#you are allowed to like things! i like various things about the franchise

[cantsayidont]

When attempting to critique the values of a long-running franchise like STAR TREK, it's important to draw a distinction between superficial issues and structural ones.

"Superficial" in this sense doesn't mean "minor" or "unimportant"; it simply means that an issue is not so intrinsic to the premise that the franchise would collapse (or would be radically different) were it changed or removed. For example, misogyny has been a pervasive problem across many generations of STAR TREK media, which have often been characterized by a particular type of leering-creep sexism that was distasteful at the time and has not improved with age. However, sexism and misogyny are not structural elements of the TREK premise; one can do a STAR TREK story where the female characters have agency and even pants without it becoming something fundamentally different from other TREK iterations (even TOS, although there are certainly specific TOS episodes that would collapse if you excised the sexism).

By contrast, the colonialism and imperialism are structural elements — STAR TREK is explicitly about colonizing "the final frontier" and about defending the borders, however defined, of an interstellar colonial power. Different iterations of STAR TREK may approach that premise in slightly different ways, emphasizing or deemphasizing certain specific aspects of it, but that is literally and specifically what the franchise is about. Moreover, because STAR TREK has always been heavily focused on Starfleet and has tended to shy away from depicting life outside of that regimented environment, there are definite limits to how far the series is able to depart from the basic narrative structure of TOS and TNG (a captain and crew on a Starfleet ship) without collapsing in on itself, as PICARD ended up demonstrating rather painfully.

This means that some of the things baked into the formula of STAR TREK are obviously in conflict with the franchise's self-image of progressive utopianism, but cannot really be removed or significantly altered, even if the writers were inclined to try (which they generally are not).

What I find intensely frustrating about most modern STAR TREK media, including TNG and its various successors, is not that it can't magically break its own formula, but that writer and fan attachment to the idea of TREK as the epitome of progressive science fiction has become a more and more intractable barrier to any kind of meaningful self-critique. It's a problem that's become increasingly acute with the recent batch of live-action shows, which routinely depict the Federation or Starfleet doing awful things (like the recent SNW storyline about Una being prosecuted for being a genetically engineered person in violation of Federation law) and then insist, often in the same breath, that it's a progressive utopia, best of all possible worlds.

This is one area where TOS (and to some extent the TOS cast movies) has a significant advantage over its successors. TOS professes to be a better world than ours, but it doesn't claim to be a perfect world (and indeed is very suspicious of any kind of purported utopia). The value TOS most consistently emphasizes is striving: working to be better, and making constructive choices. Although this can sometimes get very sticky and uncomfortable in its own right (for instance, Kirk often rails against what he sees as "stagnant" cultures), it doesn't presuppose the moral infallibility of the Federation, of Starfleet, or of the characters themselves. There's room for them to be wrong, so long as they're still willing to learn and grow.

The newer shows are less and less willing to allow for that, and, even more troublingly, sometimes take pains to undermine their predecessors' attempts along those lines. One appalling recent example is SNW's treatment of the Gorn, which presents the Gorn as intrinsically evil (and quite horrifying) in a way they're not in "Arena," the TOS episode where they were first introduced. The whole point of "Arena" is that while Kirk responds to the Gorn with outrage and anger, he eventually concedes that he may be wrong: There's a good chance that the Gorn are really the injured party, responding to what they reasonably see as an alien invasion, and while that may be an arguable point, sorting it out further should be the purview of diplomats rather than warships. By contrast, SNW presents the Gorn as so irredeemably awful as to make Kirk's (chronologically later) epiphany at best misguided: The SNW Gorn are brutal conquerors who lay eggs in their captives (a gruesome rape metaphor, and in presentation obviously inspired by ALIENS) when they aren't killing each other for sport, and even Gorn newborns are monsters to be feared. Not a lot of nuance there, and no space at all for the kind of detente found in TOS episodes like "The Devil in the Dark."

[thestargayzingetherian]

The She-Ra and He-Man Rights Situation

So today I figured it'd be a nice moment to explain the whole legal rights issues regarding He-Man and She-Ra because I still see a bit of confusion about that from time to time so here’s the whole thing as simply as I can put it. Sooo back in the 80s, Mattel made He-Man in partnership with Filmation and it was a big success. Two years later, they introduced She-Ra, but She-Ra was more heavily co-developed with Filmation and for this reason, a lot of the She-Ra characters and concepts were owned by them Marvel had a similar deal with Hasbro when they made transformers, but the difference was, everything Marvel made was owned by Hasbro themselves. Filmation... seemingly didn't have that with Mattel.

And that's where the trouble started. See, because of various factors (the she-ra toys being sold separately from the He-Man toys and the box office failure of the live action he-man movie) the franchise kinda died and at the same time, Filmation went out of business. There was an attempt to bring back He-Man a few years later, in the form of the 90s new adventures of he-man show, but that failed. (This is where Mara came from btw). And He-Man was basically dead for pretty much the rest of the decade.1 Now we come to the 2002 He-Man cartoon, which was a big hit. As some of you may now, the 2002 he-man was supposed to introduce its own new version of Hordak and She-Ra, but it was unfortunately cancelled after its second season (still great show, def recommend to spop fans)

However, Mattel only directly owns the rights to Horak, most of his henchgoons from the 80s cartoon and She-Ra herself, because they were developed together. It was filmation who were responsible for Catra, Glimmer, Shadow Weaver etc. The Filmation back catalogue was bounced around from company to company for many years and no one really cared about it, because the other two attempts to revive He-Man had failed and no one would really care about the other stuff.

UNTIL DREAMWORKS SOMEHOW BOUGHT THOSE RIGHTS AND DECIDED TO REBOOT SHE-RA 

Yes, the spop we all know and love came of this and I think most of us know how that went. But that's where the problem stands right now. Dreamworks could use Adora and hordak no problem... but nothing He-Man related, which is why they had to be really vague about that stuff with SPOP. Mattel also might have sabotaged the Spop toys because they didn't wanna share money. All of this is a bit awkward, because the two main new versions of He-Man now were created directly because SPOP had been the first big hit this franchise had in years. Basically, if the version of Hordak who shows up in season 2 of He-Man revelations looks exactly like his SPOP self and has the same voice, that's allowed. Same goes for Adora.... but if Adora is said to have a gf named Catra, that's when the lawyers get involved.

Tl:dr this is all because someone in 1985 forgot to put the small print in.

[tsukii0002]

RAD headcanons

Thanks to a tawdry publication I was able to read comments and opinions about why demons go to school and it left me thinking about it for days…. So here goes the headcanon resulting from that meditation about RAD.

Long text is coming!!

Headcanon on the structure, politics and history of the RAD!

The RAD is a recent new institution, established some time after the war.

Most of the nobles, the court and other powers of Devildom opposed or objected to this new institution.

Diavolo was also supported by many intellectuals and power figures (poets, sorcerers…)

So once the RAD was in place, Diavolo's identity as leader of the Devildom was consolidated (whatever the prince said went without saying).

Now, if Diavolo and Barbatos are among the most powerful demons... why aren't they teachers? Well, because in the society of the demons each type of demon had a function, they were super specialized.

In a manner of speaking, demons know a lot about their own and nothing about other things. For example the incubi and succubi were specialized in manipulation magic or curses that stole vital energy, while they did not know about potions or other types of curses (super specialization) .

Therefore, one of the goals of the RAD was to have experts in any subject to teach ALL demons about that subject. Barbatos may know a lot about potions but surely there would be a demon who would have dedicated their entire life to the art of potions and would be superior to the butler in that aspect.

This would explain why the "bosses" are Diavolo and the brothers, but they are not teachers but students.

Although Diavolo is a "student" everything must be reviewed and approved by the prince in order to move forward.

Considering that there would probably be a very wide range of the population in which age means nothing, we have teachers that are younger than some students.

This brings us to the next point, the RAD is an institution that seeks, in a way, social equality. By providing the opportunity for demons to have a general education, it frees them from having to follow a particular profession.

And this gives rise to a modernization of society with the emergence of new professions and companies such as Corvo or food and fashion franchises, models, magazines, amusement parks…

So a minor demon does not have to dedicate himself to what a minor demon used to dedicate himself to and can dedicate himself to something different, like cooking for example.

The RAD allowed Devildom to break out of the traditional structure that dominated the pre-Davolo reigns.

All with the intention of pursuing his dream, before achieving equality among the three kingdoms he will have to achieve equality among the people of his own kingdom.

With that said, we move on to the fact that RAD is one of the fundamental pillars for the aspirations of our demonic golden retrier: to break the taboos and myths of the Celestial Realm and the human world.

And there is no better way than education.

Diavolo's dream goes in steps, first we teach how the celestial realm works, then we try to establish bonds of cordiality, then that angels are not so threatening and then we bring in an Angel (humans are easier).

To achieve this, a school that is teaching the truth is essential.

Surely the RAD has also taken examples from the Celestial realm or from human educational institutions to create a unique institution that encompasses something of the three worlds, hence the various contacts with witches, wizards and other creatures.

Solomon helped to create the first curricula, zero evidence but no doubt.

As many of you commented, living a very long life means having to be constantly learning, imagine human society how fast it advances (evidence in season 3) in order to keep up with it is necessary to keep learning.

Also there were many reigns, a lot of history prior to what we know, to unravel all that and teach you that history it takes time, new inventions, new contributions or corrections of what is already known...

However, the RAD is divided into blocks, for basic studies, medium studies and advanced studies (which would be where our demons and ourselves are), according to what each student wants to learn.

Attendance at the RAD is not obligatory for demons, only those who aspire to certain jobs, such as historian, professor or politician have to have specific mandatory training.

In the RAD the youngest demons are those equivalent to 12 or 13 years old. Luke is a clear example (I'd like to write about his interactions with demons his age, Mephisto's brother perhaps?)

It took Mc months to understand the structure of the RAD because of its complexity and apparent meaninglessness.

Barbatos attends only the classes he likes.

Diavolo goes to all the classes because he wants to experience the most normal life possible, as some of you commented.

Lucifer attends almost more tutorials with teachers for problems caused by his siblings than he does classes.

Only Barbatos, Diavolo and Lucifer can leave class whenever they want, the other brothers need permission for special situations.

Solomon has pacts with a professor or two, and the tension in his classes are fun to watch.

Mc has been and continues to be lost in the RAD.

Diavolo will try to incorporate any funny events from the human world (thanks MC) even if they are preschoolers.

In short, to say that the RAD is an institution that goes hand in hand with the government and attacking it means attacking Diavolo's reign.

If you have come this far thank you very much, I know that a brick like this is hard to swallow, (re-reading it I have decided that soon I could write the constitution of Devildom XD)

Again thank you very much for reading and I would love to read your headcanon about the RAD, its students, teachers, etc. …. Best wishes.

.

.

[monsterblogging]

So, something finally clicked into place re: Harry Potter and why people get so attached to it, despite it being... shall we say, not that good.

Now I want y'all to keep in mind, I am saying this as a former Harry Potter fan who still occasionally feels nostalgia for the franchise. As in, what I'm about to say here is informed by personal experience and self-analysis as much as anything.

It finally clicked that Harry Potter hooks you by the emotional vulnerabilities.

As someone who's studied various cults, and knows how they play to your emotions to suck you in, I can definitely say that Harry Potter many of the same moves.

Now, I'm not saying that Harry Potter fandom is a cult. I'm not saying that JK Rowling did this with any kind of deliberate intention. I'm talking about this to get anyone who has any kind of positive feelings toward this franchise critically thinking about what the foundation of their relationship with it really is.

To put it quite simply, cults often promise an escape from the ordinary world, and an entry into a world filled with wonder, belonging, and a sense of identity. There's groups out there who will tell you what kind of magic space alien your soul is, and what your very special purpose for incarnating on this Earth in a human body is.

The actual beliefs and moral precepts cults hold to are never really deep, but are always geared to play to your emotions. There's nearly always a clear-cut enemy responsible for everything we're supposed to hate. Cults often praise love and unity as the best things in the world, and believe that their power can overcome all evil.

It's easy to miss how the wizarding world is actually a soul-crushing dystopia when you're being distracted by the latest magical novelty.

It's easy to overlook how cruel and petty people in wizarding society actually are when your emotions are being played with stuff about love being the greatest magic of all.

It's easy to miss how the Hogwarts house system functions to foster rivalry between students and creates an environment (Slytherin House) where students are allowed to simmer in and internalize the Wizarding World's most rancid political ideologies when the house you or a quiz picked for you is your shiny new identity.

"I like Harry Potter because it's about the power of friendship triumphing over evil!" Yeah, that's... exactly my point.

And like, I'm not saying that the fact that this stuff appeals to people is a bad thing in itself. All of this stuff touches on very fundamental psychological needs. The point I'm making here is that these things are so fundamental that when we're deprived of them (whether or not we even consciously realize we're deprived), when something seems to offer them to us, it creates this massive emotional attachment that does not fade easily.

I still have an emotional attachment to Harry Potter, even though when I stop and ask myself what it's got that I actually find all that spectacularly compelling or interesting, I struggle to actually come up with an answer. Now, when I think about, say, Harry getting his wand and buying magic books and taking magic classes I feel a sense of excitement, but that's not really the same thing; because these emotions are coming from my experience as a very isolated, repressed, and understimulated child coming upon a novelty and power fantasy. When I try to think up anything in Harry Potter that I'd actually like to rotate in my mind, there's just... nothin'.

Now some of you out there might be thinking, "yeah but what about building on her ideas? What about AUs?" and like, the thing is? It doesn't appeal to me. I've got enough skill and knowledge at this point that I can sketch out a better OC than she could ever create in a couple of minutes, and a better fantasy setting in a few days or so.

To wrap this up, I guess I'll just say that really important to be able to distinguish between fiction that's actually saying something worthwhile, and fiction that's just hitting you in your emotional vulnerabilities. Of course friendship and love are important. And of course there's nothing wrong with power fantasies and escape fantasies. And not every story has to be all that deep. But you should ask yourself: could it the case that superficial messages about love, friendship, and family are distracting you from a pretty rancid worldview beneath it all?

Also, before I go - I'm just gonna say that anybody who responds to this post with praise for the fandom or the fanfiction or tells people to go buy fan merch or pirate the series or whatever is going to get blocked. Go clown somewhere else.

[imyourbratzdoll]

𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒎 (ma prune)

valentine's day masterlist

summary - winter goes to the markets to buy some plums as he usually does when he spies some flowers and fruits for you.

the gif and headers I use aren't mine.

Warnings and Reminders - Please do not plagiarise, copy, repost/republish, adapt, or translate any of my work on any social media platforms, apps, or third-party sites. The only platforms I post my work on are: Tumblr and Wattpad. I do not own any character of any franchise (Marvel etc.) All my works are fiction and may be dark or triggering content: READ ALL WARNINGS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Winter didn’t understand anything, especially not Valentine’s Day. He didn’t understand the whole couple and gifting thing. It was confusing. No matter how often someone explained it, he still didn’t understand. He couldn’t understand the feeling he felt toward you, the sense of wanting to give you something and see that beautiful smile that made his heart beat extremely fast. He was told it wasn’t bad, but could he really trust someone’s word?

He was at the markets, buying plums… He couldn’t get enough of the plums, and while he was there, he grabbed a bunch of fruits he had seen you eat, knowing that you enjoyed them all. You were the only person he would share his plums with, though. If anyone else tried to touch one, he’d try and stab them. Apparently, he isn’t allowed to do that? You had explained that to him when he had attempted to stab Sam.

His sharp blue eyes spied a stand full of beautiful flowers, and they had reminded him of you, causing his feet to move toward them before he could think about it. He smiled awkwardly at the lady behind the stand, pointing nervously at a few of them and nodding when she asked if he wanted them to be made into a bouquet. He held them carefully as he began to walk back to the compound, not wanting to squash them with his strength. Winter goes through the doors and into the elevator, remembering which buttons to press after you showed him. When the doors opened, he walked through them and was immediately hit by your scent wafting through the air, and his heart began to nearly beat out of his chest when you rounded the corner. 

“Winter! Your back! How did the markets go?” You smile, walking up to him and bringing him into a small hug. He relaxes into you the moment you touch him, feeling himself melt. He grunts, staring down at you with soft eyes. “Good, huh?” Your eyes move down and notice the flowers, “I see you expanded your purchase.” He nods before thrusting the flowers toward you, bobbing down at them. “For me?” He nods again, trying to smile as you grab them and bring them to your nose before watching him lift a separate bag filled with various fruits. “Winter… You didn’t have to do all this. But thank you, I love it.” You lean forward and place a gentle kiss on his cheek, smiling when they turn bright red. 

His heart was beating so fast, staring down at you and feeling his breath hitch when you kissed his cheek. You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and your eyes were only on him. He wondered why someone so precious and beautiful would like someone like him. So broken and damaged, but you never saw him in that way, and that was what he loved about you.

thank you for reading!

feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

[yuikomorii]

Is it just me or is Diabolik Lovers losing the popularity it once had?…

// Uhm… that depends. Even if there are still some enthusiasts who would purchase any merch released by Rejet and support the franchise, the volume is obviously lower than in previous years. Nevertheless, they’re not doing that bad for now.

Most people found out about DL when they were still quite young, whether they were from the West or Japan. Teenagers often have more free time, which allows them to engage in whatever they want and create content as a result. But as you get older, your schedule will fill up faster. Many DL fans have begun attending college, landing jobs, or even starting families, making it difficult to maintain a fan account in these circumstances. After all, that isn't intended to be a top priority.

The year 2015 saw the peak of DL's popularity; it received a lot of love and fan support. However, after the release of LE, everything changed. That game got so many negative reactions to the point that fans started boycotting it. I’m sure not everyone meant that in an intentional way but due to the critics, which weren’t just “this game is bad” but rather “this game makes me feel sick/dizzy/too sad etc.”, a lot of people didn’t buy the game and were influenced to dislike it. It became the lowest ranked DL game ever and yeah, they lost plenty of fans with it. Rejet published CL in 2019, but although being more well-liked than LE, it didn't generate as much excitement as previous DL games did because a big number of fans still hadn’t returned.

Moreover, preferences change, opinions change and, most importantly, people change. Only because they liked something 10 years ago, there is no guarantee that they still like it 10 years later and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Otome games became more popular than in the past, therefore a bunch of new ones were released, which piqued the audience's curiosity. Otomate seems to lead with their games, since most of their characters are extremely loved and talked about both in Japan and the West right now and that honestly makes sense because people will undoubtedly be more interested in newer things.

Something seems to happen to Rejet because they got a lot of complaints from fans for: mixing up merchandise packaging, selling merchandise with flaws, delaying a number of things, messing up the voices in various CD dramas, and other things. They did, however, apologize, but I do agree that going through all of that must definitely be a bad experience.

And last but not least, maybe some people are just not active right now. It’s still summer for most of us, so a lot of individuals will most likely choose to enjoy it rather than spend all of their time online. Many of my friends have temporarily stepped away from Tumblr, but they will return as soon as they feel like it. Remember guys: fan accounts should be just for fun and leisure, not something that forces you not to have a social life.

[fazar234]

Understanding Lanolin

(First time doing an analysis, so I hope y’all like it!)

Hey all, it’s been a minute hasn’t it?

With Issues 63 and 64 of the IDW comics for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise having released, it’s caused quite a lot of division amongst the Sonic fanbase, in regard to one new character in particular: Lanolin the Sheep.

And hoo boy, it has not been pretty.

A while back, I sent an ask to a user by the name of @molinaskies (btw go check her out if you’re into analyses of Sonic’s character and Sonamy fanfics!) about her thoughts on Lanolin, and she replied with a post stating why she wasn’t a fan of her character.

Now, I believe that everyone has the right to like, dislike, or be neutral towards whatever or whoever they want, including Sonic characters. If you don’t like Lanolin, that’s totally fine by me and I respect your opinion.

However, due to all the ridiculous hate she has been receiving lately, I feel obligated as a Lanolin fan to state my own reasoning and analysis behind her character. As such, this post will be meant to serve as an understanding towards Lanolin and her character.

Now, before we go any further…

This is not meant to come off as forcing my opinion onto molinaskyes or anyone else! We all have the right to our own opinions, and we should all be allowed to like/dislike whatever characters we want to! This is just a post stating my opinion and reasoning behind Lanolin, nothing more, nothing less!

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s begin!

Who is Lanolin?

To put it short, she’s a sheep from the IDW comics who started out as a background character in the form of another Restoration volunteer and eventually worked her way up to the rank of a primary protagonist in Issue #57, taking on the role as leader of the Restoration’s new task force, the Diamond Cutters.

Her first ever appearance in the comics is Issue #2, where Sonic and Amy are doing a formidable job defending Riverside Village (Lanolin’s hometown), which is being hoarded by badniks, until Lanolin runs in, informing them of an incoming army from the west. She’d then help evacuate the citizens into the bunker and assist in taking down the army.

Since then, she’s made plenty of background appearances throughout the comics, helping citizens, taking care of various tasks at Restoration HQ, or just chilling (which, given her character, is pretty rare).

Lanolin’s Flaw

Fast-forward all the way to Issue #57, where Lanolin gets her chance in the spotlight, and from there, along with further issues, we get a better look at her character.

She gets startled quite easily, doesn’t approve of recklessness, and prefers to operate with a proper plan. She also has a more stoic and serious personality compared to the other characters, which I feel is a nice change of pace, and can come off as bossy to others (which I’ll dive more into later.)

She wasn’t like this in her previous appearances before 57, and I believe the reason can be attributed to the trauma the Metal Virus, as well as other minor disasters seen in the comics had on her. She doesn’t want anyone to feel scared and helpless again, which is why she formed the Diamond Cutters, and why she doesn’t seem to take well to things going wrong.

In Issue #58, she looked defeated because of the scouting of Eggperial City going wrong, and in Issue #63, she snapped at Sliver because of the training mission getting out of hand with the boulder incident (more on that in a second.)

Lanolin doesn’t know how to adapt to the unexpected, and it’s a flaw she’ll need to overcome in the future, or she may meet the same fate as a certain platypus.

Lanolin’s Perspective

Now then, onto what I’ve been wanting to talk about most: her actions and perspective in 63 and 64.

In the past three issues that have released thus far, we, the readers, have full knowledge of everything that’s been happening.

We know that Mimic has joined Clutch and disguised himself as Duo the Cat to infiltrate the Restoration and join the Diamond Cutters, so that he could get close enough to get revenge on Tangle and Whisper. We know that he sabotaged the team’s training session by kicking Silver (which Whisper managed to notice) and causing the boulders and the flood. And we know that he made Silver look bad by falling off the chair he was controlling and made it look like he had attacked him.

But Lanolin doesn’t.

From her perspective, Duo is just a new recruit who wants to make a difference and is expected to make a few mistakes. She sees him as someone she used to be. It’s why she took Duo’s side in Issue 63, when Silver accused Duo of ditching him while he was struggling to restrain the Giant Chopper from consuming him whole, because to her, Duo had only been to overwhelmed by the situation to do anything, and from her view, Silver was the one responsible for the accident, someone she had expected better control from, given his experience.

Now before you all go “OH WHAT DOES LANOLIN KNOW?! SHE’S JUST A NEWBIE AND SILVER’S THE EXPERT ON PSYCHOKINESIS! HE SAVED THE WORLD MULTIPLE TIMES!” Yes, we know he’s more talented than everyone gives him credit for. But Lanolin doesn’t. She doesn’t share the same history with him that everyone else does. If she did, she’d know that Silver would never lose control that easily unless something (or in this case, someone) sabotaged him, thus leading her to also suspect Duo.

And the same applies to 64. Lanolin asked Silver and Whisper for proof, they only responded by trying to assault who to her, was just an innocent individual who felt helpless and scared, something she never wanted anyone to feel. From her perspective, a powerful psychic and an experienced mercenary were accusing a new recruit of being some shapeshifting murderer, without even bothering so much as to offer a tad smidge of evidence that Duo was indeed a shapeshifting murderer.

And before you go: “WELL THAT DOESN’T EXCUSE HER ATTACKING WHISPER AND HER ATTITUDE!” Whisper literally made the first move by grabbing Lanolin’s arm! She was simply trying to defend herself and be rational, stating that they needed to talk about her problem as a team! As for her remark calling herself a soldier, this is one of her flaws, her bossiness, coming into play here! She’s not a perfect person, none of them are! She’s a flawed character, who’s experienced in certain aspects of leadership, but is still new to being a hero.

Silver accusing people at random isn’t anything new; we’ve seen it before in Sonic 06 and the Traitor Arc in the Archie Comics (which I personally haven’t read myself), and the reason why Whisper was too quick to act was because this is Mimic, the guy that killed the closest thing she had to a family! You really think she was just going to stand there and let him do it again? Yes, she should have acted reasonably but she let her emotions get the better of her. And it’s because of that that Duo was able to remove any suspicion.

And before you ask “WELL WHY DID LANOLIN VOTE TO KICK SILVER OUT BUT NOT WHISPER?! SHE ACCUSED DUO TOO!”, I beckon you all to look at this scene here.

Duo tricked everyone into thinking that Silver was the one who attacked him, not Whisper. Had Whisper been with Silver, it’s likely she would’ve been kicked out as well.

A villain’s plan to manipulate can only work if someone’s fallen for the bait, and Lanolin is indeed one of those people. I imagine once he gets caught, Lanolin’s gonna learn from this and she and Silver will make up and all will be good.

Lanolin and Tangle

One more thing that people’s miscomprehension has annoyed me about: the dynamic between Lanolin and Tangle.

In @molinaskies' post on Lanolin, she stated that Lanolin has an objective problem with Tangle and would go as far as to replace her. And I’m going to try to not sound too harsh here, but NO? SHE DOES NOT??

In Issue #58, Tangle was the one to comfort Lanolin when she felt defeated during the Eggperial City mission, and in Issue #59, Lanolin nearly sacrificed herself to save Tangle from the dimensional traps! And that whole gag with the pong-pong ball and Lanolin swatting it away in Issue #62 was literally just that: a gag! Lanolin definitely gets irritated by Tangle, but she doesn’t outright hate her! Would someone who wants to replace a teammate nearly get themselves killed to save said teammate?!

Conclusion

Wow, that was longer than I imagined.

I’m sorry if I ever came off as harsh during my analysis, but it just irks me that most of the fanbase won’t bother trying to see scenes from different perspectives, and it feels like they don’t tolerate flawed characters at all.

In the end, though, you’re all free to like or dislike Lanolin if you want. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. But at the very least, you should learn to properly comprehend perspectives and realize that none of these characters are perfect.

I hope my analysis brought you all some insight, and I’ll catch you all later.

[randomfandomdreaming]

My Reality Shifting Experience

Otherwise known as the post I meant to do after work one day and forgot.

Long post incoming. You've been warned lol

Word Count: 1,601

Please keep in mind that what works for me may not work for someone else. My spirituality, beliefs, and practices come solely from my experiences, and not what I've read on the internet. I did have to do some minor research for this post so that I could put commonly used names to what I do. I also only talk about the Star Wars galaxy as that is the only one I have actively shifted to. I know there are others, but I genuinely can't remember them.

What is "reality shifting"? Reality shifting, as a definition, is the practice of transferring or moving your consciousness to another world/universe/dimension/whatever you wish to call it. It can be fictional or not. This destination is usually referred to as your "desired reality", or DR for short. Your current reality or original reality (CR or OR, respectively) is the one you're probably reading this post from.

Here's where things start to get a little messy, at least for me. I personally put reality shifting under the same umbrella as astral projection and anything similar, as these various methods are just that to me. Different methods and names for the same exact thing: A way to interact with the areas that our universe has allowed us to have. To keep everything simple, I'll refer to these methods as reality shifting.

I've been shifting to the wondrous galaxy found in the Star Wars franchise since I was just eight years old. I first encountered Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu on the street here on our very own planet mere days after first discovering the franchise. I had only seen one episode, and had only been introduced to Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, and a few other characters. Yet here was a Jedi Master introducing himself as Mace Windu before I had ever even heard of the character. That single episode was my first exposure to the franchise. I didn't even know about Master Yoda yet.

When I first started shifting, I had no control over it. Sometimes I still don't. I genuinely don't know how I do it, as I don't really use any well known methods in order to do it. The first time I ever encountered anything to do with reality shifting was completely by accident, as they found me. But the stronger my connection to the people in that galaxy became, the easier it was to make the connection and shift.

Realities overlapping is quite commonplace. There have been times where the image of Obi-Wan or someone else has quite literally flickered into existence, even including the area just round them, allowing me a glimpse of where they currently are. I've been told the same has also occurred on their end. There were even some times where It wasn't just an image, but the realities literally colliding, allowing us to actually converse as if we weren't in galaxies several parsecs away, but instead standing right next to each other in one galaxy or the other.

Some of the physical interactions I've had:

The very first meeting with Master Windu and Obi-Wan.

Someone who looked exactly like a clone trooper (height, looks, everything) once entered my history classroom in third grade to speak with my teacher. Being a child, I asked him outright if he was a clone, and he responded by saying no while laughing after looking at me scared. His expression is one of the few I will never forget.

A Patrolian in the park in my town.

A metal statue cut clean through in another park in my town. Parts of it were melted along the cut. The cut was also too straight for anything we could possibly use. It was cut in one fluid motion.

Hearing the rattle of clone armor by the lake near my apartment. My roommate heard it as well. We were the only ones around and it was the middle of the night.

Almost every physical interaction I've had has had someone else confirm that they were indeed physically there (I was the only one who saw the Patrolian).

One of the most interesting things about this experience as a whole is how much actually carries over to here. Mannerisms, beliefs, even abilities have transferred to this galaxy.

For example, with the Force, you're able to sense another being's presence, even distinguish exactly who it is. Every living thing, from the largest sentient being to the smallest organism, has their own unique presence in the Force. One thing that has carried over for me is a very diluted version (best way I can describe it) of being able to sense a presence.

Things I've learned about the SW galaxy through shifting:

They actually have a name for their galaxy. It's called the "Virdon Galaxy".

They know of other galaxies and have named them as well, regardless if the occupants of said galaxy call it that or not. They call the Milky Way galaxy (our galaxy) the "Retuura Galaxy". They also call Earth "Areen", Mercury "Bentuu", and Pluto "Virk". The other planets never came up in any conversations.

Our entire planetary system was never charted on any official star maps prior to Master Windu and Obi-Wan's visit. I was never told why.

They consider us a backwater planet and very primitive. Don't be offended. A lot of backwater planets get overlooked, and during the Clone War, that can be a really good thing sometimes.

The clones are some of the greatest people you'll ever meet. It's like having a giant family of protective brothers you didn't know you wanted. That being said, they're still soldiers, and men. They talk very coarsely. A lot. Especially when they think younglings can't hear them. Those men have absolutely no filter when they think they're just with their brothers.

The timeline we know to be canon within the franchise is not the actual timeline there. The franchise has been made for entertainment, rather than accuracy. I first met Obi-Wan while the Clone War was ravaging the galaxy. I've also met Qui-Gon Jinn, who unfortunately did perish later on in the Clone War during a mission. In the franchise, he perishes on Naboo.

Time doesn't move the same for each of our galaxies. There have been times where a month has passed here, and only a week has passed there, as well as vice versa. Time is genuinely an illusion with our galaxies.

Force abilities, whether from a natural born being of this galaxy or a Jedi from Coruscant, are weaker in our system than any other known location. Obi-Wan had once mentioned to me that being in this system dulled his senses, as if the system was almost non-existent in the Force. The Council tried to look into it, but not a single member could figure why.

These are all things I learned before I even turned ten. Yes, children have very active imaginations, but there are certain things that not even a child should be able to come up with. I was a very sheltered child, being raised in the church (I won't say what one) by my grandmother. There were certain things I never knew about, let alone even think to research. Anything related to astral projection, reality shifting, or other things considered more spiritual were never exposed to me until I was almost eighteen. So how would an eight year old youngling come up with the idea of practically being an experiment of the Jedi Order? Especially when there were physical interactions. (I say experiment because that's essentially what my training started out being. The Council wanted to see if someone from this Force-starved system could even be trained in the Force. So, quite literally an experiment.)

As for methods? That is unfortunately where my knowledge on the subject ends. Some people write out, or script, where they want to go, what will happen, everything about their desired reality. Some people prefer to meditate before attempting to shift, while others simply jump into it. What's important is that you find what works best for you. Not what works for your parent or your best friend, but for you. Trust your feelings, but do your research. If something feels right or wrong, then it probably is. There's no "one method fits all".

Don't be discouraged if you don't shift on your first try. Some people are more naturally inclined to shifting than others. It's not uncommon for someone to not shift on their first try. It takes practice. Even I still have to practice and I've been doing it for years.

I know this post is slightly all over the place, so if you need clarification on anything or have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an ask. Please know that any asks I receive (if any) will be posted to benefit anyone else who may have a similar, if not the same, question as long as they are reasonable. Feel free to use the anon option if you don't want your blog name to be shown.

Whether you believe something like this is possible or not, please be respectful to those who believe and have experienced things themselves. Just because someone else was not around for something that someone experiences doesn't mean that it isn't real. We don't truly know what all could be out there. We can barely make it to other planets of our system with robots, let alone vessels that can transport living beings. Things such as reality shifting may seem insane to some, but they are very real to others.

[unluckyxse7en]

So I've been sitting on this thought for a bit but. I want to make an informal propaganda post for Gaiaonline! It's a site that's got its pros and its cons, but I feel like it'd really appeal to some of the tumblr crowd, and also I just like to gush about things I like and Gaia is one of those things

So: What is Gaiaonline?

Gaiaonline is essentially a social/avi dressup site, with a lot of love poured into the site's setting! The big draw of course is having an avatar to personalize and plenty of items to dress them up in, but there's other features as well:

Such as numerous minigames (more on one of those later), and even manga featuring backstory and escapades of the site's npcs (don't let the cool panel crops fool you though - a lot of it is silly gag bits lol)

There's also a few options for socializing, as well - you can of course dm people, but there's also forums, profile comments, and statuses. The forum even has semi-recently gained the option for night mode! The site also has their own selection of emojis, some standard and some... not so much xD

Speaking of profile - you can have a decently customizable profile! Gaia provides options in-site, but if none of those are your cup of tea then you can use an external url (or photobucket, but they both watermark nowadays and also are switching to pay-only accounts so I don't recommend that option) - you can add images on the profile, and a background, and have multiple text boxes that can be customized for various uses! Gaia also has aquariums that can display on your profile, but I don't use those anymore so I can't say much on them.

So your avi isn't the only thing you can stylize! Speaking of which... How about those avis?

You can get a wide array of items, and with the right inventory the world is your oyster! There's even a slew of franchise/fandom-inspired items, either from old promotions or just designs made as homages!

(Example Adventure Time-inspired item on the marketplace - Many users sell their items there, so it's wise to check in from time to time!)

Gaia also historically turns to its userbase for item inspiration, and sells the winning designs from the contests it hosts in the shops, so you could show off your own design tastes if you feel like they're lacking your dream item.

^ Example store - complete with a storefront where you can see other user's avatars out front if they're shopping there! The screencap of Moira the NPC is from the middle of the Halloween event they host yearly, hence her dialogue box and Harley Quinn Cosplay.

Don't have money? Not to worry! Gaia offers "Daily Chance" items and money, sometimes including random chance mini-events that can give you some sweet loot AND a fun time.

Still, maybe you want something more... Interactive? Not to worry!!

Allow me to introduce.... zOMG! A flash game - yes you heard that right, FLASH game - where you can run around and kill things, take on quests from npcs, and earn more gold, make friends and more! As stated, it's a flash game, so they had to come up with some workarounds - but they offer suggestions on-site that work with some success in my experience! The drawback is it can be a bit laggy, but sometimes it's just fun having an excuse to see your avatar run around and shoot things. Or slash things. or fling flaming meteors at things. You know how it is.

All in all, it's a very silly site, but one that I find holds a lot of charm and a place in my heart even now. I can't recommend it enough, and hope this appeals to someone reading. :)

P.S. : CONS OF GAIA

This post is already too long so I put cons (and some general disclaimers) under the cut, feel free to read at your discretion:

So as much as I like to gush, there are some notable cons to Gaia, which feel noteworthy to share. I only spend my time in the areas of the site covered above, so apologies if there's anything I fail to mention:

The economy. Good Lord, the Economy. It got so bad Gaia literally had to change from Gaia gold to Gaia platinum because the inflation got so bad - and then they never properly addressed the setup that led to this in the first place. If you buy from the Gcash stores or from the regular storefronts, it's nbd - but the marketplace with its auctions and its user-established prices can get downright brutal. Gaia has also taken recently to flooding the daily chance items with high-quality items from days past - which may not be the worst (especially not for new users) but I do strongly suspect it isn't helping the economy front much.

GCash - Personally I find this a drawback, but a lot of Gaia's push, especially of late, is GCash. This makes sense - there aren't a lot of users left atm, so no point in hosting events, but it does get a little old removing announcements for items only available for real money sometimes. This is something I hope would see a change though, if enough people decide to join.

Filters - there are unfortunately some curses and the like banned to keep the site 'friendly' to younger ages which. Sometimes backfires on their own announcements or npc dialogue. You can type and send the word, iirc, but it will get automatically filtered accordingly. That said, avatar items can get exceedingly raunchy, or have curse words in their displays even, so the bar is.... Nebulous, here.

Flash Player - Gaia has been around for a long time, since 2003. A lot of functions are defunct or buggy, or in the case of zOMG! as mentioned above, require an outside party tool to help it run smoothly. They do what they can do address it but it has impacted things and probably will continue to do so.

Social media - I would say this site doesn't quite qualify as such, as the ability to share media is middling at best. You can post writing, or art, using the forums or the journal function, but it's far from ideal. Other aspects, like profile comments, can be clunky for communication purposes, so while Gaia has some decent options, it's not up to speed with the big giants in social sites nowadays.

Mobile app? - there IS an app for phones. But at the moment, it's only for dressing up your avatar - none of the other functions are available. If you use this site for avi dressup, this is no big deal, but it could be better.

There's other cons, but these feel like the big ones to mention.

Lastly, unrelated but disclaimer: Most of these pictures are my own screenshots, avis, etc, with some minor exceptions - I tried to stick to my own content and accounts (yes I have Several accounts) for showcasing here, when not using official resources. If anyone recognizes themselves or a friend in here and wants it removed/changed/blacked out/etc just give me a shout.

Also, shoutout to @shyyren who features in a few of the screenshots, edited the economy meme, and is my current gaia buddy who encouraged me to make this post lmao

[sideprince]

A movie question I wanted to throw your way: what do you think about the decision to use a decent amount of physical acting on Rickman’s part for comic effect? I’m thinking his snatch of thin air in Philosopher's Stone, his creeping along the table towards Ron and Harry in Chamber, his dramatic point in that same scene, his walk up to the stage for Dueling Club, his whacking students in Goblet and Order, etc.

On one hand, I feel like this does match the tone of the books; he canonically lurks and prowls and points and snatches at the air, and his menace is often undercut by a physical description that’s meant to be some level of comedic. On the other hand, we don't see Snape nearly as much in the movies as we do in the books, so this aspect of his character seems somewhat overinflated by the movies?

TLDR I don’t think these decisions in the movie were completely out of left field, but it also feels off for some reason. Idk I don’t know how exactly to verbalize my feelings on the matter and wanted to hear your thoughts!

It will probably come as no surprise that I feel like any answer to this question is inseparable from the absolute hatchet jobs that are Steve Kloves' screenplays for the HP franchise. This reply is going to end up inevitably long (you ask me about my favorite subject, you suffer the consequences), but all of it is ultimately framed by the problem of having to make the best of a badly written script. (**edit: This post is way too long. Run away. Don't look back.)

The writing doesn't support the story

The first thing that jumps out to me is that there's a separation between where and how these comedic moments are used, up until the end of GoF and after. They're more a part of the story only until Harry's story arc reaches the point of Cedric's death, when he first witnesses death in the way that allows him to see thestrals after. GoF is when the story takes its first dark turn, and up until then the tone and story is much more in line with children's literature, so it makes more sense that Snape is portrayed in a bit of a playful way. After GoF - even though the films reveal it as an aside and much later than the original story does - Snape resumes his role as spy and becomes more integral to the story as a key character and is thus no longer just a foil in a children's story. I think what doesn't work about it is the inconsistency. The books have comedic moments with Snape too, which are cartoonish, up until the end of DH - I feel those are also out of place, but at least their existence gives a basis to what's done in the films.

Nevertheless, one of the biggest problems with the films is that they're badly edited. I'll leave that analysis for another post (you're welcome), but essentially these comedic moments feel inconsistent in part because there's often a disconnect between the performance a director has asked of his actors and the tone that's established in the editing room once pacing and a soundtrack are added. Any vision a director had for these films was muddled by the involvement of big studio producers and limitations. This is made more jarring by the way that Kloves has interjected light, funny moments in awkward ways throughout the scripts. He struggles overall to convey the world that Rowling has created, and if it weren't for the brilliant production design of Stuart Craig, Kloves' failures would be much more obvious (again, worthy of its own roast post).

Take the scene where Snape whacks Harry and Ron on the head in Gof: why are the students all studying in the Great Hall? Why are various years sitting together? Why is Snape overseeing them? It's a scene almost verbatim out of the book (Fred asks Angelina to the ball casually, he and George tell Ron and Harry to get dates "before all the good ones are gone," we find out Hermione already has a date), but like pretty much every scene that originally takes place in the Gryffindor common room, this one is moved to another location for no discernible reason. The main difference in the change is how restrictive it is: in the common room the children are free to be themselves, but in the Great Hall, under a strict teacher's nose, they have to be quiet and restrained. Another subject that would need its own post is the myriad of ways Kloves goes out of his way to rewrite settings and characters to avoid allowing them to express themselves or grow as characters, and how hard he works to stifle and limit them in ways that are convoluted and work against the story, as if he himself couldn't deal with any kind of emotional vulnerability (in a way, his scripts are a desperate cry for help). This directly contributes to why so many of Snape's comedic moments feel off.

The changes in the scene in GoF don't even make sense from a production perspective, as they required more actors, more lighting, and more setups. Instead of using the cozy setting of the common room to establish camaraderie between the students, Kloves replaced that energy and lightheartedness with Snape in a way that's uncharacteristic. The scene, as he wrote it, is already light and has humor, but Kloves doesn't trust it - he feels the need to exaggerate it and the casualties, as always, are the characters and their portrayal. It's as though he's following a formula and saying, "this page number/scene number must provide relief from the tension of the story" and then doesn't consider how following that directive fits into the rhythm of the narrative. It's closer to being an isolated scene akin to a comedy sketch than to a scene that's part of an act that's part of a film. It's worth noting that, in GoF, Kloves interjects this scene as if he's forcing this moment of comic relief into a story that didn't require it and then relies on playing off of Snape's usual seriousness as its crux. In OOtP, when there's a callback to it as Snape smacks Ron with a book again, it's no longer the point of the scene, but an aside in a comical montage focused on Umbridge (OOtP was also the only film not written by Kloves, so this moment is more likely the result of Michael Goldenberg trying to maintain a consistency with Kloves' work). Overall, I think that feeling of something being off is, again, more rooted in the writing than the performance.

Rickman as an actor playing Snape

There's a lot of criticism in the Snapedom of how Alan Rickman portrays Snape, but not enough acknowledgment that none of the characters are portrayed well, and most of it comes down to Kloves' writing of them. Book!McGonagall insists that all students under 17 are evacuated before the Battle of Hogwarts, where Movie!McGonagall only cares that the Slytherin students are locked in the dungeon, everyone else can stay, what does she care if first years die? Book!Hermione is intelligent and empathetic while Movie!Hermione is a two dimensional maternalistic harpy whose main job is to be a mouthpiece for plot exposition. Book!Ron is funny and brave and fiercely loyal, while Movie!Ron throws Hermione under the bus, is cowardly, and is reduced to a flatly written sidekick. Book!Harry is complex and while I could list a million examples, I'll stick to this one: in PoA when he finds out Sirius betrayed his parents, he's enraged but has no reply when asked if he'd want to kill Sirius. Movie!Harry says with conviction, and without prompting, that he wants to find Sirius with the explicit purpose of killing him. Every single character takes a hit because of how Steve Kloves writes them, and Snape is, sadly, no exception.

While some film shoots allow for improvisation, a big budget production on a tight schedule with scenes that require a lot of prep work can't afford to make many changes. So, for example, while Ralph Fiennes was asked to improvise his scene as Voldemort at the end of DH2 when he re-enters Hogwarts victorious (and that's why the dialogue is redundant and that weird hug with Draco continues to plague us), it could be done because the wardrobe and set and cast were already in place and the time required had already been scheduled in. It wouldn't be possible, though, to add an additional scene - like Snape going feral in the hospital wing at the end of PoA - unless it was written into the script. Additional actors would be required, which would mean coordinating with their schedules and adding them to the budget, not to mention scheduling in additional days with the crew who may already have other work lined up. It would require either pushing every other shooting day back - which is near impossible - in order to use the hospital wing set while it's still up, or tacking on production days to the end of the shooting schedule and rebuilding the set on those days. This can be done for necessary pickups that round out existing scenes, but you can't really say, "hey I decided we need a scene here that didn't exist before" without causing huge problems. Because of how contracts work, any significant scene changes would have to be sent back to Kloves who would have to write alternate scenes and/or dialogue, and even then if you wanted to fix a specific character's arc - like Snape's - you would have to add in so much that it just wouldn't be feasible. Screenplay lengths have to fall within a certain number of pages, because each page is approximately a minute of screen time, so adding a few more to a finished script mid-production is very difficult. The actors have to make the best of what's on the page. Which brings us to Alan Rickman, his choices as an actor, and what informed both him and the character of Snape.

Alan Rickman was a RADA trained actor, so his approach to a character involved a lot of physical work as well as character analysis. As far as I know, he was the only actor to contact JK Rowling directly to ask about his character, because he wanted to make an informed decision about how to play him since Snape was so nuanced and gray. Unlike some of the other actors (like Michael "DIDYAPUTYANAMEINDAGOBLETOFFIYAH" Gambon) Rickman read the books - those that were available when he took on the role, and each as they came out afterwards - and used them to inform his understanding of his character beyond what Kloves wrote (presumably in crayon with all the e's backwards). In interviews and Q&A's it's clear Rickman was fond of the HP books and story, and had a thoughtful process taking on Snape's character. He did not see him as a villain, because, as he's said, he didn't approach characters with that kind of judgment. And while I'm sure the egregious amounts of cash Warner Brothers threw at the actors was inevitably a factor for all of them, several of the ones playing teachers or other adults have said that they took on their role because a child in their life insisted on it, despite them being unfamiliar with the books, whereas Rickman's process was to read Rowling's books in order to decide whether to take the role. Again, he was a RADA trained actor, and thus had a meticulous approach to his work that followed a thoughtful, considered process and a decision based on whether he felt he could embody a character in a way that did them justice/if they were interesting enough to him. By the time he started shooting PS, he also had experience directing a film and was working as a director in theatre as well as still acting, so he understood the process from the perspective of not just an actor, but also as someone behind the camera, someone working with actors both as a peer and director, and someone sitting in an editing room.

We know from his diaries that he became increasingly frustrated with how his own process and expectations clashed with that of the producers on Harry Potter. He wasn't interested in renewing his contract after the first few films (goodness knows how much money they offered him in the end - his wife has said that he never let anyone else pick up a tab in a restaurant and if they argued, he would just say "Harry Potter."). He writes about seeing the films at premieres and being frustrated with how little story and development there is (especially for Snape), which makes me think there are deleted scenes somewhere that haven't been released. At one point he writes about a premiere party where he had internally lost patience with the three Davids (Yates, Heyman, and Barron). It's obvious that there's a discord between the work he wanted to do with Snape's character and what choices the production made:

He describes how, during the filming of the Yule Ball scene in GoF, there was an attempt to get him to dance but he refused because he didn't think Snape would dance:

It was a rare moment of potential for improvisation because, again, the set and cast and timing were already accounted for, and in this case there wasn't even dialogue. The scene where he smacks the boys with the notebook - as far as I know - was scripted. So there's a difference there in how much freedom he had, as an actor, to say no to what he was asked to do. Even in the above diary entry it's clear that, given his way, he felt the character wouldn't even be present in that scene, but he had no choice. This tells me that when he had more freedom to make choices, he did so based on his understanding of Snape as a character and, given that he was an actor who was both very respected (and got away with more than most) and also someone who could get argumentative about his character choices, I think this is the most apt lens to examine his physical work with Snape through.

Knowing that he wasn't interested in continuing the role of Snape after the first couple of films and that he was often frustrated with the lack of characterization and story arc, his physicality in his first scene in CoS (when he reprimands Harry and Ron for flying the car) says a lot. (Caveat that one of the reasons he didn't want to renew his contract was that the shooting schedule restricted his schedule and he wanted work on other projects, but I can't help but wonder if that had been the case had HP provided a more satisfying process.) It's almost certain that he had read all the available books by the time the scene in CoS was filmed, including PoA where Snape becomes apoplectic with rage in a way that, to a child reader, is comical (and intended to be) and to someone analyzing Snape is clearly rooted in triggered trauma.

Alan Rickman knew from the outset that Snape's motivation was his love for Lily, so he would have understood the dynamic between his character and Sirius re: who Snape thought sold Lily out to Voldemort. He would also have understood that Snape's reaction in PoA was more about distress and anxiety, and that this was connected to the promise Snape had made to protect Harry for Lily's sake. This would have therefore informed his portrayal of Snape's anger at Harry in CoS, and it's reasonable to assume that Rickman was trying to walk the line between the way Rowling portrayed Snape in full unhinged rage in PoA, what this tells him about this character when angered, and the connection between the moments in PoA and CoS when it comes to Snape's anxiety over Harry's safety. Unlike the author of a book however, who has full control of how they tell a story, Rickman was an actor in a film - an inevitably collaborative medium which therefore made his portrayal reliant on the decisions of others as well.

Chris Columbus, the HP movies, and feral Snape

PS and CoS were directed by Chris Columbus, the guy who directed both Home Alone and Home Alone II and Mrs. Doubtfire. He was a successful director from the 90s tradition of children's movies whose sensibility was informed by the era's attitude towards children's media: kids wanting to see themselves in narratives, in ways that felt empowering and allowed them to process the confusion of a world run by adults in playful, quasi-cartoonish ways within a 3 act structure where the villains - mean adults - get their comeuppance because it feels fair. One thing that set Harry Potter apart was that the villain was not the mean adult; Snape, the mean adult, is a character kids can hate and project their own experiences onto, but Voldemort is a true villain who represents evil and is vanquished by the hero. Chris Columbus established a tone for the first two films that was no longer apt by PoA, not only because it didn't work for the story, but because that 90s era of children's movies had ended and the culture moved on to more complex narratives (and Columbus has focused more on producing than directing since, because his style doesn't work for audiences anymore).

What's ironic about the way Snape's scene at the start of CoS comes off is that, in the book, there's a great comedic moment that's left out:

This is cut from the film, and instead it's Filch waiting at the top of the marble stairs who catches Ron and Harry being late and delivers them to Snape (I don't know why, the scene in the book is much more dynamic and would have taken up about as much time on screen). Rickman, meanwhile, is using the information he's gotten on who Snape is from the books, and imbuing some of that feral Snape energy into his portrayal of a Snape who is genuinely angry:

(Thank you for making these gifs @smilingformoney , they are truly the gift that keeps on giving.)

The thing is, no matter how much of feral Snape Rickman brought to this, no matter how menacing his performance is, this moment still lives within the dynamics of a Chris Columbus children's film. It gets cut off by Dumbledore's entrance - meant to be a comeuppance for Snape, since Dumbledore (being the voice of wisdom and fairness in this world) prevents him from punishing Harry and Ron (you know what, at least in the books they got detention, but ok). Despite Rickman's performance, Columbus as a director has framed this scene in the same context as the one Kloves cut. The tension is brief, and the focus is on Snape being foiled, because it's what children want to see - a mean adult experiencing consequences. It's down to the editing and soundtrack, choices Columbus made in the editing room. In addition, we don't know how many different ways an actor tries a scene, only what ends up in the final cut of a film. The process of the work done on a set is often much richer and more diverse than what an audience sees in the finished film.

Tbh I think this is also why Snape's feral moments were cut from PoA: it's a darker film, but had to straddle the line between being for both children and tweens and not getting too playful, nor too intense. As much as I want to see feral Snape on screen, it's extremely difficult to make work in a narrative that is about Harry and his friends. It either skews too intense, making the audience uncomfortable because seeing an adult becoming unhinged and in pain is difficult and frightening for most young people, even adults, and would therefore take away from Harry's goals and narrative as well as his changing relationship to Sirius (all of which is already barely supported by Kloves' writing). Alternately, it could also skew too comical and over the top, which takes the audience out of the tension of the film's climactic moments.

If Snape's story had gotten more focus and screen time, an unhinged moment would be better justified because the audience would have been more invested in the character and their arc. PoA sidesteps pretty much all of the most compelling parts of the book, which is the realization that Harry is not only connected to Sirius personally, but that his dad, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew created the Marauders Map, that they were animagi, that Harry's patronus takes the form of his father's stag, and that Snape was initimately connected to all of them as well. For me, reading the end of PoA was what cemented Snape as someone who would be crucial to the narrative and whose role would increase as the series went on. As a result of Kloves skimming over these essential plot twists, Snape is a minor character in the film, showing up mostly as a foil who tries to expose Lupin and then catches him and Black in the Shrieking Shack (this also sets his character up to be minimized in every film down the line, which has a worsening impact as Snape becomes increasingly integral to the plot).

One thing I find interesting is that Snape's comical physicality changes over the films. In PS and CoS he's menacing, a looming, larger than life figure the children fear and easily assume to be a full-fledged villain. By GoF there's a relationship embedded in how he interacts with Harry and his friends. He's no longer terrifying, just intimidating, more of an adult Harry challenges than someone he must defeat. The comedic effect now comes from a rapport within an established dynamic between characters. By HBP, the only comical moment is at Slughorn's party, and it's no longer Rickman who uses physicality - the action happens around him, and the comedic effect is in his lack of reaction to any of it. In other words, he's no longer the comic one, he's become the straight man in a (badly written) comedy sketch (with abysmal timing, what even).

Ultimately, as with most of the characters in the HP films, Snape is undermined by the writing. Rickman was stuck working within the confines he was given. No matter how well he may have understood the character, the limited screen time and character development were always going to stifle how Snape was portrayed on screen. I'm very much pro Let Snape Be Feral but I also don't fault Rickman in how little we saw of that.

How Feral is Snape?

If I'm honest, I feel like the Snapedom has taken the Let Snape Be Feral thing and has started forgetting that he wasn't all-feral-all-the-time. The point of Feral Snape is that it's a heightened state of tension in a character whose trauma is being triggered. Apoplectic Snape wouldn't have an impact at the end of PoA if that was his usual way of being. And, as you so brilliantly showed @said-snape-softly Snape's speech patterns are primarily quiet and controlled, his speech gets softer the more dangerous his mood, and it's only after he reassumes his role as a spy that the description of his speech becomes increasingly volatile (but is still controlled). Feral Snape's definitive aspect is the lack of control shown by a character who usually is so exceptionally capable of self restraint and compartmentalization. So again, while I would have loved to see Feral Snape on screen, I think it's also important to acknowledge that this is not the defining feature of his character and is more about what those moments mean to his arc. Their absence is primarily due to poor writing that didn't create space for them (including what leads up to them), and the direction that didn't carve out any kind of niche for them, not Rickman's choices as an actor.

In fact, Snape as a character is defined by descriptors of his voice more than any other character by far. I have my own theory about why this is, and it has to do with Alan Rickman being inextricably connected with how Snape is written. Chris Columbus said that Alan Rickman was always Snape as far as he was concerned, because when JK Rowling showed him a sketch of Snape she had made, it looked exactly like Rickman. I don't think this is accidental.

Alan Rickman was always intended to be Snape

First, what's important to remember is that before Harry Potter, Alan Rickman was best known in the 90s for playing both villains and sad romantic leads. His signature defining feature was his voice. I think it was Ang Lee who described the casting choice of Greg Wise and Alan Rickman in Sense and Sensibility as wanting Willoughby (Wise) to be dashing and Brandon (Rickman) to be sexy (if this was Emma Thompson and not Ang Lee, my apologies, I can't remember where I read this and can't find the source). This is how Rickman was perceived by audiences up until Harry Potter. And I know a lot of the Snapedom considers him to be sexy as Snape too, but the general audiences of the films don't, so please don't @ me, I'm just setting up a point here.

This is relevant because, as we find out in the end of the books, Rowling wrote Snape's motivations to be rooted in romantic love (I'm very nobly putting aside, for the sake of focusing on Rowling's intentions, my personal interpretation that Snape's feelings for Lily were platonic, please acknowledge how brave I am for this). She pulls a lot from gothic tropes into how he's written, and as much as she's talked about the character having been inspired by a chemistry teacher she disliked, and as much as she's talked about Snape being both morally grey and someone she personally dislikes, she also romanticized him. Between this and what Chris Columbus said about her sketch of him, it's hard for me to ignore that this character, conceived of in the 90s, wasn't written with Alan Rickman in mind from the beginning, especially since Rowling herself has said that she envisioned him in the role. Whether or not he lived up to Rowling's imagination is, frankly, his choice and Rowling's problem.

The story of how Harry Potter was written according to JK Rowling is that it started with the idea coming to her on a train ride in 1990. She completed the PS manuscript in 1995. While everything I'm about to say is absolute conjecture, I can't help but wonder at the connection between these films and the way Snape was written (spoilers ahead, no regrets, these films have been out for over a quarter of a century - forgive my reviews, I can't help myself):

1988: Die Hard comes out. Alan Rickman plays Hans Gruber, a villain who is a genius, composed, controlled, and soft-spoken. (Great film, a classic, the only valid Christmas movie.)

1990: Truly, Madly, Deeply. Rickman plays a man whose wife can't get over his tragic death, nor can his own ghost, who comes back to spend more time with her. No one else can see him, and they can't really share a life anymore. She eventually lets him go as she realizes that his spirit doesn't belong in the mortal world and her own life can't move on as long as she clings to it. (Beautiful film, will break your heart and put it through a shredder.)

1991: Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. Rickman is the Sheriff of Nottingham, an unhinged, feral villain who wears all black complete with billowing cape. (Terrible film, disaster of a period piece, Rickman's performance is the only redeeming thing about it. Halfway through its press tour talk shows started booking Rickman instead of the lead, Kevin Costner, because Rickman stole every scene.)

1995: An Awfully Big Adventure. Rickman is an actor who comes back to his hometown to revive his role as Captain Hook in a local theatre production of Peter Pan. In the process he has an affair with a young ginger stagehand who reminds him of his lost love, a vivacious woman named Stella with bright red hair who, as far as he knows, birthed his child - a son - before she died. It turns out the girl he has an affair with is his daughter, which he realizes when he visits her home where she lives in the care of her aunt and uncle - whose name is Vernon - and connects the dots of who this girl's mother was. (He then rides his motorcycle out to the pier, screams "Stella" at the heavens like he's in a revival production of Streetcar Named Desire, trips and hits his head on the edge of the pier and falls into the water, drowning. I can't make this up. Mike Newell directed this. The same guy who directed GoF. As if following in the vein of the 90s movie obsession with incest as the controversial-trope-du-jour wasn't enough. I don't even need to review this, just sum it up.)

1995: Sense and Sensibility. Rickman plays Colonel Brandon, a forlorn, grieving man who lost his first love at a young age and spends most of the film pining for the only other woman he's ever had a romantic interest in. Wears all black, rides a black horse.

Given what a well-known actor Rickman was in the 90s - especially in England - and how connected his characters all seem to be to various aspects of Snape, it's hard not to see a connection. The entire premise of Truly, Madly, Deeply sounds like the inspiration for the Resurrection Stone in Deathly Hallows. The redheaded lost love whose child is left in the care of an Uncle Vernon in An Awfully Big Adventure is difficult to look past. All of these characters either exude menacingly soft-spoken Snape energy, feral Snape energy, or forlorn because of his lost love Snape energy. As a result, I feel like it's almost inevitable that Rickman inspired Snape, especially when you consider how known he was for his voice and how frequently Snape's voice is used to describe him. When Rowling said that she envisioned him in the role, it makes me wonder if she meant during the casting process for the first film, or well before it. I think his previous roles were a contributing factor in how the character was written in the books. After Tim Roth - who was originally cast in the role - had to back out due to scheduling conflicts, she got her way. Authors don't often get to choose who plays their characters, but in this case it worked out as the production thought Rickman was a good fit as well.

I'm done, I promise

So where does this leave things at the end of this horrendously long post? Rickman's choices of how he physicalized Snape - comedic or not - are only part of a larger whole. He was playing a character who was written based on his other roles, and limited by the shortcomings of how Steve Kloves translated that character from Rowling's books into his own screenplays. Whatever Rickman did on set was limited by that writing, by the directors he worked with, and by the choices made in the editing room.

I'm fascinated by the idea that Rickman was playing a character written with him in mind - but not really him, the him who embodied other characters whose echoes show up in Snape. It's difficult enough to contend with an actor playing a character in a screenplay you wrote with them in mind when you're directing your own script, because they'll never be what you imagined in your head. But for that process to get filtered through several directors, a team of producers, another writer who changes your work, and an editor, let alone throughout a decade of films - that's downright wild. The original intention gets lost and reinterpreted like a game of telephone, and I think that a lot of the consistencies between Movie!Snape and Book!Snape are down to Alan Rickman's nuanced and generous nature as an actor. If I'm honest, I'm not convinced that every Snape moment that comes off comical was meant to be so by Rickman. But again, film is such a collaborative medium that his intentions aren't the only ones that matter, ultimately, at least they aren't the only thing that ends up in the final cut.

My take, personally, is that I'm more interested in critical analysis than personal criticism. I respect that everyone has their own vision of a character and fandom is absolutely here for, among other things, having a place to share those thoughts and feelings. But a character is rarely going to appear on screen the same way you see them in your head, and that's not always going to be a fault, even if it's a disappointment to you. It's interesting to hear different people's perceptions, but there isn't that much to discuss there - you can't refute how someone feels, and you can't argue that their truth is what it is, to them. Whereas with critical analysis there's a lot more to talk about and examine, so it's where my own interest is much more invested.

[heymrsandman]

Wanna Try Star Trek?

Hi tumblr! I love Star Trek, as do many of you, but it can seem intimidating to folks who are interested but don’t really how to approach such a large franchise. The thing is, Trek’s “golden age” lived in that delicious sweet spot where tv shows outside of soap operas were only just starting to learn about serialisation. These shows were built for drop in, drop out viewing. So I’m gonna write some beginner friendly summary/reviews of various episodes and you can see if it strikes your fancy. If you decide to watch an episode I talk about, please, feel free to talk to me about it!

Also, I made a big spinner wheel of all the TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT episodes and I needed something to do with it.

Today’s random pick is Deep Space Nine’s “Indiscretion”, episode 5 of season 4.

So real quick, Deep Space Nine aired between 1993-1999 and was set aboard the titular space station. It’s still the only Star Trek show not to be based on a ship. The long and short of the premise is that, after a long and gruelling occupation by the Cardassian Union, the planet of Bajor wins its freedom. Having no means of defending themselves from something like this happening again, Bajor reaches out to the Federation (the post-scarcity multi species utopia that humanity is part of) for protection. They send a Starfleet detachment to administer the space station the Cardassians left behind, commanded by one Benjamin Sisko, who has to manage the delicate political situation. This show is by far the most serialised of this era, but nowhere near the extent of modern shows.

First Officer’s Note: Starfleet is an all-in-one exploratory, scientific, defense and diplomatic service, and most of the shows and movies revolve around the various adventures of Starfleet crews.

Our episode today opens with DS9’s First Officer, Major Kira Nerys, receiving a call from an old friend named Razka Karn. He tells her that he’s found a lead on a ship she’s been searching for called the Ravinok. He won’t share the information over a video call, so she’ll have to come to him.

Ship Counsellor’s Note: Kira is a Bajoran, and was previously a member of the Bajoran resistance against the Occupation. Bringing in “one of Kira’s old resistance buddies” is one of the writer’s favourite ways to start up a plot for her. 

The station’s security officer Odo shows up for a scene where he’s giving Kira a security report, but her mind’s clearly elsewhere. Odo asks her what’s wrong, and Kira asks whether he thinks she should go after the Ravinok. He tells her it doesn’t matter, as he knows she’s going to go anyway, so all he’ll say is “good luck”.

Usually, there’s some hand wringing over whether or not Sisko will send one of his officers on these personal missions, but here we skip right to Kira packing for her trip, only for Sisko to give her the unpleasant news that the Cardassian government wants in on the search too. See, the Ravinok was a Cardassian ship transporting Bajoran prisoners when it was mysteriously lost.

Kira’s come a long way in her feelings towards Cardassians since the start of the show, so she does (huffily) agree to delay her departure by 52 hours to allow a Cardassian delegate to join her.

Science Officer’s Note: Bajor, and by extension DS9, has a 26 hour day. This is one of those little writerly worldbuilding details that stays consistent, and really helps sell the idea of Bajor being its own place. Take note, aspiring writers!

It’s b-plot time! Sisko has been dating a freighter captain by the name of Kasidy Yates. Jadzia Dax, the Science officer, teases Sikso that things are getting serious, which Sisko denies. Kasidy then shows up to say she’s got an interview to sign up as a freighter captain for the Bajoran government. She’d be around all the time, she could even have quarters on the station! Sisko is clearly scared by the idea, but Jadzia is having way too much fun encouraging Kasidy to care. She’s a cad.

Back at Ops (the command centre), the Cardassian delegate arrives - it’s Dukat! Dun dun dun! Ad break!

Tactical Officer’s Note: Dukat (whose first name is never confirmed in the show, but some of the novels name him Skrain) is a major recurring character on the show. Sometimes an ally, often an opponent, but never liked by the crew. He was the officer in charge of the Occupation of Bajor during its final stages, with the rank of Gul. At this point in the show, he’s recently been promoted to Legate.

On their way to rendezvous with Razka, Dukat, galaxy brained individual that he is, decides to debate Kira on the merits of the Cardassian Occupation. When Kira pushes back on this, he says “I have to desire to debate the merits of the Occupation with you”. Charming guy.

We do get Kira’s motivation here, which is that the Ravinok was transporting a prisoner by the name of Lorit Akrem. He was the man who inducted Kira into the resistance, and one of the many friends and mentors she gained during that time.

Back on the station, Kasidy is telling Sisko over dinner that she got the job and how excited she is. All he can say is “it’s a big step”, and before long Kasidy gets sick of this and storms out.

Razka’s come through though, in his new role as a scrap metal merchant. He’s gotten his hands on a piece of the Ravinok’s hull. Kira and Dukat are able to use it to track the Ravinok to the Dozaria system, which conveniently has one (1) habitable planet.

Arriving at the planet, the pair are unable to determine much more than the wreckage’s rough location and decide to land their ship and explore on foot.

Chief Engineer’s Note: Star Trek is famous for its “technobabble”, made up science-y sounding phrases designed to create and solve problems. Due to the “ionic interference”, neither scanning for lifesigns or using their transporters to beam directly to the surface are possible. Ionic interference is a favourite of the writers, great for when you want to make sure a problem can’t be solved too quickly or easily.

Sisko is busy commiserating the situation with Jadzia and the station’s Chief Medical Officer Julian Bashir. They’re no help as Julian is also having entirely too much fun with this. Quark, the owner of the local bar, which is basically a space Dave & Busters, pipes in with his own two cents. Given that Quark is a Ferengi, and Ferengi culture is so misogynistic they make your average MRA look like a feminist ally, it’s not much help.

The Ravinok is found in short order, along with a series of 13 graves. Dukat sets about identifying the remains, and refuses to let Kira help. He claims that Cardassian funeral rites are very strict, and non-Cardassians must not view the remains. Hell, he even quotes a Bajoran religious leader to justify why she shouldn’t concern herself with the bodies of her fellow Bajorans. Luckily, Bajorans all wear earrings unique to their family line, so Kira can identify the bodies from those after Dukat excavates them.

Medical Officer’s Note: they’ve landed in a scorching desert, which Dukat loves. Cardassians are lizard-like and prefer hot environments. This was a major plot point in the season 2 episode The Wire. The desert shots were filmed in Soledad Canyon, California!

A little while later, Kira emerges from the ship’s wreckage with a passenger manifest to discover Dukat lost in thought as he stares at a piece of jewellery that she identifies as a Bajoran pledge bracelet. Dukat admits that he had an ulterior motive for coming on this trip, as he hoped to find a Bajoran woman by the name of Tora Naprem. She was his mistress, and he claims that the two were in love.

Not buying that last part. Also, Dukat absolutely has a thing for Bajoran women. It keeps showing up throughout the show. He even hits on Kira every now and then.

Anyway, Kira’s able to use an old resistance trick to track the survivors.

Later that night, as they make camp in a cave, Dukat manages to get a giant stone spike impaled in his ass. The sight of him hopping around in pain as he rubs a medical doohickey of the wound prompts Kira to burst out laughing, and Dukat even joins in. It’s not really a bonding moment, but there is a certain energy to it. An abatement of hostility, perhaps.

Whatever it is, it gives Kira the courage to ask about Tora Ziyal, the name of a civilian she found on the ship’s manifest. Dukat admits the truth, Ziyal is his and Naprem’s daughter. Dukat’ sensing the Occupation was coming to an end, planned to quietly ship them off to a neutral planet to live out their lives in peace, as neither Cardassia or Bajor would accept them.  Kira, naturally, assumes he’s come to rescue Ziyal. Dukat says he’s come to kill her. Dramatic music sting. Ad break.

First Officer’s Note: Bajoran names follow Eastern naming order, meaning that Kira and Tora are family names. Also, Star Trek loves doing things in caves because they can build a new set out of the same few prop walls they have. It’s a fun detail to notice as you watch these shows.

The next day, Kira & Dukat are arguing as they pick up the trail. Dukat claims that he has too many political enemies, and a bastard child, let alone a half-Bajoran one, would give them ammunition to go after him. Kira accuses him of just being out for himself, but Dukat insists that he can only protect his family if he remains in power.

Are you getting a good feel for the kind of bastard Dukat is by this point?

This is all a bit much, how about another comic relief break in the b-plot? Sisko and his son Jake are having breakfast, and Jake mentions that he (and his friend Nog) spoke to Kasidy. As Sisko’s getting ready to give Jake a talk about the hard facts of life, Jake (having talked things through with his friend Nog) correctly diagnoses the problem as a fear of commitment. Sikso’s a widow, see, and it was his career that got Jennifer killed.

Sisko is rather bemused by this, but he can’t deny that Jake’s spot on. He asks if Jake said any of this to Kasidy. Jake says that he (and his friend Nog) considered it, but ultimately decided that Sisko should speak to Kasidy himself.

But now, at long last, we find the survivors. They’ve been taken captive by a mysterious alien race called the Breen, and are being forced to mine Dilithium ore from the planet. Presumably, it’s quite easy to do, as there’s only a few dozen survivors and no signs of heavy industry. There’s a young girl there too, presumably Ziyal.

Kira tells Dukat to go back to DS9 for reinforcements. Dukat refuses, and Kira’s obviously not going to leave Dukat with a chance to kill his daughter. Instead, they decided to mount a two person raid on the mines, which goes out without a hitch.

Well, except for the fact that Lorit died two years ago and a brief firefight gives Dukat a chance to slip away and find Ziyal. She instantly guesses who he is, having held out hope for the last six years that he’d come rescue her. Kira catches up to Dukat and threatens him at gunpoint to drop his rifle. 

It’s ultimately Ziyal’s words that sway him, and Dukat can’t find it within himself to mow down his own child in cold blood.

Back on DS9, Sisko apologises to Kasidy, who accepts, and Dukat says he’s going to take Ziyal back to Cardassia to live with him. Aww, maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all.

First Officer’s Note: Yes, he is.

This is a pretty great episode. It was directed by LeVar Burton, who had been a main cast member on The Next Generation, and is remembered by many as the long running host of Reading Rainbow. He did especially well with the location shoots, making the narrow Soledad Canyon look like an expansive desert. Marc Alaimo as Dukat shows yet again why the writers kept bringing him back. He’s smarmy, oozy, hypocritical, but still retains a certain charm.

Though he only gets two short scenes, Roy Brocksmith does great as Kira’s old friend Razka. He was a jobbing character actor in the 80’s-90’s and if you’ve seen American tv from that era, chances are you’ve seen him in something.

The b-plot is a needed reprieve from the heavy nature of the main plot, but smartly it’s not played for broad comedy. Instead it’s more subdued, more grounded and relatable. Luckily, Kasidy sticks around and has a sweet relationship with Sisko, built on a genuine chemistry between the two actors.

Would I recommend this as your first Star Trek episode? Conventional wisdom would say no, it’s too steeped in the lore of DS9 and the relationships of these characters, it’s the start or mid point of so many character journeys. Sod that for a game of soldiers, I say. This is a great little story, and even without context for everything you can pick up what’s going on well enough to understand the emotional stakes. That’s far more important than knowing all the lore and linking plot points.

So, what’s next? Time to spin the wheel, I guess!

Oh boy, we're doing Voyager!

[im-not-samantha-im-samanta]

{Jervis Tetch having teaparties with an autistic s/o}

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A few words from author: Hello there guys, long time no see! ^^"

I know I've been really inactive lately, but I needed a mental health break, hope you can understand.

Anyways, I got pulled into a new fandom yet again, so here I present you imagines for the Batman franchise, specifically imagines for Gotham!Jervis. ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

Hope y'all will enjoy these, especially my fellow babycakes who are also on the autism spectrum! Tried to include more than just the traits I experience. <3

-

Settings: Can be read as both romantic and platonic

Genre: Pure fluff ^^

!TRIGGER WARNING!: Hints of typical Jervis stuff, swear words here and there, and I think that's all ^^

Sidenote: I'm still new to the Batman franchise, and this is my first time writing Gotham Jervis, I'm sorry if he's too ooc (⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠෴⁠ ⁠༎ຶ⁠)

Sidenote: s/o can be interpreted as significant other (as in romantic) or special one (as in platonic)

Sidenote: gender of reader is not specified, but I genuinely apologize if reader description leans more into a feminine sense

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~Jervis is not a good man,

~he's very far from it,

~But he can be a decent person if he wants to be,

~and for you, he'd gladly be more than a decent person, <3

~or more like a decent little lovestruck madman

~But only for you, nobody else,

~And so, despite really needing for his teaparties to be exactly that certain way he likes them,

~he does go out of his way to accommodate to your needs and preferences,

~He really wants for you to enjoy his teaparties and be comfortable, ;^;

~You're his Alice after all, you deserve the best!

~And what all that means?

~Well, glad you asked! :3

~First off, if you don't like the cutlery, cups and dishes he uses, he doesn't get upset,

~he lets you bring your own if you wish and need that,

~he respects that, and doesn't make a fuss about it even if he'd literally never allow for anyone else to refuse to use his treasured beautiful porcelain teaparty set,

~that's how dear you are to him, <3

~On another note, if you're like me and don't necessarily need your own dishes, cups and cutlery BUT you do favour some dishes, cups and cutlery over the others,

~and if you do subconsciously create a routine to use a specific pair of cutlery, cups and dishes,

~then Jervis always makes sure you get to use that specific pair on any of his teaparties,

~and he reserves that specific pair of cutlery, cups and dishes just for you,

~No-one, and I mean no-one is allowed to use that specific pair anymore,

~the moment you show you prefer that pair, everyone else loses their privileges to use that pair,

~Now another thing - Safefood and Samefood,

~Jervis is really good at making various snacks and treats for his teaparties,

~so, each teaparty you'll have wide variety of things to choose from,

~and he tends to come up with something new all the time,

~However, if you show you prefer to eat the same snacks at each teaparty,

~and if you show to be uncomfortable or distressed at not being able to get your usual,

~Jervis will go out of his way to make sure that on each of his teaparties you get to have the same snacks,

~Of course he'll also include some new treats too because he himself can't eat the same thing all the time,

~but you definitely get to have your samefood at each teaparty,

~he always makes sure that you do, <3

~Also, if you have any specific safefood, Jervis always includes it on his teaparties,

~even if the food or drink is not that fit for a teaparty,

~Oh, and if you happen to not like some snack Jervis made because of the texture,

~then you won't see the snack on his teaparties ever again,

~that specific snack will be a taboo, ^^"

~Now another thing!

~Jervis likes to dress up for his teaparties,

~he really likes to look all fancy and wonderland like,

~and he would like that for you too,

~but again, if you have issues with wearing more fancy clothes due to them being uncomfortable or something,

~Jervis will be more understanding, and won't force you to dress up for him,

~he doesn't want you to get exhausted and distressed from wearing something that you do not like, ;^;

~After all, his teaparties are meant to be a pleasant experience for you where you can be yourself and feel happy,

~unlike how his teaparties work for others

~However, if you're willing to dress up for him, Jervis will be ecstatic,

~and if you don't have anything that would be that fit for the specific vibe Jervis craves so much,

~just ask him, cuz Jervis has so many costumes for that purpose,

~But don't worry!

~If you are sensitive to certain materials, and if you wouldn't find any good costume for your liking,

~then Jervis definitely would be up to getting you a custom outfit for his teaparties, only made of materials you can stand, <3

~Aaand here goes another thing!

~If you are sensitive to noise, Jervis makes sure that the teaparties are held in peace,

~he makes sure the place isn't loud, he himself talks gently and at a volume you can tolerate,

~he even controls his reactions a lot to make sure he won't startle you or anything,

~which can sometimes be a little hard for him, but he tries his best for you,

~oh, and his men are usually not allowed to be around either,

~they are usually ordered to be in a different room or something,

~and damn, if they ever disturb or are too loud and make you distressed...

~well, I'm sure you can imagine what happens... (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ

~However if you are the opposite and you like noise,

~then Jervis goes all out, he doesn't hold back,

~he talks at a slightly louder volume, he's expressive, enthusiastic, impulsive and if wanted, he lets some intense classical music (or maybe a different genre if you ask nice enough) be played in the background,

~and of course he lets you be as loud as you want, <3

~you can talks as loud as you please, you can make noise and stim, no shame, no holding back,

~and if you really are sensory seeking, you're allowed to touch anything that catches your interest,

~sometimes Jervis will even prepare random yet interesting decorations, wanting to see whether or not will that item catch your interest,

~Also if you like crunchy food, then Jervis makes sure you get as much of it as you'd like,

~if your sensory seeking makes you crave physical contact, you get all of it,

~you can sit close and lean on him, you can mess with his hands, trace his face,

~Jervi's favourite form of physical contact is holding your hand and squeezing it, ^^

~and if you like getting your hair brushed and played with, then that also happens a lot because that's the second form of physical contact Jervis simply adores,

~And probably the last thing,

~if you feel like talking, you can talk as much as you'd like,

~you can talk and talk about whatever you want, Jervis will listen intently,

~Jervia adores hearing you talk, especially about your special interest, no matter what it is,

~And just between you and me, Jervis will deliberately ask you questions regarding your special interest to get you to talk,

~and then he just sits back and watches you with a satisfied, loving smile as you go on and ramble his ears off,

~he loves it,

~And well, that's probably all I can say for now, ^^

~Well, how do I end this...

~Jervis really isn't a good man,

~but he tries to be his best self when he's with you,

~you mean so much to him,

~you're his greatest treasure, and he'll do anything to keep you around, ;^;

~I mean, he won't change who he is,

~but he definitely tries to be a slightly better man with you, <3

[caw4brandon]

The Magic of Potterverse Games

As a child who grew up watching the Harry Potter films. There's always this interest in wanting to be a part of the Potterverse. Something about the whimsical world that entrances us all to one day, join the hallowed halls and leave a mark on the universe and on Hogwarts itself.

So, with that said. Let's explore a more immersive side to the franchise that allows one to coexist in the universe with familiar faces to guide us as we navigate the world of Muggles and Wizardkind.

- There Once Was a Boy -

Destined to be a Star ~

Back when the movies came out, game developers tackled the interesting concept of doing magic like Harry Potter through the Harry Potter film-based games.

To make it short, see [Flatlife's - Evolution of Harry Potter Games] The games were made in a variety of ways. You play as Harry Potter, traversing around the grounds of Hogwarts. Solving puzzles, going to classes, and combat various foes.

Despite the fact that the graphics are simple and often seen as horrendous. The games as a whole, were considered a success. It laid the foundation for the desire to learn the skills of a wizard/witch and explore the school grounds. Applying the lessons in combat and winning the day as Harry Potter. But that left the question;

What if, instead of playing as Harry Potter. We play as our own self-insert character?

The good news is, becoming a Hogwarts student seems a lot more accessible with the mobile game <Harry Potter: Magic Awakened>

Of course, this isn't the first attempt in the Potterverse's history of self-insert games. In 2018, another mobile game <Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery> was released to the public as well as the highly anticipated console game <Hogwarts Legacy> released in 2023.

I think it's worth mentioning, regardless of your opinion towards JKR's views. The lasting effect of this franchise has raised a generation of fans and their love for magic.

- Welcome to the Dueling Room! -

As a film-only based fan of the franchise, I find that; NetEase, Avalanche, and Jam City managed to capture the wonders of using magic and being in Hogwarts. Due to the nature of the universe's magic system, the games used several ways to tackle the issue of using magic.

In Magic Awakened, the game uses a mana-point system that limits spell casting. The game also uses a Card Game base in which players can mix and match card types and upgrade for significant effects.

The cards come in a variety of references. From summons of popular magical creatures, famous props, and the spells themselves.

In Hogwarts Legacy, your spells are limited to what I like to call, a Hotkey Shortcut. By limiting the slots to four different abilities. Players can combine a limited set of spells in combat to deal with the more fast-paced nature of the game.

The game emphasizes the importance of using potions for that quick boost and custom clothes as additional cover. Because the game has a special condition/ finishers called "Ancient Magic" the player is encouraged to travel around and find unique upgrades to improve and build resilience. It's simple, quick, and also the most fun game to use magic.

In Hogwarts Mystery, the combat style is a lot slower and has a two-punch effect. The first part of the duel is decided by Aggressive, Defensive, and Sneaky moves. Similar to the Rock, Paper, and Scissors game. Which when won, allows the first strike.

After that, the player is given a list of spells with various effects. The spells can sometimes cause massive damage and sometimes even stun/skip opponents for one turn. Because Hogwarts Mystery is a decision-making game, it's often regarded as the weakest attempt at magic.

- Do you Like My Scarf? -

Magic spells aside, The game's respective story is awfully predictable and bland. From the little that I personally played and hear from the folks of the community. The three games did the safe thing by doing the <Fantastic Beasts> route.

They distance themselves to different eras of the Wizarding world's history. By the game's own description, Hogwarts Legacy is set decades before Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Following a special witch/wizard who enrolled at Hogwarts as a fifth year.

Hogwarts Mystery is set roughly a generation before Harry Potter. Making them seniors who just graduated when Harry just entered. Meanwhile, Magic Awakened is set after Harry Potter. Close to around the time when Harry, Ron, and Hermione's kids started their year at Hogwarts.

Each year deals with its own type danger. From a dark magic rebellion to a cursed student of a deranged sibling to whatever Magic Awakened was trying to do. (I'm a bit slow to that game)

My issue with these games is, there seems to be this tendency to make the MC a center piece to the story. While it is, after all surrounding the MC's life. I couldn't help but feel that as far as developments go. Nothing is interesting about the MC's canonical story.

The games are also wasted with issues of telling via dialogue but not showing via action. The drama of the story didn't feel as impactful. While the player's decisions can sometimes change the outcome. It is far from being as big of an influence as I thought it would.

As far as playing the game itself goes, I only played Hogwarts Mystery till year 4 and stopped out of boredom.

I am enjoying Magic Awakened so far since it doesn't make the MC take center stage but rather uses the side characters to put weight to the story and to the playable cards. Granted, I'm not as active.

That said, I am still looking at a lot of its interesting parts from an outside perspective. So I would very much like to hear a rebuttal.

- Return to Hogwarts, Join My Dorm! -

Back when I was still playing the game, I came across a few users who interact on social media as their own MCs. They would use screenshots of their characters and write a treasure trove's worth of lore and developments. Discuss their favorite crushes and build more lore upon their OCs.

Seeing the encouragement and love between users and their OCs, got me to start uprooting my HPHM character; Sadie mac Lir and interact with quite a few names in this community outside of the games.

But after realizing that the story is just not as rich as I'd imagine, Sadie transferred into the world of <Murder The Crow> following Hector Dagger, the story's original character, and was later added with Jamie Robyn who is now a placeholder in Magic Awakened.

In spite of the situation with JKR and some of the whispers of this fandom's dark side. The fandom is still going strong as ever. While I have distanced myself, I still linger with the friends I made along the way. Most come from an artistic perspective with their OCs and art in general. Some of them are just good conversationalists.

It felt like being in school again. To learn from one another, socialize among fellow housemates and discuss plans for the future and have fun little interactions. Being in cliques and enjoying the other bit of magic that is not in the games, friendship.

In conclusion, I think it's been a wonderful journey for Harry Potter's gaming side of the fandom. The games went from being Harry to becoming your own Harry. To forge your own path in a world that is rich with possibilities and build friendships in-game and out of the game that might last lifetimes.

For a fandom as big and equally as problematic as Harry Potter. The Potterverse games have proven that it truly is not our abilities that show who we truly are. But rather, it's our choices that make the significant change.

Thanks for Reading

- Caw4B -

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 11/28/2023

tuesday again no problem will be taking a break for the 12/12 edition (not next week but the one after)

listening

previously featured Os Mutantes, a countercultural brazilian rock group, is back bc i heard A Minha Menha on an instagram reel by @/ vintagepulps on a showcase of brazilian pulp magazine covers.

the SECOND that driving riff hit i experienced a brief moment of fuckor bc this is exactly and precisely the kind of song i like. this translation tells me it translates to My Girl. it's got moon/sun imagery. it's exactly the kind of song to drive around to in the summer while having an absolutely crippling crush on the person in the passenger seat. spotify

-

reading

you wouldn't download a woman...

TWICE

-

watching

I'm No Angel (1933, dir. Ruggles) a 1936 black comedy written by Mae West and starring the babiest Cary Grant you've ever seen. i added it to my letterboxed bc i saw screenshots of this one specific dress. that’s so much sideboob. good for her.

we don't use the term "adventuress" anymore to describe a woman who does various physical or social stunts to land a husband and i think that's a shame. Tira (yes) is a burlesque dancer and (separately) a lion tamer at a down on its luck circus, becomes famous through putting her head in a lion's mouth, and leverages that fame to fall in and out and back into love.

your enjoyment of this movie will hinge on your tolerance for astrologers, circuses with animals in them, and depictions of black housemaids that have not aged super well, even if they're mostly there to stroke her ego. i'm sort of torn on what rating this would get today-- i'm assuming R bc there's a woman expressing desire but nothing actually happens beyond kissing and some sitting in laps. some peril for the lions i guess?

i do not think this particularly nailed its landing, and i'm not totally sure why they got back together, but mae west in straight up burlesque and the shimmiest dresses you've ever seen is so much fun to watch it doesn't really matter. this is sort of sidelining the her very funny, extremely quotable script. apparently any movie she wasn't allowed to write or heavily doctor her own lines just completely flopped, which i also think is very funny.

just straight up on the internet archive

-

playing

triple header for Things That Came Out This Decade: Genshin Impact (September 2020), Deliver Us Mars (2023) and Gamedec (2021).

brief Genshin update: your main companion in the game, Paimon, the little fairy bitch, has been the recipient of some worrying foreshadowing lately. hey Paimon you wanna tell us anything???

Deliver Us Mars, free on Epic this week. i want to like this game. i think there should be more weird little eurojank original scifi B-franchises like this and you should be able to feed your family by making them. i do not want to continue playing this particular little franchise.

it's the second game by KeokeN (The Netherlands) and published by Wired Productions (UK, although they are partnered with Koch, which means they’ll be bought up soon), a studio of under 20 counting support staff (some of who are certainly part time or on hourly contracts) and an intern. after doing that basic background research i ratcheted my expectations back a couple notches and deleted a somewhat catty paragraph about video game hair.

this is a sequel to Deliver Us The Moon, which was a successful Kickstarter and Steam greenlight (TM (C) R) and it seems they spent the four interval years mostly polishing up the predecessor Deliver Us The Moon, which i do not own and do not plan on playing.

Deliver Us Mars bills itself as an action-adventure, but during my time with it, it was more of a cinematic movie/walking sim with extremely light puzzle/platform mechanics. there are extensive childhood flashbacks following a dad around as he trains his daughter to be an astronaut. the timing and insertion of these never quite clicked for me-- they take forever and they were never as interesting as what they interrupted.

this game is not good at signposting or tutorializing. i had to restart a chapter twice bc the unique controls popped up for a brief fleeting moment on screen and weren’t in the keybinding settings. i could never quite get the mouse and keyboard camera sensitivity right, and platforming/vertical elements seem to only be partially implemented: you can only really successfully approach certain segments from extremely specific dead-on angles. there are like three big boxes in your path that you have to clamber over at one point and i do not think it should take a solid minute and a half for me to get over them. some reviewers praised the lack of signposting during the launch sequence (causing you to frantically look around at a million unlabeled buttons and levers to see if any of them were highlighted as a thing you can click) as a fun way to ramp up stress but i fucking hated it.

after two and a half hours, and only just making it to a ship OUTSIDE mars, i decided there are other games in the world. this hits some sort of minimal viable story benchmark for me, i can see why some people love it, but i don’t want to find out what happens bad enough to play through a slow game that handles terribly and isn’t much fun to exist in.

does get points for big fuckoff dishes.

Gamedec is an isometric RPG, where you are a near-future private investigator who handles delicate personal matters inside wildly popular MMORPG VR games. unfortunately all the trailers suck shit.

this is catnip to me. i love a no-combat game where i have to walk around and talk to everyone and click on everything and write things down in a little notebook. i loooooooove being nosy. i've played through the first two and a half chapters (kinky second life, racketeering farmville, and real life uh oh) and i'm having a fucking marvelous time. the writing team clearly had a lot of fun, the VR game worlds feel very alive and vibrant-- there's a ton of possible weird little flavor interactions that go a very long way toward making me forget this is a limited-perspective isometric. this is like praising an RPG for doing what it says on the tin and being an RPG, but the most recent RPGs ive played have been fucking terrible. it's not shoehorning me into one-true or main-path choices. extremely forgiving of failure, which is good bc i straight up accidentally killed my first client. i know he was a kid but he kinda had it coming imo. sometimes kids just suck shit

im so delighted by this shitty little apartment-- it's got to be fucking bizarre to exist in, bc of the ultra-loft ceilings you need to make it be isometric, but it somehow manages to feel like a studio apartment and a seedy back office all at the same time. a game that is in general very fun to Look at. will have more thoughts as i continue playing but this is really scratching some sort of itch for me. commits to the bit. funny but sincere. a pastiche in ways i personally do not find annoying. has not hit me with like konami code style references yet. due to the fact this is also in my epic games store library i believe this was also free at some point

-

making

fallow week for me. phil has been regrowing skin at a good clip and i can no longer feel each individual vertebra, AND we have another vet appt on friday to get more/different antibiotic goop and all of her vaccinations and microchipping done. mack made a hairball and is getting put back on an actual wire slicker brush grooming schedule. my beautiful girl seems to have a particularly dense coat among the domestic shorthairs of my acquaintance, although that may be bc she is a new england girlie and we constantly exist in air conditioning?? mixed feelings about scheduled brushies from her, even with short and light sessions. we’ll get there.

helping.

[trillscienceofficer]

reverse unpopular opinion: Julian Bashir

Ha I knew I'd receive this ask.

Truth is, I actually like Julian. He's an honorable, deeply compassionate man. He takes his job seriously (as much as Trek permits—we all know how this franchise is with the medical profession, it's not Julian's fault) and he is principled to a fault.

I've come across a post recently that said that the ending of "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" is a cop out because Julian gets out of it unscathed. And well, I'm not going to fault OP of that post for having their own opinion but I can't imagine having an interpretation of that episode more diametrically opposite to mine. Julian, to me, is the character who, along with Benjamin Sisko, reflects more clearly with his actions and demeanor the mental and emotional state of the entire main cast. You see him change, being forced to reveal things about himself that he doesn't want to reveal, confront over and over his own limitations and expectations, and being deeply affected by all of it every time. I don't think Julian will ever be the same man he was before the events of "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"; to me that episode represents everything I like about him, and it's heartbreaking to see him realize that he will never live in a universe that could allow him to be the best version of himself, not even as a Starfleet officer.

Of course I love his friendship with Jadzia and Ezri both. The way I see these friendships is that he takes the side of the 'sensible' opinion with them just as much as both Jadzia and Ezri do for him (because oh boy does Dax sometimes need a rain check!). But I also like that it doesn't always have to be that deep, and that they're sometimes just horsing around (the 'it's a big step' scene in "Indiscretion" my beloved).

I love the way Julian and Kira's relationship evolves through the years. You can tell that after that initial terrible impression Kira developed a lot of respect for him, and for his part Julian immediately took to heart what she said to him in the pilot and tbqh I think he's one of the Starfleet characters who is most respectful of Bajoran culture & traditions. In all my various post-DS9 scenarios I always imagine them staying relatively close (professionally if not physically) and collaborating frequently even if I don't think Julian would remain on the station for very long after the end of the war.

[heroicgartist]

Caretaking Merchant (with a bit of Reader/Insert character x Merchant)

The Merchant is the best grandpa GILF figure of the Resident Evil franchise

Y/MN = Your Merchant's Name (Mine is Inigo/Mercado, full name Inigo Mercado XD, he/him they/them pronouns)

He/They would...

Take you under their stead without hesitation, apparently. Of course you and the mercado have a deal struck. You help out, and they carry your sorry bum on their backs. Helping out with arranging his cabinets of various wares ranging from foreign candy, collectible figurines, and GUNS. LOTS AND LOTS OF GUNS

Task you to polish his supply for the day. Y/MN ALWAYS explains how each gun, knife, tactical, lethal, first aid, ROCKET LAUNCHER? works and how it can be used in battle. You can't really keep up with all the details, but their giddy attitude as an expert for these tools makes you feel a fondness for them as if showing off their children to you. Makes you wonder how they know these things so well, but your mind might get into places that could think of him differently.

Be prepared for everything scenario possible somehow. It doesn't matter how bad your past is or what kind of problems you might be dealing with. Your problems mean nothing to him, nothing meaningful enough that they can't handle heh

Help you settle down. Sometimes you panic and cry underneath the pressure of your own life. The indigo colored flames and clothes are your escape from the world, sometimes you want to be wrapped underneath their darkness as if it is your new home. A new home that feels separate yet comfortable from the earth.

Despite their body somehow being cold blooded all the time, the moments they comfort touch you are the warmest moments you ever experienced. As their cold hand caresses your head, their cool presence lightens up harsh moments always "There there stranger. Ya don't need to be like this." "Sorry... Didn't want to be useless today... Again, I'm so sorry..." "Alright alright, you can 'ave a sickie. We don't need apologies mate, no worries for us amirite?" "Haha...! Yeah, thank you always... Y/MN" "Hah, ur always welcome to a sick day now and then heheheh!" he/they say as Y/MN ruffles your hair. Your eyes widen, with face blushing because Y/MN's chest boasted forward with a smile behind their masked face and closed eyes, as if they were proud of their own kindness at that moment.

Offer a massage in case you suffer from cramps or other strains on your body. It doesn't surprise you that they come prepared with Vicks, an ointment that people his/their age always have on their stock. Fittingly appropriate for someone cool as blue as Y/MN

Sometimes but rarely calls you pet names like sonny, sweetie, and god forbid he/they call you.... honey. Their crass rough voice has your knees weaken and rile you up into a red flare. At least before they sleazily laugh to themselves invigorating you to call them old man, creep, and cocky bastard. Which they are in the nicest way possible.

Offer you a chair to sit on whenever you're substituting temporarily. The reason why they don't sit is because they're a brilliant tryhard in maintaining the status quo of business for themselves. All trades are standing to him/them! Literally!

Whenever Y/MN does allow themselves to sit, he suddenly says in a demanding tone "Over 'ere stranger, closin shop for today. I know ya wanted a break, so don't dilly dally in cashing in ur vacation time hahahah!" as they beckon you to lay your head on their lap. Your eyes are mortified not because you don't want to, but because he was so nonchalant with his request. All your fears of handling their... personality disappear the moment that you look at his blue eyes, for some reason glowing a spec of orange you surrender yourself to their wanting moment of peace. Their body limps on the seat, breathing gravelly as he closes their eyes for a prompted nap.

You look up at his head, curious about what his face looks like, and what it is expressing, what mannerisms it may host. Your answer arrives the moment he suddenly snores, that they feel at peace with their inner secretive showing of happiness. But at the same time... their body laying still as a grave makes you afraid, afraid how your life would be without them. What you would be without them... Before those thoughts wander, Y/MN rest their arm on your neck, coughing and groaning before snoozing away your worries. Right... We don't need any worries right now