#you: 'i feel too lazy to write meta'

[lookingatacupoftea]

Too Many Layers?

Since the NG allegations (which I find very credible and disturbing and will not otherwise address in this post -- please see this roundup for more info and share to get the word out), I've been leaning more into fanworks and starting to let go of canon, particularly s2 and possible s3* canon.

I've also been taking a more critical eye to canon and revisiting my own interpretations of Good Omens the show. Here are the questions I've been rotating in my mind:

Can we trust NG to actually write a good ending for these beloved characters?

Is s2 more poorly written than I had previously acknowledged?

One of the most interesting things about Good Omens is the sheer number of themes and layers of text and subtext that it presents. I have been wont to think of these layers largely positively. Prior to recent events, I had repressed any fleeting concerns that this multiplicity of layers was so egregious as to be a weakness. But now I'm re-considering it.

In particular, the show presents heaven and hell in contradictory ways that are, in my opinion, the root of most of the vastly different takes. Is heaven Amazon or the KGB or the Catholic Church? Is hell better than, the same, or worse than heaven? Is being an angel or a demon a job, an identity, or both? I think you can see hints of all these possible interpretations in the show itself, and the ones you gravitate toward can dramatically change how you interpret the show and particularly Aziraphale's feelings and actions. Is this lack of clarity a purposeful mystery that will be resolved in s3, a reflection of the complexities of institutions and systems in the real world, or a sign of lazy writing?

I had thought my takes were right (don't we all?) because I thought I understood the purpose that drove NG and the smaller set of themes captured in the book that I thought were being expanded and tweaked but ultimately preserved in the TV show as a love letter to TP. (I recommend @nofomogirl's meta on the competing book and show canons, which does a very good job at capturing the discrepancies between them and the challenges one can have in integrating them).

But clearly NG is not the person I thought he was and so I feel much less certain than I did that I understand his purpose in GO the show. How far has he strayed from the characters and themes in the book? How much has he elevated his self-insert character, Crowley, over Aziraphale? To what extent is the TV show, especially s2, overstuffed with layers and themes and clues in order to appeal to as wide an audience as possible? To what extent are flaws in the writing papered over by the top-notch acting and dedication to detail shown by the crew? Will an NG-authored s3 effectively narrow and focus and resolve some of these contradictory layers or will it continue to be a bit of a (beautiful) mess?

I don't have an answer. On the one hand, all of these layers and subtexts make the show a fascinating one for analysis and a great jumping-off point for fanworks. On the other hand, maybe a show can be too packed with themes and texts and allusions, to the extent that it sacrifices clarity.

*I respect a variety of perspectives on the topic of whether there should be a s3 and, if so, whether one should watch it. This post isn't really about and I'd rather not debate it here. Here is one petition calling for NG's removal as GO showrunner and another calling for more investigation and for companies to pull back on working with him. I believe there are also plans in the works for a fandom fundraiser to support survivors of sexual violence.

[monstersinthecosmos]

but now the cosmos crawls with monsters

KACY. 30s. She/They.

This blog contains adult content, please do not follow if you are a minor.

hi friends! I'm Kacy, I write fanfiction! I like ducks and heavy metal! I mostly use this space to talk about The Vampire Chronicles, but I also like Sheith, and horror films, and kink theory! I am an asexual porn writer and I'm obsessed with Marius!

LINKS

AO3 - I am monstersinthecosmos on AO3, I write porn about VC, Sheith, and sometimes YOI!

Bsky - kacycarr on bsky - you will find mostly Sheithing here!

Ko-Fi - feel free to buy me a coffee if you like my fics! I have some fics available for purchase in digital download and paperback! I will also invite you to check out projects I created & co-mod called @vamptember (vampire prompts during the month of September!) and @priapus-at-the-gate (the VC Kink Meme!) VC STUFF!

I mostly use this space to talk about VC since the fandom is either dead or toxic as fuck on other platforms. I've been into VC since like THE YEAR 2000 LOL. I had fics that got taken down in the FFnet purge! Ancient! Marius is my favorite character and I'm more partial to Marius subplots/timelines. I'm also really into the Devil's Minion and Trinity Gate! I'm super into whatever the fuck was going on with Marius & Daniel! I could talk about Armand all fucking day! Pandora is my hero! Please expect posts about these things! I didn't love the AMC adaptation so I don't talk about it very often, because I try to focus on stuff I enjoy. ♡ TAGS

#stuff i wrote - IT'S FOR STUFF I WROTE. contains fics and discussion of fics. if they're very short they might only be on Tumblr and not on AO3.

#deep ass thoughts about vampires - my meta tag, sorry I came up with the name while I was stoned back in 2016 and I'm too lazy to change it :)

#trauma hole theory - if you want even DEEPER ass thoughts about vampires, this is where I park thoughts related to "do vampires have neuroplasticity?" and "would therapy even work on them?" #asexual vc - I don't really shut the fuck up about vampires being asexual so if you wanna hear about it CLICK HERE

#simple italian perv - MISC SMUTTY THOUGHTS to keep the rent low lol if you're new here I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me

#the skateboard of shakespeare - I visited Tulane last year and documented a ton of info from the Anne Rice collection! I use this tag when I share! #vampire chronicles- for book stuff!

#vampire pajama party on amc - this is my tag for the AMC show; I'm not a big fan of it so please feel free to mute if you don't want to see salt posts. (I have a second, even saltier tag called #the rolin jonestown massacre if you want to mute that one as well!)

#devils minion girlies - STILL WORKING HARD TO POPULATE THIS TAG but if you like thinking about Armand & Daniel as lesbians please see this tag. #unethical marius - I've been really obsessed lately with thinking about an AU where Marius is an unethical therapist LOLLL please feel free to peruse or mute as needed. #vampire music - I have like a ND relationship to music and I love sharing it even if no one else cares and taste is subjective but if you ever want vampirey music recs they will be here :D #fandom lolitics - I try not to share too much discourse & drama but it's here if you want to mute it! #vcficfriday - when I have time & remember to I like to share fics I've read on Fridays!!!! Please feel free to use this tag in your own blog as well, to build up fic writers!

I THINK THAT COVERS IT, FELLAS, please be kind to each other and don't be shy to send me asks if you have any questions!

[fair-city-reporter]

Commemorating the Anniversary

Well, this blog was made just in time for the Wordgirl Anniversary - even if it was almost entirely by accident. The series premiered 17 years ago (excluding the shorts-) on September 3, 2007 and while I hardly remember the original shorts - let alone the first episodes, I returned to it just now and with the anniversary at the eyes of its adoring fans.

If anything, Wordgirl changed me in a way I can't describe. Everything started with Randy Cunningham, and the return to my beloved Secret Quartet but now Wordgirl has become a show dear to my heart. Not only is it an educational program with an amazing cast of characters - but because there's so much more it could be. Wordgirl has a lot of deeper episodes, shining brightly against its usual more comedic, lighthearted approach.

I can't thank enough how much being part of the community, being part of the fandom, has made me a lot happier. I've yet to see much toxicity and let's hope it stays that way but to move onto something fun for this post - I'm going to be posting headcanons and lore ideas here, the same way I did when I first joined Randy Cunningham.

I hope you enjoy the show!

WORDGIRL HEADCANONS

💫 Becky Botsford 'presents' herself as Afro-Latina, much like the rest of her adoptive family. Though she is alien, I have this distinct feeling there's some cloaking thing going on (because I am also very much for a separate headcanon I will talk about shortly-)

💫 She met Violet Heaslip when they were still in preschool and became inseparable ever since.

💫 Due to the connections with Superman, Becky can heal faster than the average human; she can still scar, of course but she won't easily be killed by normal means. What this means for when it comes to Lexonite - we'll get to that later!

💫 Her first crush wasn't Scoops! It was Violet, but Becky didn't seem to pick up on it - as she didn't have a concept of the word back then, at least not fully, and well - she dismissed it for something else. Personally, I don't think she cares about giving her sexuality a label. It just exists!

💫 She craves validation but she doesn't want to be arrogant. I know canon seems to treat this a little weirdly; though I like to see it as her wanting to be seen, as more than just Wordgirl and after all - heroes should get their recognition for protecting their city which is more than can be said for Fair City!

💫 I love the idea that the Botsford's always suspected there was something special about Becky, but they never brought it up - not wanting her to feel cornered.

💫 Becky and Violet are often partners in projects. Where Violet's more artistic, Becky works on making sure it's presentable and other notecards where her writing excels.

💫 Fair City cannot possibly be that dumb, but then again - it is an educational show. Even then, they make me mad though I can rant about that in a meta post; for now, here''s the headcanon: featured words have to happen in the episode, and so there's a bit of 'programming' where they need to ask in order for Wordgirl to define it!

💫 Divorced McAllister parents moment!

💫 Literally most of the cast is neurodivergent. I don't make the rules (except I do /lh-). This is canon now!

💫 You cannot sit here and tell me that Lexicon doesn't know Becky went missing from the planet. So either they know and don't care; or they know... and she's just too far away for them to reach her. (or there's the angstier approach where something happened to the planet, but that isn't supported by canon so-)

💫 Not all of the characters can break the fourth wall. This is something only attributed to Becky and some of the leads; others can talk with the Narrator, but they don't have direct communication with the viewers, or anything like that!

💫 Adoptive villain family supporter here-

I have a lot more, but these are the ones I'm starting with, because I am very lazy- and well, this post has gotten incredibly big. Also additional headcanon that since the series is educational, other planets exist based on school subjects! Loosely supported by the appearance of Kid Math, though honestly he should've had more episodes-

Lore thoughts will be posted separately as I realize this has gotten incredibly big, but I am just bouncing off of the walls - Wordgirl is my pride and joy right now, even if I love to angst anything I get my paws on! Without much further ado though, I leave you!

Happy Wordgirl anniversary, to the many years to come - and well, to the prosperity of this blog because I am very much not done yet!

[i-just-want-to-destroy]

the last chapter for walking study in demonology was CRAZYYY im so happy you updated. im so curious about what your thought process in writing it and if youre willing to share?? you dont have to if you dont want to btw! but in any case thank u so muchhh

hey thank you! appreciate it

okay super long answer below

honestly this one was difficult. idk if its bc its been a while since i write fics from scratch so i might have forgotten how difficult the whole thing is, but this one was tough. ch 8 wasnt from scratch tho cos i had the drafts since like 2022 or smthg lol

ik the formatting is non conventional in ch 8 and i was aware that itd be hard to read for some people. but i do think abt the readers often when i write.. mainly not what the readers want in terms of storyline (altho ofc i consider this too sometimes lol) but what the reading experience will be like for them.

i.e consider if id written the chapter in a linear, traditional way and narrated the confrontation between 1-A and LoV (or even other wackier “Villains” like godzilla and invading aliens or whatever). the truth is, although def easier to read, that version will be very boring.

(i know bc i tried and scrapped those versions.)

(im sure a better writer can write it interestingly but i am not a better writer.)

the thing w writing these traditional fight scenes is tht im sure — im 1000% positive in fact — that the readers have read it before. there r literally thousands and thousands of bnha fics out there with great fight scenes, on top of the actual manga, where youve read these characters fight their assorted villains. why would i make you read that again, esp when i know i cant do it better? i already know the readers r just gonna skim the chapter if thats the case. ive been a reader, ik what fic fatigue is like — esp with bnha when everythings been rehashed infinity times in infinity different ways.

same thing also applies with even the “metaness” of the fic itself.

i dont want the fic to come off like its talking down to readers, whom i believe alrdy have the instinctual knowledge of what the fic is trying to do. im willing to bet tht the readers have read something similar to this before, like multiverses n time loop n meta stuff, also cosmic horror. i still end up narrating some things even though often i feel im being too explanatory. i jst feel like the readers will know what im talking abt by virtue of their familiarity to the tropes involved.

therefore the least i can do is serve it in an interesting way, aka the fuckass formatting. like although the tropes im doing r done so many times before, at the very least i cld let the readers hopefully have fun by piecing it together puzzle-style with the fragmented formats — so its more of an experience thing rather than jst a lore dump. i dont like lore dumps, they can be condescending.

demonology def doesnt succeed in avoiding that however. in fact its fallen to that exact trap. ch 4 and 6, those r very lore-dumpy. i tried to make it fun w the humor dialogue style but its not perfect. i know tht by ch 8 that tricks alrdy old, and the readers have all the puzzle pieces at this point anyway so itd be even more repetitive than it alrdy is. even so i still feel im being too explanatory esp with the emotional arcs but thats a skill issue on my part

overall i feel demon can be more oblique and “elegant” in its mechanics.

but anyway, it IS crack… it was never meant to promise intelligence, least of all eloquence lmfao. its never meant to be taken seriously.

of course, at this point u can tell that i actually am taking it pretty seriously LOL. i never meant to write meta fiction. i have some gripes w it, namely that i feel meta fiction is used by weaker writers as a storytelling crutch n it can come off as lazy — demon is guilty of this too. but now that i end up writing meta fiction, i might as well fucking commit and try to push it as crazy as i can. if its not gonna be good, at least it can be interesting, or weird.

blah blah im yapping. point is, ik the end product might look very “random” and pastiche as if i was jst doing whatever i wanted … which, true … but it went thru a lot of trials and errors until this final version. you would not believe the amount of time ive rewritten this chapter, due to all those ^ considerations.

however i always knew i was going to start ch8 with the classic mary sue “fanfiction” — that segment was written a long time ago like in 2022/2023?? and mostly stayed unedited since, unlike the rest of the fic which i stripped and repainted and restripped again lol

ok thanks for reading abt my wack anime crack fic writing process that, again, shld not be taken seriously. i will admit however that i do put a lot of effort n heart into it so i cannot pretend i am aloof and disaffected. id be lying if i say its been easy. i consider it a miracle i updated at all. i keep saying its not meant to be taken serious but if i managed to make it even a little bit meaningful, id be very happy.

ah also. bnha ending actually forced me to scrap a lot of things too. but it kinda ends up for the better, maybe.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

November Creator of the Month: Lizzybeth1986

Each month CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers, and this month’s writer of the month is @lizzybeth1986 We hope you will enjoy learning more about them and their work below! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog: Blog Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr?

Lizzy, absolutely 😁

*Center art by @sazanes

More below...

When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played?

I started playing mid 2017, I think. I played the flagship books (TF, TCaTF, MW), and def preferred TF at the time.

When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I joined the Tumblr fandom in 2017, around the time of the TRR finale. Mostly because the Liam hate at the time was intense and I wanted to write metas about why Liam was, in fact, not “a dick who betrayed the MC” 😂

I did have a Tumblr account before that (made it in 2015 to follow Bollywood film posts), but never actually used it.

How did you pick your blog name?

I was lazy af so it was my middle name plus my birth year haha

Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it! 

I started out with a couple reblogs, but my first actual post was about the romance points mechanism in TRR1. There was a point in the middle of the book where one nice word to Drake would give you an automatic romance point, and I was like, “Huh??? Either treat him like shit or risk him catching feels for me? Is that how it is???”. Thankfully, that stopped after two chapters. After that, I did an essay series analyzing Liam’s actions in the finale called “The Crown, The King and The Flame.” Romance Points Post The Crown and the Flame

How long have you been writing fanfiction?

Almost 6 years now! I started doing Liam fics around the beginning of TRR2.

What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to write about?

I’m the most invested in TRR and PM, but between the two I’d probably say PM is my fave book overall. But yeah, my favourite book to write about would be TRR, because Liam, Hana and Kiara are such fantastic characters to write about! (Hayden and Sloane, too, but I’m still in the process of getting comfortable writing them).

Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were writing it today?

It was Keychains, my two part fic series featuring my MC and Liam. It was set around the time the MC was waiting in the airport in TRR2, just before Maxwell and Bertrand intervene. It had a follow up with Liam’s PoV too.

I really like it. It included some really good hc’s I made at the time, like Esther buying an apple keychain to represent Cordonia at the same time, and Liam calling her his wife in Greek and Esther not realizing what the phrase meant. I thought the pathos and slight humour was quite well-done. I can’t think of much I would want to change in the story.

Keychains 1 Keychains 2

What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

As a series – Eleanor’s Kitchen! It’s ongoing, and it’s a joy to write. I love exploring food from a cultural lens, and since Cordonia was a fictional country, I could explore a variety of ethnicities and food cultures. Liam had a literal diamond scene that explored gastrodiplomacy, and I wanted to explore his childhood and Eleanor’s friendships too.

Individually – I would say my Kiara fic “An Ear to the Ground”. Kiara is a delightful character and exploring the social season through her eyes was a real journey! I also love “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” which explores the early days of the Sloane & Hayden friendship. I used asterisms and constellations to symbolize moments in their friendship.

Eleanor's Kitchen An Ear to the Ground The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be but found could use a little more love?

Cordonian Waltz was definitely a surprise in terms of reception!! It was written in the style of headcanons I was seeing at the time, and I wrote it in second person. It became my most widely-read fanfic very fast, and every once in a while it would experience a major surge in readership. I enjoyed writing it and thought it was a lovely, romantic piece, but I really wasn’t expecting it to finally have 250+ reblogs out of it, and people coming and telling me this was the fic that got them into Liam x MC in the first place. I find that deeply gratifying 😍

There’s a lot of fics that I feel need more engagement and appreciation, but I can understand that those characters also don’t exactly get much of an audience. My entire PM set comes under this category; they typically get low readership. I think my Hana and Kiara fics too could do with more of an audience.

@twinkleallnight once told me that when she reads my stuff, she usually takes a long time just to ruminate on the story, and I like to believe that often, that’s why the engagement isn’t always immediate. Which I like too!! I like that some of my stuff can make people stop and think, and I like to believe that over time, the work will have its own impact.

Cordonian Waltz PM Set

If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Probably fluff but with a lot of observation and sometimes somber reflections. I’m not that great with angst…and I’ve never actually tried smut? But maybe one day 😄

Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

Yes! Some of my MCs are v different from me but I always incorporate something from my life experiences in them. Like Esther taking photos of the sunset or Basil not being science oriented but still having an interest in space.

Character wise I find I put a lot of myself into a lot of the characters I write. Notably, Liam, Hana, Kiara, certain Haydens and Sloane. Liam’s love for learning, different aspects of Hana and Kiara’s experiences as queer women, Sloane’s experiences as a neurodivergent woman, and especially my Scholar!Hayden’s (Iris) observations. I tend to incorporate a lot of my feelings and experiences more into certain canonical characters than in MCs.

What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Dialogue, I think. Especially when it’s a character I don’t relate to that much. But also sometimes when it’s a character I love but am only starting to write because then I really overthink it!

Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

Hmm…probably neglected wouldn’t be the word I’d use…I just take a very long time to kickstart them 😂

But yeah, definitely my Petals and Thornes series? That’s the fic series I’m doing for Hana x Kiara, that is supposed to explore TRR2 and 3 from their PoV (with significant changes). So far I’ve only been able to do some one-shots and hcs in that universe, but I do want to start the actual series soon!

I have some essay series’ I’d love to work on too! My Hana essay series which has two essays left, The Hayden Young Project, and a possible series on the alternative Lis of TRR!

Petals and Thornes Hana Lee: A Study in Erasure

If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

Hmm. A few people have asked me, actually, and while I’m not fully opposed to showing them I’ll probably take some time before I do show my work. I’ll probably overthink how much will be understandable to a reader who doesn’t have the context of the source, and what they may not understand.

What to show them first? I’m not sure! Maybe the smaller ones first, like Cordonian Waltz. Or my RCD fic Snowstorms, because it doesn’t have more than 2-3 canon characters featuring and I do talk a little about being a closeted queer teen figuring out their sexuality through cinema, which is an overall relatable experience to some! Snowstorms

Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing?

In my early years I used to emulate Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s style. Much of her work that I read as a teen was pretty flowery, sometimes bordering on purple prose, and I really loved that style and tried to go that way. But now I think a variety of writers from different genres inform my writing. In terms of published authors, Jhumpa Lahiri, Helen Hoang, and non-fiction ones like Rukmini Pande, Ruby Hammad and Mikki Kendall.

In Choices fic, @callmetippytumbles for sure – a lot of the questions she was tackling with her MC in her Home series served as inspiration for some of the ideas I’ve been having in mind for Petals and Thornes. @thefirstcourtesan is a great writing buddy to have, too, and she has a knack for saying a lot in very few words! There’s also my amazing group of friends (shoutout to @cassiopeiacorvus, @thecapturedafrique, @mand-delemonde, and @beyonceswigs, as well as @twinkleallnight , @dcbbw @mariemarieohcontrary , @choicesfrog, @grapecaseschoices and @ohsnapitzlovehacker…the discussions are so good and leave some much to think about afterward 💖💖). All these discussions ALWAYS fuel my ideas and make me think out of the box.

I’ve also recently started writing polyamorous characters and relationships, and @angelasscribbles stories and resources have been such a great help in navigating that!

Home

@angelasscribbles Poly Resources

Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series?

Haha! I’ve not even started the proper series yet but I think Petals and Thornes? But besides that maybe Eleanor’s Kitchen may work as a series idk 😄

Do you write original fiction?

I do try! I’ve done a few short stories but before I started fanfic, I did a lot of spoken word poetry and that was fun.

What other hobbies do you have?

Reading, watching video essays, spending months on hyperfixations 😂 and a little cooking. My kid’s gotten into craft recently and has succeeded in taking me down that rabbit hole too haha.

I used to be into making fruit wines but have gotten inconsistent with that over the years.

What’s your favorite emoji?

Because I have a huuuge thing for nerds – this one: 🤓

BONUS – tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

A story my mum often tells about how I got into writing, began with some good old-fashioned sibling rivalry. Apparently as a child I was notorious for writing things on the walls of our house. One day my older brother got a hardbound royal-blue covered notebook to write in, with gold lettering on the cover…and I got instantly jealous that I didn’t get one (I was 6 or 7 and already fond of telling stories). When I complained my mum made me a deal – she would get me the same notebook…IF I stopped writing on the walls and began writing in that instead 😂 It worked. My mother is a smart woman.

I love spoilers!! I will read the end of a novel I’m reading and then go back and read the rest. Sometimes I even read books all the way backwards lol.

I love romance, and my favorite tropes include second-chance romance and mutual pining while believing the other person will never love you back! Because, at heart, I’m a dramatic bitch.

[spiteful-crow]

Ok, but Jon? I can't be the only one who has noticed that he sounds pretty insecure in his diary whenever he is frustrated or generally not happy with the situation. I think it's worth mentioning because I feel it's an aspect of Jon, which rarely gets addressed. So imma address it now with these examples from the diary:

Sherlock knows I hate the time spent tediously scanning papers. I am certain he could do it faster. Is he trying to avoid me?

Sherry was supposed to help with my writing! He doesn't normally ignore me. Does he think I should get a 'real' job?

It only would have taken a couple of minutes to examine that sailor. Why didn't Sherry have a look? Is it because it wasn't his idea?

Recreating that last scene was torture. Sherlock knows I cannot do it by myself! Was he trying to make fun of me?

Did Sherlock even hear what I was saying? He seemed so distracted. None of his suggestions made sense.

Sherry just recalled the day we moved to the manor! The memories are coming back, but I feel unsettled. Am I getting old?

So what was the point telling him about our tree? Now Sherlock doesn't want to remember our childhood adventures? Then why are we here?

His Royal Highness Sherlock Holmes, the Great and Lazy, did not deign to fulfil my humble request. I should know better than to ask.

This is not gonna be some detailed meta, but things like "Is he even listening?", "Is he avoiding me?", "Is he making fun of me?", they make Jon feel so human. Because these are thoughts most of us have, but most of the time, he isn't the kind of a person you'd describe as anxious, at least not if you only focus on his endless enthusiasm and cheerfulness he displays.

Yet even something as small as spending too long in the archives makes him think Sherlock is doing it on purpose to avoid him and... it just makes me think that Jon, being Sherlock's other half, also pretty much carries Sherlock's insecurities as well.

Only, Jon puts it into words. He doesn't mind being vulnerable and speaking about his feelings when they are hurt. I think Sherlock is aware how easily Jon feels insecure about stuff, and he pretty much tries to intervene before such feelings arise. Hence this scene

I have said it so many times, but this scene sums their relationship up so perfectly! It's my favourite interaction of them. Sherlock is aware Jon hates being invisible because it makes him feel like less than real people (remember the Theatre memory and Jon's bitterness about it). But Sherlock can't really help Jon, Jon's nature can't be changed. The only thing Sherlock can do for Jon is to pay attention to him and to let him know that he is appreciated. There is a lot of banter between them and they even have a fight or two, but never does Sherlock imply that Jon is unwelcome or unwanted (until the end, that is, but that's a topic I won't address today💀). It's because Sherlock knows it doesn't take a lot for Jon to start to question his position in Sherlock's life and feel insecure about it. Jon depends on Sherlock's will entirely, and it's a sucky position to be in, and Sherlock acknowledges it and does the only thing he can to make it easier for Jon - he treats him with care and compassion.

[parentsday]

I once saw someone say that after Parents Day (the episode, not you), they never really touched on Max’s familial situation again. And while I agree that episodes like With Friends Like These could have paid a little lip service to it (why David just sent Max back home to what he knew were neglectful parents is beyond me, maybe he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it?), it feels to me like one of those things where once you know about it, you start seeing the character in a whole new light. Like you see what Max does in older and newer episodes and you rationalize it as “Oh, I see, he acts that way because his parents neglect him. Stuff like him not knowing how to swim or having a teddy bear when he’s theoretically too old for one.

i agree with you on many of your points and disagree heavily on the use of them you make later on. to start off max is an incredibly dear character to me, like painfully so. if i had the chance to i would love to dissect his head like one of a frog in a lab and see what makes his brain tick in ways it does, and of course one of the reasons is the abstract emotional state of mind any victim like him would have. one that sometimes gets more kafkaesque the longer i stare at him. so please bear in mind that i love the subtext his character possesses, i just can’t always rely on it to explain anything.

if you know me you know i like to complain about this shows writing, not out of hate for it but rather out of love for the material and what it started off as and has ability to be still (stuff like heavier writing that holds narrative weight, david being an asshole, the whole harrison thing that is lost to time now etc etc). whenever i watch this show with someone i usually opt to rewatch several earlier episodes after we finish parents day. it gets praised a lot but i don’t often see people mention how well it recontextualizes a lot of stuff previously shown to us, not only for max but other cast members too. a lot of the problems that stem from this is the fact that most other characters whose issues were presented to us in this episode are strawman connected to their family by the writers in a way that laters on allows for progress without relying on mention or presence of their parental figures (proper examples of this are preston, ered, nerris, somewhat harrison). max doesn’t get that simply by the virtue of the fact that his issues cannot exist in a vacuum and are inherently connected to his family. max’s parents haunting all of the narrative surrounding him has enough psychoanalytical subtext for it to traumatize several men and leave freud rolling in his grave, so i believe that you cannot in good faith progress his character without mentioning them or their actions or lack thereof towards him once or twice. that’s pretty much why i think that the topic of his abuse has not been brought up in a meaningful way since parents day. from where i stand i view abuse as one of the focus themes in this show, so poor treatment of it is very obvious to pin point to me as it usually drags most characters down with it the less it is respected in a way it should be.

like i said, the way the show recontextualizes max’s behavior leaves way for interpretation of the viewer on the way why he is the way he is, it’s easy for us to understand why he can’t swim or why he can’t fathom the idea of moving on and letting go on several occasions. the thing is in a perfect world we don’t have to do all of this. it can be attributed to good writing for making the audience be able to perceive any part of the characters psyche without the authors help, but in reality it’s lazy to expect everyone to treat the characters from a watsonian perspective and view their every move as a meta reference towards their trauma when not everyone cares enough to do so. the writer referencing child abuse and not adding onto it aside from the mention of its existence is exploitative of the viewers personal care for the character, it’s bad writing. you obviously can interpret what max does as a result of neglect (and you should!) with the power of subtext, implications and critical thinking, but what you also should think about is what does it tell you about his character aside from the fact that he is neglected. do we ever find out something new about his home situation or do scenes like these give us any discussion inside the show about the fact that he is still actively a victim of neglect? (the answer is most always gonna be no, maybe just always)

tldr; stuff like child abuse is heavy, writing it is hard and treating it the way rooster teeth does is not only poor writing but also disrespectful to the very real human trauma they are inserting into their show on more than one occasion

i would also love to discuss the david stuff you brought up and why him acting towards max and others in a way that he does in recent seasons is a long standing issue rather than a new problem but thats genuinely a conversation for another day as this post is already long enough as it is. thank you for the ask :3c

[slitheringghost]

🤍, for a fic or meta, 🎈for the writing asks game!

🤍 what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

For fic, that has to be Secrets (Cellar Door). I worked in some Tom and Lily connections that I doubt anyone noticed because they were subtle and obviously no one thinks about them like I do LOL.

This fic leads up to Tom about to practice unsupported flight on the cliffs, which I see as an innate ability he trained, the same as Lily's childhood flight in the Prince's Tale. Here are some other parallels I included:

At the end of the longest corridor of all, there were cardboard boxes and old furniture - a small wooden table with a small wooden chair - piled up against the wall, and behind them was a doorway to another world. He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand... and there she stood, the child in her arms. (DH) They’d been closely monitored during the day by Mrs. Cole, her beady eyes narrowed at him with suspicion as always - telling him not to wander away from the rest of the group, not to stray from the well worn paths countless other shoes had tread on. If she wanted them to stay in bounds, what did she take them on an outing for, anyway? “Lily, don’t do it!” shrieked the elder of the two. But the girl had let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally flown, launched herself skyward with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly. “Mummy told you not to!” Petunia stopped her swing by dragging the heels of her sandals on the ground, making a crunching, grinding sound, then leapt up, hands on hips. “Mummy said you weren’t allowed, Lily!” (DH)

Then this line was a reference to the prophecy line “as the seventh month dies”:

Underneath the star-strewn sky, as July was dying and August was blossoming into life

Which was meant to imply my theory that Voldemort chose Harry over Neville because he saw himself in Lily, not Harry (who at that point was a 2 month old infant with no personality yet and a completely different kind of half-blood to Tom Riddle with a life that wouldn't have resembled Tom's in the slightest, lol - their important similarities come after and because of the events of 1981. I'll put this into a meta eventually).

For meta, it's hard to tell if people are getting my metas since many of them don't have reblogs with tags commenting on them or anything. Maybe this one about Voldemort seeing Harry as a member of the Gaunt family since it's not a common take? Or my Cain and Abel metas part 1 and part 2, I got some responses including yours indicating that people understood it, but I feel like I did not organize those metas coherently lmao.

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

I got this one comment on settle our bones that said "You have a brilliant way of placing sentences together that makes them hit even harder!" which I'm going to put as my answer because idk how to describe it really. My style is also pretty fixed.

[verycharismaticdragon]

17, for the ask game? 👀

*for svsss

[ there should be more of this type of fic/art ]

(funny as hell that this came right when i started to compose the previous answer btw)

Oh I have a LIST:

Binghe POV. There's simply. not. enough.

Sopping wet cat Bing-ge as previously mentioned

Whoever actually explores assault survivor Bing-ge in fic will have my entire soul fr fr

Literally anything that would capitalize on the conflict (lit analysis meaning) built into SQQ and LQG's relationship - that one of them treats it as a regular friendship and the other as an epic xianxia bromance (at the very least). I think it would be cool if LQG was given more role than just "a loyal guy with unrequited feelings" from time to time. And I would be especially interested in the iteration where LQG's feelings are entirely platonic and still this intense.

Less pressing than previous because I've actually seen a fic referencing it, but a similar situation in cucumber/plane friendship, where SQQ unquestioningly takes SQH as an ally based on their shared background, but SQH is actually. not at all more loyal to him than to anyone else? Like he'll help, but he'll also sell him out without suffering much guilty conscience too. I think it's a fun discrepancy!

Explore SY!SQQ projecting his older siblings feelings onto YQY. (In more detail than canon does, because this is literally. canon. I've been rereading and there are at least two lines referencing this in early chapters.)

Anything about the parallels between ZZL's loyalty to SQQ and SQQ's loyalty to LBH. I might write meta about this myself one day, but I wish someone else did, I'm lazy okay. The tldr is that in both relationships one person's loyalty hurts rather than helps the other, ultimately because they are trying to do what they think is right for the other without understanding them first.

Shen Yuan's family, esp in reverse transmigration or Bing-ge comes to modern world fics. This is clearly something that shaped SY's character a lot and I think you could get a lot of fun interaction out of it.

For fics that have both Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan without them being siblings: more SY being a bitch to the guy who was mean to his blorbo. Not necessarily for the entire fic, but I think shen vs. shen dynamic is vastly underrepresented, we gotta get onto that. (Also a bit of an aside, but I've seen the idea in fic that SJ is much more powerful than SY as a cultivator, and that... listen, while I agree that SJ would have the benefit of experience, I feel this kinda ignores the fact that SY fixed SQQ's damaged cultivation in several months - before being nerfed by Without a Cure for his efforts, ofc, but still, this implies some level of talent.)

Oh, and last but not least: fics that would explore Binghe's love for SQQ being complicated and not-unfaltering. I tried to imply that a bit in Transmigrator Time Traveler, but I would love a more direct look from someone with more love for angst than me, maybe.

[pap03]

This is a nighttime (3AM) ramble so excuse the bad from that

But Noelle’s post here confuses me

Because she didn't write out a Valentine's Day card, she (likely just) repurposed a Family Christmas card to give out

Y'know, like the ones you produce hundreds of to send out to your never-will-meet relatives every Christmas

Something that's been pointed out to me as uncharacteristically lazy of her

You'd think that she'd want to hand out these gifts of appreciation to her classmates, like say Kris who is probably the lens which we're reading the Deltarune's characters cards through

Yet instead she just takes an unmailed Christmas Card and hands it out

While fitting of her whole Christmas shtick, she just doesn't seem the type to not at least write "Happy Valentine's Day" over "Happy Holidays!"

Which got me thinking why?

Why would she disregard this particular holiday?

My knee-jerk reaction is Susie, she doesn't give a shit about her other classmates receiving something small like a nice card because that means diverting her efforts from Susie

And while that lines up with her in-game motivations alright... it still feels awfully mean or uncaring of her

It's not like she completely disregards Kris during The Newest Girl Girl (just mostly given the whole "I wish they'd let us switch spots so I can be the one bullied" thing) so even then it's hard for me to fathom why she wouldn't write out a letter

So my next, and current opinion is that Noelle may have some issues with this time of year, Dess's name being a whole month, Christmas being over, the cold (although that one could be a comfort, she has yet to clarify)

All of which contributing to make it hard to apply herself in general, let alone to cards that people aren't gonna care the most about for a holiday she currently doesn't care all that much for, minus maybe the excuse to approach Susie, but we all know she's been keeping her eyes on that Dragon Tail prize regardless of upcoming Holidays

Now the Meta Reason why Noelle doesn't really write an entry is because none of the Lightner Main Characters write one, Susie hijacks like a sentence of one of Ralsei’s, and Kris doesn't write any, so if Noelle wrote one it'd be too obvious shipping food for one ship and hell'd break loose/giving us an idea on how Noelle actually feels about another character might be a spoiler, just like if any of the other Main Characters wrote to another it may be a spoiler

Regardless I'm open to thoughts, lemme hear what yall have to say

[thesoftboiledegg]

Overall, Full Meta Jackrick was decent. I liked it. It's not a personal favorite, but I won't mind it when I eventually rewatch the series. I just had the same problem with this episode that I did with the previous installment, Never Ricking Morty: it's not bad, but it's just...there? Meta episodes don't go anywhere because they CAN'T go anywhere. They're just twenty minutes of "Check it out, we're characters in a TV show!"

Still, I think this episode did a decent job of leaning into the meta without ruining the show. I was a little worried that Morty would realize that he's in a TV show and the entire universe would fall apart as he and Rick deconstruct everything, and then we'd have to act like nothing happened in the next episode. Luckily, Full Meta Jackrick didn't push the show's boundaries too far.

But yeah, I thought this episode was a little...pointless? It avoided cliches for the most part, but it also didn't say anything new. It wasn't a groundbreaking deconstruction of Rick and Morty or TV shows as a whole. It was just another take on the "Rick knows that he's in a TV show" concept, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it left me going "What was the point of that?"

The episode looked like it might have an anti-capitalist message with the Rick plushies, but that didn't really go anywhere, either. However, that might be a good thing--a preachy statement would've weighed down the episode even if I agree with it.

Full Meta Jackrick had a little more substance than Never Ricking Morty because at least we watched "our" Rick and Morty go on an adventure. I enjoyed watching an episode with just the two of them again. Their dynamic is brilliant--EVERYTHING that Rick and Morty do together is entertaining.

The first half of season six was great, but the episodes felt a little "off" because Morty didn't have much to do in most of them. Now, he's finally stepping back into the protagonist role.

Bringing back Story Lord (and Jesus) and writing a follow-up to Never Ricking Morty in general is a little gutsy and unexpected, which I can respect. Did anyone think that we'd ever hear anything about that train again? Never Ricking Morty isn't particularly loved or reviled--it's just an experimental episode that we probably would've forgotten about if it didn't foreshadow the season five Birdrick reveal.

For me, Full Meta Jackrick is a slightly better version of Never Ricking Morty because it's canon and has a more cohesive storyline. Full Meta Jackrick, like all of season six, also has great callbacks to the first couple of seasons. They never feel pandering or like they're trying to trigger your nostalgia--instead, they poke fun at the series itself and show you that the writers really care about this universe.

I also thought that this might've been the funniest episode of the season. Gotta be honest, guys--I normally roll my eyes when people say "Rick and Morty isn't funny anymore blah blah," but season six is the first season where I'm like "Yeah, the jokes haven't been great." But this episode had a lot of funny lines.

We did get some great character moments with Rick and Morty. Rick's still Rick: he's lazy, crabby, selfish and rude. But he's gentler with Morty, too. He treats him like a person and partner (in crime) instead of hoarsely shouting at him. He looks out for him and gives him his lab coat when they're freezing--boy, THAT'S been a fandom staple for nearly a decade.

This might be a stretch, but the scene in the garage caught my attention, too. Rick gently turns on Morty's goggles for him--you know, like an actual grandfather--instead of telling him to do it and then yelling that he's too slow or whatever.

This is seriously the fanservice season. Rick in a suit and tie yet again, Rick draping his lab coat over a shivering Morty, Rick tearing off his clothes to reveal that he's jacked underneath (I guess he's still working on those abs? lol.) The new writers' influence is so blatant, and I don't think most of us are complaining.

And we saw Rick's favorite thing yet again: crystals. 💎✨ (Well, ore.) Someone needs to give him $100 and cut him loose in a New Age store for a couple of hours.

I also want to note how much I love Justin Roiland's voice acting. Rick's voice is so complex and reflects his character development brilliantly. I hate how people dismiss Justin Roiland as a shouty guy who burps and yells into the microphone. Honestly, I don't hear Justin Roiland at all when Rick speaks--I just hear Rick.

Overall, Full Meta Jackrick was a decent return to the show after the six-week break. Those "Rick is a nihilist" YouTube videos need to go away forever because this episode's theme could have been "Nothing matters, we're just cartoon characters, blah blah," but it wasn't. Instead, Rick tells Morty that his life matters, and he looks at the audience as he says it.

[essentiallyleaf]

UNBELEAFABLE! EDGY BOYS WRITE USING CAPS LOCK AND LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS JUST LIKE GREAT JOURNALISTS DO! [META!] [TEMPORARY TITLE!] [PIC FOR ATTENTION!]

HELLO AND WELCOME TO 'UNBELEAFABLE!'! THE ONLY NEWS OUTLET WHERE THE PLAUSIBLE AND THE FACTUAL ARE TREATED FAIRLY AND EQUALLY! TODAY WE ARE ONCE AGAIN SPREADING INFORMATION* AND FACTS* IN THE ANNOYING AND UNCURATED FASHION THAT SETS US APART! STARTING OFF WITH!

. LEAF! HITS PUBERTY AND WANTS TO TURN THE PAGE AND THEN BURN THE WHOLE BOOK! COINCIDENTALLY! KEVIN ABSTRACT COMPLETELY REVAMPS HIS STYLE IN 4TH SOLO ALBUM BLANKET! NOW! IS THIS ALL PART OF THE GREATER EVEREVOLVING STATE OF NATURE?! DOES FATE HAVE ANY REGARD FOR OUR DESIRES AND CONCERNS AT ALL?! AND DOES THE MOVIE MOTHER! JUST KINDA SUCK?! [HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE JAVIER BARDEM IS A POET WHEN EVERY LINE OF HIS SOUNDS LIKE IT CAME OUT OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLER'S TINY SKULL?!]

. LEAF! ANNOUNCES HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO WRITING MORE NARRATIVE FICS IN THE FUTURE! SURELY HE'S NOT COMPLETELY SACRIFICING THE SMUT FOR THAT?! THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE SAYING BUT IS IT ACTUALLY?!

. #NOTSPONSORED! #SERIOUSLY! #NOTANAD! AND NOW! A SEGMENT TOTALLY LIKE THE OTHERS! NOT ANY DIFFERENCE WITH ANYTHING WE USUALLY DO! JUST NEWS! NOTHING ELSE!

QUIT WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING AND GO LISTEN TO THIS ABSOLUTE MOOD OF AN ALBUM! NOW! #WESWEARWEARENOTGETTINGPAIDFORTHIS!

. LEAF!'S REMAINING KINKTOBER FICS FOUND DEAD IN THE DRAFT DUNGEON! WILL THEY COME BACK FROM THE DEAD WHENEVER LEAF! FEELS LIKE WRITING A PWP FIC OR REMAIN FORGOTTEN FOR GOOD?!

. WE JUST NOTICED AFTER AN ENTIRE MONTH OF POSTING THAT ALL OF LEAF!'S FICS HAVE THEIR TITLE IN BOLDED BECAUSE THAT'S HOW HE WRITES IT IN GOOGLE DOCS AND THEN HIS LAZY ASS JUST CTRL+C-CTRL+V'S THE ENTIRE THING WITH NO SECOND THOUGHT! WILL HE CHANGE THAT FOR AESTHETIC PURPOSES?! WILL HE LEAVE THEM LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S TOO MUCH OF A HASSLE?! IS THE REVIVAL OF Y2K FASHION AND VISUALS ALREADY A DEAD TREND?!

. LEAF! ANNOUNCES HE'S THINKING OF UPLOADING ALL HIS WORKS ON AO3 DESPITE THE TAGGING PROCESS BEING INCREDIBLY AND NEEDLESSLY TEDIOUS ON THAT SITE! WOULD THAT BE ANY HELPFUL FOR ANYONE?! AT ALL?! IS HE JUST GOING TO DO IT ANYWAY?!

. AND FINALLY! RUMORS OF WHAT WOULD BE A SHOCKING BREAKUP BETWEEN ADVERBS AND LEAF! WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN?!

LEAVE YOUR VERY NECESSARY AND APPRECIATED THOUGHTS DOWN IN THE COMMENTS FOR ENGAGEMENT! WE'LL MAKE SURE TO READ ALL OF THEM! THE EFFECT OF YOUR OPINIONS ON THE COURSE OF HISTORY IS WITHIN THE REALMS OF POSSIBILITY! BUT NOT GUARANTEED! UNBELEAFABLE! MORE NEWS! AT SOME POINT DOWN THE LINE!

*the claims can only be found in unreliable sources or cannot be found in any sources at all. as of 2023, UNBELEAFABLE! does not require, and has never required, an inline citation for all material. uncited does not mean unverifiable.

[lewis-winters]

would love to hear more about the skinny/speirs confrontation 👀 (I'm sure other would too so feel free to answer publicly)

Ok I did not actually anticipate ppl being interested HAHAHAH but since ya'll asked nicely (@ep6bastogne and @hellofanidea mWAH to you too), here it is under the cut.

Ok so like. Understandably, people are more focused on Web and Lieb when it comes to the mountain top scene and that's perfectly fine. They're the ones I first thought about too. But then the more I watched that scene, the more I nyoomed in on two details: 1) It is implied that Speirs personally gave the order for Liebgott to go up there and deal with the officer, and 2) Skinny is the one who ends up pulling the trigger.

Which brings me to like. This fic I started planning in my head but couldn't quite write down because I am. Lazy. Anyway, it follows several plot points:

1) This is piggyback riding off my meta that Ron had ulterior motives to sending Liebgott up the mountain, which I have outlined in this post. TL;DR Ron used Lieb's anger (and to some extent, Web's too-- in my head, he heard about the incident with the baker in ep9, and he wanted to exploit that, not anticipating that Web's own self-preservation (of both his own person and morals) would get in the way) to do his dirty work, knowing that he wouldn't be questioned because of his position and because of said anger blindsiding all logic Lieb might have.

2) Skinny somehow knows this. He's more intuitive that people give him credit for. If Ron handpicked Lieb and Web because he knew, at least to some extent, that their anger would push them to do what he wants, then what the hell was Skinny doing there?

3) That question will haunt Skinny for awhile. Because why did Ron know, somehow, that Skinny would pull the trigger when either Lieb or Web could not? What anger and violence did Ron see in Skinny that made him think: "ah, yes, him; that's my killer of killers"? And most importantly, why did Skinny prove him right?

This is very much informed by how irl Skinny's PTSD was very much centered on the people he killed as a soldier (as opposed to people he lost). He's constantly cited in his writings and his letters that he felt unforgivable. So it isn't a massive leap for me to go yeah!! that boy killed an unarmed man (albeit a nazi, but I don't think even that could help him justify this) and then was later present when Web says "war's over, anyone would run" which no doubt would add to his already guilty conscience.

Add all of that together, and you have a recipe for a very traumatized lost boy wondering if maybe he's carrying a monster inside of him, and if maybe Ron could see it.

4) the answer, in the end, is that Ron couldn't see it. This was the dialogue I wrote first, and it has had me by the balls ever since:

"So why me? What did you see in me that was so twisted and cruel that you decided I should be up there, huh? Tell me!"

"... Nothing. I just needed a third man."

5) anyway. Ronald does, finally, admit to having used Lieb and Web to get what he wants. But Skinny doesn't care, because all he hears is that he's collateral damage. And that's not quite as comforting as Ron thinks it is.

soooooo. yeah.

**another plot point I have listed but couldn't really put anywhere in this weird ass list: there's also some cognitive dissonance sprinkled in there-- Skinny could justify Lieb and Web's reactions. He'd say Lieb has the right to do it. He'd also say Web's attempt at perserving himself as wise. it's important to note that Skinny went into this with the mindset that he was already unforgivable from the beginning. this just exacerbated it, but also gave him somebody who could probably answer his questions (i.e. am I really unforgivable? am I rreally a monster? am I a murderer? etc etc).

[crazykuroneko]

What I like about IWTV is it forces me to re-evaluate my relationship with media and fandom as well. Through S1, I learnt how far I want to distance myself from the media yet still be able to enjoy it (too lazy to link my old post, but it thanks to S1E5). Now, I find myself paying attention to the connection between the media and the fandom's "voice".

Back then, I went into S1 completely blind, and I have to admit I wasn't (am still, I think) that familiar with Black media, Black stories, or Black history. I literally didn't know even one (1) individual in the fandom. So a lot of my initial conclusions and impressions of S1 mostly came from what I saw on my timeline/dashboard aka the things people reblogged/retweeted the most, the "popular" contents. And as the time goes by, I realized those contents are actually fanon; They're made based on someone's interpretation and expectation of canon, and they get blown out, and they eventually shape the fandom's "consensus". And I found that to be so misleading. Especially in a lot of cases they're contradictory and feel like an overcorrection to another. And it took me like months of curating my own timeline - blocking and being blocked, applying my newfound distance with media, reading/watching opinions from different kinds of people and rewatching the series until I could say this is my core opinion/beliefs of this media and these characters.

And it's happening again this season. IWTV is a very rich story which is open to very different interpretations, and it's easy for you to just want to "go with the flow". Go with the metas you see the most on your timeline. But as much as I appreciate good metas, and I have shared them all here, sometimes there are nuances that I can't agree with. So, I don't want to read them too much. I feel like the writing in this show deserves to be judged as itself - free from previous fanon, book canon, theories or expectations. I don't really know where I am going with this actually, but I think "let the tale seduce you" is really the right way to process this show. Like, watch it, write down what you take from it, stick to what you wrote, and see how the show evolves your perspective. Anyway, idk, I'm just looking forward to rewatching S1-S2 and making my own conclusion.

[stars-are-just-ghosts]

From the Harrisco writing prompt list - 4 & 22

I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for this request! -hugs- * * * Delirium by QuietDarkness * * *

Cisco was beginning to feel a little delirious, sitting there staring at the computer screen in front of him waiting for results from the program he and Harry had made to find large quantities of infrared radiation in populated areas.

They were after a meta he had dubbed Spectrum, who could shift their own visibility on a wavelength influenced by the natural infrared radiation that humans normally gave off. But people could only give off about 12 microns worth, give or take. They were trying to find a needle in a haystack by focusing on any intense shifts in infrared. And the data was taking forever to correlate.

It didn’t help that Cisco hadn’t slept in two days, which was only half the meta’s fault. He blamed the other half entirely on Harry. Though, to be fair, he doubted Harry had planned on Cisco’s newest stretch of insomnia. Now that they were joined at the hip, both metaphorically and physically, Cisco found he would much rather let Harry use up every inch of his mind and body in place of a normal 8 hours of rest. It was only bad timing that Spectrum had started a crime spree the same time Cisco and Harry had finally gotten their jiggy on. A thought that made Cisco smile slow and lazy at the moving numbers on his screen.

Truthfully, he and Harry had been dancing around each other since the start. Ending up in Harry’s bed two nights ago was a predictable and enjoyable result. So was how easy it had continued to be between them since. Cisco could admit that he was more than all in. Harry was the cantankerous, untouchably genius, hotter than hell, perfectly imperfect man of Cisco’s dreams. And he was way, way too good with his hands and Cisco’s body. Something of which Cisco had a hard time not daydreaming about now that he knew exactly how much of a relief it was to have Harry touch his skin in any way possible.

His mind wandered as the final results of the data poured in. He couldn’t stop himself from recalling images, sensations, ghosted feelings on his flesh. It made him shift in his chair and he sighed heavily, feeling his groin react in record time. He roughly dragged his palms up and down his thighs in an attempt to get his head back in the game... (Continued on Ao3)

[alpaca-clouds]

Let me try to explain this...

Okay, let me try to explain something. And let me try on a personal level here.

I am bisexual. And while I am a guy, I only came out as trans when I was like 30, so I lived 30 years as a bisexual woman. Because I was out as bisexual when I was like... 11.

And do you know how most guys I have ever dated reacted to it? "OMG! We could have a threesome!"

Of course, if you have followed me for a while, you know that I very much am in favor of moresomes, both as a one-off or a constant thing. Buuut... This still always felt super, super gross to me. Do you want to know why?

Because they saw my sexuality, something that is a very inherent part of myself, as a thing they could use to fulfill their desires. They saw this aspect of me as a tool they could use for themselves. And that is fucking disgusting.

Anyways... This is why I hate playersexuality in video games. Aka "oh, the characters are bisexual, so everyone can romance them". So, the stuff that a lot of modern CRPGs do. Be it Baldur's Gate 3 or Starfield or... Well, you can probably think of several other examples. Because in most of those cases the characters are not really written as bisexual. Their supposed "bisexuality" is just a tool to fulfill the disires of the players. It is not even part of the characters, it is just a tool. And to me, as a bisexual guy, this is fucking offensive.

If you want to make your characters bisexual? Well, then go ahead and write the characters as bisexual. Put it into the text that the characters are bisexual. Put in the effort.

In other forms of media we do not let the creators get away with "well, X is actually Y-sexual", when the text itself does not make it clear. We will call out the writers, directors and showrunners trying to pull this off as cowards, because we kinda know that this sexuality is not in the text to make sure there will not be angry conservatives about "people pushing queerness down their throats". Or because they were too lazy to write it and do the legwork for it.

So, why the fuck are we okay with it, when games do it?

To keep the example with BG3: If you do not play the game as a female character that goes on to romance Astarion and do not enjoy meta-content, you would have no way of knowing that Astarion is "supposed" to be pan. Because he is written as a gay character (by which I am talking about that each and every prior relationship he mentions has been with a man). The same goes in turn with Gale and Shadowheart. If you do not play as a male charater to romance either of them, you will come away from the game and read them as a straight man and a lesbian respectively. Because there is nothing within the text to suggest otherwise.

Their "bisexuality" just exists, so that no players are disappointed that they cannot romance a character. And maybe to make programming easier.

And again, the same is very much true for a lot of other CRPGs. Starfield comes to mind, like most Bathesda games. I mean, it is not quite the same, as for the most part the characters in Bathesda games read more like they do not have any sexuality at all (the fact, that the games are very squeaky clean on the sexual front most certainly plays into it). But the problem is very much the same.

To me it just reads as super biphobic. Because it feels like they can use bisexuality to serve their purpose.

I am fine with the characters being bisexual. No matter what game. But then actually put in the work to write them as bisexual. Make it part of their story. Don't just slap the "bisexual" label onto them, so they can be romanced by whoever.