#She deserves so much more than her fanon persona

[aingeal98]

We all know why people have designated Damian the bitey and stabby Robin and Jason the violent one. (To my knowledge Damian has never bitten anyone it's literally just the racism) but what amuses me is that Steph, despite her short tenure as Robin, actually threw her hat in the ring for most ferocious. Like miss sunshine and waffles in fanon is the only Robin I can think of that quite literally just started biting her enemies as a last resort.

And unlike Jason who's Robin run was mostly him being pretty similar temper wise to his predecessor with the one exception of the rapist he may or may not have let fall to his death, Steph started day one of working with the bats literally attempting to murder her father.

And as Robin? Yeah fuck that "if we kill we're no better than them bullshit." If she's up against a serial killer she's going to use EVERY advantage to not die, including potentially lethal moves.

And honestly I think it rules. I know they were trying to show her as a less good Robin than perfect Tim but honestly they just made her more interesting because she's not actually wrong for fighting to save herself even if it means her attacker could die lmao. Let Steph have her anger and violence, she deserves it.

[atrophiedemotion]

alien stage & the predictability of fandom

psa: this is all in good fun and in the name of media analysis, i am not trying to police enjoyment of media or fandom. this is just smth to make people think, and point out correlations between the alnst universe and fanon interpretation!

alien stage is a very interesting and thought provoking piece of media in that it, in universe, is literally a piece of media. we, the viewer, are watching the same thing the alien viewers in the alien stage universe are. we are merely observers in the same way the in-universe alien stage fans are.

this correlation between fictional viewer and real viewer is very fun to think about, especially when in extra content we even get to learn a bit about how alien fans interact with alnst- and it doesn't seem much different than how we do.

a big piece of alien stage is the fact that everything the characters experience; their love, misery, pain, and loss, is all commercialized in a way they cannot consent to and cannot control. they are raised and kept alive solely to be entertainment. (alnst, under it all, is also probably a nudge to how celebrities/ccs/people in the public eye are ripped of a lot of their autonomy)

and, well... how are we, as alien stage fans, much different than the in-universe alien fans of alien stage?

the more i think about it, the more it becomes clear that for the most part we aren't.

fanon in general has this tendency to lean towards light, funny, almost purified versions of characters and events. which makes sense, right? fandom is used for escapism for most people. it being fun and silly as a way to celebrate characters outside of their sometimes darker universes makes people happy, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

in the instance of alien stage, though there's still nothing wrong with wanting to bring lightness to these characters (they definitely deserve it), there is something to be said about it. about the way fans often mischaracterize or reduce characters down to certain defining traits. which, again, common in fanon.

but in alien stage... that's exactly what the characters have to deal with in-universe. their stories being talked over, discussed and fawned over without having a single say in it. and even when they do try to have a say in it (till's incessant 'rebellion', mizi attacking luka, ivan breaking his persona, sua silently sacrificing herself, etc), their attempts are only seen as more drama for the aliens to revel in.

i think a big part of alien stage is the fact that the fandom (for the most part) acts exactly as one would expect them to. though there is deep discussion, it's typically overshadowed by fluff and jokes. the characters are simplified and stripped of their intricacies that make them so painfully alive and human in the material.

mizi, our main character, starts out ignorant to the reality of the world around her and has her entire universe shattered in front of her, and im not just talking about sua. everything she's ever known is shown to her to be a fabrication, a lie she thoughtlessly bought because she was a sheltered child. her ptsd, anger, distress, misery, and character growth through discovery of the truth are often overlooked in favor of 'cute pink lesbian who will do anything for her girlfriend including a surprising right hook'.

till, the only current participant in alien stage who is outwardly uncooperative and resentful towards the segyein, is constantly subjected to horrific abuse and only finds solace in creation of art and his idolization in mizi. he remains contrary to the aliens and his owner as valiantly as he can but is seen as a 'tortured artist' to them. his strong will, caring nature, and passion somehow translate into a fanon 'pathetic wet cat tsundere twink'. (it's particularly painful to me that till's distressed attempts at autonomy turns into a pathetic try at punk rebellion in fanon but. i digress.)

ivan, possibly the most complex and contradictory character (as of now), struggles with horrible self worth issues and feeling inherently different from his human peers and channels it into a miserable unrequited love because till has the fortitude to fight back when ivan doesn't. he masks his entire self to survive while yearning for freedom and expression, but never allowing it for himself. his self loathing, intelligence, masking, and apathy are usually ignored and turned into 'hot emo yearning gay yandere'.

sua, the character we have the least time with but who leaves the biggest lasting impact, was raised by her segyein as a doll and not a human and never had any brightness in her life before she met mizi and started to see the world in a different way. she gives everything up for the person who taught her how to live in a world where she was seemingly often bored and unmotivated. her unconditional love, heartbreaking past, and somewhat flawed thought processes tend to be numbed down to 'deadpan snarky protective lesbian girlfriend'.

(and ofc similar things could be said about luka and hyuna but i dont feel like i have enough knowledge about them so i will leave that to y'all)

all of these mischaracterizations/simplified characters are typically done in an unserious way, usually harmless, and at the end of the day are for fun, so why does it matter?

because that is exactly what the alien viewers of alien stage do. misunderstand the cast and simplify them to fit their view. consider their onscreen tragedies their personal form of entertainment.

i'm not saying this to try to discourage people from doing this and enjoying alnst in whatever way they want, im saying it so that people can take a step back and think about this in the way that the creators likely intended. alien stage is a statement on media in general, not just itself. and it so so interesting to see its very own fandom play into the exact same thing it subtly tries to bring attention to.

[sapphire-writes]

Jo!! Miss!!! Friend!!... I come to you in a time of need. Everyone, gather around. I just finished watching the episode. Mind y'all it's like 7:30 am so my wording will not be wording.

Anyways .. i am just like in a dilemma... Is writing that makes me uncomfortable bad or am I just not seeing a bigger picture?

I think that for Aemond it makes sense. It has been established that Alicent is a shit mom (not saying she hates her kids!!!! She doesn't! But like Cersei proved loving your kids does not a good mother make). She is not affectionate or really knows how to comfort them (it's like losing her mother at a young age and being maritally raped into the role of one kinda stunted her development!)

I can totally see Aemond shedding that arrogant confident super capable persona of his (not that he isn't all the above he just plays it up and uses it as armour) behind closed doors, in a place where HE feels comfortable.

It's just that i H A T E that that person is the woman sexually abused him as a child. Like... I think we are all entitled to that feeling.

I feel very sorry for his character. He was a child he didn't deserve any of it. Much less now deserve to only have a stranger to find comfort in. To be raised in such a family that this is the only logical option for him? Ilhsm, that's devastating.

But i think it makes sense. I hate that he has to be in this position, but i think this whole mess (so uncomfortable a scene) is the point in a way.

Helaena is being exploited by her family and the one to force her in this position is her mother. Alicent feels guilt over the BnC incident and she throws that burden onto Helaena and Criston. Otto started the entire thing and now when his daughter seeks the least bit of comfort he has the audacity to not want to even hear it. Aegon is crying and acting out and still his mother cannot bring herself to give him anything. Not even the slappings she used to. Now she has Criston to make herself feel comforted.

Also the whole scene like... The way it was filmed..idk... And if i understood correctly she tried to like...touch him? And he said not here? Like.. ooooof... Triggering .. okay im not going to touch that one now.. too soon.

But yeah... A man needs his basic emotional needs met and that was his best option.

Idk.. what are you thinking? I think despite the difference in the fanon interpretation of Aemond that emotional core was sth that we all clocked quite correctly. So.. i think the root of his personality is everywhere the same.

Bestie!! Love everything you’ve said and I agree! I can totally see why they went this direction with Aemond, and though im not the biggest fan I can appreciate they’re giving emotional depth to his character.

As for Alicent and Aemonds relationship, I hear what you’re saying but my perception was that Aemond and Alicent were closer than her relationship with the other Targtowers and maybe that’s on me, my fandom goggles on again, so the mommy issues is throwing me a bit— it feels more Aegon coded idk!

I agree— I think it’s super uncomfortable to watch Aemond seek comfort from his abuser and at the same time very realistic!

I’m interested to see where this goes for sure and trying to take off my fandom goggles 😂

[border-spam]

Does troy really have a split jaw or is that fanon?

It's total fanon!

The design of the split lines across his cheekbones and chin coupled with the cheek clips and v shaped hinge outline next to his ears lead to a lot of people coming to that same outcome, that there is something up with his mouth from a prosthetic/mod standpoint.

So much of his design is never mentioned once or referenced in any way (hightech spinal rig with tattoos under it, neuro connector, mech arm that's much older and doesn't seem related to the spine and neuroport, implants on bicep, face mod etc) that like Tyreen's scars and possible lower body Siren markings, fandom took over when it came to coming up with logical explanations for 'em.

This actually touches ground with some Ao3 comments I wanted to share as they are all Leech Lord compliant, so I'll list them here alongside links to the fics they were related to (note warnings!)

You leave no avenue for characterization unexplored. Troy's facial prostheses finally receiving backstory is amazing

- Maw (Gore/Bodyhorror)

I LOVE the idea of it being not just decorative shit on his face, but my MO for any content I make is always based around asking why, over and over, and trying to make sense of what material I'm using in the first place. The modded mouth is a popular piece of fanon but you know... why? Why would he do that shit to himself. WHY would he want to be grotesque, why would he be chasing the reaction people would have to it when canonically he seems to really not be interested in fan attention the same way Tyreen is, what's the difference to him between being adored as his persona or being lusted after as a monster, etc. I just love deep-diving into the logic behind character and world building? It's what adds meat to the bone for me.

Big 'ol character and worldbuilding / lore responses list under the cut -

He could afford better robots but these ones UNDERSTAND Ty, don't you get it?

- Good night in (tooth rotting fluff)

Hey just because it's mangled and broken, and can't perform its intended function to a degree expected of it by everyone around it... and it's got rusty sharp bits it accidentally hurts you with sometimes... and it's cranky but it doesn't mean it... and sometimes it errors out in a way that's mildly disturbing in a way you can't place.. uh.. doesn't mean you should just GIVE UP ON IT you know? He can fix them :) They will be fine :) No one should just throw away something that's trying so hard just because it's damaged... haha... :')

It's so hard seeing how much they tear each other down when they're the only thing they have left. And what a poor self-image Tyreen has beyond all that glitter and bluster...

- Wolf in sheep's clothing

The twins function well enough as a unit till tensions rise, and I was trying to seed in The Leech's influence on them in earlier work like this too - towards anyone else Ty would become MORE aggressively confident, more assured in her complete and utter dominance of the situation, her flawlessness, but against Troy who see's her for what she is, it turns inwards and eats at her instead of lashing outwards. He switches from relatively submissive around her to almost surgical levels of dissection, he knows exactly how to go for the jugular with words, and doesn't hold back. She's The Leech's mouth but he's its eyes and it's only when they lose control emotionally enough for it to claw to the surface of their psyches that you get an idea of how much it really affects them individually. GB had an absolute goldmine on their hands here of cosmic/body horror and the concept of toxic family when all you have is each other, there's so much to work with, and I figure it's a factor in why some people still really enjoy messing around with Calypso content.

I like how you allow Troy to be a disabled character, how his congenital defects and prosthetics colour his outlook and appear in ways big and small in all these vignettes. It's easy, I think, to see him as largely untroubled by his health apart from when he needs a charge from Tyreen in the game, but you allow him to struggle with his weakness.

- Chronic (Drug use)

I'm really glad to hear that's coming through in the writing because it's something I noticed a lot too. Very often when Troy, or other characters canonically disabled / chronically unwell are written it's "told" and not "shown". Chronic pain, illness, it's not something that is just a little tickbox in a life or some descriptive terms added to a character synopsis, it's something you live and deal with. There are bad days. There are times it is a negative that has to be worked around or faced in ways that aren't pleasant. It doesn't make you lesser or weak to have times where illness does leave you unable to function to a level you want to, it's not a failure for you to be unable to perform tasks when a disability or flair up means it's not viable. I feel personally that by showing scenes like this where his health and body issues do have a very visceral and impossible to ignore the effect on his ability to function, and going through his mental processes of dealing with and managing them, it brings the character across as stronger than if he never seemed to be shown dealing with symptoms or weaknesses. People are more than their disabilities and conditions, those aren't just kinda taglines to add onto a character's description and then never address. I feel like doing that in a way undermines what people deal with who manage chronic illness, pain, and who have disabilities that affect their daily lives negatively. Appreciating the effort it takes to manage them is important.

What I really like about these is that you can really understand as a reader how their dynamic must have evolved. How even before Leda's death Tyreen would have felt demonized while Troy got the attention because of his condition, because he was less willful.

- Starlight, Moonbright

Ah man, absolutely - and that shit stayed with them. It wasn't his fault and he never wanted it, but of course their parents would have had their extremely ill child at the forefront of their thoughts, especially during weeks when he was.. bad. Tyreen by nature even without The Leech's influence is a little attention seeker, she'd be the life of any party and she BLOSSOMS if she's got the spotlight, but as a little kid who's got literally no one but her parents and her brother, and who all three of which can't give her nearly as much time as she deserved? That's rough. That's really unfair. That coupled with The Leech's warping effect on their egos as they grew up and the bitterness and resentment they harbored in different ways created a reverse dynamic. She'd never be out of the Galaxy's attention again, and he'd have no choice but to take his rightful place in her shadow.

I love how you illustrate both how much more, and yet how much less Troy is now. How the blameless child, full of potential, is inextricably linked to the brutal, larger-than-life avatar he fashions.

- DeLeon ( Graphic Violence / Gore / Hallucinations)

He's molded the monster he is now out of the bones of the man he should have been - there's no going back really. There's nothing left to go back to. He broke Troy DeLeon apart to build the persona that acts like an iron lung now, suffocating him breath by breath while forcing him to still take them. That life is over, he killed it before it had a chance, but the idea of it is still there in his subconscious. Somewhere in the absolute trainwreck of Troy's brain is the tiny, flickering belief that maaaaaybe one day this will all be over and he can shuck off the bracer and spines, peel off all the shit he's covered his skin with, and just go back to not being Calypso. DeLeon here isn't some aspect of his mental state or his sins haunting him - it's The Leech, spitting venom at a host it loathes in something that's not sound or comprehensible language. His subconscious has just translated it into something it can understand - his greatest regret.

On if Borderlands Humans originated on Earth -

There's a really tenuous link between BL verse and rEarth, but it's there and can't be ignored. The cultures, accents, terminologies, so many are Earth specific despite these people being spread across galaxies, so hell yes - Earth as an emergence point makes total sense. The next question then, is why is it never mentioned - and you can cover for that with a lot of things like say, tt was so long ago that it's not relevant to anything that would ever be discussed, or it could be a mass evacuation from a catastrophe there is little record of now. I like to go with something along those lines, that the first human Siren host emergence on earth just absolutely decimated the planet. Like, we were doing fine till this random woman somewhere in the ass-end of nowhere develops weird markings overnight, then goes apocalyptic. The first Leech maybe, not understanding her powers and having them rip across continents in a spread of crackling electric death that only left husked shells of plants and animals in its wake, or the first Firehawk who went nuclear and burned the sky, or the first Voidgrasp who lost control and began to collapse the planet's core - some extreme shit that had humans fleeing en masse with barely any preparation and HUGE swathes of history and knowledge left behind. That would cover so many social things surviving into the BL verse, cultures, accents, cooking, that shit comes with us regardless of what we were able to throw into escape ships. Like so much data would be stored on any tech and data arrays within the vessels people would use to leave a dying planet even in an insane rush, but that shit waters down over time - if you're farming barely edible plants on some planet that smells like farts, are you really gonna be that stressed about teaching your kids history from a lost planet when your current concerns are not being eaten by something with 19 legs and 4 buttholes? Don't think so.

On if the other Siren entities are as influential to their hosts as The Leech -

I touch on it a wee bit throughout LL, but the others are FAR more passive and meld more to their host's whims. The Firehawk Siren wouldn't.. like.. care? If the host was burning down a planet or fighting off an evil corporation? They are removed from any nonsense happening on this side, they might not even really be able to tell, it's like asking an amoeba or a collection of sentient atomic particles what its opinion is on Brexit. That's not really its priority. The Leech is so aggressive in its control of the twins and desperation to drive them towards an outcome it desires only cause it's split, broken, removed from the song, and completely lost. We're talking a caged, half-mad animal removed from its natural environment and left totally isolated from its own kind for millennia. It's in pain, it's confused, it wants to find its way back to the song and the others and where it belongs, but it's stopped by a barrier it can't comprehend ( the twins and being ripped between them), so in its impotent rage it feeds back that hatred onto them. It's not really sentient in the way we would describe functional intelligence, but it wants, and craves, and FEELS. And it feels very, very angry.

Big thanks to @undergoingcalibrations for talking through so much of this with me!

Asks are Open!

[shoosip]

Fanon MLB is so much better

Marinette: decides to ditch her creepy stalker behavior because she learns that is both equally damaging for her as well as for Adrian. Decides to also get pass her crush and start living for herself instead for a boy.

Adrien: gets a hold of himself and decides to see past LB ‘charms’ so his superhero persona becomes his own instead of just the general sidekick. This allows him to realize he deserves love and acceptance and that seeking that from his father is what made him so dependent of others.

Chloe: gets a redemption, accountable of her actions, prove her mother wrong and to finally express her feelings correctly.

Luka: has a thing with Marinette that lasts more than a chapter and actually has a meaning, not only for the main character to divert a little of the love story. But for him to also grow with this relationship too, see that even tho Mari is a great girl, things cannot always work out and that she is not that perfect he thought once to be. Songs do not always need to be sweet, beauty comes not only from the delicate things.

[vicsep7250]

@ren-amamiyaa and their (he/she?) Golden Heist, Thief Nanako and Cryptid Chaser aus flooded my brain and now Im making this post bc I cant fit all of this in asks!!!

All right, so, idea. Cryptid Chasers, Thief Nanako and Golden Heist are all connected righr???

CC acts as a prequel, TN becomes the inbetween starring Nanako and Akechi, and GH stars a broken and older IT and slightly jaded PT.

So far CC has Yosuke and Naoto forming the brotp that fanon wanted through silly Saturday Night Ghost Chasers Shenanigans, Akiren is bein' a lil shit at midnight bc he needs an outlet and exercise to Phantom Thief. While this goes on, Akechi's ghost/spirit/rement/heart/whatever pulls pranks and shenans along with Joker (hiwever that happens).

As the Cryptid Chasers keep going out of their way to confront Joker about Arsene (bc even he likes to mess around) the other IT in Inaba start to try and stop them from disrupting the peace (read : harassing a known criminal) and this somehow leads to a falling out. Mayhaps Naoto and Yosuke break a few laws and Chie busts them, Kanji wants to know why theyre stalking his student/protege, and Yukiko just wants to keep the rumors about the inn in check bc jfc Yosuke STOP SCREECHING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IN THE LOBBY THERE IS NO GHOST ON THE TV!

Maybe eventually they call it quits or dont bc Naoto dug this hole too deep to climb out themself and Yosuke is having the time of his life since Partner isnt around and hasn't come back to visit yet (Not sayin' souyo is canon and there but-). And the Cryptid Chasers arc probably ends here with there being some animosity towards their shenanigans , but the IT are all still friends.

Now fast forward to like, uhhh (*flings dart at wall of calendars*) 2014 during winter and Akiren's cryptid acts are now fully accepted and maybe exposed, who knows. Nanako is like 10 ~ 12 (P5 is maybe three/five years post P4 I believe) and is just going through the motions of public education. I.E. go to class, do work, get good grades. Dojima is still the same as he was before Yu came but is at least doing better at being a dad, not much but better. Yosuke and Ted aren't around as much bc Junes, Chie is transferred to Tokyo, Yukiko is busy managing the Inn, and Kanji is busy with work (as a teacher and crafts business owner). Rise unfortunately cant come visit and Big Bro now visits every other year.

Nanako starts to look back and wonder how things started to fall apart amongst the group and recalls that "delinquent" who came back at the same time the Cryptid^tm showed up and ruined the group. So now she starts to remember the good times when Big Bro came by and starts to notice some blanks around winter... Why was she in the hospital when she got kidnapled? Why does she remember these weird flashes of Big Bro and his friends and some monster?? And how come she tried to ask them anything about it they brushed her off each time???

The TV in her room flashes and soon she starts hearing things. She starts to move closer to the tv, as if she was in some sort of trance, as the sounds start to become voices to her. When she's directly infront of the screen she sees something... someone on it...

Nanako doesnt show up for breakast, or to school, and nobody seems to have seen her.

A full year passes on after that day. It starts off with a big search party of the IT and Social Links for the first two months, then after ankther three something stange happens... are people forgetting that Nanako existed or something? Everybody's starting to act like completely different peoplw than who they are too, some even end up hospitalozed due to severe headaches and such, and start claiming that Nanako was never around when she vanished or that she left Inaba or was already deamed dead or missing. This rings alarms in the IT's mimds as they search for answers, eventually all fully reuniting for the first time in years/months.

Naoto and Yosuke blame themselves bc they piece together her disappearance with the Cryptid + Ghost case and immediately get scolded for trying to pin their stupid kids game on a missing person's case - especially now with Nanako missing and possibly in danger again! Afterwards the IT are a bit on edge and a bit broken with the whole thing. Meanwhile Akechi can hear the tale ends of "missing person" and "literal disappearnace" and starts looking into this weird limbo metaverse he's in bc some shit is kinda fucked in here now for some reason. They're pretty much only together as a team to rescue Nanako.

GH in the PTs POV starts when Akiren invites the group to the Amagi Inn thanks to licrative money grin- I mean training. He comes clean into having seen something weird on the tv one late night and wants to let the gang know.

Midnight rolls around and Akechi shows up on the screen and the Thieves losing their shit is an understatement - numerous noise complaints were filed that night. Anyways Akechi decides to just play the role of "hey moron, some shits fucked come help fix it" and ends up informing them of a missing girl and this weird TV Mementos world he is in.

I would like to note that Akechi is not at all bitter or confused at everyone's circumstances in life, no of course not Joker stop crying I know its been a while but shutup theres a kid in trouble rn and youre the only ones who can possibly help her.

When the PT figure out a plan to reach this other world Goro is in (Arsene : THOUARTTHEESTICKYOURHANDINTHETVDOITDOITDOITDOIT) the IT eventually come to the very sad conclusion that Nanako moght be in the TV world and that opens a whole can of worms and burnable bridges to cross.

While in the TV world, I'd like to imagine that due to Akechi having been there for a good while it has been shaped to reflect his heart and be the new overall theme of that world. It all still looks like Inaba, but it all holds themes to Akechi and his no good terrible life. However due to Nanako having been in that world as a kid, and now for an uncertain amount of time, the world now holds motifs to the Heaven area from P4, but it's all sorta ruined and kinda darker.

When both teams get together and enter the weird Tele-Mentos world (IT in a Junes storage and PT at either Ren's pad [bc he moved out obvi] (OR bith teams enter from seperate TVs at the Inn so SHENANS!)) Yu and the IT go through Akechi's influenced world/TV Palace, finding out about his tragic backstory and involvement with the PT, but anything that can and could reveal their true identities is blurred and staticy or missing bc Akechi aint gonna snitch out who ruined his sperm donors life (also I guess saved the world too yeah). While going through the Palace the Team starts to think that finding Goro will just be an "if it happens" sort of deal bc he's been missing for years already, what if we just leave him here bc M U R D E R E R.

Cue a sudden appearance by someone in some sort of fallen angel garb who starts whipping out a full on Metal Gear Villain monologue about how hypocritical the IT are when they find the truth about Akechi's life and disappearance - they claimed to want to live in a world where no one hides in the fig, was that all a lie? Are they going back on their word, and hiding behind a shriud of lies and falsehoods once more? "You've gone and lied and hidden the truth already, what's to say you won't continue?"

Meanwhile Akiren and the Thieves enter at the very top of the Heaven TV Set and have to climb all the way down. As they do so they start seeing little murals or epitaphs about memories and people in this girls life. They see all of these memories of a happy girl who had such a loving family - both found and by blood. As they go further and further down the ruins start to look like an actual Heaven, and the scenary becomes more bright and colorful. Eventually they might run into Crow in his Black Mask clothes and give the bastard a slug on the arm and a group hug or two, bc man he doesn't deserve to suffer anymore like this.

Now that the Phantom Thieves have been reunited (Akechi : I can't leave this world The PT : FUCK, MORE PLOT) they end up thinking up ways to get Akechi out until this weird angel priest looking dude shows up and starts babling about how they are criminals and how they've done more bad than good and blah blah blah. Everyone is just all "We're the good guys, we do the right thing even if its morally grey/ambiguous!" and oh look! Another crazed maniac wants to kill us for our "injustice" *Crow has the decency to look away and not say anything* annnnnnd Heaven is locked off. Perfect.

Now maybe the Phantom Thieves and Investigation Team run into each other somewhere in Akechi's Palace and "You have Personas?!?!" "The hell is a Palace?" "YOU'RE THE CRYPTID OF INABA!!?!?" "And Im the 'Ghost' that follows him." "Wait you followed me as a ghost?" "WAIT WHY ARE THERE TWO AKECHIS??!??!!"

Oh yeah, Shadows... Akechi is still kinda in denial about the whole friends and justice thing...

And now the Dark Priest is back great ("Good name Skull" "Well I've got my moments right?").

Annnnnnnd now I have no idea what happens next and Im all burned out but AAAAAAAAA this entire AU crossover thing is so GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!

[velvet-tread]

so revisiting octavia blake (especially after what we’ve seen of her in s5e06 tonight)... what’s your understanding of octavia blake, in relation to bloodreina and also as one of the most disliked characters in the fandom?

 TW – there follows some discussion of abuse so if that is one of your sensitivities, I wish you well and recommend caution with what follows. Are you asking if I still stan Octavia now she’s Blodreina? Because the answer to that is complicated but basically yes. For clarity: stanning, to me, doesn’t involve nailing my colours to the mast and then contorting myself into ever more unlikely shapes to justify every single thing my fave has ever done. It’s possible to love and emphathise with a character, while also acknowledging the terrible things they’ve done or are. Maybe I don’t need to tell you this, but maybe others need to hear it: don’t let ANYONE shame you for loving Octavia. And by that I mean if someone tries, just tune them tf out. They don’t get it, they never will. They aren’t worth your time and energy. Let that truth set you free. So yeah, I still love Octavia, with all her flaws and her sharp edges. I can’t love Blodreina, but while Blodreina is certainly Octavia, Octavia is not Blodreina. Blodreina is the very worst of Octavia. Spoiled, demanding, hard, judgemental, imperious, unyielding, cold, unempathetic and very, very violent. She is the culmination of the story of a non-person, disempowered and locked up under the floor, coming into being and being handed a sword. And power. So much power. She is a product of necessity. She is an amalgamation of Jaha’s lessons, Indra and Kane’s guidance, Kara’s support and Gaia’s teachings. She has a god complex which, imo, can only go the way of Mount Weather. By which I mean it will probably consume everything in its path before blowing to smithereens and taking at least one of our faves down with it. But while Blodreina is certainly real, let’s not get carried away with OCTAVIA IS REVEALED AS FOR THE MONSTER SHE’S BEEN ALL ALONG. Deep breaths everyone, and maybe a sip of water. Blodreina is a persona who enables Octavia to carry out the most monstrous of deeds (hi Jaha!) and live with it. Has Octavia drunk the Blodreina Koolaid? Most certainly. But Octavia embracing her worst is not the same has Octavia being the worst. Also see: Bellamy season 1 and season 3a. Would you look at that A PARALLEL WE LOVE PARALLELS. Blodreina serves a purpose for Octavia-of-the-butterflies too. Because this show is this show and we are never more than a few monologues away from “love is weakness”, Blodreina is also a protective casing that locks away Octavia’s grief, her pain and her misery, her loneliness and self-loathing, along with her vulnerability and empathy. It seems super obvious to me that Octavia’s personal journey this season, apart from trying and presumably failing to keep Wonkru intact, will be about disassociating herself from Blodreina. And that, probably, won’t come without falling spectacularly from grace and facing her pain, and reckoning with the things she’s done. Also see: Bellamy seasons 1-4. Huh. What happens when the exoskeleton crumbles? What’s underneath? What will Octavia-who-washed-Lincoln’s-wounds, come to think about Blodreina and the things she’s done in the name of her people? How will she confront the agony of being Octavia Blake, naked, piteous and vulnerable, the girl under the floor who was denied existence?

I want these things for Octavia. I want the narrative to subject her to the most abject moral scrutiny because that is what you should want for the characters you love. It’s what makes them interesting. It’s what makes them matter. ALSO SEE BELLAMY FOREVER. Now I’ve been in this fandom long enough not to expect many others to see it this way. We are balls deep in moral monochrome here in the Bellarke fandom, and while that gives me pause for a sip of tea and a short prayer to the patron saints of patience, it’s not a situation that anyone can change, least of all me. And why would I? People are free to engage with the show how they want, as long as they stay in their lane.

And look, I get why some people can’t see past some of her sins. I, too, have characters that I dislike with varying degrees of rationality. But objectively, Octavia’s level of moral turpitude is at about the same level as any of the main characters. That’s just a fact. People’s personal preferences, while as valid as any other preference, are just that: subjective opinions. Where I start to sip my tea and raise my eyes to the heavens is when people start presenting their subjective opinions as objective FUCK YOU AND YOUR INBOX truth and thanks but no. It seems to be fanon lore now that Octavia is unempathetic and…it just makes no sense. This is the girl who was filled with wonder at Earth, who refused to let Jasper die even when everyone in camp wanted him to. She saw the humanity in Lincoln when Bellamy, Clarke and Raven could not. She saw the humanity in humanity when all anyone wanted to do was kill each other until they burned in Praimfaya. Wonkru exists because Octavia inspired them with her faith in them. The only way it begins to make sense is when you consider Octavia’s actions through the prism of Bellamy’s experience – which 8/10 is how the BC fandom at least views the show. (Also valid btw. I also project onto my faves! Bellamy among them! But see above for subjective opinion vs objective fact.) With Bellamy, the lack of empathy is real. Octavia, or at least the Octavia of seasons 1-4 high key struggled to see Bellamy as a fully realised person with desires and feelings of his own. But, while this sucks for Bellamy, from Octavia’s perspective it is entirely understandable. No matter how young Bellamy seems to us, to Octavia he is her parent figure. How many of the people on here haven’t put their parents through hell from time to time? I shouldn’t have to point out the bleeding obvious here, which is that teenagers who care deeply about animal welfare, trans rights, LGBTQA+ rights, poverty and climate change can also go through phases of being absolutely fucking awful to their parents. Often, that’s because in our world, teens are subjected to an unholy amount of pressure with which they struggle to cope, and the overspill of that hurt lands on the people responsible for them. It doesn’t make them bad people. And, yes, that can, occasionally, tip over into emotional and, more rarely, physical abuse but we don’t usually call it that. We call that “teenagers being fucking awful” and I am 100% sure that this is the context the writers room is working from. Do I think it’s acceptable, or justified? Hell no. But it’s important to take these narrative threads in the context of the real-world understanding of the people who develop them. This show isn’t created in a vacuum. Now work the scenario I outlined above into a post-apocalyptic landscape with 2x traumatised victims of systemic injustice, one of whom was locked up by the other because of that injustice. Yeah. What is so interesting to me is that the blind spot Octavia has wrt Bellamy – the blind spot that denied him access to the empathy she showed everyone else - has come into play again now she’s Blodreina, but in a different way. After 6 years of having everyone kowtow to her, and after vowing not to love, suddenly Octavia is making concession after concession for her brother at huge personal risk to herself.  It might not seem like that to us, or to Bellamy (and legit! I get why, from Bellamy’s POV), but to Octavia it must seem like she’s trying SO HARD to give him what he wants within the framework of what she thinks is achievable. Consider love is weakness. Consider that she throws herself into his arms on sight, in full view of all of her people. Consider being the arbiter of life and death for 6 years. Now consider Bellamy asking her to trust him. She does and is rewarded with a sonic blast. Bellamy delivers her an ultimatum about Echo, and she concedes. She fucking concedes! When has she ever willingly conceded on anything and ESPECIALLY NOW SHE HOLDS THE POWER OF AN EMPEROR? It’s fairly obvious from the Blake siblings sparring session that Bellamy was the symbolic winner. He got through to her. Octavia NEVER forgives. But she offers Echo – the woman whose sins Octavia will never forget - a way out. When Echo and Bellamy refuse, does she banish Echo? She could do. She’s Blodreina. She’s used to doing whatever the fuck she wants. But, no. She accepts the alternative, and even helps Echo on her way. Yes, it’s brutal and Blodreina-y and serves a double purpose but still, she helps her. She’s not doing that for Echo.  She’s doing it for Bellamy. No, she’s not doing it with a winning smile and a cuddle, but that’s not Blodreina’s style. She tries to thank him for saving them, in the only way she knows how. She reaches out, and he lashes out with cold anger. And perhaps it’s deserved. No, it’s definitely deserved, but GODDAMMIT that was a “you’re dead to me” level of cruelty. Can I just roll back a second and talk about how co-dependent the Blake sibs are? Cool. A friend (I can’t remember who, sorry) once said that Bellamy and Octavia carried their cage back down to Earth with them. And for seasons 1-4 that is absolutely what happened. They are spectacularly co-dependent. Bellamy depends on her to give him purpose, and a direction and reason to live. Octavia depends on him to absorb the overspill of her hurt, to push against, to take the blame for all of the ills in her life. It sucks for them both, and they’re TRAPPED, so terribly trapped, and neither is the other’s jailer but neither can walk away either. And just, what strikes me about the interactions we saw in the sneak peek for 507 is that maybe, FINALLY, Bellamy has broken free of their co-dependent relationship.  He may not even realise it yet, but he has completely re-centred his world around Spacekru now. And I think, that if push comes to shove, he will prioritise Spacekru above Octavia, even if it hurts them both.  It doesn’t mean he loves Octavia any less, but after 6 years of love and support and peace and quiet, Bellamy has broken out of the cage. Bellamy is free. Excuse me while I cry tears of joy. But Octavia isn’t free. Octavia hasn’t had 6 years of peace and support and love. Octavia’s life has been marked by trauma from the moment of her birth, and the trauma hasn’t let up for a single goddamned second it just keeps coming and coming and coming until all she has is her walls and an alter-ego and the hope that she can keep Wonkru together and her brother by her side. Believe me when I say that Octavia is still very much trapped inside the cage which Bellamy has now vacated. IT IS ALL VERY HEARTBREAKING OKAY. IT HURTS. So yes, I still love Octavia and I am ready to see her again when Blodreina falls.

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Totally Awesome

by Viorica

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Viorica finds a Potter-related bit of media that actually deserves the hype

Oooh! This is in the Axis of Awesome!~

Parodies are a tricky thing. If you've got too much of a hate-on for the source material, you end up being too bitter; if you love the source material too much, you can't effectively make fun of its flaws; and if you just don't care either way, you get something like this. It's a difficult tightrope to walk, but when you're lucky/talented enough to get it right, you end up with A Very Potter Musical. Written by college-aged fans of the Potter series, it combines the best of the original series with the talent of the actors and writers involved, and ends up eclipsing the source material entirely.

The story takes place in Harry's second year, and encompasses the events of all seven books. Harry and his friends (with Ron's sister Ginny in tow) arrive at Hogwarts to discover that the new teacher Professor Quirrel has R

resurrected the House Cup (which is basically a one-school Triwizard Tournament) as part of Voldemort's plan to capture Harry Potter under a bumbling Dumbledore's very nose. It's hard to describe the rest of the plot without going into spoilery detail (which I'll be doing in the next paragraph anyway . . .) but suffice to say, problems arise, relationships are formed, and Team Potter must go up against Voldemort and his Death Eaters- though ironically, Voldemort's ultimate fate owes more to the "love conquers all" theme which the books neglected and the musical effectively puts into use.

When I said in the first paragraph that the musical is an improvement on the books, I meant it. The plotting is much more streamlined (for one thing, the Trio doesn't spend months sitting in a tent, and actually condemns the seventh book's plot as "stupid") the characters more likeable, and the biggest problems with the book-

tokenism

,

Dumbledore's lecturing

,and the

delusions of grandeur

are removed in favour of canonical gay characters (the main couple is, in fact, gay, and Voldemort's redemption comes about from his affection for Quirrell- quite a divergence from Rowling's choiceless choices) a Dumbledore whose stupidity and blindness is repeatedly mocked, and a pervading knowledge that this is, in fact, a very silly story. For instance, Malfoy's conviction that there is a wizarding school called Pigfarts located on Mars and presided over by a talking lion turns out to be true; after all, how is it more ridiculous than the main concept of the franchise? The musical also addresses such all-important questions like:

How did Quirrell sleep with Voldemort on the back of his head?

Why did Dumbledore trust Snape, anyway?

What happens when two people who share one stomach get drunk?

In addition to lampshading the flaws and inconsistencies of the original series ("I just put anyone who looks like a good guy into Gryffindor, anyone who looks like a bad guy into Slytherin, and the rest can go wherever they want." "Can anyone tell me what a Portkey is? . . . Well, can anyone tell me what

foreshadowing

is?") the musical can stand on its own as a creative product. The songs are entertaining and catchy - the fan favourite seems to be "Granger Danger", but my own is "Gotta Get Back To Hogwarts:"

We're sick of summer and this waiting around It's like we're sitting in the lost and found Don't take no sorcery For anyone to see how... We gotta get back to hogwarts We gotta get back to school We gotta get back to hogwarts Where everything is magic-cooooool Back to wizards and witches, and magical beasts To goblins and ghosts and to magical feasts It's all that I love, and it's all that I need at HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS I think I'm goin' back!

But of course none of the material would be entertaining without good actors to support it, and the cast rises admirably to the task. The three leads - Darren Criss as Harry, Joey Ritcher as Ron, and Bonnie Gruesen as Hermione - all bring the right balance of likeability and flaws to their roles, but it's the secondary characters who steal the show. I suspect that Joe Moses (Snape) is familiar with the Harry Potter fandom, because his Snape is a perfect parody of the fanon version, right down to his exaggerated purr of a voice. Joe Walker makes a truly hilarious Voldemort, especially given that he has to deliver lines like "Get me some Nasonex, you swine!" with a stright face (though I am surprised that his voice held out through five performances, given the amount of growling that was involved.) with Brian Rosenthal serving as his quieter, gentler (but no less funny) counterpart. Lauren Lopez as Malfoy steals every scene she's in, with her exaggerated accent and habit of rolling around the stage. Even Goyle, who barely has any lines, cracks the audience up every time he opens his mouth. While Britney Coleman, who plays Bellatrix, has caught some flak from YouTube commenters for being "irritating" she didn't really get on my nerves. The worst you can say of her is that she didn't leave any impression at all- and with a cast this good, less-than-perfect performances can easily be buried in their better counterparts.

All in all, the musical is recommended to anyone who has a passing familiarity with the HP canon. Honestly, it's a shame that this show can't make any money, being an unauthorized parody. It's really the only thing connected to Harry Potter that I wholeheartedly enjoy, one that actually earns it's tagline of "Totally awesome"Themes:

J.K. Rowling

,

Theatre

~

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~Comments (

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)

Wardog

at 11:03 on 2009-10-14Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, this is, in fact, *totally awesome*.

The hot female Malfoy is making me go wibbly.

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Andy G

at 13:01 on 2009-10-14This is brilliant! I love every scene with Voldemort and Quirrell in particular.

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Wardog

at 13:50 on 2009-10-14"Your plan to infilitrate Hogwarts on the back of my head is going swimmingly, my liege..." BEST LINE EVER!

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Melissa G.

at 23:23 on 2009-10-14Loved it! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

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Viorica

at 01:54 on 2009-10-15Have you gotten to Voldemort's big tapdance number yet?

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Jamie Johnston

at 21:28 on 2009-10-16Fab. Those kids deserve to go far.

But can someone explain to me the thing with Malfoy falling down and rolling around all the time? Bear in mind all I know about

Potter

comes from three of the films (1, 2, and 4, I think) and anything I've picked up from conversations and

Ferretbrain

articles.

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Viorica

at 22:41 on 2009-10-16Honestly, I'm not really sure. I think it's just the actor being goofy.

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Andy G

at 10:15 on 2009-10-17I saw it as being a bit of a spoof of femme fatales or female villains writhing round the stage in dance shows/musicals, rather than anything based around the books.

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Melissa G.

at 16:54 on 2009-10-17I don't know. I kind of saw that as an exaggeration of how over the top Malfoy can be. It seemed somehow fitting to a caricature of his character.

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http://mmmarcusz.livejournal.com/

at 23:57 on 2009-10-17I think it's meant as a reference to how Malfoy is always described as striking a pose ("lounging", "preening", etc.) and this is just an over-the-top extension of that. Also, was I the only one who found the Draco actress incredibly cute?

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http://tabaquis.livejournal.com/

at 06:49 on 2009-10-19I adore a VHPM, which is great because I too have become completely tired of That Woman and Those Books being touted as any kind of coherent literature.

I do think the guy playing Snape was totally channeling Kevin MacDonald's "Simon" from Kids in the Hall though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC4PjXNt2gw

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Wardog

at 11:14 on 2009-10-20

I think it's meant as a reference to how Malfoy is always described as striking a pose ("lounging", "preening", etc.) and this is just an over-the-top extension of that. Also, was I the only one who found the Draco actress incredibly cute?

Yeah, that's what I thought as well.

And, yes, she is amazingly, wibble-inducingly hot. Me likey.

Also I notice the musical has a delightfully arch relationship with the fandom - so I think purring, rolling, lounging Malfoy was a nod to both the books and his typically depicated fandom persona.

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Montavilla

at 01:58 on 2009-10-21So glad to see appreciation for this musical. I just loved it.

It's hard to say what makes Lauren Lopez so perfect as Malfoy, except everything. The ponchy accent, the constant posing, the way she's always trying (and failing) to get Harry's attention. Somehow Draco just *is* a 12-year-old girl.

And I liked Bellatrix. She's somewhat annoying with the screaming, but that is Bellatrix, and I love that they aren't being coy about her and Voldemort having a sexual relationship. It's only one of the ways in which the musical trumps the books.

I crack up everytime I think about her face when Voldemort sits on the desk. You can see that she's still trying to make it work--but she's kind of catching on to what he's really up to.

But *everyone* is so excellent. I showed this to some of mine and we all kept remarking on how perfectly perfect Cedric Diggory is. I love the entrance of Cho Chang and just that look that the Asian actress gives. It's almost her only moment in the whole show and she makes the most of it.

You can tell that the entire cast is having a great time playing their parts--and the audience is loving it as well. And that's what makes a great live performance.

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http://for-diddled.livejournal.com/

at 21:08 on 2010-08-08Just thought you chaps might be interested to know that they've made a sequel, which can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OepW-AG-Ris&feature=PlayList&p=86C718AEE71C9DE9&playnext=1&index=7

[starberry-cupcake]

Extensive Les Mis fanon character interpretation Discourse under the cut, read at your own risk

I’ve been thinking about this for an embarrassingly long while and I know I’m not the best person to discuss this, because talking about Les Mis is like opening this huge box of things which you need to be a scholar to be prepared to back up fully. That’s why this is under ‘read more’, because I am aware and accept my own ignorance and limitations BUT I also think this is an interesting topic, so here we go. 

One thing that has been increasingly bothering me in what we can call “the current fanon interpretation” of Les Mis, namely the fanon interpretation that arose/became popular post 2012 movie and through tumblr/ao3, is this idea that Enjolras is a toxic person and he tramples selfishly over people’s feelings. 

This is something that escalates sometimes a lot, even to a point in which I had to one time witness someone on tumblr dot com saying that Montparnasse was a better person and preferable ship partner than Enjolras which made me just stop and stare at the screen for a long moment trying to comprehend where this was coming from. 

There was an escalating fandom acceptance of Enjolras being incredibly selfish towards people in the benefit of “his cause”, which makes him a sort of childish persona who is unable to take care of himself and who doesn’t understand people’s feelings in the slightest. 

This is 99.999999% of the time paired with Grantaire’s interpretation, which I think is a key to understanding why this happened in the first place and why it evolved into turning Enjolras into an unfeeling person who understands nothing of human emotions. 

And I think it’s a fascinating thing to think about and deconstruct, even if I’m not fond of the interpretation. 

I think that Grantaire is, to the current Les Mis fandom (more so than ever before, but I’ll talk about that in a bit), what Éponine was to the musical fandom (and creators) in the 80s/90s. 

A big problem I have with Éponine’s interpretation in the musical (and again, I’m in no way the most qualified person to talk about this and my word should be taken with a bucket of salt) is that she was taken as the victim in a made up “love triangle” that never was. The musical uses Éponine as a tragic figure whose love for Marius is depicted as wholesome and romanticized, whereas Cosette is reduced to a Cinderella story and a very shallow characterization once she becomes an adult (let’s remember her storyline is reduced to being an object to Fantine’s hope, Valejan’s salvation and Marius’s survival without much of an own agency since her entire plot and growth and storyline are cut after she’s rescued by Valjean). So the musical puts the two against each other as the two “options” Marius has, but doesn’t focus on Marius and Cosette’s relationship aside from a couple songs and moments, instead gives Éponine a solo on how much she’s unrequited and a death scene where the entire plot point of her wanting Marius to go to the barricade is erased. 

Éponine’s character complexity is reduced to the character people is meant to feel for and women are meant to root for because she is “the underdog”. And, most often that not, that’s what love triangles do, the underdog is the one people root for because they’re meant to identify with their unfair situation and their tough luck. 

This is a disservice to Éponine and to Cosette, who are much more complex than this and it’s something most people tend to let pass because the musical didn’t have as much time to expand, but it isn’t a matter of amount of content depicted but on which perspective to focus and what lens to see the story through. 

Ask anyone who was a fan of the musical in the 80s and who hasn’t read the book or seen any other adaptation who they prefer between Éponine and Cosette, if you don’t believe me. I mean, On My Own was adopted as the “anthem of the female friendzone” as cringe-y as hell as that sounds. 

Anyway, what does that have to do with Grantaire, you ask me? Well, first of, it’s very easy to see how modern fandom tends to interpret Grantaire and Éponine as friends, really really close to one another. This is a very common occurrence that results from the comparison of their situations and strengthens my point, but it’s not where I’m going with exactly.  

What I think that has happened with Grantaire, and here is the anthropological/sociological hypothesis nobody asked for, is that he became the embraced character for the current tumblr/ao3 fandom as Éponine was for that 80s/90s musical fandom, due to the interpretation he is given, to satisfy certain fandom needs that are current. Which isn’t wrong in itself, it’s what happens with archetypes all the time (and a subject of study for me, which is why this interests me specifically, I’m currently writing two projects that involve literary archetypes, but I digress). 

Grantaire’s drunkenness and confrontational nature were turned into coping mechanisms for a battle with severe depression, in most cases, or other underlying mental illnesses. Which isn’t that much of a long shot in itself, all things considered, it has a canon basis to stand on, but creates a complex case when it comes to the consequences of the things he does. 

Fanon transformed Grantaire’s confrontational nature into a constant cry for help, one which Enjolras most often, if not almost always, ignores. Sometimes out of being oblivious, sometimes out of selfishness, sometimes out of derision and contempt. Sometimes all of them at once. 

And one consequence of this was that it started becoming more and more often for Grantaire’s actions to be fully embraced by fandom because he was starting to be conceived as a vessel for a lot of self-reflection. It isn’t completely random that Grantaire’s characterization became more inclined towards the narrative of mental illness and conflicting coping mechanisms, because they are all subjects we talk about more openly now than ever before, especially in the platforms where this interpretation is more often seen, namely tumblr and ao3. Not that they didn’t exist before, but that they’re discussed more freely now, especially through the idea of safe zones that social media and the internet in general allow. 

What Éponine’s character was for the female fandom of the 80s looking for an underdog to root for, in a market filled with products about the female underdog who was unrequited and deserved to be loved, Grantaire somewhat became to a fandom needing to express this idea of existential emptiness and overall doubt about not only one’s state of mind but also where one is going with their life when others seem so certain about it. 

And talking about being certain about a life goal, what’s going in with Enjolras, meanwhile? I believe that, much like Grantaire’s fandom characterization having somewhere canon to stand on, Enjolras’s severity has some places where it came from which we can all clearly see. I am a little bit tired of how many times people use the “capable of being terrible” phrase at this point, and then there was the whole thing with Saint Just which I’m not getting into because this is already too long. 

But, much like characters written to be two sides of the same coin, Enjolras and Grantaire tend to be connected to each other’s characterization. They were like that in canon, they were written to be a pair which influenced, directly or indirectly, the other, so it isn’t strange to see that in fanon interpretations, the two also go hand in hand. Pun very much intended. 

The issue I have with Grantaire’s interpretation isn’t that his perspective is more directly viewed, or that fandom goes more in-depth with his underlying issues, but the fact that sometimes identification turns into idealization. It happens very frequently in writing (and not only in fic) that authors who see themselves reflected in a character tend to try to erase any blame from them in a way to channel a sense of embrace for their own actions, and that can be counterproductive to the character’s complexity. 

Because it isn’t really the problems and hardship what make a character relatable, it is their growth which comes from learning, which, in turn, comes from making mistakes. 

When Grantaire’s mistakes are characterized as reactions to things that are outside his capability to control, when they are seen as mechanisms of what anyone would do if they were in his place, Enjolras’s reactions to them turn not severe but unfair. 

Suddenly, all of Grantaire’s mistakes, jokes, derision and his unfavorable actions are seen as a product of an inescapable situation, out of his control, which, in turn makes Enjolras’s anger unjust and an over-reaction. Which, paired with the fact that Enjolras’s “cause” varies from interpretation to interpretation (especially in modern contexts, which are the most popular among this generation of fandom, where the “cause” has to be determined from social and political contexts that tend to be very vague out of the global state of the world and the intersectionality of issues, which overlay in every one of them), makes him unfairly distant and overall incapable of feeling empathy. 

Something that can be seen very clearly in the way in which, when it’s written as a ship, Enjolras often has to “choose” between Grantaire and “his cause”, whatever that is in each specific narrative. 

More so than making Enjolras too severe, my problem is with his desensitization. I feel that making Grantaire a constant victim (out of fandom willingness to grab onto him as a vessel of current issues of the generation he represents due to his canon-ish age) makes Enjolras desensitized to human emotion, especially because, most often than not, it is only him who is represented as oblivious or uncaring, while the rest of the group understands and sometimes even defends Grantaire, in stances even turning their backs on Enjolras for that reason, which always baffles me, truly. 

Enjolras is a very complex character and his actions are matter of many essays and interpretations, but one thing I don’t think he can be seen as is uncaring. Even less so uncaring towards human emotion. His constant inner turmoil during the barricade is something to behold and I always turn to his decision to execute Le Cabuc/Claquesous as one of my favorite parts in the entire thing, and the fact that he grieves his decision in the way he does is a proof of his emotional complexity and empathy. 

I don’t have a problem with Enjolras’s severity or Grantaire’s motives, I have a problem with the simplification of their narratives into a judge and a victim, which I think is what leads to these conversations of toxicity among them, opening another bag of complications. 

But even if it’s something that bothers me, it also fascinates me to see how these interpretations shift so much and how they change according to the audience that embraces the text at a certain point in time. How we charge it with additional symbolic value as we go, transforming it a bit with each read. 

I want to clarify, very strongly and vehemently, that these ramblings are IN NO WAY meant as derision of fandom interpretation or anyone’s particular writing. I too have written Les Mis fics and have fallen into interpretative conundrums that now, with experience, I judge unfitting to my current views, some which I have deleted, others which are still around. So this is in no way a call out of any form, not at all. 

It is also not to criticize Grantaire’s interpretation, as someone who suffers from mental illness myself, I find it not only positive but necessary the inclusion of these topics in writing, whether it is in fic form or in any other type. 

I find this a fascinating topic because, like Tournier said: “In some masterpieces - and that is why they are first among universal literature - there is an incentive to create, an infection of the creative verb, a way to put in motion the creative process of readers. I confess that, for me, that is the peak of art”. That is the magic of works like Les Mis, that we can use them to see ourselves, no matter how much time has passed, and if these characters still help to see ourselves and our reality in a way in which we can observe it better, I think Hugo would be glad. 

[mcarfield]

This really should have been proofread more but I just had to submit this ridiculous mess of a fic. Apparently Margot Robbie is married, so just pretend in this universe she’s not and it would make sense for James to be jealous of her. 

oh my god ARE YOU A NEW FIC-WRITING ANON? OMG YOU GUYS, you are all just... you are all so marvelously talented and wonderful, and THE FANON YOU GUYS ARE DROPPING IS KILLING ME.  I shrieked at like 8 different parts of this oh my god??? THE KILLER LINES IN THIS. ANDREW’S SWEET CLUELESS POV OH MY SUMMER CHILD. SAOIRSE. THE JEALOUSY. JAMES’S ANDREW IMPRESSION. JAMES WORKING THAT TUXEDO. THE HOTNESS. God, anon, you have just killed me with this. i love it (and you) so much. 

In some bizarre twist of fate, Under the Silver Lake has the same release date as Mary Queen of Scots, meaning Andrew and James are in LA at the same time, for premieres and press junkets and all the bells and whistles, making it all feel like some extremely lucky serendipitous week for Andrew, though it won’t feel like that until later.

He arrives a few weeks before the premiere and tries to spend that time catching up with people and not wishing he was just in New York in his actual apartment and not this sterile temporary one he finds himself in, pretending not to want to text James to see if he wants to get coffee. He’s sure James is very busy and probably not even in LA yet, spending as much time as he can outside of the city Andrew knows he hates. And besides, they’ve spoken only sporadically since Angels closed and Andrew still isn’t certain if they’re even friends.

Ten days before the premiere, Andrew calls his agents and his publicist and tries to get them to get him into the Mary Queen of Scots premiere without sounding like a total diva. They use the influence Andrew knows he holds but tries to ignore and wiggle him in. 

Which is how he ends up dateless, standing at the edge of a red carpet and looking at James at the step-and-repeat, realizing that he most certainly does not want to be friends with James.

James is wearing a black tuxedo, his air coifed but not slicked back, smiling half-heartedly at the photographers before him. His hands are shoved in his pockets and he looks only a quarter of how uncomfortable  Andrew knows he feels. And Andrew’s breath catches in his throat, his lips parting and forming a small O, and suddenly, his heart is racing too fast and all he wants is to close the cavernous space that’s settled between them since James left New York in July.

“Oh, fuck,” says Andrew under his breath. His publicist ignores him, shuffling him toward the cameras since he clearly has no control over his mental or physical faculties anymore.

He likes James. He likes James. He spent two years pretending to be his boyfriend and almost five months after the show has closed, he’s hit with the soul-crushing realization that he’d quite like to kiss him again, as Andrew kissing James, not Prior kissing Louis. He feels suddenly weightless and adrift, moving across the Red Carpet, smiling and waving at those he knows. His publicist deposits him by some reporters and he snaps himself to attention, putting on his polite and friendly interview persona, shoving any thoughts of James to the back of his mind. His short, dizzying realization is gone as quickly as it came.

Four interviews later, he steps back and his publicist is asking him a question, something about if he’s all right since he’s usually quite self-sufficient at these things, but all Andrew can hear is rushing in his ears and that weightless feeling is back because James has caught sight of him.

He looks startled at the sight of Andrew, frowning as if he doesn’t trust his eyes. There’s definitely something else in James’s eyes, but Andrew can’t place it, and James smooths his features into a wide, friendly grin before making his way through the crowd toward him.

“You didn’t say you were coming,” says James as he approaches him, putting his arms out for a hug. Andrew reciprocates, making sure he doesn’t do anything stupid like inhale James’s scent or linger too long.

“Surprise!” he says, because he’s not certain of what else to say. “I wriggled my way in last week, I doubt they were overjoyed about it.”

“I’m sure they had a conniption when they found out Spiderman was coming,” says James with a teasing grin.

“Everyone’s second favorite Spiderman,” Andrew corrects, and if he weren’t himself and weren’t able to hit just the right tone of humor, it would have come out depressingly self-deprecating.

“Not mine,” says James, and Andrew feels a rush of warmth toward him. Oh no. “Tom Holland who?”

“You’re a darling,” says Andrew, reaching out to put a hand over James’s heart before he can stop himself. James is looking at him funny and Andrew pulls his arm away quickly—though if he hadn’t, he would have felt the way James’s heart picked up the pace. Andrew feels the sudden urge to apologize, though that would make it all worse, he thinks. “I’m here for Silver Lake. In LA,” he says lamely.

James opens his mouth to respond, but he’s interrupted by the appearance of Saoirse at his shoulder. 

“You didn’t tell me you were coming!” she says, pulling Andrew into a hug. “Hello, James! Andrew, why didn’t you say?”

“Last minute thing,” he says with a wave of his hand.

“I’m so happy I’ve seen you two, I had to escape the vultures,” she says under her breath with a glance toward the photographers. “Do you two know each other?”

“Oh, yes,” they say in unison and inexplicably, Andrew flushes red.

“We were in Angels in America together,” James explains.

“My god, that’s right!” says Saoirse, covering her mouth with her hand. “I saw it at the beginning of the National run, I’d completely forgotten!” There’s a pause, and then: “Oh, you two were brilliant.”

“Thanks,” they say at the same time, looking at each other and chuckling.

“You were nominated for Tonys, right?” she asks, looking between them.

“Andrew was, I wasn’t,” replies James.

“What?” Saoirse says, aghast. “You weren’t nominated?”

“No,” says James.

“Well that’s bullshit!” she says, turning to Andrew. 

“I know,” he says. “I threatened to withdraw when we found out.“

“You did not,” Saoirse says with a laugh.

“He did,” says James. “We all went out for drinks to celebrate and he had one too many—“

“Excuse you, I was completely sober,” Andrew says, faux-affronted.

“—And he got up to make a speech about how grateful he was to be a part of something like this and how he just loved us all dearly…” says James, smiling through his words.

“Oh, that’s so sweet!”

“It was, but then he turned to Nathan and Denise and said he was very happy and proud of them and they completely deserved it except ‘James McArdle was robbed. What is the point of awards if they don’t even nominate the right people?’” James says in a quite accurate impression of Andrew’s voice, looking at Andrew with his eyes dancing. “He said something about how I was the next Mark Rylance and people teared up, his drunken speech was so good.”

“I didn’t say all that…” says Andrew, blushing again. Had he really been that obvious? How could he have not seen this before?

“You did and it was lovely,” says James, nudging him with a grin. 

“Well, he’s right,” says Saoirse. “I’m appalled you weren’t nominated.”

“We all were,” says Andrew and he beams at James, who returns the expression. When he looks back to Saoirse, she’s studying him with a look of dawning realization. He looks away quickly. 

James is pulled away by someone not long after but Saoirse stays and it only takes her two minutes until she brings it up.

“So,” she says, “James, huh?”

“Don’t,” Andrew says, fixing her with a look. Saoirse looks at him with a look so piercing, he has to look away, except he catches sight of James laughing raucously with Jack Lowdon and narrows his eyes. Saoirse giggles. “What?”

“You’re so transparent,” she says.

“I am not!” 

“You so are,” she says. “You look like you want to take Jack apart limb from limb. And also you look at James like the sun shines out of his arse.”

“I do not!”

“Andrew, I adore you, but you wear your heart on your sleeve. Besides, I think it’s adorable.”

“He’s straight,” he says glumly. James has fallen into another peal of laughter at something Jack has said. Saoirse snorts.

“So were you not long ago,” she points out.

“Even if he were into men, I bet he’d rather be with Jack Lowdon before me,” he says.

“Tell me, are you pretending to be the lead in a romantic comedy right now, or are you actually that dramatic?” she asks.

“Ha ha.”

“Look, I’ve got to go mingle, it’s my movie and all. But for what it’s worth, I think he likes you back. You should have seen his face when he saw you,” says Saoirse, and Andrew snaps his gaze back to her, making her smother a laugh. “Talk to him. And call me, we should get coffee sometime soon.”

Andrew doesn’t see James until later, not until one of the many afterparties. It’s past one am now, and he can feel himself getting tired of it already. He had good fun talking to Margot for a bit, but she’s getting pulled away by someone else and just as he’s contemplating leaving, James appears before him, hair slightly disheveled in the way it is when James is drinking.

“I’ve been looking for you!” he says over the music and Andrew hates that he feels excited at this new information.

“Having fun?” he asks and James shrugs.

“You know how I feel about these things,” he says.

“Liar,” says Andrew with a smirk. “You love the afterparties.”

“All right, only sometimes,” James allows. He hesitates as if he’s not sure he wants to say what he’s going to say next. “I saw you talking to Margot.”

“Yeah, she’s brilliant,” says Andrew, suddenly lost and unsure why James has brought her up. James smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Did you like working with her?”

James nods but doesn’t say anything other than humming his assent, making Andrew even more confused.

“She’s really sweet,” Andrew says when James stays silent. He has no idea what James is thinking right now and is completely lost as to what to say. James nods and smiles again, but it’s even less genuine than before. Andrew studies him carefully.

“Stop looking at me like that,” says James, breaking the silence. Andrew blinks at him.

“Like what?” he asks, genuinely perplexed. 

“Like…” James snaps his mouth shut and lets out a harried sort of sigh. He gestures with his hand at Andrew’s face, as if that answers the question.

“What?”

“Just—“ James says but breaks off again, looking impatient with himself. “If you keep looking at me like that I’m going to kiss you and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

Something in Andrew’s brain short-circuits and he can’t come up with two words to string together in response. He just blinks at James again, opening and closing his mouth over and over. 

“Don’t say anything,” says James after a while. “We’ll just…I’ll walk away and pretend I didn’t just say that and you can just…forget it.”

“Forget it,” Andrew repeats blankly.

“It’d be for the best, wouldn’t it?” asks James.

“Define best,” says Andrew and confusion flickers across James’s face. “I don’t think it’d be for the best. I think what would be for the best would be, quite plainly, if you took me into one of those rooms upstairs and kissed me and let me do a whole lot more to you.”

James gapes at him.

“You…?”

“I do,” Andrew says, nodding. He feels as though his heart is going to give out as he watches James carefully.

“Well, that decides that,” says James with a quick nod. He grabs Andrew’s hand in his and tugs him through the crowd. Andrew can’t help it, his face cracks open with a wide grin as he follows James out of the room. Instead of taking him towards where the rooms are, James makes a beeline for the front lobby and out the door. 

“Where are we…” Andrew trails off when they come to a stop on the curb.

“What’s your address?” asks James quickly, turning to him. He’s got a rideshare app open on his phone because this is LA and there isn’t a subway or cabs roaming the streets but for once in his life, Andrew wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He gives his address to James, who orders the car and they stand there on the curb, an inch between them and dying to touch each other, even chastely.

James’s hand brushes against Andrew’s as they wait and he sends Andrew a sidelong look, letting him know it was intentional. 

It only gets worse in the car, Andrew’s hand resting on the seat half a foot from James’s. He glances at James every now and then and James returns his grin before they both look out the window once more.

The space between them feels even more gaping than before, made larger with the weighty tension, though much less impassable. It feels so much worse, so much harder, knowing what it’s like to have James’s lips against his, even if it was on stage and in character. Even the recollection of lying in bed, tucked into James’s arms makes him dig his fingernails into his palms. If he turns to face James right now, if he even moves to talk to him, he’ll be wrecked and all the self-control he’s channelling right now will be thrown away. 

And so they sit in silence, both glancing at the other out of the corner of their eye and counting down the seconds until they get out of the car.

When they pull up, Andrew rockets out of the car, practically tripping over himself and James laughs. Andrew is about to snap a quick retort about being nice when he catches the look in James’s eye. It’s so fond that the words die on his lips and he finds himself softening.

It’s late enough that the street around them is completely deserted so Andrew throws caution to the wind and grabs ahold of James’s hand. James looks at him, startled, but squeezes his hand back and they walk into the building. The elevator doors are barely shut when Andrew turns to James, not yet sure of what to say but knowing he wants to say something.

Except James just shakes his head a bit, takes a step forward, and puts his hand on Andrew’s cheek. It’s like an electric shock travels through Andrew and he springs into action, leaning forward like a magnet is dragging him.

And then they’re kissing. They take a moment to adjust to each other, to reacclimatize to kissing each other and to adapt to what it feels like to kiss each other as themselves. And it feels like everything. Andrew sighs against him, his whole body softening into James’s as James opens his mouth just so to let Andrew in and Andrew could drown in this feeling. James’s arms are tight around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer as the kiss deepens, drawing a low moan from Andrew’s lips. 

Andrew pulls away, more from shock at how fucking good it feels to kiss James like this, and they both take a small step back. 

“I…” Andrew starts but can’t seem to finish his sentence. James doesn’t say anything. Andrew pauses, thinking very quickly. “Fuck it,” he says and closes the space between them once more, pushing James against the wall of the elevator and kissing him fiercely. James responds in an instant, cupping Andrew’s cheeks as his tongue slides against his. 

The elevator dings and they jump apart with a gasp. James chuckles—Andrew’s face must be laughably alarmed. There’s no one waiting at Andrew’s floor—blessedly—and they walk into the hallway, hand in hand to Andrew’s door.

James leans against the wall opposite his door as he digs in his pockets for his keys and Andrew pointedly doesn’t look at him, knowing the sight of James in a rumpled tux leaning against a wall is certain to sink him. He finally pulls his keys from his pocket and after several tries, gets the door open, nearly falling through it as he pushes it. James follows him in, remarkably calm and suave. 

“Want a drink?” Andrew asks, flicking on the light.

“No,” says James, stepping towards him. Andrew takes a step backwards, toward his bedroom.

“Some food?” he asks, trying hard to school his features into something serious.

“No,” says James, mirroring Andrew’s steps towards the bedroom.

“A nap?” 

“No,” says James, unable to stop his lips from turning upwards in a smile.

“What do you want?”

“Mmh, I think you know,” James says. They’ve entered the bedroom now and Andrew can feel his breath quicken. He tilts his head. “Should I spell it out for you?”

“A demonstration will suffice,” says Andrew and finally he pulls James’s lips back to his and they tumble to the bed. It’s messy and their noses knock into each other and Andrew nearly elbows James in the face as he tries to get his shirt off but Andrew has never felt this impatient to undress before. James is pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses against his neck, surely leaving a mark for tomorrow. Andrew is about to say as much, or at least tease him a little, except now James has started to move down his chest, his lips dragging over Andrew’s skin as he moves lower and lower.

And later, when all is said and done, Andrew collapses against the pillows, spent and satiated. 

“What the fuck,” he states, turning his head to face James, who grins widely at him.

“Happy?” asks James.

“Supremely,” he replies and shifts closer to kiss James gently. 

“So,” James says when he pulls away. “Not straight?”

Andrew laughs, burying his head in his pillow.

“I should think not,” he says when he emerges. “You?”

“Decidedly not.”

“Good.” And he tugs Andrew in so he can kiss him again. 

[aceprosecuties]

Question: What do you like about Nahyuta Sadhmadhi?

Anon I am so happy you asked me this because I have SO MANY THOUGHTS 

To be very truthful, Nahyuta is actually my 5th fave prosecutor in the main games, though that doesn’t mean much since the prosecutors tend to be my faves and I love pretty much all of them (the exception being Godot, personally).  I say this because his interactions in canon are aggravating and angering, and whereas some of the other prosecutors are also mean in their own right (really, the main exception is Klavier), they appeared to have other aspects to their personalities that made them likable.  Miles was a big awkward dork (on top of all that angst), Franziska was a clear superiority-inferiority complex and some of her lines and everything were hilarious, and Simon is a gadfly who just does whatever he wants.

Until 6-5 Nahyuta just is mean.  You get some lines like “what’s crack-a-lackin’ homie” which can point towards the comically serious, but these lines are few and far-between.  And Ema points towards a softer side constantly, but we never really see that too much until basically the end of the game.  

So, canonically, until the reveal, I actually didn’t really like Nahyuta. 

The reveal changed a lot of that for me.  While I wish that we had more hints at his true persona prior to the reveal, the fact that we didn’t actually points a lot to his dedication to his family and what he was willing to do in order to protect them.  That dedication is probably my favorite thing about Nahyuta. 

(cut because length lawl)

I’ve made this comparison/contrast before, but I’ll make it again because I find it pertinent: Nahyuta has similarities to Simon in that they sacrificed a lot in order to protect those whom they loved.  However, what they each sacrificed was very different.  Simon basically sacrificed his body: he went to prison and suffered physically (and mentally/emotionally), but he never compromised his own morality.  He was law-abiding and remained so even throughout his imprisonment.  Nahyuta essentially sacrificed his soul: he lived in a palace and remained a respected member of society, but as a prosecutor he became ruthless and had to work under the DCA; he sent people to jail and the sword in order to keep Ga’ran happy and therefore keep Rayfa and Amara safe. 

I find this whole “sacrificing morality” thing super interesting just because Nahyuta is a very spiritual character; seeing a spiritual person essentially give up their soul for those they love the most is poetic, in my opinion. 

I know some people really dislike this part of Nahyuta, but I did actually relate to him in this aspect.  I am very close with my family - if any of my sisters or my parents were being held hostage and I was forced into the situation that Nahyuta was in, I would have absolutely done things similarly.  I would have felt guilt, but if it meant to save the ones I love most and I had no other option, I would do as he did.  Plus, people often forget that Nahyuta felt hopeless during all of this.  He felt like there was nothing and no one that could stop Ga’ran, so this was the only thing he could do to keep at least Rayfa and Amara from being killed or worse. 

And, when thinking about his motivations and hopelessness, even his nastiness throughout the rest of the game makes sense to me.  If he had to keep his cover, he needed to make sure it was convincing to Ga’ran and to his opponents.  Nahyuta being nasty and rude makes sense if he wanted to make sure that people would stay away from him.  And he did want that; becoming friends with anyone could mean that he was putting not only their lives in danger, but also Rayfa’s and Amara’s as well.  Apollo wanted to break through to Nahyuta because he knew him before - he knew that the Nahyuta he faced off with in court was not the Nahyuta of his past, so that sort of nastiness just made him want to help more rather than less.  

But we do get to see some of the real Nahyuta through his interactions with Ema; as she was a work colleague and working for the prosecution, he could be nicer to her than to others, since he could still keep up his act of being a supporter of Ga’ran and the DCA.  

I think people forget that he felt so alone and helpless that sacrificing everything about himself was literally the only thing he thought he could do to protect his family.  He most likely was depressed, and couldn’t see any sort of light until Apollo (and Dhurke) showed it to him in 6-5.  

Fanon-wise, I do also like the fact that since we don’t see the real Nahyuta until the ending moments of the game, his true personality is up for interpretation to some extent.  This is sort of a double-edged sword; I would have liked to see his true self shine a bit more throughout the game, but I also like the open-endedness which allows us fans to play around with how we think his true self actually behaves.  It allows a lot of creativity, and I’ve seen various awesome interpretations of Nahyuta as a result! 

So, to sum up, the thing I love most about Nahyuta is his dedication to those he loves; he was willing to do anything to protect them, and I can understand that sort of feeling.  I think he suffers from his reveal being a bit too late and from going back and forth between Phoenix and Apollo - when he is against Apollo we get more into who he truly was and about the conflict within him.  We don’t get that as much with Phoenix - which makes sense because Phoenix did not know him as Apollo did.  But he is still a very interesting and complex character who I think gets more hate than he necessarily deserves. 

[inceptionbigbang]

The day has come! The Second Round of Fic Claims for the Inception Big Bang is here. It's a second chance for you to work on any fics that you missed on the first round, and a chance to take on a secondary project.

Claims will work on a similar way to the last round, but we will give priority to fics that haven't been claimed and to artists that couldn't get any of their choices on the first round.

Fics have different numbers for my own organisation, to separate the rounds. Make sure you send the right numbers!

Without further delay, here they are:

21. When dreamshare is first developed, no one has totems. They've always gone into dreams for short amounts of time and always with another person, so there's no chance of someone forgetting their reality. Mal's friend Pip has consistently been pushing the boundaries of dreaming, and one day she decides to go a later deeper without Mal. When Mal wakes up, she realizes that Pip is still asleep and she has to go down after her where she basically incepts Pip with the idea of totems.

Gen

General audiences

No content warnings apply

.

22. Arthur is a flight attendant. Eames is a passenger.

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up – Mature

No content warnings apply

.

23. Arthur learned a long time ago that he was special, and no else could see the strings.

Or, ‘everything is still the same, but Arthur can see Red Strings of Fate’ AU.

There are moments when Arthur thinks he needs to tell Eames about the strings. Owes him the truth, he thinks, Eames deserves to know. Other times – well.

Eames knows enough, and he has secrets of his own. Arthur is allowed this one.

Maybe someday it will come up on Sunday brunch, or something.

“Oh yeah, by the way, I can see red strings that I’m pretty sure are tied up to being literal soulmates and we have one. Get it? Tied up hehe. Anyway, no pressure or anything. Love the sex.”

Yeah, Arthur, that would go lovely.

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up – Mature

No content warnings apply

.

24. Eames on vacation after inception and stumbling upon Arthur; floppy haired, tanned and just completely the opposite of how Eames has ever seen him before.

Hawaii looked good on him, no better than good...

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up – Mature

No content warnings apply

.

25. When Eames first moved to America, he was at a loss for things to cook. He wasn’t used to the supermarkets and ingredients he needed were expensive. So he Googled food bloggers and found Arthur’s blog. The weekly updates keep Eames going in his boring office job. It takes him a few months before he gets the courage to comment but it’s all downhill from there. Eames is lost with Arthur’s sardonic commentary and when Arthur’s next recipe is one Eames requested, he knows he’s in bad.

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up – Mature

No content warnings apply

.

26. Arthur and Eames meet as trust fund teens in a Manhattan private school. Eames is a new student who's just moved from overseas, and him and Arthur hit it off immediately. Friendship turns to a whirlwind summer romance, until Eames is forced to move back to London. They meet again many years later when Arthur has to kidnap Eames for a job.

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up

No content warnings apply

.

27. Arthur is in love with Eames, and he's pretty sure Eames is at least interested in him back. Only problem? Arthur is ace, and not at all sure how Eames is going to react to that. But Arthur's going to talk to him about it, because the alternative is to lose even his friendship with the forger, and that's just not on.

Only the team is also determined to set the two of them up. Will that end up being a wrecking ball to Arthur's fragile attempts at making things work with Eames?

STORY OUTLINE:

Arthur is ace, and no one knows. When Eames invites Arthur to join him for Christmas, Arthur panics and says no - and spends the whole of Christmas regretting it. The team comes back from Christmas break, and everything is awkward. Arthur knows he has to say something or ruin his relationship with Eames forever, and he's going to do that at the New Year's party where Eames will hopefully be in a good enough

But unbeknownst to him, he's not the only one who's realized something needs to happen. Cobb, Ariadne and Yusuf agree that an intervention is in order. And when better to set their two friends up than at New Years? Get them kissing and surely the tension between them will resolve itself.

What could possibly go wrong?

At the New Year's party, Ariadne suggests playing a game of spin the bottle. Arthur is less than enthused, but Cobb and Yusuf both back up the idea. They play a few rounds before it lands on Eames, whom Ariadne dares to make out with Arthur.

There's an awkward beat before Eames moves to do it. Arthur reacts by freezing and shying away physically. Eames takes this a rejection and leaves the room. Arthur sits there, frozen, and then leaves too.

He goes to the bathroom and breaks down, blaming himself for being so stupid and backwards. Eames hears him, and comes in and comforts him. Once Eames realizes what the problem is - that Arthur is ace - he promises Arthur that it doesn't matter to him, he just wants to be close to him. Cue happy end credits.

Arthur/Eames

General

No content warnings apply

.

28. A songfic featuring Aubrey by Bread, studying Arthur and Eames and what their relationship might have been like before the Fischer job. The characters aren't going to resemble fanon (Arthur's closed-off persona and Eames's flirtiness). I'm going to try to expand more on what Nolan gave us during the movie (Arthur's straightforwardness and Eames's aloof/cold personality). Basically, Eames is distant and Arthur chases.

Arthur/Eames

Side: Dom/Mal

Teen and Up – Mature

Graphic Depictions of Violence*

* There might be a torture scene, but I'm still debating on whether or not I want that in the story.

.

29. This is an academia AU! Arthur is a struggling young professor trying to find his niche, Eames is the mysterious colleague he keeps (inadvisedly!) hooking up with at conferences.

Arthur/Eames

Mature

No content warnings apply

.

30. A fic about arthur and eames and their first meeting in the military to all their other meetings in the criminal underworld of dreamshare. not that long, i'm aiming for 2.5k or maybe 3k if i can. i wanted to focus on their totems and how eames could use forging as a totem (because if he can't forge then he must be awake, right?) but he has a totem just in case. and arthur has a totem (the die from the movie) that he uses a lot more except when he happens to be taken and tortured for some secret or another and the only thing that convinces his brain that he isn't dreaming is the way eames stands when arthur aims a gun at him? if that makes sense....

here's a little bit of what i have written so far:

he’s more surprised at the lack of surprise he feels when eames digs a poker chip out of his desk. its blood red with gold and white accents, worth five thousand dollars at the particular casino it came from, disregarding the fact that it was arthur’s shitty first and last attempt at a real world forge after he participated in a poker game eames held on base many years ago and realized half the chips in the set were fake, pocketing a one thousand dollar chip to use as a reference.

“our totems match,” eames murmurs, flipping the chip over his knuckles with a concentration a bit too intense for something he could do in his sleep (ha).

“match how?” he asks, sipping a glass of orange juice, freshly squeezed because eames wanted to use the electric juicer. he's tempted to pull out his die from his pocket and roll to see it land on five, even though he knows this isn’t a dream.

“i have something that you made, and you have something i made. also, there’s some significance with the number five.”

Arthur/Eames

Side: Dom/Mal

Mature

Graphic Depictions of Violence*

*I put the Graphic Depictions of Violence just to be safe but i think it's less than what's shown in the film? because it's supposed to be like an after-torture scene where arthur is like "ouch i'm super hurt and drugged and don't know if i'm dreaming" but again i don't think it's any more graphic than the film at least. might keep that tag just to be safe though idk

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31. There was a small lake behind Arthur's house. The following night, he sat at its edge and stared at the moon's reflection in the water.

See something you like?

Arthur turned. A man was sitting next to him.

"Hello," Arthur said. "Thank you for helping me get home last night."

The moon smiled. "How did you know it was me?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. He picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water, watching the waves ripple the reflection. "How can you be here and there at the same time?"

The moon leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the sky. "Same way I can be in the lake and the sky at the same time."

Arthur frowned. "That's not the same thing. The lake's just reflecting the light from the moon. From you."

The moon turned to smile brightly at him. "Well aren't you a smart one, hm?" He leaned in and whispered, "I'm a reflection, too. We all are, at the end of the day."

Arthur thought about that. It didn't make sense, but that didn't mean it was wrong. He looked up at the moon in the sky, then at the moon sitting next to him.

"My name's Arthur," he offered. "What's your name?"

The moon looked at him strangely. "Eames. You can call me Eames."

"I'm going to be an astronaut, Eames," Arthur said. "Then I can come and visit you in the sky."

Eames smiled again. Arthur wouldn't have thought the moon liked to smile. "I would like that very much," Eames said. "Very much, indeed."

Arthur/Eames

General – Teen and Up

No content Warnings Apply

*This fic is a canon AU and will ultimately include the events in Inception.

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32. It’s a follow up story to Cat Person.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11040948

First story summary:

Arthur misses his cat and would very much like to get another. He gets Eames instead.

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up

No content warnings apply

Set in the Star Trek Universe

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33. Haunted House AU. Arthur’s working at a popular horror maze escape place to make some extra money over the summer. It’s far from his dream job—making minimum wage crouching behind dark trap doors and chasing random couples and tourists—but at least he gets to vent his frustrations about his coworkers (who are, frankly, driving him insane day by day) by literally screaming at customers. Then there’s Eames, who finds haunted houses boring, overrated, and not the least bit frightening, but is willing to humor a friend (Ariadne?) by accompanying her. But an encounter (and some painfully obvious flirting) with the cute guy under the ghoul mask is enough to make him want to come back again, and again, and again—

FEATURING:

- Cobb as the owner/boss and the only guy who actually takes his job seriously. He probably squints a lot because sunlight genuinely hurts his eyes lmao - Mal as his wife, who used to be an actress but left to start a business with Dom. Super sweet and kind of protective of their employees. Plays the main ghost. She’s terrifying. - Yusuf doing their costumes and makeup!!!!

- Arthur getting the job in the first place because his screams are so full of rage (let! him! rest!)

- Eames blowing all his cash on haunted house admission fees so he can flirt with Arthur (who plays different roles on different days, maybe? but Eames can always recognize him, even under the masks/makeup)

- he’s not trying to be creepy, he just wants to ask if he can see him outside of work/get his number—but something always goes wrong before he can

- Arthur being frustrated because Eames is a) distracting, and b) not easily scared, which doesn’t look good for his job. And it annoys him because he has a track record of being able to freak out anyone. He takes it upon himself to make him scream at least once (I haven’t decided how he does, but he does, eventually. Eames probably jokes about screaming with something other than fear, but i am too babey to write any sexytimes)

- maybe??? mild h/c?? Dumbass Drunk College Students coming in all wanting to prove to their friends that they're the Alpha Male, picking a fight and being super violent/rowdy/destructive, + arthur getting hurt/generally kind of shaken up; that’s the first night he lets eames really talk to him outside of the job, maybe even lets him take him home (i dont know if im including this scene for sure but..perhaps)

- Ariadne getting them banned from the haunted house after reflexively slapping Arthur in the face with a rubber snake (Cobb takes the ‘no touching the actors’ rule seriously—especially after what happened^). Eames thinks he’s lost his chance for good, but Arthur finds him outside and finally makes the first move :)

Arthur/Eames

General – Teen and Up

No content warnings apply

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Ok folks, the next fics are or may eventually get explicit. Minors, we love you guys! Stay safe.

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34. Arthur is an undercover narcotics officer posing as a high school senior. Eames is his teacher, who is taken with Arthur and who feels terrible for lusting after a student. Arthur takes down the bad guys, saves Eames' life, then they smash (after Eames finds out he's a fully grown adult person).

Arthur/Eames

Explicit

No content warnings apply

Eames is (shamefully) interested in Arthur, who he thinks is 18 and also his student.

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35. Summary: Eames hasn't seen Arthur in almost four years.

Pseudo- Winter Soldier AU.

--

There's no response from Arthur, no recognition in his eyes. No banter, no teasing – a coldness that would leave any lesser man with severe frostbite.

"... Arthur?" The words sound so raw, so gutted in Eames’ mouth. "Are you-" are you alive? Are you dead? Am I dreaming?

He reaches for his poker chip.

But before he can trace the ridges for the familiar grooves, a shot rings out loud like a crack of lightning.

And the last thing that Eames sees is Arthur and how he always remembers him: in his whip-black suit and a smoking gun in his hand.

Bang.

A single bullet tears through Eames' temples, and he is ripped open, pain lighting every nerve in his body like a pinball machine – and he prays to god that this is merely a dream so he can finally wake up.

Arthur/Eames

Mature – Explicit

No content warnings apply

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36. Pre-movie: Dom and Mal are a dominant/dominant couple who want to find a sub they can play with together. Arthur is interested in trying to fill that role.

Arthur/Dom Cobb/Mal Cobb

Mature – Explicit

No content warnings apply

BDSM, dominance/submission, bondage, spanking/flogging, roleplay.

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37. Arthur has a goldfish which, long story short, he has convinced himself he only needs to keep alive to prove he is not a hot mess. Except now it’s not looking so good and has a weird sore on its side and he doesn’t know what to do but he can’t just let it DIE. So he takes it to the vet and is scoffed at and told it is a feeder goldfish, they cost less than a dollar, just get a new one.

Two vets later and he’s at the end of his rope when he meets Dr Eames, whose dog is introduced as his PA and goes on all his rounds with him. Dr Eames doesn’t even question it, just starts the exam and tells Arthur to pet the dog and start at the beginning while he works.

Arthur/Eames

Teen and Up – Mature - Explicit

No Content warnings apply*

* Discussions of parental death.

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38. “Taxiing an injured delivery boy around the neighbourhood to help him complete his remaining orders had not been a contender on Eames’ list of potential scenarios for the night. Instead of the morose teenager bleeding onto the synthetic leather of the passenger seat, and the short stack of pizza boxes sliding to and fro across the backseat, the Brit had rather imagined his rental car would serve far more nefarious purposes tonight." -- Essentially, Pizza Delivery Porn Guy Crack A/E AU. Aim: comedic tone with bowchikkawowow.

*Arthur isn’t the teenager. He is a customer who ordered pizza.

Arthur/Eames

Mature – Explicit

No content warnings apply*

*There is mention of a traffic accident - no detail, but it might not be someone's cup of tea. Also, not yet at the sexual scene so don't know whether I'll stop at M or go to E.

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39. Eames is working with Arthur the first time in a long while, only now it seems that he has a huge crush on Arthur. He doesn't know how else to get rid of the crush and he really can't concentrate on the job when he's thinking about Arthur all the time, so he asks Arthur to have sex with him, to get the crush out of his system. Arthur agrees surprisingly easily and sex is great, but afterwards Arthur doesn't seem happy and Eames' crush is worse than ever. The more Eames tries to get rid of his crush, the more it sticks, and the less Arthur is talking to him. After the job, Eames has some time to think and he realises that maybe neither of them really wanted for him to get over Arthur. He goes to see Arthur to talk to him about it, but they end up kissing and stuff as well.

Arthur/Eames

Mature – Explicit

No content warnings apply

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40. In the court of the vampire supreme Saito, ambitious human noblemen Eames and Arthur battle for the coveted position of favorite bestower. Winner takes life everlasting.

Arthur/Saito

Side: Arthur/Eames

Arthur/Dom Cobb

Eames/Saito

Explicit

Graphic Depictions of Violence

Bloodplay, Extreme Sadomasochism. Possible Necrophilia

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If you've got any questions, send them our way!