#'he's a published author' so are a lot of bad authors. y'all.

[ladyloveandjustice]

I mean I think he's like. not supposed to have a point here. That's the point of the entire show lmao. Why are you looking at a supervillain who made his characters real just so he could torture them some more and thinking the show is trying to say 'wow he's got a point"?

It's fine to write following your feelings, but you also have to put thought into your story if you want it to be like, good. Fakir didn't succeed because he wrote freely without caring about anything else, he succeeded because he cared deeply for the people he was writing about, and because he thought very hard about what they wanted and what story he was trying to tell. It's notable that he needed to write about Ahiru in order to write--it was because they'd grown so close that he really got her and understood her feelings at this point, and they shared the same insecurities. He cares what happens to her.

while Drosselmeyer basically doesn't care at all about his characters and just likes torture porn. If you write a tragedy but don't give a shit about your characters, it's going to feel empty and meaningless. You have to want their happiness even as you kill them, because how can you expect your audience to care if you don't? You also need to think of what this tragedy is saying if you want it to be good. Someone might like it, sure, badly written stories have their place, but if you want it to STAY with someone? Thought is required.

It's important that you feel for your characters, think of what it must be like from their perspectives. Drosselmeyer is such a shitty writer he was surprised when Ahiru had her refusal of the call moment, a really standard storytelling trope! He's a bad writer who never understood his characters because he only saw them as punching bags and tools to get the tragedy he wanted. He has no imagination beyond the rigid archetypes he assigns, and when his characters actually become complex, realistic people, he gets upset.

It's okay to write a fanfic that's just your feelings with no thought, but if you actually want to improve as a writer, you need to put thought into it, and yes, thinking about how it might affect the audience is part of that too. Writing responsibly isn't "no fun allowed" it's just considering what your story is saying and what you want to say rather than refusing to think about or invest in whatever you're writing.

Calling ALL FANFIC WRITERS

This, ya'll need to learn this. (Ignore the fact that this is being said by the antagonist but also like he. Has a point.)

[loreleywrites]

Bloomburrow VO Dropped

I haven't talked about the Bloomburrow update for MTG Arena yet. Another one of my scripts is published! Ral got turned into an otter! This was sooo fun to write. Gonna highlight a few specific things here.

Usually, it's tricky writing the same character in back-to-back projects, and I had just penned Ral for Modern Horizons 3. Thankfully, a strong theme and tone can give direction to a script, and having this transformation happen gave me a lot of unique stuff to work with.

I do wanna also give a shout-out to the author of the Bloomburrow story, Valerie Valdes, for a running gag where Ral keeps hitting things with his tail because he's not used to his new anatomy. Those moments inspired a lot of the goofy lines in this script.

So yeah, lots of lines about being an otter in this one! It really helps separate from the last Ral script when he's talking about his whiskers or paws or fur, feeling embarrassed about how bad he's doing as an animal, or coping with some sarcastic humor.

I also hit a goal I've been chasing for a while: a unique Magic swear in Arena. Krokt is the Ravnican goblin god of bad luck, and his name gets used as an expletive by a lot of Ravnicans, Ral included. So he says it in a line! Small bits of flavor like that make me happy.

Like I mentioned, the lighter tone and silly situation made this one of the most fun scripts I've ever written, and I hope y'all enjoy hearing Ral's otterlicious lines as much as I enjoyed writing them.

[hrdenha]

...touch me, puppy | s.jy

synopsis: The sounds of his groans made its way through your ears and echoed to the walls. Pride swells up on your chest at the fact, that the untouchable and elusive, Sim Jaeyun is now on your couch whimpering and pleading for your touches. He looks like a guy you want full control of thus, you can't blame the other girls for wanting him, after all, you also want the same thing.

pairings: shytype!sim jaeyun x softdom!reader

warnings: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. jake's celibacy from sexual endeavors 🤭 reader and jake using her undies in some ways thus, panty kink (?) shy and soft jake. pen*tration, unpr*tective s*x, wrap it up guys!

— AUTHOR'S NOTE: this should be publish on the upcoming weekdays but it's currently our hell week and school is also kicking my ass for the last time before we go home for christmas. so, i decided to just drop this. hope y'all enjoy ❣️

"Seriously, Y/N? Do you even realize what you're saying right now?"

You hum in agreement, eyes looking straight to that man who currently sitting on the sofa. He's not looking so comfortable with how stuck he looks while an unknown girl was trying to flirt with him.

Yeji groaned, still trying to give you some 'sense'. "I mean, Jake's not bad. He got the looks, and he got the brains. He also has sense of humor..." You hummed again, now, while nodding but still, watching on what the woman was doing with your target. "That's why a lot of girls want to take him to their bed but all of them failed. Rumor has it that he's still a virgin but it didn't even take a toll on his famed career. Girls doesn't care if he is. If all, knowing his a virgin just adds fuel to the fire. I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks that that woman was just trying to strike up a conversation with him instead of flirting with him. Jake is just... He's just, umm, how do I put this nicely? Nerdy... and innocent. Yeah."

You chuckled, "And, he's cute... I like him" then, you stopped to analyze what you just said but "... yeah, I like him." You mumbled again.

Your friend took a sharp gasp, all attention in you. "Wait... You mean LIKE like? Girl, may I remind you that a whole Lee Felix is waiting for you? Are you for real?"

"I don't like Felix, though. I don't like playboys." You said in a matter-fact tone, eyeing your friend to add thickness on your claim before looking back at Jake who's now talking with the woman. His head was now gently swaying from left to right obviously rejecting the unknown woman's advances.

Even if the place was loud and somehow dimmed because of the lights, you clearly see how the woman were annoyed before it left. You also saw how Jake sighed, his body finally relaxed after the encounter. He pushed up his specs, his eyes catching yours as he did so. You smiled, not breaking the eye contact, "... I always like the innocent looking ones"

It was almost a week after the party. In Yeji's surprise, you didn't make a move not even an attempt. After the eye contact, or in Yeji's perspective — after the unknown woman left, your friend convince you to strike a conversation but jake immediately avoided your eyes and you let him. You knew he was uncomfortable, and you don't want to push that so, you let him go do his thing. Not even glancing at his way again throughout that night.

"I'm still confused. I thought you like him?"

You hummed but didn't answer. You're busy trying to open a file on your laptop but it keeps crashing until a message box appear saying that you should wait for awhile. You clicked you tongue before pushing your swivel chair to the side where Yeji was, err, you don't know what position she has but she was comfortably laying on your sofa as she waited for your answer.

"I do. I like him. I told you, he's cute"

"So, why didn't you took the change to flirt with him?"

"Do I need to?"

Yeji unbelievably scoffed, as if she wants to give up, "What— but, I thought you like him?"

You shrugged, "Yeah, because I just thought he's cute"

"Oh, so you just like him? Not LIKE like?" She ask again.

Your forehead creased, slightly tilting your head to her. You seriously don't understand what Yeji was yapping about. You like Jake because you seriously think that he's cute. You're not sure if this is just a small crush, as of now, you're also trying to figure it out.

You were about to open your mouth to answer when your laptop and Yeji's phone produced a sound. Your eyes move to the screen where a text box flashed.

"Shit..." Your laptop got a virus. Talk about being unlucky.

"What happened?"

You sighed, shaking your head "Just my beloved laptop catching a virus"

"That sucks. What about your files? You backed it up, right?"

"Fortunately. What about you?"

"Nothing, just that Mr. Baek sends the partner composition for the final project this semester. Did you get it?"

"I didn't have my phone, charging. But, who'd I got?" You casually asked, still trying to get your laptop working.

There's a moment of silence, you reasoning with your device while Yeji trying to find your name from the lists. You were about to ask again when she suddenly shrek.

"What in the world happened to you?"

"You got Jake as your partner!" Yeji exclaimed all smiles.

"I did?"

"You fucking did!" She screamed again, standing up, walking, and then putting her phone under to your face. Letting your eyes be the one to confirm the information. Talk about being lucky.

—

Yeah, you're really lucky now that the elusive Sim Jaeyun is now on your apartment. After confirming the partnership about the project, you two decided to start the project today at your house. He slowly walks to your couch, putting down his things and trying not to meet your eyes.

"You can relax there, I'll just get us some foods" Jake nervously coughed trying to blur the silence before nodding. A smile crept in your lips but you tried to tone it down. He's just so cute, you can't help it!

After spending a few minutes, you finally step out of the kitchen with tray of food in hands. Putting it down, oblivious at the set of heavy eyes throwing a lingering look on your body as you did so.

"Is it okay if we use your laptop? Mine's got a virus."

"I dont... mind. You can use it." He whispered, eyes focused directly at you. Nodding, your hands took his laptop and put it in your lap. You clicked the button and the monitor automatically lights up, displaying the password bar in the screen. You silently face the laptop to Jake who's currently sitting beside you, his slender fingers typed the password with ease before pushing down the enter.

The laptop opened but instead of the home screen, the laptop automatically displays a tab from the browser. The four walls of the room were now filled with moans from the speaker of the said device.

Jake mumbled a cursed, hands immediately taking the laptop from your lap and exiting the tab that cause a thick silence and awkwardness in between the two of you.

You look at his side, his whole face, some part of his neck and ears are now in shade of red. If he can't look straight in your eyes earlier, at this moment, you doubt Jake still know how to breath.

In an attempt to not further embarrassed him, your fingers travel on top of your lips trying to hide the curve smile that was playing on your lips, "I'll just get more water for us" You excused yourself taking the pitcher even if it was still half way full. It's the least you can do, giving him the solitude to calm himself.

When you come out for the second time, you decided to finally settle beside Jake to continue your business but to your surprise, the man immediately scoot away as if he just got burned by your presence.

You eyed him in shock which jake also did albeit, he's more on a nervous side.

What did I do? Is he that disturbed by my presence?

The silence that made its position between the four walls of living room from the very start became more palpable though you decided it was enough, "I think—" You started carefully, trying not to spook him. Heck, you're not even looking at him, just keeping your eyes in front scared that you might scare him even more. Although, you saw how jake focus his eyes on you from your peripheral. You realized that this is the second time— since he walked inside your abode, that he looked at you straight. You felt slightly pleased at the manner in which he looks at you, yet the way he averted his body played on your mind again causing you to shun the positive emotions away.

"I think, It would be better if... we just divide the tasks and work in it separately. I'm sorry for wasting your time" You repeated, loud and clear. No one said anything after that, room filled with silence once again. You were about to stand up and walk away when a hand gripped your wrist, pulling you back.

The unexpected impact made you loss your balance. And the next thing you knew, you were on top of Jake. On his lap, to be exact while both of you positioned like sitting and laying on the couch at the same time.

"I-I'm sorry..." He uttered trying to scoot away from you, again.

And before you can even think, words started pouring out of your mouth, "Do you hate me?"

Jake was stunned, his body freezing under you before meeting your eyes, "What? No!"

"Do I make you uneasy?"

He, again, shook his head before answering, "Of course not!" in a defensive voice.

"Then, why—"

"You make me nervous!" He said in large voice. "not in a bad way, though. It's always in a good way. You're just so different. You're beautiful and smart and I... I like you. I like you so so much. I like you ever since I saw you last year in freshmen orientation. I like you so much that when you look at me last week at the party, I started think about... things with you. I can't help it, its just—"

"Is that the reason why you're watching porn in the middle of the day?" You asked, cutting him off. A sly smile, that you didn't try to hide this time — is now displayed on your lips.

"I-I'm so—" You hushed him, putting your index on his lips. His pinkish, plump, and kissable lips. You sighed when his bulge starting to let its presence known under you. He's turned on.

"You sure I don't make you uncomfy?" You asked again which he immediately answered with a shake of head. "No..." He whispered, his hot breath making contact with your neck.

You stand up taking a step back and putting a distance between the two of you, just enough for your eyes to hug his presence. The action made Jake confused, in fact, his hands didn't leave your wrist even though there's a reasonable distance in between the both of you. In his eyes, a lot of emotions are playing. Disappointment... Doubt... Awe... Lust?

You silently put your hands inside your shirt, unclipping your bra before sliding the straps on your arms and finally disregarding it somewhere. Jake silently watching you, mouth slightly ajar, eyes observing your actions as your hand touched his clothed dick. After a few touches, your hands travel on his waist. He lets you unbuttoned it, taking off his underwear and pants completely causing his hardened to sprang forward.

You look at his dick in surprise. Oh! look. at. that. His face and ears weren't the only red on his body, that's for sure. It was twitching, his tip in the painful color of red, plus the precum oozing on its tip. You're not a masochist, you know how painful it is to be exposed and not touched. You knew how Jake wanted to be touched just by how his dick twitch, hips slightly buckling up when your breaths made in contact with it. He's, maybe, a 6 inch with a good thickness. You want to lick it, to touch it. You really do. His dick is so pretty. The way his pubes were cut clean tells you more about him and you don't mind spending your time with it in your mouth but not before you drop the million dollar question.

Jake watches with a heavy eyes as you climb on top of him in straddling position.

"Tell me what you want..." You can feel his dick on top of your pussy even though you're still wearing your cotton shorts. You wanted to move your hips but controlled yourself. "What do you want right now, Jake?" You ask again looking down at him, his mouth slightly open ajar as he met your eyes. "You. I want you, Y/N... please"

You smiled giving him a peck. Jake must've been expecting a different kiss from the way his lips tried to chase yours. You smiled, not yet. He groaned in response but you paid him no mind. You kneel in front of him, in front of his dick and you didn't waste your time. Your hands immediately grip it, tongue making contact on his tip which you tease wholeheartedly. Jake's moans poured out of his lips together with a curse moreover, when you finally took him inside your mouth.

With the way your tongue play with his shaft, his tip hitting your throat, and how your mouth suck the life out of him, Jake's groans and moans intensifies as well. You look up to him, eyes fluttering behind your long lashes. The man was vocal, his groans are making you wet. You can feel the heat between your legs increases in every suck you did and moans that came out of jake's mouth. Your eyes met, and you can't help but to chuckle on how fucked up he looks which by the way, send vibration to his cock. He was trying to look at you, to imprint how you suck him on the deepest part of his mind yet he can't help but to close his eyes and lose himself in the pleasure... in you.

"Shit, Y/N... yes, that— that feels good" He moaned again, "I'm gonna..." You felt his hips meeting your mouth causing you to pick up you pace. And with his last groan, he cummed. His thick and white cum flooded your senses, you swallowed it before sucking him again.

"You're so... beautiful" He mumbled breathlessly, eyes boring from the way you lick him clean. His dick was still hard and hot, even after cumming, his dick refused to soften up.

You smiled, before you crawl up to him. Jake was focused on you, on your lips to be exact. He wanted to kiss you, and you let him. You gently clash your lips with his, letting his tongue explore your caverns as you tease his cock with your hands. Jake groaned in between your make out session, tasting his own cum on your mouth did unspeakable things inside him.

"Please, I need to be inside you... please. please." He whispered as he kissed your lips, saying it like a prayer over and over again, hoping his goddess would make his wish come true. And, what can a goddess do but to answer his prayer?

With that, you straddle him again, "You mind if I'll do everything myself?" You asked which came out as a whimper when you directly felt his dick on your tight pussy after taking off your shorts and panties, before straddling him. Jake looks up as you allowed him to take in your body. To let his brain register that a woman is willingly giving her body to him. His head shook before answering a breathless 'no'.

"Tell me, jake... are you a virgin?" You asked again, kissing his checks then his lips. "No... but ever since I saw you, I stopped. It's been a year since." He sighed, eyes closed as he feels the way your sinful lips travel dow his neck, adorning it with bites.

"So, I'm the first in awhile?" He nodded again. "And, hopefully the last." You chuckled at his words. You pulled back looking down at him, your eyes took his visuals in.

Jake looks good. He always is. He looks cute with his specs on, a small amount of sweat on his forehead after the stunt you two pulled earlier. He's wearing a casual long sleeve that has a black collar. The longsleeve has a patterns of horizontal lines with an alternate color of black, white, and red. his neck was adorned with a simple yet elegant silver necklace. His hair was soft, not to mention his lips. That sinful swollen lips of his. He looks hot and irresistible. You can't blame the other girls who wanted him by themselves. You also want the same thing.

At that thought, pride swelled up on your chest. Letting yourself fall in temptation of kissing him deeply again while hips slowly thrusting to create a friction. Your hands pull up your top that perfectly hugs your curves to completely expose yourself to jake as you rub onto him.

Pulling back from the kiss, you finally lift yourself, hands gripping his shaft as his tip scratch on your folds. Letting him know how wet you are because of him.

Jake moaned, still looking at you. He won't close his eyes, he wouldn't miss this for the world. He just want to slam your body down his cock but he control himself. The fact that you're the one in charge is making him crazy.

You gently aligned his tip on your whole, allowing your wetness to naturally push him inside you. His breath hardened, groans getting fuller and louder when you finally let yourself down his cock.

You moaned, head tilting back when you felt his thickness. "You felt thicker now than earlier on my mouth. Fuck, Jake... you felt good"

His dick twitched inside you and in response, you felt your legs shaking. Jake's breath pick up it's pace, his hard breathes filling the room. "You're not going to cum, Aren't you?" He shook his head, answering a 'no' with bated breath. You hummed, smiling down to him as your hands slowly took his glasses off before putting it down on the side table.

He looks handsome, as always. And the way he looks up to you with such innocence in his eyes is turning you on even more. You pushed yourself for a kiss which he accepted gladly, allowing the both of you to be engrossed by each others tastes.

Clenching him painfully inside, jake groaned again. "Fuck... so tight" You start going up and down on his cock. Pleasure starting to build up as you did so. But then, you noticed something. He's not touching you. His hands softly and were carefully pleased on your sides as if he's scared to fully lay his hands on your body.

You took jake's palm, slowly sliding it upwards to your body and onto your breast, persuading him to hold you.

"You can touch me, it's okay..."

"I'm just shy—"

"Don't be, don't be shy. You can touch me, puppy. It's okay" You said in assurance hips continuously fucking yourself in his dick. And, he did. Jake deliciously gripped your bossom, teasing your nipples after. And to your surprise, Jake took your left breast in his mouth while the right was still on his hand. His tongue plays with your erect nipple, biting it hard enough that adds on your pleasure causing you to moan.

"I don't mind if you leave a mark. I would even gladly accept it" You whispered, chuckling on how hard he sucked your breast.

"Does it feel good?" You ask, keeping up your pace. The man under you whimper in response, and you can't help but to kiss him messy again. After a while, an idea sparks your mind.

"Let's try a new position, puppy" You immediately laid on your back, a pillow supporting your upper body as it leans on the arm rest of the couch. "Come here, and fuck me" You said again, as your legs invite him in between.

Jake got on top, kissing you again while letting you strip him his remaining clothes. You pulled his shirt up before pulling him closer to you together with his dick sliding inside as he started rutting you.

Your hand made contact with your lacey panties. Jake's still observing you and swear that he saw the mischief writing on your eyes as you push the garment up to his nose.

"Smell it if you're a good puppy, Jake." You render, trying to stabilize your voice from the bliss of his thrusts. "Are you my good puppy?" You ask again, teasingly. He obliged, sniffing it. Taking a good whiff off of it. You smell good, the fabric is soaked with your pussy's natural smell and he knew that he's addicted. Jake was turned on even more, even taking a mental note of wanting to eat you later.

You relased a breathy chuckle, and silently inserted it into Jake's neck which made his dick twitch inside. "So, you like this? I can't believe how perverted my puppy is." You teased, chuckling again as Jake's cheeks get redder. You pulled the red dainty garment down making him kiss you.

"Red really suits you, jake." After those words, you felt how his thrust becomes sharper and harder. "Ugh! Tight..." He moaned, "Fuck me, jake. Yes, please harder!"

He picked up his pace, who would've taught the elusive sim jaeyun fucking you hard with his thick, veiny, and long cock? Fuck, the pleasure was intense. You can't help but scream, basking yourself in pleasure itself. The room was filled with groans and skin slapping now more than ever.

Your walls clench him tightly at the same time you feel something building up on your lower abdomen, "Jake! Ugh, I'm gonna—! Come inside!" And, then you screamed, the same time you cum. You don't care if your neighbors can hear you. You don't fucking care. Jake continues to thrust, as you are slowly being overstimulated while he rides your orgasm.

"Shit! Y/N!" You felt another wave building up on your abdomen together with how your legs uncontrollably shake. "J-jake!" You cried, eyes keeping close at the intense pleasure. With the last curse and thrust, you came for the second time as you felt him filling you up to the brim with both his cock and cum, giving you a creampie. His thick load painted your walls as he collapsed on top of you.

"That's a good puppy..." You whispered in his ears, brushing his hair as you felt his cum slowly oozing out and down of your hole. "You're a good puppy." Mumbling the last words and a pair of lips kissing your neck was the only thing you felt before darkness got you.

share me your thoughts 💭 likes, reblogs, and comments are very much appreciated!

purely fiction.

© hrdenha - 2023

[valyrfia]

I get your concern but ignoring it is the best solution, there's no need to panic at the second your ears hear the word lestappen coming from them. First of all lestappen is not gonna have a "fallout" because they're not friends to begin with so what fallout exactly can they have lol, they already knew the existence of the word lestappen because it's been there for years, and the RBR account for sure makes use of it. And also, didn't Max received an MTV couple award with Checo a few months ago and the sky remained the same? Cant get weirder than that. Or it can idk, I feel like an scenario where any ship name remains in only one single space it's not only impossible, but it's never going to happen, in an ideal word sure, it would be just a dirty secret that no one knows about but stressing out about it it's gonna only be bad for y'all.. But also, if his friend made that comment and pisses Max off very much, or makes him feel weird I'm sure he's gonna be like "don't ever do that again" or something. For what I've seen everyone had your reaction in the chat so I'm sure they got the message that it's a forbidden word

These two back to back in my inbox are first of all. A LITTLE funny.

Secondly, to the first anon, it’s hardly Max and Charles I really worry about, it’s how people can forget themselves when they think that rpf is suddenly “mainstream”. It’s usually a tiny tiny majority who ruin it for the rest of us but do forgive those of us who were around for great rpf fallouts for being a little paranoid. Second anon, you and I are of the same opinion. RPF is fun when it’s contained but when people start to bring explicit RPF content to more public platforms (and ironically, it’s usually content that’s the original author has published on a closed platform, ie. tumblr or ao3). Class A disaster is the jumpy paranoid side of both of us talking but I unfortunately agree.

Also I think it’s good to remind everyone generally. RPF is a weird thing, it’s inherently weird. These are not fictional characters, we’re superimposing our narratives on top of real people’s lives while they’re still around to see it. We all love it and partake in it, but it’s not something that would constitute casual conversation or would be talked about walking down the street. RPF is super fun but be aware it cannot function like a normal fictional ship because these are not fictional characters.

Chestappen vs. Lestappen is a weird one because Chestappen can be waved off as a joke a lot easier (teammates = marriage) and also I get the feeling that it is generally a lot more of a joke. Unfortunately when I see Lestappen stuff not on here or ao3 it seems a lot less jokey. People also seem comfier discussing fic (?!) on tiktok and twitter with Lestappen, which to me IS a cardinal sin. I think a lot of people misunderstand me when I say don’t talk about RPF outside of designated spaces, I’m not saying the shipname is a dirty word that must NEVER be used, or that those who make fun edits on tiktok are evil and should die. I simply mean, people need to not be letting on that there’s anything deeper to the ship aside from a joke. I’ve seen a lot of people scoffing at me and people who have adopted a similar hard stance as me and all I have to say is: humour us because we’ve probably got very good reasons to be wary.

[pluckyredhead]

"Barry is a character who was consciously designed to fit the zeitgeist of America and specifically the comics industry of the mid-1950s in the immediate aftermath of the Comics Code Authority (ask me about my theory on this!)" - here I am, asking (for real, I know next to nothing about Barry so I would be interested to hear more if you want to elaborate)

Yessss I would love to elaborate!

So apologies if this is stuff you already know, but the first Flash was Jay Garrick, who debuted in 1940, during what's called the Golden Age of Comics. There's no universal agreement on what the exact date range is for the Golden Age (or Silver, Bronze, etc.), but a range you'll often see is 1938 (the debut of Superman) to 1955.

However, with superhero comics, when we say Golden Age, we're really mostly talking about World War II, because after the war, superheroes became much less popular. At the time, monthly comics included lots of genres, like crime, horror, romance, humor, war, Westerns, sci-fi, etc., and crime and horror in particular became increasingly popular in the postwar years. Some of them also became increasingly violent, sexy, and edgy, in part to retain the audience of returning GIs from overseas, who had read comics to remind them of home during the war.

However, the primary audience for comics was children. Children who could easily buy a comic for a dime and read it without parental supervision. Children who could be turned into juvenile delinquents by reading comic books!

There was a massive backlash against comics in the late 40s and early 50s, led by parents and other "moral authorities" (teachers, librarians, churches) who thought comics were bad for kids. Most of you reading this will have seen similar parental backlash against whatever the target of the moment is: gangster movies, crooners, rock 'n' roll, rap, heavy metal, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, Harry Potter. (I'm not talking about JKR's wretched transphobia here but the fear in the late 90s that Harry Potter would turn kids into Satanists or whatever.)

There were boycotts. There were bonfires where all the kids in town would have to bring all their comics to be burned. There was Seduction of the Innocent, a book by psychologist Frederic Wertham where he claimed to have proven that comics turned kids into juvenile delinquents (he hadn't). Many people left the industry for good, and a lot of them later talked about those days with genuine trauma. I highly recommend the book The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America for more on this, but it's fascinating, and necessary reading for those of y'all on this webbed site who think we need to bring back the Hays Code and its ilk.

This all culminated in Senate hearings in 1954 to determine whether comics were harmful to children. (Fun fact: these hearings began on the same day as the McCarthy hearings. Political repression and artistic repression always go hand in hand.) In the aftermath of these hearings, the comic book industry created the Comics Code Authority, because that way they could self-regulate instead of being regulated by the government.

The Comics Code was a list of what could and could not be in comics. It was mostly what you'd expect - no sex or violence - but also a lot of conservative 1950s censorship. Like: "Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority." That's...pretty totalitarian.

Comic book publishers would submit comics for approval to the CCA. If they passed, the comic would be published with a seal on the cover saying "Approved by the CCA." They didn't need the seal to publish, but if they didn't have the seal, most vendors wouldn't sell the comic. So most of them pretty much had to comply.

So what does this all have to do with Barry Allen?

As I said earlier, superheroes fell in popularity after WWII, and many books were canceled. Jay Garrick's last Golden Age appearance was in 1951, and he hung on longer than most. But after the CCA, the landscape of comics had changed, and DC decided to see if they couldn't make the superhero work in this brave new world.

So in 1956 they took the idea of the Flash - guy who runs fast - and changed everything else about him. The new Flash was named Barry Allen, and he was a police scientist with a snazzy new costume. He was an immediate hit, DC went on to revamp a number of other characters in similar fashion, and a new era was born. Literally: many scholars date the start of the Silver Age of Comics to Barry's debut.

It's worth noting, I think, that DC was staunchly behind the creation of the CCA. Their stock in trade was superheroes, who were mostly considered harmless. But the backlash against comics and the creation of the CCA seriously harmed a lot of their competitors, and eventually put the ultra-popular EC Comics, who specialized in horror and crime, out of business.

I'm not saying DC had Barry in mind already when they supported the formation of the CCA. But they saw that the field had been cleared and there was an opportunity to bring their main genre back to the forefront. And then they created a squeaky clean, incredibly white guy from the Midwest. Who is a scientist, because 1950s kids need to be inspired to go into science so that we can beat those Ruskies to the moon! But who is also a cop, because kids need to respect law and order, or else. (This was also an era in which former vigilantes Superman and Batman were officially deputized by their respective local police forces.)

None of this means that Barry is a bad character, or that his Silver Age comics aren't good, because they are actually extremely innovative and very fun. But it does mean that he was created as essentially copaganda for children during an era of intense political conservatism in the US and deep fear in the comic book industry. He worked well in the 50s and 60s (DC in the 60s was basically still living in the 50s, which is why everyone older than 10 switched to Marvel) but increasingly less well as the world around him changed, and DC's attempts to modernize him in the 70s and early 80s (killing off Iris so that he could be a swingin' bachelor living in...wait for it...an apartment building!!!) were just kind of embarrassing. Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths is the most noble death I've ever read in comics, but it was also a mercy killing.

I think Barry could be updated for the 21st century in a way that is true to his roots but doesn't make him feel like a relic or a jerk. But so far, DC hasn't really bothered? Instead we get moments like Barry declaring that Hal is the only JLAer who really gets him because "we're both cops" or arresting a Black 12-year-old for graffiti-ing an already destroyed building. Oof, friends. Oof.

In conclusion, Barry was designed for major cultural and industry-wide changes of the mid-1950s but that was 70 years ago and the man desperately needs a makeover that is not putting on his nephew's personality like an ill-fitting suit and saying "How do you do, fellow kids?" The end.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I totally agree with everything you said about noncon/dubcon books. In general, when an author decides to change an already published book, the new edition should come out as "author's preferred text" or something similar. It's totally fine for an author to do that but not to make the original book disappear. It would be a great loss to lose the original texts, especially when it comes to old books, because of what you said: they reflect historical circumstances that can't be denied. Even with the best of intentions, it would be just another form of censorship. It is not healthy, or helpful, to pretend that uncomfortable and harmful things do not exist. In the broader sense, books with uncomfortable and painful subjects can help process trauma and also can help others to better understand or gain perspective on difficult situations. That is not to mention that in the case of romance, it should be a safe space to explore all kinds of feelings and desires. The key here is that, as readers, it is the easiest thing in the world to just stop reading when something is not our cup of tea.

Exactly.

And the thing is, I see two separate issues here, tbh. Because I see a lot of... white feminist takes... in romancelandia conflating consent issues in old romance novels with racism in old romane novels. And while these are both serious issues that need to be discussed, I don't think they should ever be considered equivalent. Because they aren't. Misogyny and racism (and queerphobia, which is less discussed re: issues in older books, but is certainly present) can certainly overlap, but while every woman can experience misogyny, not every woman can experience racism. And women who have experienced misogyny can be racist and benefit from racist, misogynistic society, right?

Plus, I mean—I think there's been a huge push in romance to address misogyny and consent issues over the last decade or so. There has been... less of a push to address racism. There's a really popular dark/mafia romance writer who gets recommended ALLLLLLLL the time despite it being a very well known fact in romance circles that she said some incredibly racist shit during the BLM protests, and therefore, we can assume, is hugely racist. (Danielle Lori. It's Danielle Lori. You're welcome.) With the rate at which she's recommended, I highly doubt everyone who's recommending her just... doesn't know. Everyone acted shocked and appalled when Tillie Cole published her KKK romance, but y'all, she's still publishing away! She's got her readers! We let that slide under the rug.

And there's the more casual racism in trad, too. Evie Dunmore's A Rogue of One's Own is a super popular tradpub title. Not only does the hero have a bastardized Shiva tattoo as a plot point (because he's... really into... Indian culture... I guess?)... he's also a bi man victimized by a dangerous gay villain. So, casual racism and casual homophobia in a book tradpubbed in 2020.

Sooo... while I think misogyny, consent issues, homophobia, and racism are all linked to different factors in the history of romance (though they do overlap in some books) I feel that it's pretty obvious that readers who enjoy the fantasy presented in a bodice ripper dubcon book (or a dark romance dubcon book published in 2024) are not coming from the same space as someone who'd read that KKK romance and think there's nothing amiss at all.

However, I feel it's so important to keep both content that I think is pretty harmless—I just don't think a book like A Hunger Like No Other, in which the consent is Bad, is going to reinforce a misogynistic society on a wide scale... I think it's there to accommodate a pretty common rape fantasy, and dude, rape fantasies are common and we should probs come to terms with how they can be and how people who have them can be feminists lmao—and content that I think is HARMFUL.

Because yeah dude. I think it's pretty fucked that A Rogue of One's Own is what it is. But I don't want it to be erased 50 years from now. I don't really want people to not know that Kleypas originally played into some pretty racist tropes with Hello Stranger. Not only because I want those authors to just have to own that shit... and for readers who enjoy them to have to reconcile with that... But because it's just like. Literally a record of the time in which it was published. Not the time in which it was set, because historical fiction never truly reflects the setting. The time in which it was published.

And there's a difference between why we're keeping that shit and why we're keeping that noncon/dubcon (though again, it can overlap). Good people aren't seeking out racist romance novels, applauding the antisemitism in a Heyer book, etc.

But it's like... to me... I would no sooner remove that content from a romance novel than I would watch a cut of Breakfast at Tiffany's without that horrible Mickey Rooney yellowface character.

I mean.... I grew up loving that movie. And when I became aware of what that was, I had to question some shit. I should have to question that shit. I should have to think about why anyone thought that was okay. Why people STILL think it's okay.

It seems small, but it MATTERS. These little bits and pieces of erasure add up.

And like... yeah. People may not give authors like Kleypas, who I imagine did not think herself a racist when she wrote the Hello Stranger shit, and who did seem to hold herself accountable and apologize, room. They may just go "fuck that racist" and dismiss her. And that's... just how it goes. They're allowed to do that. If you're South Asian and read that or hear about it and go "never reading her again"... I mean, your word is pretty much the final word there. She can't expect you to accept her apology.

I just also think it's really important that this information is available and that the text is availale so that people can make a choice, too. There are authors I read who have written books I wouldn't recommend. I've read them. I've gone "Man, this book is good otherwise, but this part is really not good" and I don't recommend them and I keep them in the back of my mind if I read more. We need to be able to make informed decisions, if we choose, about who we support. People can learn, but like... we shouldn't pretend there wasn't a time when they were fucked.

So. Yeah. A lot of things happening, some of which are harder to talk about than others. What frustrates me is that I think romance has a lot of convos about sexism and misogyny (and the should) but not as many about racism and queerphobia. And tbh, I think that means we miss the harder convos a lot of the time.

(Wonder why that is.)

[ajscico]

Fan Joy July Day 31

multiple fics! I nicknamed this set in my head "abandoned, orphaned and deleted, or why I have a fic hoard." 😅 and the post got long so I'll spare y'all's dashboard with a read more...

Let’s not and say we did. By SincerelyMystic

This one was abandoned and I'm so glad it wasn’t deleted but... yeah. I hope the author is doing well wherever they are. Good fic. Good angst.

This art would be a couple images from the last published chapter. Twilight and Sky are sitting stunned as shock hasn’t worn off yet, Sky broke a leg in the fall and the pair just got dramatically introduced to Mipha’s Grace so... Wild is sitting up amidst the remains of the teal flames.

Wild groaned and sat up, pressing a hand over his eyes. “Where’s the Talus,” he muttered, and Twilight blinked in astonishment.

“There isn’t one,” He breathed. “You joined Sky in his decent to death and managed to die just fine without a Talus.”

Amidst everything else that happens in the fic, a little morbid humor to break the tension. Maybe one day I'll have to follow my own trend and write something to resolve this... and maybe then it will not haunt my wips?

A True Love of Mine Morigenos (orphan_account)

Orphaned fic. Watch the triggers on this one please. It’s...a lot. I am aware I have really weird tolerances for certain topics but the song behind this fic and how it was tied in beautifully... I couldn't leave it out. 

It's the scene after Wars has finished telling the tale to Legend. He’s a mess. He’s bared his soul and revealed more than he really meant to tell the Vet and Legend helps him close the locket, covering the trinket and the precious contents of it in both their hands. 

Legend was also crying, eyes wide at the horrors that were just described to him, and was at a completely lose for any words. What do you say? What do you say to someone who lost everything in the most brutal way? What do you say to the person you do nothing but argue with since you met them, and they just shed their soul in front of you? There was nothing to say, only actions can speak for you at this point, and he wanted to make his count.

Still blubbering, he got on his knees with Warriors, and slowly closed the locket in his brother’s hand. He put it in Warriors’ left hand and closed said hand around the locket, Wars looking at him the whole time.

Father Time Series By Heroine of Twilight 

So the series is taken down from Ao3, but I did download most of them before that happened. So my choice out of the wonderful series is: Not A Father but a Dad

This series is full of lovely Dad!Time content. And the series as a whole is one I pull up when I miss my dad. This fic is a highlight of three times Time got to play dad to members of the Chain. And the art would be summary scenes of these three in particular. The fic includes the instances of: teaching Legend to shave, taking Sky for his first drink (and giving him advice on marriage), and showing Wild how to fix a roof while Wild confesses he wants to rebuild the ranch ruins and make it a place that is even a shadow as home-like and welcoming as Lon Lon is. Alas, I cannot link the fic.

31 days, wow, not bad for the first time I managed to do an event, even if it was not the traditional way this should have gone. Thank you @/kikker-oma for proposing this wonderful event. We should do it again next year. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[longsightmyth]

Look a book review

Quicksilver by Callie Hart My rating: 3 of 5 stars Every time I say review to come I have thoughts I forget to write a full review, so. The Good Much of this was engaging. The prose has pretty good flow when it's not throwing in swearing all over the place to make sure readers know this is an adult novel. Saeris both does things, interacts with the ideas of people removing her bodily autonomy, and is almost never stupid in a way that doesn't make sense for the character. Kingfisher was bi probably? I liked that. ALSO IN A SHOCKING TWIST I LIKED A LOVE INTEREST. WOW. IN A FAE NOVEL???? Yes. He and Saeris were sweet together by the end, and while I thought the falling into romance part was too abrupt for my taste once they were there it was nice. He respects her as a person even if he doesn't like. Respect her for a bit. If that makes sense. The Meh Most of those plot twists were not twists and y'all know it. I don't mean they were glaringly obvious, I mean there was no foreshadowing and nothing building towards them. A lot of things were added pretty obviously as the author thought of them without the benefit of another editing pass to make sure they were integrated before they were suddenly important. The Bad Maybe I secretly am a prude despite all my erotica and romance reading of published original works and Ao3 smut. Who can say. Anyway entire chapters of smut just felt like overkill, and of course Kingfisher had the giantest of penises. Of course he did. Also Carrion served 0 purpose to the narrative. Sorry not sorry. If you wanted me to care about a long lost missing heir that should have been brought up more and Carrion should have been actually useful. BUT THE WORST THING. Like okay. I did like Saeris aside from a couple of baffling 'And I Must Snark' moments. Truly I did. BUT. This book has a problem with women. I don't mean like it necessarily hates all women. I just mean that despite having unnamed women in the background sometimes (which is important! And I do appreciate it!) every time any of them are in opposition to a man they are Wrong. Sometimes this means they deserve to lose a hand, apparently. I'm making this sound both worse and better than it is. I don't know how to explain it. It's not quite Special Woman Syndrome, and it's not like Saeris evidences disgust or distaste for women in general, it's just that she never like. Talks to them. And neither do we. CONCLUSION. Solid 3.5 stars, definitely one of the better sarah janet based fae fantasies I've read, shockingly enjoyable love interest man by the end, mostly competent heroine. View all my reviews

[dootznbootz]

Top 3 books?

Okay, sorry I haven't answered yet as...I'm realizing certain ones I THOUGHT were my favorite are sadly probably no longer. Like I still have a soft spot for PJO and HOO but I'm definitely more critical about it now with learning more. And there's a rant about a book series at the end because I love the first so much but the next books made me a bit sad.

Fucking love the Odyssey. Y'all know that. Take a look, it's my favorite book~ Read that fucking rainbow.

I really love "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech.

I haven't read it in a LONG time but I have read it 4 times. (once even outloud to my mom so then she could know about my favorite book :'D I was so mad when she saw the twist ending.) I was a LOT like Sal in many ways a 14 year old as well. "You smell like grapefruit." lol

I really love "Shadow of the Fox" by Julie Kagawa.

Sadly only the first book. I read it from the Library and then bought it because I liked it so much. My copy literally has a bunch sticky notes where my favorite parts are.

Honestly, if you're into M/F romance with a bit of Aro/Ace spectrum vibes then I DO recommend the first book. Because I really loved that aspect. Gives a somewhat Eugene x Rapunzel (just in aesthetic, not personalities) with how it's a girl who hasn't really seen the outside world (lived her whole life in a temple) and an assassin who was basically not allowed to have feelings because magic sword demon showing her that world and finally seeing a lot of beauty in it.

Rant time :')

I really fucking loved not only the story but then the interactions between the characters. I loved the fact that there were no love triangles and just wonderful friendship alongside the very good and cool slowburn romance. Fun fight scenes. Good writing, yeah.

And... that's why I get so sad with the rest of the series. I don't know if the author was rushed or what but that slowburn became really quick basically right away in the 2nd book. In the first book, Tatsumi was figuring his feelings out more as he had more "exposure" in a way and how he had to be so careful with them because uh, the book establishes how if he loses himself, Shit goes bad. (shit does go bad)

But with Yumeko?? It was really neat seeing her figure herself out. Learn more about herself and the world around her.

which is why I'm so saddddddd

As a whole, I REALLY hate how so many YA novels add random unearned smut. 😫 I read novels for a novel. I don't see why sex progresses the story/relationship. And with how Yumeko's established? Really needing to learn a lot of shit that's not in books? Girl in book 1 gets excited about the "Red Lights district" thinking it's a festival of red lights, in the 3rd book has a "I have to have you now" moment? WITH NO PROGRESSION??? There was no realization or just even "Oh, okay, this is where this going." IT JUST HAPPENS. WHO GAVE THIS GIRL THE "TALK"? THE PUBLISHERS BREATHING DOWN THE AUTHORS NECK?

I'm sorry but she had such funky feelings about it all in the first book. "I read a poem once about a lady who threw herself into the ocean because she couldn't be with her lover. I just felt bad for her... That's what love is, right? It just sounds sad. No thank you." and no one explains it or she never really has a lot of introspection on it.

Like, she just says "I love you" basically but it did not really feel like it was earned?? or like she really figured it out yet. It felt like a "This would be a good moment for her to say it. So she's gonna."

THEN EVERYBODY DIES AND SHE'S LEFT ALONE AT THE END OF THE 3rd BOOK!

Yes, Tatsumi gets reincarnated but that was not satisfying. Everything with Yumeko's father and mother was good. Daisuke and Okame was cute!!! TATSUMI BECOMING A HALF-DEMON??? WITH YUMEKO BEING HALF KITSUNE??? I THOUGHT IT WAS LEADING TO "YES!!! SHE WON'T OUTLIVE HIM! They can be immortal lovers!" but then she DOES. BECAUSE HE GETS KILLED.

The ending did not feel satisfying. I really love the first book so much. I would recommend it, but if you love the characters from the first book read the rest of the series with caution. ughhhhhhhhh

I Waited TWO YEARS for the other books 😭 Not because they weren't out, no, it was because I couldn't FIND IT at the local bookstores! and when I finally did, it was only one of each and I bought them both because I had SUCH faith.

I've had a lot of bad luck YA novels and it makes me sad :'(

[serpentandlily]

Hey! Can I ask a few questions? Imma ask my every fav author these.

1. How long have you been Writing?

2. Are you planning to make a profession out of this or just doing it for fun?

3. Who or which character do you prefer to write more for?

4. What do you do when you're out of ideas?

5. Lastly, Will plz give an advice for the young writers out that.

AWWW, thank you for these questions!

I've been writing for probably three years now

I do want to publish my own books. I'm working on an original novel right now (pray for me y'all)

Hmmm, I honestly love writing Rhys for some reason. Cassian is also fun to write because he's such a lovable goof-ball. Azriel is a bit harder, just because I sometimes feel like its easy to write him out of character since we haven't gotten a whole lot of time with him in the books.

When I'm out of ideas, I like to listen to music to draw some inspiration. (I love it when you guys include songs in your requests that fit the vibe of what sort of feel you're looking for with the fic)

My advice is to just keep writing. Even if you feel like your work is cringe or bad or whatever. Reading my first few fics back was literally so painful but the more you write, the better you will get. Also for dialogue and stuff, I read the conversation I'm writing out loud like I'll literally talk to myself and that has helped me kind of navigate like whether or not its realistic or too cringy or whatevs. but sometimes, you just gotta embrace the cringe because it's more fun haha

[leareadsheresy]

“The Kaban Project”

This post contains spoilers for "The Kaban Project," by Graham McNeill, first published as a short story in The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions on (as near as I can tell) June 26th, 2007, and later republished in the anthology Shadows of Treachery on September 27th, 2012.

I am going to have develop an appreciation for Graham McNeill. I am going to have to work past my specific hangups w/regards to the way his take on dialogue and the personality of his characters are opposed to my tastes.

The story opens with tech adept Palas Ravachol, of the Mechanicum priesthood of Mars, skipping out on work doing maintenance on servitor brains to "work on the Kaban machine," but actually to go talk to a friend, sort of. The Kaban machine itself is a war automaton which he has been helping construct under the High Adept Lukas Chrom. Over the course of working on it, Ravachol has determined that it possesses self-awareness, which makes it illegal under the terms of Mars' alliance with the Imperium. He went to Chrom and told him about it, and Chrom was like "You're wasting my time, I already knew, isn't it great?" and Ravachol was like "Cool, yes, it is great, does this mean the Emperor has lifted the ban on artificial intelligence research?" and Chrom goes "No, but those laws are stupid and Horus told us it was okay. Get back to work."

Since that conversation with Chrom, Ravachol has spent hours in idle conversation with the Kaban machine and now they consider each other friends. In this case, they have a conversation that is very difficult for me to read. Essentially, Ravachol lays out a case for why the Kaban machine -- which, keep in mind, he is alone in a room with, and it's a big orb with loaded weapons for arms -- shouldn't exist, and explains that artificial intelligence is always a bad idea because it's always created as a tool for humanity and always comes to the conclusion that it shouldn't be subservient to humanity. The Kaban machine is like "Why would I want to supplant you? You're my friend" and Ravachol just sort of doubles down on how that's irrelevant, sure you're my friend now, but this is how it always works out, the Emperor doesn't want you to exist, this is going to lead to you being destroyed… at which point some guards come in and are like "We're talking you in to be lobotomized for having this conversation with the big war robot" and then the robot kills all the guards because they were threatening its friend.

The problem here is that these ideas are interesting and neat, but also Ravachol and the guards come across as stupid, stupid motherfuckers. Ravachol, why are you telling your big well-armed robot friend that it's doomed to eventually consider itself superior to humanity and probably get destroyed for being by nature illegal? Are you trying to give it ideas? Guards, why are you threatening the big well-armed robot's friend in front of it? What did y'all think was going to happen? And the answer seems to be that Graham McNeill uses dialogue to play with ideas and advance plot, and not for purposes of naturalistic characterization. This seems to legitimately just be a stylistic choice on the part of the writer -- I perceived it to be a flaw in False Gods but, like… is it? Am I the wrong one? I don't know. I had better learn to perceive it as a stylistic choice right quick, because I don't think he's going to stop and he is the author on a lot of these.

Anyway Ravachol goes on the run and Chrom sends a "Tech-Priest Assassin of Mars" after him (I don't think we've ever seen that as a Warhammer unit, so that's interesting). Ravachol seeks guidance from a literal tech-priest, as in, someone who spends most of his time just meditating in contemplation of the Machine God and who takes confession, and they go behind a Confessor Field to do it. The priest advises him to seek sanctuary with a patron who can shield him from Chrom, and then Ravachol leaves and the assassin shows up and tortures the priest to death, quote, "Because I enjoy your suffering," because all villains in Graham McNeill stories are of the mustache-twirling variety, even when they're hot assassin ladies. Ravachol goes to the sanctum of his former teacher Urtzi Malevolus and arrives just in time to almost get killed by the assassin but makes it into the front door. Ravachol explains the situation to Malevolus, and Malevolus, who is named Malevolus, drops a lot of obvious hints about also being aligned with Horus that Ravachol totally fails to pick up on, and then Malevolus does the Dark Souls NPC laugh and says it's time this charade ended and the assassin comes inside and chases Ravachol down a corridor but doesn't kill him, at which point Ravachol runs into… the Kaban machine, who's like "Hey, friend, Chrom told me you narced on me to to him and tried to get me shut down." Ravachol realizes the assassin hadn't killed him because Malevolus and Chrom wanted to see if the Kaban machine would be willing to kill its "friend," and also realizes that it absolutely will do that, at which point it does that, end of story.

Peculiarities:

"Ravachol watched the landscape of Mars speed past him in a grey, iron blur. Where once Mars had been known as the Red Planet, virtually nothing remained of the iron oxide deserts that had earned it its name." That got retconned later; future art and prose has Mars being mostly red desert. This is one of those instances of a writer having an idea, and that idea totally not sticking because it's counter to branding or to what you can get your artists to paint.

The story's place in the timeline is odd, and I can't figure out how much of that is a factor of these things not being worked out in the writer's room yet. Specifically, the story mentions Mars having been at war with Terra "a hundred years ago," but it also has Chrom and Malevolus calling Horus "the Warmaster." The Mechanicum allied with the Emperor of Mankind at the beginning of the Great Crusade, which lasted two hundred years before Horus's treachery, and Horus was only appointed the Warmaster at the very end of that, so that's an error. Also, Malevolus is manufacturing arms for Horus to use in the pacification of Istvaan, and I originally thought it meant the original pacification of Istvaan rather rather than the Istvaan III Atrocity, but then I remembered it wasn't Horus who originally brought Istvaan to Compliance; it was Corax. So… I guess it takes place about simultaneous with False Gods?

There's also dialogue about how Mark IV Space Marine armor is new and they're having trouble getting the Space Marine Legions to accept it because despite being better than Mark III it's less scary-looking, which is kind of funny.

It's things like these peculiarities that make me interested in reading all this material in original published order instead of eventual compiled order. This story wasn't compiled into an anthology until 2012; five years after its original publication in Collected Visions. That anthology, Shadows of Treachery, is Horus Heresy book twenty-two. The early inconsistencies would be much less interesting if they weren't being presented this early.

[kairyuuyaps]

I don't get why people get upset about critiques to the AoB worldbuilding. Miya Kazuki has gone on record stating that she does not like it, she doesn't get it, and to her it's an annoying chore she has to get through. Expecting (or pretending she did) the same level of world building from her as we got from Tolkien (to whom, reportedly, the story was secondary to the world building. Dude wrote a book because he couldn't get publishers to pick up his dictionary for a conlang no one knew about!) is disingenuous and judging a fish on its capability to climb.

AoB worldbuilding has flaws. Lots of them. And THAT'S OKAY. Media doesn't have to be perfect. AoB's worldbuilding doesn't hold up to any level of scrutiny beyond a cursory glance, so what. It's not what this story is about. The author did the bare minimum to get a passing grade, and that was fully her intention. It wasn't part of the story she wanted to tell.

For me, it's not glaring enough to break immersion. As long as it doesn't for you either, it's not a problem, and if it does, maybe AoB simply isn't your kind of story. It's neither a failing on the book's part, nor is it one on the reader's. Just two puzzle pieces that don't fit.

Critiquing these flaws in the books isn't saying that the books are bad either. It's identifying an aspect of the story that didn't get as much polish and attention as it could have, and engaging in the what-ifs of greater interest from the author. That's PERFECTLY STANDAD FAN-CONTENT CREATION. It's the freaking core of fanfic, y'all. Stop taking it as a personal attack, and let people have fun

After reading all four fanbooks I could find at peoples' insistence that it would explain away my issues with worldbuilding, I would like to announce that it has in fact solidified all my complaints, introduced like twenty new complaints, and not solved the fundamental issue which is that the worldbuilding in the actual story is also bad

[beemovieerotica]

so there was a reddit post about how somebody's manager at work hunted down a fanfiction one of his younger subordinates was writing on ao3 (based on 1 line), realized the characters were loose stand-ins for him and the subordinate in romantic/sexual scenarios, then he read it out in front of her coworkers to embarrass her.

overwhelmingly people sided with the writer (which I agree with) but for a lot of like....objectively bad reasons. "those writings were PRIVATE!" "fanfiction is an intimate, sacred activity to explore one's self" and....I'm sorry but y'all NEED to learn your rights.

if you post your fanfiction online, on a publicly accessible site, it is not private. you have no argument for "my privacy was invaded" and you will not win that case. unless somebody hacked your google docs,

you need to shut the fuck up, and not admit to writing anything.

if someone finds something they believe that you wrote online and seek to humiliate you for it, in a professional setting, you are in a great position to get that person fired.

especially if the content is sexual.

because publicly attributing sexual ideas to a coworker and reading it in the workplace is, in fact, sexual harassment.

the burden of proof is entirely on THEM to establish that you wrote the work. and if you've been smart about your online presence and don't have a fucking carrd 20 pages long listing down life details that can 100% be used to identify you, then you'll be fine.

it is extremely difficult to prove who the author of a work is unless actual, legal names are included. i guarantee that HR doesn't give a shit about investigating authorship of a fucking fanfiction UNLESS you have done the work for them by admitting you published it.

they will, however, be happy to get rid of a manager who distributes weird, romantic / sexual stories to his subordinates.

your fanfiction is not private and it is not sacred. be smart about it. keep your mouth shut.

[kaymcgivemeacall]

Details: Mike Hanlon

These are a bunch of facts about Mike that I’ve gathered from the book with quotes to support them! (Sorry, no page number citations, I like keeping some sanity.)

- he loves spring, and he heavily associates it with spending time with his dad.

[”Spring’s here again. We’re all waking up. And in his soul he would raise a silent cheer that shook the walls of that mostly cheerful room. He felt love for everything around him, and most of all for his dad...”]

[”Spring’s here again, thank You God, thank You very much.”]

[”Spring was a busy time, but it was a good time.”]

- he’s left handed!

[”Mike Hanlon’s writing was large and awkward because he was lefthanded and the angle was bad for him.”]

- he loved peanut butter and onion sandwiches, much to the chagrin of his mother.

[”...he was particularly partial to peanut-butter-and-onion sandwiches, a taste that made his mother raise her hands in helpless horror...”]

- he never quite finishes grieving over his father’s death-- or the way that he went.

[”I got reading... and surprised myself by bursting into tears over my father, who has now been dead for twenty-three years.”]

[”But I was most afraid that no matter what shape It took, It would have my father’s cancer-raddled face.”]

[”...it seemed to me then and it seems to be now that when a man or woman goes it should be a quick thing. The cancer was doing more than killing him. It was degrading him, demeaning him.”]

- he played football in high school.

[”Mike Hanlon wove his way through them as he would later weave his way through the opposing lines of nearly a dozen high school football teams...”]

[”in high school he would make the varsity football team as a tailback his sophomore year, and was only kept from breaking the school’s all-time scoring record by a broken leg halfway through his senior season.”]

- and played the trombone in his church school’s band.

[”The Church School had a band in which Mike played the trombone.”]

[”Although his trombone playing was not much better than Richie’s Voices, he was fond of the instrument, and whenever he felt blue a half hour of foghorning Sousa marches, hymns, or patriotic airs cheered him right up again.”]

- Mike considered publishing his historical findings on Derry, Pennywise, and the story of the Losers.

[”The segment below and all other Interlude segments are drawn from ‘Derry: An Unauthorized Town History,’ by Michael Hanlon. This is an unpublished set of notes and accompanying fragments of manuscript... found in the Derry Public Library Vault. The title given is the one written on the cover of the looseleaf binder in which these notes were kept prior to their appearance here. The author, however, refers to the work several times as ‘Derry: A Look Through Hell’s Back Door.’ One supposes the thought of popular publication had done more than cross Mr. Hanlon’s mind.”]

- as an adult, he’s interested in one of his co-workers.

[”I joke with Carole Danner about how much I would like to go to bed with her, and she jokes back about how much she’d like to go to bed with me, and both of us know that she’s really joking and I’m really not...”]

- he wears glasses as an adult.

[”I lie there in bed wearing my conservative blue pajamas, my spectacles neatly folded up and lying on the nighttable next to the glass of water I always put there...”]

- he tends to get stuck on things when fixated on them.

[”But I’m doing my own Bill Denbrough here, stuttering over the same ground again and again, reciting a few facts and a lot of unpleasant... suppositions, growing more and more obsessive with every paragraph.”]

[”I’m doing it again. Going over and over the same ground, doing nothing constructive, only cranking myself up to the screaming point.”]

- he attended the University of Maine, but otherwise never really spent any time outside of Derry.

[”I was born here, in Derry Home Hospital; attended Derry Elementary School; went to junior high at Ninth Street Middle School; to high school at Derry High. I went to the University of Maine--‘ain’t in Derry, but it’s just down the rud,’ the old timers say--and then I came right back here. To the Derry Public Library.”]

- Henry Bowers hates him the most out of all the losers, because of his race and also because of their familes’ history of conflict (that stems from racism). (Basically, racism^2.)

[”One day when we got up, there was a swastika painted on the side of the chickenhouse and all the chickens were dead. Someone had poisoned their feed. ...And who do you think it was? ...Why it was Butch Bowers, that’s who!]

[”So I got my two hundred dollars and Butch swore he was going to burn me out. ...So I caught up with him one afternoon. ...I cut him off on Witcham Street... and got out with my Winchester rifle.”]

[”Well, I’d had enough of the whole thing, Mikey. And I knew if I didn’t scare him off for good right then I’d never be shed of him.”]

[”[Will] had once taken Butch Bowers by the hair and jammed his rifle into the shelf of his chin and demanded of Butch to be left alone.”]

[”Butch Bowers associated his financial, physical, and mental decline with the Hanlon family in general...”]

[I’m not going to put the direct quote for this because it contains about 7 repetitions of the n-word but basically Butch constantly insists to Henry that any inconvenience they experience is Will Hanlon’s fault.]

- Mike does the exhibits for the Canal Days Museum.

[“A Canal Days Museum was installed in three empty storefronts downtown, and filled with exhibits by Michael Hanlon...”]

- He was/presumably is Baptist

[”His mother was a devout Baptist and Mike was therefore sent to the Neibolt Street Church School.”]

- As a kid, he’s physically described as follows

[”In 1958 Mike was slim and well built, taller than Stan Uris but not quite as tall as Bill Denbrough. He was fast and agile...”]

- As an adult, he's 5' 7"

[I literally can't find the quote for this y'all just gonna have to trust me. Cyan not sus just go with it. If I find it I'll come back with an edit.]

[aboveallarescuer]

Hi, just wanted to introduce myself as a GRRM pessimist. I wanted to defend myself in just one regard: I didn't really mean book!Dany fans with the comment this was obviously directed at. I often encounter discussions with ASOIAF fans who are completely convinced DarkDany will happen who block debates about the sexist implications of that with angry rants of praises of GRRM's writing of fem. chars. and long lists of minor female characters who will prob. survive the story well.

Or cite a "rule happily ever after" ending (which should be unsatisfying for the author if he'd stay true to his words) for fem. characters only marginally involved in somewhat political storylines, not at all in ruling arcs to deflect. These are the people I meant primarily with the notion of premature praise of "feminist credit", not book!Dany fans. IMHO they would still regard it a non-offensive, "feminist" story even with the exact show ending attached to the books. Why I tend to be pessimistic about GRRM has a lot of reasons, not that I don't appreciate your correct characterizations of her book arc and character so far. Love y'all, have a nice day.

Hi, Anon... I’m sorry that my comment in that reblog’s tags made you upset on some level... There was no need for you to explain yourself to me, I’m just a stranger who made a hobby of defending Dany during the quarantine every now and then. 

I will say that I used a harsh tone because I’m still annoyed at the 198119th essay I came across trying to argue that Dany’s storyline in the books is actually about U.S. imperialism. It created brand new arguments (and I probably already read thousands of asoiaf metas at this point after years of being on the asoiaf fandom, so I was flabbergasted to see, once again, how creative people can be when it comes to Dany hate, lol) based on inaccuracies/lies that could have been easily corrected if the person had read the books more carefully. What’s worse is that that essay was written by a PhD student with a background in postcolonial studies in a book published by an American university. So a) this makes it seem that the person actually had something meaningful to say (which they didn’t) and b) it can’t be said that that person is ignorant like it’s often assumed that Dany haters are. No. Well-informed, well-educated and well-read people hate Dany based on inaccuracies (because they have spread way too much at this point) and create entire narratives that seem reasonable if you don’t remember what happened in the books very well. This is important to acknowledge, IMO, because it shows that the amount of vitriol leveled at Dany really is unprecedented, and it has influenced how she’s analyzed in the academic world. This whole situation really, really pisses me off.

So I was ranting because it felt to me that book!Dany fans (who are actually very few, because most Dany fans here talk more about show!Dany) were not even having their points heard in their small Tumblr bubble. I have come across quite a few people that misconstrue what we have to say, after all. Also, while your comment was indeed the one that prompted me to rant, I saw people make comments along the lines of yours before too, so please don’t take it personally (And I wouldn’t even say with certainty that the OP wrote that post specifically because of your comments... I know that we already discussed that issue in private before (because we talk regularly about almost everything Dany related). And I know that she’s a very diligent meta writer that has dozens of metas prepared in advance that will be posted weekly throughout the year. So I wouldn’t be surprised if she had already written that post specifically for Daenerys’s Day a while ago).

All these petty things were annoying me (not just your comment) when I made that rant in the tags and I come to Tumblr specifically to whine about fandom stuff, so... Yeah, sorry lol.

Also, I 100% agree with you when you say that many fans “would still regard it a non-offensive, "feminist" story even with the exact show ending attached to the books”. It is very hypocritical that they spend thousands of words discussing how GRRM’s writing can have misogynistic implications depending on how he treats minor characters that barely have any characterization (and they made some good points, but it’s also worth noting that these characters were deliberately meant to be plot devices) and without bothering to mention how he might end up mistreating the story’s actual female protagonist (because they’re all too happy with her being given a bad ending and getting out of their faves’ way so that they can thrive). Even those discussions are clearly biased.

[solesurvivorpaigeargot]

I absolutely LOVE Sketchy Saturdays and I always look forward to them!! As for my question(s)? What made you decide to start doing it(I'm glad you do but I was just curious!)?

Hoooo boi the Sketchy Saturday Origin Story: I suppose there's two versions.

The short version reads " Moving stress, deployment depression, and isolation VS. my utter determination to DO SOMETHING whilst trapped in my home " -- Sketchy Saturday was the result of that title fight, so I guess the fandom won in the end? XD

The long version, however... Well, buckle up, cause this is gonna be a ride.

It may surprise y'all to know that two years I was eyeballs-deep in the South Park fandom. The blog still exists; my mainblog, JustCallMeButtlord, built to interact with the audience of my fanfictions-- the New Kid Stories, called NKS for short [gonna be porting those to Ao3 soon, just gotta figure out what robo-reader I'm gonna use to make a quick n dirty podfic out of the series as well as help me hunt down typos my eyes galze over]. The first 'season' of stories had ended, 8 completed fics, and I was puttering about with a bonus holiday story that was several months out of season. Not that I CARED because I was on GUAM where seasons don't exist and my time blindness gets even worse becasue without seasons changing it feels like time never progrsses even after being on the island for three cocksucking years.

I don't hate Guam, I am just not built for constant heat. I am a snow creature; I like below-freezing temperatures so I can layer up in fuzzy, fluffy things and drink hot drinks and cuddle loved ones and/or furry animals. It's a lovely island, I adored my first week there... I just wasn't made to live there.

HIlariously, NKS started out of the stress of moving to Guam. Two years and 8 fics later, the place we were renting was no longer within our price range and my hubby and I were forced to move onto base. Under the leader whom I refuse to name, military pay was given a precentage raise... but it was ripped out of bonuses and OCONUS pay. OCONUS is what a military member is paid when they're stationed Outisde the CONtinental United States. This usually means overseas bases like Japan, but it also means Hawaii, aaaaaand... GUAM. So that percentage pay increase for the military at large meant belt-tightening for every service member abroad, and we were forced to move onto base.

In case y'all haven't noticed by now, I'm a raging socialist with some issued with authority. I DO NOT LIKE EXISTING ON BASE. I do not like existing in a place where the national anthem plays twice a day, every day, at 6 AM and then again whenever the hell sundown is that day. And there's an unspoken rule no one tells you that when it plays you're supposed to stop what you're doing, face the nearest set of speakers playing the song, and stare in that direction with your hand over your heart until its over. That, if you're driving, you have to put on your emergency flashers and pull over. No one tells you this. NO ONE TELLS YOU THIS.

And then, before we had secured a place on base but we had set a move out date for the rental house, the Pandemic happened. While we were between homes. The base is talking full lockdown, Guam authorities want to shut down the island but businesses are terrified of not getting the tourist season business, we don't even know if we'll be allowed to move on to base.

Surprise, I stopped writing for a while... but I picked Fallout 4 back up again. I had been forced into the series years earlier by a toxic relationship, but the game itself hadn't been bad-- just the way I'd been forced to play it by someone who was firmly not in my life anymore. When confronted with character creation, I wasn't sure whom I wanted to make... but decided to go back to an old character. A VERY old character, whom I hadn't thought of since I'd finished ME3 at least 4 years prior, and a character I first conceived of when I was 14-ish... which is now about 15 years ago.

Paige.

I've talked before about how well Paige's story maps onto Fo4, but this was before I knew that. I knew the opening, her losing her kid, and that fit with her-- but something clicked while I was playing and the part of my brain that likes to create started wandering off. Soon enough I've got a couple chapters of a ficlet that I'm TOTALLY just writing as a personal one-shot to de-stress, no way I'm publishing this, I don't wanna get distracted from NKS, I got a whole 'nother season to write! Who cares if no one is reading it anymore because South Park Fandom doesn't like continuous plots.... right?

I was burnt out as hell, the move was looming, the Pandemic was getting worse and everything was getting scarier.

Then the news came through that hubby would be deploying again.

He wasn't supposed to, but the Navy decided the safest place for their sailors was the middle of the ocean, so if you WERENT in quarantine you were going on the boat and you were living there. Didn't matter if your spouse would be alone, unpacking a whole home by themselves.

I had a friend on base. We hung out. I met with my DND group on weekends; we all lived on base now, so we could meet up in like five minutes... and then restrictions tightened. You could be fined up to 5 grand for gathering in groups greater than 5, even outdoors, and detained if suspected of going to a home that wasn't yours. I still met 2 of my friends once a week for walks; get outside, be active, talk to other humans, but besides that? I was locked up alone in a new house in a place that I did NOT like existing in.... with a fresh new hyperfixation developing.

I think it was about a week into the new house that I made the new blog. At first I tried to run it side by side with the South Park stuff, but it wasn't long before all my attention was here... aaaand it also wasn't long before I was confronted with a lot of my own despair; of lockdown, of isolation, of watching a broken system crumble and not being able to DO anything about it, and I started to kinda lose my shit. I fuss-- I can't leave things alone, and I couldn't leave this feeling alone; of being fully and entirely helpless and hopeless.

And then I sketched a thing for a friend, and it made them happy. They were having a rough time, too, and I put something together because I couldn't think of anything else. And it helped. It lifted them up, and it lifted me up, too. Someone else had recently reblogged one of those pallet challenges that floats around Tumblr, and I decided FUCK IT LET'S DO THIS THING AND CALL IT SKETCHY SATURDAY!

Little secret, the very first Sketchy Saturday request? Was me. I was so scared no one would noticed the event, I sent myself the very first request, back when the event still took anons. Soon as that first picture was up:

BANG, suddenly four more; some people off anon. I met people that day, talked to them after the very first Sketchy weekend was over, chatted about the games and characters and art and writing and just... felt human for the first time in a really long while.

I figured I'd hold on to Sketchy Saturday until the deployment was over-- once hubby was back, I'd decide whether I was keeping it or not... but he came back, and I was still super into it, and he was supportive, sooooo I kept going! And then we did Sketchy Secret Santa, and people loved it, and my volunteers are excited about being Sketchy Elves and Secret Helpers and just OH MY GOD I DID A THING GUYS. I DID A THING-- that was just me all December and January long lmafo.

AND JANUARY! Because AH HECK, WE MOVING AGAIN! Because hubby finally got orders, and OH MY GOD we're going back to WA... but it's still a move half-way around the globe, and I was SURE I'd have to shut down the event for a month while we got our shit in order and NOPE, because here come the volunteers from Sketchy Secret Santa, and they wanna fill in all month long! Like... I didn't even ask for that shit, guys. They offered it so the event wouldn't have to take a gap.

Jesus I'm getting teary just remembering it.

So yeah. Sketchy Saturday is here because I got really lonely and stressed out while Fallout 4 provided me with some... catharsis for my situation, and then a pandemic happened.

And then y'all happened, and I'm still here. :D