#there's so much material in the show like we need to expand the fandom and introduce new ships and stuff!!!

[lucreziagiovane]

i love when the besties thank me for getting them into the cesare/lucrezia/juan incest polycule ot3 🫶

[the-orion-scribe]

A nitpick on The Book of Bill

Disclaimer: I am speaking this as a dipcifica fan and of course a fan of Pacifica.

This is certainly unpopular, but is something I've seen overlooked by the fandom. Yeah, there are a few other unpopular takes people didn't like about the book (like someone trying to pick a bone with Hirsch about Mabel not reminding Dipper his fly was down throughout Weirdmaggedon, or Billford). So here's one major critique I have with The Book of Bill (and its website), and that is how it prioritized a certain side character over a supposed main character. Yep, I'm going to talk about how Wendy is sidelined again in favour of Pacifica.

The first instance I must raise is when Bill reveals everyone's recurring nightmares: Not only was Pacifica’s nightmare more layered and interesting, but Wendy’s offered basically nothing. Are those happy dreams or sad ones with her Mom, or is she mulling over her disappearance? And this speculation about her Mom isn't new either, having been teased before in a Lost Legends code. Half of it also seems to be a joke at Dipper’s expense. She doesn’t even get her one dream reveal to be fully about herself.

Already on Thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com, you can uncover that full backstory of Paz's encounter with Bill (type PlatinumPAZ). But beyond a few other tidbits of Wendy (like her defeating Stan in an arm wrestle once), there's no fully fleshed out story about her. How would she even stand against Bill? We don't even know.

Heck, even in the letters to us by them ("Pacifica" and "Wendy" respectively), Pacifica's is much more substantial than Wendy's, which is just basically a short joke message without substance. Of course, it could be Wendy being lazy and all, but no other code (so far) that's devoted to Wendy's? Such a shame.

This isn't a problem for The Book of Bill, but in supplementary material as of late. Like Lost Legends itself devoted itself to an entire story on Pacifica for dipcifica fans, though it mainly rethreads a conflict of Pacifica struggling with her parents' expectations. It just seems to tell us that Hirsch doesn't have solid ideas for Wendy. We are just given some vague speculations and little moments with other characters, but nothing about her character growth and development. Again, it seems Hirsch is afraid to break her ice and make her unlikeable.

(The only instance of that ice breaking. From Society of The Blind Eye)

It's not that Pacifica doesn't deserve any screentime at all. I love Pacifica and I'm not complaining about the additional material focussed on her; they are great and expanded quite a lot of her. The problem is that there's not as much thought and spotlight given to Wendy who is a supposed main character featured in the intro. The supplementary material could have been great opportunities to explore her character (like Ford and Fiddleford in J3, and even Bill himself in The Book of Bill). It's just strange how even in a book on Bill, we still have more on Pacifica (along with the rest of the Pines). Why not two more pages on Wendy herself and how she views the world, her family and friends?

In the show itself, Wendy already suffered with most of her plots revolving around her being Dipper's crush. And before you say Wendy's character was already perfect and she doesn't need any growth, even Soos, the "world's most perfect man", have his episodes centred on his Dad and struggles with romance. And Robbie even has an episode himself, admittedly a little dubious and wonky. So there's no excuse for Wendy to be sidelined again. Heck, we have at least three scrapped episode ideas on Wendy.

(The On the Road episode could have been a better replacement for Roadside Attraction, but ah well)

Truthfully the honest answer for Pacifica having more focus is the more potential angst material around her, particularly her family's more direct connection to Bill. Plus, ofc, how popular Pacifica is in the fandom and the shipping potential. But it's just frustrating (and I'm speaking this, again as a dipcifica shipper) how Wendy was sidelined again, beyond giving the barest acknowledgment that she and Soos are part of the Pines family.

(A nice, complete photo of the Pines + Soos and Wendy, by Joe Pitt)

I love Pacifica. I really do. But this focus on Pacifica should not be squandered at the expense of Wendy's development. It just gives people an impression that Pacifica is an important character, perhaps more than Wendy, yet as we know in Weirdmageddon, she ended up not playing much of a part at all. Even Robbie contributed more by having a spray can for the Zodiac. There's another essay I have in mind that would discuss Pacifica's elevated narrative role and character arc that doesn't really fit the show's narrative, but that's a full essay for another time. (You can now check it here)

If Hirsch is somehow reading this, I urge him not to hold his cards on Wendy too close to his chest. We have already glimpsed the unlikeable side of her before (like gaslighting Mabel in Boss Mabel to get more time off). Why worry that fans' opinion would turn against her? Break that ice and make her whole again.

Thanks to MilkyBoyBlue, a fellow writing friend, for sharing some of his thoughts, which I agree pretty much as I read the book myself.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ok so i was actually kinda surprised to find that looking at the ao3 stats and adjusting for how long ofmd’s existed (a year and a half) vs how long the stucky fandom’s been around (coming up on a decade), not only is gentlebeard on par with stucky but it actually beats stucky for amount of fics written. but i’m making a prediction now just based on how i’ve observed fandoms to work: i do think the gentlebeard popularity will peter out faster than stucky did

i’m not saying bc i think gentlebeard is worse or the ofmd fandom is weak or anything, i’m saying this bc in fandom it seems like the white masc queerbait ships* have like, an absurd amount of longevity that goes way beyond the general fandom surrounding whatever media said white masc queerbait ship hails from. im thinking abt the protagonist/rival ship from the TERF wizard series that nobody decent talks about in public anymore. before we all cut jkr out of our lives, people were still churning out fics abt the main character and that racist blond kid pretty regularly. and another example, we have those scientists from pacific rim that are more popular than any of the main characters from that movie. it’s been years and the newt/hermann fandom is still going strong.

and i say “newt/hermann fandom” intentionally, bc that’s the thing that i think actually gives these ships their longevity: when there are fans who are primarily invested in a piece of media because of a noncanonical masc4masc queerbait ship, they’re not really fans of the media itself. i mean, some of them might be, but if they are then that’s in addition to being fans of this alternate queer interpretation of the media in question. they’re a fan of the fandom mass hallucination that the fans collectively and collaboratively invented of a romantic/sexual/homoerotic relationship between two guys who on-screen might hug like once or twice (or sometimes even never)

and i’m pretty sure the reason this sort of fandom phenomenon tends to have so much longevity is bc the fans have already created this whole extensive romantic storyline using what is often some pretty minimal canonical material to work with. so when the movie franchise or the tv show ends and the shippers no longer have any new canonical material to work with, they can keep going for years because really, they were already making shit up from the start.

so compared to that, gentlebeard is way different bc everything the fans might have invented on our own the show pretty much already did for us, and anything the show didn’t do yet is probably coming for us this season (or in s3, fingers crossed). i’ve mentioned before how a lot of fanfiction seems to fall on a spectrum between “fix” and “expand,” and by the end of ofmd i doubt there’s gonna be a whole lot that gentlebeard fans feel like they need to “fix.” versus stucky, where there’s so much that needs to be fixed that you might as well just throw the whole canon out.

i don't really mean any of this as a criticism or an attack on fans of queerbait ships like this, im just pointing out fandom trends that i've noticed. i myself have been deeply invested in stucky, newmann, and the gay wizard boys at different points in my life. like there is something very fun abt putting on slash goggles and making queer content out of nothing. personally though, now that we're in an age where we're getting canon queer content, im not so engaged in a lot of the ships i used to care so much about, but i don't think it's inherently wrong** for people to still enjoy some classic fandom queerbait ships. it's just a very different thing from enjoying canonical queer ships like gentlebeard

*im using “queerbait ships” loosely to include popular gay ships in media that was never in a million years going to make these characters gay.

**a clarifying point: i don't think it's inherently wrong, however there are a lot of problematic elements to this kind of fandom activity, namely the way a lot of these queerbait ships will dominate a fandom while other characters who are important in canon get completely sidelined (and yes, the sidelined characters are often women/poc). also, less importantly, when people's primary media consumption revolves around strip mining canon for shipping content, this absolutely destroys their media literacy and critical thinking. again, im not saying this to attack ppl who engage in fandom primarily through fic/art of noncanonical gay ships, i myself have done the same thing. but i think ppl who do should also make a conscious effort to also engage with fan content that centers women/poc, or at the very least need to be aware of the issues around this kind of fandom activity.

[wisperianeyes]

TDP

Hello. I am an outsider to this fandom. However, some of the conflicts going on are being completely blown out of proportion by each side. For the love of mother nature, it is a FANDOM. People are here to have fun and enjoy things and connect. If people are not agreeing, let it go. That's life. You cannot control every little aspect of anything on this planet. Humans are so deeply unique and everything is unpredictable. No one has authority over how people express their interest in the show. No matter what the creators intended with the show, they have no control after they release. Because imagination is incredibly powerful and the freedom of it shall remain unrestricted. If you take things personally because of conflicting views, that is something you need to work on yourself. Why are you bothered about what other people desire and think? Fandoms will always always branch out. If you want to go to the extreme, look at something like religion and Christianity. No one will practice it the same because everyone is their own individual. The creators of the show have created a universe. They have put a simple idea into a solid form. However, nothing remains solid forever. As more people join the fandom - as it expands - the concreteness of these characters and other aspects of the world softens. Like the universe expands by entropy, so does everything created in this fictional universe. That's the beauty of expression and art. LET THINGS GO! Let people enjoy what they like. It doesn't matter how it's interpreted even if it's "wrong" - or however it misaligns with the official content. And if someone wants something specific to happen - like more screen time - there's nothing wrong with that! We all have our desires. As a Grimes fan, we have been waiting for a new album for nearly 5 years. Grimes has had so much going on in her life and while as much as we yearn while respecting this, we have been given tools to fill in this time - her elftech voice and such. You also have this freedom - through fan material like art and writing. People are allowed to do this! No one can restrict that. Please just let people do what they like. Stick to yourselves and honestly all y'all need to touch some grass because nothing is ever this serious. The world is still spinning. Life goes on. Take a breath, sit in the sun, and realize that as long as we foster supportive communities, everything will be fine.

[box-dwelling]

So this may be controversial but one of the dual destinies critiques I agree with the least is that Phoenix's arc is over so he isn't needed. And while I empathize and I do think there are characters who exist in a state where they can be definitively done, I think Edgeworth is one at least post 7yg I don't mind him turning up for fan service but I'm glad he's limited to that, I really don't think Phoenix is because to be a character like that they need to be. a lot more thematically centric.

Phoenix began life as a self insert. Kinda by the nature of that its actually quite difficult for him to reach a point in his arc where he's "done" because real people never are. They're constantly growing and changing.

If you want to make the argument that the creator said so it's worth noting that the first time Takumi thought his arc was over was after aa1, a game that ends implying he will become a prosecutor.

And that would have sucked. There was so many interesting directions his character went in later games that absolutely ruled. But each time they happen they're a little bit invented from whole cloth. His arc in JFA is somewhat of a natural conclusion of where AA1 was going but his arc in TaT is entirely invented for that game. Poisoning and betrayal were never a big deal for him before. There were no hints Dahlia existed. It was just completely new material and it fucking works. It works so well.

Then we have another point where Takumi thought his arc was over but then AA4 gives us beanix, imho his absolute most interesting iteration. That came from stuff that is true about him but was basically only true in hindsight with that addition. He is vauge as fuck about his past. He does keep stuff close to his chest. But in the trilogy that's all just protagonist things. He can't claim he's knowledgeable about something because if it turns up in a case then he can't have it explained to him for the sake of the player. The more details we get the less flexible he become. He doesn't talk about his history because it's needed for important narrative reveals. But AA4 takes that and runs with it and makes him the most interesting he's ever been. But also leaves a ton of growth for him.

I would argue DD actually expands on that a ton. It shows him actively growing out of the Beanix version of himself and finding a good middle ground between who is is now and who he used to be, a person he's spends a lot of aa4 wishing he still was. As well as him grappling with his responsibility to these kids he's taken under his wing. We can argue if it's done well or not, there are things I wish were made more explicit, but I dont agree with this idea that he's just over and there's nothing more to add. I think there's absolutely more and more that can be added to him. They may hit a wall eventually but I think we're really really far away from that point.

The guy has a lot of depth and flaws still to be explored. His I can fix them complex while referenced is still something he's yet to really over come, he could open up a lot more, his fixation of found family has never really been explored, hell his actions towards Trucy and Apollo in hiding there parentage could be properly dissected and there's a ton more that could be added on to a character who still has a ton of blank space in his history as well as just expanding on concepts that are already there. Just look at how much he still gets explored in fic.

I think there's kind of this deference to authorial superiority in AA fandom that's worse than a lot of others because of how small the original team was but I'm skeptical of that whenever I see it. Shu Takumi has made some incredible games and I adore them and deeply respect his skill as a storyteller. But he is not the only person to make AA what it is and other people can expand on it.

[faerywhimsy]

Vamptember Day 24 -FREE DAY

I am a huge fan of book to TV adaptations, so much so that a portion of my Honours thesis was actually dedicated to that particular portion of media.

The Hunger Games books and movies offer a perfect example of so much of what I love about it; a series of books that are from a limited 1st person perspective, then expanded out into a series of not just three but four movies to make room for perspectives that are hinted at within the books, yet given no explicit voice given the nature of the perspective choice.

But even a faithful adaptations can turn sour is when enough of the central themes of a story get overturned over the course of a longer running series. I’m thinking Game of Thrones here. That first season was almost a play by play of the first novel. Things like the Red- and Purple Weddings later occurred more or less as expected, though timelines of surrounding events were fudged. There were some really cool graphics made on this topic back in the day.

And then... well, we got the last 3 seasons, didn't we? What a disappointment (sorry Jacob, you're an actor capable of doing things that are very subtle, but that show let you down).

Reimaginings can likewise be good or bad, but they have built into them a bit more leeway. Where these usually turn sour is around the time they fully abandon the source material. This is mostly your ‘loosely inspired by’ stuff. It’s putting a name on the door that’s generated to sell tickets. I’m trying to think of a good example of this, but the stuff I haven’t liked doesn’t tend to stick in my head because I’ve usually moved on by then. At their strongest, reimaginings bring well thought out and updated content to a fandom.

BBC's reimagining in Sherlock was innovative when they brought Conan Doyal's characters into the modern day. They succeeded in doing that because what they kept sacred, at least to begin with, was the relationships between the characters and the overarching themes that came from that. By doing only those two things, they were able to reinvent satisfying ways to touch on the main plot points of the original stories.

That team also, sadly, offered a cautionary tale of what happens when such a project deviates too far from its source material.

The reimagining in AMC's Interview with the Vampire is far more ambitious and therefore complex in what it proposes, with an equal half of its story existing in a space that will be close to what was written in the books. I genuinely hope they end up succeeding with their ambition. Part of that is that it's not pretending to be any sort of directly faithful adaptation.

The first hint? The entire premise of S1: It’s 2022 and Louis invites Daniel for a second interview. That just didn't occur in the books.

This one change brings the story straight into the modern day, which is easily arguable as something needed for a series that released its first book in 1976. While I love a nostalgic- or period piece as much as the next person, I’m not disappointed by this.

This is the kind of change that’s a deal breaker. It stands to give new watchers the introduction they need into the world at the same time as giving something entirely unexpected to old fans. In other words, it’s narrative gold to someone like me.

The reasons I love it are completely different to what draws me to a straight like for like with added scenes adaptation as outlined above in Hunger Games. By changing the timeline and beginning straight out of the gate, it means that you can change everything.

And, god, they do.

Okay, obviously not everything. Character names, places, even dates on their own aren’t enough to hold the narrative cohesion of a reimagining if it doesn’t hold tight enough to the central themes of the source material to maintain that the original plot points still make sense to come to pass. WHICH S1 DOES.

I have so much interest in dissecting how they’ve so far kept hold of (most of) the themes and yet, in only 7 episodes, have already told a story with so many different details. And, if I’m gonna be totally honest, TVC is perfectly primed for exactly this kind of adaptation simply because, as a collection, these books have never been consistent (thank you, Anne for this dubious and ongoing gift).

There has been a single possible inconsistency with themes that did give me some cause for concern, but it’s also not the one that most people seem concerned by. So, let’s get into the analysis!

Armand:

I’m beginning with this character, because a supercut on YouTube I finally got around to watching made me realise we got a total of 15 minutes of Assad on screen in the 7 episodes of S1, and less than 5 of those are of him in the named character. So it’s an easy place to start.

Obviously, there is little difference that can be pointed to in those fewer than 5 minutes other than the differences in physical appearance than described (17 y/o, red hair, brown eyes) in the books, and that’s what I’ve seen a lot of discourse on thus far. That, and what on earth this Louis had on him to convince him it was a great play to pretend to be Rashid in front of Daniel. (He is a theatre kid, I guess…)

There is however a short detail in The Vampire Armand after Armand goes into the sun, however, that briefly describes his eyes as being orange (maybe amber?) as he starts to heal, and therefore the choice on making Assad’s eyes this colour in the series becomes an interesting detail to me.

Also, let’s be honest – if you’re gonna make the creative choice to have both Sam and Jacob in these luminescent contacts, but leave Assad’s natural throughout… well, I mean, what is being said on that side of the coin if that’s the choice being made?

On the side of details they kept AND CHANGED at the same time, my favourite for this character continues to be the below image that shows the physical resemblance between one Assad Zaman and, yes, a different Botticelli painting than any referenced in the books, but ultimately a Botticelli painting all the same. We're good to go!

Louis:

I don’t really want to focus too long on the obvious differences between Louis the slave owner (books) and Louis the pimp (series) except to say they are there. As are Louis’ signature green eyes.

However, that is where the resemblance ends. And I’m not just talking about physical.

In Louis’ case, the biggest difference I clocked and remarked in DMs up till now that—as a fanfic writer of both books and series fandom—Louis’ was the voice that consistently gave me most trouble to move between. I literally could not convincingly write him in any series fic at the same time as I was writing my mammoth long fic How They Get to Trinity Gate.

And it was not the fact that Louis was white in the books that tripped me up.

Another big thing is the change to when Louis and Lestat meet. This changes things for Lestat's character a bit as well, but I think it's more clear at this point the ways in which Lestat being set up as that much stronger and older than Louis on first meeting has had an impact on their story. Armand will be that much older than Louis as well, but what's a difference of a handful of decades when Armand already was that much older than Louis canonically?

As a linguist, I remain most fascinated by the dialogue changes that have been given to Louis’ character, particularly in historic New Orleans scenes. When reading Interview With the Vampire, there’s not a great deal of difference to the voice of Louis in the present vs the past that he gives to the boy interviewer. In the series, however? The difference in character from past to present is as unavoidable as it is riveting. To me, that alone offers so many details about who Louis is as a person, the disparity between Louis and a Lestat who obviously still gets to keep his book canon French accent.

In terms of how these changes effected the story as Louis relates it to Daniel, however? I mean, for the most part, the Louis I watched was equally convincing as he hit the main plot points his character needed to hit to stay true to the source material. That makes it a successful update to me!

Daniel:

Daniel is a laugh, both in the books and in the series. But, though the series has held on to the aspect of his sense of humour from the books, that humour is depicted in a completely different way.

Self deprecating, for the most part, or actually laugh out loud funny is what we see of Daniel in the books. Occasionally his anger gets the better of him, but for the most part he’s more docile—or possibly just as drunk—as many of us would be in similar circumstances. Apart from, say, when he’s calling Armand an immortal idiot.

The humour we get from Daniel in the series, though? That’s cutting. Yes, aimed to slice others up, especially when he’s deflecting from himself, but also the stuff that's made to cut through bullshit.

He’s had another 50 years to hone it, and none of them were lost to madness or absence from himself. No, this Daniel has been present every year of the 69 that have been given to him, and it shows. His wit has grown up with him, because he has grown up in a way he never got to in the books.

Something else to consider, however, is the fact that this Daniel is half David.

Actually, it's more than half. We got less of Daniel in S1 than we got of Armand. When I say this, I mean the only parts from the book canon we've got were in a couple of flashback scenes and the recording Eric listens to, then plays in Dubai in Episode 1. Only Luke Brandon Field has so far shown me anything close to a faithful version of Daniel, and I've no doubt this actor is destined to continue to follow that trajectory throughout future seasons.

That leaves me with wondering who we've got in the present from Eric? And that's David Talbot who, it turns out, is another canonical interviewer within The Vampire Chronicles. You may remember him as the guy who interviewed Armand, a version of which we're also set to see in S2.

David, when we first see him in Queen of the Damned, is someone interested in vampires not as puff portraiture but as a reality. He’s an older man coming to acceptance he’s near the end of his life and career. And he does not want to be made into a vampire.

Louis: A still hand, time to watch your daughters marry. Daniel: And divorce. And die.

Sound familiar?

Let me explain something of what I suspect went into this decision behind the scenes: The character of Daniel is underdeveloped in the books to say the least, something I’ve written about already during Vamptember. There was never going to be enough of the book character of Daniel in AMC's version to satisfy every book reader. Anne simply didn't give us enough of him, and fandom remains wildly divided in how to interpret him.

By contrast, David was a character readers got far too much of because of Anne's attempt to shoe horn us into a different romantic interest for Lestat. He's just not as popular. Imagine for a second the reception if the early promotional material had named Eric as playing 'David' instead of 'Daniel'? It's a marketing mislead, and one that's paid off.

When setting up the core "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"-esque central cast, the creative team over at AMC did something very clever, I think. They pulled over characteristics of another underdeveloped character from the same canon in order to flesh their version of Daniel out. We'll almost certainly see a body swap, and that's where the David, and Eric's, part of the story will end.

In conclusion, I will absolutely eat my hat if we see someone called David Talbot walking around in this series ever ever. And, when it comes to the eventual plot line of making Daniel a vampire, they've set up three good options in front of them (and another example where we old fans have no way to expect WHICH WAY IT WILL GO):

He'll be coerced into it (David, canonically by Lestat, but in this universe almost certainly Armand)

He'll change his mind and demand it again (Daniel in true Devil's Minion style)

He'll almost die and someone will have to turn him (Daniel, yes, but also Jesse)

Two of these methods of becoming a vampire from the early books canonically turn a Talamasca character, and I definitely have some on-a-tangent theories there, given the presence of Talamasca characters already in Mayfair Witches.

The only thing they’ll need to change from the books here is Armand being Daniel/David’s foil, instead of Lestat. And, look, they’ve already positioned Louis right there as the love of his life in the face of the love triangle that’s sure to follow in the series, as in the books.

Fareed (bonus):

This is further to my passing body swap comment in the last section, but I really wanted to add:

Why include this minor character front and centre as early as S1? Why then have him explicitly say he is not there not once but three separate times as part of his only dialogue?

Fareed: That is not my voice. And I'm not here. [...] I am not here. [...] I'm not here. [...] Pleasure never meeting you, Mr. Molloy.

Is this not explicitly designed to have the same effect as telling a person not to imagine a pink elephant? Not to mention, it's as meta as fuck. That's Schrödinger's Vampire right here.

So why do these things if not to bring to the front of people's minds not only that the entire of Anne Rice's canon is free game in this reimagining? But that Fareed in particular is a character who's the first of his kind in the Chronicles; a scientist who can and does invent a clone?

A clone that might just end up looking very much like Luke Brandon Field?

Why, also, spend so much time and promotional material on another actor we see for about the same short space of time within S1? Minute for minute, I reckon we get about the same amount of screen time here with Gopal Divan as we do with Luke.

That, and they both happen to appear for the first time in Episode 6. Just saying.

In terms of canon deviation, if there was a physical description of Fareed in the books, I honestly don't remember it. He was just one of Anne's many, many characters that were a) created to function as a plot point, and b) forgotten beyond the original purpose he was created for.

As long as they manage to keep Fareed interested in the vampiric sciences, I honestly don't see there being any problems.

Lestat:

Saving the best till last, am I right?

Lestat is Lestat is Lestat, isn’t he? The blond hair. The blue eyes. The arrogant swagger. Both the father’s anger matched with the uncontrollable laughter raging within him at all times. Completely out of control. Hedonistic, definitely to a fault. A Byronic hero in the package of an immoral vampire.

I hated Lestat and, when I read the books as a teenager, it was despite him.

I was ready to go into the series doing the same. The stories, the themes, the history, the characters (minus Lestat). There is so much richness to love in the world of the books, despite so much of it being told by Lestat. And there was no doubt we were gonna get less of The Lestat Show in a show that’s not told from his PoV and has three other main characters vying equally for that attention.

I will amend this statement now to acknowledge he does get less obnoxious by the time we hit the final trilogy, which were obviously not out when I’d made the judgement call of despising him. (Hell, Tales of the Body Thief wasn’t yet out…)

In Lestat's case, the changes that have been made aren't so much of appearance or characterisation, so much as moments. And I understand why. Lestat is iconic and, in many ways, impossible to change in any meaningful way because of it. So the choice of changing moments here and there becomes the perfect way to cast a new spin on Lestat's character.

ESPECIALLY when you have Armand right there behind Louis the whole time, almost certainly controlling the narrative.

Obviously, there was That Scene in Episode 5. That particular scene is one that never happened in any of the books. But Lestat’s aggressions, micro and otherwise, are a well known particularly in early canon, and Louis is certainly not exempt from them.

Nor is Claudia. And who among us haven’t put up with less when it’s aimed towards a person we love than what we’ll put up with aimed to ourselves?

Despite it not following an actual canon event, it held intact location, characters and central themes all together – the summation of most important aspects when we have an adaptation and hope it will continue to hit the major canon plot points in its reimagining.

We saw Lestat, Louis and Claudia all moving towards an event we all knew was coming, and what ended up being the climax of S1.

What I don't see being talked about anywhere near so much is the beginning of Episode 3, as Louis begins to commit himself to becoming a nuisance to the feline life of New Orleans.

Lestat: Say we come upon a murderer planting a flowerbed, thinking only of flowers. How long do we wait before his bloody deeds reveal themselves? Louis: As long as it takes. Lestat: You haven’t thought this through, Louis.

The charitable view, of course, is that Lestat is just not wanting, in this moment, to encourage anything Louis wants to say. If so, it would hardly be the only time Lestat shuts Louis down. Louis says he doesn’t want to feed on humans anymore so Lestat’s immediate response is to push as hard in the opposite direction. I would be satisfied with that.

Equally, I would be satisfied if, come S3, Lestat is revealed to remember this conversation completely differently. It would make sense. Of COURSE Lestat wants to feed on the evil doer and only the evil doer. What else are monsters like them supposed do? This would speak perfectly to their being many things in The Vampire Lestat that are different once Lestat takes the reigns of the books and supposed pen name.

The more I think about it, the more I won't be terribly surprised if they decide on one of these—or even a secret third option (Armand, I'm looking at you)—being the way this moment washes out later. The repercussions of deviating from Lestat only feeding from the evil doer are far too detrimental to the canon they seem intent to create.

Basically, their Lestat holding fast to this opinion for any longer than this scene would leave them struggling to hit more than one major plot point in future seasons.

Anyone who's read the books knows Lestat has already come across Marius before he meets Louis. He's heard Marius’ treatise on only eating the evil doer, and understands why his mentor holds to that tenant. Likewise, Lestat has prior to that come across Armand—something that has all but been confirmed for the series, again in the S2 trailer—and, after meeting both fledgling and maker, Lestat is able to pull together for himself an ethical stance he will take into the rest of his immortal life.

Lestat doesn't have to figure out what his code is gonna be, or whether he's gonna have one, like he way that's depicted for Louis in Episodes 2-3. This ethical stance informs him and carries through from there to the time in the future where Lestat’s made Prince of all vampires.

We'd have a very different looking future seasons ahead of us if Lestat were to abandon that code. It would make Episode 5 look tame.

But Sam knows those books. Rolin knows those books.

I love these monsters. As unreliable as Anne was with her famous lack of editing, this was something even she never flipped back and forth on. And a bunch of monsters with a code is still what we are seeing in S1 just from the fact that Daniel has survived this far into the interview in 2022.

They were and continue to be monsters, her characters, but they aren't that monstrous. There's a line for these serial murders. Honour among the thieves of mortal life.

That’s what makes them so enduringly interesting in all the variations we see for them.

@vamptember

[shadowmaat]

You just don't understaaand

I've vented about this before, but hey, it's Pride Month, so I'm gonna vent some more.

The way that fandom tends to approach Murderbot and its relationships is frankly revolting.

I understand the weird human compulsion to ship all the things all the time, but here you have a character who has expressed numerous times that it is repulsed by "human bits" and disgusted by the idea of sex. You could have no clearer rendering of someone who is a sex-repulsed ace. AND YET.

Fandom seems to be hellbent on giving it a romantic sexual/sex-adjacent relationship. Oh, it can't have sex sex, of course, because it doesn't have the parts for that, but hey, we can come up with something that is exactly like sex, but different! How else can two individuals show they care deeply for each other if they can't even cyberfuck?

I need y'all to listen to yourselves. I need you to step back and actually THINK about the things you're doing. Yes yes, it's "just fiction" and none of these characters actually exist. But do you know how often aces have to deal with people telling them that they "just haven't met the right person yet" or that "if you had GOOD sex, you'd understand" and so on and so forth. Do you know how gutting it is to see a great and unapologetically ace character grabbed up by fandom and immediately sexualized?

It's a gross and creepy feeling to watch people try to loophole past "sex-repulsed" to give it a sexual relationship without the actual sex part. "Ooo, connecting to ART like this maxes out its pleasure centers!" "Sure, it says it hates sex, but if they did it like THIS it would realize how great it is!" Just... stop. Please. For the sake of all sex-repulsed aces, stop trying to act as if we're somehow "missing" something, or that our relationships are less valid because we don't copulate. Let Murderbot be Murderbot. No fucking. No metaphors for fucking. Just Murderbot.

The fact that there are so many people out there who can't comprehend a healthy, loving (or lovingly antagonistic) relationship that doesn't involve physical intimacy is disheartening. How do the rest of us stand a chance at being accepted if you can't even accept a fictional representation?

Sex isn't the only possible way to "prove" you love someone. And if you think it's necessary then you really need to expand your education because that ain't healthy. Sex as a way of expressing love? Sure. Sex as necessary proof of love? Try reading more diverse material. Or talking to people outside whatever circle you're trapped in that's reinforcing that message.

Watching the developing relationship between Murderbot and ART has been a lot of fun. They care about each other to a significant degree, so much so that even the humans and augmented humans can see it. Their relationship is a thing that already exists, and sure, there are ways for it to keep deepening, but they don't need to have the secunit/AI equivalent of sex in order for it to be real. If that's the direction Martha Wells wants to take it in, more power to her, but it doesn't need to go there in order for them to show they love each other. I don't understand why this is so hard for certain people to accept.

[fitzrove]

💙 - what inspires you to finish writing a fanfic, and what makes you quit writing one at any stage in the process?

🤎 - how did you decide to write (or why are you writing) a certain fanfic?

💙 -

Usually what inspires me to finish is what inspires me to start - ie. I am the chosen one, if I don't write this who will 😂😌 I've learned my lesson though and will never post unfinished multichapter fic again... It's way too much pressure if I lose steam with the idea + the expectation of future delayed gratification is also a good motivator for finishing fic, like, you have to finish it to be able to publish it and get attention 😌 (I largely don't write fic for myself, I write stuff I would want to read in the hopes that it will be found by people it resonates with and that I can talk to them about it!! It really is just the more artistic version of metaposting, I want to communicate an idea and to prove it I need to write it.)

Things that make me quit: if there's no interest (ie. started plotting while talking to a friend but we lost interest in the idea and idk how to continue, or I think that absolutely nobody will care to read it), if the writing process drags on and I myself lose interest or faith in the idea, if I feel like it's not going anywhere/the idea isn't strong enough to carry even a short story with some kind of a plot or arc. That's the most common ones :'D

🤎 -

Flights of Angels - my longest todolf fic - was actually born from my dissatisfaction with existing todesengel fics and specifically todesengel rudolf fics 🙈 It was also an attempt to do my personal "definitive" version of Tod as an independent entity. I usually/almost always prefer to think of him as a metaphor or a manifestation of depression or suicidal ideation because it's the most fun and interesting interpretation psychologically, but since it's so common to characterise him as a supernatural entity of some kind, I wanted to do a version of that that made sense to me. Like, if it must be, it should be like this. It's also because I wanted to write character development for two characters, a longfic with a plot, and to kinda philosophically look at death and/or immortality a bit ajdjdk. Also with one chapter I literally wanted to push the rudolf x lucheni agenda while also tying to the other themes of course xD. Also I wanted to write at length about máté tod and think of a backstory for him, like he's crazy what is his deal jakskd 😂 I think I did pretty well on those fronts! >:]

So yess a lot of the time the way I get fic ideas is that I feel like it should exist, because I have a thought about the show that I want to communicate to people, or I notice something in it that I want to flip or expand upon. To me personally, fic that doesn't have anything relevant to say about the source material isn't really worth it in the long run, because then it could just be original fiction. People read fanfic to feel emotionally fulfilled and usually they gravitate towards a specific character or fandom because something in the canonical starting point appeals to them! So expanding on that, or commenting on or subverting ideas presented there, feels important and is interesting to me

[saiikavon]

This feels like an unpopular opinion lately but here goes:

You cannot make a good story based entirely on spite.

I notice something when I go fic hunting—if I find in the author’s notes that the person dislikes the source material or has some particular hard stance against a character or some element of the story…n in e times out of ten, that character or that element will be ferociously highlighted for the purpose of punishing, of correcting, of dragging the problem outside and throwing it noticeably into the trash.

And that’s fandom, it’s whatever; I don’t like it, but I can hit the back button and let people carry on doing whatever they want. But do you know where I also see it a lot these days? Mainstream media. The first example that pops into my mind? Disney. Love action remakes? The Little Mermaid, well, it was so not progressive that she was so obsessed with a man, so let’s make it clear that she doesn’t even know she needs to get a kiss and she’s happy just exploring the human world. She also needs to drive the boat because she doesn’t need a man to help her; and we need to change the songs so we’re not telling girls to change themselves for a man or that boys can just go for kisses without consent. What about their main movies? Frozen wants you to know you can’t marry a man you just met, they want you to know verbally and also narratively, because that man turned out to be bad. Better message for girls, right?

Paying this much attention to the negative, to fixing the perceived problems, is to the detriment of the good. You make your audience focus on remembering the bad thing, leaving their only option to praise you for tossing out the garbage instead of adding anything to make things nicer.

You cannot tell a good story based solely on removing the bad. If you don’t like something AT ALL, then all you’re going to provide are reasons why it’s bad. You have to lift up the parts you like, supplement them, let them shine, in order to show people something that works.

How much more fun would The Little Mermaid have been had they expanded more on that small scene in which Ariel and Eric shared their love of their respective worlds? Eric’s love of the sea supplemented by Ariel’s joy of the human world, both of them now finding new things to love about the world they came from. Places where they once both felt lonely and out of place, now seen through the eyes of someone who finds the magic in it. It could have made the romance something to celebrate rather than something to look at with criticism; look how much fun they have together, look how much they care about each other…instead of worrying so much about how much focus it gets because “we can’t let Ariel be so obsessed with a GUY.”

Love and excitement make good stories. And that’s the truth.

[angel-fruitcake]

i literally just now wrote out an entire post about this, had it queued up and everything, when this lovely post by @rocksalt-and-pie from last year popped up on my dash. so, if it's okay, i'd like to expand a little bit upon this-

for supernatural season 16, or revival or reunion (preferably a miniseries at the very least) or whatever, if there ever will be such a thing...

the writers absolutely need to turn to the fans. i mean, think about it. they have 15-20 years worth of fan-made material to peruse for plot lines. and everyone knows, there have been so many genius, well thought out concepts and story arcs and complex character situations (like the ones mentioned in that post^^) that have been dreamt up by this expansive fanbase.

respectfully, there are only a handful of spn writers. but there are thousands, tens of thousands, of creative and imaginative fans that have been pouring their hearts out for this show all over the internet for almost 2 decades. the sheer amount of content to pull from is staggering. not to mention, incredibly easy to access and explore.

of course they don't need to follow those ideas to a T. in fact, they would need to tweak and adjust things at least slightly, so as not to be sued. but they could definitely gain abundant inspiration from the vast wealth of fanfics, edits, fan art, tiktok/tumblr/twitter posts, you name it. and they could have so much fun with it, too.

would they be able to please everyone? of course not, that's impossible. but there a number of popular, well-established obvious elements that they could easily incorporate, and a general direction that they could take the story, with a huge potential to make an extensive portion (dare i say the majority) of the fandom very, very happy.

and in doing this, they would not only be showing their recognition of and appreciation for their very talented fanbase, but it would also serve as the ultimate redemption of this remarkably impactful tv show. they have a chance to essentially wipe the slate clean, end things on a good (great) note instead of a sour one. the bad taste that the series finale left in nearly everyone's mouth could be washed away and replaced with the best gift a series could ever give to their fans- respect, gratitude, consideration, and devotion in the form of fan service

additionally, they would be the first ones to do this (to such an extent). it would be groundbreaking, earth-shattering, never the same totally unique completely not ever been done before

the internet would be in shambles. again. the already decent amount of fame that this show has amassed over the years would skyrocket. and we as fans would be having the time of our lives experiencing it.

so to the spn writers, if you're out there working on/planning to work on season 16: I BEG YOU, DO NOT WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY

just food for thought.

and please, for the love of god. do not let the cw take any part in it.

TLDR: the supernatural writers should actually, legitimately listen to the fanbase and draw from their brilliant ideas when writing the revival/season 16.

[highfantasy-soul]

In this era of media adaptations and everything being a continuing IP rather than new concepts, I think it's really important for people to remember what that means.

When say, a TV show adapts a book series, you see a lot of complaints that "it's not true to the books/original! It's just fanfic!!" and, y'all, I hate to break it to you, but that's WHAT FANFIC IS.

It's a story written off of an existing story with existing characters and existing settings that the new author can tweak and alter as they see fit to help them tell the story they're writing. ALL stories written off of existing IPs are going to do this by virtue of the fact that they aren't a word-for-word copy of the starting point.

When new writers come onto comic book characters. When comic characters are put into different runs written by someone other than the og creator of the character. When comics are adapted to screen. When the same character is put in a different show. When books are turned into a tv show or movie. When a new story is written in an existing world to create an expanded universe.

ALL these things are 'fanfic' - or at least, operate under the same rules as fanfic. A new author coming on to write for a comic character is putting their own spin on them - they're switching up some aspects of the character, their setting, maybe even expanding/changing what their powers can do. Just because they don't copy exactly what the first author did (which would be impossible to do), doesn't mean that their interpretation of the character is 'wrong'. It just means it's different.

It's ok to like one characterization/story better than another - but that doesn't mean all the others are bad/wrong. It means they're different.

People are so precious with what they view to be the original and 'correct' version of things that even when the original author THEMSELVES alter things/expand on things, people complain that it's not the 'real' story and this new version 'doesn't count' or 'doesn't actually get the characters like you do'. [see: Star Wars and the Percy Jackson Disney show]

Fandom is a great thing, but I think sometimes people get so entrenched in their own favorite headcanon or version of the character/events/setting or analyze the hell out of a sentence the author meant nothing deeper by (by the author's own admission), and become so certain that their interpretation is the true way we need to view it and if you don't agree, you're bad and wrong and quite possibly cancel-worthy and if the new adaptation doesn't interpret the character/setting/dynamic the way they have decided it needs to be, then it's not a 'faithful' adaptation and therefore it's bad.

Authors grow and change and (usually) get better at their craft the more they write. They might look at a character they wrote 20 years ago and say 'wow, I had a lot of incorrect assumptions about x,y, or z/ I didn't do as much research as I should have/ this story structure wasn't thought through as much as I would think it through now, and given the chance, I'd like to fix some of the mistakes I think I made story/character wise if the story is going to be re-released in another format.' If you attached your own identity to one of the things the author is now changing, it can hurt, it can feel like a personal attack, but in the end, that version of events/of the character still exists and you can go back to them.

Growth and change is not a bad thing. Trying something new is not a bad thing. It's ok to prefer your interpretation of the 'og' material, but just...idk, realize that it is physically impossible for the person adapting the og material to adapt it EXACTLY like you've headcanoned it because, well, they're not you.

I guess what I'm really saying is that every single person is going to interpret a story in their own way. They're each going to see a different 'most important' thing in it. They're each going to attach themselves to a different aspect (real or interpreted) of the character/story. They're each going to see a different part as 'you can't change this' or 'this is saying 'x' but I think doing it 'y' way will get 'x' across better' - and YOU might not agree that whatever it was was saying 'x' and so 'y' way won't work for what YOU viewed the og scene was saying because you thought the og scene was saying 'm' NOT 'x'! (that got convoluted, sorry)

So when you see a continuation of an IP you love and it's not a carbon copy of the 'original', take a deep breath, remember that these are all just stories, everyone writing them are individuals, and you can dislike the new interpretation OR you can like the new interpretation better than the og one. It doesn't mean someone 'did it wrong' or that one or the other shouldn't exist. It's all ok.

Let John Constantine do flashy magic. Let Matt Murdock be a devout Catholic. Let Percy, Annabeth, and Grover not fall face-first into the most obvious traps. Let Lan Mandragoran show some emotion. Let Luke Skywalker struggle with finding his way after Return of the Jedi. Let Jesper and Wylan get together immediately instead of having a slow burn.

Do you have to like all these interpretations? No. But learn to be able to critique them for what they are - an interpretation you don't like - rather than an objective 'that's not what it's supposed to be'.

[iloveuchuu]

I will say a controversial opinion.

i think bp’s contract renewal had more to do w keeping the brand name and yg’s support as a company rather than them renewing because they want to be a group. it was more aimed at their solo careers. it’s easier to stay w yg under some closures they probably negotiated rather than starting in another company western or otherwise. it’s been proven western companies have started caring less about kpop because it doesn’t give them the results they were expecting. kpop isn’t getting more recognizable or “global” and surely isn’t expanding. the numbers and the demand isn’t there – kpop companies just got smarter at pretending they are doing good in the charts. and bts isn’t active right now so any other mediocre bg would do to fill that space until they’re back.

i believe bp renewal won’t change anything. it doesn’t seem like they are in a rush to have a group cb and we are in it for a long hiatus. this tour proved to me they don’t operate as a group anymore. they feel like soloists doing a collab. this tour was so uncoordinated, everyone doing their own thing. the levels of energy were on the ground. no even the fandom seemed excited. I wonder if they even did rehearsals between concert dates and by the way they would leave separately after a concert to do their own schedules and only meet in the next concert date tells me they didn’t do rehearsals and it showed. the quality of performances was bad.

bp not longer feels like the passionate girls we saw on debut. if anything i feel like they will focus on their own solo thing and do some regular group related thing to keep up the name of blackpink. jennie will release a solo album after the idol gig blew in her face. rose will do an album or some western collab. jisoo will focus on acting and lisa doesn’t even live in sk anymore. her main base is paris/thailand now.

i think the girls want to grow their individual audience and don’t seem committed to the group anymore. like it’s not their first priority.

Anon, I couldn't agree more with you!! And thank you for sending me your thoughts, I really do love talking about things like this <3

I need to make my obligated disclaimer to all BLINKS who might come across this: I do not hate Blackpink, I do not think they are untalented or lazy or bad people. This is simply an opinion and discussion regarding THE GROUP and the MANAGEMENT.

I think business wise it makes sense that they stay together at Blackpink because that's a big name to use to promote solo material. Especially now that they are ONLY signed to YG for group activities and are free to sign for solo work elsewhere. The girls are definitely at the perfect launching point for solo activities like you said and I truly, truly hope they're able to focus on their solo work. I'm fully expecting this to become an F(x) situation.

"i believe bp renewal won’t change anything. it doesn’t seem like they are in a rush to have a group cb and we are in it for a long hiatus. this tour proved to me they don’t operate as a group anymore. they feel like soloists doing a collab. this tour was so uncoordinated, everyone doing their own thing. the levels of energy were on the ground. no even the fandom seemed excited. I wonder if they even did rehearsals between concert dates and by the way they would leave separately after a concert to do their own schedules and only meet in the next concert date tells me they didn’t do rehearsals and it showed. the quality of performances was bad."

This is also something that has really resonated and been apparent to me. The fact that when on tour there were journalists in attendance WHO NOTICED THIS SAME THING. It wasn't even them writing out of racist vitriol, these journalists were making fair and valid criticism. Part of me thinks it's not the girls fault, because how much time and how much support were they actually given outside of the staff pointing and telling them what to do. I can also sympathize with how nuts the tour dates were and how that could lead to exhaustion and injury. But I'll always be a firm believer that if you are charging fans THAT MUCH money for tickets, the show needs to be worth it. And when it's almost every show that the performances are sloppy or the energy is low that's a big issue.

I really think that YG let them down and I'm not surprised. I stand by my previous statement that their newest album was a lazy production (not because of the girls but because of Teddy and YG) that did nothing for the girls talents. I was talking with a friend about how many genres or styles that BP could absolutely KILL and yet YG keeps giving them remixes of the same song style. It's no wonder that the girls seem bored or uninterested honestly. I would be bored to! I hope the girls get to shine during solo work: I hope Jisoo keeps acting, I hope Rose FINALLY gets to sing beautiful ballads with her guitar, I hope Jennie gets to perform in ways that aren't going to "mess with her ankles" and in front of an audience she enjoys, and I hope that Lisa can continue to release bangers (and I would love to see her guest judge more competitions!). My criticisms and critiques have always and will always come from a place of wanting the girls to HAVE BETTER and wanting quality for and from them. It never comes from malice or hate.

[eostar-a]

Good people of tumblr I beg you to hear me.

I really need more people to be watching the Hulu series The Great.

I don’t normally do this because most things already have a fandom but I think more people would be watching this if they knew it was fandom material. Most importantly to me, I don’t know how to make gifs and I don’t want to learn, but I do want to look at ones that other people make.

(This is semi spoiler-y but mostly not.)

If words can’t convince you, maybe AO3 tags can.

SLOW BURN / ARRANGED MARRIAGE / ROYAL AU / MORALLY QUESTIONABLE / REVERSE MUTUAL PINING / LOVE TRIANGLE / LOVERS TO ENEMIES TO FRIENDS TO ENEMIES TO LOVERS

and the SECOND SEASON IS ABOUT TO DROP.

I swear to god no one is paying me to say this I just want OTHER PEOPLE to make content for me to consume.

I will give you a brief overview of the first season if you aren’t already sold.

Our protagonist is Catherine. Catherine is clever and naive and a little bit annoying but also a Queen (literally and figuratively). She comes to court already super in love with Emperor Peter and does everything for him even though he’s sort of a psychotic spoiled narcissist who acts like a little boy but also ~LOVES WHEN WOMEN~ and gives major HIMBO.

Again, abusive psychopath.

Eventually she realizes how shitty he is (he really is! I’m not defending him, but I’m also NOT saying he’s NOT sexy). Have we culturally agreed yet that people can be morally abhorrent and still sexy? Not sure. I’ll go on.

Catherine and her friends plan to overthrow Peter and put Catherine in charge. Whether this is based in real history is beyond me. No clue. We both have google.

Peter picks this guy ^ to be her lover so she’ll stop being depressed. He’s great, I don’t remember his name. Short king. They’re very cute and revolutionary together and eventually Peter gets jealous of him. Everyone wins.

(Honestly if more people watched this show I would love for there to be a rival ship who was super into this guy, however, I, personally, go for the psychopaths. )

There’s a bunch of other cool fun characters including :

THIS GUY because apparently people still watch Doctor Who.

And these two who are SEXY and MARRIED and BOTH in love with Peter.

I’ll make it simple for you:

In Season one Catherine makes plans to overthrow Peter, at the same time feeling confused about her feelings for him? Actually maybe she just hates him.

And did I mention? Peter starts out indifferent to her but she expands his heart and mind and he falls hard for her because she’s the only person who doesn’t worship him.

You guys. Do I need to say more? I will.

In the trailer for the second season (no spoilers) it’s clear that now PETER’S GOAL WILL BE TO GET CATHERINE TO LOVE HIM BACK ❤️‍🔥

go ! watch it ! the new season is out on November 19 and I don’t want to be the only person who cares please reblog this for my sake so maybe someone else will hang out on this ship with me thx so much bye ✌️

[iam-siriuslysher-lokid]

Hi! I've been taking a break from the internet because I need to study + work and barely had time for other things and now that I am slowly coming back to tumblr and to fandom stuff...

here's what ive been up to:

The Sandman - watching the whole thing took me 2 weeks and im still obsessed. Everything I MEAN EVERYTHING IS PERFECT. The cast are all beautiful and gave good performance. The series gave me like it's a lovechild of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock and Good Omens and im eating it all up. SEASON 2 RENEWAL WHERE ART THOU?

The Rehearsal - watched this bc I was hyperfixating so much on The Sandman and I wanted to finish some of my IMDB watchlist. Found this on my recommendation instead and got intrigued bc it has a high rating 8.2 and man MY BRAIN AND MY SOUL AND MY EMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE WHEN I FINISHED THIS SERIES. My mom watched with me and so she's been questioning a lot of things since we finished it.

Allu Arjun - I am still continuing my Tarak and RC watchlist and someone so kindly recommended me Allu Arjun films. I started with Pushpa 1 and it's just *chef's kiss*. WHY ALL TELUGU MEN SO HOT? YALL BLESSED SRSLY

SS Rajamouli - Idk if someone shares my sentiment towards this man but I'm falling hard for him. gahd he's the ultimate dilf dilf dilf in my list and it's about time it has to be said. and ofc, ive been following his interviews in TIFF.

Nathan For You - a show I decided to watch bc I cannot get over The Rehearsal (bc both are from the same writer/creator). Watching this show, made me realized, I haven't laughed a good laugh since the covid shenanigans started and my lack of social skills cannot even complement that.

Nathan Fielder - oh man! Since I saw The Rehearsal and Nathan For You, of which the shows he created and written, there is something about Nathan I cannot truly point out clearly but for me he was so attractive and sexy and his like ultimate boyfriend material - it's really not about his physicality or looks IT'S THE WAY HE THINKS! He's like the Sherlock Holmes in our current reality and it's a dream of mine to have him. Idk why but i feel my awkwardness and his truly match and his comedic stance is so relateable like I want to see Richard Ayoade and Nathan Fielder in one room for god's sake. Also Tom Scott (from YouTube) like all of them I WANT ALL OF THEM FOR MYSELF. >>> If you want to read more to that, here's the article link: Why Is Nathan Fielder So Sexy? (thecut.com)

Community - I think I can call myself a comedy show enthusiast but if there's another term for that then yeah I am that! So I just finished my rewatch of B99 and I went ahead to start Community and oh man - this series is hilarious. I still prefer The Office or Parks and Rec or other BritCom shows but it's refreshing to watch something new. Also I'm crushing so hard on Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi)

That is pretty much it! Next thing might be my GOT watch bc I want to watch HOTD so bad but I have to watch the og series first. Planning to also get into LOTR:ROP as I loved the book and the films (LOTR and The Hobbit) so I might alternate them so I can keep up.

PS. For all tagged posts, I am silently reading them and I truly enjoyed all the new Tarak/RC shipping. Loving the RRR fandom as we keep expanding! Miss you all too :3

(I really need to go back to work but I'm here creating a tumblr post)

[type1diabetesinfandom]

So, with Turning Red bringing diabetes rep to the big screen, I’m curious about the different ways fans can interpret the representation we currently have.

Forthcoming:

projecting your own experience of t1d onto canonically diabetic characters VS

sticking strictly to what we get in canon regardless of realism VS

headcanoning non-diabetic characters as diabetic in the same world as a pre-existing diabetic character

Disclaimer: in this rambling post, I am talking about works with canonically diabetic characters only.

Option 1: Projection onto Canon

(Almost) everybody loves a good projection character. Every person with t1d has different experiences from diagnosis to their usual symptoms to their emotions about it, just like every person has a slightly different experience with food, exercise, sports, etc.

There’s only so much you can get across in any type of canon material, even if the t1d character has their own POV. Using the diabetic character as a blank slate to overwrite your own experience is personally rewarding and can spread awareness more thoroughly.

This is a particularly positive way to participate in fandom because, no matter how much we wish otherwise, diabetes rep is rare. And we all know that good diabetes rep is even rarer.

By taking advantage of the canonically diabetic characters out there and overlaying real-life experiences onto them via fanfic or headcanons, not only are we supporting diabetic representation, we also have the opportunity to “fix” it.

GIF by whumpty-dumpty

Obviously fandoms, no matter the size, do not have the ability to rewrite source material and actually fix bad or vague rep. Creating our own fic from it, however, can help spread awareness to others in the fandom who don’t necessarily know better—and that’s important.

Honestly the only downside to this is if you don’t like canon, be it plot, world, or the characters themselves.

Option 2: Canon Purist

If you don’t like AUs, the options are limited to canon compliant fics, original fiction, and possibly diabetic OCs in otherwise compliant fics.

As I said above, quality t1 diabetes rep is sadly lacking, and I’m not aware of any diabetes-centric original fiction that’s actually written by a diabetic. The closest I’ve seen is a non-diabetic relative writing for a diabetic family member or a diabetic being part of a larger creative team.

While I’m a firm believer that anyone can write whatever they like, t1d is an incredibly complicated illness and most people don’t even know where to start.

Now, knowing what you’re writing about does not mean you know how to write it well. Alternatively, very good writers don’t necessarily need to know everything about a subject to write it convincingly. Most of the time good representation takes a mix of the two.

I forgot where I was going with this.

I’ll end this point by saying I can see a lot of potential for canon-compliant fics of inaccurate representation via missing scene fics or alternate POVs. Give us that little bit extra, expand on something that was left open, name the correct medicine instead of having the characters inject a mystery miracle.

Of course, there are also the stories out there that show us a decent portrayal to start with.

Option 3: Alternate Universe - Additional Representation

This one intrigues me.

This whole post was inspired by seeing someone headcanon a Turning Red character as diabetic—a canonically non-diabetic character in a film that openly showed two characters with infusion sets.

Personally, I think that’s awesome. I love connecting to a character so much that you imagine them having shared experiences with you. I love using more characters than we were given to further explore the diversified experiences people with t1d have. I just love it.

It tickled me, though.

Why do this? Shouldn’t we be content with diabetic characters who have time, research, and effort put into them?

Think about how often diabetic characters are the main character or get to show their point of view. It does happen, but it’s more commonly a side or minor character with just enough screen time to show diabetics exist in canon.

Or maybe I just don’t like the diabetic character.

The star of DC’s YA graphic novel Twin Branches: Swamp Thing by Maggie Stiefvater, Alec, is type 1 diabetic. He’s ok for me, but he’s weird and asocial and generally creepy; I like him as a character but like his non-diabetic twin better.

In the YA contemporary novel Lucky Few by Kathryn Ormsbee, I can’t stand how the MC handles her diabetes. Mostly, she doesn’t. I consider the story to have bad rep, as t1d isn’t even mentioned until over 100 pages in and the MC finishes the book in the hospital (even the anguish and burnout of chronic illness is poorly portrayed, in my opinion. You’re better off reading tfios).

Compare these two to the (slightly) infamous Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, which has more medical inaccuracies than it does monsters. However, I adore the movie and have seen it maybe a dozen times.

There’s no accounting for taste, apparently.

In the end, it’s all fictional. It’s fanfic. It’s fun. Enjoy what you want, headcanon what you want, and let’s work on getting accurate rep out there.

Stories mentioned or GIFd in the post by order of mention: Pixar’s Turning Red, the Baby-Sitters Club tv show, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, DC’s Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater, and Lucky Few by Kathryn Ormsbee.

[idw-sonic-fan-blog]

The Mandates

Just wanted to share my thoughts on the pro-ported mandates because they cast a shadow on this comic.

“Game characters cannot have relatives unless they were estabilished in the game canon, i.e. Cream and her mother.”

This one is understandable and you can blame Penders for this. Mind you that most licensed comics of gaming franchises don’t actually delve too much in personal family relationships or expand on them. So this is expected and honestly Sega should have put the screws on Archie decades ago about this.

“Game characters can not die. There are workarounds for this, such as being Mistaken for Dying or "Mistaken For Dead”

Again. Yes. Not a big deal.

“Game characters cannot have wardrobe changes unless approved. Chao Races and Badnik Bases has some characters (mainly the female game characters) wear different clothes for extreme conditions. Male characters remain the same.”

This is a useless rule but whatever. I mean Sega, you are the ones putting bad wardrobe choices on the characters so again it’s whatever.

“Sonic can't be shown getting too emotional (i.e;cry)”

This is one that it complained about because it really wouldn’t matter unless it is called attention to. A lot of superheroes don’t cry. But that doesn’t prohibit them from expressing themselves. IDW Sonic has been sad. He has been pissed. He has been furious.

Is this not too emotional?

Is he not expressing himself appropriately?

I don’t even know why this is brought up. When in this comic has Sonic not been expressive or displaying the appropriate amount of emotion? When did Sonic needing to cry be necessary?

“Game characters cannot enter in a relationship.”

Oh GOD YES. Don’t threaten me with a good time.

“All major Character Development must be approved by SEGA.”

Yeah, of course. Let me remind you that Penders and Archie ruined any strand of trust Sega could have in comic media. They played loose at first and all of the sudden, they are involved in a lawsuit about characters in a Sonic comic that they didn’t even know about. They probably lost a video game business relationship because of it. If they want to be involved in the comics, fine. That means that they are now forced to World Build. They have to invest in it now and not just be like Lucas Films and let anybody do anything with their flagship title.

“Much like the post-reboot of the Archie comic, the words "Mobius" is banned—the planet is simply called "Sonic's World". Unlike the Post-Boot, which allowed the names "Mobian" and "Mobini", anything related to Mobius is banned in this comic.”

…Of course but how about you throw the writer’s a bone and I don’t know, name the fucking planet. If it is not Earth, give it a name.

“Sonic must always win at the end. Even if he and his friends are at the losing end in an overarching story (the Metal Virus arc, for example), they must come out on top when it concludes.”

I don’t even get this rule and the knee jerk hatred for it. Why even have it? Why even share the existence of this rule? Archie Sonic didn’t really lose too bad. It’s more on how you frame a victory. The fact of the matter is that Eggman is still actively trying to conquer the planet. Sonic stops him but Eggman still has control of land and has military installations all over.

This rule is offset by this. While Sonic can’t lose, Sonic can’t completely win.

“Characters and material from other licensed properties (Sonic the Comic, Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics), Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)', Sonic Underground, the OVA, Sonic X and the Paramount films cannot be used. This rule extends to characters and redesigns done by the current writers. The only exception is Sticks from Sonic Boom, and that's because she was created by SEGA themselves and showed up in non-Boom media, but any ideas regarding her use still need to be okayed by SEGA.”

First off I am glad that Sticks was spared by this rule and I look forward to her eventual inclusion. Second, again, this is not much of a big deal as it was expected. Sorry Freedom Fighter fans but honestly deal.

“Male characters, sans Eggman, can't wear pants, which was also a thing in the Post-Reboot, albeit never explicitly stated. The inverse is also true; female characters have to have some form of lower clothing.”

Okay this is a pedantic rule. It is so weird with how precise it is. Like…huh?

“Classic characters such as Mighty, Ray, Nack/Fang, Bean, and Bark won't appear in non-Classic issues, as Sega doesn't want Classic and Modern Sonic to mix.”

One of the most bullshit mandates fueled by the nostalgia boner fans created. Like this is stupid because Archie Modern Sonic has added more character and depth to all of these mentioned characters than any of the Sega Sonic games they appeared in which only amounts to 1 or 2 at most. Why neuter your own potential stories with this stupid limitation?

“According to Ian Flynn, a specific incident involving Shadow's characterization when he's exposed to the Zombot infection was written in a specific way because of Sega mandating that he be written as an "overconfident asshole rival" character, similar to Vegeta. He later followed up with an explanation that out of every character, Shadow has the most mandates and notes attached to how he's portrayed. According to the podcast, Sega says that Team Dark is no longer a thing. The three members are not a team and they have never worked for G.U.N.; Shadow also doesn't even consider them friends.”

This is my opinion is the worst rule. First it’s contradictory to the character Sega introduced us to. Stop trying to be like Dragon Ball for once and actually be your own thing. It’s one thing if we are changing it because Shadow was unpopular because of his personality. But no one likes this Shadow. People miss the somber but reserved Hedgehog that continued to fight in spite of the world betraying him. Hothead Shadow is a cheap Knuckles. And I don’t even understand why Shadow even has so many mandates when he wasn’t the most egregious offender. Knuckles was.

Also, Team Dark aren’t a thing and Shadow doesn’t even consider them to be his friends. First off that doesn’t even fly in your own games. Who outside of Sonic does Shadow interact the most? Rouge. They have teamed up and were a packaged duo since their inception. When Shadow appeared, Rouge appeared right next to him. If Rouge was in a game, so was Shadow.

Team Dark or just Rouge has fought alongside Shadow in every game they appeared in. Who else does Shadow talk to if not Rouge?

“Sega has stated to Flynn that only male hedgehogs are allowed to go Super with the Chaos Emeralds.”

Except in Sonic Mania.

“Ian isn't allowed to directly reference a game, since the comic is supposed to be its own thing.”

Okay. Not only is this rule stupid. But it’s untrue.

This references the end of Sonic Forces.

The first page of comic.

It has referenced Sonic Adventure, SA2, Sonic Generations , and Sonic Unleashed.

This referencing Shadow the Hedgehog.

I don’t believe this rule exists and even if it did, it is dumbest rule since the whole point of this comic is to base it off the games more. The dumbest rule.

“Knuckles is not allowed to leave Angel Island unless he has a very good reason to.”

For decades, people have complained that Knuckles routinely leaves the island. For decades. Now does this mean Sega is going to 1. Use Knuckles and 2. Amplify the importance of Angel Island and the Master Emerald? No. Again, this criticism should be levied at Sega because they often conveniently forget Knuckles purpose and just hand wave it instead of giving Knuckles more to do on the island like I don’t know, have other entities invested in attacking him.

In summary, here is what I think is going on. Do I think most of these mandates are real? Yes. Given what happened to Archie, I do think Sega is doing some brand alignment. I think they got the clamps on.

But what I think is going on is a Japanese cultural thing called Power Harassment. It is normalized abuse of power. Sega of Japan is normally laxxed about their brands. They don’t mind blatant rip-offs of their mascot nor do they get stiff about fandom creations or mods. The comic division, however, is getting tough love because not only did it cost them a publishing deal, but ruined a relationship with a high end developer. So the IDW writers and staff are being subjected to intentionally hypocritical rules and strict mandates that they know don’t make sense until they’ve shown to be obedient.

A lot of the mandates aren’t strict. But some are so asinine that I don’t think they aren’t aware with how stupid they sound imposing those rules. Like Shadow is the most narratively complete Sonic character and yet, Sega puts this tight mandate as if Archie Shadow was the most egregious thing. Archie Shadow was overpowered. He wasn’t out of character like Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were. They can’t be that stupid or be that intentionally dense. So they want to see if the writing crew can follow orders. That’s it.

But that’s just my take.