#Making a movie about a fanfic is like starting the sequel show before seeing the original

[frobby]

I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS BUT THE REVERSE!

This is why "fanfic turned into original book/movie" usually flop cuz in fanfics u already have familiarity with the characters so u don't have to build that connecting tissue you can just jump into it cuz the reader is already familiar with who you're talking about and their relationships with eachother. And that's a positive thing! For all the reasons op said and more, but when u try to translate the fanfic into an original work with without sweeping changes u lose that familiarity its not Edward Cullen and Bella swan from twilight its someone you don't know but the work doesn't take the time to dig into their personalities because it assumes you already KNOW them but original works aren't afforded that luxury of familiarity which makes the characters feel flat and lifeless. Fanfics also tend to be more dramatic than original works (as op said) but that makes the new readers feel like the characters shouldn't even be together cuz they're "always fighting" because they're not seeing the build even tho the oc work is trying to CONVICE YOU THAT YOU HAVE.

Im not trying to say u can't make movies or books out of fanfictions but it's a different medium entirely you have to really change it because you're missing a big formulative piece of world building in a fanfic because ur exploring someone else's characters

I think one of the big strengths of fanfiction as a medium is that it can, on average, assume the reader has a way higher degree of familiarity with canon than like…canon can. If you’re in the Star Wars AO3 tag you probably like Star Wars enough to remember more things about it than the average Star Wars-enjoying-ten-year-old. Which makes it way easier for fanwriter a to get to the juicy stuff and really engage with the worldbuilding or minor characters without having to spell out like. Who Wedge Antilles is for everyone who forgot or never noticed him in the first place. You could write a book about Wedge in the old EU because EU readers could also be assumed to be serious fans, but you can’t make a new canon Disney+ show about him. Those cost money to make and are intended for a broader audience.

And all this means that like. A good fic writer can and often will surpass canon when it comes to like. Thematic resonance and stuff, because they can really dig into something. Star Trek 2009 gave Kirk a new, more generic tragic backstory because it couldn’t expect the average moviegoer to be familiar with Kirk’s old, way more interesting tragic backstory. (Frankly, I’m not sure jj abrams knew about TOS Kirk’s backstory) whereas I have read a LOT of well-written, interesting, deeply resonant fanfic examinations of Tarsus IV, and what it means for Kirk’s character that he’s a genocide survivor. Star Trek 2009 answers the question “why did Kirk cheat on the kobayashi maru?” With “‘cause his dad crashed a spaceship when he was a baby.” A close examination of TOS canon implies the answer is “because he lived through a real-life Kobayashi that did have a win option, but which wasn’t taken.” BUT—and this is significant—even the TOS canon movies can’t really assume knowledge of the full TOS tv show, so that implication is never examined or made explicit. Instead it’s fanfic (and maybe spin off novels? Idk I’ve only read 2 trek books, if there’s one out there that covers this that would be really cool) where we get dives into that thread, where Kirk gets a commendation for original thinking because he can look a testing board in the eye and say “I’ve seen what happens when someone is entrenched in this kind of thinking, and I cannot let it happen to me. I understand the lesson, but it’s not hypothetical anymore and it never will be. I did what I had to do.” And that’s interesting! That’s meaningful! That can’t happen in a summer blockbuster. But it can happen in fic, easily, and that’s a strength of fic, I think.

[wanderingmoonmen]

Hi! I just wanted to come here and gush about how much I love your half doomed and semi sweet series real quick! I binged it all in two days and you guys have done such a good work on it. I honestly think the first installment is probably one of my favorite pieces of fanfic ever just due to how great the mix of character interaction and action is within the fic. I also just adore how Mary is handled with James and how he realizes that Mary wouldn’t say a lot of the stuff his hallucinations are saying but also it’s still overwhelming and hurts despite this! I’ve also been enjoying the lot more day to day ness of the sequel fic too, where issues still come up but it’s also not, running from monsters all the time (unless those monsters are silent hill remnants/bad thoughts, sorry James!).

I don’t know if it’s ever detailed anywhere, but what exactly inspired you to write the sequel fic if you don’t mind me asking?

aaaaa this has been sitting in my inbox for a bit because I saw the nice words and it makes me melt into a puddle and I want to take time to properly answer your question. Thank you ❤️

I ended up writing way too much in my answer so the tldr; I have way too many thoughts and ideas and with @fly-rye 's encouragement and participation we're now in a place where there's a whole timeline and already drafted events still out there to do.

My ramblings and more detailed explanation under the cut

I think in the preface to Promise, or somewhere, I've said that literally all of this started as a joke. I'm also going to keep to my guns of coming up with it back in 2018 (albeit a joke that I kept to myself lmao). I had sort of kept my 'joke' meeting in some sort of filing cabinet in my mind. And honestly if @fly-rye wasn't a super cool and amazing friend and didn't indulge my bullshit we wouldn't be here (also I'm pretty sure that DBD audio of Leon sounding very......... y'know affected it too. I also started a playthrough of RE4 on Oculus at the same time. Also also this literally started I swear a couple months before remakes were formally announced.) ANYWAY this isn't an answer to your question, I just like rambling.

Now that sort of plays into what inspired the sequel, I think I am a 'too many thoughts head full' type of person and just have too much to say sometimes (and perhaps also too much imagination). I also like trying to explain things so the in-fiction lore makes sense (like... extensively thinking about how to actually for real explain how James got to Spain or What Is The Scientific Explanation For Silent Hill etc etc. I just like to make things Work in my head, idk how to explain it).

When Promise turned into a project, there was more serious thought into how their relationship worked and how to explain Leon's character changes in future media. Then it was a thought of 'how could things be better for the both of them?' Or 'what if they were allowed to heal and grow as people' and whatever else that can be narratively satisfying about seeing hurt people finding each other and helping each other.

Then that turns into 'let's put that thing into a situation.'

Which, of course, there are A Lot Of Situations considering Leon has... 4 movies and 1 game he's in after RE4.

There's also the interest of exploring the mechanics of Silent Hill and exploring how SH3/SH4 can become entangled with the mess.

There's then the flip side of the domestic life and living as """""normal"""""" people.

So to fill the gaps between Situations we've brainstormed a Lot of timeline stuff and certain relationship beats that should occur (yknow like their gay wedding, spoilers). I'm also trying to show how James integrates with the rest of the RE crew and with Harry and Heather.

So... Basically I've thought... a lot about how to make their ship and this universe integrate into all the canon events and have some random drafts for it (of course much credit goes to @fly-rye to a) indulging me b) getting sucked into this c) being super supportive d) brainstorming the Situations with me) because there's just so much potential!!

Now, this is kinda where I get stuck and why there hasn't been more posted, if you're wondering

I like to be thorough and in my head I think I need to explain and show character development in detail because, again, in my head, I think it'll then be viewed as 'bad' or idk, 'not well written' or 'not making sense' (as if any of this makes sense). So I feel like I need to show how these relationships develop so it's more convincing or whatever. I think about how some media is panned or criticized for bad relationship writing, ie 'we've been best friends for 10 years and he really helped me out, right bob?" Like who says that.

So in starting PE I wanted to try and thoroughly and logically explain how we get to the current point.

Obviously this is also literally fanfic and [insert meme here] it's my AU and I can do what I want [just tell you This Is How It Is]

But... I'm not great at writing fluff or character interaction stuff just for the sole purpose of development. I thrive on hurt/comfort and angst stuff (if that wasn't obvious) whereas trying to come up with story beats for a beach trip or something is much more difficult for me. So I've struggled to move forward because it's just not my forte and it takes practice and patience...

Unfortunately, I can be rather impatient.

It's really annoying when you're trying to be thorough! So even when I've got a plan, I just get annoyed with my writing because I just wanna get to the good stuff!!! Why can't I write this out faster!!!! I need to beam my thoughts into a document!!!

I keep on feeling like I'm making empty promises, but I do really wanna keep writing and posting. I am trying and I think about sitting down and writing a lot, but between all those other hangups and not having time, I just haven't.

I know a lot of this isn't exactly what you asked, but I hope it answers your question and then some. Thank you again for reaching out it means a lot to hear from readers!!!

[randomshyperson]

So I finally watched The Marvels.

~SPOILERS AHEAD~

They missed the opportunity to actually say Wanda's name but it's totally fine 'cause this is not about her, but also, excuse me Miss Rambeau??? Monica is that powerful now and all because she visited Wanda's little Sims city a couple of times, like what? I love it. That old theory that Wanda was the one who gave Pietro's power is coming back stronger now

I strongly believe misogyny and racism are behind the flop of this movie, I had an amazing time watching it, whole thing was genuinely funny with relevant marvel lore and characters plots (the aliens are still fighting each other and blaming humans, but hey, colonialism and exploit of resources are the main reason we have to protect planets). Everyone loves when Peter Quill explores the galaxy but if three women do the same it's suddenly a problem.

A lot of people saying how tired they are of Marvel, were only tired of women doing the Marvel formula, don't believe those haters. Just like every other Marvel project, we have the hero journey and their blockbusters cliches, a lot of visual effects and jokes, LIKE EVERY OTHER MARVEL PROJECT, but sure, let's blame the girls for the failure. To me, it was really refreshing just to see women having fun and supporting each other and throwing little energy balls every now and then.

Also, the fact that Princess Carol is a fucking Star now? Pretty sure that got her killed in the What if series but good to know she's more powerful than that.

Kamala is the star of this movie, she's so funny and charming but also Monica and Carol angst got me crying and it was not enough!! I need more of their pain

I almost forgot, Miss Carol Danvers is all by herself in space just using a god damn TORTURE DEVICE to try to get her memories back, EXCUSE ME??? Someone gives this woman a hug, or idk, sent her to therapy with Bucky cause jesus Christ that's not healthy lady.

For the things I didn't like, the rhythm for sure. Such a quick movie, a lot of things happening, one minute I was crying the next I was giggling then crying again and then thinking about politics like slow down a little. I wanna digest the dialogues for a second.

THE SINGING PLANET I CANNOT-

Really funny movie, kamala's parents, the cats, everything was so easy going and cheerful even with the little angst moments, I had such a good time.

The best thing about this movie, as fanfic writer who gets truly frustrated with plot holes and stuff like that, it's that I will be able to watch it again. Movies from the first phases I used to love before I start writing, I can no longer enjoy the same 'cause I keep seeing how they don't make a fucking sense or have unbearable characters storylines and personality changes (yes I'm talking about Civil War and Age of Ultron or Ultimate, maybe STEVE ROGERS LEAVING BUCKY in a specific matter). This and also the fact they lack all kinds of minorities. Doctor Strange had like 2 women in the cast?? And don't even get me started on talking about what the sequel did to Wanda's character development.

The Marvels, Ragnarok, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Captain America (1&2), Infinity War and Guardians of The Galaxy (all three), Black Panther (both), Ten Rings, Eternals, are still the only Marvel movies I actually enjoy rewatching, because they are projects that respect the characters established personalities and history and for origins ones like Eternals or Ten Rings, they are simply fun, what a crime for a movie to be just fun huh

All of the shows are worth rewatching (even Fury's one that I hated it), 'cause they were given time to develop into stuff and as a writer there's a lot for us to work it.

Btw, I'm not talking about Kate Bishop'cause I'm simply unable to process my happiness over seeing her again. I do think I might have a stroke once Yelena is back.

[jackie-shitposts]

do u think theres actually gonna be a sequel for carmen sandiego or r they just teasing due to the popularity of summer of sandiego

also i wish there was a miniseries with like 3 episodes of like the main ships (carulia/red crackle/carmivy) like idk i feel like that way all fans wud be happy LMAO but broo them not showing carmens mommy reuniting w her made me want to hit my head on the wall

like did her mom accept her and recognize her at first? did her mom slowly accept her and treated her like a stranger for the first weeks before warming up to here?? did her mom not accept her as her daughter due to the trauma of what happened that night?? like i need answers before i go boom.

The only thing said about a potential spinoff or sequel is that it was in the “earliest stages” back in september 2021. We’ve had basically zero update since then, and in addition they said the same about a live action carmen sandiego in 2017, and reiterated that again in 2021.

Summer of Sandiego and similar events being popular does have the ability to affect whether or not a TV show gets more content or not, although it doesnt have as much power as ratings/watch time do.

I think something that might point in favor of CS getting more content is the fact that the CS social media accounts have not gone dormant. Most social media accounts for movies and TV stop posting entirely after some amount of time, but its been years and CS socials are still active. Plus, some time ago they launched a merch store, which signifies that executives still think CS could be worth investing in (although it would be more profitable if they sold actually good looking merch).

All this to say, I have no idea what the fate of future carmen content is, but it doesnt mean we cant hope.

as for your shipping miniseries, I wouldnt want that for many reasons, the a big one being that i think rather than satisfy shippers, it would just make most of them fight with each other more than they already do. because nobody realizes that polyamory solves all your problems. sobs. and besides, theres always fanfic

I actually dont really feel the need to know who carmen’s mom is. While I have issues with how the show ended in regards to NOT elaborating on Carmen’s found family life after she was saved from VILE, I do agree that getting to know her mother is a story Carmen should undergo alone, at least to start. And from an audience’s perspective, why do we need to see her mother? She isnt going to have a face we recognize. And the show didn’t have the time to allow us to get to know her or care about her. All it wouldve been is a few seconds longer to see the hug we already know happened, and then jump cut 2 years ahead anyway. I think in regards to Carmen’s mother, they left it in a good spot that allows for further exploration in fanfic or the mystery spinoff.

[nkatr84]

Summer Movie Catchup

It’s been a while Tumblr. But I’d thought I’d bring you guys up to speed on my thoughts about the movies and media I’ve seen this summer … with a special separate post about the latest movie I just saw…before we get back into Only Murders in the Building.

Here we go…

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire

Not as good or emotionally satisfying as the first of these legacy sequels, but it was still fun. I liked seeing the Ghostbusters back in New York, I liked seeing Phoebe’s struggles balancing being a Ghostbuster with becoming a teenager and I liked the supernatural lore they added with ancient versions of ghostbusters. And the actors looked like they were having fun being there. Even Bill Murray.

The Fall Guy

I LOVE this movie! The love letter to making movies and to stuntmen especially, the romance the comedy, the plot, the stunts! And Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers is Baby Girl. I don’t make the rules.

Inside Out 2

I came out of this thinking that this movie was good but not as emotionally satisfying as the first. But then I realized something. The first movie was resolved by making you feel sadness. A emotion everyone needs to feel. The second movie is about anxiety taking over. And at the climax of this movie you feel for Riley as she starts to literally have an anxiety attack. And Joy learning that what Riley needs as a person is to accept all the parts of herself. Not just the good things. It’s expanding on the first movie's idea and growing with the character of Riley as she grows up. it's not groundbreaking, but its still good.

Twisters

I don’t have much nostalgia for the first movie, and this wasn’t high on my list of movies I wanted to see. But my family did so see it I did. And I was pleasantly surprised and was glad I saw it. It only winks at the first movie and it has its own plot and you genuinely feel for the main character as she tries to overcome her survivor’s guilt. And learning the main actor is adorable enough to try to get his parents cameos in his movies was chefs kiss.

Doctor WHO

I knew I would love this new season of Doctor WHO! From Space Babies to the brilliant Maestro to the random Bridgerton fanfic RTD obviously threw in, slugs that literally eat the rich (and racists) leading up to a satisfying finale that actually ties in a classic Who Villain and a bittersweet (farewell for now) to a compelling companion in Ruby Sunday. Now I just need to know who the heck Mrs. Flood is…

Who are you woman!?

The Garfield Movie

Yeah I forgot I saw this one but I do remember liking it. The animation is good and looks like the comic. It’s funny enough and had just enough heart.

Despicable Me 3

Yeah this was cute but the plots are so mid they might as well just make it a tv show at this point

And finally…

Let’s Go…https://www.tumblr.com/nkatr84/757566938199228416/deadpool-and-wolverine

[rinwellisathing]

Get To Know People Better Tag Game

I was tagged by @graysparrowao3! thank you!

Three Ships:

So I assume this is like favorites? Okay, I'll try to do separate fandoms as well to keep it interesting and I'll try and make it less common ships, not exactly rare ships per se because like... I am very shy and anxiety prone so truthfully iunno what's rare and not because I don't engage a lot.

Thunderweave (Gale/Rolan) : I really like this one, even more since my fiancee and I RPed it with the idea of transmasc Rolan. It's really kind of interesting and also Rolan deserves a better fellow wizard than Lorroakan and I think Gale is a great fellow wizard being both talented, secure in his abilities, but also willing to see the potential and power in another person. Also I super identify with Rolan and my fiancee does a really good really convincing Gale for RP and cosplay. Kabru/Mithrun: I initially preferred Kabru/Laios, which I still really like honestly, but I read a longer post about Mithrun's disabilities and his trauma and how Kabru treats him like a person when most people don't and like as a heavily traumatized person who became suddenly and severely disabled as a result, I really really relate and hope that my partners will show me that same level of care when they are able (distance has been the main reason why not, my mom has mainly been the one taking care of me since I became disabled so I don't really know what my partners will do in person because one lives far away and one has been called away on family issues since before this became a major issue) Thraina (Thrall/Jaina) : This is the only hetero ship I consistently come back to. I usually prefer Sylvanas/Jaina, but realistically I don't want to put that one here for only one reason. Sylvanas/Jaina has a lot of basis in what it could be (No one at Blizzard who has been there consistently through their entire development is talented enough to have made it work so it's all theoretical and based on what much better unpaid fanfiction writers decide). Thraina, meanwhile was unintentionally somehow written as one of the most equitable, healtyh, equal, and level relationships in all of WoW and it wasn't even canon...mainly because Metzen is a weird creepy misogynist (one of the main reasons I actually mainly write Aggra/Jaina as a ship actually, because both deserve better and are, in theory, better than that bag of derivative Marvel obsessed dicks allows them to be) but anyway, it's just fascinating to me how the healthiest ship in WoW was axed, shut down, and denied despite how genuinely good it was. I could write essays on this, I *HAVE* written essays on this, but I'll spare you. First ship: Domon Kasshu/Chibodee Crockett (G Gundam) but also Meg Giry and Christine Daae (Phantom of the Opera) these were simultaneous, so honestly I had to put both.

Last Song: Where You Are (Moana Soundtrack)

Last Movie: it was this obscure random horror movie I found on Peacock called 'Wait Till Helen Comes' about a child ghost. I tend to since I've been unable to work stay up late making costume pieces and writing and pick random horror movies for background. It wasn't bad, honestly.

Currently reading: Humblewood campaign setting book for an actual play I want to do Faerun 3.5 Player's Guide for flavor bits for my BG3 fanfics and location lore for my BG 3 sequel campaign Cinderwich by Cherie Priest

Currently watching:

Interview With a Vampire Crispy's Tavern Currently Eating: Opera Cake Currently craving: The nastiest, filthiest Durgetash ERP, preferably with my fiancee as Gortash. Favorite color: Purple

Current Obsession: BG 3 Prehistoric ocean animals Junji Ito Sharks in general Costuming Fatal Frame Last thing I googled: Sophia Loren Favorite Season: WInter

Skill I'd like to learn: Shoe making Metalurgy Best advice: You're never done learning until you're dead...even then, let's assume we get reincarnated and then rinse, repeat, start learning again. I'm tagging @iron-bullogna @vialae @vestigialpersonality @dm-dragonpuff

[ruinsoftime]

Escaflowne Voice Meme

Okay, I guess it's my turn. This is a Written Meme instead of voice btw. The original questionnaire is here: Escaflowne Voice Meme.

01. Introduce yourself! When did you first watch Escaflowne? What brought you into the fold?

I already shared part of my experience in this post, so I'm gonna expand on that.

I was young and naive and in Junior High. There was an open tv channel that broadcasted anime shows all evening. One of them was Escaflowne, and I liked it, I mean, it's medieval! With robots! And swords! And the robots wear capes! But I wasn't a fan.

I saw the movie until I was in college and I loved it.

Years later, I always attempted to watch the series, because I thought I never watched it complete (and I never passed from the first episode in those tries). In 2021 I finally watched the entire series again… I didn't remember a thing hahaha and I discovered that I had actually seen it completely before because the only things I recalled were the "Aoi Hitomi" song and that Dilandau was a woman (and I spent the entire time looking for the womanly clues on Dilandau, with no success).

But you know, I really really loved the movie but I forgot how much I did it, it took some effort on my part to remember… hell, I even had magazine clippings in my room (still there) and used to draw Van and Hitomi, but all that is still lost in my mind and from the world (I rescued a drawing, not the great thing).

So here I am.

I already had a tumblr account but I guess due to inactivity I couldn't use the tags, so I better started anew.

02. Who is your favorite character and why? Was it love at first sight? Has any of their qualities or quirks swayed you on characters in other series?

Van. The guy grew on me after my second watch, it's easy to sympathise with him.

03. Which side are you on? What do you think happens Post-Hitomi when she leaves? Who do you think will be the next opposing power?

This is fanfic area, but I think Basram would get everyone in trouble if not kept in check. Zaibach could resurface years later, too. Or, you know, Hitomi returns and starts a fight :P

04. Least favorite plot point? Was there something you think should have changed? What do you think would have made it better.

I found Millerna and Dryden's love story boring (because there's none?). Van's wings are too corny (lol) What's up with Varie? I'd have liked to see more about the war. Escaflowne's customer service was ridiculous hahaha I had to pause when Folken performed the "let's make Hitomi and Allen a couple" mission.

Movie: I wanted to know more about... everything.

05. OTP? What kind of art and fiction would you like to see? What are some head canons you have for them? What is you NoTP?

Every question is like 10 questions lol This one is pretty obvious: Hitomi x Van of course. If you drop Folken in there I won't mind (not sure if Van or Hitomi would agree though). I like to read so I find fanfics very entertaining and comfy. I like art too so fanarts are welcome. Alright my headcanon is… Hitomi comes back to Gaea, finds her place in there, marries Van of course, and the whole planet is in peace.

NoTP: Van and Dilandau. Van/Hitomi x OC (unless you convince me).

06. What would you like to see in a figurative remake/sequel? Would you include more minor characters? Would you want a whole new story that could be a stand alone?

I've lived long enough to see failed sequels shit on a perfect story so I'd go for standalone story or a backstory, like Goau's life, Varie's story, Moleman's, Leon's adventures, and so on.

07. Movie, Series, Game, or Manga preference? What are things you did/didnt like of each?

I love the movie, I love everything about it except for it to be so short, unable to expand on the new universe they built.

The series is great, we'll always wonder what would Escaflowne be if only they got all the episodes they needed and didn't have to pack everything in 26 episodes. A monumental work.

Everything else is meh to me. I've read both mangas and watched the extra scenes of the videogame. I haven't read the LNs for obvious reasons.

08. Do your favorite impression! Bonus points if you can do a conversation with a scene cut in!

floats in the middle of the room inside a levistone, taking a nap

09. What do you think about the idea of a re-dub? What are your feelings about the current cast selection for Van (and others if more are introduced)?

I haven't seen the english dub but I've seen the latino one. I wouldn't mind a re-dub, even if I feel that nowadays actors lack heart. Van's VA, Jesús Becerro, died some years ago so I'd prefer to watch it like it is for nostalgia's sake.

As for the japanese cast… it's perfect, period.

I love Maaya Sakamoto's voice (Hitomi), a shame I don't like her music. Tomokazu Seki (Van) surprised me, he's also Kougami's VA in Psycho-Pass (I love his voice in PP) and I didn't notice until certain line he said reminded me of some other character (Gilgamesh).

10. Recite your top five characters by name.

Van. Hitomi. Folken. 5 is a lot.

Secondary: Gadess, Ruhm, Moleman, Balgus, Yukari.

Fin

[a34trgv2]

In Defense of Strong Female Characters

In today's entertainment landscape, more and more creators have been taking the chance to make female protagonists just as well rounded and interesting as their male counterparts. Yet online, there tends to be this disdain for female characters for one reason or another. Whether it comes down to sexism or these critics just being too lazy to come up with actual critiques that hold water, I think strong female characters have gotten a bad rap over these past few years. For this post, I'm going to share my thoughts on strong female characters and why we're living in a golden age of heroines.

While female protagonists have existed since the dawn of man, they weren't always 3 dimensional characters with interesting personalities. With every Mulan, Little Mermaid, and Cinderella, there were hundreds of female characters that were either damsels in distress, eye candy, or exposition machines. Female characters like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in their original fairy tale forms lacked urgancy and interesting personalities in comparison to the main hero. They were mostly just there to look pretty and for the man to save them. I can't begin to tell you how many times a lady hogtied on the train tracks was so frequently used in the early days of film; it was practically a rule for every film to have a damsel in distress. That all started to change when characters like Wonder Woman took the world by storm and inspired girls to be strong and brave like them.

During the mid-20th century, characters like Ripley (Aliens), Leia (Star Wars), and Sarah Conner (Terminator) became more 3 dimensional with well-rounded personalities, funny quips and quick thinking skills. They quickly showed young girls that women can be strong and interesting, just like the men. Over time this gave rise to more strong female characters such as Kim Possible, Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbend), Fiona (Shrek), Anna and Elsa (Frozen), Natasha Romanoff (MCU), Rey (Star War sequel trilogy) and many many more. In this current age of strong female characters that were once almost nonexistent, you'd think this would be a welcomed and accepted part of our reality. If you do think that, bless you for not being on the Internet.

On YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit (among other social media sites), there's a large number of users who take issue with strong female characters. They bring up reasons like "they overshadow the male characters," "they're Mary Sues," and "they make men look bad."" These are some outrageous and false claims that they try to make big deals about to hide the fact that either A. They're lazy or B. They're sexist. Do you wanna talk about overshadowing male characters? Robin Williams stole the show in every movie he was in before he passed, and most of his co-stars were male characters. I've already gone into detail about Mary Sues in another post, but to recap, Mary Sue was a character from a Star Trek fanfic, which is a power fantasy. Most entertainment is made up of power fantasies, so referring to a female character as a Mary Sue makes for a stupid insult and a lazy critique. And as for "they make men look bad?" Don't flatter yourselves! Men like Harvey Weinstein, Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong-Un, and Vladimir Putin already make men look bad. A female character being cool doesn't make you less cool.

Strong female characters are exactly what we need in entertainment. Entertainment has always been for everyone, but it's only now being more reflective of our tastes and our ideals. Female characters like Mary Poppins, Peggy Carter, and Catwoman (The Batman 2022), among many others, show that they are on equal ground with male characters as they should be. To conclude, I want to thank everyone who is involved in the creation of strong female characters. May you continue to inspire girls and boys to stand together on equal footing. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you next time ;)

[rosellerivers19]

Disney Zombies a never seen before crackship: No actually

Disney Zombies is a . . . well Disney movie I can't really say anything else its a good watch love the 'Someday' song that has so many iterations along the series and the characters are well Disney.

Now In terms of ships let me say I there's this one ship that I wrote a whole fanfic for without even knowing what a fanfic was and I can not for the life of me find it online anywhere!

Fanart,Fanfics Whatever

Now from my experience in Media it isn't uncommon to ship main characters with other characters outside their canon in Media.

So why the Hell is there no Eliza x Zed shippers anywhere?

Yes I said it Eliza x Zed and to explain why I shipped it I will give you a trip down memory Lane.

So years ago when the movie first came out I really liked it because well I was just a little girl who loved any piece of Media related to disney (most of the time)

I was also a creative girl and when Covid started I started revisiting those movies. When I was watching a few Zombies clips on youtube I saw a comment saying the Eliza could've been so jealous in the movie because she used to have a crush on Zed (I also heard similar lines when the movie itself came out)

And I was really bored since I couldn't have my ipad to use between classes when things got boring I decided to write skits on flashcards reading them to myself to keep myself entertained so then i decided to take up a new project one starring Zed and Eliza

How they met how things would play out if Eliza really did have a crush on Zed what if instead of Zed ending up with Addison he realized he liked Eliza.

I played with the storyline a bit and my writing was so cringey back then but I made a few points deriven from the actual movie that I actually really liked looking back on it now

Now please welcome to my rant about a (not) fanfic on Eliza and Zed from Disney's Zombies specifically the first movie.

Eliza and Zed were originally childhood best friends Eliza was teased because of her smart nature which was seen uncommon among her fellow zombie peers due to the oppression they faced from the Humans however Zed sought to become friends with her. (In the original story I made a basketball be the start of their so called friendship but I should've probably changed that to a football. I used that scene for my Webcomic instead)

Eliza and Zed had a spot just to themselves the one we see in the first movie during the second verse of "Someday". A spot not even Bonzo knew about making Eliza very hurt when she found out that Zed showed it to Addison.

Eliza didn't hate Addison like a cringey Wattpadd Novel (Even though that is what you could accurately describe my story as when I wrote it). She even helps theorize on what Addison's white hair can mean they become good friends and Eliza doesn't want to break Addison and Zed's relationship because of that friendship.

Thats why it happens in the sequel 😉

Bonzo got added to the friend group after Zed and Eliza became friends they were basically a band of misfits because they had outward thinking I did a bit of plot building in the universe but my creativeness was still a bit limited.

I also added Eliza having a verse in "Someday" in my story where she followed Zed up the stairs when he went up worried he'd get caught then saw he went into the Zombie safe room. Seeing them interact. "Someday" is changed from them wanting to be together to Addison and Zed's hopes for a better society because Addison herself didn't love how the Zombies were given limited privileges feeling that if her real hair was found out she too would be stripped of her freedom having a certain fear. So when Zed and Addison sing "Someday" with altered lines they both are singing about a better world where 'Different' isn't bad. That strikes a strong chord with Eliza because She and Zed were the ones who had started off with that dream it was something special to Them. And seeing Zed act like that with a human too makes her feel angry and a bit jealous. Zed also talks about this dream with meaning with Addison even though she can't see him clearly because he Knows she's a human and thinks she might be different having similar ideals as her. But it quickly turns bad when her cousin and his peers come and Addison finds out he's an actual zombie (they have corny zombie jokes yes) and she quickly acts repulsed so she wouldn't be treated differently by her cousin and etc. Zed still retains that slight bond and they get their normal love route.

---------

I didn't develop a lot for the sequel but I did make some changes in mind considering the first movie.

After finding out what fan fiction is (keep in mind this was on paper) I decided to search up Zed and Eliza's pairing however I found Nada.

A lot of people headcanoned her as Lesbian however I saw not one ship of her with Zed. I hadn't been considering publishing my story at all but knowing that did make me want to not mention it online for a long time.

However I decided to finally see if anyone else secretly shipped them. Or see if I was being delusional.

I'm probably not gonna post it online because of lack of support, consumption of time and the fact that I lost my notebook.

But if anyone was curious or interested after seeing my rant please ask questions I would be happy to answer them.

(I've never told anyone about this story)

[nono-bunny]

Wow, ML:The Awakening is such a disjointed mess and I LOVED it! I'm just gonna jot down my thoughts before going to sleep now, but I've had a great time watching it, tldr it's a bad movie but great fun for a cynical ML veteran

The songs were, overall, truly the worst parts of this movie and taking them out would've 100% improved the movie by virtue of giving things room to breathe and develop organically, but! As a longtime fan turned hater of the show, this movie nevertheless felt very cathartic. It was a mess, but it's actually clear that for once with ML, it's an issue of not enough time rather than too much. In a single movie they delivered what the show STILL never did, even though they're supposedly both done with the first arc of the ML story... Only one of them feels like it was deserved and earned, which is strange considering how rushed both of their conclusions were, but ig it all comes down to which one had the better idea for how to end things

Overall I genuinely do wish that this version was the one that got the time to be the long running TV show, because even though it was cheesy as all get out it also overall got things right much more than the show ever did, like. Most of it felt like it was taken straight out of fanfics I've read, which to some degree has been the case with ML since season 2, but like? Weirdly enough it felt like the movie actually GOT IT, like, it understood what it was about all of this stuff that people found appealing and made an effort to get it right rather than just steal the idea and completely screw up the execution.

This movie felt like a mash up of scenes I've read in fics brought the life, and there wasn't a lot of connective tissue between them, but like??? The VIBES were all correct, which is so much more than I can say for the show...

Anyway the final confrontation was genuinely beautiful and SO satisfying to see after hearing about the shitshow that went down in season 5, it was pretty much everything I could've hoped for and expected to see back in the first two seasons. In general Gabriel was handled SO well imo! One of the most memorable final confrontations I read in fics was one where Gabriel was released from the hold of the butterfly miraculous, which was cursed or something (its been literal years since I read that one so I don't remember the specifics) and was essentially responsible for him spiraling into abusing its power, and the way Gabriel acted in this movie felt extremely reminiscent of that in a way I really appreciated. He truly embraced being a villain while at the same time very clearly losing his grip on reality, and I liked that that's the way they chose to make him sympathetic. He was just... A truly desperate and grief stricken man, and even when he went full villain he still never lost sight of his goal- his villainy and his motives fed into each other in a really beautiful and devastating cycle that the original show never manged to accomplish, and it made him so much more interesting!! He also managed to be actually terrifying and intimidating, not because he was clever (which he isn't, despite what the show would try and have us believe), but because his determination to succeed properly mirrored the hero's determination not to let him. He was fully aware that he was losing himself and Adrien, but since he was already in too deep before he even began, he just truly spiraled into madness over time. Seeing him lose it was the truly scary part here, because the very start shows him being ACTUALLY competent and held in high regard, which just further drove in how low he sank.

I genuinely really loved everything about Gabriel's depiction here, it's pretty much everything the show tried and failed to accomplish done RIGHT. Highkey the highlight of the movie was just seeing the worst villain ever written get a writing redemption lol. Also, Natalie!!! I loved seeing her stand up for Adrien, and ngl if there's a sequel I hope she kills it as Mayura, regardless of what her motives end up being (gay for Emilie? Gay for Emilie.

Chloe my girl!!! She was wonderful in this, my Chloenette heart was so happy to see these two finding their way to becoming equals. Also Chloe had her own minor arc in the background, over time she became more protective of Sabrina and I LOVED to see it, fingers crossed for a Queen Bee appearance in the possible sequel!!!

Oh my god Alya was so gay for Marinette istg wtf was up with that sexual tension lmao I felt so bad for my boy Nino! They do seem to get together at the end though so good for them!

Mari was really cringe, but I was surprised to figure out that it was like... Pretty exclusively during the songs (and the truly terrible scenes with her parents, wtf was that about it was weird)! Overall she was much more relatable, she had believable reactions even if she sometimes jumped between emotions when changing scenes because the movie lacked connective tissues, and I liked how we get to see that a lot of her "not having any friends" thing which was a weird loophole in the show here was a matter of not letting anyone get close to her (which was a cool mirroring of what Chat ends up saying later!!) and how it was partially influenced by a pretty debilitating social anxiety WHICH WE GOT TO SEE HER EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN HAVING IT TOLD IN A FLASHBACK, SEASON 5!!!

Personally I like Marichat the most and Adrienette the least (it tends to be either boring or unbelievable, which is something this movie wasn't immune to), but I found the focus on Ladynoir really fun!!! I liked seeing their friendship and how they're actual partners here to the core, it was great and the developing romance (not Chat's weird immediate crush, why do they keep doing that in ML) was probably the most believable I've seen in canon ML!

All of the lore changes I've noticed were pretty much without exception for the better, and it was really neat to see them!

It was cool seeing the class just chill together in various combinations, it was a good way to keep them there and show that Mari 100% has a place there as soon as she chooses to take part

Why was Mylenne's dad in jail,,, did he do pretend crimes,,,,

Also the movie was really pretty. Liked watching it just for that tbh

[piko-power]

Not Again - Act 1 - Incident

OH BOY OH BOY

This is the newest addition to my series of Sonic Movie stories- (Which I'll explain in the future very soon) of events before the sequel and we are starting STRONG with this one.

This is going to be chock full of angst and fluff like you've never seen it before, and yes, this has some trigger warnings.

There is nothing extreme in this story, but there will be some things some readers might find uncomfortable. If it's not your cup of tea, you don't have to read it. But other than that, this is not a violent story, but it is pretty emotional. (I promise you it has a happy ending but we're obviously not there yet)

You would let me know if I'm doing the TWs right.

I'll be releasing new parts of the story once or possibly twice a week. I, of course, cannot promise that, but we'll wait and see. XD

Alright, I think that's all I have to say other than HAPPY READING!

-

THIS SONIC MOVIE FANFIC IS BASED ON AN HEADCANON OF MINE. I WOULD FLIP OUT IF THIS ACTUALLY BECOMES CANON. XD

TW: BLOOD, SLIGHT SWEARING (IN THIS CHAPTER)

"No hero is afraid to stop bad guys from robbing a bakery, not even Sonic. But all heroes must have weaknesses, and that weakness came out of the dark like a bullet. Literally."

The sirens wail from the distance. The sound blares louder as the car speeds to it's destination.

"Wait! Do you hear something?"

"Like what?!"

"...THAT!"

One of the crooks point to the window, showing the sheriff's car driving quickly to the Sweet Dream Bakery Shop. The other robber sighed. "You've got to be kidding me. Quick! Grab all of it a get out of here!"

"YOU! Get back, NOW!" The robber points their weapon at the clerk, who took their orders and slowly backed off. "D-Don't shoot!" She cried. "If you do as I say." The robber's tone was cold and quiet, yet demanding.

"Which one of you pests called the damn sheriff?!" The other robber from the far right called out to the three customers, laying on the floor, barely looking up at the criminal. "WHO DID IT?!"

Jasmine, the owner of the bakery, slowly raised her hand up enough for the shouting criminal to see. "HA! Reeeaal classic." They scoffed. "You REALLY think you can save the day by just simply calling the sheriff?"

"He's not the only one who's gonna stop you troublemakers." Jasmine growled. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU MOTHER-"

Suddenly, the door slammed opened, revealing Wade Whipple. "FREEZE POLICE DON'T MOVE!" All in one sentence, aiming his taser at one of the crooks. One guy near the register rolled his eyes. "Seriously? This doofus? He ain't gonna make us do crap!" He barked. "First of all, that was uncalled for." Wade said, looking slightly offended.

"Alright guys, this is your one and only chance to stop what you're doing right now!" Tom called out through the speakers. "If anybody gets hurt, we're gonna do this the hard way! Got that?!" He demanded.

Wade looks outside to see his buddy, then back at the bandits. "You better do as he says. You'd hate it when he's angry." He whispered to them. "He's usually a pretty chill guy." The criminals looked at each other, thinking about their next move, smiling. "Let's see how angry he can get when he hears: OFFICER DOWN!"

Then they raised their gun at Wade. His eyes widen, but doesn't back off for one second. "Y-Yeah, no, that ain't gonna happen! Don't even THINK about making that happen!" He roared. "You guys have five seconds to leave the building!" The sheriff's voice roared from the megaphone outside.

"We have plenty of time to handle this situation." They chuckled, preparing to pull the trigger, when suddenly…

"SURPRISE!" A quick blue light flashed by the crooks, running all over the place. Everyone in the building try to keep up with the mysterious blur, but is blinded by confusion, including the criminals. "What's wrong, guys? Can't keep up with the Blue Devil??" He called out, running on the walls now.

The guys looked at each other, knowing exactly who is trying to distract them. "Uhhh, Tom?" Wade called out to the sheriff from the building, staring at the crowd of light blue streaks. "Should we do it the hard way now, or…?"

Tom, slowly putting down the megaphone on the hood of the car, watched in awe. "Oh, God…" He sighed.

Sonic, finally coming to a stop on top of a counter, glared at the criminals as lightning spat out of his quills. "YOU!" One of them hissed at the space hog. He crossed his arms. "Sorry for disturbing your mission but no one is gonna steal anything! Not even a single sprinkle! Seriously, who would steal pastry?" He shrugged. "This is the Sweet Dream BAKERY shop, guys! I mean, come on."

"We weren't gonna steal some cakes, gremlin." They snarled at the hedgehog. Sonic, giving them an "heartbroken" expression, placed his hand on his chest. "I feel so offended…" He then gave them a cheeky grin.

"It doesn't matter what you losers are stealing, what really matters is that I'm gonna KICK YOUR BUTTS!" He jumped up in the air, giving one crook a roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him to the ground and dropping their weapon. Jasmine jumped. "Jasmine! Get out of here! All of you, now! Go, go, go!"

Jasmine, including the costumers getting back on their feet, began to run out of the building. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DO-?" Sonic rolled up into a ball and zipped straight to their gut. They cried out and fell to the floor, clutching their stomach. "You were saying?" Sonic sarcastically asked.

Sonic then grabbed one of the bar stools and swung them straight to the baddie's face. Wade's jaw dropped, including his weapon. "Whoa…" "Pretty cool, huh?" He beamed, giving him a wink.

"SONIC!" A voice called out from outside, which startled Sonic at first. Tom ran into the building to see one of the crooks lying down on the ground, including a bar stool. His ocean eyes widened scanning the room, making sure there's nothing broken. Then, he glared at the little hedgehog.

"No need to thank me, Tom!" He boasted. "The bakery is now safe thanks to me!" "First of all… HOW…-" Tom raised his voice but took a deep breath before he could fully explode. "…Did you hear about this?" He asked, still giving him the look that should scare the ego out of Sonic.

"You told me to stay at the police department, but when I heard on the radio that there was a robbery-" "That brings me to another thing… Second…" Sonic knew that he's gonna raise his voice once more, big time. His shoulders rise up, and he cringes. "I TOLD YOU STAY THERE BUT YOU DIDN'T!" "I told you!" Wade said to one of the unconscious crooks.

"This is the SECOND time you did this this week, Sonic Wachowski!" Tom continued. "First, the "Dog-Catcher" incident, and now THIS!" Sonic has been going into some criminal scenes lately. Wanting to be the big hero, kicking butt and saving lives.

But he is only a kid. Sonic isn't supposed to be doing this kind of stuff, even if he has such incredible power.

Tom feared this would happen multiple times, he just pray that Sonic will listen to him just this once.

"Tom, relax. I already stopped the bad guys! I stopped the robbery! No one even got hurt!" Sonic said. Wade points at the crook laying on the floor. "What about that guy? They got hurt." "Uh… Because they were robbing the bakery, Wade??" The hedgehog corrected.

"Sonic, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't have gotten into the scene with no warning!" He lectured. "What if you get hurt? Huh?" "Well, I won't get hurt. Because I'm the fastest thing alive." He said.

"What if?"

"I won't."

Tom took a deep breath, calming himself down before he continued. "Sonic, I'm just saying. I worry about you when you do this kind of stuff." His tone was more quiet and soft, but still tense somehow.

Sonic sighed as well, just wanting to get the conversation out of the way and celebrate the victory. "Tom, if I can save the town from Robotnik, then I can save the town from anything." He walked away, out of the building. "You worry too much."

Tom's eyes widened again.

Worry too much? The heck does that mean??

Tom gently held Sonic's shoulder to stop him. "Sonic, it's my job to worry about you. I know you saved this town before but you're just a kid." Sonic quickly turned back to face Tom, looking surprised. "You're too young to be a hero!"

"How long will it take to convince you that I can take care of myself?" Sonic complained. "I just want you to understand that you're putting yourself into dangerous situations." Tom kneel down to Sonic's level. "You can't keep doing this! I have every right to worry about you if you keep this up!"

"You don't have to worry about me!" Sonic said. "Like I said, I'm fast! I can avoid any bullet from miles away."

From behind the counter from back inside, the robber cocked their weapon.

"Plus," He continued, now stern. "I already am a hero, Tom." He exhaled sadly, looking down at the ground. Tom took notice of this. "Let me look after this town. Let me look after you."

Not only does Sonic wanted to protect his home, but he wanted to protect the one person who changed his life forever. He knows he can protect the town and the town has been quite peaceful. Zero bad guys tried to kill him, at least ever since Robotnik was banished to the Mushroom Planet a few months back.

But people are actually trying to mess with this town? Not on Sonic's watch. Especially when it comes to messing with his friend.

His father.

And as much as he looks up at him as one, he can't let anything happen to him. Not even having the chance to actually call him his own father. He refuse to take that risk.

Not after what happened the last time he did something like that.

Tom shows a soft smile on his face. He couldn't stay mad at his little buddy. He knows he wanted to make a difference but he can't spend the rest of his childhood doing something like this. He would at least wait til that moment chose him eventually. "I understand, bud. You always look after me. A lot of people do. But… I want to look after you too. You know that I lov-"

"But I don't want you to look after me..."

Tom nearly pulled away from the hedgehog after hearing that. Sonic looked pained.

They were both hurt from what was spoken.

Sonic, as much as he loves the Donut Lord, can't let him change his role from a sheriff to a father. He wanted him to take care of the town, not just him. If only he found the exact words he was looking for to even explain the reason for it.

But even if he did-

BANG!!

"AAAGGH!!"

This will happen.

"TOM?!" Sonic cried out, witnessing the blood spewing out of Tom's right arm. He was shot near his shoulder.

Tom was shot.

Sonic's emerald eyes widened in horror as he watches Tom cry out in pain, holding onto his bleeding arm tightly. He tried to calm down, trying not to swear in front of the hedgehog. He fell to his knee, feeling lightheaded. "Thomas!" Wade yelled out.

"TOM, NO!!" Sonic, trembling, tried to approach the injured sheriff. "S-S-Sonic-" Tom try to speak, but another loud BANG could be heard from the bakery. Wade was nearly hit as the bullet zipped straight to the floor when he tried to reach for his weapon. The robber from the counter wasn't knocked out fully. They were about to shoot Tom again.

"DON'T DO IT!!!"

The hedgehog screamed as he zoomed to the crook, kicking them in the face, hard. They fell back to the ground but before they could get back up, Sonic pinned them to the wall of the counter. They tried to reach for their gun, but the now lightning powered hedgehog stepped on his hand hard, breaking it. He yelled out in pain. "YOU STUPID RODENT!"

"YOU SHOT TOM!!!" He screamed out once more as he began to punch the criminal in lightning speed non stop. His sharp blue eyes were beginning to form tears, his heart was pounding, his breathing was rapid, but he wouldn't stop going all out on the crook.

He doesn't care if he killed the crook, no one messes with the Donut Lord.

As more police ran in to take care of the robbers, Jasmine and a customer helped Tom up, but he kept tumbling over, going to pass out. "He's bleeding out so much!" A customer cried out. "Somebody call a doctor!!" "Don't worry! I know someone! Give me a sec. Keep an eye on him." Jasmine pulled out her phone as a costumer and a few bystanders helped the sheriff out. "Wh-Where's Sonic…?" He asked weakly.

Wade got back up and ran to the counter to see Sonic beating up the bad guy. "Sonic! Chill out, little guy!" Sonic didn't listen. He refuse to listen. He just kept punching, hoping that the crook will be out like a light.

"Come on! Get away!" Wade, despite the lightning spiraling all over him, grabbed Sonic and pulled him away from the criminal. "No, no, NO, NO, NO!! I WON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS!!" He yelled, punching the air trying to reach for the bad guy, who is backing away from the crazed hedgehog.

"Sonic, calm down!" Wade said with concern. "HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN THAT MONSTER HURT MY FRIEND?!?!" He continuously yelled at the top of his lungs, spilling out all the rage and heartbreak to the world. "Just calm down, alright? Tom's gonna be okay." Wade tried to be convincing, walking away with a struggling Blue Devil in his arms. The police ran in and grabbed the beaten up robber and pulled him back up on his feet, cuffing him.

Wade walked outside to try and find Tom. "Tom?! Where are you?!" "WHERE IS HE?!?!" Sonic cried out, trying to break free from Wade's grasp. Then he caught two people carrying Tom near a bench to check up on him. "They'll be here any minute. Just make sure he doesn't pass out." Jasmine said to the group, hanging up on her phone.

Sonic gasped as he saw Tom holding his arm slowly bleeding out. So much blood he thought. This is too much! TOO MUCH! I CAN'T LOSE HIM LIKE THIS! I CAN'T LOSE ANYBODY!

"NOOOOO!!" Sonic finally pushed Wade away and tried to reach out to his hero only for Jasmine and a policeman to hold him where he is. He can only reach out to him from so far. "TOM!! NO!!" Tears were streaming down his muzzle as he sobbed out his name over and over. "I'm sorry!" Jasmine cried. "He needs medication!"

"No, no! Stay awake, buddy!" Wade ran up to Tom in a hurry. There were worry in his eyes as he look at his arm. "W-Wade… Where's…"

"TOOOOOMM!! TOOOOM!!" Someone was calling out his name. He knew the voice. He knew those cries. He tried to stay awake. He really tried. "S-Sonic…" His vision was fading. He can barely make out the panicking hedgehog, who was guarded by two people. "Sonic, calm down!" A woman's voice called, it was Jasmine. "We're going to call Maddie Wachowski. She'll take you home." A policeman said. "NOO!! I'M NOT LEAVING HIM!!" Sonic screamed once more.

"S-Sonic…" Tom took a big deep breath, trying to call out to his hedgehog friend. The little blue spot in his sight was slowly fading away from him. "D-Don't… C-C-Cry…"

All of the colors were turning black. There was no more blue. His voice was disappearing. Everything is disappearing. "I CAN'T LOSE HIM!!" His cries have never felt so quiet, yet so haunting. He feared that this will be the last time he'll ever hear his voice.

"I CAN'T LOSE MY DAD!!!"

Then, everything stopped.

...

...

Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...

The first sound Tom could hear.

The painful pounding in his head.

The first thing Tom could feel.

A soft, surface with cloth and paper.

The first thing Tom could touch.

"Uuuuuggh… Wh… What happened…?"

The first thing Tom could say.

His tired ocean eyes slowly open up, trying to get used to the blinding sunlight beaming through the curtains. He tried to move his right arm, but the stinging pain from it shot him fully awake. "SON OF A-!" He cut himself off before he can complete his sentence.

He sat up, slowly, looking over his bandaged arm. Then he scanned the room, still getting used to the light. He's in a patient's room.

How long has he been out? What even happened? His head continuously aches, refusing to give him a proper reason as to how he ended up here.

He gasped.

His voice.

TOOOOM!!

"Oh, God… No…" Now he remembered. He remembered clearly.

There was a robbery at Sweet Dream.

Sonic stopped the criminals.

They had a talk.

He was shot.

Sonic was crying.

Sonic was screaming. He never heard him like that before. He lay back down, trying to process the event from last night. He looked over at his arm again, he cringed at the sight of it.

He shuts his eyes tight, trying to forget the horrifying cries from the little hedgehog.

I CAN'T LOSE HIM!! I CAN'T LOSE MY DAD!!!

His dad.

No wonder he wanted to stop the robbery. It doesn't change the fact that a fourteen year old hedgehog beat up some robbers when they would've hurt him the same way they hurt Tom.

He would be mad, but he's not. Now he's worried. Worried sick.

He hope to God that Sonic is doing okay after last night.

Even if knowing what he had been through and how much he means to him, he somehow doubted that.

The door opened, which startled Tom. The nurse entered the room, relieved to see the sheriff alive and well. "Thomas. Hello." She waved. Tom waved back, sighing. "You scared me…" He chuckled weakly. "Terribly sorry." "No. Don't be. You're good." Tom reassured.

"How are you feeling, Thomas?" Nurse Hayley asked, sitting next to him. "Fine, I guess?" Tom lied. "My arm feels like crap, but I think I'm okay. Nothing's wrong, right?" "Well, you didn't receive any injuries that were too severe." The nurse replied. "But your arm does need some extra time to heel."

Ah… Of course… Tom looked away, sighing.

"You'll stay here for a few more hours in case something else happens." "Fine by me, I guess…" Tom said quietly, lost in his own thoughts. "Something troubling you?" The nurse asked. "I'm fine, Nurse Hayley." Once again, he lied. "it's just…"

He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He never heard Sonic so scared and heartbroken in his life. Considering the time of day, a lot of time must've passed when the event happened. "How long have I been in here?" "For about eight hours. It is now morning." She replied.

He was here for the whole night?! Ever since he was knocked out?!

Sonic...!

"Thomas?" Hayley placed her hand on Tom's, startling him again. "Deeply sorry, Tom." "You're fine…!" He took a deep breath. "I've just been thinking about Sonic. I'm worried about him. He hasn't seen me since last night. When I was out…"

"Oh…" Hayley can recall the phone call she had with his wife regarding the events and hoping that Tom will come out alright. That, and that Sonic wouldn't stop talking about what he had witnessed. She could've sworn she heard him say his name over and over again over Maddie trying her best to calm him down while crying.

"Don't worry, Thomas." She finally spoke. "I can assure you that Sonic AND Maddie are doing just fine." Her gentle smile made Tom feel a little better, but he was still a little worried. "I hope so…" He whispered to himself.

A knock could be heard, along with the door sliding open. "Nurse Hayley?" Doctor James walked in the room facing Hayley. "Yes, James?" She got back up on her feet. James looked over to see Tom is awake, then back at Hayley. "We have some visitors. They're here to see you, Tom."

Visitors?! Tom knew exactly who is visiting him.

"I'll leave you be. I can tell they wanted to speak with you." Hayley left the room along with James. The moment that happened, Tom inhaled deeply.

Here we go...

And exhaled. Then, Maddie entered the room. Her eyes lightened up seeing her husband awake. Alive. Tom smiled. "Hey, hon." He said "cheerfully."

"Tom…" Maddie walked over to him and hugged him tightly, beginning to cry. "Ohh, baby… I'm okay… It's okay…" Tom hugged her back, stroking her back. He kissed her on the cheek multiple times. "It's alright…" He whispered to her.

Eventually, they let each other go. Maddie sat down on the chair next to him, holding his hand. She wiped the tears off her eyes. "You feeling okay…?" She sniffled. "I'm fine, Maddie." He chuckled. "Just an bruised arm. No big deal. Though I have to stay here for a couple of hours just in case." Maddie understood. "Then… I'll be back home in no time." Tom smiled, gazing into Maddie's eyes.

"Good."

Tom and Maddie looked over to see a certain blue hedgehog standing in the doorway between the halls and the patient's room. His eyes were restless and bloodshot, and his fur was all ruffled up. His voice even sounded emotionless almost. Tom was surprised to see his little friend like this. Maddie sighed. "Sweetie. He's okay. You can come in."

Sonic took his time to walk towards Tom. When he gotten closer to see, he can see his arm bandaged up. He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to forget that moment. "Hey. I'm okay. Don't worry about it." Tom knows fully well that what he said didn't make Sonic feel better. He knew that Sonic had a rough night, crying and worrying about him the whole time. He can tell in those tearful emerald green eyes.

The young hedgehog let out a long, exhausted sigh. He looked up at Tom's obviously fake smile. Look at him. Take a long look at him. His own thoughts barked at him. You got him hurt all because you wanna make a difference. You should've let him handle the situation all by himself, but no! You only came in and made everything worse! You could've killed your own father, you jackass!!

That last word made him shut his eyes tight again and he looked away from the sheriff. "Baby?" Maddie looked over to see him. "Buddy? You alright?" Tom asked, placing his hand around Sonic's arm. He gasped quietly, taking notice of the sheriff's gentle grasp.

Sonic looked up at Tom again. If you don't want to lose your hero, than make sure you won't let that happen again! You lost Longclaw, you're not gonna lose Tom! You got that, slowpoke??

"I'm so glad you're okay…" He finally spoke quietly, showing off a fake smile. "I thought I'll never see you again…" Sonic climbed on top of the bed and hugged him tightly, trying not to cry. "It's alright, buddy… I'm here now… I'm not going anywhere…" Sonic slowly closed his eyes, feeling relieved to finally be embraced by his father.

No. His friend. His best friend.

I'll make sure of it. He hugged him more tightly. He'll make sure that from now on his favorite person in the whole wide world is not going anywhere.

-

To be continued...

-

Thank you so much for reading! There will be more parts of this story to come. Sorry if this story broke your heart so far-

-

Next Chapter

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

you know what I want?

A Stalwart Gem: The Movie. I’m tired of getting all the lil community theatre actors in my noggin together to act out the story. I, just once, wanna sit back all lazy-like, and watch it happen on the big screen.

But like…do you have any HCs or Drabble about the scene/a scene where Leto tells Jessica about his feelings for Gem?? Bc that’s one scene I think should be in the film and I’m drafting Stalwart Gem fanfic in my noggin and pls help.

I just think it’d be such an interesting scene because I wonder if they’ve discussed something like this before or if this is the first time, and it’s not like Leto can HIDE anything from her bc of his lil micro expressions of, probably; love and concern and horny, are all over his face. But was it dramatic? Was there an argument? Or was it sweet and understanding? I need to know pls- for the movie I’m about to produce.

Also congratulations on your thesis and good luck on applying for jobs. I don’t know how tf you find time to do all these things and still make us yearn and weep, but you’re amazing.

Danny Danny Danny Danny dear Danny dear sweet lovely Danny I'm so sorry this took me so long to answer!! Also thank you :) My thesis draft turned out v well and the job aplications are chugging along (though they scare me)

And can I just say that the fact that you have such interest in a Stalwart Gem and like...The sequel story form!! I still think about it!! Like it's astounding and I thank you and I adore you.

Okay I wrote, like...1k? that takes place ~the end of part one and into part two?? I hope it's sufficient! (Also it is not beta-read so if there are typos....Soz)

It starts as a sneaking suspicion.

Leto can be subtle at the best of times; his looks and actions can, at times, misdirect. They must, if he is to lead Caladan without showing all of the cards that he keeps so close to his vest. 

But with her—with this new-old-arrival, this bright ‘gem’, as he’s called her—there’s something different. His looks linger on her when they’re in conversation; his eye unwittingly seeks her out when she’s nearby, but just out of sight; his lips twitch with a smile at the sound of her voice, the mention of her name.

It’s odd to Jessica—to be on the outside, and not the object of his attention. It’s foreign, and it’s uncomfortable. Jessica feels the pricking of jealousy beneath her fingertips, the lurch of her stomach when he smiles at the girl. But she knows that there’s something there that must set her off, something good. As Thufir Hawat has always told her, it's easier to be terrified by an enemy you admire. 

There is something in this Gem that Leto must admire, and it must be beyond her beauty. Jessica has heard whispers from the ladies maids—whispers of nightly walks, and the possession of a kindjal and a sharp tongue. Leto and Jessica came together as a matter of necessity. Jessica doesn’t know if Leto has ever come together with anyone in a blatant matter of desire. It's new for him, something that he ought to have liberty to explore.

But the jealousy prickles, still. 

When he returns one night from a walk, hair and coat dampened, a nick in his neck, she can’t help bubbling of questions—but she shuts them tightly behind her lips, watching him change and drop his wet clothes onto the hamper. 

“...Where did you go?” She asks, as lightly as she can.

“Just to the river orchards.” 

“Mm…” She nods, taking in his pruned skin, his naked form before she adds, “How was she?” 

Leto hesitates for a moment before he tugs on a pair of loose pants, tying the chords.

“Shaken. Upset.” 

It’s the confirmation she needs—it churns her stomach.

“Is it lasting, you think?” Jessica asks.

“What, specifically?” 

“Your fascination.” 

Leto turns to face her, eyes sweeping her face, her body, before he asks, “Are you worried?”

“Have I anything to be worried about?” 

Leto lowers his head, and she can practically see the wheels turning and ruffling his dark, damp curls.

“Whatever the answer is,” Jessica adds, “Know that it changes nothing for me.”

“I do not believe that,” Leto asserts, meeting her eye again. Jessica purses her lips, considering her next words wisely. 

“... You are the father of our son, you know that I care and want only the best for you. This may cause a shift, perhaps, but not a rift.” 

Leto takes slow, careful steps toward the bed, lowering himself down to sit in front of Jessica. When he takes hold of her hand, it steadies and excites her as much as it did when they first met. Jessica closes both hands around his, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“I do not know if it is…Lasting,” Leto admits softly, eyes flitting to her face. It’s odd to see Leto nervous. She doesn’t rush to fill the silence, and instead gives him the moment or two to gather himself before he goes on:

“What I feel, it is…Different. Different from what I feel for you. You know that you will always have my devotion, my affection—”

“Yes—”

“You gave me our son, you have given me your time, your care…Your love.”

Leto’s eyes hold Jessica’s, but there’s a skittishness there.

“What I feel for her…I cannot describe it in a way that—”

“You will not upset me—”

“I can’t chance that. I won’t.” 

Jessica turns her head from him, her jaw working tightly. She hears Leto sigh, sees him bow his head out of the corner of her eye. 

“Do you trust me?” Jessica asks after a moment of tense quiet.

“You know I do—”

“Then trust me with this. For the sake of our partnership, trust me with this.”

She doesn’t push into his silence now, either. She knows Leto—knows that he’ll snap if she does, knows that he’ll settle if she doesn’t. This flurry of emotion is new for both of them, but they know one another.

“...I don’t know how much time that I have with her,” Leto finally says, “In the way that I know I have time with you. Until then, I…” 

“You want to explore.” 

“I do.” It’s said firmly, with his eyes set heavily on her. Jessica gives a slow nod, lowering her eyes to the bedspread and giving Leto’s hand a squeeze.

“Then that is what I want you to do.” She tips her head up and reaches out, thumbing the nick on his neck. “So long as she doesn’t take your head off.” 

Leto hisses softly, glancing at the pinprick of blood on her forefinger as she draws her hand away.

“She was upset with you?”

“No…No, with herself. But she’s been in the center of a storm for years now. It seems easier to turn her anger outward...She will learn.” 

Jessica hums thoughtfully, looking at the smudge of red on her finger. 

“...Would you be terribly upset if I didn’t befriend her?” She asked lightly.

“Of course not,” Leto soothed, rubbing his hand over her thigh. 

“I won’t make an enemy, mind, but—”

“I will not begrudge you distance,” Leto fills in. Jessica nods a little, lowering her gaze to her lap. Leto ducks his head, resting his forehead against hers and giving her other hand a squeeze.

“You will always have me. You must know that.” 

Jessica can’t help her small smile, and she tips her head, nudging her nose against his. “I do.” 

-- 

The next time she passes her—his gem—she finds herself slowing and holding her gaze. She sweeps her eyes along the woman’s form, meets her eyes again, and gives her a small nod.

“Come, Paul,” Jessica murmurs, carefully steering her son down the hallway. 

This gem may hold Leto’s fascination for some time, but Jessica has his son, his devotion—and he will always come back to that, and to them. Let him hold this interest, this gem, for as long as it lasts.

All that glitters is not gold.

[nellynee]

The makings of greatness, or why, as a ride or die Treasure Planet stan, I’m glad there’s no Treasure Plant 2

You ever see somethings that makes you unreasonably angry? Yes I understand exactly what I’m saying, and how that indicates that my emotions and opinions on this are exactly that. Opinions. There’s a good chance I have some objective truths mixed in, but that does not make my opinions based on those truths truth. If you disagree or have different tastes or opinions or interpretations, cool, let me know! maybe you’ll change my mind. That being said.

The plot synopsis for the Treasure Planet sequel makes me angry. Not like, actively so, just annoyed enough to be in a bad mood. And now you guys all have to be in one as well. Why?

Reason 1, and probably least important: Disney sequel syndrome.

Ok so Disney sequels aren’t inherently bad. I’ll stan the Aladdin sequels to my grave, who knew Cinderella could world build, obligatory Rescuers Down Under (the first one was better) blah blah blah.

But there is an inherit problem with sequels in general, and that usually has to do with cast and crew. An original piece of fiction has to grab the audience yes, but there’s also freedom in that. Media touches people in different way. The worldbuilding can mean more to some than others. Some are in it for the animation, or the character developments, or relationships. What connects with one person won’t connect with another. The problem with sequels is that different people who worked out the original material might and usually do not work on the new. And those new people are already working on that new material with their own personal lenses and experiences and interpretations coloring the old. The reason sequels (and remakes, and big budget presentations of other materials like books into movies) tend to bomb hard is because you are essentially being forced to accept someone’s fanfiction into the canon material. Usually, there’s a pretty strong correlation between more successful franchises/extension material, works staying true to the core material, original crew working on the material, and the enjoyment of the audience.

And sources say very few of the original crew remained. Some yes, but mostly voice cast. Even worse, TP2 was a DisneyToon production, not even a mainline feature. Now I’m not saying the new people weren’t talented, or passionate about the project, or were lacking in experience. It doesn’t really matter if any of those things are true or not. It’s the warping of their personal lenses I don’t trust. Fanfic I can disregard, meta I can disregard. This would have been canon.

And reading the Artbook makes is abundantly clear that the parts that touched me personally would have been missing. The very core of Treasure Planet for me was the relationship between Jim and Silver (and their exquisite animation budget). However you choose to interpret that relationship, you can not deny that Treasure Planet is a powerfully emotionally romantic movie. It’s quiet moments and emotional resonance shaped my views of intimacy with a sharp and fine touch. Silver and Jim’s bond is as undeniable and powerful as it is compelling and awe inspiring to witness unfold.

And a lot of that is owed not only to  the voice acting of Joseph Gorden-Levitt (Jim) and Brian Murray (Silver), But to animators Glen Keane and John Ripa, who were the head animators of Silver and Jim respectively. Not only did Gorden-Levitt and Brian Murray deliver stunning performances, but made sure to work together and jointly play off each other in ways most voice actors don’t have the opportunity to do. And the Masters Keane and Ripa took an already stellar and carefully crafted vocal rapport and took it one step further. I highly recommend the Artbook as a good read, both Keane and Ripa talk about the journey of discovering who Jim and Silver were with delight, acting out entire scenes together using their own body language to build the characters together, using the same animation reals to animate, tag teaming in and out of the program rather than do it separately, becoming so attuned with their characters attitudes and mannerisms that you can tell they poured entire pieces of themselves into Jim and Silver.

I’m not saying the Sequel would have been inherently bad because it’s a sequel, or because a new crew worked on it, but I am saying I wouldn’t trust it with a ten foot pole.

Reason 2: Thanks I hate it (I’m saying it’s inherently bad because the plot is bad and I hate it)

I’m sorry for the length, but for you to really understand just how bad this is, I actually have to pick through every single line and tell you why it fails critically at some junctures and where it would be so simple to fix. For those of you who were unaware that there was a sequel in the works at some point, I’m pulling these quotes pretty much wholesale from the AnimateVeiws article Buried Treasure: The ill-fated voyage to Treasure Planet 2, specifically the interview with Jun Falkenstein who was set to direct the now canceled sequel. Spoiler warning, I guess?

So, from the begining

“The sequel was to pick up where the first film left off, with Jim Hawkins going to the Royal Interstellar Academy. At the Academy, he is a hotshot “natural,” but he doesn’t follow the rules very well.” - Strong start but then dropped the finish. I think the interstellar academy would be a very compelling starting point. I see no fault in it at least, it’s a good opportunity to world build. Clemence and Musket like to make a point that Jim was crafted to connect with the emotionally wounded and distant youth in a age of divorce, so showing what happens when that youth hikes up their britches and gets to work can extend on that theme aaaaaaand you dropped it. Dropped that strong start. Yes, Jim was more than a bit of a bite back rebel in the film, but that was a reactionary response to the bad place he started in. Jim was abandoned, and tied his self worth into that abandonment. His kickback against society was a reaction stemming from an inability to see his personal worth and any sort of future he could craft from it. He outgrew this, his very character development was about this in the film. His character arc was about realizing his inherent worth, embracing a sense of confidence and learning what he could do. Even disregarding that, bonus material outside of the film shows that Jim has a very strong sense of respect for Captain Amelia, her military career, and the hard work she put into it, and he’s there on her recommendation. Why would he act out in this? He is a natural yes, but the film shows he’s incredibly sharp and intelligent, if unlearned, and more than ready to learn given opportunity.

“Hence, he gets off to a shaky start – especially with his classmate Kate, who is very smart and has a type A personality. Kate’s father is Admiral Blake, the Commander of the Navy. Jim and Kate vie for top of the class but have very different skills.” - So building off this to fix the problem before. I guess the dynamic they are going for is something like “the kind of a jerk hotshit hotshot who’s got it all figured out and the straight laced rule fallowing stick in the ass rival”? I’m not apposed to to a rivalry, but lets tweak this, given how “hot shot natural jerk” isn’t really where Jim settles at the end of the film. Jim is a natural talent, who excels under tutelage, but more importantly, he has practical experience. While the time period spent on the RLS Legacy is not defined, they do sail to a deep and unexplored part of the galaxy, probably well outside of regular settlements, so no small distance, though Jim is young enough that a very long period of time would be noted in physical growth. Given comparisons to classic nautical sailing of the source time, months, perhaps up to a year? That’s a long time to spend, learning the rough and tumble basics, tying knots, experiencing food and water rations, extreme temperatures, playing with the rigging and mechanical aspects of the boat. Jim knows what it’s like to actually sail. Meanwhile, this is the Royal Academy, who probably takes in upper class second born children and pumps out military accolades for well learned mathematicians and strategists. Jim doesn’t fit in because he can visualize, he can think outside of the box, he can weld a damn engine to a hunk of shrapnel and ignite it freefalling against a metal hellscape and outrace a boat in a high adrenaline situation. He adapts where the other’s frantically look through their notes for the answer. Worse yet, he’s poor and not classically educated. Make it a class issue. In this aspect I do like Kate. Being the Daughter of the Commander of the Navy, she probably has a very technical and far more expansive understanding of navel ships, particularly the running of them. In this way Jim and Kate are perfect foils. Jim representing the poor, instinctually and practically knowledgeable crew, and Kate the upper-class, technically knowledgeable command, a dichotomy representing the haves and have nots in their skills, experiences, an class.

I don’t want to post a picture and break the post, but I do love Kate’s design. I do recommend looking up the article and checking it out. that being said, being a feline species, they messed up not spelling it Cate.

“Captain Amelia is dean of the Academy, which has a brand-new vessel: the Centurion.” - I… why, why is Amelia the dean? Additional material shows that Amelia broke ties with the military because she didn’t like their rule stickling ways and red tape. Why would she want a red tape position? She helped with a war and then bailed first opportunity to become a freelance captain so she could fallow her own rules. Even if you don’t know any of that additional material, you do know that she is a freelance captain. Why is she dean? what happened to the old one? Are they dead? Did DisneyToon kill them? Did Disneytoon kill the old dean?

“Designed by Doctor Doppler, the Centurion is the fastest ship in the galaxy.” - HE’S NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR!

“B.E.N. is its pilot”. - NO

In all seriousness all three of those statements show a serious problem, in that none of those characters are in fact those things. Amelia I’ve already explained. But Doppler was a debatably youngish bachelor with too much money who was fascinated by astronomy specifically and who suffered from ennui. And BEN was a navigational unit, so maybe it makes sense for him to be a pilot, but why is a robot who was functioning under a galaxy feared pirate for who knows how long given any kind of agency over a brand new incredibly important ship? These decisions were probably made to incorporate as much of the old cast as possible, to not exclude fan faves. But any decision that makes BEN a prominent part of the plot and thus gets more screen time is a BAD one.

“The pirate Ironbeard desires to commandeer the Centurion. This ruthless villain is relatively all iron – almost nothing of whom he originally was, inside and out, is left.” - On the one hand, I have a weird feeling that this would somehow violate the 30-70 rule. Buuuuut on the other hand, the Artbook does describe the decision making process of what and how was mechanical on Silver (my favorite tidbit was the wheel on his head representing his constant thinking and assessing) and states that that they in a way represent the pieces of humanity he gave up looking for Flint’s Trove. Extending that to a pirate who has given up everything could be a powerful thematic tool if used right (or intentionally)

“He leads a group of pirates to hijack the Centurion while Jim and Kate are aboard.” - ok, yeah, I’ll buy that. If they are butting heads constantly, I could see them sneaking off to the new piece of hardware to one up each other on who knows their stuff, or maybe bond over wanting to learn about the said new tech and being frustrated with restrictions.

“The Navy can’t catch the Centurion, due to the vessel’s speed and armor.”- sure

“Jim and Kate escape the Centurion. Jim decides he needs a pirate to help catch pirates. They find his old buddy Long John Silver in the Lagoon Nebula, where he is running a smuggling ring. “ - So what Jim just goes “I know just the pirate to help us” and then finds him? That journey of itself deserves it’s own movie, anything less is a disappointment. Alternative. Jim and Kate escape onto a particularly lawless planet. Jim has some tricks to keep them safe and fed, maybe he even excels in ways he’s been straight up stop gapped at the academy. Maybe his knowhow is appreciated by others who society also rejects. But Kate is a frustrating fish out of water, getting offended and worked up over things that are big deals to an average citizen but not criminals and pirates. But such reactions are putting them in danger and she needs to get perspective fast. It’s plausible maybe that Silver tracks them down through interesting rumors, but more than that, let it be fate. Neither having any idea the other is there till the second they see each other. Bonus points if Jim and Kate get in a bind and Silver is the leader of the harassers. Better yet lets add some thematic mirroring not only to the scene where Silver saved Jim from Scroop, but directly contrast it to the scene where Silver doubled back and down against the notion of caring for Jim when called out before the mutiny. *kisses finger* Touching and hilarious.

“ Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion. “ -  Silver agrees to help when he hears about the Centurion without Jim even having to ask. Storywise, lets make some kind of deal over how Jim, an upstanding enrollee of the academy, apparently is chummy with a pirate. Tension doesn’t just have to be external, and Kate is the daughter of the Commander of the Army. Maybe she’s recognized and this gets them in trouble. Maybe Kate has issues with her identity outside of her father’s career and need to learn a lesson about being outside of a rigid social structure?

“Jim and Kate receive a tracking signal from B.E.N. – who is currently hostage aboard the Centurion – and follow via Silver’s creaky vessel. They discover the Centurion docked near the Botany Bay Prison Asteroid. “ - While being the fastest ship yet is a good excuse for wanting it to get stolen, my suspension of disbelief breaks a little at any ship, let alone a creaky little pirate vessel, catching up to the fastest ship yet, or the tracking signal being the only way to track it to a guarded prison. Seeing as how I’ve written BEN out of this scenario lets fix it. After the events of the movie, the Royal Military swoops in after to confiscate the debris of Treasure Planet. For those in the know, canon lore states that the Planet was a giant computer, and it and the map were the byproducts of an ancient and advanced civilization. Studying the debris led to the Centurion, notable not for it’s speed, but for it’s stealth. It can cloak itself. Which is why no-one can find it. Meanwhile Silver lets it slip that he snagged the map from it’s pedestal as they escaped the planet as a souvenir. (handwave why the portal was still open with a “the whole thing was exploding, the computer froze). The map is able to track the remnants of said planet, aka the Centurion, meaning Silver has the only means of tracking the cloaked ship

“Ironbeard is using the Centurion to disable Botany Bay’s security systems. Jim, Kate and Silver sneak aboard the Centurion, where Silver reveals to Jim that he wants to take the Centurion for himself. He asks Jim to join him.“ YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES! Understanding that  Jim’s decision to not go with Silver in the first movie is key here. He rejected Silver’s offer the first time because Silver had shown him he had intrinsic value, and Jim finally felt that the natural gifts he had were worth cultivating, that he did have the chance to explore who he could be on his own terms. Jim was comfortable being on his own, because he felt capable. Now, Jim and Silver bring out the best in each other, and the time apart has done them harm. Jim’s strings of social rejections are starting to fell like a glass ceiling he can’t overcome, and is finding more and more comfort in being a big fish in a pirates small pond, and the emotions of of being wanted that come with Silver is a powerful drug. But it’s a one way ticket away from any opportunities he could work towards, not to mention his barely repaired relationship with his mother. Meanwhile Silver has been slowly slipping back into the colder, more selfish self he was, a necessity for his lifestyle, and doesn’t want to loose his connection to Jim and what Jim brings out in him, but is still far enough gone to make the offer and try for the boat anyways, even if he knows it’s not what’s best. It’s an emotionally compelling decision. You want them to say yes, you know they shouldn’t

“Kate overhears this and is horrified, especially since the two have, of course, started falling for each other during the adventure.” - Hate. this I hate. Leaving shipping to they way side, what’s that “of course”? why do they have to fall for each other? Why the Disneytoon sequel love interest? I have a feeling her characterization would come at the cost of it. Why can’t they be rivals? why can’t they develop a mutual respect outside of attraction? Why can’t they both learn an individualized lesson about finding their own place in the world outside of social constraints as foils without macking? I hate this concept. Kate overhears, and is horrified, because Silver is a Pirate which is actually in universe get yourself hanged offense, and Jim is considering this, and they are going to steal a VERY IMPORTANT BOAT and and leave her stranded in a dagerous prison, and are making an objectively morally bad decision.

“Ironbeard discovers the intruders, charging into a fight in which Silver is injured. Meanwhile, the other pirates throw down ladders to the prison below, allowing swarms of elated prisoners to climb up into the ship. Silver, Jim, and Kate exit the Centurion amidst all the confusion. However, Ironbeard shoots down Silver’s ship. They plummet to the prison asteroid below, crash-landing” - cool. Drama. But for my purposes, lets tweak it so Silver isn’t injured yet. But I really want to emphasize that this attack does not interrupt before Jim can react to Silver’s offer. Even something as tentative as “I’m not sure” has consequences. None of this “misunderstanding” BS.

“ Kate is angry at Jim and storms off. “- again, make it clear that Jim showed a real chance of agreeing to steal the ship. if she’s angry before he had a chance to answer that’s contrivance for drama’s sake. Give her a reason to be mad

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “ - nope. nope nope nope . I’m gonna put a big old * here because this is reason number 3 why I hate this potential movie, and I will get to that believe me, but here’s me, putting a pin in it. That being said, have Silver selfishly try to double down on getting Jim to join him in a three way argument instead. This is the conflict of the film. Kate, who was learning to grow outside of the strict restrictions of her life and do her own work, make her own way, is being rejected. She is as morally repulsed as she is hurt that she wasn’t included, and hates herself for that hurt as well. Jim is torn between the freedom of what he could be after the academy paired with the strict social constructs around it, and the freedom of a life “full of himself and no ties to anyone” but running from the law and the two friends they represent. Silver is the aggressor here. He likes Kate, he does, but he loves Jim and only has one place in his heart, and has spent his life being selfish. There’s already a crew on board, and Iron beard is hooked into the Centurion. With having the only other means to navigate, they take down ironbeard, the rest will surely fall in line. This is paydirt. A fantastic ship, a bloodthirsty crew, and Jim.

“Silver has a very dangerous cargo with him that he had been trying to smuggle and sell for a fortune, which has the power of a neutron bomb. Jim, Kate and Silver reconcile and work together to fix Silver’s ship and prevent the Centurion, filled with the most evil pirates in the galaxy, from going on an insane robbing-and-killing spree. At the last second, Silver reluctantly gives up his “retirement fund” in order to destroy the Centurion, with Ironbeard and all the pirates on board.” - this entire section needs rewritten. That’s a mcguffin Silver put it away. I have retconned the mcguffin to be the old map, so that is now moot. Now to not blow up the ship. Afterall, Silver and Jim have both already overcome what Treasure Planet represented with it’s destruction. Rather, B plot

If we are that desperate to have past characters in, let’s have Amelia and Delbert back home. When the Centurion is captured, Amelia immediately volunteers to fallow, feeling responsible for Jim and secretly pining for some adventure. Delbert feels the same, and he to a bit of an adrenaline junkie after the events of the first movie, but they have the children to think about and only one can leave. Delbert is the one chosen to help by the navy officials searching for the Centurion. While Amelia bickers with the Admiral Blake over his pragmatic but emotionally distant decisions over the situation of his missing daughter, Delbert is an astronomer, and is blah blah blah science meta, fallow the flashing  and bending lights around the cloaked ship to find it. As in Delbert is helpful. Amelia in a reflation to Admiral Blake, is torn between her family and commandeering her own ship to help. Blake is frustratingly headstrong in his decisions, and the script makes it seem like that emotional distance is disinterests, but reveals to the audience that it incorporates a great deal of suppression of his anxieties and worries over his daughter, and trust in her abilities, though he has issues expressing this pride to Kate herself. Amelia, Delbert and fam make what is probably a poor decision in commandeering a ship and leaving on their own to track the Centurion, the navy hot on their heels.

Back to A plot, the navy is approaching. Jim has to make a decision. He is the only one who knows how to unmask the ship using the old ones tech without training, as it’s based off the map. While Kate and Silver are distracting iron beard, he has to either steal the ship and sail off, or uncloak it for the navy. Iron beard is taken down, but not without Silver getting injured. Jim decides that Silver’s life is worth more than anything, and after agreeing with Kate that she’ll commandeer a doctor and wont let Silver die, uncloaks the ship. The Centurion is retaken in a blaze of naval glory that is the action climax. The pirates fight back up are over run. Maybe Kate gets taken hostage as the Admirals daughter, as an opportunity for a resolution with her arc as Blake’s distant daughter, though obviously said resolution comes at her showing her abilities in taking care of herself and the practical skills she has learned.

“Silver again parts from Jim and Kate, telling them to take care of each other. A few years later, Jim and Kate graduate with honors, while a proud Silver secretly watches from the shadows, smiling” - Boooooo. Kate and her dad make up, and she challenges him that she’s going to one day Captain the Centurion, with him understanding that she needs less a mentor and more an emotional support while she works her way up the ranks. She invites Jim to be her first mate, to which Jim accepts as a navigator, (a thing I’ve pointed out to be his real strength in another post). But to Silver, who has been “pardoned” for his part in retaking the Centurion, the movie hinting that he to would be on the eventual crew there I fixed it fic to come I s2g.

yeah there’s a lot of good there, but it’s so easy to fix the bad it’s frustrating. which brings me to

Reason 3: that little pin

“ Jim is about to blow her off as well when Silver tells him to give her a chance. He reveals a part of his past through a flashback, when a young (non-cyborg) Silver screwed up a relationship with the love of his life – a decision which directly led to his life of piracy. “

Nope nope nope I’ll tell you why.

First of all, sources like the artbook say that Jim is so Important to Silver because he’s the first person Silver has ever let become important. he’s specifically stated to have no family, never married, no children. And that’s something he cultivated actively. His life of piracy, his metal limbs, his loneliness and moral failings were all gleefully accumulated for one reason and one reason only

Treasure Planet.

Treasure Planet was the great love of Silver’s life. It was a lifelong obsession. It destroyed his body, took his youth, his opportunities and nearly his life. He broke Jim’s heart over it.

And he let it go. For Jim.

And Jim understood this

This is the crux of treasure planet’s very themes. This is where Jim found self worth. Another person finally looked at him and said “you matter, you matter more than anything. I like being around you and I choose you first.” and it made Jim realize he’s someone worth choosing.

The treasure was EVERYTHING to Silver, and Silver let it go, for Jim.

That one line there, attributing the start of Silver’s fall to a girl? that actively retcons the entire theme of the previous movie. IT rewrite the emotional linchpin of Silver’s sacrifice of the gold. And actually fuck that. right into the ground. I do not accept. I do not pass go. I refuse. Fuck you non existent movie. That makes me mad. every single time. Hate I shall never let go.

No

[wornoutmouse]

Baby Daddy Shigaraki fanfic pt2

It was a miracle that no one questioned the name put down when Shigaraki had to sign the birth certificate. You summed it up as fearing for their lives but it could be many things you try to convince yourself as the reality of your new life truly set in.

The after birth pain, though constant, was numbed whenever you looked down on your son's face. He had yet to do anything more than sleep, much to your annoyance. And was aggressive when breastfeeding  much to Shigaraki's enjoyment, "Just like his father." 

Dabi was the second one to hold Daiki after Komugiri but the look of horror on his face when you fully released the baby into his arms was one that deeply concerned you. "It's breathing." He whispered to you eyes wide.

You signal for Komugiri to stand close behind Dabi just in case he really lost it. "Yeah Dabi.....he is breathing...cause that's what living things do." 

Time skip

You sigh as you finally set Daiki down inside his new bed for a nap. His small face looked so delicate surrounded by soft lavender blankets. His whole room theme was a soft purple as preferred by Komugiri. 

You closed the door till there was only a sliver of light coming in just in case he woke up again, then you headed to your living room. 

Shigaraki sat on the couch shirtless and flicking through TV channels. "Why are you still here?" You ask as you walk to the kitchen to find your tea. "What do you mean?" You stir four teaspoons of sugar into your coffee. "I got Daiki under control, you don't have inconvenience yourself."

Tomura flicked through the channels once again. "You and Daiki are not an inconvenience, you're both my responsibility now." You release the spoon causing it to clink loudly against your ceramic cup. "I don't want you to force yourself to be here, you've obviously proved that you don't really want to be apart of this."

"Y/N come on now this again?!" "Yes this again!" Shigaraki groaned scratching idly at his neck. "I've already missed the hidden trailer off Daiki's life I'm not going to miss the prequel sequel." You groan softly, "Stop talking in video game terms you know I don't understand!"

Shigaraki stands up and walks to the kitchen now leaving only the island separating you. "Look you can hate me all you want, I don't care, hell I'm used to it. But you are not keeping me from my son." You shudder at the tone Tomura spoke at.

There were very few times when you've heard this voice and luckily it was never directed to you. This voice meant that what he said was final and he would not go back on it no matter who got in his way. "I would love to have you in his life Tomura, but I don't want what comes with it." You finally say, making Tomura throw his hands up in defeat.

"What do you expect me to do woman?! Make him tag along on "Bring your child to work day?" You turn away trying to contain your annoyance in fear of waking up the baby. "I'm giving you one chance to get your shit together, don't mess it up." Behind you, you could hear the steady steps of Tomura retreating, "And I'm giving you a chance to see how stupid you're being right now."

Before he completely walked away he stopped, "I am going to check on Daiki since it seems like he's the only one that appreciates my efforts."

Once you heard the familiar creak of Daiki's bedroom door you let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding. "How did I get like this?" 

It of course was on a Saturday, as all good stories do. You were working a waitress job at Denny's as a way to earn some pocket money for your first year in Japan. 

"Table 3 we got your Bourbon Chicken skillet, Fish and chips, two waters, and a cherry sprite." Your say setting down all your items before walking to the booth next to them. 

"Hello welcome to Denny's, what can I get for you all tonight?" Dabi at the time, had a nonchalant hand over Twice's mouth most likely to stop his internal bickering. Komugiri was navigating the kids menu with a then 15 year old Toga. Spike ordered some Fish and Chips as per usual and Shigaraki was starting at your tits.....

Shigaraki was staring at your tits.....

He was STARING- I think you get the point

"Hey birthday bitch what are you ordering?" Dabi said snapping Tomura back to the present. "Uh.. get me a steak skewer." Dabi gasped, "I spent all my time and hard work scrounging up money and you get a damn steak skewer for your birthday?!" 

The five stages of grief came over you internally as you had been standing there way past your recommended time. "If you guys aren't ready to order, I'll just come back-" 

"No no no, we are ready. Can we get chicken on a stick with a side of grapes and fries for the young lady. Steak and eggs for me...Dabi? Dabi leaned back simultaneously releasing twice. "We would like a 3-egg omelette-with some cock!" 

You didn't get paid enough for this.

"I'll get you the omelette but I'm afraid I'm out of stock for that last part." You smirk, putting down the orders so far. Dabi snapped the menu shut, "Do y'all have chicken tenders?" Dabi asked, looking at you hopefully. You nod and he fist bumped Twice for some unforeseen reason. 

"Uh get crusty over there a Supreme Sizzling Skillet." "Wait why can all of you get chicken but I can't?!" You wrote down the orders and glanced at Shigaraki who was now looking directly at you as if you held all the answers. "Okay for drinks?"

   As you got off work, you took the back alley entrance to the bus stop. "Hey." Your scream and toss a punch into the darkness effectively making skin to skin contact. "Ow what the fuck?!" "What do you mean what the fuck you're the rapist!"

Shigaraki's signature light blue hair appeared from the shadows almost glowing from the dim alley light. "Rapist? No, I'm more on the lines of stalker." You stand there for a moment rethinking your life choices. "Yeah okay well I'm going to go-" "Wait!" 

You feel half of a hand grip onto your wrist stopping you in your place. "I uh... Think you're cute and, ah crap what did Dabi tell me to say?!" 

As he mulled over his choice of words you hesitantly reach into your purse for pepper spray. "Uh I was wondering if I could get to know you?" He finally ended off staring at you expectantly. You looked back at him expectantly.

"I know this seems creepy but I'm not exactly good at talking to people that are not my friends so you're kinda boss level interaction." For a while your stare at each other as the cold fall wind blew past the two if you. Giving up, you sighed and pulled out a price of paper, "Look, if I wake up tomorrow and none of my underwear is missing and window is not mysteriously open, I'll give you a call, but don't expect it!"

And he didn't expect it. To your surprise, you never found any ominous signs of entry into your substitute home, and he never 'conveniently' showed up at your job. 

Even so, the very fact that you called him was during a moment of weakness. You were extremely home sick and you had just moved into your new home that was only equipped with a fully furnished bedroom and a microwave. 

When you heard the hesitant knock on the door you quickly put your cup of noodles down and opened the door. In your face was a rose...a single rose in a pot. 

Thats different

"It was short notice and it's not like any flower places were open.... So I stole it." You gingerly take the plant into your hands, "It's the thought that counts (?) Come in." You shut the door behind him and set the plant in the kitchen. 

"You must forgive the dryness of my home, I just moved in so there isn't much going on." Tomura hummed as he felt his bones relax as the warmth of the house filled his body. You stared at each other for a while, awkwardly sweating back and forth. Finally, you both opened your mouth to speak up.

"I didn't know I'd get this far so.."

You blink at each other before you double over with laughter. "Uh okay, well how about we watch a movie, get comfortable. The TV is in my room so I hope that doesn't bother you." 

You put on Wall-E for lack of better mood as Tomura hesitantly settled on your plush bed, hands clasped tightly between his thighs.

You two watch these movie in silence and shared popcorn. It wasn't awkward silence though, it was needed. A unspoken message saying that you both acknowledged that this was weird but it was a good weird. Both of you were willing to give it a try.

"Hey pass the popcorn." Tomura said blindly patting the air in front of you. "No you've ate most of it already!" You opted to keeping the bag as far as possible. "It's good popcorn now hand it over." You continue to resist but he was more stubborn.

Unable to think of any other way to save your beloved popcorn you clench your eyes shut and deliver a small peck to the tip of Shigaraki's nose. 

Almost as if shocked, he slides away holding his nose gently. You huff with airy laughter at his flushed face, "Told you, this is my popcorn." 

You smile softly at the memory wiping away a stray tear from your face. "One chance... I'll give him one chance."

You tiptoe to Daiki's new room and peek inside. It was too dark for you to see inside so you opened the door completely. You blankly look into the empty room before falling to your knees. "SHIGARAKI TOMURA I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" You scream into the night air as you glared into the baby less crib.

"Man are you sure you should have him here? He's still a newborn and nothing's baby proof, hell this is a bar so it's far from sanitary!" Dabi said glancing into the baby carriage. Daiki sleepily gazed up at Dabi and babbled. 

"Y/N and I are going through a small set back so I decided to give her some space." Tomura unclipped Daiki from his carseat and picked him up holding his head in a four fingered hold. "We decided to give her some space isn't that right?" He cooed at Daiki who gingerly hit his nose.

"Dude stop, seeing you with a baby is giving me the creeps." Shigaraki glared as Dabi took a shot, "Ignore your uncle Dabi he's just mad he's not as cute as you."

Komugiri was washing dishes until a shiver went down his mystical spine, "I feel a disturbance in the force.

[dethkomic]

Is Abigail gonna eventually make an appearance here?

Man I want Abigail to be in Dethkomic so bad it's unreal. But, at the time this story is taking place with regards to canon, we're two seasons too early and I don't have anything written that requires a flash-forward.

However.

You'll see at the end there is room for me to continue a lot of threads I've started. I've actually already come close to having the backbones of a story treatment which would continue into the seasons we've seen since the Baen-Shee story was penned (which was also before season 2 wrapped) as well as span the major events of my old AU, here. In fact, of the original fanfics I wrote, all 6 of them were mostly completed before season 3 began. I think I was literally writing the last chapters of the last book when we hit the mid-season break, in fact. So a lot has happened canonically that I think would be awesome to explore.

Things I'm considering:

The Dethkomic sequel happens, canonically, after the movie: This is the biggest "what if" on the table, possibly. I am looking at a possible break after Chapter 4 which might take us to the time after the movie has premiered, so that'd certainly allow for a good amount of breathing room, but I have a feeling if I do want to continue these stories, I'm going to want to do so sooner than that and hey... who the hell knows what'll happen during the finale? Still, Abigail would likely make an appearance.

The Dethkomic sequel happens sometime after Season 3 and before Doomstar: My favorite option for including Abigail and a whole butt-ton of lore that we've learned. Especially if I wrote it as happening after Charles' big reveal about the Church of the Black Klok and all that. Especially-especially because in writing my fics all those years ago, we only knew that *something* was going on with ol' CFO's interactions with some supernatural craziness, and no details. With a few of those blanks filled in, I'd have a lot of fun merging old stories and speculation with what's come about since.

Or, you know... it could also just be a huge pain in the ass. Still, this is probably my favorite idea of the three.

And finally... The Dethkomic sequel(s) happen(s) as a series of flashbacks: Post-Doomstar, maybe post-movie, but Abigail is getting caught up on things that happened before she was involved with the band. This idea came as a means of tying my follow-up fics together into a sort of clip-show, and I'd likely do them as one-shots, and each one not nearly as long as Dethkomic. Appealing for how "complete" I could make something, but feels kinda cheap at the same time. An idea I'm not disregarding, but my least favorite so far.

But yeah, in all three aspects, we're looking at including Abigail and a lot of other characters we've met from Season 3, onward. Up until a few months ago, I wasn't even sure I'd go into sequel territory (beyond Harmonic Odyssey, that is), but the series has maintained its popularity to a point where people are starting to ask about things that I can't explain in 80 pages or so... and I'm motivated and would really like to explore them.

Also, I realize this was probably way more than you cared to know, OP, but, hey! There ya go :)

Thank you for the question! Dethkomic loves you!

[writingonesdreams]

Hello, hello, and happy STS to you Dreams. I hope you're having a lovely one.

So, I was curious, as I chronically am, about something. I'd love to hear about how you've seen your writing evolve. Like, what's your writing journey been like?

I know what I've seen from this side while we've been mutuals, but I'd like to hear what you've noticed about your writing and how it's changed. How has it evolved, have the kinds of stories you like to write changed, what has become your greatest strengths and do you know where you started developing them, how has your writing process changed, and where do you see it going from here?

Hi Ren, that's a very thought provoking question set, thanks for asking^^. This turned into a rumble.

How has my writing evolved? Hmm. I think that for a long time I didn't see the difference between storytelling and writing. I was always making stories and seeing movies in my head. It's part of who I am. I was the daydream child, and as a teen I used to say I'm only 40% living in reality.

So as long as I felt inspired and confident, I just wrote ahead little short stories as a kid and then longer stories for my mom. My first longer work was a Twilight fanfiction when I was 14 XD pretty much a sequel about Jacob and Renesmee. Then I started a new fanfic mixing with mermaids and new characters that got a bit too complicated for me. Then I changed schools and stopped writing for some time until I got back to it at 18.

Part of the process and the stops may have been my mom's work as an editor and the point that she reacted more to the mistakes than to the story I was trying to tell. This was very disheartening to the young me, even if she was right about the mistakes I made and edited those stories before I posted them. Few years later she told me how hard it was and that was disheartening further. XD

That must have been the point I stopped writing for a time, cause I respected my mom to the heavens and my writing skills weren't on the level she would have liked - and even more was the content. I mention it from time to time that my family is strictly anti-fantasy 😂 magic and fantasy books are a certified waste of time and energy, can't be sold, can't be understood, why are you wasting time with that...I kept hearing that from my mom and my grandpa, two writers and editors of the family who could have understood my calling. (Should I mention how I got stuck on painting when I was 8 after my dad told me it looked like a 4 years old scribbled it - completely killed off my painting dream XD).

That must have been the point I started running to English. I read in English so I could escape the judgement and control of my parents, so I could read my books in peace and they wouldn't be able to comment, cause they wouldn't understand. I got into tv shows and anime that taught me English in my teens, and that built the ground to ne writing in English as an 18 years old. A way to escape my pro editing mom XD and to distance myself from their distaste. Maybe fantasy is part of it too, cause my realistic fiction was unrealistic and "why aren't you writing about your own experiences"? Cause I wanted to escape those, duh (it was during the time I went to Austrian school and learned German and that was a very difficult taxing ride, cause for two years I didn't understand anything and I def didn't want to be writing about that).

I have a very ambitious, perfectionist and driven family. You don't complain, you excell and if you cry, the usual kind of comfort consists of "that's a stupid thing to cry over".

So def 18 as my homecoming to writing and start of English. I discovered tumblr and writeblr at the time, read a lot of fanfics, fell for fandoms. I started making my own stories, but I got too fascinated with the outlining stage and looking back it took a few years to realize I was collecting book outlines and not book drafts and that I wrote precious little scenes and some spinoff short stories.

The kind of stories I liked to write depend entirely on what books I was reading and what fanfics opened up my horizons. It's ironic that I liked fantasy for the freedom and possibility to make stuff up instead of researching and experiencing it (which I couldn't do cause I was too young to understand life and other blablabla), but I need to see the format or an example first before I can start doing it myself. But that's also my writing strenght - I can copy styles and scenes by reading them. So Twilight, Eragon, Vampire Academy, Harry Potter, Naruto, Star Wars, Fairy Tale and Supernatural fanfiction, The Originals, Red Winter, Transformation and Tuyo were all difining story milestones for the stories I wanted to write.

My focus shifted from heavy focus on fantasy and romance to a harder to define literary fantasy and platonic friendships. With my studies the cultural aspect and political opinions and ideological messages came as well as a way to cope and express what doesn't sit well with me. But all in all most of my stories are asking questions, characters combing flaws and various honest pieces and throwing them out there to see if it resonates.

Maybe my discovery of slice of life is so contradictory and slow for me, cause slice of life realistic fiction was always the kind my mother admired the most. On one hand I always wanted to appeal to her with that and on the other wanted to protest it and go the other direction, just to find my own niche and writing identity. But hating it to spite her might have hindered me too XD (combined with the plot focused writing advice culture of America) made me force myself to plot and focus on the external conflict that was very very uninteresting and frustrating for me and stifled me. It's funny how differnt the writing cultures and traditions over the world are, cause central europe and czechoslovak writing tradition and advice is entirely different. Their stories and advice focus on relationships and slice of life, don't think conflict or character change arc is at all needed.

Going forward I def want to focus on character driven slice of life stories. I just had a pro editor betaread the current draft of Tears of Iron and she said the fantasy world very much just props up the characters and that the story works, just not in a traditional USA publishers way (want to self-publish it anyway). But I'll keep with magical realism and literary fantasy for now, to keep the reality distance; though I'm afraid dragons and fantastical worlds make wrong promises to readers, since those won't be the focus of my stories. Or I'll add them more in later drafts, who knows.🤣

Thanks for the questions, Ren!