#I love writers strikes they should happen more often actually

[tinstol]

The writers strike could impact your favorite show! A season might get cut in half causing the writers to send the main character to hell instead of saving him. He might have to be rescued by an angel the next season, whom he will have a homoerotic relationship with over the next ten years, shaping the culture of some blue website and changing the way people receive world news for years to come!

[elumish]

I talk about what writers should do a lot, so now I'm going to take a break and talk about some reforms that I think agents should make.

A caveat: I am not an agent! Unlike when I talk about writing, I am just talking about this as an author who happens to be in the midst of querying. If I have an followers who are agents who think I'm getting something wrong, please let me know!

That said, here I go:

Trad publishing is, fundamentally, about getting past a whole bunch of layers of gatekeepers, and agents are the first gatekeepers. With some very limited exceptions, you can't be trad published without having an agent. From what I can tell, being an agent is a bit of a thankless job--it's based on commission, so an agent only gets money if they are selling their clients' books. (Remember: the money flows towards the writer. If someone claiming to be an agent is telling you that you need to pay them to represent you, run.)

Because of this structure, agents have a massive amount of power over unagented authors, particularly because unagented authors simply do not have another option if they want to trad publish. It is my opinion that that power dynamic is part of the reason why querying actually sucks so unbelievably much for authors.

Now, part of why querying sucks is that it's a numbers game, which means that most of us will lose. Every writer is competing against a gazillion other writers, some of whom are better or writing things that are seen as more sellable or happen to be eariler or whatever. You are going to get a bunch of rejections, and that's not the fault of agents.

But here's the other problem:

There are, from what I can tell, no true industry standards and somewhat limited professional expectations for agents when it comes to how to deal with querying. Again, this is what it looks like from the outside--agents, if I'm getting this wrong, please let me know.

For example, many agencies and many agents will have different rules about what you can submit to them and how, and in many cases those rules are in somewhat arbitrary places, which means that querying authors have to hunt for them, and it's easy to run afoul of them even when you're trying. It's common for some agencies to say that you can't query two agents from the same agency at the same time, but some say that you can't query two agents from them ever--a rejection from one is a rejection from all.

But most agents' Twitter bios/MSWL pages/personal pages/etc. don't say that--which means that authors need to hunt through every individual agency's webpage and then cross-reference against every agent that they have ever queried previously, which can be arduous when many people are querying dozens or hundreds of agents. It also means needing to keep track of things like when agents switch agencies.

There are also no standard expectations for agents to actually respond to queries in any sort of time span, or at all, which complicates the above issue even more. But it also is just (imho) kind of unprofessional to ghost people who are seeking a professional relationship with you, when you have explicitly asked them to reach out to you seeking that professional relationship.

And to make that worse, many agents don't say whether or not they respond to all queries, meaning that authors are often left wondering if a 6-month or longer wait is a "no" or an "I haven't gotten to this yet but will definitely respond to you."

There are more issues that I could cite, but my overall point in this is that authors have no recourse here. There's not authors' union, no way to go on strike until agents change what they're doing.

And some agents are really awesome about this! But enough are not, and authors don't really know what they're going to get when they query someone.

So all of this is to say that, if you are an agent, here are some fairly easy changes I would love for you to make to your own behavior to make querying a little bit less of a nightmarish hellscape for authors (and thank you so much if you already do some or all of these):

Respond to every query that you receive

Tell people your general response times and be communicative if that changes. It's okay if it regularly takes you six months! Just tell us it regularly takes you six months, so we're not left wondering if we've been ghosted at four months

Outline all submission guidelines on Query Manager or where you accept queries, including things like a) rules about whether a rejection from one is a rejection from all, b) length expectations for things like synopses (I've seen a range), and c) any other expectations you have (e.g., you require trigger warnings). Don't make people hunt through 2-4 websites to find what you want

Stop asking or at least strongly rethink how you ask about Own Voices or why an author feels like they are qualified to write about a marginalized identity--I understand the impulse, but nobody should be expected to disclose medical or other personal information like that in a professional setting

Also, just to say (other than please don't reject my query because of this post), agents: authors really do appreciate the work you all do. I want someone to work with to get published, because I am very well aware that I am not the expert in this situation.

And again, please tell me if I got anything wrong or misrepresented anything.

[quatregats]

There’s been a lot of (very excellent!) discussion recently about Brigid and Stephen and how much she’s loved, and I feel like that’s a very good segue into a topic which I’ve been musing over for a while: namely, Patrick O’Brian’s treatment of love in general. Because honestly I feel like one of the things that’s most captivated me about the Aubreyad in general is the sheer amount of love it contains, the vast majority of which is (canonically, at least) non-romantic, and I think that the further I get into the series, the more that strikes me.

Like honestly I cannot even begin to explain how incredibly good POB is at portraying loving relationships, whether they’re friendships, marriages, or parents and children (/surrogate parent and child, as the case may be). I’m actually genuinely not sure if I’ve ever read something like it. I think that a lot of media really struggles with platonic relationships, which is a question that probably deserves a 400-page thesis about it and that I’m not really qualified to answer, but the Aubreyad somehow manages to create relationships that are all so imbued with love that it genuinely does not matter whether or not the people in them are in love or not. While I’m certainly here for reading Stephen and Jack as a romantic relationship, there’s a certain point where I actually don’t care whether or not they’re friends or lovers, because the complexities of what they feel for each other and what they mean in each other’s lives is just as deep either way. And all the relationships in the book are like that: Bonden and the Surprises looking after Stephen, Jack with Mowett and Pullings, Stephen and Sophie, and on and on into infinity.

I think the thing that makes me the most insane about this is that these relationships all feel so unbelievably, viscerally real. The love that’s stored there is the same sort of love that I feel for the people in my own life, with all the inevitable disagreements and exasperation and imperfection that it comes with. I think it’s incredibly difficult to capture that exact feeling in writing, and yet somehow he’s managed to do it. There’s been so much talk about the way in which people in our day and age and media in general struggle to talk about friendship and platonic relationships as meaningful, and I’m not saying that just any writer could go out and weave a tapestry so complex as the Aubreyad does, but reading these books is like a balm for that. There’s something so reassuring in knowing that a romantic relationship is not the be-all-end-all for any of the characters in these books, no matter how you look at it. Each of them is surrounded by a web of people who are deeply implicated in their existence and who truly care what happens to them.

I think fiction, by its nature of needing to bring characters in to serve a role in a linear plot, doesn’t often leave room for love of this kind, and I don't want to be critical of that, because not all narratives can be like the one Patrick O'Brian's written (which is 100% okay—it should be that way, that's how narratives work!). But there’s something so healing about reading a story in which all of the characters are so deeply loved. It’s like a mirror; looking into it, you can see your own relationships, and by extension, just how loved you are, even if most of the time you don’t realize it. Humans are not lonely creatures, and no one captures that better than Patrick O’Brian.

[bugflies00]

do i have a presentation due at 8am that i have barely started even though its midnight? yes. however i was thinking again about the category 5 ctommy event last night and all the things i talked or saw people post about and it got me thinking

i was especially thinking about how ctommy is too often, in fan interpretations, forced into the role of the perfect, quiet, palatable victim — which, i mean, we've all made various posts on the subject, i don't need to get into the how again — but i was trying to think about why.

because on one hand, a good part of it, its true, circles back to what society has deemed the "acceptable" victim, which many of us have internalised and unknowingly refer back to, hence why many automatically try to sand ctommy down to be more "pitiful" (not saying people do this intentionally btw . we all have biases like that and they show up in different ways . i just like Talking about this stuff this is Not a callout or god forbid telling people to harass fic writers they disagree with. Ok.)

but i also think, in ctommy's case, a lot of it can come from. projection? well this might be the case with many other characters obviously but im focusing on ctommy here because like. i think he's a character who's very relatable for so many people, who are also loud and not subtle or discreet and who feel annoying most of the time, and a lot of whom are kids and teenagers. and something that's always struck me when reading comments etc about him is theres this sentiment of- when this fictional character is annoying it's seen as loveable and endearing, so why isn't it the case for me, as a person, in real life? a lot of those fans have also been hurt or perhaps even abused and found a way to relate through ctommy's own abuse

and so i think sometimes this tendency to "sand ctommy down" is less out of a desire to actually reduce his character but rather because, through him, they want their hurt and pain to be recognised. and as we all know, when ctommy is quiet, that is so unusual that in fics, it often immediately strikes a reaction of "oh, what happened to you, who hurt you". it's the idea that him being annoying and loud is missed, but people only realise that when he's gone quiet. so the more "quiet" and "docile" he is shown as, the more striking that reaction from other characters will be, and the more support he receives. im not in any way saying this is something you should apply to real people or anything, im saying that this is a trend not just in ctommy fics but in general media — if you're someone who is loud and brash, it's often portrayed like the only way people will acknowledge that you have feelings at all is if you lose that "spark", and suddenly people miss you being annoying.

and suddenly, it makes a lot of sense why so many fic authors write ctommy as so oddly ooc and quiet and pliable and docile — because they've been taught that's what a victim should be, but they're not like that! and you can live vicariously through a fictional character who's able to undergo a much more drastic outward transformation than you and be showered in love for it, and theres a desire for that to happen to them in real life, to have their hurt actually acknowledged. is this word vomit does anyone understand what im trying to say here

[littleplasticrat]

Writer Interview Tag

I'm grateful to have been tagged by @tellmeallaboutit, @my-favourite-zhent and @beesht. Sorry it took so long for me to get around to. Honestly I am blown away that anyone would put me in a 'writer' bucket with the other word crabs

Tellmeallaboutit's interview

My-favourite-zhent's interview

Beesht's interview

My answers below the cut for some NSFW discussion

When did you start writing?

The most recent bout of writing started in December 2023 and was prompted by being insatiably horny for Gortash. This is the first time I've written fanfiction.

I wrote a short novel from 2012-2013 and would put that in the fantasy YA category about a magician who falls in love with a phoenix.

As a kid, I wrote a lot, up until around the age of 16 or so when I realised that I didn't want to live the life of a struggling artist and so set my sights on getting work with more consistent pay than writing books.

I actually do quite a lot of writing for my current job. It's industry-specific instructional writing but I feel that some of the meta-skills are applicable between the two genres.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I really only read horror short fiction recreationally, and I've only written one horror story - which I found super challenging and wouldn't really want to tackle again. Luckily, I'm able to excise the horrors by running TTRPG games and thus don't have to deal with the difficult challenge of making something sound scary.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I haven't been compared to any writers - I simply haven't written enough stuff that isn't solid filth XD

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

Up until I moved house last week, I had a dedicated home office with a large drawing tablet and my mother's boarding school desk from the 1960s. Until I can get an office set up in the guest bedroom of the new house (I'm in no rush), I'm on my laptop at the dining table downstairs or a local cafe.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I try to preach that a hobby should be treated like self-care and so not be a source of stress, but I have the heart of a procrastinator and the bones of a perfectionist; if I waited for the muse to strike me with creative stuff, I wouldn't get anything done.

So, if I'm feeling wigged out about life, I'm not going to force anything, but otherwise I have a 'smash it out' approach of breaking down the work as much as possible and going from there. Any writing I do therefore starts life as a series of bullet points of what exactly I want to happen and in what order, and I build out methodically from there.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

The thrill of fancying someone a lot? Horniness? Butt stuff? LOL

What is your reason for writing?

I want to be the freak I want to see in the world.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Any comment I get is like JAZZ HANDS. Seriously! It's so flattering to have someone slow down and look at my stuff, let alone acknowledge it.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I once read a shitty horror novel where the villain was able to destroy the protagonist's life, because she'd read all his books and so knew him. That rattled me so hard! There's no way I'm skillful enough to develop an authorial voice that isn't my own. So, like, don't think about what my disgusting fanfics say about who I am as a person please [jk]

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I'd say the action is pretty clear, and I can crack a joke at the right time. What more could a reader ask for?

How do you feel about your own writing?

I would like there to be more of it but my art will take priority for now <3

I think most people I know write on here have already been tagged several times, so I shall not tag further.

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA - Episode 3: Omashu (1/3)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

Here is where we start to see the trajectory the writers decided to go in for this series. In the animated, the Gaang pretty much always stays together - they all face the same plot in each episode. This gives them a lot of space to create their bond and each get to interact in depth with the same problems - and we see how each character handles it differently though there is usually one primary character the focus is on. When compressing the story into 8 episodes, doing that would mean about 2 and a half episodes need to be crammed into a single episode and happen back-to-back. That would make the structure feel very stilted and uneven as we hop from issue to issue (and setting to setting) without any real connective tissue - it would feel a bit more like a travel show than a cohesive narrative. By finding several plotlines that share common themes but focus on individual characters that came to the forefront of each plotline, the story can be condensed and cohesive for the hour long episodes. Here is also where we start our two-episode arc structure which gives more space to breathe and include smaller plotlines into the story to enhance the themes being focused on.

These two episodes are focused on how people who have suffered in this war handle their trauma - and how they fight back against oppression. I love love love how they include a new plotline that enhances the themes they're going for in this episode, too, with the small rebellion in the Fire Nation. In the animated series, by virtue of it being a kid's show, they make it pretty cut and dry the first two seasons: anyone wearing red is an enemy and bad. Here, we see a more realistic view of how the people of the Fire Nation actually view the war and their role in it - well, how some view it. In every authoritarian, imperialistic empire, there are citizens who disagree with their government - ESPECIALLY if their people have been at war for 100 years! America is an imperialist empire and there are plenty of citizens who vehemently disagree with the government. There were Germans who disagreed and fought back against the Third Reich. There have been people throughout history standing up against their own oppressive governments. It's great to see that echoed here, too - and then we see Ozai's view of his rule.

First, Azula's cunning and cold-heartedness is shown as she's the infiltrator spinning a sob story about lost family that's designed to lure the revolutionaries to their deaths. While it's sinister and shows just how cut-throat she's willing to be, there's also the obvious evidence that she's A CHILD. In the animated version, Azula is drawn like a 30 year old woman with a full chest, hips, and slender face with sharp cheekbones - in short, she's massively villain coded, not child coded (not to mention she's voiced by an adult). Casting an actual young actress shows the viewer that this really is a child. Her round face implies purity and innocence - a sharp contrast to her father's striking cheekbones and jawline. While the revolutionaries had their spirit, they were misguided in their methods - there was no way they'd have succeeded in killing Ozai, there's just no way.

When Osric Chau (who I could swear they put in that scene to distract the audience from noticing that the 'spy' was the actress cast for Azula - keep your eyes on this guy as you say 'wait, is that Osric Chau? No way, can't be - no, that's totally him! I know him! Where all do I know him from?' while Azula's actress just quietly sneaks around in the side-frame) gives his whole speech about ending Ozai's tyranny, we see the justifications authoritarian rulers so often make - while in the animated show, Ozai's justification is 'we're the best and everyone should bow to us - it's natural', here he's a bit more nuanced - at least he claims he is. "Tyranny? Don't you mean 'unity'? Prosperity?" Atrocities can be justified when you claim 'law and order'. He keeps his cool, his commanding presence until Osric mentions how much people have lost - we see his lip twitch and he insinuates he, too, has experienced loss, then his cool composure returns. Finally, Osric speaks on the massive pressure point of the Fire Nation - the one person that's bringing hope to people and sparking up that flame of resistance - that flame even Ozai won't be able to control - the Avatar. That's when Ozai loses his cool and burns them all alive. Even in the Fire Nation, news of the Avatar inspires people to stand up and fight back.

I think it's a great move to show more of Azula and Ozai in this season - we get to see Azula's actual character when she's figuring things out rather than just her on a mission. She's dismissive of the Avatar - she thinks there's no way they're right, no way the Avatar has returned. That's when Ozai informs her that yes, it is verified that he's back and that it was Zuko who'd found him - he'd done the impossible, just like Ozai asked. Starting from the jump showing how he pits his children against each other to see which will rise to the top.

The animated episodes that they combine here are really interesting in that they actually show up much later in the animated show, however, when you look at the character development aspects of those plot lines, it makes sense to put it here at the beginning. The Waterbending Scroll, Jet, The Northern Air Temple, and The Great Divide (yes, even that one) all create a nice foundation for core character elements - especially for Katara and Sokka - while the Omashu episode is big for Aang's foundational development. I like how the characters in the live-action grow more organically from a weaker starting position than they do in the animated version.

Katara doesn't start out as a naturally inspiring leader like she shows in episode 6 of the animated show in the Imprisoned storyline - she needs to see different kinds of leadership in order to formulate her own. Yes, she stands her ground and thinks her way is right, but to translate that to inspiring a whole group of people? That takes experience and practice - experience she gets to see first-hand with Jet and Bumi (sometimes learning what NOT to do is just as important as learning what TO do).

Sokka is insecure with his role as a leader as he's so convinced that the only thing he has to offer is being a martial warrior - he needs to learn from experience that his ingenuity can be just as useful to the team as his muscle. While in the animated show, Sokka starts out knowing this - always coming up with clever plans to get the job done, in the live-action, he needs to grow into it and learn that that side of him is good too, and can help his friends. This episode, like The Northern Air Temple from the animated series, gives Sokka that foundation to build off of.

All these animated episodes also help the characters learn how to work together and resolve issues with how to go about saving the world - and show just how dangerous trusting the wrong person can be. All the animated episodes this live action episode (plus the next one) combines circle back to Katara and Sokka's bickering and lessons on how to resolve their differing view points. Getting this lesson in early is a great way to solidify the foundation for the team and make them - well, a team. All this is just taken for granted in the animated show - they're traveling together, therefore they're a team and because of its episodic nature, the same issues can crop up again and again and not feel like they're being rehashed as most probably didn't watch all the episodes back to back and in order the first time they saw it.

So there are tons and tons of reasons I think it was a really smart move to combine the storylines they did in this episode and put them all in the beginning of the season and setting them in Omashu.

[teeth-cable]

Ok im gonna send 2 Stella asks but heres part 1:

Vivziepop wants Cersei but doesn't understand the character.

Let me elaborate. Cersei is an irredeemable asshole in ASOIAF/GOT and does very terrible things and is stupid like our favorite swan. However Cersei actually has layers to herself and is a complex character and has reasons for acting like she does. Basically the two sources of what causes her to act this way is being born as a woman in a misogynistic society and wanting her father's love and approval. Misogyny is a crucial part of everything about her like if she wasn't born in Westeros she probably could've been a good person. Basically Cersei is the eldest Lannister sibling but because of her sex she lost her inheritance and all power she could've had. Instead she was destined to be a brood mare from birth. She thought her father didn't care for her as much as Jaimie because of her sex so she tried to mimic Tywin's ways to get his approval not understanding you have to be strategic when it comes to brutality. Cersei chooses to let spite cloud her judgement. Tywin didn't favor her not because of her sex but because Cersei was an idiot who kept causing problems.

She hates Tyrion because he took her mother away from her and Tywin hated him as well as being told by an prophet that a younger brother would kill her. It is because of prophecy in general that makes Cersei paranoid. Which contributes to another facet of misogyny because she was told a younger and more beautiful Queen would strike her down which makes her bitter to her son's fiance Margary. Though it is hinted that Dany is the actual destined Queen instead. So you combine a woman who is paranoid and spiteful with wanting to be brutal... You get stupidity.

However Cersei being cruel also stems from the fact that she had been subject to gender based violence such as Robert assaulting her constantly. Cersei is a representation of the results of misogyny in Westeros.

It should be noted that since Stella is hinted to be incestuous we should bring up Jaimie. Now Jaimie and Cersei being incestuous is because Cersei sees her brother as an extension of herself and who she should've been as a man. Cersei and Jaimie were not separated properly as children by the servants when caught once so this could be nipped in the bud. Cersei also has never experienced healthy relationships so of course she's deeply going to latch onto Jaimie especially after the shit Robert does to her constantly. However, in the books it seems Jaimie's arc is going to be breaking away from Cersei because Cersei is still an asshole who manipulates him and instead of Tyrion killing her it will be Jaimie.

Also George R.R. Martin actually villainizes incest because the entire plot happens because of it. Say what you want about the Targaryeons but it was probably done because its a reference to how Pharohs were said to be gods reborn and married their sisters which is a parallel to how the Targs see themselves, George needed to explain why not everyone in Westeros had dragons and the reign of that dynasty was notoriously unstable and often dragged the realm into the brink of collapse constantly. Like there's only three Targaryeon rulers that were decent and didn't cause any future chaos for the realm because of their stupidity. Plus we have hints that the inbreeding is affecting them mentally and physically.

Im not saying Vivziepop should make Stella Cersei but she should understand that people don't just love to hate on Cersei because evil bitch its because she's complex and how that allows her to make such awful decisions.

Not much I can say here but Stella should have been similar to Cersei. The writers have shown how corrupted the ranking system in Hell is, multiple times by characters being offended and surprised that a low ranking imp slept with a high rank Goetia. If they wanted to address how fully wrong the system is, they should have shown how negatively it impacted the different ranks.

[niennawept]

Hiii! Some fic writer asks for you friend <3

⏳If you could go back in time and tell your younger writer self something, what would it be?

🛌 What's a trope you haven't written, but want to?

🚿Where do your best ideas seem to strike?

Hi there!

⏳If you could go back in time and tell your younger writer self something, what would it be?

Mmmm - I think there's two ways to answer this and I'll give you both: 1) to my much younger writing self (circa college and grad school) - You do have time to write. Please keep writing. It might be something you want to do professionally someday. 2) to my more recent writing self (circa last January) - slow down posting! It's better to have a backlog of finished chapters than deal with the pressure of writing so fast. It'll burn you out!

🛌 What's a trope you haven't written, but want to?

I genuinely, unironically love "There was only one bed." I would really like to write it some day. Maybe multiple times. Just something about these characters having this "I'll sleep on the floor" - "don't be silly, there's plenty of room" thing. It just tickles me every time.

🚿Where do your best ideas seem to strike?

You know - I wish I could tell you. I think it's actually when I'm writing, honestly. Start writing a scene with a vague idea of what needs to happen and sometimes, my brain just supplies the right thing. The idea of elves feeling starlight came up while writing and many others. Maybe I should just write scenes without a fixed middle section more often, lol.

Thank you for the ask! This is a fun game and a good way to pass the time I'd otherwise be spending being anxious <3

[jakowskis]

Day 23 - Discuss Tosh. Opinions? Favorite moment? Least favorite moment? Any unpopular opinions? Any fun headcanons?

tosh my babygirl my princess light of my life angel darling… shes so good. shes so good 🥺 i love her dearly. she’s so damn underutilized i hate how the show regulates her to a supporting role + only uses her for romantic plots. WACK shes so much more than that. i want a plotline about her cyberterrorism like hello??? i want a plotline about her warped little mind.. i want a plotline about her finally learning spanish ;-; that show did not do her justice and it did not deserve her. i often say torchwood’s characters are too good for the show; tosh is probs the best example of that. no other character gets screwed over as badly as she does by the narrative (not even ianto!) she’s so tragic and lonely i just wanna give her the biggest hug ever. 

fav moment… every time she smiles. (or smirks. hrgh. tosh call me.) also every time she geeks out about smth. im tryna think of a specific moment but idk if i have one?? i just love her overall i smile every time she’s on screen she’s my girlie. when i rewatch i might rmr one though

least favorite moment, the absolute only thing i can think of (hell, my only complaint with her as a character other than i wish she’d get over owen cuz bad taste queen pls u deserve sm better) - it’s always bothered me how she goes over to owen’s flat in aditd and just starts babbling about her own problems. she even says something like “you think everything’s about you”, and in that ep it’s like ??? why are they all acting like he’s unjustified being miserable and angry when he's fucking dead?? like they're all so unsympathetic and mean, even tosh, and out of her it's especially weird?? tbh it just strikes me as ooc (+ kind of misogynistic highkey) writing. i mean, by all means, let tosh bitch, she deserves to blow off some steam + esp deserves to be rude to owen tbh fhsdkjfsd, but the way it’s done in that particular moment feels ooc and, like, how men write women as talking too much and never listening lmao u kno what i mean (owen’s tuned out in the actual episode but you can see her full ramble in the original script, on page 23). tosh has never troubled anyone with her issues before, why would she choose now to, and when she knows owen’s struggling? yeah, on second thought, i don’t hold that against her actually, that’s ooc to me fhdkf. thts just the writer being a wiener.

my only unpopular opinions (slash hot takes) are that 1) towen fucking SUCKS get her away from him, and 2) most people like tosh but she’s highkey underappreciated, esp in fanfic, because of fandom racism + misogyny. she’s not bashed like gwen is but she’s ignored completely which is nearly as bad, and a lot of it’s cuz she happens to be in a show with two white men in a gay relationship who are overwhelmingly prioritized 💀 i will never not be petty about the way that ship dwarfs everything else in comparison. also throwing towen into the background of janto is so gross n cheap. if ppl cared abt her they'd do smth more interesting. and it's never well-done either. ugh.

i have a few hcs that are gonna end up in my owento verse (gwen and tosh are prominent characters in it bc i love them, and their relationships w owen and ianto and each other also have value lawl). tbh a lot of em are just things i think they should introduce into their lives to be happier. i want them happy ;-;

she starts coding video games recreationally!! nothing fancy but she rlly enjoys it + also gets into the swing of making little storylines n getting to express herself that way which is good for her. owen playtests shit for her

her and gwen go on spa dates sometimes. they put it on the torchwood credit card

she gets into fish tanks and fish tank care!!! esp like aquarium plants. shrimp and moss balls, that sort of thing. maybe plecos or loaches. she loves it + it’s grounding, which is good for her bc shes otherwise always got her head in her computers yanno. she’ll sit by her tank while she codes her games and the water sounds are calming. 

she also sits by it while she studies her spanish books which she does finally do. she doesn’t get around to the piano, though; doesn’t prioritize buying a keyboard. maybe one day (this is a nobody dies au btw so she will in fact eventually get around to it ;-;)

oh she’s autistic have i said that. the fish tanks absolutely become a spin. she has a few we know of from canon - math and computers, obviously, but also history (gbg) and the uk’s rivers (from gooseberry; i think it was just the uk maybe it was europe’s rivers. or the world’s! i don’t remember). she also loves trivia like she knows a fair amount about quite a lot of things + loves accumulating random info

lowkey also. giving her a kitty. i think tosh should have a lil fuzzy kitty to keep her company 

well this is smth from my owandy verse but i think it should happen anyway. so it kind of kicks off bc gwen mixes up a blind date (it was gonna be tosh & andy and then owen & a friend of hers, but shes an adhd icon n bungles the invites <3)... tosh ends up with gwen’s friend, who’s straight, but they hit it off and she invites tosh to have drinks or maybe come to a bookclub meet or something with some friends of hers?? point is, tosh makes some casual friends. maybe meets a pretty girl there or smth 👁️ but mainly i want tosh to have girl friends like i think she grew up very lonely i want her to have some normalcy

also sometimes i like tosh x andy maybe they have a little meet cute at a torchwood crime scene or smth fshdkfd. i think they’d be cute and he’d treat her well. she'd babble abt tech stuff and he wouldnt understand a damn word but he'd listen very intently

i also like tosh x ianto for similar reasons. i think it’d be a kind of friends to lovers sitch... they should just be close in general tbh, platonically or not yanno, and in my owandy verse i like the idea of smth kicking off between them i just think theyd be so sweet

she’s a very sleepy drunk and also a lightweight. if the team goes out to drink she’ll get two glasses of smth moderately fruity and then fall asleep against someone’s shoulder it’s very cute (this is just cuz i like the idea of a sleepy tosh 🥺 my baby my baby shes so precious to meee)

[peninkwrites]

1, 2, 50, 51, and 79 for the ask game! If that's not too many 😭

No such thing as too many questions!! I love this stuff!

1 - Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

My memory is a very large sieve if I do not write something down the moment I think of it, it is gone forever. So. I tend to start jotting down notes and outlining the moment I have A Thought and then it just grows from there. I’m not a heavy outliner though sometimes it’s just like, one sentence of a Thing Happens and then once I can get my hands on a keyboard I’m ready to go. I’d argue I’m constantly daydreaming as well which is what my notes app is for. If I cannot be in front of my computer, I’m still writing stuff in there.

2 - Where do you get your fic ideas?

“Would that be fucked up or what?” Ok but actually I tend to look for things I wanted resolved in canon, things that explore the characters, “what ifs”, stuff like that. Mafia AU is an experiment for me in character motivations and at this point I forgot what got me thinking of the mafia premise.

50 - How would you describe your writing style?

If I’m being generous, cinematic? I love love love dialogue. Dialogue is my bread and butter and everything else is just awkwardly built around it. My writing skills seem to be set up like dialogue > action > inner monologue > descriptions. I want to get better at figurative language and I guess indirect character exploration? Yeah. Right now, I write like a screenplay with extra detailed notes on character feelings.

51 - Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

Um. Yes and no. I fucking love super introspective character-study type fics where the exploration of the character is Shown to us, not simply told via dialogue, which is what I tend to use as a crutch. I mean, my character study type fics are literally therapy fics bc the characters are forced to talk about their feelings. Stories where half the meaning is shown through what is UNSAID are everything to me. I read what I feel like I can’t write. But also. I reread my own fics perhaps more often than I should because it is literally exactly what I’d like to read. So. I don’t often seek out fics like my own because I’ve got my own inventory covered lmao.

79 - Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

Just basic shit. Write daily if you can, read when you can and try to read lots of different things and try to read critically! That’s something I’ve been slacking on, I’ve been reading a ton of books lately but I’m not gaining anything from them as a writer bc I’m not consuming them as a writer, y’know? So, I’m trying to get better at that!

Ty for the ask! this was lots of fun and got me thinkin ^-^

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 020: The Dark Wings of Death (ASM 126-128)

MASTERPOST

In this set of issues, we see fun crumbs of upcoming stuff, a very interesting mystery plot (if you're reading 127-128 for the first time, do try to solve it!), and secret lesbians (maybe, nobody's sure).

That's a mood whiplash if I see one.

This batch begins with the totally not-goofy-nor-lame Kangaroo, who this time has SUPER-POWERS (the cover says so)!

See?

Some producers ask Spidey to star in an ad, and if you're an old-time reader you'll remember something similar happened before and didn't go so well. He's not tempted either. Meanwhile, the Kangaroo (who last appeared ish 81) meets up with Jonas Harrow (who we saw in 114, he's the one who experimented on Hammerhead).

On campus, Professor Warren pops up to tell the readers that he's totally not about to become an important character, and Peter is an ass to MJ and Flash. Oh, what else is new!

Our dear old Jonas is clueless because as soon as the Kangaroo gets powers, he leaves to deal with Spidey instead of listening to him.

Spidey accepts to do the car ad and requires Johnny Storm's help. I always thought he had the pose of a naked anime girl in any opening ever. I'm curious about the new costume, though. I wonder when it came to pass... Oh, but the Internet has the answer! "From 1973 to 1975, Johnny incorporated a red uniform into his wardrobe in an homage to the original Silver Age Human Torch." And I get more information here: "As a child, Johnny Storm had read comic books about the World War II Human Torch and idolized him. After gaining similar powers and taking his name, Johnny decided for a short time that he would take on a costume similar to that of his android hero."

As shown in the preview of this post, while Spidey's about to discover the greatest invention of last century, Jonah's son is hanging on (continuity, nice!).

So the Kangaroo dies by radiation, anyway. It would be tragic if the character wasn't such a buffoon.

And MJ tries her best, as usual, but Harry ignores her...

Because he's too busy pretending his father's contempt for him was ever worth anything. Anyway, I love how those boots are drawn.

Classic Sunset Spidey!!!

In the readers' letters, we get a very interesting (and funny in hindsight) comment from the writers.

I can finally feel than the bigger number of pages is great. The story's allowed to breathe, we both get a lot of fight AND some drama. It's good!

That's kind of an iconic cover! The questions (although we already know for Harry...), MJ's wild outfit (her pants!!!)... It's a great cover.

In this issue, Peter looks a bit too much like an 80s rugged hunk to my taste.

Okay Mr. Schwarzenegger. Whatever you say.

So Peter keeps being an ass, almost to an absurd degree. Boy, you need to learn empathy and compassion. I do appreciate a good undressing though so keep going please.

The Vulture is the murderer but Peter's wet dreams about Johnny Storm are much more interesting to me.

Because things aren't getting better any time soon on the Parksborn front, you know.

Peter gets him and Flash into an accident because he's a menace (it's actually because the Vulture just took MJ away) and thus, the Flash whump continues (I'm into that!).

The hero and the villain fight, Spidey saves MJ, they get in a lab...

I love her design, don't know why.

WHAT AN ICONIC MOMENT.

The Vulture wants to make Spidey his boytoy, and behind a tree...

Those panels of Harry wishing Spidey's death have stayed in my mind ever since I saw them the first time. Incredibly striking, and exciting for the reader who can't help but want a fight between these two--for the Green Goblin remains a delightful villain, even with Harry's traits.

Anyway, I was checking a certain website to see reactions (because comicdom is so sparse that it's hard to see reactions to specific issues)...

6 years ago!!! And under that, the comments are just as shocked.

I should check THOSE comments more often because they're also pretty funny.

Meanwhile, in the readers' letters...

The next and last issue of this batch (128) opens with Spidey falling from the sky, too high to shoot webs at a building. Once again, incredibly iconic.

Also, welcome to 1974! What a way to start the year. The last year I've read fully! But I read a whole bunch of 1975 so we'll see what new material we get there...

So Spidey gets out of the predicament in the usual fashion (if you can't swing, web up a hammoc) and goes back to the lab where the shadiest character design I've ever seen in this magazine also coincidentally is there.

They keep mentioning coke, which wasn't the case when "Stan Lee" (and whoever else helped...) wrote the lines.

Another gorgeous character design.

So are they lesbians or twins? Or both? You decide, Pete.

Ned Leeds hasn't had a role for a while (just you wait, honey) but he's sure looking like a stud right there.

Peter is still being an ass to MJ.

And Spidey eventually susses out everything and tells all, like Professor Layton would. This is actually quite an experimental story, given than the reveal that Dr Shallot is the new Vulture is just as bonkers as me just revealing this that way.

I had completely forgotten about everything, but goddamn, what an interesting set of issues. I'd say the plotting is masterful because the magazine really never expects its readers to be that smart. Hmm.

(I was convinced the victim was her twin though... What's up with them swapping outfits? Was that intentional, on whose part? Since they're not twins, I will assume lesbians.)

Let's check the comments :-)

I can't post any picture since I reached the limit (would you believe it!) but I CAN copy/paste!

"Brace yourselves, the Jackal leads to some of the really weird and convoluted plots."

YES. Very compelling though.

In the next batch: The Punisher and the Jackal are introduced, and we also get a long-awaited wedding! The 70s just keep on being iconic, it never stops!

[thenightling]

*SPOILERS!* My review of The Witcher season 3 (first half) with mid-season finale spoilers

In general I actually loved The Witcher season 3 so far.

I like how the writers more or less fixed the harm to the character dynamic they caused with Yennefer's behavior in Season 2. I absolutely love the new music by Percival Schuttenbach. It really sets the mood. They should have called upon that Polish band that did the video game music sooner. They really know what they're doing. I love that they no longer tiptoed around Jaskier's sexuality and allowed him to have a romance (even if his lover probably should not be trusted.) I'm dreading the conclusion of the season (to be released July 29th) because I have a bad feeling Geralt might be replaced with an alternate universe version of himself to explain the change in actors. I don't like that. I imagine it going like "Well, since I'm stuck here, I might as well protect you, other Ciri." I hope I'm wrong. Having an alternate universe version of Quin take over the lead role in Sliders helped kill that series. I'd rather something happen to Geralt where his soul ends up in a new body or he's badly disfigured so a new body has to be made for him somehow. That I'd be okay with. I wish they wouldn't bother with an in-show explanation for the change of actors. A glamour spell was the explanation for the change in Robin Hood actor in Once Upon a Time and it was completely unnecessary. The change had happened years earlier. It didn't need a season 4 explanation. Anyway, most of The Witcher Season 3 has been excellent. The four main characters of Geralt of Rivia (the Witcher), Yennefer (The sorceress), Ciri (Geralt's adopted daughter), and Jaskier (The bard freedom fighter) have all had their chances to shine. My only disappointment really is the mid-season finale. There's a song sung at a ball. The performer is Valdo Marx, a rival bard to Jaskier. The song is catchy and bears a striking resemblance (in it's refrain and rhythm) to Queen's Radio Gaga. I heard the song out of context before I saw the episode and liked it but... The episode kind of ruined it for me. I read articles where people behind the scenes compared the episode to The Red Wedding from Game of Thrones so I expected a coup and some major character deaths. No. Instead I got a fifteen minute story played over, and over, and over again. Each time more details or hidden agendas revealed. And it would have been clever if the schemes weren't so obvious. But what made it worse is with each variation of the flashback there was a "Tok, tok, tok" sound (often used in modern video games) followed by The first verse of "All is not as it seems." By the time the episode was over I felt that I might hate the song. Imagine if Disney's Frozen replayed the crescendo of Let it Go thirteen times, back to back while other stuff happened in the foreground. That's how it felt. And just as annoying as you might think. "All is not" *clap clap* "as it seems! All is not" *clap clap" "as it seems!" SHUT UP ALREADY! Or at least get to the next verse! I need to use the actual Queen song Radio Gaga as brain bleach. Also I was kind of relieved that the so-called cliffhanger is just someone holding a knife to Geralt's throat. Ooooh, he totally can't get out of that. Oooh. But whose doing it? Does it matter? Pretty much everyone except Ciri, Yennefer, and Jaskier are his enemies. I wish they had just released the whole season all at once. There was really no need to break it up like this. I had also hoped to hear Jaskier's "Ride of The Witcher" in context but that probably won't be until the July season finale. Disclaimer for my Witcher season 3 part 1 review: I actually really like the song Let it go From Frozen. Just not played over and over and over again.

[itsavgbltpta]

Should you watch Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion?

(Japanese title: Kanojo ga Koushaku-tei ni Itta Riyuu)

A Brief Summary

In what appears to be our modern world, Rinko finds herself pushed off the roof of a building by a mysterious figure.  Expecting death, instead she wakes up as a bit-part character in a novel she has read in the past.  Unfortunately, the character she wakes up as - Raeliana McMillan - is fated to die in the novel to trigger the plot forward.

Rinka/Raeliana doesn’t want to die twice, so she needs to figure out how to prevent her canon death using her knowledge of the novel’s plot.  This gets her connected with a particular Duke (Noah Wynknight) who she blackmails into helping her avoid being murdered by her current fiancé.  By saving herself, Raeliana is changing how the plot is supposed to go - and also changing who the hero of the novel - Noah - might fall in love with.

So, should you watch the anime?

Maybe.  This is one for fans of shoujo/otome style romance anime - plus it’s an isekai on top of that.  Definitely not for everyone, though if you are looking for an anime with a smart and sassy female lead, this may scratch that itch.

This type of anime would normally be right up my alley, but something about Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion prevented me from enjoying it like I thought I would.  I’m not sure if it was the characters, the pacing, or the plot, but something about the show was just off enough that it didn’t strike my fancy like a similar anime, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to DOOM, did previously.  Both shows have female protagonists thrown into a situation where they need to save themselves from a canon death in a world different from their own with a lot of sexy dudes around them.  But only one made me go out and read the source material and preorder the upcoming Nintendo Switch game — and it wasn’t Raeliana’s story.

Some of this might be due to the usual suspect of adapting a light novel (or in this case, a series posted on a digital fiction platform).  Later novels may end up expanding on characters and plot points more, but that wasn’t reflected in the 12 episodes that aired.  Things happen fast and there are sometimes scene shifts that had me baffled.  Very minor spoilers, but there’s a sequence of events where our romantic duo is talking, then they’re on a boat at night for a fireworks display, then Raeliana falls asleep on the boat (maybe?  it’s not really explained) and wakes up in bed hours later.  These events could have been conveyed a lot smoother, but they weren’t.

Speaking of pacing and weird story shifts, there are brief mentions of the actual heroine of the novel in the world Raeliana finds herself.  She’s supposed to be Raeliana’s very close friend, and seems to show up mysteriously at the end of an earlier episode, but then never gets mentioned again until way later in the show.  It’s supposed to be a mystery, but either I missed something, or the writers missed something on that early appearance that lead up to jack squat.

Let’s talk about the animation briefly.  This show has some good looking character designs, and if you pause the anime at certain scenes, it’s very pretty.  However, in motion, this show is a mess.  I’m not usually picky about animation, and it was still watchable, but I was distracted by the poor animation often enough that I wanted to bring it up.

Raeliana as a character is pretty okay.  She is more proactive than a lot of typical otome-style heroines, but even with that she still makes dumb decisions and gets kidnapped a lot.  Her being snarky to a romantic rival was fairly entertaining, I will admit.  I had no issues with Raeliana, but she wasn’t a selling point for me either.  Who I did like was Noah Wynknight - the main romantic interest.  His character development was what made me keep watching the show.  I am a sucker for the trope where a cold-hearted asshole type starts to care about something/someone. 

But of course there are more romantic possibilities and rival characters in the novel world that Raeliana interacts with, such as:

A silent but mighty warrior from a race of people that are discriminated against who has a weakness for sweet things (Adam Taylor).

A female knight who tries to be cool and professional to serve her lord well, but also starts to like Raeliana after guarding her (Ansley).

A “fashion wizard” that is a tall and muscular man with amazing aesthetic taste and the ability to give people glow-ups (Nick Maddocks).

A sassy, sexy redhead who used to be the fairest of them all until Raeliana showed up and stole the man she wanted - and now she wants revenge (Vivian Shamall).

A shota looking high priest who is actually an older man stuck in a young body who is obsessed with having Raeliana call her grandpa and work for him (Heika Demint).

A mysterious blonde girl who should have been the main character, so it’s unclear what fate has in store for her after things get changed up (Beatrice Trancet).

Plus more potential love interests and villains to get in the way of Raeliana changing the plot of her new life!

Where does it rate on my personal scale?

S: I will buy it at full price (unless it’s released by Aniplex USA, because fuck their pricing).

A: I will buy it on sale sometime down the line.

B: I had fun watching it, but don’t need to own it.

->C: It’s not my cup of tea, but wasn’t awful.

D: Dropped it.

X: Finished it out of spite, but did not enjoy it.

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion sits at a C for me.  It wasn’t pretty to watch, the pacing was a bit wonky, and I never got invested in the characters.  Your mileage may vary depending on how you like your romance plots.  There is a novel and manhwa series, but I’m not interested enough to dive in to see how things pan out for Raeliana.

[kellykadesperate]

yoo the last 911 episode of s6 truly was rushed, especially at the end! that call and the after effects should have been at least two episodes, just to make things feel less abrupt at least imo :( the whump was nice, and i liked seeing the team being in danger but still badass, but i would have liked to see more of the recovery part as well... granted, the show often skips those scenes and decreases my enjoyment with it, so i'm used to it and not surprised at all. it was very obvious that they thought this might be the show's finale tho, with how everybody was given a happy end like that.

overall, i think many enjoyed s6b? it got some really lovely stuff. but a lot of things were not addressed later on – buck's struggle after his death, for example. it felt so ominous at first but then amounted to nothing much tbh. i assume they'll try to smooth things out in s7 to make up for all the balls they have dropped in their rush to wrap up the characters' stories somehow. the only people i saw who had a bad time or were truly angry at the end were buddie shippers, but most of that frustration stems from their own too-high expectations and too-wild theories and not the show imo.

what do you look forward to in season 7? :)

hey!

i agree with pretty much all that you said here, looking back it does feel like a nice wrapping up a bow and things that they were looking for but so many things were left unsaid/felt unfulfilled. i've put a lot of my thoughts under a cut because i've got loads!

big mentions:

Buck's character arc or lack of: I was super impressed by the amount of reflection/scenes that they showed of Buck just figuring out who he is and you're right, 6b was way better for him especially. His whole relationship with his parents improving was so beautiful and felt like we as an audience earned it. His relationship with Taylor was honestly painful at times so it was like the writers finally realised that and had him made stupid decisions up until it was over because ... Buck's Stupid dada! I feel like the writers swing from: hey he's the young fun dumb one let's have him randomly cheat and not have a sofa and be silly to ok maybe it's time for buck to grow up! But it comes across quite clumsily. After the lightning strike I was expecting some sort of change in him but nothing actually ... happened? And I think that speaks to a lot of the characters. Big life changing things happen and you think oh this will be a turning point and then ... nothing at all changes. I really thought Buck's level of authority and leadership during 6x18 was gearing up for Bobby to say well done kid you are a leader ... you know ... to show some growth? But that didn't happen. His relationship with Natalia is what I'm assuming is meant to be a Serious Relationship because it seems that way but honestly who knows! Season 7 could easily start off with Buck like meh it didn't work out.

The bridge collapse: So so exciting, it felt really high stakes and I liked how you could kind of tick off who was safe and who was not as you went through. But then ... nothing happened? Nothing at all. Bobby was literally trapped under heavy rock and he was cool, Chimney was impaled (not one joke made about the first famous impalement!) and he was fine, Eddie's back was literally crushed under a fridge and he was fine! Hen was like hmm I need a CT scan and then was fine. Literally right up until the credits were rolling I was sure something was going to be wrong with at least one of them! But again, you're right about them wanting to give them a nice ending. It was just odd to see the Disney-fest ending twenty minutes after everyone in mortal danger.

Athena's dad episode: ABSOLUTE stand out of the whole season. It felt like something out of a movie, it was amazing and I really really enjoyed it all. You could tell thought had been put into the episode and I loved how it fed into Athena's life. It was dark, devasting but so gripping to watch.

Character driven stories: I feel like strong character driven stories are 911s strength and also its drawback in so many ways. This season felt so slow at times. The two episodes leading up to the finale were ... very very slow. Hardly anything actually happened. One of the reasons why was because it just showed the same group of characters talking about the same situation/thing: Chimney proposing. Yes it was great to see normal/real life conversations happening about it all but I found myself thinking: omg just do it or don't let's move on. And that's about my favourite little family on the show. Sometimes the writing stretches the characters and their motives/decisions so far that it leaves you exhausted/drained completely. Like considering every single angle of a situation and then ultimately reaching a decision just left me like: thank God that's over rather than oh that's nice that it's now resolved. A similar thing happened with Buck having loads of different scenes talking about nearly dying. It was so great to see a young man discussing his feelings so openly but there were times where I was like: is this driving any plots forward? Is Buck going to change his life in any way? No probs not. Therefore this is pointless. Speaking of pointless ...

Hen not becoming a doctor: I ... yeah. I have no idea why they decided to completely drop something Hen as a character and therefore we as an audience have been waiting for/journeying alongside for so long. I actually laughed out loud when she told Karen she was OK with being a firefighter. The montages we saw were endless! I think I said it already in an ask but they could have made something really interesting with Hen being a doctor, showing the crew hand over a patient and then having Hen treat them. We could see the other side of it all. The extension to the first responders. But instead they had Hen do a 180 which I'm assuming was mainly because of the adoption/fostering idea ending which was not even discussed! It deserved to have more than one conversation so the audience didn't have whiplash. It just left me thinking: this is all very very pointless!

The evil paramedic: I thought this was really great, it was a twist and interesting but I was bummed that it was wrapped up so quickly. Hen had a feeling at the end of an episode and by the next it was over. The pacing of that should have been longer and I don't think the show needed Maddie in the same situation with someone from the call centre basically also being dodgy, it felt repetitive.

Hopes for S7:

Maddie and Hen's wedding! One of the highlights of the season was seeing them back together and seeing their families together. It felt really special to have the message of: you can be broken and then heal and deserve to be loved. So more of them

Sorting out what they want from Buck as a character and Eddie as a character respectively. I love Buck's youngest child energy in the crew but seeing him mature and take more responsibility would be cool

Less in-depth I now know everything about a character I've just met from this emergency because they've shown me their life in a series of flashbacks. I just ... don't care! In one episode it literally took up a solid 10mins and I was just thinking: I'm never seeing you again, this is taking time away from characters I actually enjoy

Some big shift in dynamics. I'm not sure what but I feel like the whole crew are pretty ... set and stuck in their roles and I'd like to see something shake it up somwhow.

More Bobby Athena and May and hopefully Harry.

If you made it here, thanks for reading my rambles!

[inheartofwinter]

Things like littledevilsadvocate said make me wonder what people think of striking, protesting,... etc, and if they really understand how they work. Here is the bitter truth: a dozen of nameless, unimportant people protesting for justice actually make little difference. Yes, they are trying to bring the hidden problem to the public's eyes and demanding justice—what they totally deserve. However, their struggles are, unfortunately, easy to squash. It isn't because they don't try hard enough, it's because the most important change can't be achieved without power. Hence all the revolutions and wars in history. We don't like violence, but sometimes, violence is necessary. Wars don't often happen because people like it. Governments don't change just because some people say they need to. Without power, little can be done.

Well, I strayed a bit too far from the orginal topic. Let's return to it.

The writers aren't striking because they are lazy sods who don't want to work. They are striking because they are working their asses off without being paid, or getting their jobs robbed by AI—and not because their works are worse than AI's. Of course, we should care about homeless people, but I fear some of the writers who are striking may become homeless if their work continues to be ignored.

And the writers who need the money and job the most, unfortunately, aren't often influential enough for their voices to be heard. As much as we want to believe that everyone's voice is equal, they aren't listened to equally. It's bestselling authors like Neil Gaiman who the big companies care about the most—since they love the profit they gain from broadcasting their works—and therefore, more likely listen to.

Hey Neil! Quick question..

Do you think we'll see custom playlist for Gabriel and/or Beelzebub?

Thank you so much if you answer, bye Neil!

I don't know. They are being made by Amazon Prime Video's marketing department.

[transmascwillbyers]

This could be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but do you know what I actually love about Mike's character? He's a queer character who's just... allowed to be an absolute f**king jerk sometimes. And I know that probably sounds like a weird take when you boil it down like that, but let me explain.

So often when we get queer representation, the characters are very black and white morality-wise- either they're these perfect angels who can do nothing wrong, or they're literally the queer-coded villains of the story. While the former is definitely better than the latter here, it has the unfortunate effect of minimizing some characters' impact and complexity, since they have to be 100% perfect people all the time or else it's "bad rep". To be clear, I do think that having queer characters on screen being good, functional people is still great representation, and it shouldn't be taken for granted, but I also feel like the experiences of queer characters can often get sanitized onscreen for the sake of straight audiences "understanding" us, or not having cisallohet people take a look at a queer person doing bad things and think "oh this queer person is doing bad so I'll go use that as an excuse to be homophobic now yay!"

Plus, while bad rep does exist and absolutely should be criticized, I think that sometimes we can be so nervous about something being queerbaiting or bad representation that even minor flaws or problematic things in a story feel like they're attacks on us, creating this very binary and unuanced idea of what good representation is (rep exists on a spectrum of good and bad! there's good and bad aspects of most rep!) Of course, I don't fault anyone for feeling disappointed with some stories, and I know that different people can feel represented in different things more than others. If you really like a work, shout it from the rooftops, and if you want to criticize it, you are fully within your right to do that as a queer person! We just need more nuance in the way we think about queer rep, and we need audiences to be MUCH less homophobic, because otherwise there's this effect where queer characters can't really do bad things and behave badly without backlash from both sides (but mostly homophobes). Remember everyone calling Will a homewrecker after s4 for... having an unrequited crush on his friend? Yeah. That happened.

Well, enter Mike Wheeler. As much as we all love Mike, you have to admit, he makes a lot of bad decisions on a fairly regular basis. He blows up at his friends because of his own internalized homophobia (iT'S nOt My fAUlT yoU DoN'T lIkE gIRlS), he has his parents constantly nagging him about how he's acting out and doing badly in school, and his entire season four plotline basically consists of him... treating his girlfriend badly and then going off and having an emotional affair with someone else once she gets arrested. Okay, obviously that's kind of an unfavorable look at it, but this is what I mean! He makes bad decisions, he does bad things sometimes, but the narrative actually manages to strike a balance between making us feel sympathy for him without completely justifying all his actions. If Mike does something bad, he (usually) faces consequences and does something good about it later, to furthur his arc. He's a queer character who's allowed to screw up and be somewhat morally grey sometimes, and you know what? I love that. I love that because it feels real, and authentic, and because the Duffers aren't sugarcoating the struggles of being queer and how internalized homophobia can make you act out and be a jerk sometimes.

More importantly, Mike's actions do get called out in the narrative, but we as an audience aren't supposed to find him irredeemable or morally bankrupt just because he makes bad decisions. He's a classic anti-hero (it's me, hi, i'm the problem, it's me) in the sense that the characters in the text make him face consequences, but the writers themselves don't treat Mike like he's a bad person in the greater context of the story. It's a complicated nuance, mainly about how the characters view another character vs. how that character is treated within the story, tonally and archetypally. We as an audience can make our own decisions about Mike- is he a good person? A bad person? Likeable? Unlikeable? No one f**king knows! And the fact that we get to have a queer character who people don't unanimously like is actually really cool when you think about it!

Ugh. This was so rambly, and I'm so sorry, but istg I have so many creative writer thoughts about Mike it's not even funny. TL;DR, I personally really love Mike as a queer character, because in ST it doesn't feel like his experience is sanitized or sugarcoated for the sake of making him seem "likeable" to an audience that doesn't understand the experience of being queer. He's allowed to make mistakes, he's allowed to be somewhat morally grey sometimes, and the fact that we can have a queer character who isn't perfect for the sake of seeming appealing is just... ugh. I don't know why but I just find it so f**king cool as an english nerd. His character is so interesting, and asdfghklj- I'll stop now.

I'll finish off with this- Equality for queer people and queer representation in media WILL NOT be achieved once we have a character who's perfect, unproblematic representation. However, it will be achieved when we can have a character who makes mistakes, does bad things, even royally screws up sometimes, and no one bats an eye- because people won't be homophobic enough to use them as an example of "why queer people are bad", and queer people will be secure enough in the world so that they won't have to worry whether representation is good, bad, or somewhere in between.