#(which i do have my issues with? like why on earth was this woman writing them like they were for sure going to be a thing when lucasfilm

[dameronswife]

girls when poe has a personality that isn't being obsessed with a man he's had maybe ten scenes with in the first two movies and has his own agency and doesn't always agree with his mentor instead of bending over backwards to constantly say she's right (when she isn't):

[v3nusxsky]

Aaa I loved the Larissa x Lesso fic! Could you please write a fic where it's late at night and Lesso's refusing to sleep because she has to do paperwork and Larissa is trying to force her to sleep? Could be smut or fluff it's up to you!

Distractions

*authors note~ I absolutely adore writing for these two women, and on that note, Happy valentines to everyone*

Trigger warnings~ smutty stress relief bratty subby Leo dom mommy Larissa praise kink teasing nudes being sent, masturbation degrading kink, body writing orgasms denial if you squint, use of safe words cause we love consent use of toys restraints the heel of her foot 🫨 dom drop! after care etc

Prompt~see ask^^^^^

Larissa Weems likes things to be on a schedule, to plan her day and leave just a little time in her day to relax. Normally that consists of her red headed wife curling her body into Larissa’s as they just relax on their bed. It’s Larissa’s favourite part of her day and makes waking up early the next morning bearable at most. Only recently Wednesday Addams has got in the way of this time by causing no end of mischief equating into a lot of late nights in her off sorting out the paperwork. Tonight was the first night that Wednesday hadn’t been up to her usual antics and Larissa would have to remember to thank Miss Sinclair for that. No tonight, it seemed her wife was going off her schedule.

Living at Nevermore with Larissa was easy for Leonora, to leave the school for good and evil and pass her title down to someone younger and ready for the challenge. Clarissa Dovey doing the same a few weeks prior to the red head meant Lenora could plan her move. Now a year later she had married her blonde principle and even got to teach at Nevermore for potions. Life being ever so perfect now, until Wednesday came. Now Leonora has no ill wishes to the child, but with Wednesday came Mortica. And that was someone Leonora would have no issues taking to her old doom room for a private chat. However, it’s not what Larissa wants so she stays just on the tail end of civil for her wife. That being said, recently Larissa has been too busy, they hardly see each other anymore so if acting up was going to get her attention then Lesso wouldn’t shy away from the challenge.

The plan was simple, she’d ignore Larissa for a while, it shouldn’t be that hard to drown herself into her marking. If all went to plan they’d be reconciling with one another before the nights out. What Leo didn’t count on was Larissa catching onto her little plan and deciding to play the red head at her own game.

From Larissa hinting at her wife it was time to head to the bedroom from the door way, to some fluffy texts promising kisses and cuddles, to some flirty texts. Leonora was staying strong. It didn’t matter that Larissa had offered what seemed to be a perfect night because Leonora had other plans. That’s when the small ding of her phone brought the woman out of thought.

“Darling🩵” would only be one person and that one person was in the room next to her, so why on earth would she be texting Leonora? A quick glance at the small screen showed and image that was simply heavenly to look at. Larissa adorning an emerald skimpy set of lace that was showing the perfect amount of skin to drive Leonora insane. The set happened to be one of her favourites on her wife. With no response came another picture, this time Larissa adorned a pale blue set which showed more than the first and a hand teasing her right bud, her face just out of view. God damn this woman and her ability to leave Leonora stunned. As her brain tried to form a witty response another text came in.

“If only I had my good little slut on her knees enjoying pleasing mommy”

“Well looks like you’re not interested so I’ll have to do the job myself dove”

Thinking nothing of her threats and a staying strong Lesso ignored all of this until another message came, only this time a video. Hitting play Lesso quickly felt her jaw drop to the floor, Larissa lay there in scraps of deep purple lace hardly covering anything, phone pointed up towards the mirrors that showed all the sinful things she was doing to herself as Lesso sat in the other room. Instinct had the red head making her way to their bedroom just as Larissa mewled out in pleasure.

Panting as she came back from her high Larissa was relieved to see her little show didn’t go to waste at all, half the battle was won, Leonora was now in the room and had turned to lock the door. Unsuspecting falling deeper into the trap Larissa had set. “Nice of you to join me darling” the blonde purred from the bed as she lazily licked her fingers that were coated with her juices.

“I-you pretty fuck” stuttered out of her wife causing a proud smirk to adorn Larissa’s lips. “If I’m so pretty darling, then you would’ve come to bed when I asked you to, instead you ignored mommy. What is the rule my girl?”

“Listen to mommy, look after myself for mommy, communicate emotions” she rambled off not knowing she’s accidentally broken more than one rule here. “And yet you broke all three didn’t you darling? You ignored me, you most certainly aren’t getting enough sleep by working yourself so hard and you definitely didn’t tell me how much the whole Addams situation is bothering you, did you?”

Silence and the slight drop in her wife’s head showed Larissa everything she needed to know. Leonora would submit, but it would be a fight as well. One that she was well prepared for. “Noting to say slut? Or did you just break these rules to get fucked?” Again silence followed so Larissa took the time to strip and tie the red head into her place of kneeling at the bedside. “I’ll get you to talk don’t you fret little girl, you know the rule? Mommy cums first”

And with that Larissa took her time to build herself back up to her height of pleasure while Leonora was forced to see everything in the mirror and listen to Larissa pleading for more. These stupid ties prevented any movement from her meaning the only way she would get to touch her wife is by backing down. Without realising it, she’d began to grind down against her heel, effectively soaking her heel and the floor at the sight of her wife riding out her second orgasm of the night.

“I thought you’d be a good girl for mommy Leo, but you’ve made a mess of my floor” Larissa mocked, “are you ready to behave now darling?”

“Fuck no! You ignored me all week! And now you think you get to remember and just try to punish me for no reason! This is fucking stupid Larissa. I didn’t do anything wrong but give you a taste of you own damn medicine, yet you get to look all sexy on the bed, a goddess at this point, while I’m just the lowly whore on my knees for you!” Lesso raged angry tears cascading down her cheeks.

“Check in”

“Emerald but”

“But what dove?”

“I’m sorry i didn’t mean that it’s just I missed you and now I-“

Larissa stood up to immediately untie her wife and settle her across her lap, face down, ass up. “Why are you here sweet girl?” She murmured rubbing slow circles on Leonora’s back. “Cause I broke rules” she muttered unhappily. “You did indeed my sweet girl, I understand why darling and we will talk about that later, but you don’t get to throw a fit like that” Larissa argued firmly before a couple of test strikes rained across Leonora’s backside. “How many love?”

“5 for each rule, I’m sorry mommy” guilt soaked her words now.

Larissa knows her wife’s body better than anyone else, knowing that it would take exactly seven strikes to have the red head ready to break, thirteen to have her broken down. So it was surprising that she began to cry out her apologises on strike ten.

“Shh sweet girl you’re done, all done, such a good girl for mommy aren’t you darling? All done now love” Larissa murmured readjusting her hiccuping wife in her lap. “Need 5 more” she whimpered causing Larissa to shake her head, “all done for that part darling okay? Check in with mommy please”

“Topaz” her voice wobbled as her sobs began to rise again, “I’m sorry mommy! I didn’t mean to make you stop early, I’m sorry I want to be good just no more spanks please.”

“No more spanks sweetheart, perhaps we can do something different instead of the 5 spanks hmm? Do you trust me Leo?”

“Mmhmm”

“Then go lay down darling get comfy in the middle of the bed I promise you’ll like this.”

Lesso quickly scurried to do as she was asked bring carful of her sore behind and waiting patiently for her wife. When Larissa reappeared to straddle her wife she uncapped a purple pen. “Five words, you don’t wash this off until mommy says so okay?” To which the woman nodded, she always loved wearing any marks Larissa left her with and purple was always so pretty on her skin. The other bonus was of course Larissa had body safe markers. Then Larissa began to write her chosen words on lesso chest stomach and thighs. “Dirty girl, “Bratty baby”, “Pretty whore”, “Mommys slut” and “Little whore” now adorned her body in Larissa’s beautiful penmanship. “Now sweet girl we are all done. Can mommy make you feel good sweetheart?” Consent given Larissa proceeded to provide the red head with the most toe curling orgasm she has ever experienced combining her fingers and little vibrator on her clit.

Next thing Leonora knew Larissa was gently cleaning her messy thighs, gently rolling the redhead over to apply cream to both ass cheeks in a generous amount before fetching a bottle of water and a small snack for them both. “My love? Do you need anything else?”

“No thank you Rissa”

“I’m sorry darling, I was rather harsh tonight, I’m sorry I haven’t been around love, I’ve missed you so much too. All I want is to spend some time with my wife but apparently this school has other ideas recently. I love you with all my heart please know that Leo” the emotion choked the blonde up causing her to go tense beneath Lesso.

“I know dearest. Thank you for tonight Rissa. And this now too, you listened to me when I used my safe words, Rissa that is everything and more and you even listened to my body when I didn’t know what I wanted. You helped me let my pent up emotions go darling, now I’m all light again. Thanks to my lovely wife. I’m okay my love I promise.”

“I hurt you Leo! I hurt my wife” Larissa sobbed attempting to turn away and curl in on herself. She didn’t know why this was happening or that Leonora was now comforting her when it should be the other way round, honestly feeling like a terrible dominant and a terrible wife.

“I’m okay darling, you helped me feel better. That’s a pretty good fucking wife to me, plus I got that sexy video and those pictures from this too. You are perfect my love and I won’t tolerate you feeling so miserable about yourself when you did nothing wrong at all. Now come my love we need cuddles and some rest okay?” With that the blonde rolled to once again hold her her wife, with minutes Leonora could feel her exhaustion taking over so with a sweet kiss and another reminder of her being okay the red head fell asleep in Larissa’s arms holding the blondes left hand just over heart in hopes of further reassuring her. Larissa took some time to reflect and just be before she joined her wife.

Word count 2056

[robiniswriting]

I’m still amazed that the BBC let Chris “wrote the Cyberwoman episode of Torchwood” Chibnall anywhere near Jodie’s run, never mind putting him in charge of it

gonna be brutally honest here anon I have never seen torchwood so I cannot comment on that specifically, BUT!

chris chibnall isn’t as awful of a writer as people think. in my opinion, he was hindered by his love of classic who. he was writing for a completely different show in a completely different time, and a lot of his plot and lore decisions make more sense when you consider the classic show. not to mention his politics, many of which were stuck in the 1960s-1980s.

as a result, fans of new who didn’t like it — certain key elements of it didn’t really gel with the current show and upset their understanding of the doctor as a character.

chibnall also made the mistake of listening to fans during his first season: everyone was saying they wanted new monsters and a break from daleks and cybermen, so he had a season of totally brand-new monsters. people hated it, said the show was unrecognizable. when he wrote a few new episodes with daleks and cybermen and weeping angels, people wrote it off because they’d already made up their mind about it.

I’ll always be grateful to chibnall for pushing forward and having the first female doctor. the pushback he received for that at the time gets largely forgotten. it would have been easy to give in to the massive pressure and recast — nothing of the seasons had been filmed when jodie was initially announced — but he refused to budge and backed jodie all the way. for that, I’ll always respect him. he’s put up with a lot of shit from the fans.

that having been said, disliking chibnall’s era is so valid. even though I really enjoy thirteen’s run (she is my wife I love her dearly) I can like that era of the show and also have enough critical thinking skills to see the problems with it. I’m pretty sure i’ve said it before but the politics of the chibnall era are atrocious (see: the woman who fell to earth, rosa, arachnids in the uk, kerblam!, spyfall pt. 2, the vanquishers — feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of these) and sometimes he falls into the trap many writers do when writing women, which is to water them down a bit. thirteen is Not as weak as many people make her out to be, but there are a few moments that irk me (see: needing jack harkness to break her out of prison. I’d have been okay with it if maybe she’d managed to stall the judoon long enough to send him a distress signal or something? maybe use the sonic to get his attention? just give her a bit of agency).

anyway, long story short, chibnall’s era has issues. but nowhere near the number that people attribute to it. as for why the BBC handed the show over to him, he was extremely successful as showrunner on broadchurch, had written well-liked episodes of doctor who and been head writer at torchwood in the past, was a massive fan of the show, and vocally wanted to being some changes and mystery to the show, something fans had been clamoring for for ages. my guess is he applied for the job, interviewed like anybody else, and they decided he was the best possible candidate.

no writer is going to have no misses, especially not on a show with such demanding deadlines as doctor who, and every new showrunner is a risk the BBC have to take. at the time, it looked like he was the man for the job. sometimes, it’s all just business.

[soracities]

Hi! So I tried not to say anything about some anti makeup posts I saw on your blog but I need to say this. I think you're very wise and I agree it's very important for us to love ourselves as we are. But some people like myself doesn't care about 'empowering' of makeup or whatever but we just have fun with it and we just love it. I say we because I know there is a lot of people like me. Yeah, we are feeding capitalism or whatever, but world is beautiful and it's also terrible so people trying make themselves feel good, have fun, ect. I see a lot of people who don't wear makeup and i'm happy for them! I didn't wear makeup until i turned 20 i think and felt good.

One thing I wanted to add is in response of post about feminine girls. I think everything needs balance and sometimes people tend to overreact in their opinion and divide everything in black and white. Personally I never cared how women around me looked and what they were wearing. But I would like to have same treatment, and not to feel silly for wearing pink or feminine clothes.

Sorry, I don't know English very well so maybe I can't translate my idea entirely. What I'm trying to say i think everyone should do what they like and leave each other in peace.

Sorry for this essay, just wanted to share my point of view.

Hi, anon! I'm sorry for the delay in getting to this, but I appreciate you writing this (and your English was fine, don't worry)

I think the main argument of those posts (and my own feelings about this) is not about makeup on its own, or even judgement about who does and doesn't choose to wear it--what they are criticizing is a particular part of the society we live in which puts a huge emphasis on women's beauty and appearance in order to fulfill an idea of what a woman "should" be, and the role that makeup plays in that as a result. Because whether we like it or not, whether we believe in them or not, whether we feel pressured by them or not, these expectations do exist. How we personally respond to them does not change that.

I personally don't have an issue with makeup or the concept of it (in almost every culture on earth, humans have been using makeup of some kind for literally thousands of years)--but what I do have a problem with is when we treat makeup, or other traditionally "feminine" forms of expression as neutral things when they are not. A comb or a hair tie is neutral--it's just a thing. Lipstick and eyeliner are also just things, but only when they exist by themselves--and in reality they don't exist by themselves: they exist in a world where we value women on their physical appearance before we value them for anything else--lipstick and eyeliner exist to emphasise parts of your appearance, to make you look a certain way--and in a society where we put so much importance on women looking a certain way, they aren't just ordinary things you toy around with for fun. You can have fun with them, but it doesn't change their role. They can't be treated as exceptions from the world they are used in.

I think sometimes people assume that being anti-makeup is the same as being anti-women-who-wear-makeup, which misses the point (and also suggests a very dangerous idea which I think, sometimes, is why people respond so angrily to these criticisms: because if we believe that being anti-makeup = being anti-women, then therefore makeup = womanhood, and this is simply not true). Whether you wear these things just for fun and to enjoy yourself isn't what is being talked about because these criticisms are not about you on a personal level: they are about looking at a society that is as image-obsessed as ours, and asking why makeup has the role that it has when 1) it is almost exclusively aimed at women--women who, as a group, have been historically marginalised, and whose value, historically, has almost always been measured in terms of their beauty before anything else and 2) the makeup that is emphasized, the trends and styles that come and go, are often not so much about self-expression (if they were, people would be freely wearing all sorts of wild colours and styles: when we talk about "makeup culture" it's not the same kind of makeup used in the goth, punk, or alt scenes for example where makeup plays a very different role) but almost always about achieving or aspiring towards a type of beauty that is valued or expected: to make you look younger, to make your eyes brighter or larger, to make your lips bigger or sexier, your cheekbones more prominent etc--again, on their own, these things may not be a big deal, but they exist in a world where having these looks means you are valued in a certain way as a woman. And when this exists in our kind of world, where the power dynamics we have automatically mean women's perceived power is through beauty, and where we insist so much on women being a particular kind of beautiful (and this starts in childhood) we have to ask and investigate WHY that is--why this type of beauty and not another? why (almost only) women? who benefits from this? who suffers as a result?

The argument of "not all women" wear makeup for empowerment misses the point of these criticism, because it is focusing on a person's individual choices in a way that suggests our choices can define the world we live in, and they can't. We are deeply social animals. Therefore, how we appear to each other and to ourselves is a socially influenced phenomenon. This applies for race, for sexuality, and for gender. How women are perceived at large, in different social structures, is a social phenomenon influenced by the societies we exist in and the values of those societies. These criticisms are about the society we make those choices in and how that can affect us. For you, makeup may be something fun and enjoyable and that's fine. I'm not saying that's untrue or that people don't feel this way or that you are wrong for feeling this way. It's also not saying that you are brain-washed or oppressing yourself for it. But it doesn't change the world we live in. Someone feeling perfectly happy to go out with makeup or without makeup, and feeling no pressure to do either, is great--but it doesn't mean there aren't a lot of women who do feel pressured into wearing it, and that pressure is a social one. It doesn't change the inequality that exists between how women's physical appearances are judged compared to men's. It doesn't change the fact that almost every childhood story most kids hear (that aren't about animals) have a "beautiful princess" (and very little else is said about her except that she is beautiful) and a "brave" knight/prince/king/whichever: the princess (or maiden or whatever young woman) is defined by how she looks; the male in the story by how he acts.

It also doesn't change the fact that so many young girls grow up hearing the women around them criticize various parts of their bodies and that they carry this into their lives. It doesn't change the fact that we expect (in Western countries at least) for women to have criticisms about their appearance and they are "stuck-up" or "full of themselves" if they don't. It doesn't change the fact that magazines photos, red carpet photos, films, tv shows etc., feature actresses who are beautiful in a way that is absolutely above and beyond exceptional (and who either have had work done cosmetically, or are wealthy enough to be able to afford to look the way they do through top-class makeup artists, personal trainers etc) but who we think are within the "normal" range of beauty because faces like theirs are all that we see--how many famous actors / entertainers can you name who look like they could be someone's random uncle, or "just some guy" (writing this, I can think of 5). Now how many actresses, equally famous, can you think of that are the same? Very, very, very few.

The point of those posts, and why I feel so strongly about this, is that we have a deeply skewed view of beauty when it comes to women, because, as a society, we place so much on how they look in such a way that it is not, and was never meant to be, achievable: therefore anything that contributes to how women look, that markets itself in the way that the makeup industry does in this day and age, needs to be questioned and looked at in relation to that. No one is saying don't wear eyeliner or blush--what they are trying to say is that we need to be aware of the kind of world eyeliner and blush exists in, what their particular functions as eyeliner and blush do in the world that they exist in, that we exist in, and how this does impact the view we have on makeup as a result. Your personal enjoyment may be true to you and others, but this doesn't change the role of female beauty in the world because, again, our personal choices don't define the world in this way. Often, it's the other way around. And we cannot deny this fact because, while it may not affect you negatively, it does affect others.

I absolutely agree with you because I don't care how other women around me choose to dress or express themselves, either--that's their freedom to wear what they want and enjoy themselves and I want them to have that freedom. But my view is not the world's view, and it's certainly not the view of a lot of other people, either. I don't care if another woman loves pink and wearing skirts and dresses--but, like makeup, pink, skirts, and dresses, are not neutral things either. They're tied to a particular image of 'femininity' which means they are tied to a particular way of "being a woman" in this world. I'm not saying, at all, that it's wrong to wear these things. But I'm saying we can't treat them as though these are choices as simple as choosing what kind of socks to wear, because they aren't. They are choices that have baggage. If a woman is seen as being silly, childish, or treated unequally because she enjoys cute tops and ribbons and sundresses, that's not because we are demonizing her choices, or because being anti-makeup is being anti-woman (again, it is absolutely not): it's because we as a society demonize women for any choice. That isn't because of anti-makeup stances--that's because of sexism.

You mentioned that you want to be treated the same as anyone else for wearing feminine clothes--but the fear that you wouldn't be isn't because of the discussions critiquing makeup and other traditionally "feminine" things--it's because we live in a society where women are constantly defined by how they appear on the outside, and no amount of our personal choices will make this untrue. Whether you are a girly-girl or a tomboy, you'll always be judged. And, in reality, when women follow certain beauty standards they do get treated better--but this doesn't mean much in a society where the standards are so high you can never reach them, and where the basic regard for women is so low to begin with (not to mention the hypocrisy that exists within those standards). This is what all those criticisms towards makeup and "empowerment" are about: it's about interrogating a society that is built on this kind of logic and asking why we should insist on leaving it as it is when it does so much damage. It's saying that that if we want everyone to truly feel free in how they choose to present themselves we have to go deeper than just defining freedom by these choices on their own, and look at the environment those choices are made in. And that involves some deeply uncomfortable but necessary conversations.

Also, and I think this important to remember, views on makeup and the social place of makeup will also depend on culture and where you are, and the beauty expectations you grew up with. And when it comes to the internet, and given American dominance online, a lot of these posts criticizing makeup and the way makeup is being used to sell an idea that wearing it is "empowering" to the woman (which is basically saying: you are MORE of a woman when you wear it; you are stronger and more powerful because, in our society, beauty is portrayed as a form of power: it tells you, you can battle the inequality women face by embracing the role beauty plays in our lives but it doesn't tell you this emphasis on beauty is part of that inequality), are based on the way makeup is portrayed in mostly English-speaking Western countries. My views are shaped by what I grew up seeing, and while a full face of makeup (concealer, primer, foundation, mascara, highlighter, contour, blush, brow tint, brow gel etc) may not be daily practice or even embraced in a place like France or maybe other places in mainland Europe (but that doesn't mean they don't have their own expectations of feminine beauty), they are daily practice in places like the US and Britain, and this is what most of those posts and criticisms are responding to.

We can argue as much as we want about makeup, but when you grow up in a society where women feel the need to put on makeup before going to the gym there is something seriously wrong. Embracing makeup and enjoying makeup is one thing, but it cannot be a neutral thing when so much of it is about looking like you're not wearing makeup at all, or when we assume a woman is better qualified for a job or more professional when she wears it. It cannot be a neutral thing when a singer like Alicia Keys goes makeup-free for a red carpet event and it causes a stir online because people think she looks sick (what she looks like is normal--I would argue above normal--but wearing makeup to cover up "flaws" is so normal now that we genuinely don't know what normal skin is supposed to look like because the beauty of these celebrities is part of their appeal: they are something to aspire to). It is absolutely very normal for me, where I am, to see young girls with fake lashes and filled in brows: it's not every girl I pass, but it is enough. I'm not saying they are miserable, or brain-washed, or should be judged. I can believe that for them it's something enjoyable--but how am I supposed to see something like that and not be aware of the kind of celebrities and makeup tutorials that are everywhere on TikTok and YouTube, and that they are seeing everyday? How am I not supposed to have doubts when people tell me "it's their choice!" when the choices being offered are so limited and focused on one thing?

I never wore makeup as a teenager and I still don't, but a lot of that is because I grew up surrounded by people who just didn't. Makeup was never portrayed as anything bad or forbidden (and I don't see it like that either)--it was just this thing that, for me growing up, was never made to be a necessity not even for special occasions. I saw airbrushed photos and magazines all around me, for sure, and I definitely felt the beauty pressure and the body pressure (for example, I definitely felt my confidence would be better if I wore concealer to deal with my uneven skintone, and I felt this for years). But I also know that, growing up, I saw both sides. No makeup was the default I saw at home, while makeup was the default I saw outside. And that does play a part, not just in the choices you make, but in the choices that you feel you are allowed to make. No makeup was an option for me because it was what I saw everyday, even with my own insecurities; but if you do not see that as an option around you (and I know for most girls my age, where I grew up, it probably wasn't) then how can we fully argue that the decision you make is a real choice?

If I wanted to wear a cute skirt outside, for example, and decided to shave my legs--that isn't a real choice. And it cannot ever be a real choice, no matter how much I say "this is for me" or "I prefer it like this" because going out in public with hairy legs and going out in public with shaved legs will cause two completely different reactions. How can I separate what I think is "my choice" from a choice I make because I want to avoid the negative looks and comments? And how can I argue that choosing to shave is a freely made choice when the alternative has such negativity? If you feel pressured into choosing one thing over another, that's not a choice. Does this make sense?

This is how I feel about makeup most of the time, and what I want more than anything else is for us to be able to have a conversation about why we make the choices we do beyond saying "it makes me feel good" and ending the conversation there. Again, I'm not saying people need to stop wearing makeup or stop finding enjoyment in wearing it, but I think we tend to get so focused on our own feelings about this and forget that there is a bigger picture and this picture is a deeply unequal one. That is what this conversation is about. I hope this explains some things, anon, and if I misinterpreted anything please feel free to message me again. x

[thevindicativevordan]

Thoughts on the new announcements on absolute comics

Anonymous asked: Hello! How are you feeling? What do you think of the new creative teams DC announced for October?

Anonymous asked: So ! What are your thoughts on the All In initiative and the new creative teams for the existing books like Action ?

txtmasterblast asked: On a scale of 0 to 10, how much are you looking forward to the upcoming Absolute Universe line?

Thought I'd save this for SDCC since there are still some rumored books that are yet to be confirmed, but I can save my thoughts for when those are officially announced. Short version is that this is extremely exciting.

Dawn of DC was DC playing it safe, and they botched the initiative because of how they spammed low quality events like Knight Terrors. Now they're stepping up to the plate and trying to tap into the energy created by Marvel's Ultimate Universe and the Energon Universe. They're trying to take a big swing and hit a home run. After multiple attempts by Didio to create something like this, it's downright ironic that Snyder finally is the one to do it given the two of them clashed at the end of their tenures. Once again Snyder seems to be trying to infuse the DCU with the essence of Metal, and at least this version appears to revolve less around Batman. I won't lie, hearing Snyder name drop Doomsday Clock and talk about "Darkseid Energy" in the promo video made me cringe.

The success of Hickman's Ultimate Universe and the Energon Universe came because they broke free of the usual shared universe comic nonsense. The Maker is an evil Reed Richards who eliminated all the heroes who couldn't be turned in order to build his perfect world. Energon was a reboot with no prior knowledge required. Simple! If the Absolute Universe requires me to know about the "Metaverse", throw it the trash because it's doomed. If the first issues of these books are not able to be read standalone with zero prior knowledge required, it's going to fail. The All-In one shot should tell us why this universe exists, what the pitch is, but it needs to be free from the kind of esoteric meta commentary which has poisoned DC for the last decade or so. Darkseid meddles with an Earth in order to understand his foes better is an easy concept to grasp. Don't make it any more complicated than that.

Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta - Least exciting of the bunch. Unless Snyder is going to radically change up his writing style, we know how his Bruce sounds. Even without the wealth Batman usually has, I expect this will feel very familiar. Since I've dropped all the other Bat books however, I plan on getting this and two others for my Bat fix. Snyder has teased that Scarecrow and Bane are the two Bat villains he wished he could've done more with during his first run. Scarecrow is my favorite Batman villain and the thugs in the ashcan look like thugs of his to me. I think this Batman will be juicing himself with Venom, explains why he's huge, which is a much better justification for why Bane seeks this Batman out than anything they've come up with elsewhere. That logo sucks but I assume it's because this Batman has to make use with whatever he can scavenge, maybe that is a literal bulletproof plate to guard his chest which he shaped to look like a Bat as best as he could.

Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson & Hayden Sherman - Thompson was a fan of the Azz/Chiang New 52 Wondy up until the reveal about the Amazons being rapists. Between the reuse of the silver/red color combo for this Wondy's armor, and how she doesn't have access to Paradise Island or other Amazons, I'm getting very similar vibes. I was a fan of Azz's run even though I acknowledge he "broke" her in several ways, I'm up for a second stab at a Wondy like that with Thompson. Tattoos show Hecate's symbol from Historia, perhaps this Wondy got her powers from Hecate only? My theory is Hippolyta went with her Bana sisters to war, and was never Queen of Themyscira. When she had Diana then, it was in Man's World. If this is dark urban fantasy Wondy, that would make for a good contrast with King's current political thriller run.

Absolute Superman by Jason Aaron & Rafa Sandoval - Bizarro arc was great, Sandoval is one of the best artists in DC's roster, I'm all in (hehe). No Fortress is a shame but since Bats and Wondy don't have their bases either I accept it. No family and no home is particularly intriguing. Seen a lot of speculation about what that entails, from this Superman being raised in an orphanage like the Action #1 origin, to Kal being sent from Krypton when he was old enough to remember it. If it's the latter then Absolute Kara will likely be dead, since she would overlap too much with this Superman. I love the design, grey suit with Morrison's first All-Star shield that Quietly only drew for one panel is a peak look. Hairstyle reminds me of Corenswet's "Clark" hair only longer, also reminds me of Anakin/Luke Skywalker which might be exactly the intention. His "cape" appears to be made of solar energy, perhaps this Superman has trouble controlling his powers? His solar battery biology might work differently here, with him "leaking". Or perhaps he even has a different powerset entirely? Seems like he can channel power into his arms/fists, if we get heat/ice fists instead of vision/breath, that would be the kind of silliness I love. Don't think this Superman will be paired with Lois, which frankly is a good thing. All the other major Superman projects focus on the Clois romance, for this to stand out I believe Absolute Superman needs to be dating other people. Since he seems to be a drifter, Aaron might eventually have him travel to other planets, where we could get Maxima or someone entirely new.

Other books have leaked and are probably right considering Bleeding Cool accurately called the Trinity, but I'll wait until they get revealed officially - likely at SDCC - before giving my thoughts.

For the mainline universe:

Justice League - Superman is apparently building a new JL that will be going after Darkseid and reshaping the cosmic hierarchy of the DCU. If DC had any brains left in their collective heads they would give this book to PKJ, but he's denied being on JL. Ram V still has a book to announce, maybe it's him? I would've said Waid but without Mora I don't think he'd take the job. Aaron is a possibility albeit not one I'd want. Seen some people say Lemire, and he did write the JL crossover with his Black Hammer verse. Please let it not be Taylor.

Superman - Mora joining the book took me by surprise, that is sure to have generated major fuming from certain corners. Doomsday arc is going to be a joy to look at

Action Comics - Waid and Henry are finally announced. Action going weekly was unexpected however. Only question I have is, does this mean Waid is staying on past that one arc? Not clear but since he will have more issues that the previous three Superstars I would assume so. Bitter as I am over PKJ getting kicked off before he could tell the Aethyr story he was building up to, Waid bringing in Morrison's Phantom King does make me happy.

Detective Comics - Taylor taking over made me breathe a sigh of relief. For now he remains quarantined to the Batbooks and Elseworlds.

Nightwing - Watters and Soy are going to finally give us the epic run Nightwing deserves. Watters deserves to be a "big writer" and with any luck this will be what elevates him to that level.

Batman & Robin - Damnit PKJ, you really going to make me read a mainline Bat book? Fine but you better continue the Olgrun plotline through this somehow. In all seriousness with Zdarsky and Taylor being on the other books I expect this will be the best mainline Batman book on the stands. Every previous time PKJ has written Batman has been enjoyable, and I trust him of all writers to do something different with Batman. Let this be the book that gets the general DC audience to take notice of how good he's been elsewhere.

Titans - Nah.

Green Arrow - Wish Montos luck, he deserves to be one of DC's A-List artists, but not interested in Green Arrow.

Exciting shake-ups are on the way, going to have to start trimming my pull again. Anything that doesn't wow me is getting dropped because I need the cash for all those Absolute books, which appear to be stacked creatively.

[thebestofoneshots]

firstly, I absolutely adore your blog!! <3 ur so cool

secondly im curious to know- what marvel superhero would you assign to each of the marauders? I personally think sirius would love ironman, he’s so tony stark coded

AH, you're combining some of my favourite fandoms, babe! Which is why I might end up writing a way deeper analysis than I need to lol. But let's go through it one by one.

My darling James, the golden boy of his era, he is 100% Captain America. He is hell-bent on protecting those he loves, and he would do anything for them. Also, he's been in love with one girl for all of his life. It's just so fitting for him, I feel?

But also, I feel like James could also be a great Spiderman (and that is probably his favourite superhero), especially younger James, with his charm and charisma and how he is loved and cherished by his people. Also, he is totally in love with a redhead.

Remus Lupin is a complicated one. You know, I feel like Hulk is quite fitting, since you know he gets angry and turns into a green monster, which kind of relates to Rem in a deeper level. Having said that, I think his superhero would be Moon Knight and I'm ready to diе on this grave.

Hear me out, it's about the deep-held emotional trauma and the way Steven and Jake came into existence to protect Mark, he would absolutely love, love Moon Knight, especially the Disney+ version of him. There's also the lack of control the multiple personalities entail (which is very much like Remus' turning into Moony) and the moon theme. Besides, Rem would totally have a mini crush on Oscar Isaac.

And for Sirius, I agree, he is definitely Iron Man coded and would love Tony, I mean it's in the daddy issues they share with each other, the family background, the rich kid persona and all that. But I also think Sirius would love, and I mean LOVE Peter Quill (StarLord).

StarLord also has family issues, but he grew to become an absolutely charming character, sharing his love for beings with Sirius (aka they're both a little bit of heartbreakers) and he is super funny, which I feel Sirius would love. They both love music, and Sirius would praise Starlord's taste every single day of the week. Something else Siri would love about StarLord is his found family. He met the Guardians of the Galaxy and they all adopted each other, in the same way, Sirius adopted and was adopted by James and Remus.

Reggie is Bucky Barnes (and this is one of my favourite Marvel characters). Bucky was brainwashed and tortured by Hydra, in pretty much the same way Reggie was by his family. He shared that traumatic past and his absolute desire to be better, and to improve, he doesn't want to be a deatheater anymore and he fights for what's good. Also, if he is Bucky and James is Cap, we can have a bit of Starchaser hehe.

Lily loves Spiderman, and not because James does, nah, Lily has been a fan since she was a kid, she loves his sense of justice and how he fights for what's good. Spiderman's motto "With great power, comes great responsibility" is literally Lily's bible.

Marlene is into Black Window, and not only bc she has a massive crush on her, but because she thinks she is the most badass character in the entire fucking Marvel universe, no joke. She can stand against beasts three times her size, and fight alongside the most powerful superheroes on earth by being just a human woman? She is INCREDIBLE!

Mary gives me Vision vibes, I'm not sure why, but I totally see her reading Vision fanfiction and writing some too.

Barty is a Loki kid, you cannot change my mind. I mean, forgotten and neglected child who has to be exceptionally good at everything to get the attention from his dad? He becomes evil bc he thinks it's the only way he'll get Odin to see him? This to me screams Barty, and he would love Loki.

And lastly, I think Evan likes Quick Silver. Firstly, he thinks he's super hot, but he also loved his relationship with his sister, and he loves Pietro's charm. There's just something about him that he can't stop thinking about. I also feel he would like Mystique, but that's due to her complicated past, and her ability to become anything anyone she wants. He feels it would be so freeing to do that.

PS. Didn't I say I'd go crazy with this analysis? Aaaah I'm such a nerd...

[laufire]

although I've enjoyed stories that went down that route before, I can't see jason & talia's relationship in the comic as surrogate mother and son. I don't think the reading came completely out of the blue (I still have this edit of the pietà cover in lost days #2 as my background pic lol. that's some culturally ingrained imagery! although given the issue it precedes, I wonder if it was more of a hint to antichrist!jason lmfao), and can see how lost days #1 would inspire it (although the same events in batman annual #25 end with talia kissing jason after the pit... and I read that first because lost days wasn't out yet when I was catching up in my jason reading, way back when. lost days erases this moment and I do prefer it that version though. that moment, at that time, made no sense).

but after that first issue that's not what I see in the run. jason's certainly not in the market for a parental figure, and he wouldn't have responded well to talia, had she approached him as one (and at this point, talia was very much about finding the right approach to manage jason... because jason had attempted to kill bruce -the comic attributes this to temporary psychopathy but winnick and I differ on this one-. and this didn't happen only because jason decided not to go through his plan at the last moment. ymmv at to why). this reading comes from a mix of things in fanon, but one of them is literally "well she's bruce's love interest and he's bruce's kid sooooo", and I just don't vibe with that, basically.

reading talia's first appearances and realising she's meant to be close to dick's age also compounded my own interpretation of talia's dynamics, sometimes for the worse sometimes for the better, but it's a canon detail that just feels so fitting for the talia comics I've read that now I'd struggle to see her differently, when beforehand I really hadn't thought about her age. this way, they're not exactly peers (dick seems around 4-6 years older than jason in new earth, ymmv), and I usually land on talia being a couple years older than dick. but this colours how I interpret their dynamic, too. how I think they'd see it, in particular.

since I'm talking about the nature of their relationship I do have to mention That Scene. very contentious and I do get why (I do not care for any m/f/m triangle dc has ever tried to pull with the bats, especially bruce vs. dick-slash-jason). but fandom either sees this as "talia, a much older woman, statutory raped jason, a teenager" (jason in the last issue of lost days and in utrh looks very much in his twenties), OR "I've decided talia is jason's mother figure, and I'm -with good reason!- tired of how often she's villianised, so I just Don't See It" [insert mariah carey's i can't read suddenly.gif], as thought there's no other possible interpretation.

and the way I see it is. it's not a Good Thing to happen, nor is it written with that intention! the characters are NOT in a good place and they're NOT making wise, healthy choices lol. and it's something that sidetracks what could've become a really interesting, closer friendship & alliance (I want them to be friends and allies sooooo badly lol. I think they'd work so well!! there's reblogs in my queue about it!!). but I don't see it as something to completely handwave if I'm writing new earth canon; just something to tackle head on, if I ever write about them after this period beyond having it as a secondary dynamic (which I plan to do, but that's another story).

ironically, these ramblings came to me because I'm developing their dynamic in a WIP for a different canon (the young justice cartoon. for reference, the ages there are: Talia, 1984; Jason, 1999; Damian, 2018), and rn if you asked me if they have a surrogate mother-son relationship in it my answer would be a solid... maaaaaaaybe? LOL. if they end up like that, it'll be with MASSIVE ammounts of spousification, though. which is how I see any parental relationship involving jason going, outside of 80s!bruce & jason, to be honest.

[astramachina]

For those of you who've been following me for a while now, there's a good chance you got to experience my journey reading the Remembrance of Earth's Past series last year. I loved Three-Body Problem, but The Dark Forest and Death's End were like pulling teeth. Both books had their very very good moments, but getting through them was a tedious experience I considered giving up on on multiple occasions. I will give it to Cixin Liu tho, I needed to know how the series ended and that alone was the sole reason I pushed towards the finish line. Any author that can make me tough out bad writing for the sake of seeing the end deserves some kind of award (and he won a ton anyway, so).

I approached the Netflix series with zero expectations given their propensity for shitty adaptations (One Piece notwithstanding), but after watching the first episode I was left cautiously optimistic.

Having watched all 8 episode I'm still unsure how to feel about it. I spent most of the series hitting pause to rant at my roommate about it, both positively and negatively.

I had many issues with the books, but some of the more obvious ones came from a writing standpoint. I love hard sci-fi. I could not excuse the sheer length of those final two books. The atrocious treatment of women as objects to romance and use as bartering for the main character. The abysmal MCs (specifically Luo Ji) that made me want to yell to the high heavens due to annoying they were. The lack of human connection between characters.

For books so steeped in sociopolitical and ethical commentaries, the flagrant misogyny and homophobia was eye-rolling. And not even in a "This is Bad" sort of way, just in a "This is So Fucking Boring" kind of way. I cannot speak for the author's biases, because the contents of a book in no way reflects the views of an author or their character.

Where the books shone the brightest were during the battle scenes, the looming dread, genuinely horrific thought experiments.

And, surprisingly? It feels like the people at Netflix thought the same.

I've never watched Game of Thrones but I understood why people were against it from the get-go. That, along with the whole "whitewashing" thing which I consider to be interesting. For starters, you're using whitewashed wrong. Yes, they moved the central story from China to England which was... a fascinating choice, but of the core five (that quickly became the core four), only two of them are white. I'm not saying it was okay for a western adaptation to take a cast and further diversify it, I'm just saying that that's not whitewashing.

That aside, I did like some of the choices that were made from a narrative standpoint. Reshuffling and streamlining events, for one. Removing the whole plot line about Luo Ji hunting down a woman who he invented in his head in order to marry her? I'm not entirely sold on the idea of taking core events and divvying them up between four different people, but I do understand what they're trying to do.

The book series failed at crafting believable and impactful relationships between its human characters, which made the narrative feel hollow and one-dimensional. This adaptation aimed to change this by slapping a band-aid over the issue. Like I said, I'm still unsure of how I feel about this.

A lot of unnecessary stuffing was removed to make a suitable run time, and I say unnecessary because there's really no scenes that are making me go "oh, I wish this had been included". Was some stuff rushed? Yes. The passage of time could have been outlined a little better, but that's a small nitpick on my end.

The scale of things was toned down, and I don't think Netflix has the capability (or budget) to tackle space battles.

Honestly? I don't really see this getting a second season for a variety of reasons, and I'd be okay with that.

It was an "okay" watch, in the end.

Tho, I'm still flabbergasted by the random "gory scary jumpscare" scenes????? Where did those come from??? I don't remember anything like that being in the books but, you know. I've read a lot more books since finishing these, so.

[coldflasher]

last thing i needed today was to sit through multiple hours of conversation with my mum's shitty boyfriend in which he

told me i should "prioritize driving lessons above all else" (the irony in this will become clear from the points below because he then spent the rest of the afternoon negging me and calling me lazy and unmotivated for not doing other things he thinks i should be dedicating more time to, in an act of sheer, breathtaking hypocrisy)

questioned me about why i have issues driving and then when i explained that it makes me anxious he said "just remember that a car is like a missile. you could easily kill someone with it and also everyone else on the road is trying to kill you." IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME *LESS* ANXIOUS, YOU FUCKING PILLOCK?? i was like yeah thoughts like that are literally the ENTIRE PROBLEM but thanks :)

derided me for not having finished my novel yet, even though i sincerely doubt the man has ever written so much as a coherent text message. also i specifically told my mum i didnt want to talk to him about writing cos i knew he'd be a dick about it and oh look

made numerous comments accusing me of "making excuses" for not going to the gym, when i know for a fact he also does not go to the gym or exercise at all. also made weird comments about how my mum eats too much and how we "shovel food in our faces". get fucked get fucked get FUUUUUCKED. my mum is borderline eating disordered. she will literally walk around the garden in circles to hit her step goal and also has earnestly told me that she aims to eat 1200 calories a day, which is an appropriate calorific intake for a toddler, not a woman in her fifties, and i am entirely convinced it is at least 50% his fault

then he started talking about how he'd just spent £50 on a "grounding blanket" that is supposed to absorb all the electrical currents from the human body to make you more aligned with the earth or some other wank. truly incredible. i was like hm now im no expert but don't we need those electrical signals to you know. keep our brains working. not that that's a problem you often encounter, i'm sure

[fancyfade]

What do you think of Marv Wolfman as a writer?

I think that he has a lot stronger ideas than he has execution.

Ok so I love NTT, and Wolfman wrote NTT, so you'd think I'd be like "he's amazing omg I love him forever".

But.

The comic does take a notable downturn in quality when Perez leaves after Terror of Trigon. This isn't necessarily only due to Wolfman. By this time, the comic had been going on about 5 years and I think anyone would start to run out of ideas by then. (tho the quality also did rise again when Perez joined for the Donna Troy arc :P) The comic continues to drop in quality getting pretty much unreadably bad by issue 71 (a period of comics i have tagged on my tumblr as "wtt (link)" standing for either Wolfman's Teen Titans or Worst Teen Titans depending on ur opinion :P)

anyway, but if it was just writing on NTT (after 5 great years - though not without flaws, I'm sure I've already blabbered about the stuff that I find flawed in NTT a lot on my tumblr) going downhill I wouldn't say he's not really a great writer, but also I'm not impressed by anything else he's written really.

Like he wrote some Superman issues in the post Crisis continuity that I read. I found them generally weaker than Byrne's issues (and this is from someone who hates Byrne's XD tho that's more of for Wonder Woman stuff than superman). he also wrote Raven: Daughter of Darkness which was again pretty mid.

More on "good ideas, eh execution": according to the back of Superman: The Man of Steel volume 1, Marv did have the inspiration for my favorite take on Lex Luthor that was started in the 6 issue man of steel miniseries by John Byrne

Anyway, "entitled billionaire lex" who has a positive public rapport (in general) but is still a scumbag is my favorite interpretation of Lex. He can use rhetoric to make it sound like he's interested in helping metropolis or the earth, but it's not motivated from anything besides self-interest.

anyway but that's why I say marv has good ideas and meh execution :P

[kissitbttr]

TJANK FUCKING GOD YOURE TALKING ABOUT THE R@PE SHIT IN THIS FANDOM. I'm actually in disbelief of how often it's being written. And I get the whole 'dont like, then scroll' and whatever, but when I open up my dash/tags and the first FIVE FUCKING FICS are r@pe fics???? And there's more every day, by the same, but also newer writers??? Wanna know what that is? Normalization. There's one blog on here that's so so so bad for it. And honestly, I get darker content, and I get the interest in rape from a psychological and conditional aspect, but that is when it's being taken seriously. These writers on here? Yeah, they're not fucking taking it seriously. If I see one more '💕🌷🎀' on a r@pe fic, I'm going to fucking lose it.

I can't imagine showing a survivor of SA one of these fics and telling them there is more like it. Like... How embarrassing. But the excuse is that the writers were SA'd and that this is the way they can work through their trauma. Personally, that literally does not add up to me. But! I'm not a psychologist so I can't dictate how someone works through their trauma. But, I can have an opinion on what they put on a public domain. And that's where the whole COD fandom issue lies. There is literally no healthy discourse. If you ask someone why they write about r@pe, they either block you, publicly slander you like you're the idiot for asking about a r@pe fic (???), or tell you to fuck off or something. Like... Why can't we just have a healthy discussion about it?? ESPECIALLY in a fandom with a pretty large female following. We SHOULD be talking about this not being hostile to each other, writers and readers alike.

Idk, sorry for the word dump. I spent four hours talking to a friend about this (who doesn't have Tumblr) and the general consensus was the same. I wish people could just think a little more critically. Just because you have a kink, or think somethings hot, doesn't always mean it's okay. And when you're consistently writing about it as a way to work through it, and posting it online, that just might be a sign that you should talk to a professional, cause there's nothing wrong with getting a second opinion.

took the fucking words outta my mouth babe. you are so RIGHT

tbh i never seen someone actively open about their trauma and say that they write the r*** fics as a way for them to cope. that’s definitely new to me. i mean, i’m no expert too and i can’t exactly say and tell them how to feel but yea that’s a little… bizarre. whether or not they’re using that as an excuse so they can write it i have nothing to say abt that. but if it’s a lie then they can go fuck themselves.

it’s not only this fandom i believe, right? there’s gotta be more and that’s the most fucked up thing about it. like i do not need to know you’re some mentally fucked individual who enjoys writing and reading about r*** content, u keep that shit to yourself. do not bring that bullshit here.

it’s pretty saddening to know that telling ppl to fuck off is their only response. which makes me realized that they are only good for one thing. how could you not have any ounce of decency in you to actually be aware of those things and realize that r*** is not okay and will never be okay?? I don’t care what’s the excuse or whatever reasons u want to bring to the table. if u don’t wanna talk about how r*** takes the joy out of a SA victim and leave a permanent scar in which they have to live with everyday, then there is no point in writing them at all.

and also, you know what saddens me more? the blogs that normally write them comes from women. because, man… you should’ve known better… you should’ve known that no woman on earth could ever live in peace knowing that one exact fear is the reason why we are so terrified of going out alone. why we are so terrified of men. why would you ever go out your way and change these beautiful characters to be some sort of evil spawn ?? weird ass bitches.

don’t be sorry for the word dump!! because i’m glad that some of you came into my inbox and expressed your thoughts about this particular bullshit.

they do need to get some help. and i mean this in the most nicest and disrespectful way possible tbh.

[lord-squiggletits]

Also speaking of absurd plots in Barber's writing, shout out to that time he wrote a scene of Optimus and the US President talking. And the US president who's a black woman and her father was a civil right's activist has nothing to say about the fact that a police officer in her country getting killed by Jazz was a big reason ppl don't trust the Autobots? Like, a major diplomatic incident b/t humans and Autobots just never gets discussed? Optimus never goes "so heyyy the reason my soldier killed a police officer is because he was about to kill injured and surrendering Autobots, can I get a pardon for that? Or maybe some kind of editorial where we get to clear the air and show both sides of that incident? In the spirit of transparency and fairness not only to your people but also mine?"

Like.

The black female president whose father was a civil rights activist has nothing to say about an incident of a police officer about to fire on surrendering suspects, and then the media treats his attempted killing as him being the noble police officer just doing his duty who was completely in the right to shoot??? Why was this major diplomatic incident not part of some major convention between humans and Autobots? Why did Jazz/Optimus never get to share their side of this incident on an official political or diplomatic channel? Why did Barber write one of his politician characters as being left-leaning and clearly in-tune with social justice issues, having nothing to say about a police officer from her country (a country infamous for police brutality and racial inequality, which she would know personally because she's a black woman) being the subject of an interplanetary dispute causing tension between Earth and the alien civilization trying to help them not get colonized by Decepticons?

Instead the purpose of that scene was like... I don't even remember, it was basically the US pres going "my father was a civil rights activist" and Optimus is like "hm I guess I'll leave Jazz out to dry for the sake of diplomatic relations." I don't understand why the only possible outcome of the story was for Optimus to just abandon Jazz when, as Jazz' commanding officer and a representative of Cybertron, he would've been within his rights (and indeed, may have had such meetings during the war) to demand some sort of trial to clear Jazz' name? Like, the fact that Optimus had this diplomatic power but didn't even try to use it, and the US President had a character background to make her sympathetic and she didn't bring up a trial either, just feels like a massive plot hole.

It's just so fucking bad because not only does the treatment of that incident not make sense logic wise (an international/interplanetary? incident of that magnitude is DEFINITELY something that would be discussed between the leaders of the two nations in question), it also kind of makes Barber's attempts to put progressive politics in the comics look really stupid? Like. Shouldn't a black female president whose father was a civil rights activist go "Ah yes, unfortunately I'm very familiar with pro-police propaganda and the way police are often potrayed as people who can do no wrong. We should talk more about this incident of your soldier killing a police officer, maybe have some sort of trial to determine wrongsoing. Because the fair thing to do is to give alleged victims an attempt to speak and not just assume the police are in the right." Like the US President isn't supposed to be a super important character in the plot or anything, but I just think it's really fucking weird to add this US Civil Rights Era background to one of your characters and then have her not react sympathetically at all to an incident of attempted police brutality.

It really seemed like that whole plot of Optimus deciding that public image is more important than saving Jazz feel super forced and stupid, not to mention it portrayed a minority character with activist backgrounds as being apathetic to an issue she should have a lot of stake in.

...

Also have I mentioned that the incident I'm referring to of Jazz killing a police officer was an event specifically orchestrated by Megatron? Who seeded mind-controlling, paranoia-inducing guns among Earth's populace with the specific goal of poisoning Autobot-human relations? And Megatron literally did an evil monologue about this plan in front of Spike and another Skywatch operative, and Spike is still part of the military in the present day, meaning that he would've known that Jazz killing a police officer was just part of a plan by Megatron BECAUSE HE WAS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE WHEN MEGATRON EXPLAINED IT AND IMMEDIATELY RAN TO TRY AND STOP THE INCIDENT FROM OCCURRING???

[outoutdamnspark]

I just found this in my drafts and I don’t remember writing it or where exactly I was going with it, but hey! Have some random Gardenshipping thoughts!

(cw: none. one minor suggestive mention of office stuff. under cut for length)

For all the silverfox!Emmet x Reina stuff I’ve thought of, for some reason I’ve never thought of Reshiram!Emmet x Reina before? So...

🔥 I imagine Emmet is an aspect of Reshiram - not the god-dragon in full, but a piece of it. He’s probably reincarnated several hundred times by now, as the mortal aspect of Truth, and has memories of all his previous mortal incarnations as well as Reshiram’s memories and probably even a good chunk of Kyurem’s. The man is A Mess™️, especially after Ingo, his twin, his brother, his other half (platonic, don’t make it weird), vanishes. After all, what is Truth without Ideals to give it purpose?

🔥 That’s why, when he meets Reina and she becomes his personal assistant at Gear Station, he gravitates towards her. Just like in Gardenshipping canon, he starts to fall for her because of her genuinely kind and caring nature; she also has no idea he’s a piece of a fucking god, so she just treats him like a normal person. Not a celebrity trainer, not a deity, just. As Emmet. And he soaks it up like a man dying of thirst. Here’s this beautiful young woman who truly doesn’t care what or who he is, she just wants to make sure he’s eating and sleeping and taking care of himself. How can he not be intrigued by her?

🔥 He can also smell dishonesty a mile away and he can tell Reina is just actually that good of a person. Sure, she lies about her living situation (she doesn’t tell him that she’s unhoused for the longest time), but I’d imagine Emmet can also tell the intent of a falsehood, so he probably picks up on the fact that any lie she tells is born from the need to survive, rather than malice or the desire to mislead. She isn’t hurting anyone - she just wants to keep her misfortunes private, and Emmet can... sooooort of understand that? (He might not like it, it makes him worry about her, but in the end it really only affects Reina herself, which makes Emmet bound and determined to get to the bottom of her problems and help her in any way he can. The man is SMITTEN.)

🍃 On Reina’s side, I honestly don’t think she’s all that religious; Reina is from Kanto originally, and she has a lot of internalized stuff from the local belief system (i.e. she’ll say things like “Legends” or “Birds” in place of “Arceus” or “Dragons”). She’ll probably still have a subconscious desire to believe in something, but she doesn’t actively practice anything. Also, having only been in Unova for a couple of years at most, she might not really understand the region’s religion all that much. She probably doesn’t really think about it - which. Valid.

🍃 That being said, she would probably not know how to handle being face to face with a literal piece of a deity. For starters, her entire worldview would be - at the very least - a little bit shaken. After all, if you go from nearly thirty years of disillusionment and not fully believing in anything because you’ve been through absolute hell, to suddenly finding out the man you’re in love with (and who’s been railing you over his desk every day) is the Incarnation of Truth, you miiiiiight need a moment to process.

🍃 (That last part, especially, because how on earth do you reconcile the fact that you’ve had an actual god between your legs?)

🍃 Reina already has hella self worth issues, so to find out that her boyfriend isn’t even human, she might not handle it well for a while. In her eyes, what could a god possibly see in a lowly human like her? She still loves him, that part will never change, but she’ll have to take some time to try and reorient before she can even work up the courage to go near him again.

🔥 Emmet, in the meantime, is going to be utterly distraught. He’ll put on his trademark Subway Master Emmet smile, but it’ll be hanging on with a hope and a wish, because he is not doing okay knowing that the love of his life might be terrified of him now. He can’t lie, no, but he’s gotten really, really good at talking around the truth after countless lifetimes, so anyone that asks how he’s doing is getting a series of non-answers until he can slip away. Reina makes him feel normal, human almost, which is something he’s never fully gotten to experience - because while he might be a shard of a Dragon, he’s still somewhat his own entity, since he’s, you know, actually out in the world of man and not sitting dormant in a rock somewhere. He’s constantly torn between two halves of his own existence, and the thing that made it bearable all this time was his twin; with Ingo gone, however, Emmet has been feeling the extra weight of responsibility around his shoulders like a yolk for damn near a decade.

🔥 Until Reina.

🔥 (Like in regular Gardenshipping canon, one of the reasons Emmet falls for Reina is because she just treats him like a person. Doesn’t fawn, doesn’t get close to him just to challenge him, doesn’t pity him; just sits with him and lets him be a regular guy.)

🔥 I’m also imagining the way Reina even finds out Emmet is one of the God Dragons of Unova is uhhhhhhh not the most pleasant of circumstances. Probably Team Plasma, but I’m picturing there being some sort of siege on Gear Station or an attack somewhere that requires Reshiram’s attention, and somehow, someway, Reina winds up witnessing Emmet with his more draconian features and spewing ethereal fire. Get that sweet, sweet ‘oh shit’ moment with Emmet turning around, eyes slitted and glowing, claws out, wings sprouting from his back, fire still trickling from between fangs too big for a human mouth, only to see Reina standing there, completely frozen, just staring at him. 

🔥 The follow-up conversation is gonna be... a lot.

🍃 I feel like it’ll take about a week or so for her to be able to talk to him again

[anoelleart]

WTW CHARACTER WEEK - Representation [3]

Science fiction and fantasy are genres uniquely suited to examining our biases. Why would a made up world have the same prejudices as ours?

Part 3: Race

[contains spoilers]

I find race incredibly fun to play with in fantasy. Our concept of race is largely constructed; through shared history, through culture, through geography, through diaspora, and through oppression. Thus, a setting outside of Earth would not have the same concepts of race - just like we didn't have the same concept of race 200 years ago.

As a woman of color who exists in primarily white spaces (and has her entire life), I used to only write about white people! Unacceptable. After fantastic works by Carmen Macado and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I've challenged myself to explore my racial identity in fiction.

***

In the Protolith, they don't have a concept of race the way they do. Thus, their "racism" appears through colorism and imperialism. Beauty standards are still determined by whiteness and thinness. The Empire and its Church are a largely imperialist nation which believes that death is holier than nonbelief.

So while Charlotte would never be labelled "biracial," the color of her skin is a central part to her character. From small details like maids tangling her coily hair, to her insecurities in her skin and body type, to larger issues such as the oppression inherit in her birth.

It's revealed that Charlotte's father (Samuel) joined the church as a doctor and became a missionary to a faraway island nation. He is exiled from the church and his family loses its land when he abandons his vow of celibacy to marry Charlotte's mother (Nneka). Charlotte's mother is moved to the countryside of the Empire where she lives until her death.

While Samuel begins as a sympathetic character, one who sacrifices his career for his sickly brother and who sacrifices his status for love, his motives become more insidious over time. His mission was inherently an imperialistic, colonial, and racist one. Nneka is taken from her homeland, potentially against her will, where she lives in near isolation until her death. Thus, Charlotte's birth comes directly from her mother's oppression - the colonization of her mother's body by her father.

***

I've modeled Charlotte's journey as a biracial woman after my own. Unlearning internalized racism, learning to be critical of the actions of my white male father, understanding the generational trauma my black mother carries and trying to break them as she did, reconnecting with a diaspora and rejecting the assimilation that my ancestors needed to survive - these are just some of lessons I've explored in my life and in the Protolith.

***

Other characters besides Charlotte exist as people of color in an imperialistic nation:

Oliver - black-coded; whether through racism or classism, Oliver struggles to pay tuition despite being more adept than his whiter peers

Rose - east Asian-coded; despite being a caring and bright woman, characters question her intelligence often due to unconscious biases

Agatha - southeast Asian-coded

Darcy - black indigenous-coded

Part 1: Sexuality

Part 2: Gender

WIP Intro

[penroseparticle]

1, 2?

Unironically I knew you would ask me the two best questions on this whole damn list, thank you Izzy for being the GOAT.

Song of the year? God what songs even came out this year. I don't think this year was a year where new music happened for me. (One of the biggest hits this year was... Fast Car. Do you remember that??? What???) I'm a little tempted to say Fast Car, but that's cheating on Ms. Tracy Chapman, who is unimpeachably the best version of the song (And wouldn't it kind of suck if the song of the year was just. An inarguably well done but ultimately less meaningful rendition of a song from like 45 years ago) If I can pick songs that I encountered this year but didn't come out this year, I could go on for a while. Lonely by Jamila Woods, All My Girls Like To Fight by Hope Tala, Get Down by Woozy. I think Van Gogh by Mette is great but not the song of the year for me, certainly. Rush by Troye Sivvy? It's more honest but doesn't feel right to me totally. Is It New Years Yet has new toy syndrome, AND it's a holiday song, AND it's a Sabrina Carpenter song that complains about overplayed music. Like. Self aware much? And also means it can kick rocks because that is NOT song of the year material. But I like music with a groovy influence, I'm a little corny, and I can't lie about this kinda thing. I categorically refuse to put Build a Boat on my top anything list, regardless of Spotify telling lies about my listening habits. (This is me lying about this kinda thing). I don't want to repeat a year in review song, either, which kinda makes this harder. I guess I gotta give it to You Wish by Flyana Boss, because it's the only song that's not 1. on my year end list, or 2. a song that had a reservation/caveat/well, actually attached to it.

Album of the year? My two top albums of this year were Something To Give Each Other and Jaguar II, but I have to give it up to Victoria Monet honestly- I didn't take to a piece of music this fast since when I saw Young Empires open for Reptar and fell in love on the first song of the set. I listened to Smoke and I was hooked- maybe it's the drug culture references but joyful and openly honest, maybe it's the slick production and variety on the album, maybe it's that it's not afraid to be goofy as hell ("I'm so deep in my bag, like a grandma with a peppermint" is quite possibly an all timer goofy lyric that still hits the right timber for the braggadocio it's placed as in the song, "It's a bisexual blunt it can go both ways" is just. so fuckin stupid, I love it.), maybe it's the features (Lucky Daye? EARTH WIND AND FIRE???), maybe it's the touch of old hollywood glamour at the end and the clear love of motown sensibilities juxtaposed with her talking about her 4K titties. I don't know man, it just rewired my brain but in a good way. More than that, Victoria made me cognizant of her in the stuff I already liked. Like. She has writing credits/backing vocal credits for Ariana Grande. I CAN HEAR HER IN THE SONGS SHE HELPED WRITE. She's goofy and sexy and has some fun production preferences, and I can hear her sometimes now even when she's composing/producing for other artist. I haven't been able to peg a pop writer this hard since good ol' jackie, and that's because he's everywhere and also in like 3 solo projects and also Taylor Swift's silver bullet. But like I can directly point to how much she worked on Thank You Next and the all time greatest Ariana album, Dangerous Woman. She helped write Body Count, Sin City, On The Way... all songs I liked by other artists, but didn't realize who, you know, helped make. This is not to say I didn't love Troye Sivan this year- and both these artists made my year end retrospective. I really dig Troye's album (Though I run into the issue I have with a lot of albums where I like but don't love the second half of it, which is why Victoria took the W.). Give the songs In My Room or What's The Time Where You Are a listen for sure. It's just. so hard to find an album you unironically vibed with. Unashamedly and openly. I honestly don't care if anyone else likes this album, because I loved it. I'll stream it enough for all of us, a bitch might buy it on vinyl Anyways sorry for running on so long, it's Jaguar II by Victoria Monet, because if we have to say Goodbye, let's make it a Good Bye is something I want to live by now that I've heard it.

[dhovgaard]

chocolate Cake

I wrote this for a contest that turned out to be a scam. if you have ever heard of vocal avoid them.

Chocolate cake and Gods By David Hovgaard

Millie Long put her tea on the side table and opened her notebook. She used a leather bound volume because she liked the feel and the heft of the leather. It also just seemed more official than the three ring jobs she used in med school. She looked up at her first patient for the day a tall dark haired rather attractive man of perhaps middle years. He seemed nervous so she, as was often the case took the initiative.

“So, Mister Trevor why have you come in today Millie Long asked her patient?"

It’s Donahue Trevor is my given name he told her.”

“Oh, excuse me she said, I read the form wrong.”

“OK so, let’s try that again shall we. Mister Donahue why do you think you need to speak with a therapist?”

“Well I am not entirely sure I need to but I think I want to. I want to run a few things by someone and well, vent on some issues if I could” he told her.

“Of course why don’t you start with whatever seems the most pressing issue.”

“Alright then let’s see well I am pretty sure that I am a god.”

“You think you are God she asked to clarify?”

“Well no not the god but, a god.”

“I am not sure that I understand your meaning she told him?"

“I can see where you might think that I am crazy. You must get hundreds of people claiming to be deities of one sort or another.”

“Actually not as many as you might think. But yes there are some people that I have seen that have had similar delusions and with treatment and sometimes medication they can be helped. Now why do you think that you are a god she asked?”

“Like I said I don’t think I am a god, I am pretty sure that I am some sort of deity just which one I don’t know. I could be Zeus or Hermes or any number of lesser immortals or demigods.”

“So, you think you are a member of the Greek pantheon?”

“Possibly, but there have been so many gods and goddesses over the eons that I could really be any of them.”

“I see she said writing in her notebook that he might need to be confined for his own good."

“Now that is not a nice thing to write is it. I am not a danger to myself or others he said. I am not the kind of god that wants to do harm. On the contrary I think I can be of service to your species.”

She looked about the room to see if there was anything that was reflecting her notebook but, there was nothing. She didn’t have mirrors in the treatment room and the furniture and accessories were all muted mostly earth tones. The whole room reeked of calm. “How did you know she asked?”

“I told you I am a god reading minds is just part of the package.”

This was too weird she thought but she might as well get the full story. Maybe he was a magician or something.

“So when did you first come to believe that you were not just a normal human being?”

“Well, like I said it was about a year ago. It all started with chocolate cake.”

“Cake she repeated questioning?”

“Yep good old chocolate cake like mom use to make.”

“So you had parents she interjected?”

“I had a mother. She was not forthcoming on who my dad might be or maybe she didn’t know. I read that Zeus liked to have his way with mortal woman maybe that was what happened.”

“That would make you a demigod she offered.”

“I suppose it would but now back to the cake. For some reason I had this powerful desire for some chocolate cake with a big glass of milk. I thought about it for a couple days and then…

“You went out and bought some she said interrupting?”

“I didn’t buy any but I did get some, quiet a lot as it turned out.” “A couple days after the craving started people just started giving me cake often with a glass of milk. I was walking to work and this car stopped in the intersection a woman gets out and she brings me a slice of cake and a flagon of milk then she got back into her car with out so much as a word and drove off.”

Then cake started showing up at my door overnighted from all over the country often with milk in a thermos. Then just as it started it stopped.” “So is that when you thought you were a god she asked?” “Not at first but then later yes because it was the only explanation.”

“So what else happened.”

“I won the lottery.”

“Well the odds against winning are massive but it does happen she explained.”

“Every time I played he finished. I stopped playing because it wasn’t a challenge anymore whatever numbers I picked came up. I even tried Vegas won so much they banned me from the floor. Even the high rollers won’t play with me any more.”

“You are just inordinately lucky she told him.”

“And the women.”

“What women she asked her cheeks coloring slightly.”

“Well there have been thousands. All I have to do is concentrate on a woman and she comes to me. Even if I just know her name it’s enough for her to find me.” “Well you are attractive perhaps that is all that it is she suggested.”

“Really, let’s try an experiment he suggested. Do you have any female friends in the neighborhood?” “Of well, there is Sally down the street she is a gynecologist and pediatrician. She is engaged to be married she added not knowing why.”

“So what is her last name he commanded?”

“Jensen she answered still not knowing why.”

“OK she’ll be knocking on the door in one two three nothing happened.”

“See it is like I said you are just a handsome young… she never finished Molly burst through the door and jump on him lips first.”

They made love right in front of her and when it was over Molly dressed and left giving him one last kiss before stepping through the door she didn’t say even one word to Millie.

There was nothing more to say after that. When a researcher is presented with irrefutable evidence there is no longer any argument.

“So, you are apparently a god she told him what do you want me to do about it she asked a little piqued because of Sally?”

“Nothing I just wanted to tell someone it’s been a long year. My mom passed a couple years ago and I really don’t have anyone else to talk to about these things.”

“Well I understand usual when people start claiming what you have it is not long before they bring out the Haloperidol and the straight jackets.” “I don’t think however that there is anything I can do for you. You are as they say, beyond me.”

“I understand but like I said just telling someone helps. I am hoping as I learn to use what I have been given I can do somethings for you.”

“For humanity she asked?”

“No for you. I know that you have had a hard time having children. That will change now. You will have as many as you desire he told her.”

“It’s why I really came to see you. I could hear you crying. Now you will be happy he told her.”

“Thank you but I don’t believe even you can help us. We have seen the best she told him and they said there is no hope. We are thinking of adopting she struggled to say as she really began to cry.”

Hush he whispered and his eyes got so big that it almost seemed that she fell into them and then she was sitting in her chair sipping tea while Ms Granger told her about the problems she was having with her teenage daughters. The man was gone. She only had a vague recollection of him, even that was fading. Two months later she was feeling out of sorts so she went to see Sally and found out that she was at last pregnant. Oddly enough so was Sally. She didn’t recognize the street person that was standing near the door to Sally’s office. She distractedly gave him five bucks as she went to get her car. She never heard him say congratulations.

The end. Copyright 2021