#OR LIKE. HOW BEING AN ADULT WORKED. AND ITS LIKE OBJECTIVELY NOT WELL WRITTEN

[megamindsupremacy]

is there any horror quite like suddenly getting a wave of comments on a fic you wrote in 2020 that was so bad you put it on anon and don’t recognize it as your own anymore

[ahamkara-apologist]

finally got the chance to draw so I kinda went ham with drawing up a headcanon sheet for the Eliksni, in which I blatantly disregarded the canon skintones and just had fun (i don't really enjoy how pink they are in canon personally- I think they should have more natural colour variation)

Some notes:

-The freckles on Eramis and Variks are just freckles, they're not due to age. As for the alarming amount of minor scratches scarred into Eramis's neck and, to an extent, Misraaks- those are marks from hatchling claws! They're traditionally considered marks of beauty and wisdom in Eliksni society. Eramis has many to mirror her many litters, while Misraaks only has a couple from Eido

-I drew everyone but Taniks bald because I drew Taniks first and then realized later that it kinda obscured my hcs for their individual head shapes, so their setae is on the bottom. Setae is someting that only fully sexually mature adults develop, and is much closer in texture to a horse's mane than human hair. It also runs all the way down the back of their neck, much like a mane, and in some cases (like Taniks) has barbs or hooks along its strands so that ornaments can be woven into it, which is inspiration that I took from decorator crabs

-Eramis's facial scars were given to her by a Guardian at Twilight Gap, and are deep enough that they cut into her nasal cavity. Luckily, it's right near the nostrils anyways so she isn't impacted too bad, but she does have to be careful about keeping it clear of debris. Deep in her eye sockets, she's also had some electrodes installed that link to sensors in her helmet and give her little buzzes/shocks whenever something passes in front of it to help compensate for being half-blind, but it's a pretty crude device that doesn't work all that well on small objects

-Each Eliksni's ethnicity is written below their names, which is why Eido has a question mark. She's a mixed kid- try to guess which Houses her parents might have been from ::3

-The horns/shoulder spines were extra spikes of mineralized chitin that were common on adults in Riis, and were traits that were lost during the Drift. They often were calcium/mineral stores used to show age and fitness, but since resources in Sol are scarce, they no longer grow during molts. Riisborn Eliksni still have horn nubs, but that's about it

-As for the sexual dimorphism thing: that's more just me musing about how slight it would be with my hcs about their reproduction (which involves females laying fertilized eggs into a specialized broodpouch in the male, who then builds on their yolk supply and gives them the calcium needed to form eggshells, and thus needs to be bigger). When given actual Eliksni with a natural range of bodily variation, it would be near-impossible to distinguish them

[ineffectualdemon]

Separating Art from the Artist doesn't mean "I'm going to ignore everything this person has ever done in their life and pretend they are a pure good person"

It means when evaluating the work on its technical and artistic merits, you need to separate from your opinion of the artist as a person (good or bad) from the actual work

It's an exercise in looking past your bias both negative "this person kicked a puppy!" And positive "this person saved a puppy!"

It's about not rating art down just because the artist is someone you dislike but also not rating up art just because you like the artist

It's also one part in the process in dealing with art critically

Let's say an artist painted flowers

He also is a serial cheater

His cheating has nothing to do with how well he painted those flowers on a technical level

You can call the painting well done with good use of colour and light and it's not endorsing his cheating

Similarly if someone who is well known as the nicest guy in the world creates a dog shit painting to be judged, then judging it on artistic merits and finding it lacking is not attacking their character

Because the truth is bad people can make good art and it's fine to find the work objectively good and appreciate it for what it is separate from the artist on a technical and artistic level

Now there is a point when you're going to have to take into account the person who made it but that's a different step in critical analysis. That also doesn't mean you have to throw out their work and never touch it again

It means engaging with it critically

I have said it before but a series of books that was important to me as a child I read again after finding out some really horrible stuff the author (David Endings) did to his adopted children (who luckily were taken off him and he and his wife were banned from having children)

And I read it critically. I could see why I enjoyed it. The dialogue was witty and fun. The political intrigue was intriguing. The battle scenes were exciting and descriptive .

It was well written. That is separating the art from the artist. The books were well written and entertaining. I can say that honestly

HOWEVER I hadn't read these books in a very long time and I was reading them critically. And yeah how he wrote children was... uncomfortable. It wasn't full on but there are parts that I brushed off as being set in fantasy medieval time period as "what parents might have done" when I was a kid. But as an adult with more education it was...not great.

But that's not what I noticed the most. What I noticed more was the racism, particularly against Asians, and rampant antisemitism in the books. It was so in your face I was surprised I didn't really notice it as a kid. And to be honest I couldn't even get to the end of the series I was reading because it was so intensely racist.

I probably won't read them again because it was so full on racist.

Saying that I have also read Sherlock Holmes critically. They are again well written. They also have racist storylines and characters pop up. I still can, and do, read them. What makes it different? Well the time period when it was written makes a difference. I expect a book written in in the late 1800s by a well off white man to be racist. Also it is considerably less racist then Eddings. With Sherlock Holmes stories a racist bit will pop up occasionally and I will go "ah. Racism. Duly noted"

With Eddings it was racism stacked on racism with added racism and a sprinkling of child abuse for added flavour

Bad people make good art

Sometimes the shit they did that means they aren't a great person has nothing to do with their art.

Like a guy who cheats but also draws sick ass dragons

Those aren't related. You don't have to be faithful to draw a sick ass dragon.

And sometimes it does.

Like a guy who cheats who built his entire career about how much he loves monogamy and being faithful and has that as major themes in his work. His actions will have a major affect on how his work is seen

But also if you own idk a painting by that person that you got for your wedding to symbolise you and your spouses devotion to each other. You can still see it that way if you want to. Because it has meaning to you separate from the artist who made it.

I think you have to accept that sometimes things you love are made by people you don't like. Don't put creators and artists on pedestals and don't tie the emotions that their creations gave you to them being "good"

[sketchehm]

hi. got sleep. got through the day. back in the house to say KJHADJKHBSEF gods i love the unbitten au (and sorry for rushing to the next part a bit .-.)

he world building has to be my favourite part of this au, im gonna be honest. especially since it plays so much more around and the reasons for why stuff is the way it is and how the info got lost in-universe (gonna search through the clues later once i have more time on my hands. or am procrastinating on what i should do)

noticed techno calling dream an "it" though honestly i thought it was more in a way that you'd refer to a kid you dont know, especially with the dynamic between fledgling and sire. (considering how some treat kids though, maybe that wasnt so far off .-.)

Why's sam not included in the argument? 👀

i need to hug dteam a thousand times over. and gods, Dream turning them too. Ensuring they can be together forever, doing his best so he can stay with them. that the others wont seperate them. im curious how the vampires react to that 👀 i feel like at least one of them would be a bit proud of dream? for doing this

Hi :3 I'm so happy you like unbitten au and all the world building :D!! It's been so fun figuring it all out and having it all be connected for the overall story too! If this was a written out story, a lot of the history wouldn't ever be known, because I don't have vampires being these all knowing people either, they also have limited knowledge.

Which is like...what causes a lot of the main conflicts! No one knows how Dream works and it causes shenanigans! And while I haven't outright explained all of Dream's uh....Issues....yet, a good chunk of it is figured out by everyone....eventually....kinda.

Also!! No sweat about moving onto the next part really! Was gonna happen eventually ya know? In my head this plays in two parts. The first being the base world building and learning What Dream Is and the general world of vampires, which is what I like talking about at the moment :3c As well as mainly focusing on Dream in this cave and him Struggling to be a vampire and George and Sapnap Struggling alongside him.

The next part....is less developed in my head. So we'll see how it turns out heh.

For Sam! I wanna do a post explaining him because I think he deserves that :3 and I have Many Thoughts and Ideas and how his story explains a more Traditional Fledgling experience(kinda) and how he encountered Dream and and and!!

Its just! I actually don't know if I would ever get to it on my own LMAO mostly cause I don't know how to start it out pfft

BUT. The easy and short explanation is cause Sam is still considered Fledgling. Let's just say the adult vampires are not being very...cordial about who gets to keep Dream and Bitten, full of all instincts and mental bonds, Fledgling Sam is have a Tough Time dealing with Angry Adult Vampires all around him. Sam also went through something Similar beforehand too....he's actually used as a topic of argument on why Bad can't have Dream and that makes Sam feel bad too...(cause he was really difficult when Bad took him in.... which I think I mentioned...?)

So...Yea!

Oh silly funny thing!

Dteam do this whole thing because they wanna be together forever and ever and its so sweet and all that jazz. And that's great and all. We love the passion!

But the other guys don't know that. They are Freaking Out. They just think Sapnap and George are Suddenly Dying. Lol. Lmao even.

Dream. Does not say anything. Heh.

He's a great actor constantly crying that his Sires are dying. (Well actually. His baby brain instincts Do think they're dying because there is no object permanece up there and completely Forgot that this is part of the Plan:tm:. They're just crying and whining that Sires are Sick and Dying WAAHHH) So. Crying comes easy to Dream pfft

Anyways the others can't connect the dots cause ....Sapnap and George are Dying and not Dead.

Here's a thing I never explained, how do Bitten turn humans into vampires? Cause we know how unbittens appear for the most part. But Bittens are kinda different.

For Unbitten, the only way they can turn another is with the three conditions: Unbitten's saliva needs to come into contact with the victim's internal system in some way shape or form. The victim must survive. And the Unbitten needs to have an extreme Urge to Live. The curse will then take effect, kill the victim(after 3 days), and convert then into a vampire. Ez clap 👏

Bittens....don't need these requirements. Kinda. Spit is still a thing. Though they can kill the victim now, because that expedites the curse basically. They just...skip those 3 days lmao A majority of Bittens don't even know they can prolonge the infection part, so used to just Killing the victim and it working basically instantly. So a bitten will drain enough to kill whoever they want to turn. (Bittens have learned you don't want to fully drain potential fledgling because that just makes the fledgling need to drink A Lot more blood than a Sire can reasonably provide and could lead to a very early dead fledgling....)

Also the "urge to live" basically mutated for the Bitten into "urge for Victim to live". They basically just gotta Want to turn someone and that activates whatever mutated curse they have going on heh

Like really Want it though. There can't be a doubt in your mind about turning someone. Which makes it kinda fucked up when there is an abandoned fledgling around, a Sire had to Want this fledgling and then still abandoned it afterwards. There's a lot of reasons why that happens tbh! But a lot of Bitten have found uh. Loop holes.

There's this one instance I have in my head where a Bitten turns someone as a revenge against another person they hate. They really Want to turn this innocent third party because of Revenge. So it works. And that Bitten can quickly abandon that fledgling before it effects them in anyway. Leaving a starving fledgling to perhaps attack the person the Bitten hated...

So instances like that could lead to an abandoned fledgling. There's probably a whole bunch of scenarios I could come up with lmao (especially when it comes to Team Mafia ;)

Anywayssss! This "how bittens turn humans" info is Common Knowledge to Bittens. And again, unbitten knowledge isn't really a thing for Bittens, they know about it but don't really believe it since like....70% of it just isn't true at all. It's Human Knowledge and that isn't Reliable. Even Bad and Skeppy who also live in this folklore heavy town and have also constantly have heard these tales, they're vampires themselves, they disregard it. They know it isn't true! So a lot of it is ignored and overlooked! (Which kinda does make George and Sapnap the best candidates to take care of Dream because only a human would have enough knowledge and take it seriously enough to be able to care for an Unbitten :)

So the way George and Sapnap are turning isn't really checking any boxes for them. Oops! Bad doesn't even clock in this is Unbitten Disease lmao Like when you're so used to ignoring something, when that info could be useful ya don't even think about it, it's not the first thing on your mind.

And Dream not telling everyone is cause he....can't. Theyve been very Angry and Loud and his inner instincts dont Like them anymore cause theyre Mean >:(. They keep wanting to take him away from his Sires so theyre the bad guys >:(!!

Dream reasonably knows that isnt true but he cant get over the hesitance to tell them or really trust them anymore. Even if they did rescue all 3 of them just a little while ago. Very Child Logic happening that Dream can't really fully resist...

But if there was Another Fledgling around who Dream still trusts to let out this kinda secret, cause he needs Help cause they barely kept Dream alive for a year so how the heck is Dream gonna take care of Sapnap and George, that would be awesome and great and Sam please idk what to do now you're like a normal fledgling you need to help!! (and I'm also Hungry but Sires are sick) Sam plz!!

Sam does his own freak out lmao

"What do you MEAN you turned Sapnap and George?!?!"

"Shshhsh!! Shut up Sam!! Shut upp!!"

"What do you MEAN you turned Sapnap and George?!"

Haha. :)

Anyways Sam will have Delusions that HE can take care of all 3 of them. Dream is going to HIM for help now! This is all he's ever wished for!! :D!

....

Oh yea but his Sire is Bad now. Which means he has a mental bond with Bad. Which means Bad now knows something is up. Cmon Sam what's wrong why did you get so happy all of a sudden but now avoiding me hm :)??

And Sam has his Traumas about lying to a Sire....so he does fess up pretty quick.

Oops.

Anyways you can hear a very loud "WHAT" throughout the house.

Dream's head in hands, he can't trust Sam with ANYTHING(its barely been an hour since he told Sam!) Cue the comical slamming the door open with all the rest of them rushing in.

Dream barely being able to hiss and wants them all to leave >:( these are His Sires you can't take them that's not allowed!!

And like. They can't now. Dream is Technically Sapnap and Geoege's Sire now. They aren't cruel enough to separate a Sire and their fledgling...(like they weren't doing that beforehand :^)

So they freak out (again). Lmao.

See Dream didn't plan for Very Possessive vampires to now fight over Three Fledglings. (Tbf Dream didn't plan much of anything. He was gonna figure it out as he goes)

There is a Funny Moment of Team Mafia crowding over this Dying Sapnap and basically just inspecting him and rolling him around and trying to find a bite mark and it's Dream tweaking and trying to get them to leave his Sapnap alone and let him die peacefully oh my god. (Dream's own jealousy of seeing these guys too Close to his Sapnap stop go away Sapnap is His Sire!!!)

Techno arguing he should be able to take all three since he has the room for it and Bad arguing they've lived in this town their whole lives they should just stay here(Sam likes Bad's idea). Team Mafia is Unhelpful saying they can just take all 3 as they travel around :3! (Techno and Bad both yelling No! at them pft)

Sam is wet cat and just looking at Dream with the most pitiful eyes...he's sorry he couldn't help it :(

I don't think anyone would be proud of Dream per say. Techno is more like "I cant believe you're crazy enough to do this". Team Mafia kinda joke around that Dream beat them at turning Sapnap and do laugh about it. Bad feels like he's the only one taking this seriously! There's gonna be TWO(2) new freshly "bit" fledglings in a couple of days!! They need to figure this all out now!!

Team Mafia are probably the most Chill about all this (Serpias and Shadoune playing with Sapnap's hair, always fanatazing about fledgling Sapnap.) They're a group of abandoned fledglings, they know the Works of how to raise fledglings without a Real Sire. It's their actual argument why they should take the 3 of them. They have Unique Knowledge. (Doesn't lead to a fully healthy Vampire though...)

It is taking all of them to figure shit out now....they all have a different set of knowledge and are not really sure how Sapnap and George are gonna turn out. Humans turned by unbitten also don't...live for very long...BUT! that's what everyone thought about unbitten, yet Dream is doing fine(ish)!

It has become less of an argument between all of them now and more trying to predict how George and Sapnap are gonna turn out and if any of them can reasonably take all three of them. Really trying to figure out the logistics pfft But at least the fighting has stopped!

Dream doesn't really. Care! As long as he's with George and Sapnap he knows the three of them will figure it out :D!

(He will get hit with huge regret and guilt once they actually die though....)

But for now! Can someone get him a squirrel or rabbit or something...he hungry...

[catscraftsandcommentary]

I was talking to a friend about being autistic and how I approach the world and different situations, and because I was raised by analytical people, later my thoughts spiraled into Thinky Thoughts, and now I have something to share.

When you're a kid, life is very simple and straightforward. Most days, you have A Plan (ex: go to school, travel to X place, go on fun excursion, etc). If Unexpected Shit comes up - and with life, eventually there will ALWAYS be Unexpected Shit - you just scurry to the nearest friendly Responsible Adult and wait for them to pull out a fix from their Bag Of Tricks, and then you go back to that day's Plan. (Sometimes with changes, because of Unexpected Shit, but usually at least *similar*.)

As you become an adult - and no, this is NOT an instant process - you start to learn that not only do you have to make The Plan, you also have to deal with the Unexpected Shit (everything from "this doesn't happen every time, but it's pretty normal" to "odd, but not unheard of" to "how in the HELL"), and eventually create a Bag Of Tricks to deal with that shit.

As an aside, the first several times that someone turns to YOU as the local Responsible Adult is a mind trip. Sometimes you'll know what to do and be prepared (probably because a previous Responsible Adult ran into a similar situation while you were nearby and taught you how to deal with it), sometimes you won't. Then you can either find an adultier Responsible Adult...or just wing it.

(The first several times you have to wing it will suck. But the more times you have to wing a situation with NO FUCKING CLUE...well, the better you'll get at doing that. Winging shit is its own sort of skill.)

So how do you become a Responsible Adult and assemble a Bag Of Tricks? (Or alternately, learn to wing the really truly Unexpected Shit?) Well, the first thing is realizing that the Bag Of Tricks is part knowledge, part experience, and part actual physical objects. Every time that you learn a new fact, or gain experience from dealing with Unexpected Shit, your Bag Of Tricks gets a little bit bigger and better stocked.

So LOOK SHIT UP. Google and YouTube aren't perfect, but there is a LOT of info on the internet, and the vast majority of the time, someone else has already dealt with your situation and written or filmed a how-to guide.

(For the people out there making those guides, I LOVE YOU YOU'RE AMAZING PLEASE KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING)

Also, if there's something you think you might deal with in the future, find someone who is good at that and ask them for advice. A lot of people like being able to help others, and most people who aren't assholes can see the value in sharing skills.

In my experience, the best people are the ones who recognize that "everyone starts life needing to learn things, different people collect different skills and life experiences, and sharing what you know means more people can handle more situations effectively. No one person can know or handle every weird situation ever, but most people can learn to handle most situations pretty well." The people who don't want to share what they know...sometimes there's a good reason, but more often they're assholes.

The corollary to "look things up, ask for advice" is "when someone comes to you, HELP THEM." Sometimes the help they want/need is a lot more involved than they realize, and, well...suck it up. They don't want to be dealing with that situation either, but SOMEONE has to.

Sometimes, they'll try to insist on fixing it a certain way that seems dumb as hell to you. My advice for when that happens is ASK WHY THEY NEED IT THAT WAY. Sometimes they have special circumstances or experience which tells them "this way works better than the alternatives, even if it takes more work to set up." Sometimes it's just them being picky or wanting to be in control. Sometimes it's them testing you to see if you'll work with them when you don't understand why they need things a certain way. A lot of the time, if you listen to why they want it the tricky way and/or you EXPLAIN why you think a different way will work better, you can find a good compromise. Not always, but usually.

So to wrap this long ramble up, the way to be a Responsible Adult is a) learn about a situation or a subject as much as you can, either before or during an encounter b) ask for help from people who know more than you c) keep useful or "I'll probably need this" things where you can reach them (this is your physical Bag Of Tricks) d) be willing to teach other people how to deal with Unexpected Shit e) be flexible about HOW to deal with Unexpected Shit, especially in situations where someone else has special needs.

[thebootycrusade]

Oh man am i going to catch some heat for this but someone needs to say it at least once, and my hot take after reading wottg, even after reading a few other review post from notable blogs here, is that the pjo fandom here whos 20s+ needs to realize that they arent the target age demographic/audience anymore. Ive been reading the books since tlt hit the shelves, and even with that much investment i recognize that these are, at their very core, books still written for older kids and early-mid teenagers.

We've had books where characters die, get tortured, and explore other heavy topics on page, but face it, we as 20somethings will never going to get a cannon rrverse book that fully addresses the trauma or ptsd these characters have throughout the series because those topics we want explored as adult readers are way too dry and a little advanced for that age group to stay engaged, and actually chronicling the healing from them wouldnt be so easily explored in a single series. The trio recognizes that they have been through a lot even in demigod standards, but having the ability to talk and articulate through that trauma isnt easy when youre still in it. Being an adult with hindsight, i can recognize that parts of my early life were traumatic, but in the moment, was i able to recognize it as trauma or ptsd? no, i just knew it sucked. while i was in it or slightly removed from it was i ever really thinking about it in any deeper form past "well that fuckin sucked"? no. (does it sound like a familiar demigod anyone?). was i able to recover from it neatly and concisely in a couple months or years? no. and the most important part: could i do so in a way that would sound entertaining or even the least bit appealing to a 12yo when put into writing? Fuck no.

Even switching it up to ricks actual storyline, are there really mischaracterizations? or do we just think people stay the same from 12-16 or 16-18 especially after taking into account everything in the books? or are we just rewriting cannon to "fix" the timeline because now its not following the fanfic fanon timelines and characterizations again. Percy is objectively an awful and unreliable narrator throughout the books, but because we are only ever shown his view of a situation we as readers have to discern if he is reading a situation wrong or if we are. We already know all three of the trio are impulsive, capable of bad ideas, and still (surprise surprise) figuring out how growing as people works because its already rare for greek demigods to live into adulthood, so of course things will happen or are witnessed by percy that can be observed as being completely out of character. Lets be real, the trios entire past 6 years have been "plans with just enough 'winging it' for the world (and conveniently you) to survive" and now that they are finally given some breathing room together, would they really be cognizant of or care if something was "in-character" and consistent with all their past choices? did you make all the same choices at 18 that you would have at 12? 16? hell even 17?

[zatna]

i know i know, i'll give my first chapter review of z:bdth!! personals leave me alone i do NOT fuck with u.

review: its good. 10/10 (no one expected anything less).

now my silly little thoughts:

it opens with with zatanna being ridiculed for messing up a ball-disappearing trick, then promptly going to her father for some advice on real magic. zatanna's backstory has never been heavily consistent, even in her early origin days, so to see an actual scene where she's younger and doing her own actions.. it's different than the regular flashbacks we've been getting with her that just exist as a sort of "here's how magic works" to the general audience.

this page above is SOO GOOD i'll be thinking about it for the rest of my life. the colors, the shapes, the poses for both young zee & her father.. i'm glad they're bringing attention to their relationship prior to magic teaching, because it creates a distance between them that we don't see a lot, but i consider all the time. zatanna's most remarkable teacher was her father, yes, but zatanna had way more years of self-teaching than being a mentee to someone else. giovanni had never wanted to teach her anything beyond a few simple spells, and for a man who spent his life fighting supernatural horrors and threats i don't blame the fact he didn't want his daughter going into the world-- even though it's apparent they're both consumed by it already. the magical tomes, books, the obscure objects (floating or not), typical assistant bunnies. smthn smthn a visual clash of the two types of magicians we see in the room. giovanni's face is shadowed in, he's mysterious and direct, if not somewhat dismissive: "you said you'd teach me magic..." "did i?"

this could be read as not dismissive as well, since in the next scene she does use magic. so maybe he indulged her. but the spell was definitely not what she asked for and looks way more like a strong desire that developed into a spellcast out of emotion alone. maybe she grabbed one of his books when he wasn't looking, or we can go a different route and assume giovanni did teach her that spell, a backwards lesson of the difference between parlor tricks and real magic. he's always written as very coddling of zatanna, so to see him even demand her to "speak up." when she's got her head down was a bit of a surprise in itself, i don't know what he might've done..

i will never get tired of overpowered children having to deal with the fact they're overpowered children. this is the second time, that i can remember at least, where a younger zatanna had used her powers in a scenario where she thought they were justified, only to deal with the cruel consequences after the damage is done. how zee wielded magic in her youth, intentional or not, drastically impedes how she views it in her adult life. she's scared of it, this immeasurable power that responds to her slightest command. its a type of power that grown men yearn for, but giving it to a critical, impulsive child that's still learning the world around them, the people around them, and it'll just end up as a disaster and they'll grow to fear it.

nothing is important here besides the first signs of something is wrong, with her bunnies being cowered as far from her as they can while one bites in retaliation. ok there's like, smthn big going on but just look at the fact zatanna wears boxers... shes so hot. also transfem. thanks.

also omg little notes is the magic poster of herself being a wall for the rest of the kitchen. identical top hats on shelves. the drawn out man on the wall with knives sticking out of it jksgjkds. you can't see it exactly in this crop but there's just a bucket of chains and cuffs... she's such a weirdo... get another hobby im begging u. also mattress-on-the-floor zatanna is real and she is out to get you.

just a casual shadow of a creature following your shadow, no big deal. idk if the book will go this route, i think it's just another *team-up with someone who won't ever appear again in any continuity, but i like to think this is a canonical example of the consequences of zatanna under-using her magic. enter me forcing my headcanons and portrayal onto panels that definitely represent something else. anyway i'd like to think her magical presence becomes so dense when there's no "output" on her magic, and it's the equivalent of dangling a steak in front of a carnivore... or a carnivore's shadow. it's a mirror to when magic wielders overdo their own magical output, leaving them drained and instead an itty bitty fish in front of a carnivore. foods still food. i'm done with these metaphors i hope everyone caught the gist already..

pretending to hypnotize someone is so silly of her. but even more importantly there's a justice league mention oh wow!! and she turned them down :( zatanna's passion of the stage was very much outweighing the possibility of being a hero. this, as far as i'm concerned, has always been a fact. zatanna desired stardom and was perfectly content to sticking on stage, it was her fathers disappearance that had her jumping through mystical hurdles.

at this point on i'm not gonna post anymore panels because im lazy and this is getting so ridiculously long and also you should read it yourself. but i'm happy they're incorporating the fact zatanna doesn't use real magic on stage. outside of the premise of this series, where she has a present fear of it, zatanna in the past was of the stern belief that she shouldn't need to, and so she didn't. these lines kinda got blurred, and then discarded completely, and then now her main act is using illusionary magic and leaving it up to the audience to decide if it was real or not. i like both interpretations, personally, but it's nice to see the former again.

a bit of a disappointment that this is yet another zatara-led storyline.. or maybe this is just where it starts? you'd think they've run out of "cleaning up my fathers messes" plotlines but you'd be wrong!

*team-up wise smells like yuri... even better it smells like doomed yuri so i'm here for it for as long as it'll stick around.

[taevith]

Show analysis

I've constantly thought of ways I could go about talking bout shows or movies I'm watching and just talk about how they make me feel. I feel like I can't get that in my daily life and don't have people I feel comfortable going on and on about how some random show made me cry because I saw myself in the main character. So I figure why not make a blog about? I don't really plan to make it some well typed essay or anything, just letting my thoughts spill out. So I'm gonna start this with...

Carol and the end of the World

This will all be written with the assumption you, the reader, have seen the show/movie

Episode 1: Carol is depressed. And I feel a lot of that. It's like everyone else is "normal" and I'm just here trying to cope and I just want things to go back to how they used to be. Wether or not how things used to be is better or worse for me is irrelevant. I want things to go back to how they were so I can feel... Sane. Why can't I just be happy, like them?

On a separate note, holy shit do I know those kinda guys. Hell I was that kinda guy once. Desperate, lonely, afraid... I guess I'm still lonely. Just lost the desperation. It's hard being alone, feeling lonely. You meet someone you feel like you match with and they do something that makes you rethink. Often something small, though sometimes something as big as saying Im in love with you on the second date. And I just... Run. I'm scared.

Did this episode make me cry? Yes.

Episode 2: it's a distraction. All of it. Just something to feel normal, to not think about it. Busy work to keep your mind busy so it doesn't have to think about... Everything. The gun was a bit of a wild turn but hey, it's an animated show for adults by Netflix, you gotta expect some odd curve balls.

The frantic searching felt a lot like the lead up to a panic attack. You're mind just racing and not shutting up because it thinks this is the most important thing in the world. If I don't do this I will literally die. But you won't, Carol wouldn't. It's just a job/it's just a distraction. At any time she could stand up and leave. It's uncontrolled anxiety. Anxiety is important, it keeps us alive, but people with anxiety problems, like myself, their anxiety finds everything to be a threat. A slight hick up and our worlds spiral. In the moment it feels so final.

To speak on the object in the sky, I honestly see its an inevitably. Death comes for us all, it's inevitable. Instead of spending our time on art or hobbies everything just feels pointless. That's why we use distractions. Anything to shut our brain up. Make it work just enough it that it doesn't have time to think, but not too much to wear us out. Anything to keep from obsessing over the inevitable.

Episode 3: let me start by talking about Daddy- no sorry, Daddy- no sorry, the captain. Lol. Don't know why, like dat man.

Anyways, pretty chill episode, till the end anyways. With how things are right now in America... I can't help but feel for Donna. It may not be about this but it certainly compares.

I forget his name, but the male coworker said something really deep that hit me in the core. Friends and experiences come and go and you just kinda feel... Numb after a while. This episode made me cry.

Episode 4: I love episode about siblings. It's always reminds me of just how special my relationship with my brother is. I love him to the end of the earth and farther. He really means the world to me. I wouldn't be here without him. I look up to him. He's always been there when I needed him and I always wish there was some way to pay him back for it all. I know that silly.

Episode 5: I didn't think this episode was gonna be so impactful at first. It starts out very quirky and kinda run of the mill, till David dies, that is. It's kinda difficult to put into words what exactly this made me feel. It was nice seeing them all regain their humanity in the face of such tragedy. Half a year and everyone dies. And David not even being able to make it to the end... Kinda makes me think of suicide. It's not how he died in story, but we distract ourselves from the inevitable and sometimes we just can't make it. Wether that be through personal or natural causes. It's sad to think he could have had more life ahead of him, even if it WAS only 6 months.

That's all for this post. I'm really enjoying the series and can't wait to see if they are actually going to go through with the world ending or not.

[livethinking]

Two stories, one world: The Nutcracker

Originally posted on The Moving Lips

The Christmas imaginary, the holiday, celebrations inspired the greatest European authors since the origin of modenrity, from Nikolay Gogol’, Charles Dickens, Boris Pasternak, Alexandre Dumas pére, becoming each time an opportunity to develop the topics of national folklore in a Christian point of view, or to explore the creative mind in the lens of childhood or through the beauty of brief moments of joy, or even becoming an occasion to critique or describing the social context of a given historical period, narrating the fate of a people, of a certain individual.

How many of us book lovers lose ourselves in Gogol’s irreverent worlds with “The Night Before Christmas”, or travelled in the Christmas of our childhood, present and future together with Scrooge, the main character of “A Christmas Carol”, or even thanks to a timeless tale such as “The Nutcracker”, immortalised by the opera of the great Russian musician, Pëtr I. Chaykovsky. “The Nutcracker” had made thousand and thousand of children dream all over the world and given us magic moments for our Christmas, but this beautiful and apparently simple tale hides a complexity which collects History and the collective imaginary of whole generations, because “The Nutcracker” is not just a Christmas story for children.

The original story, titled “Nutcracker and Mouse King” (Nußknacker und Mausekönig) is a novel by E.T.A Hoffmann, written in 1816, during the Romanticism era, and, indeed, many topics of this literary movements are contained in this tale; nevertheless, the story as it’s known by most readers, and used for the well-known ballet put to music by Chaykovsky, is the one told by the version edited by Alexander Dumas pére in 1844, in Positivist era, titled as “The Tale of the Nutcracker” (Histoire d’un casse-noisette). More edulcorated and detailed is the Dumas’s version, more intimistic and crueler is the one written of Hoffmann, these two works, although similar in the plot, show complex ideological differences, given the different historical contexts. Hoffmann takes the Romantic literary tendencies to tell Nutcracker’s story, this toy hero who challenges the evil forces symbolised by the Mouse King, firstly by not hesitating a more intimate vision of the story, describing Christmas atmosphere in a symbolic way, almost like he wanted to imitate children’s gaze, that «[v]iewed from the perspective of the three children, the Christmas tree is magic, and the events feel them with wonder and terror»[1]. Here, moreover, starting from the tradition begun by Hegel’s “The Phenomenology of the Spirit”, he built the structure of the book on the dualism of the identity of the object (i.e. the mind becoming the object of observation), subject and the thematic of the double.

More detailed and realistic, as positivist tradition ruled, is Dumas’s version, that put on the foreground not the individual, but family and society, moving from a magic imaginary of Christmas to social aspects, describing habits and traditions. The story is projected to the world, denying the existence of the “spirit”; «[u]nlike the Hoffmann story, where everything is part of everything else, Dumas disengages himself from the story (also through the distancing “Once upon a time” opening formula), destroying its credibility, and transforming it into a realist type of narrative with detailed portraits of the characters, on which he passes judgement like an omniscient narrator»[2].

This relation with reality by connecting to the outer and to those historic events which inflamed Europe during 19th Century is one of the elements that makes this tale so unique, so appreciated by both children and adults. “The Nucracker” is a universal story, able to adapt to every historical period, and being always modern in its message; it’s a story that mediates between cultures and makes them connect to each other. It was born in Germany, then it moved to France, change language, and got to Russia, where it became one of the most touching classical ballet, to reach the whole Europe, being part of the fabric of this fragmented, complex, and variegated culture-continent, and going beyond. A world becoming the Konfektburg, the Candyland, in “The Nutcracker”, where different peoples – Greeks, Armenians, Tyrolese – lived together peacefully, where social classes are mixed, discuss and respect each other, where Europe and Asia can communicate in a time when it was not possible yet, when China was still closed within its borders, and Greeks and Armenians were fighting for their independence from the Ottoman Empire. A world in peace and united, an utopia dreamed by Marie, the main character, and everyone, in the innocence of childhood, dreamed that it could be exist. A fictional world, but where still the battle which most characterised the collective and cultural imaginary of humanity, which shaped myths and the knowledge of the world, which made us humans: the one which sees the forces of good fights the evils ones. The good, the Nutcracker, the general, the warrior who sacrificed himself, and the evil, the Mouse King, a nearly apocalyptic creature, a monster with seven heads of serpent, who’s firstly stopped by Marie, that received his crown, – who is the mean between the world of toys and the real one –, and then defeated by the Nutcracker, freeing himself from the malediction.

The Nutcracker symbolises the values of Christmas, i.e. communion, altruism, bravery, a united people, the victory of the good on the evil, the beauty of a world that only children (and artists) can see through the ugliness of this disappointing reality.

Note

1. BARNA, C. R. (2018). Experiments in Pattern Recognition Case study: The Nutcracker. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, Vol. 7 No. 5, p. 42

2. Ivi, p. 43

[bookcub]

Books I Read for My SFF Class Rated from Worst to Best

clearly this is the most objective list ever obviously (jk this is based on how much I got from reading the text to how useful it was in context)

also while this syllabus included movies and tv shows, I am focusing on the books cause this is a book blog

19. Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan- The worst of the worst. Contains racist ideology and a magic system that makes no sense. This is a book clearly written by a white outsider about Hawai'i. I am also far too old for dystopias. One upside is that there were no random romances and it was about familial love.

18. Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson- Despite agreeing with the ideology of this book, this was truly a horrible reading experience. Poorly written, annoying and bland characters, and very inconsistent.

17. Blazewrath Games by - You wouldn't guess that a book that's essentially The World Cup with Dragons could be boring, but you'd be wrong. Nothing significant in this text rip.

16. Peter Pan by J M Barrie- Unfortunately, this book makes sense being included in this context of children's SFF so I can’t say it shouldn't be included, but this book was agonizing to read. Beautiful writing. And yet, some of the most racist and sexist content I have ever read in my life!

15. Charlotte's Web by EB White- Pretty painless to read and interesting to discuss in the context of sff literature cause uh, not generally a book I would categorize as such. I didn’t think our discussions were particularly notable and I would have preferred another text.

14. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline- *sighs* There are some incredibly important concepts in this text but woof. Again, I am too old for dystopias but unexpectedly I had a real problem with the way women were written in this.

13. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum- Again, this is helpful in context of a children's fantasy class and it was fun to read in context as a Wicked fan. If I didn't know it from related media, this would be super forgettable.

12. Bunnicula by Deborah Howe and James Howe- Fun, and a fantastic audio but there wasn't much to talk about here in our class but there's potential. Very funny.

11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling- I am dreading the class on this but I am very excited for the critical readings and it was exciting to re examine the text as an adult with the knowledge I have now. I do think that we could have done a magic school section with books responding to HP instead. Again, interesting in the context of the genre.

10. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen- One of my classmates had a lot of issues with the portrayal of Judaism in this text, so ideally this would be replaced with a text written by an author who did more research.

9. Feed by MT Anderson- I did NOT like this but incredibly relevant and scary to think this was written about 20 years ago. Good for the syllabus, not good for me!

8. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien- I didn't mind listening to this and it was another sensible inclusion. Occasionally boring but I'm supportive.

7. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by - I liked the perspective this book provided and it was a pretty fun read. I think this would work best as a readaloud text. It was also beneficial to read a book written by an author who wasn't American or British for comparison to the other texts.

6. A Wrinkle in Time by - Another classic that makes a lot of sense in its inclusion in the syllabus. Sparked really good conversations about the definition of genre. I enjoyed resisting this text as well, incredibly nostalgic for me.

5. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova- A lot of fun! I love portal fantasies and this had a classic adventure but didn't feel trite at all. I actually enjoyed the love triangle and will consider reading the books later in the series.

4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luan Yang- This was a difficult book to read but it was incredibly rewarding. I had to sit with it a lot to process and I think the author asks really interesting questions. I would recommend this to most people.

3. Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo- Shockingly, the adult novel ranks 3 on my list. .. hmmm . . this was largely both because I loved it and hated many of the other books. Absolutely stunning as a novel, engaging, and downright magical. I love books centering family and slowly finding how much I enjoy multigenerational novels. However, it is interesting considering this class is about children's lit. . . I would highly recommend this to readers who want a story that isn't afraid to challenge normal.

2. Kindred (graphic novel) by Octavia Butler- I love Kindred and if this was the novel and not the graphic, it would be #1. An amazing book that does not stray from intense topics and makes history very accessible. The only time travel book I love. I adored presenting on this book and still believe Kindred is one of the best books I have read. Such a good inclusion on this syllabus.

1. Nimona by ND Stevenson- NIMONA MY BELOVED what is there to say. This is perfect for this class. It is certainly marketed to young adults, and uses elements of scifi and fantasy masterfully. Challenges conventions of the genre, asks the age old question of who is a monster and who is human. . .beautiful found family. . .funny as hell. Perfect.

[newvision]

Poems/books for being seventeen?

Silas Denver Melvin, from Grit

I saw an exquisite pink and blue shell on the sea-bottom. I dove for it, and held it, smooth and hollow in my hand all the morning. I decided it was a lucky charm, and that I would keep it. I am surprised that I have not lost it, for I lose everything. Today it is still pink and warm as it lies in my palm, and makes me feel like crying.

Françoise Sagan, from Bonjour Tristesse (1954) // movie still from Bonjour Tristesse (1958)

Kara Jackson, Teenagers Are Not Exempt From Poetry (read full prose piece here)

Some recommendations of books I’ve read that deal with girlhood or being a teenager (not my faves, but enjoyable. Probably wouldn’t read them again, but objectively literature that might be of interest to you):

Brutes — Dizz Tate

The Virgin Suicides — Jeffrey Eugenides

The Ice Palace — Tarjei Versaas

Teenage Wasteland — Anne Tyler

Normal People — Sally Rooney

My Dark Vanessa — Kate Elizabeth Russell

We Were Liars — E. Lockhart

my notes on each recommendation:

SEVENTEEN: Exactly what being seventeen felt like to me. He has absolutely beautiful poetry on age, Seventeen is the first of those in the collection. I’ve loved measuring my growth by how I relate to these poems. You can download the entire collection for free, just check out his account @sweatermuppet, I’m sure he has a link somewhere (or drop him an ask)! One of my favourite collections, it really embodies the feeling of being young, so the rest of the poems might also be of interest to you. I find myself rereading them all of the time. Love your work, Silas! Can’t wait for more poetry

BONJOUR TRISTESSE: I don’t remember the protagonist’s age exactly, but the author was seventeen when she wrote it. Very breezy, very summery, contains the whole spectrum of teenage emotions, from raging anger to audacious freedom. The protagonist is both astute and very childish. This book is so obviously written by a teenager, and I mean this as the highest compliment. You don’t get adults writing about being seventeen like that. She is seventeen. Seventeen is this story’s essence. I haven’t seen the movie, but it’s on my watchlist. Heard it’s good though!

TEENAGERS ARE NOT EXEMT FROM POETRY: I read this the other day and think it would have been very affirming for teenage me, who felt insecure about reading and writing poetry. Some lines really stuck with me and I think the writer’s youthful voice captures the solace teenagers might find in poetry very well. There is a freshness to that discovery. I remember reading Ginsberg for the first time and life feeling ten times wider even though my English was not broad enough for me to understand his work in its entirety. Discovering art at that age is a privilege, I believe most people will struggle to feel the same awe and wonder in later years. The author of this prose piece mentions many different poems that might interest you!

BRUTES: Read it last year and honestly found it kind of disappointing. Very interesting style, though, as most (all?) of it is written from the perspective of a group of teenage girls, using ‘we’ and ‘us’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘me’. I think I would have liked it a thousand times more, had I read it earlier in life. Fantastic book cover

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES: Very obviously written by a man, but nevertheless an interesting study of teenage love and obsession (there’s an excellent movie adaptation by Sophia Coppola!)

THE ICE PALACE: If I remember correctly, the protagonists are younger than seventeen, but it’s a very moving story about how young people grieve. Norwegian author, which I found very interesting, as I haven’t read a lot of Scandinavian literature

TEENAGE WASTELAND: Not for me, this one! But you might have different taste. After reading some reviews, it seems like people either hate or love this short story

NORMAL PEOPLE: I am not a huge Sally Rooney fan, but I do understand why people adore her so much. I thought Conversations With Friends was a better book, but that’s partly because I found it more relatable. Normal People is a very intelligent story on young love, class differences and the reality of many relationships. The opposite of a ‘happily ever after’ book, left me feeling unresolved and unsatisfied, as I believe it intended

MY DARK VANESSA: I’m not sure if recommending this too a teenager is wise, but it is certainly a very good book. Heavy stuff, though. Deals with emotional manipulation and violence directed at a teenaged girl in form of a predatory relationship. Rarely read something that made me feel so uneasy by manipulating me as the reader. I read it as a teen and it impressed me very much! Be safe, please. If you are easily disturbed, check any content warnings!

WE WERE LIARS: Something suspenseful that will suck you in, a summer-y and kind of light book. Definitely entertainment literature, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Probably won’t change your life, but also won’t bore you. Cool friendship dynamics between teenagers!

[froizetta]

20 Questions for fic writers!

Tagged by @ginbenci! Thank you! :)

How many works do you have on AO3?

12! All since last August

What’s your total A03 word count? 134,798

What fandoms do you write for?

So far just DCU, but I like a lot of things! I will branch out one day, when the brainrot loosens its grip.

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Padam Padam - superbat, E (7.5k)

Batman's heartbeat keeps speeding up whenever Clark is around. For instance: when Clark greets him, half-naked, on a Gotham rooftop. Or when he uses his superstrength to save a busload of schoolchildren. Or sometimes even just when he smiles. Clearly the poor man is terrified of him.

By far my most popular fic! Probably because it found it's way to tiktok (this still feels wild to me). Despite the fact that borderline crack and I wrote it in about 3 days, it has twice the number of kudos as the fic below in this list. Or perhaps it's because I took the idea from a tumblr post rather than coming up with it myself? Hmmmmm.

2. An Honest Conversation - superbat, E (60k)

“So Bruce’s longtime best friend had suddenly decided to start eye-fucking him at random. So what? Bruce was used to being the object of this kind of attention. It didn’t bother him. It was—should have been fine. The issue was that it was Clark, and Bruce had enough trouble remaining rational about him at the best of times.” or Bruce and Clark go from friends to lovers the long, long, long way round. Featuring a number of revelations, a well-meaning but nosy son (Dick) and, most prominently, two adult men being completely and utterly useless.

My first fic, and the closest one I have right now to a magnum opus! It started off as a silly oneshot and then got surprisingly angsty towards the end (although no less silly tbh, that's apparently just my whole vibe as a writer).

3. Hiding In Plain Sight - superbat, T (3.5k)

Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet, is clearly just Superman wearing glasses. For some reason, no-one but Bruce can see that. There is a distinct possibility that Bruce has lost his mind.

Written for Bruce Wayne Week 2023, as are the rest on this list! Written because...well. He totally is just wearing glasses. I'll happily suspend my disbelief, but I'm still not letting it go, damn it.

4. Holding Onto A Hero - superbat, T (2.5k)

Clark squinted sleep-tired eyes and frowned. “B? Everything okay?” And then Bruce shivered. In a fraction of a second he was beside the bed, and in another he was settling a knee onto the mattress and wrapping his arms around Clark’s waist, cowled face pressed into Clark’s chest. “So,” Clark said conversationally. “I’m gonna go ahead and take that as a no.”

The prompt was cuddle pollen, and it really is just a short-n-sweet, soft, cuddly, getting together fic. Also, I got to insert a little vague allusion to neuroscience, which is always nice (although oxytocin doesn't actually work like that, the effect is sex-specific and increasing it can actually promote aggression in some- okay, okay, I'll shut up).

5. More Fun Than Counting Sheep - superbat, E (5.5k)

When Bruce can't sleep, Clark proposes an unconventional solution. (The solution is sex.)

The prompt I took was sleep-deprived Bruce. Nothing about that suggested it should be smut, and yet here we are. I wrote this because I thought it would be funny to have Clark try to seduce Bruce into sleeping (and for it to work), and honestly? I stand by that.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm none of them really. Maybe A Stitch In Spacetime (Gen, 4.5k - in which Batman meets a version of himself whose parents never died so he became a surgeon like his dad). But only because the ending is more hopeful than actively happy. Batman has still lost Jason, but he's finally trying to heal; Doctor Bruce still wants kids he doesn't have, but maybe after this that will change. (Also, unrelated but I'm really proud of the title for this one lol. I love a pun, what can I say.)

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, they're most all happy, but probably An Honest Conversation? Just because the finale was INCREDIBLY sappy, and there was a lot bullshit preceding it that they had to get through, which certainly made the ending cathartic to write!

Do you get hate on your fic?

Not yet! Apart from a couple of slightly iffy comments, everyone has been lovely. But then, I'm not writing anything particularly controversial lol. Hopefully the trend continues outside of genfic and superbat.

Do you write smut?

Yes, a lot lol, nearly half of my fics are E-rated. Look, if I write a romance in which the pairing solves some kind of relationship issue and grow closer as a result, some part of my brain is always gonna be thinking, "Hm. What if they banged about it?" Also, I love a sex comedy, so there's that too.

Do you write crossovers?

No. I don't think I'm into any fandoms right now that I would WANT to cross over tbh. I've read my fair share, though!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but I'd theoretically be open to it! I think it would be tricky in practise though, unless you an your co-writer are really on the same wavelength. Even writers I really like don't necessarily write in the same style as me, so that could create difficulties.

What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

I mean. Superbat right now for sure. I'm usually a multishipper, but for whatever reason they have a death grip on me. I'm still basically an omnivore though!

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Hmm, this feels like a very defeatist question since I do plan to finish everything I start. Probably the fic I started writing for a friend's birthday based on a premise we discussed nearly a decade ago. It's a wholesome romance between two of the sidest side characters in Haikyuu!! (Tanaka Saeko and Tsukiyama Akiteru, for the curious; they do interact, but barely), because my friend was there with her Charlie Kelly conspiracy board saying, "They're both in uni! They're in the same prefecture! They knew each other in high school! They're both older siblings of main characters on the same team, so they can go watch the matches together! There's so much to work with!!!" This has apparently been her lowkey white whale ever since, but she's never managed to write it, so I offered to have a go. Tragically, them being SUCH side characters means I have to all but invent a personality for one of them, which makes figuring out their dynamic a lot harder lol. But I still want to finish it one day, for her sake!

What’s your writing strengths?

Comedy I think, specifically deriving humour from awkward situations (that I have made up) - and often it's the quiet chuckle kind rather than the knee-slapping kind. But YMMV on whether anything I write is actually funny! I can only hope :')

What’s your writing weakness?

Well, I have lots of things I don't feel good enough to write (e.g. long, dramatic epics that I can't fill with jokes), but I mostly haven't wanted to try so I wouldn't say that's a weakness per se. And I have plenty of little things I feel like I need to work on, but none are an easy-to-identify kryptonite-style Weakness. Probably flow and pacing, as it's something I'm very particular about (especially for comedy, where imo it needs to be correct for it to work) but it doesn't always come naturally to me. I do a lot of rounds of editing trying to tweak things so they flow right. Hopefully that will come easier with experience! I'd be fascinated to know what other people thought my weakness was, though; it's often hard to judge yourself, since you're the audience you're writing for.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

In what sense? As in, for example, writing a French-speaking character in French in an otherwise English-language fic? I think that's appropriate when the POV character doesn't speak French, but perhaps can be avoided if they do, as then the average reader is understanding as much as the POV character is.

As to whether I personally would do it, I only really speak one non-English language at a decent level, and even then it's hard to convey nuance in any language you're not fully fluent in. So only sparsely, only if necessary, probably only if I could get a native speaker to check it.

First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was Free!, the anime about the swimmer boys. Back when I was a teenager in school, probably ~16, I anonymously posted a gen crackfic on the LJ kink meme based on an experience I had with some schoolfriends, where a few of us tried to give a less birds-and-the-bees version of The Talk to a sadly uneducated member of the group during a camping trip. (Our school did actually give proper sex education, with the putting expired condoms on dildos and everything, but didn't go into the specifics of, say, doggy style). ANYWAY, that was the only thing I'd ever posted until this year, but apparently my proclivity for writing sex-related comedy has remained unchanged lol.

Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Man I don't know. I just did a similar tag thingy that asked this, and I wasn't sure then, and it feels boring to put the same answer twice? So I'll pick another that's my favourite for a different reason: Master of All Trades (Bruce & Hal, T, 4.5k). I think of all my fics, it has the highest ratio of good to not-that-deep, if that makes sense? Writing Hal's POV was incredibly fun, and I think it turned out really well! And it's definitely one of the few I can reread without cringing lol (reading your own writing after posting it is just embarrassing somehow).

Tagging: I nominate @burins and @unbreakabledawn, but literally 0 pressure at all!

[alittlefrenchtree]

My problem (mine, my personal opinion) is when a fandom has to behave like a cult otherwise you are immediately labeled as a hater and as a person who wants to prevent others from being happy (who's stopping you? seriously), when you have to have the same opinion as everyone or you're a hater, when you have to swallow any product that's passed to you just because that actor is there and you have to show hype otherwise you're a hater, when you can't have half an opinion on certain things because you are a hater.

It's also absurd that every time we express an opinion on something regarding Nick we have to make full-page disclaimers specifying that we are not haters that we love him that he is very talented otherwise it seems like we are attacking him, this too is becoming very annoying for me in this fandom. I love Nick, his first film I saw was Cinderella (better if I don't say what I think of that movie or they will think I'm an hater) but he's not (objectively) an untouchable Hollywood actor and this glass bell they're dropping on him is annoying.

For me, The Idea of ​​You is a problematic film, I'm sorry, not so much for the story of the older woman who has a relationship with a young boy plus the daughter's musical crush (even if... Imagine it had been with reversed roles and it was a adult man and a young girl.. Today they would be canceling that film as if it were a crime) but it is problematic for the background of the story and it is problematic that it is all clearly inspired by a real existing person (from whom they also copied movements and clothes from when he was a boy as well as being inspired by a relationship he had when he was 17 and with a 40-year-old woman) and unconsciously or consciously continuing to use his name for this promotion.

It's not Nick's fault, although I doubt over time he didn't know what was behind that story and I find it ridiculous to sell it as the "film of the decade" (it was literally written in a review) and think such a thing is even possible? That's where objectivity is missing. Have fun with two hotties having sex (and when I read that the cinema was screaming with such scenes I felt a shiver of horror) but at least the objectivity of admitting and accepting that it will definitely not be the film of the decade ☠️ You can be fan of someone and being objective, I swear.

I'm obviously too snobbish and boring to close my eyes and watch anything just because the actors are beautiful, but give others the opportunity to express different opinions without getting angry as if someone had offended your family member.

Thank you for answering with your own words. I won’t share much more on this topic I think because it doesn’t make much sense to post it on my blog when I’m just a spectator of it and mostly because it comes back to the same thing:

Find your own people. Plenty people who love Nick have no problem not loving every single work of his. Well, even most of them won’t even mention Purple Hearts because they hate it so much, so you know, people with their own contradictions. Fandom is no unity and all Nick’s fans aren’t sharing the same opinions about everything.

About the Idea of You — I might not entirely agree here. I agree on the gender switch and double standards on age gaps but. Just because the thing it was inspired by something that might be perceived as problematic doesn’t mean the movie is problematic. The book (that I didn’t read) was already something different from reality and the movie is different from the book so I’m not sure how much the problematic label can still stand. Hayes isn’t 17. Real people with real stories that aren’t all morally above reproach inspire art all the time. Most of the time, you just don’t know about it because fiction changes and mixed things and make them different.

I’d take "the film of the decade" with a pinch of salt but for reasons that seem different than yours. In other words, not because TIOY can’t be that but because the concept itself doesn’t mean anything. The film of the decade according to who? Based on what? Grades from audiences? Grades from professional? Box office money? Streaming numbers? Awards? So called objectivity?

What would be the movie of the decade then? Dune? It won’t be the people who won’t see it or who won’t like it. It won’t even be for all people who saw it and loved it so how do you decide what is a potential contender to be the movie of the decade? I don’t see the point of asking people to admit anything, even more when they aren’t the ones who have written the words. It’s a fun movie, people are having fun with overly enthusiastic reviews because the premiere was a fun night for them. Most people know that already. It’s no big deal. Like it's no big deal if you don’t like the movie or think it will be trash.

Turns out even if I agreed with some of the statements you made previously, I don’t agree much with the development of some ideas.

[breitzbachbea]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

God, I needed this right now, because I am about to explode from how exhausting and unfair adult life is. And I love NOTHING more than talk about my own shit. Thank you so much, nonnie, I owe you my life.

Perché in Sicilia i morti dovrebbe morire I am aware that there is technically a typo in here, but I don't have the book I quoted around, so I don't know if the typo is already in the source material. Either way, do you like ghosts? Do you like folklore? Do you like places haunted by the terrible things they've seen, objects filled with the absentminded crooked intentions of their owner? Do you like childhood friends, who are the only friends to trust each other with their terrible childhoods, but it doesn't solve anything? Perché is the story you want. Herakles and Michele are sneaking around Michele's house during a power outage, talking about the recent past and ranting about the distant one, while the are some parts in between those that are unspeakable. It weaves the past of Sicily on a whole, especially Palermo's and its hinterland, together with the fate of the Vento family and clothes the terrors of Michele's own psyche into the familiar appearance of the collective Sicilian folklore. Also, if you like two mediterranean guys being way too coddly and touchy-feely, you can give this one a go as well.

Don't Touch The Artwork I like this little pwp one-shot immensely, because despite plot being thinly on the ground, it has so many little fantastic character moments. Team Liechtenstein and Team Austria both get to shine, you get to understand both team dynamics on their own and how single members act with each other across the boundary. Not to mention that it brilliantly works out Hugo's and Alois' relationship - the toxic masculinity, the fragile 'friendship', how both are at such cross purposes with their needs and desires but agree just enough on sex itself to keep coming back to play the doomed game. Next round I'll win, they think, always. They are giving it their all and then it wasn't good enough, because it's not good enough on principle. Either way, if you want to read two guys have a handjob quickie in the restroom of the KHM in Vienna, because they find the millennia of human craft and expression boring - yeah, that's the one.

Between Me and the Goddess (and You) Will you please, for the love of God, read my Imperial Rome setting AU that doesn't rely on some Victorian decadence narrative bc these mfers believed Tacitus blindly. We don't need love slave bullshit and tyrannical hedonism, we need a couple who is so concerned for each other's health that they travel miles and miles for it. We need Harry being so close with Michele that he involves him in Magic - in something that is ought to only be between the one who calls upon a divine Entity and the Entity itself. Michele, who cannot bear a night parted from his love to fix his own troubles, in case Harry's leg gives him grief all alone. Also, curse tablets are inherently funny, so please read this SicIre trip to Aquae Sulis, where Harry wishes plague upon houses for petty theft.

No Rest For The Wicked Tu non fermami se capita! Lo sai che il mare mi agita! Ti canterò di quelle notti ad orienteeee, di quella luna che danzava tra i bazaaaaar! If you are a fan of self-indulgent fanfictions, this is the most unashamedly self-indulgent thing I ever wrote.* This story has everything: The Chaos Seven (Team Sicily and Team Ireland) go on a Turkey Vacay with the Greeks and Turks. Paddy hits his head. Harry and Soph are 100% on their bullshit as if no one else is around. Argueing. Cursing. Flirting. Hera and Sadık so deeply in love in their twisted and yet so mundane way. Italian Music and Sexy Dancing. Bridal Carrying. Please go and read it, 🌀 ohhh you want to read about TurGre and SicIre and the O'Connels soooo badly. 🌀 *All my other OC fics don't count, because I avoid tagging them Hetalia as much as I can, so I don't expect anyone to read it. Even if they are tagged hetalia, no one specifically looks for my OC ships, so while I am glad for every reader, I never write with any in mind.

A lot of messy heads No one ever reads this one, which is. fair. It's just a little episode from Paddy's life with the O'Connels, prompted by his girlfriend's old family pictures. I'm sure people who are open to everything and like family fluff will love this, regardless if they know the characters or not. But if you do and would like to see Daddy Paddy in full action, if you would liked to see a little, young teenage Harry in his moody phase and a carefree, energetic little brat of a Soph - please read this. Please see the children that the characters you've come to known, so baggage-laden, used to be.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

I dont think anyone else has noticed this tho im sure you have (namely the people acting like clowns in the titanic tag, not you) but the 19yr old did not want to go on that sub, he was terrified and only did it to make his dad happy..idk.. it is very tragic and upsetting and even more so that people seem to ignore this and keep going on their weird jokes about the entire thing, saying how they all wanted to go when no, the 19yr old did not want to at all. I think going down was totally uncalled for, I think stock rush got four people killed and he is terrible for that and deserved what happened to him, i think it is sick he turned a mass grave site into a tourist attraction for bored rich people..but I think people just heard the word rich for these other four and just right away assumed they deserved to die when idk...I did some reading on each of them and they, aside from the obvious ick of being rich, seemed like decent people who made a very very poor choice and trusted the wrong person which led to them dying. the paul guy was (correct me if im wrong) a well respected titanic researcher for over 30yrs, the british man was trying to make flying more sustainable for the planet and such (again correct me if wrong) and the dad and son seemed to do a lot of charity work and were overall kind people..but yeah they seemed like far better people then most celebs people love so the entire thing rubs me wrongly, two things can coexist, the entire thing was wrong and not ok and stock was sick for what he did and his death was justified, but I also have a hard time believing the other four truly deserved to die (Sorry this is random just wanted to hear your thoughts!) :)

ive written the reply to this about five times now because i also struggle with my feelings based around what happened.

on one hand, i do genuinely feel for them, especially suleman dawood who was a 19-year-old kid. i think youd have to lack a heart to not feel for him.

on the other, i fully understand where people are coming from when they dont give a shit about them. two of them were billionaires and the other two were multi-millionaires. i come from a working class background and a single-parent family so it is difficult to feel bad for someone with that much money dying because of a decision they made.

but that doesnt mean i dont feel bad for them, because i do. five human beings died and i just naturally feel for them even though my conscious brain struggles to keep up with that emotion.

and as youve said, some of them seemed to genuinely do good things.

sulemans father shahzada funded mental healthcare for pakistani citizens during covid-19 and was looking into renewable energy.

paul-henri nargeolet had been involved in underwater searches for rms carpathia as well as a flight recorded from a plane that crashed though both were unsuccessful. hed also found a roman wreck as well as an aircraft that had crashed in 1979, giving some closure to the families of those who had perished. he has done a lot of important research on the titanic.

iirc hamish hardings company action aviation has helped the indian government and a namibian cheetah conservation company to reintroduce cheetahs to india, which is objectively a very good thing.

its difficult to parse through how you feel about the disaster because people are messy, and they do both good and bad things.

i dont think i know enough about any of the four adults aboard to say whether the good theyve done outweighed the bad, and whether other people even care about that when it comes to their feelings about this.

the one i know for sure that i dont feel bad for is stockton rush because this was entirely his fault.

im not gonna get into the weeds as to why exactly titan was badly designed, but to save money and for "simplicity", he employed some experimental techniques like the use of carbon fibre and the pressure pod (i hope i have the right word here) being cylindrical. he ignored regulations and laws, he used expire carbon fibre, and he turned a mass gravesite into a tourist spot.

and i hate him even more for how he designed oceangate. the way they work is that each dive would technically be research-based, but to fund it (even though rush is a multi-millionaire), they would allow people to buy tickets to come along. and i hate this more than if it was just tourism because the way hes tied them together has made it harder to criticise the dives because they have done important research.

i definitely he misled people because if you dont know about this sort of vessel, youre likely to defer to someone who helped to develop it.

however, i would err on the side of both harding and nargeolet knowing how unsafe it was. nargeolet had done countless dives just like it and he was in this world where people were saying this isnt safe. we also know that harding knew because his friend victor vescovo, who found the deepest shipwreck in the world (the samuel b roberts), told him that it was unsafe, but harding went anyway.

ive kinda just been rambling in my reply because i do feel torn about it. people died and i struggle not to feel for them, even if my logical brain is arguing with that. i think many people struggle to believe anyone deserves to die because were humans and we are meant to care about each other. its how we survived as a species for so long. but there are people in this world where if they died, the world would objectively be a better place.

at the end of the day, im not the authority on how anyone feels about this and i dont begrudge anyone for their feelings. the world is not black and white, and so much exists in the morally grey area.

youre entitled to feel however you do, anon. dont let others make you feel bad about it.

[qnewsau]

Making Invisible Boys visible

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/making-invisible-boys-visible/

Making Invisible Boys visible

The tv adaptation of the hit gay young adult fiction novel Invisible Boys is coming to Stan in February and QNews was given a sneak peak and got to sit down with its director, Nicholas Verso.

Australian viewers are in for a wild ride when the television adaptation of Holden Sheppard’s 2019 hit book Invisible Boys hits screens this month.

It’s a confronting depiction of the lives of four isolated young queer men living in Western Australia’s stunning Mid West region that puts gay sex on screen in a way that Australian audiences haven’t really seen since 1998’s Head On.

When the book came out it quickly became an iconic work of queer literature for a generation of young gay men in Australia, with QNews declaring it “impossible to put down,” and series creator Nicholas Verso says he felt the weight of that going into this project.

“With any adaptation you feel a certain degree of responsibility because you are adapting something for the screen that has a loyal following, so you don’t want to disappoint or betray them,” Verso tells QNews.

“But you also want to give the audience something fresh and new. Without that the adaptation would be a lesser work of art. So we’ve made sure that we are honouring the characters that they love while also pushing it into something really visual that will work well on screen.”

Invisible Boys star Joseph Zada with Director, Writer and Producer Nicholas Verso. Photo: David Dare Parker

Sheppard has been involved in the creation of the show and has been singing its praises since it began filming in Geraldton in March last year.

“Holden sat in on some of the writers rooms so that he could see what we were doing,” Verso explains.

“It can be tricky for an author to see how the sausage is made because we have to tear the work apart and then put it back together. But I think he could see that we weren’t pulling our punches and that, if anything, I was going to push it further, and that was something that I’d said up front and a promise that I made.

“I think we’ve definitely honoured that. Holden has seen the show and he says it’s phenomenal.”

The show is set during 2017’s same-sex marriage plebiscite, something Verso remembers as “pretty vile” and was being written while the referendum on the Voice to Parliament was taking place, so those events were heavy on the writers’ minds.

“A lot of young people had to witness people talking about whether they deserved to be treated equally as citizens,” Verso recalls.

“And it was degrading and mean spirited at times. We won, great. But that doesn’t mean that people forget what was said and what they heard.

“Setting the show during that period allows for an extra bit of commentary to be going on in the backdrop about what happens when we have these conversations. It raises the stakes and allows us to access a bit more anger which I think was really important.”

The show doesn’t shy away when it comes to depicting gay sex on camera and there are a number of onscreen cum shots to look out for.

“I think a few people will be a little shocked,” Verso admits.

“One of the questions we kept asking ourselves was ‘where has Hollywood lied to us when it comes to gay sex’ and how that maybe didn’t prepare us properly as gay men.

“People can feel like they’re doing something wrong going into sex because it’s not how they’ve seen it on screen. So our being a bit explicit and leaning into the discomfort is to reassure people more than to arouse them.”

Verso said the mechanics of filming those scenes weren’t quite so sexy.

“We always had an intimacy coordinator around and the actors would choose what appendages they wanted to hold for the scene,” he explains.

“There was a whole spread of objects for them ranging from Red Bull cans to toys that they could be holding. Then there would be a crew member curled up at the base of their feet who was operating a pump and then the actors were in charge of direction.

“The pump was a bit unpredictable, so we had to make sure things didn’t get a little too ‘Peter North’ at times. It was a very unexpected experience for us to all go through, but ultimately, very bonding.”

Pia Miranda as Anna, in Invisible Boys. Photo: David Dare Parker

The show has also been a chance for Verso to reunite with Pia Miranda who plays the conservative mother of one of the boys.

“It was the best getting to work with Pia again!” he says.

“I love Pia Miranda. She had been in one of my student films when I was sixteen before she became this big famous star.

“She was so wonderful on Invisible Boys, particularly for the actor who plays Zeke, Ayden Calafiore. It was his first time acting on screen, so to have such an icon like her, who is so down to earth and so lovely, guiding him through that process was really great for him.

“She relished playing the villain in this because she’s Australia’s sweetheart. There’s a particular scene in one episode where she goes into a pretty dark place and that was one of my favourite scenes to shoot because she just kept going darker.

“We’d gotten the scene and it was going well but she wanted to go further. We were just so in sync in that moment and I could see her access this quite full on place which she did so powerfully. I can’t speak highly enough of her.”

Joseph Zada as Charlie Roth with Joe Klocek as Matt Jones. Photo David Dare Parker

The book Invisible Boys describes Geraldton as a “poxy shithole of a town” but Verso says the thing that struck him when he first visited was its incredible beauty and that is showcased very wonderfully in the show.

“There’s this incredible light and this coastline and this interesting sense of time in Geraldton that I find quite beautiful,” Verso explains.

“Everyone was super welcoming. We were the first screen production that had shot there so I think it was a bit of a novelty for everyone. We tried to not inconvenience people too much by shutting down too many thoroughfares or buildings that they might want to use.

“The town has grown to love the book because it has really put them on the map and I think this show does that even more in a way because we also show the beauty. The book digs in the boot a bit and I think we were a little more even handed with it.”

Watch Invisible Boys on Stan from February 13.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.