to watch it.

"Even though it was small and the sound wasn't great, I could see where the director was going with it," he said of his initial reaction to the teaser. "It felt like they were taking the best parts of the story — a girl who will do anything to save her father [and] bring her father and her family honor."

The 1998 film followed Hua Mulan as she took the place of her father in the Chinese army to fight the Huns. She chopped off her hair and disguised herself as a man in order to protect her father.

Production on the live-action movie started in August 2018 with Liu Yifei cast as the lead and starring Donnie Yen ("Star Wars: Rogue One") and Jet Li. The Niki Caro-directed film will be the company's 13th remake of one of its classics since 2010's "Alice in Wonderland."

When the first trailer was released, Bancroft noticed what most fans did. It didn't have any of the iconic songs people associate with the film like "Reflection" or "I'll Make a Man Out of You." That's because it won't be a musical. In 2017, Caro told Moviefone there were no songs in the movie at that time, describing it as a "martial arts epic."

More importantly, the trailer didn't have Mulan's dragon sidekick Mushu, who Bancroft's brother, Tom, animated in the 1998 film. Unlike the fans though, Tony actually liked that the trailer didn't feature either.

"All the things that a lot of fans are upset about are the things that I was happiest about because I really want them to go off and make a new version of 'Mulan.' I love that character. I love who she is," said Tony of being OK with the fact that the remake doesn't appear to have music or Mushu.

"I love what she represents and I love seeing more Chinese culture portrayed in a new different way," he said of Mulan.

Tony's brother, Tom, was also at Disney for about the same amount of time. The two started as interns before working full-time on, what became, many of the studio's classic animated fairy-tales.

Tom said his initial reaction to hearing about a "Mulan" remake was positive and made him eager to see how Caro and Disney would retell the story. After all, Tom and Tony have already seen a string of classics they worked on ("Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King") remade by Disney. What's another one?

But then Tom started to have some questions.

"The fear sets in and immediately after that I'm like, 'OK, but how are they going to do Mushu? How are they going to do this sequence? Are they going to keep that really strong father-daughter relationship?" Tom told Insider of initial concerns for the remake. "When I saw the trailer, I was pleasantly relieved."

Even without Mushu? Yes, even without Mushu.

"A lot of people I know I think are surprised by that because I created Mushu, I should be really upset that Mushu's not in it. I'm really not," Tom said of people's reactions when they learn he's fine with the Eddie Murphy-voiced dragon not appearing in the trailer.  

He's afraid he would probably be disappointed if Mushu was in the live-action remake.

"While I kind of wished he was [in the movie] a little bit, just to see how that would have happened, I probably would've been a little disappointed," Tom said of an adaptation of Mushu in a remake. "In a way, I think I dodged a bullet."

While Mushu isn't expected to be in the remake (it's been reported he may be replaced by a phoenix), Tom would love to see more of Mulan's relationship with her father in the new adaptation.

"I'm hoping they're going to show a training sequence when she was very young and that her dad would sneak her off and privately train her to be a warrior because that'll make even more sense later on." he said.

Have Walt Disney Studios or Caro reached out to Tony about the remake? No.

"Nothing," said Tony, who doesn't harbor any ill will, "I kind of understand that from the standpoint of the new director. Do you really want to go back and kind of regurgitate old ideas?"

"It's almost better that they work in their own vacuum of researching on their own to try and make it as unique as possible," he added. "I understand it from their standpoint, although it would be great if there was a nod to the original and the team and the directors that worked on those original ones."

According to a press release from Disney in August 2018, the live-action "Mulan" is an adaptation of the '98 animated film, but will also be based on the narrative poem "The Ballad of Mulan." Tom said if they're going back to the original poem, and if they've have already seen the original movie, he doesn't think they need any pointers from them.

"I'm not offended by that," said Tom of not hearing from anyone about the "Mulan" remake. "I've worked for the Disney corporation for so many years that I really don't expect that. Most of the departments don't talk to each other. It's such a big conglomerate."

That seems to be the case for the majority of the remakes. When Insider spoke with "Aladdin" codirector Ron Clements earlier this year, he said he didn't consult with anyone on the live-action remake. In 2017, "The Lion King" codirector Rob Minkoff said that new director Jon Favreau had shown him some of the VR technology that was used to create that remake.

After the trailer release, Tony said he has attempted to reach out to Caro on social media. He shared an early character design of Mulan on her horse which he was reminded of by a shot from the trailer.

"I wanted to show some support for the trailer so I posted online and tagged her on my posts," Tony said of trying to connect with the new director.

"I never heard anything back, so that's kind of a bummer," said Tony. "All I can hope is she isn't online very much."

While they may not be involved with the new 'Mulan' film, the Bancrofts are plenty busy these days teaching, animating, producing, and podcasting. 

The Bancroft brothers left Disney in the early 2000s and worked on "VeggieTales." The two are passionate about 2D animation and currently teach animation at universities in California and Tennessee, go to animation expos and conventions, and cohost an animation podcast together, "The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast."

Tom is also producing a documentary called "Pencil Test" on the art of 2D animation and its future with interviews from animators like Glen Keane ("The Little Mermaid") and John Musker ("Moana"). You can watch a trailer for it here.

More than 20 years after its release, Tony's contribution to "Mulan" is still recognized worldwide as he continues to work on indie animated features.

"Most of them have connections to China," Tony said of most of his animation films being coproductions with China. "I have a lot of involvement with China these days because of 'Mulan' and they seem to be very interested in working with me on projects."

When it comes to the remake, which will hit theaters in March 2020, Tony says he's very supportive of where it's going as long as it's not a direct rehash of what has already been seen on screen.

"I want these remakes to be as unique and original as possible," said Tony of Disney's reimaginings. "It should feel reminiscent of what it's based on, but not be 'The Lion King' in CG animation that is like shot for shot."

[attentive-dragon]

Writing update

Current word count: 30165.

Book one opened with the kyzanthe (my "orc" analogues) attacking several human villages and leading off the few survivors on a death-march to the north. It isn't until the end of the novel that it's revealed why this is happening, and examining the reasons for these events are a huge part of book 2 (especially as I start to unpack the motivations of the kyzanthe and the reactions to that by some of my characters.) A large portion of book 1 featured three survivors of that march who escaped and fled the kyzanthe: Medros, South, and Radzik. Their adventures eventually converged with the rest of the characters, and they were there for the final battle at the city of Kazio at the end of the book.

Book 2 is hugely about consequences, about dealing with the past, and I've just finished a scene with Medros that I've been struggling with. Annelli, who is still Lord of the lands that were invaded, has plans to build a new village for all of the survivors, on the grounds of her former estate (that was also destroyed in the attacks.) Medros, South, and Radzik are going to go there, but first wanted to revisit the remains of their three villages, Medros specifically to find and bury his wife. All three of them are struggling in their own ways with the guilt of having survived the long march that killed so many of their people. Medros specifically is struggling with a lot of guilt over his budding relationship to South, feeling like he is betraying his dead wife. South seems very "practical" about the entire thing, but I can assure you that she is every bit as torn up about everything happening as the men she is traveling with. Anyway, at the end of the scene that I just finished, Medros surprised me a bit. I planned for the three of them to return to the site of the new village, but after everything they saw, and after burying his wife, Medros realized that he can't remain in the plains of the Hyth-Tao anymore. There are too many memories, and he needs a fresh start. He's heading back to Kazio, and I expect that South and Radzik will follow him. The three companions have been through too much together to separate now.

This means that the three of them will probably have more of a role than I was expecting in the second half of the book (which takes place almost entirely in the northlands), so that's an unexpected development.

---

I was thinking about how I might include some outlandish stuff in my writing. I've tried to keep my world's "rules" consistent: while there's magic, there are some rules to that, and the level of technology that exists is somewhere in that weird mish-mash of medieval and renaissance that D&D and so much other fantasy leans into. But regardless of exactly where on the technology curve they lie, the people of my world have horse-drawn wagons, not airplanes.

However, my fantasy world sits on the ruins of a previous world that had technology before the cataclysm that split the planet in half. That technology was based on the incredibly potent magic available at the time, but it was still technology. So, while I haven't really delved too deeply into what that world looked like, there's no reason there couldn't have been aircraft of some kind. They wouldn't be airplanes as we know them, powered by propellers and gasoline, but they'd still fly, using magic.

Where I'm going with this is: I had a fun idea for some stories of air-pirates living in massive floating barges, and terrorizing the world below. At first I thought this might be a separate world I might write about, but there's no reason it couldn't all fit into the same world I'm writing currently: it would simply need to be at least a thousand years in the past.

Basically, if you think of the airship of Don Carnage from TaleSpin, or the pirates from Les Mondes Engloutis (also known as "Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea" to American viewers) you'll know what I'm going for. In fact, I was thinking specifically of the character Massmedia from the latter show when these ideas came to me. I'm specifically envisioning a pirate queen (who is only very loosely based on Massmedia, if at all) and I've been writing some of her exploits in my head. It's all very loose, still, just some random lines and ideas of cool things she's done. I'd like to write down some of her story once I'm able to develop it further. I think she wasn't the captain at first, but rose through the ranks until she was the first officer, and then seized command. She eventually leads the entire fleet, and is the leader of her people against the rising power of the unifying kingdoms of the land below.

I think this might tie into be some of the stories I've been writing about Queen Ahna, the first and last queen of the Kingdom of Eight whose reign was cut tragically short by the cataclysm. That means that Gelde the Darcana (Ahna's sworn companion in arms, and eventual wife of the goddess Mynda) might also show up in some of these stories too. I've mentioned before: Gelde and Mynda are HUGELY IMPORTANT to the current story, so it would be cool to write some of Gelde's adventures when she was still a mortal, before her ascension to godhood.

One thing I'm pretty sure about: this pirate queen is widely known to have been killed in a massive final battle against the forces of Queen Ahna, but her body was not recovered. The cataclysm came very soon afterwards, and the magic required for airships was lost, with the massive floating pirate fortress crashing into the ocean. Those pirates who survived the event vanished into the population with their stolen treasures, and a struggling world had more important things to do than hunt them down. I think it's very possible that this lost pirate queen (or perhaps her daughter) took some of that hidden wealth and used it to become the first Lady Althane, the founder of a noble family that still exists during the time of the current story.

I'm still thinking of a name for this pirate, but I think I'll have a lot of fun writing about her.

[punkscowardschampions]

Junior & Nancy

Gay nerds

Junior: Nance, how on earth are you tackling this art project? To say I'm discombobulated is an understatement that isn't getting me an A any time soon! Nancy: 😕 sums it up in a way. Obviously I can fall back on the twin thing but is that too safe? 😩 But we couldn't be more different Junior: 😖 Like, I love how vague and open to our own interpretation it is...but also I fucking hate how vague and open to our own interpretation it is! 😢😂 No one would blame you; least of all me, 'cos I was tempted- being the sore thumb I am when counting our ten- and I've not even got the twin angle everyone is so about in all areas of art tbh Junior: If nothing else, Buster is a willing participant in a photo op always? Junior: Ooh, you could get something matchy match from your childhood photos (I know they exist) and splice it with portraits of you now...Think that elevates it Nancy: You've put your finger on it. Nancy: But I don't think you're so right about the lack of blame 🤔 even with the boy/girl straight/gay redhead/brunette angle it still feels ??? Nancy: Basic 😒 Junior: I get you Junior: Meant to become the next Magritte in just 4 weeks, like !!! Junior: Well, I've heard at least 4 girls from class saying they're going to do a heavily made-up portrait next to a #nofilter #naturalbeauty one so Junior: We'll do better than that by default but I'd like to come up with something vaguely original still Junior: Miss' sanity relies on us lowkey, no pressure 😷😜 Nancy: I had that passing thought let it go though 😜 Nancy: You could text her Nancy: 😕 yes pressure Nancy: What to do? Junior: I like to keep it in professional hours Junior: for her sake, she gets a bit amorous when she's had a glass o vino after work Nancy: 😮 she does? Nancy: can I bribe my way to top of the class by raiding the cellar Junior: That was my second suggestion 😏 Junior: Take one for the team please 🙏 Nancy: but she's straight STRAIGHT Nancy: couldn't be enough Nancy: back to the mindmap Junior: Damn straights 😒 Junior: if all else fails, we can put this grade next to our last Junior: break the fourth wall, v meta Nancy: our school gets the one bohemian who is Nancy: put her next to the sterotypical art teacher Junior: did you mean my mother? 🤔 Junior: her, the engineer, hilarious 😂 Junior: Mum'd be up for it, you may borrow her Nancy: I might yet Nancy: when's this due again? Junior: we've still got 3 weeks, don't worry Junior: just trying to get it over and done with here Nancy: I should Nancy: The Tempest essay is due soon Junior: Don't remind me, even the gayness can't make it enjoyable, like many a teen show 🤷 Junior: Could combine? Somehow? Umm Junior: The supernatural characters and the humans...why yes, I am clutching at straws Junior: This term is killing me Nancy: If I'd get away with handing in some shots instead of an essay I would Nancy: not happening Nancy: 😩 Nancy: What ideas have you had? For the juxtaposition...forget the tempest Nancy: burn that Junior: If only, 1000 words=1 photograph, no contest really Junior: again, if only Will had 💀 Junior: The idea I can't get out of my head, even though it has been done to death so is BEYOND basic, is mashing up a classical art piece with something modern and pop culture...to say something about me (eww!) Junior: Tbf, they usually use Renaissance or very very famous art pieces so I could win points by using some relevant surrealism/ going beyond calling Mona Lisa #flawless Junior: Its all I've got Nancy: I think it's good Nancy: Let's both run with overused concepts and make them not basic in our way Nancy: act like we planned it Nancy: nobody has to know we had no other ideas Junior: Absolutely 😎 Junior: Total confidence is key, comes so natural to the both of us, like Junior: I think worrying about being 'original' is the true hack thing to do here anyway 💅 Nancy joined the chat 13 hours ago Nancy: 😖 yes Nancy: stealing that all Nancy: now if you could keep it going and give me some thoughts on shakespeare to plagiarize 😜 Junior: If I could, I would but even SparkNotes isn't helping me Junior: shall we peruse the best film/stage adaptations? maybe tomorrow night if you're free Nancy: I've seen the 2010 version a few times for obvious reasons Nancy: but yeah the others not so much Nancy: we need to do something that isn't me asking my mum for help Junior: Oh, babe 😂 that's the real tragedy here, you doing that to yourself Junior: maybe I'll borrow her and she can do mine for me Junior: still down for a movie night obviously Nancy: 🙉 Nancy: Lead female character Nancy: Shakespeare should've Nancy: Please do take her Nancy: mum swap 😂 Junior: As much as Bill LOVED any excuse for a drag show darling... stick with the evil queens and witches 😘 Junior: Let's do this, full family swap! Let them drive you insane for a bit whilst I live the life 😬 Nancy: Switch that around both my parents are so type A Nancy: Plus you've got all the brothers and sisters to dodge behind Nancy: Buster takes more heat off than most but he's still just one boy Junior: well, mine would refuse to be bound to a type, just as annoying I promise Junior: Its true I can mostly fade into obscurity with all their shenanigans, yet it still somehow isn't the case, just 12 nosy people in your business instead of the usual 2, with a disinterested brother flexing off in the background Nancy: 🙈 Nancy: I'm not having kids Nancy: Don't care if the future wife is frantic Junior: It is an issue that divides all of us tbh Junior: I don't think I'd mind one, to put all my efforts into Junior: but unlikely Junior: unless I co-parent from the sidelines with your wife Nancy: weirder scenarios have come about Nancy: I'd prefer a kitten Junior: steal one when you come over Junior: Ma'd probably notice but really, do we need so many? Nancy: Gran's such a dog person can I get through the door Junior: True, true Junior: Always living on such extremes this fam Junior: I don't know 😏 Nancy: look at me and my brother ultimate homo and hetero Nancy: embarrassing Junior: 😂 Junior: I'd love to suggest he doth protest too much but lbr Nancy: dad's never been prouder 😂 no teen pregnancies for his little girl Nancy: shakespeare would write that Junior: Who are we putting our money on to go first Nancy: that's harder than it sounds Junior: Rio is obvious choice but I sometimes think Grace might go insane and come along and take the claim Junior: *Shudders* Nancy: change the subject I beg you Nancy: I'd rather hear about your attempts to avoid your secret admirer who's a girl and hopelessly 💘 Junior: well, I would rather pretend that was not a thing 😬 Junior: as your brother once eloquently put it, when he was very pissed, 'i could clean up and get untold amounts of pussy' Junior: and that's that on that Junior: considering getting a face transplant 'cos my off-putting demeanour is not doing enough 😒 what problems to have, eh? the privilege of it all! 😂 Nancy: maybe we should go under together Nancy: moral support and potential discount Nancy: if I get told I don't look gay one more time I'm returning my badge Junior: well, where is your crewcut and tank top, like? 🤔 Junior: out here confusing the masses like that, idk Nancy: 🙉 Nancy: Not an identical twin playing tricks either how dare I Junior: why can't you just get in your box and like it, god damn it Nance! Nancy: unrelated except about boxes but should I get some new kit for this project or am I just stalling Nancy: a memoir Junior: any excuse 😜 Junior: but yes, do it Junior: i'm using it as excuse to go 'round all the best art galleries in town again so Nancy: Can I tag along Nancy: they're so quiet it's everything Junior: Naturally Junior: We're art students, we've gotta act like it, I'll keep the pretentious commentary to a minimum if you keep the equally as pretentious 'grams down too 😘 Nancy: I'll try Nancy: The feed wants what it wants though Junior: Can't argue, just leave the real money outta the shot Junior: Gotta leave my fangirls wanting more, like 😂 Nancy: That I will promise Nancy: Not trying to be mobbed by straight girls Junior: You mean you resist the lesbian stereotype of LOVING that too?! Nancy: Somehow it's managed Junior: no mean feat, one of the few gays in the village Nancy: Don't clap it's too loud 😂 Junior: *Finger clicks like this a slam poetry night* Nancy: Thank you Nancy: [sends a selection of childhood pictures] how early years can I go before everyone's rolling their eyes Nancy: Thank you too mum for these. Why did you do this to us? 🙈 Junior: Awww what 👼 Junior: This is how I like to remember Buster, before it all went wrong... 😉 Nancy: 👶🥕 Nancy: The glory days Junior: Weren't they just? Junior: At least you didn't have an extra older sister to dress you up, that's worse...the photos I could bring out, good lord 🙄 Nancy: 😜 And I wasn't that sister. You've welcome Buster Nancy: 🍀 Junior: *Whispers* Can we agree he needs SOMEONE to give him a makeover tho Nancy: I volunteer you as tribute Nancy: I've tried Junior: Maybe next family gathering Junior: if he shows Nancy: Bide your time Nancy: birthday present failsafe idea Junior: the amount of birthday celebrations in this fam is unholy Junior: We have a better social life than I would ever wish for, ugh Nancy: don't make me think about it Nancy: I'm sharing and it's made no difference Junior: wouldn't want you to miss out on all that good good attention we all crave 😂 Nancy: 🙈 Junior: Speaking of attention, have you heard the latest gossip that has piqued our peers? Nancy: You tell me Nancy: I can't think of anything off the top of my head Junior: Mark Colm Junior: a massive gay? Junior: I can't make up my mind if they're just hysterical and he's just a bit camp Junior: or there's something in it Nancy: He's one of us Nancy: Definitely crushing on the headboy I've seen him looking Junior: Isn't everyone? Junior: Even the teachers, complete popularity contest got him that position Junior: Interesting, though... Nancy: Besides me in my minority of one Nancy: And Sian would never Junior: Sian Gaffney? She's never gay! Thought you didn't do straight girls, you're reaching there Nancy: 🙉 not her she's dating the oldest Keenan lad Jake? Blake? idk Nancy: She'd love to ride half our class anyway Junior: Ohh you mean Mrs Kelly, duh Junior: yeah she's one of the only decent teachers about, doesn't seem like she goes in for all that popularity politics Nancy: No she doesn't Junior: Seems like a good place to while away a lunchtime Nancy: don't tell everyone how fun it is there'll all wanna join me Nancy: not ready to say goodbye to my happy place Junior: I think your secret is safe from the masses, even if I suddenly got uncharacteristically chatty Junior: Even the ones that don't take the piss and are relatively decent human beings Junior: still rather go get a nandos or whatever it is they do Nancy: Yeah I'm an open book if anyone asks 😂 Nancy: I'll stick with the one stereotype I'm okay with embracing, my eager vegetarianism Nancy: No offence lads Junior: Its all kale and charitable acts with this one Junior: No ulterior motives at all 😏 Nancy: just a rich girl with more wealth than she can give away 😜 Nancy: nothing else to see here Junior: mhmm okay 👌 Junior: we'll pretend I don't know you better than that Nancy: Hey you don't know everything Junior: True Junior: are you in the mood for telling? Junior: 🤔 Nancy: Sometimes Nancy: Can't put it all in my art Junior: not if you don't want Miss to think you're trying to tell her something Junior: flattered but straight, like Nancy: She's not the one Nancy: She'll be flattered to hear Junior: Indeed Nancy: When there is someone it'd be nice to talk about it Nancy: Sometimes like I said Junior: Well, you know where I am Junior: When there is someone Nancy: But I wouldn't know where to start Nancy: I can't put words to it ?? Not the right ones Junior: That's not just you Junior: If I'm to understand all the songs and poetry professing they too have no words Junior: Can but try 🙂 Nancy: Helpful Nancy: What about you? Headboys to one side. Any crushes? Junior: No, no Junior: No point, is there Nancy: Doesn't mean there's a way to stop yourself Nancy: Wish I could just No at myself Junior: I don't know, I don't find it too hard Junior: but you're out so its different Junior: I wouldn't want to go out with anyone...even if Mark is a gay Junior: what would he want with me Nancy: You're a catch Nancy: Out or not he'd be punching above his weight to have you Junior: I don't think there's any point being with someone if you can't be open with it Junior: Being a dirty little secret isn't going to feel good for either party Nancy: For some people it feels worth it Nancy: Just to be with, or around them Junior: Perhaps Junior: Safe to say I don't feel that deeply for any lad here so yeah Junior: keeping on my shelf for now, like Nancy: There's a junxtaposition, us on our respective ledges Nancy: I can't remember what being happily single is like Nancy: Another lesbian stereotype for the list Junior: Don't, how depressing 😂 Junior: I am not about that angsty teen art life Junior: How do we get you a lady? Junior: Do we have to hit the clubs? Nancy: 🙈 Nancy: No no no Nancy: Give that up for a bad job and worse idea Nancy: I'm too picky Junior: You're speaking to me Junior: vowed a celibate here Junior: we can do this for you Nancy: We can't Nancy: Leave me in my rut Junior: Fine fine 😋 Nancy: I'll be in my dark room angsting 😂 Junior: Noted Junior: I'll drag you out for museums and Tempest film marathon tomorrow, yeah? Junior: 'Til then madame Nancy: Looking forward to it Nancy: Stay inspired 💚 Junior: Stay golden 💛