#a bunch of characters aren't really well written

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

Like A Love Story

historical YA following three teens in 1989 New York amidst the AIDS crisis

a closeted Iranian boy who’s just moved to the city, a young punk activist rebelling against his conservative parents, and his best friend, an aspiring fashion designer

complicated friendships & romance, and revolution

[conclaveyaoi]

"said character in said film doesn't come with a post-it that says GAY on their forehead therefore they aren't gay" so I know that in your myopic straight world you can just hit play, from gone with the wind to anora, and have a bunch of straight characters on your screen because we just expect them to be there but since we gays were baby gays there is this thing in the real world called homophobia. I know, I know, very scary. so before you could watch that one netflix show where everyone has a label post-it on their foreheads and are written like cardboards, we had queer-coding in rope. and we had queer-coding in some like it hot and so on. we had queer-coding in literature as well as in cinema because, unlike in your myopic straight world, we didn't have gone with the wind or casablanca or rear window or vertigo or eat pray love or crazy rich asians or blue velvet or first reformed or pride & prejudice or sense & sensibility or titanic or legally blonde or. we have crumbs and we have queer-coding. we have oscar wilde's queer-coding. and em forster's queer-coding. we have tchaikovsky's letters. and we have scholars claiming achilles and patroclus were just friends. and that there's no homoeroticism between brutus and cassius in shakespeare's julius caesar. and we have scholars claiming, for decades on end that, actually, nothing is gay really until you get to late stage capitalism where you put a major post-it on a cardboard and market it for pink money because that's the quality of attention it is given to us in societies where, if we're lucky, it's not a crime to be gay. so you see, I do take offense at the attempt of joining the quite large group of people who claim the same because they would rather not have any gay people on their screens. the celluloid closet comes to mind and it always makes me laugh how as we gays cherish our gay crumbs of exploring gayness in media, there's always someone sitting at the table pointing at our crumbs on the floor to question why we are being given crumbs of queer-coding at all. in a world where conservative is replacing the past liberal order, we might be getting more of that old-fashioned queer-coding and less GAY post-it pink money because we aren't a profitable commodity in this political climate anymore. so indeed, say that "aldo bellini not shouting I'M GAY in the middle of the conclave means he isn't gay" and you can return to your insular straight world where we gays just don't exist in screens and queer-coding is non-existent. the queer-coding is not for you. you can watch it and miss it apparently, but it's not for you, not really. the gay characters are for us. fyi.

[aingeal98]

I haven't read any comics w Jay in them, but all I hear about it is that they're a bland nothing character made only so they can advertise Jon as queer. But since YOURE a fan of JayJon and one of the realest people on this site, i dont think that's v accurate (the bland part, at the very least) and I'm curious about what they're like :3 (also the panel they chose for the poll is not flattering at all T.T why does Jon look like that)

Awww thank you! I can't promise they're everyone's taste, and I understand people's hesitation due to the double whammy of Tom Taylor and Jon Kent, and initially when Jay was introduced I didn't have any interest in them at all. What got me intrigued was the ongoing Secret Six run, which is a book absolutely chock full of messy gay drama. And that got me to go back and deep dive into Jayjon.

The basic summary that I can give as propaganda is that Jay is a seventeen year old anarchist who successfully convinced Jon Kent to go along with his plan to overthrow a dictatorship. He's much more active a partner than a generic love interest, and in a lot of ways he's helping Jon define who he is outside of "Superman's son." Despite being created by Tom Taylor, the more comics Jay appears in the more it becomes clear that he's not a two dimensional sweet supportive love interest. That boy is a Hater. It's literally one of my favourite things about him.

(And also I think people saw Tom Taylor's name, Jon Kent as the protagonist, and Jay's pink hair and made a whole bunch of assumptions about him and Jayjon that lumped them in with Tim Drake and Bernard under the "DC doesn't care they're just throwing these heroes with random boring gay love interests" take. Which I disagree with especially when it comes to Jay tbh.)

But to understand my own personal love for jayjon, as someone who doesn't really care about male characters in general, you gotta understand the third part of this messy triangle: Nia Nal aka Dreamer. Spoilers for everything involving the three of them below.

Her backstory is written in Bad Dream: A Dreamer's Story but basically Nia is a half alien trans girl who grew up in a hidden alien sanctuary in America, until her powers manifested and she left and after some drama and tragedy, she became a hero. She shows up in Jon's Superman run to help Jon and Jay out because of future visions she had in her dreams. Why? Well now we get deep into Jay.

Jay Nakamura is a refugee from Gamorra, an Asian Island nation located in the Pacific. His mother used to be president of Gamorra, but when her successor was elected he turned the island into a dictatorship and began experimenting to create metahumans. Jay was tortured and experimented on, gaining the power to turn intangible. He fled and made his way to America, where he began running an underground news site attempting to expose the news mainstream media ignores, such as the Gamorran refugees. Jon during this run is struggling with the weight of being Superman and what kind of hero he wants to be, and decides to help Jay and the Gamorrans. They fall in love, kiss, and end up saving Gamorra with Nia's help. It's very Tom Taylor as in the ideas are interesting but he's limited to everyone getting an uncomplicated happy ending. Luckily, the characters aren't limited to his run. So instead of being a simple happy ending, things get a lot more complicated.

Then comes the one two whammy of Suicide Squad Dream Team and Absolute Power, which is a terrible comic for Amanda Waller but a great comic for Jon, Jay and Nia. Really enjoyable if you pretend Waller is possessed by an evil magic force the entire time. In Suicide Squad, Waller assembles a team in order to infiltrate Gamorra and take control. She blackmails Nia into being a part of the team first by threatening to expose her hometown of aliens to all of America, and later on by holding the life of her family hostage so that she does Waller's bidding. This leads to Nia using her powers to get the Suicide Squad into Gamorra, where they then assassinate the president.

... Aka Jay's mom.

Nia does end up flipping sides and helping Jon in Absolute Power after he's possessed by Braniac, but despite that Jay still despises her, and understandably so! Jon is caught in the middle between this girl he likes who he knows is a good person, and the boyfriend he loves who understandably hates her. And on top of that his fear of his powers being used to harm others came true and he is NOT coping well after his first time being possessed. And also Nia seems to be crushing on him.

So we come to Secret Six, which three issues in is just gay drama from top to bottom. You've got Deadshot and Catman for old man yaoi, Jon Jay and Nia all forced to work together and full of messy emotions, and Black Alice who was also part of the team who killed Jay's mom but is far less openly remorseful compared to Nia.

And thanks to all that, I've grown very fond of Jon/Jay/Nia. Trans girl who's OK with killing certain assholes vs Anarchist gay guy from a discriminated minority vs Jon Kent liberal flirting with leftism while also dealing with superpowered trauma. It's a powder keg and an entertaining one!

Bonus reading list by bobbinalong on twitter. And bonus extra fun panels.

^^ Guy who is definitely doing OK and his boyfriend who definitely does not feel personally responsible for calming him down

They're very gen z and the Tom Taylor does shine through at first but I still enjoyed them a lot. Secret Six is one of the current ongoings I'm loving and need more of. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but definitely mine!

[mikotos-nape-nibbler]

if i'm being honest i don't really give a shit about the discourse of whether 09 is good or bad DID rep nor do i give a shit about how his DID manifests. i find that what makes him interesting isn't a label for a set of symptoms but rather his expression of those symptoms cultivated by the world he was raised in and how he responds or continues those behaviours. it's honestly more interesting to analyze the overarching systems in society that assisted in developing Mikoto Kayano into a murderer.

how different would he be if Japanese society were more open about emotions and struggles? how different would he be if he were receiving mental health treatment? would he still become a murderer and, if so, what made those mental health treatments ineffective? if he had been hired at another japanese company that didn't follow black company practices, would he still have become a murderer? if so, why? what were the factors that made an average, young adult become a murderer? so on so forth.

honestly the fetish this fandom has on his dissociated self that gives the illusion of multiplicity — when, in reality, he's a singular whole that is fragmented; cracks lined with dissociative barriers, chiseled by continuous stress — detracts from the complexity of his character and writing, flanderizing him into a prop of DID that the fandom puppets into theatrics of stigmatization that same fans claim to "educate" against when, in truth, spout blasé hearsays encrypted with a DIDcore-lese that does nothing for communicating information about the disorder and, instead, excludes and dissuades the general population that that supposed "education" is directed towards.

"Mikoto's a system from the interactive music project MILGRAM. His alter, 'John', murdered a bunch of people on the train."

so there's a program called "Mikoto" and you named the SQL table "John" with the ALTER command that somehow murdered a bunch of people. did the train running the Mikoto program malfunction because of some zero day error with the John table?

"'He has Dissociative Identity Disorder. John's a protector and Mikoto's the host."

so is this Mikoto guy some vessel or something for some supernatural ouija board summon and the John guy is like the familiar or bodyguard summoned? is their character just that? a job and occupation? that sounds boring. and what do those jobs have to do with a disorder on dissociation? are you talking about something like "occupation disorder" or "stuck-in-their-work-self disorder"? or is this some DnD homebrew class type?

what purpose does inaccessible language have if you're trying to educate the average person who isn't familiar with those online community terms that aren't even universal terms in literature nor research? and how are these terms even relevant to discussing Mikoto's character when the concepts it supposedly encompasses aren't universal nor applicable to all possible subjective presentations that a human brain can develop? and yet the fandom, and much of the online mental disorder community, treats those sociolect terms as an axiom — a universal truth, universal terms — and the lack of adherence to that speech is seen as wrong or sin.

"[insert link to some website claiming to have info on DID] is a good website if you wanna read up on what DID is!!"

and then that supposed resource uses highly specialized, nonuniversal, sociolect terms that is jargon to those who are only familiar with layman terms which makes the "information" — if it even is faithfully derived from research — seem like further jargon rather than a comprehensible source for educating.

applying this to Mikoto's character, those who aren't already acquainted with how he's spoken about likely view discussions or comments on him as indecipherable jargon thus it must mean Mikoto's character is just jargon thus not well-written or boring because according to the bubble of jargon people describe this guy with: Mikoto Kayano = computer program system + dnd classes or some chuunibyou alter ego personality savior complex + party hoster or vessel for some supernatural thing + mechanical switch that states 0 or 1 + going through some mitosis split

how does any of that relate to dissociation? people have made DID symptoms so convoluted, yet structured that convolutedness through terms and expressions that sound like some Gary Sue Ebony Dementia Darkness Raven trope that completely detracts from the fact that it's a dissociation disorder rather than a roleplay character form.

have people even considered the fact that if Mikoto had never been imprisoned, he, nor anyone, would even know he has DID— if he even counts as having DID? if how his brain works regarding how he handles stress doesn't impact his life negatively- even if he has all the symptoms of DID if how his brain works regarding how he handles stress doesn't cause disorder for him, he wouldn't have dissociative identity disorder.

the less people view Mikoto as the "alters guy", the more complex understandings can be gathered and discussed within the fandom. the more people view Mikoto as the "average, normal guy who committed a murder, but why? what caused an average, hardworking guy to commit the most grievous sin of murder?", the better the range of insight and curiosity into what shapes a person and the factors in their world — a reflection of our present reality — at play which interact and weave with one another to shape and respond to its members; the opposite of cutting off the fluidity and interwovenness Mikoto has with people and environments outside of his self that people constrain him to, that prison cell of a single label characteristic: "DID".

conclusion: for the love of torch novelgram, let's talk about Mikoto Kayano like the multifaceted, complex, shaped-by-the-socioeconomic-stratae-of-the-world-he-is-part-of-and-interacts-with well-written character he is.

[a-secret-bolton-vampire]

I absolutely adore Worm and Ward and there are very few things I'd actually complain about either of them. Some of the best fiction I've ever read. But there is a recurring thing within both stories that kinda just feels really shitty?

On occasion, we will get a character (mostly women) who is insinuated to be queer in some capacity only to then firmly deny it in a way that just comes across as slightly mean-spirited and queerbaity, despite having a ton of well written canonically queer characters?

Assault implies Battery is into women and she gets really upset by that. Cassie and Chastity... I mean, even with Cassie's long-winded explanation about how they are totally just besties that ends up reading even more like they are gay and just not out to anyone else. Or when Swansong argues with Damsel about fantasies of having servants and mentions having "cute girls too", only for her to shut down when Damsel asks if she's more "worldly" by saying "we're talking about Rain." Or when Imp taunts Vista/Canary/Sophia/so many others with lesbian innuendo. Or when Regent body-snatches Sophia and has her "confess" her love to Emma to ruin her life. Or, to a lesser extent, when Taylor kisses Rachel and Lisa to cure them of Bonesaw's agnosia plague and Lisa says "no tongue". And this isn't even getting into the writing of character's internal thoughts or even the narrative structure that is so incredibly queer despite that (somehow) not being the intention.

In all these cases, it really feels like there is nothing that could be changed by simply... making them all queer? Battery is into women too, cool, that's fine, doesn't change the fact she loves Assault. Cassie and Chastity are practically girlfriends at this point there is absolutely nothing lost by making them such. Ashley wanting girls in her power fantasy without deflecting away from it again, changes literally nothing in the narrative. Or if Imp really is flirting with every girl she comes across. Or if Sophia and Emma maybe did have a crush, mutual or one-sided.

Of course we do get some really important canonically queer characters. Parian, Foil, Tattletale, Regent, Legend, Kenzie, Sveta, Tristan, March, Amy, Goddess... which makes it more baffling that Wildbow keeps writing in sapphic innuendo as a punchline.

There are legitimately very very few things I'd criticize Parahumans for writing wise but this is one of the few I would. If it was once or twice it'd be weird but it wouldn't feel so targeted as it does when you see how often it happens. Even in Ward where queerness is so much more at the forefront of the story this keeps happening.

Regardless, even with Wildbow shoving in "haha they aren't actually gay" in the story... it doesn't exactly make the story less queer. He keeps accidentally writing Taylor and Victoria and Swansong and so many others as being extremely queer to the point that any deflections otherwise only make it even more obvious they are queer. Seriously, Breakthrough and the Undersiders are a bunch of fruit loops in a rotating polyamorous relationship.

This isn't a hate post, just something I've thought of a lot lately. And it's this that fuels my desire to write Wormfic where the protags are just the queerest little people ever. They are some of the gayest girls to ever gay for girls.

[pruneunfair]

Hae Soo is a boring character+ what I do like so far about the story.

Before I start, I want to make it clear that while I do think Hae Soo is a dull FL, she is not the worst FL ever written.

This manhwa is frankly overhyped. I gave it the benefit of the doubt before since it only had around 20-30 chapters so of course it wouldn't be full of complexities right off the bat, but given how the story is going.. I predict this will just be a wattpad-esque tale.

I really don't like saying but first of all: Hae soo has all of those Y/N traits. Okay maybe that's a little exaggerating but it's still there in a way. Hae Soo is described by a lot of other characters as "aging" "ugly" and even calling her aunty/grandma depending on the translation. These are other people thinking this, not just Hae Soo and it's supposed to make her "relatable" for not being seen as totally hot by everyone.. but if you saw her body type and even her face which is just perfectly smooth with tiny lips and eyelashes that just look like eye bags, this gets contradictory.

And I'm not just saying the body type alone is bad. A lot of fans often retaliate with "your just jealous of her" (which why would anyone be unironically jealous of a drawing?) But that her body type is possible and actually yes, it is, is incredibly rare to get that body type without any modifications but it is possible. However this isn't because TOAWF wants to represent someone. Its the sexualize her.

I really dont know how to explain how the art is made to show off how sexy Hae Soo is without sounding creepy so I'll just drop a bunch of panels I found of her doing ordinary day-to-day things while her body becomes the most defining feature.

Personally, I think it's because the arms are too small for that torso. I'm sure there's more but I don't wanna be too nitpicky.

I do also want to specify that plenty of other female characters in the comic like Ari are also sexulized but most of the time with those characters, it's only when they are in inherent sexual situations. (Like all of the panels of Ari after she was either in the middle of or already finished sleeping with Micheol) wheras Hae Soo can be doing absolutely nothing at all and her clothes are drawn right as hell while all her body parts are sticking out like a sore thumb.

Another thing that makes Hae Soo dull is that she relies on how much the readers pity her. Left and right she's either being insulted or she's getting cheated on or she's getting bullied in flashbacks. Almost everything about her that is interesting is something that hurt her, not to say she doesn't have any personality at all, I can definitely see a little something in her but she still heavily relies on something bad happening to her to garner care from the audience, if it's not that it's her super sexy romance with Tae Ha.

speaking of Tae Ha, he isn't very interesting so far either. I think his reasons for being obsessed with Hae Soo are still largely unknown, hes mostly just the same "Mafia boyfriend." Archetype, he made a straight up doll to look like Hae Soo which..yeah that's creepy. He is only really liked because well, he's hot and NOT Micheol so he's already "better".

What I do like about TOAWF though is that they aren't skipping scenes just to get to the mid romance. We are actually getting chapters explaing Hae Soo and Micheols relationship before and how it used to be a sweet one until debt and miscarriage. We get to see Micheol with his new life with Ari that has hints of how much she is being manipulated. The comments might say "I don't wanna see trash. I wanna see my sexy Tae Ha with his Hae Soo." But differing perspectives and highlighting other characters is what's saving this story a little. You can't just skip all the important pieces for the "good stuff." And expect a good story.

That said I do understand the commenter's impatience because so far Micheol is leagues more interesting then the ML Tae Ha and like me, we just wanna know why this dude randomly liked Hae Soo to the point of making dolls of her. There just needs to be a middle ground between the two perspectives.

Final thoughts: I don't think Micheol should receive karma. I know, a really weird idea but here me out.

I understand the allure of these types of stories where the babe gets revenge on the loser ex but if we wanted to be both a unique and interesting story than Micheol being allowed to live on being a shitty person would work. It would be awful to think about, yes, but this is unfortunately the real world and in the real world, it is REALLY rare that a cheater will actually face karma. Micheol should be allowed his life with Ari, where she could either realize she's in an abusive relationship down the line and find the courage to nope out of there or she could stay and it would be a tragic ending and the painful truth that life isn't always fair. This could work well as long as the plot doesnt make it out as "Haha Ari! You deserve this! Haha!"

[panicloser]

I think a big issue with the adult timeline is that they try to hard to make big tension filled plot points and they do this while the teen timeline is ALSO having big tension filled plot points.

And so in comparison, since one of them is in the perfect setting for those kind of plot points: teenagers fending for themselves in the woods slowly losing it. The other setting in comparison the plot points feel kind of forced, not that interesting or just straight up goofy by comparison. Its also REALLY difficult to manage TWO plot heavy timelines at the same time! Especially when you have a limited amount of time to tell these stories.

Judging by the way a lot of shows are written, I think that showrunners often fear that if their shows plot isn't moving constantly or if they don't have enough twists and turns that people will get bored with the show. But in this show, they don't have to worry about that all the time because you already have a naturally plot heavy story in the teen timeline, that's where the intense exciting stuff is happening, that's why so many people are more into the teen story more than the adult one. So the adult timeline does not need to have a guy blackmailing them or a mystery to uncover or these people hunting them down and all these new side characters popping up, it doesn't need all of this flashy shit the teen timeline has that, it has understandable violence and fear and survival and desperation and deaths that make sense that they would happen because they're in the fucking woods.

The PURPOSE of the adult timeline is simply to show how those things that happened to them affect them as adults so just...do that. Show that. Just show them in their daily lives struggling with trauma, grief and untreated mental illness. Maybe have them interact more between each other. Maybe instead of the public's knowledge of their situation resulting in a big blackmail plot, it simply results in the feeling of strangers insensitively coming up to them and interrogating them on an experience that they couldn't possibly understand. Instead of stuffing in a bunch of new side characters with some police plotline or a random guy dying just have the ones directly involved in their life and how strained those relationships are. Maybe instead of their survival instincts coming out on these big mystery focused plotlines, they come out in every day experiences that aren't as easy to process when you're that traumatized and changed by your experiences and the things you had to do. How that trauma affects their family, their relationships, how it affects their job, how it affects their perception of the world. There are ways that they show this but the plots get so distracted with other shit that it's hard to focus on.

I think the adult timeline would greatly benefit if it had a more episodic, character focused plot. It has the chance to work with and spend time with the characters in that way which they can't do in the teen timeline. Do it there. Every episode focusing on different aspects of their life with those struggles and trauma.

I think this would first of all make the show easier to manage writing and time wise because you're not making two plot based shows at the same time, it would result in something for everyone so if you like episodic or plot based more you have something either way, and it would create an interesting unique contrast of two styles that provide a well rounded examination of how trauma affects people. The adults can still do violent shit sometimes but I just think the style and pace of it should change. I'm sure there are different issues that would come up but I think it would be a better deal than what we have now.

To summarize my thoughts on the adult timeline: I just wanna see some traumatized ladies I don't need all o' that

[donelywell]

Have you seen the Sonic 3 Trailer? Opinions?

DUDE I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE MOVIEEEEEEE!!!!

I'm gonna dress up to the eights (because I can never reach nines) and drag my friends to the movie theater with them kicking and screaming-

Cut because Movie Spoilers from the Trailer

SHADOW LOOKS SO COOOOLLL!!! AND TAILS WITH THE OVERSIZED HELMET AND KNUCKLES WITH THE FLAMES OF DISASTER- YEAHHHHHH!!!!

I heard some people get mad that it's not gonna be exactly like SA2- and I'm okay with that! They're doing their own thing and I find it interesting! Tbh I view the movies as an au rather than canon twisted a little to fit on the big screen- and as a person who owns an au, I like to mess around and throw the canon stories around to create a different story, something fresher for people who are already familiar with the canon stuff.

I'm a little upset that Amy or Rouge doesn't appear to be making an appearance in the movie- but I actually have some hopes that Amy gets her own show like Knuckles did! Like Amy going from zone to zone using her Tarot cards to try finding her destiny and stuff like that- it'd give the fans what they want, more Sonic zones being shown and Amy/ other characters showing up! (as for Rouge, I think she might be a human spy member of GUN, I dunno, her being a mobian working for GUN doesn't really make that much sense in this universe. Though still, I probably won't be too mad about her not being there)

There are already a lot of characters main and side in this story, and I think Sonic 2 showed us that introducing 2 new characters makes it a little hard to dive deeper into both of their character. So while it would be awesome for Amy, Rouge, and Shadow to show up in this movie, it would not give them enough time to flesh out as full characters in the movie.

I'm not gonna say that the people who are mad about it are invalid about their anger- please don't take it as that. I just generally try looking at the good in some things.

Overall- I'm excited! Dude Shadow was so cool in the trailer- and I got a lot of hope that it's gonna be good because Jim Carrey said he wasn't gonna be in it unless 'the script was written by an angel in golden ink'- and he's in it TWICE!

Like Shadow did the ritual of beating the shit out of Tails- we gotta keep the tradition alive! Keanu actually fits Shadow so well as a voice actor it's crazy- 'Well aren't you a colorful bunch' hahaha!!

Dude if Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey are canon in the universe- is Ben Schwartz?

[the-camp-half-blood-library]

Hello! Could you suggest some shortish fics for a variety of ships? I'm trying to get to know the characters better, so some that focus more on characterization than relationships if possible.

Hey there! We've found a bunch of shorter fics for you -- ten, to be exact. Each fic will have the character or characters it focuses on in small brackets (placed after the title) to make your searching easier. Enjoy!

one day at a time [Everyone in HOO] by KlyssaCarrie

Estelle's people aren't alright. But it doesn't really register until she sees it. *** (basically a lot of microdoses on how traumatised everyone in the riordanverse is)

sea salt in my veins (dive into the mediterranean) [Percy] by Anonymous

What it means to be a child of the sea. "No one ever taught him how to swim. Not that he remembers. The waves in the shores by Montauk and the chlorine water of the pool alike had cradled him with fluid limbs since he was young. Percy does not even know how to drown, though he does not realize the significance of this until he is older."

Find A Way To Say That You Know Me [Will and Nico] by pickingupthepieces

“She would have been 18 today.” “How do you feel?” Nico sighs. --- Nico is opening up to Will more after Tartarus. Thinking about Bianca feels different now that he's older.

come down to the dead sea (suffer with me) [Percy] by Anonymous

Percy Jackson and survivor's guilt (aka what it means to learn death via war). "Death becomes a familiar dance. A repetitive ritual, a haunting rhythm. Where he goes, it follows. Grief whittles him down, till his bones feel like hollow reeds. Cattail swaying in a lake. He feels he will collapse into a swampy pool. He tastes salt and swims in a bog of it and it manages to burn his insides." 

year round [Leo and Jason] by planetundersiege

At the last day of summer, they watch almost everyone go back to their families. And it feels strange, not having a family to go back to as well. Neither Jason or Leo had a home to return to.

memento mori [Hazel, Leo, Jason, Frank] by @leovaldezdefender

A series of 4 interviews with 4 different demigods, all asked the same question. "What do you remember of your death?"

Goodbye, My Childhood (Friend) [Luke and Annabeth] by @vicwritesfic

Annabeth Chase grieves and accepts the death of Luke Castellan through a letter, written by him, delivered by Hermes. Grief is fickle, as is all else; subject to change, subject to time.

Innocence Died Screaming [Nico] by @runsonmatcha

The Underworld glowed. The home of the dead was vast and terrifying. But, more importantly, it was a home. Therefore, there were echoes of chatter, there was slang and tradition, spirits bustling back and forth. Oh gosh, it sparkled. Nico wished he’d seen it when he was eleven.

where i'm set alight and i blink in sight of your blinding light [Percy and Annabeth] by rosalba15

Percy wears a cheap blue suit bought from a thrift shop for his wedding, and secretly hates it. It’s not that he’s unhappy, because he really isn’t, it’s just that he hoped for something more. It feels like the worst thing to think, and he mentally slaps himself, but still can’t help it. The kid in him wanted a big party and pretty clothes and good food, and a small part of the boy who just turned eighteen he is now wishes the same. Or: Percy and Annabeth get married, and everything is fine, sort of.

stone-still statues [Sally Jackson] by KlyssaCarrie

Sally has killed a man. She doesn't regret it.

We hope these fics are what you're looking for! Don't forget to leave kudos and a comment, and happy reading!

-Mod 2

[littledata]

what are these "best fics youve ever read that barely have any hits" you mentioned? can you give us a top 5 or sonething?

Oh God, you've really shamed me here because I read a LOT of random fics from fandoms I'm not even part of and the stories I was referring to largely come from there.

However, in the interest of practising what I preach, I sat down today and read a bunch of Warrior Nun fics I'd never read before so I could rec you some. To be totally clear, these aren't necessarily going to have "hardly any hits" but are fics that I think could use more love in general.

In no particular order:

I was seeing black and white (and now I'm living in color) by gayestcatra - 1281 words, a beautifully soft fic set in Switzerland with gorgeous description. By the same author I also enjoyed (your life was) my life's best part, an angsty Mary/Shannon exploring Mary's (heartbreaking) grief after Shannon's death.

Cat’s Cradle security checkpoint logs by @jtl07 - 518 words, have I raved enough on tumblr yet about how much I love their writing? No? Oh okay I'll do it again then. JT is one of my favourite writers in the fandom and I love this series of fics they did giving creative looks into the characters - this particular one is the contents of their bags but the whole series is worth checking out (and everything else they write too, obviously).

Lauds by @sisterdivinium - 3152 words, Mother Superion/Jillian Salvius. WE LOVE A RAREPAIR. Gorgeously written fic where you feel the weight of every single action. The author has a TON of fics if you liked this one too.

you're my best friend (in a world we must defend) by @daisychainsandbowties - 3980 words, avatrice and Pokemon. Beatrice's characterisation in this drives me insane. I MUST know more. If you know nothing about pokemon here's your primer: they're funny little guys you catch and make fight, exactly like the Catholic church did to Ava. There, now you've got no excuse not to read it.

Dead People Don't Shiver by waterintheshadows - 2068 words, avatrice soulmate AU set in a morgue FUCK YEAH. This is the kind of shit I live for. Great concept, great execution.

Where The River Bends by @itchyouchyz - 100,750 words, avatrice 1960s midwife AU. Full disclosure - it's 100k - I haven't finished it yet. But I LOVE what I've read so far, tender and lovely. Check the tags for trigger warnings on this one!

keep me in your mirror (but don't take your eyes off the road) by minutetuna - 26,343 words, avatrice season 2 road trip au. It made me feel this precise emotion: hnnnnnnghhhhh. There is a particular style of writing which is just bouncy and pacy and still draws you into every single emotion and this author has it in spades. LOVE.

This was so much fun! If anyone else wants to hit me up with some recs I'd love to hear them - even if (especially if) they're your fics. It's a long weekend, might as well spend it reading fanfiction.

[darklinaforever]

My god. What did you smoke to think that was well written ?! At what fucking moment ?! And lol ! If people really think that this kiss will have an effect on the Daemyra couple, people are completly dreaming. That Rhaenyra will have a serious relationship with Mysaria ? Even less ! It is very likely that this stupid kiss will not even be discussed in the future. Also... at one point in the video, the girl tries to say in relation to those who would have reacted badly to the kiss : "But don't straight people also kiss when they are sad ?" THE FUCKING CONNECTION ?!

And the rest is WORST !

Except that fucking yes ! There could have been official sapphic content in HOTD without these shitty relationships that are Rhaenicent and Rhaesaria ! Why ?! BECAUSE THERE ARE CANONICAL LGBTQ+ COUPLES IN THE HISTORY OF DANCE ! INCLUDING SAPPHIC ! But obviously you're not complaining about the non-adaptation of canonical queer relationships which are therefore not doomed to go nowhere or break up like Rhaenicent and Rhaesaria ! Why are you happy with representation that won't go anywhere and the erasure of canonical queer relationships ?! Are you stupid or what ?!

And yes, Rhaenicent is what we call queerbaiting ! Pure and simple ! How can you even dare to say otherwise with such aplomb ?! The writers and actors are constantly contradicting each other about the Rhaenicent relationship ! Open your fucking eyes !

Pigeons, that's what everyone who supports these two shitty ships are ! And no, I'm not sorry to say it, and I will never sorry. Wake up people, damn it !

And you know what could have been good to confirm Rhaenyra's possible bisexuality, even if I don't think she's bi in the source material ? LAENA VELARYON ! HER FUCKING BEST FRIEND ! AND NOT WITH THE TWO WOMEN WHO RUINED THE BEGINNING (ALICENT / yes yes, in HOTD, Alicent is still Rhaenyra's abuser, because Daemon, outside of the OCC strangulation scene, never really abused her) AND THE END OF HER LIFE (MYSARIA) ! BUNCH OF IDIOTS !

Also, instead of fundamentally choosing to make Rhaenyra a bi person when she probably isn't in the book objectively speaking, well just adapt the true queer characters of the dance ? No ?

No one complains that the real queer characters and relationships aren't adapted ?

You prefer that we transform a potentially straight character into bi to make her be in relationships that will go nowhere because she will never leave her man ? Well you really are pitiful.

I'm so tired of the attempts to defend Rhaenicent and Rhaesaria, two shitty relationships that were poorly written in HOTD but when you take Fire and Blood become downright insulting.

Also, another thing I find ironic. The fact of always trying to say in defense of these two ships that we don't care about the source material that is Fire and Blood. Listen to me, you idiot, without Fire and Blood there is no HOTD. So you shut up about the neglect of the source material because you just come across as even more stupid than you probably are. But strangely, to talk about the so-called infidelities of Daemon, present precisely in Fire and Blood and not HOTD of these same fans, well there are people ! While these infidelities did not take place in HOTD and may never take place. And beyond that, at no time have these so-called infidelities been proven. At no time. And if you have a functioning brain in terms of reflection and analysis, it is necessarily probable that these infidelities of Daemon with Mysaria and Nettles are purely false. But of course, the fact is that most of these people are condemning Daemon for something he hasn't done yet and may never do, in the only material that matters to these people, namely HOTD. But strangely, Rhaenyra's infidelitie, no one cares about that. On the contrary, it's apparently great because it's sapphic "representation". Rhaesaria is representation ? An improvised scene that comes out of nowhere and has no impact on the storyline ? Let me laugh. And apparently, Rhaenyra would be justified, because Daemon strangled her at the end of season 1. You know, that other scene that came out of nowhere and made no sense. But obviously, critical thinking is dead in this type of person.

Put Fire and Blood aside if you want to justify these two shitty ships, but the reality is that they don't need Fire and Blood to be bad. They are simply poorly written in the context of HOTD alone.

These two ships make me so fucking sick.

[strangetomato]

do you have any advice/things you wish you knew starting out for a neurodivergent person wanting to work on a sims story as ambitious as SHWC? particularly related to workflow, burnout, and other periods of mental unhealth. (also patiently excited for the next update — i first started reading SHWC in high school and seeing your ripp and ophelia again feels a little like coming home in a way i can’t explain)

This is a great question. 

It is honestly very pleasantly surprising to me that I've been able to persist and come back to this story, and I'm not sure what’s been different about this project to keep me coming back. I think it comes down to loving the game and the source characters so much and then diving so deeply into developing them. They are so fully formed for me that they will just resurface in my mind from time to time, even now after 7+ years after the last update. I dream about them sometimes.

I tend to cycle through interests/fixations in the way many of us NDs do. Some come and go after a good run and never really seem to return. Others are perennial faves that I know will resurface eventually. The Sims 2 has been the most significant one in my whole life so far, so I think that really helps.

So as for advice: pick something you love. I'd say even do one better than me and zero your focus in on your favourite characters, your favourite character, period. Really weed out anything that isn't exciting to write about for you. 

Upon returning this time, I’ve given myself permission to not bother with the stuff that doesn't interest me as much, or that once did but doesn’t so much now. If you're struggling with having enough spoons or getting enough dopamine to get through the work, forcing yourself to tell a story you aren't that interested in is not going to work. I previously stalled out mid chapter in a Veronaville side story precisely because I really wanted to be writing about JRO or the other main cast instead.

Posing scenes with characters you love provides you with dopamine because it just brings joy to get the shots looking just right, seeing their expressions, etc. I also like doing sorta arty things with the images, because that tickles my brain and keeps me interested, too. Or decorating. Sometimes decorating the set is what does it for me. Find what interests you the most and do it. 

I'd also say simplify the image-making, too. Cut corners. Don't pose everything! You don't have to illustrate every little movement. Use the text. I can't count how many times Ophelia has ruffled Ripp's hair, but I have never once shown it. You can get away with so much in just the writing. If posing it all out sounds fun and the result would please you, then do it. If not, describe it in the text. Easy. Done.

Similarly, you can have a scene, say, where two characters are talking or someone is thinking and the image is just a close up of a picture in a frame. Vary things up and it will keep things interesting and your attention span will thank you.

And vary things between closeups and wide shots, use different perspectives. Do a birds eye view… then you don't even need a facial expression. A shot of just the feet. Why not? Wide shots with a lot of very posed characters in them takes a lot of effort. Use them wisely. You simply don't need to do that all the time. Varying the perspective and closeness of the shot conveys different things in the story as well. It's part of the storytelling, particularly the emotion.

Okay, what else…

Keep a tiny notebook or document on your phone with you at all times, so you can jot things down as they come to you. Take your best advantage of those moments when your brain is firing, even if you’re in the lineup in the grocery store, etc. I have written entire scenes in my brain while driving on the highway, then pulled over to jot it all down. (Obviously, pull over to write, if you’re driving, lol.)

I have a very nonlinear brain, for better or worse. I tend to work up a bunch of stuff simultaneously, rather than going from point A to B. Currently, I have documents for about 5 or 6 updates, which I jump around in. Also one for “story bits’ where I dump any little snippet that pops up in my brain. I've stopped doing images that far in advance, though. Too often I change things and it helps me to focus on the update at hand if I only shoot scenes within the current update.

Working so far ahead in writing can be helpful with sticking it out, because I have good stuff I really want to share further down the line.

That said, I've also had success doing Camp Nano and sitting down and just writing. For me, this is also still jumping around and doing a lot of little scenes. But sometimes just starting to write and letting it all randomly flow out will be surprisingly productive.

Burnout is very real. Taking a break is really the best idea. Playing the game or posing very indulgent shots just for fun for can help. Rest as much as you can, and do things you enjoy.

Mental health concerns are tough when it comes to this stuff. Again, taking a break and focusing on recovery is for the best. I find that when my mood goes off, I need to get off of all social media. If you find you are feeling bad more often than good when in the sims community, it’s probably time to get offline for a while.

I'm still feeling out the difference between ND burnout and depression in my own life, even in my past. For myself, the mood stuff is more of a seismic shift (and has the more distressing negative thoughts) while burnout does still settle in from time to time, even when I’m otherwise well. Burnout needs rest. Depression needs movement. Both need sleep. This obviously goes beyond what I’m going to get into here. Try to find a good psychiatrist.

In general: take your meds, get enough sleep, get some physical activity, find community.

I really like going for a walk with headphones on. (Be careful, obviously.) I have a nature trail nearby, so that works well for that. Like many, I use music to inspire me with writing/creating, so this is a nice combo of exercise/nature/sensory immersion/creative inspiration, and I can easily stop to jot down notes. Or do it really sloppily while I’m still walking.

I’m not sure if that fully answers everything. 

Workflow is not my strongest area. I do think having smaller goals is helpful. If you have the writing all completed, try not to think about the chapter as a whole and how much is left to do. Set a small goal, like doing something every day, no matter how small. I make physical checklists to feel the progress more concretely as well. You can storyboard things out to help guide you, or give yourself permission to freestyle it and not worry about it matching the text perfectly. I have changed the text to match the image when something new came up like that. It’s nice to have the ability to do that.

Thank you so much for the kind words. :) Coming back to work on the story has given me a positive obsession that I’ve been lacking in more recent years, despite being otherwise mentally well. The update is coming along. It’s hard to predict exactly when I will complete it, but it is steadily approaching. Thanks for the great ask and have a nice day! :) Good luck with your project.

[pythagoras180]

Why "El Toro de Piedra" fails on all fronts

The Letter

The inciting incident of Marinette's side of this episode is that she finds a letter that Gabriel wrote some time before his death, where he confesses to Adrien that he's Monarch. This causes Marinette to question if lying to Adrien is right. In other words, finding this letter causes her to question the thing she's already questioned multiple times. And at the end of the episode, she decides to keep lying to Adrien. So Marinette's entire story this episode is her making the same decision she already made. They keep rehashing this plotline without changing or progressing everything. This is the definition of running in place.

Also, why did reading this letter make Marinette reconsider her decision? Was it because it made her reinterpret what Gabriel's last words meant? Probably not, since it's not like Gabriel wrote this letter immediately before he died, it was clearly written a while before. Honestly, it feels like the only reason the writers added this letter is because they thought Marinette (and the audience) needed to be reminded of the decision she made. Even though she's already talked about it in previous episodes. What a joke.

Villainous Fathers

This episode reveals that Ivan's father is a supervillain who wants Ivan to follow in his footsteps, and Ivan is keeping this a secret because he feels ashamed. This is clearly meant to draw a thematic parallel between Ivan and Adrien. Except, their situations aren't similar at all. Ivan knows what kind of man his father is. It's not like he's in denial about it or anything. Ivan was the one keeping it a secret from others, due to the fact he was ashamed. How is that related to Adrien? Adrien isn't the one keeping a secret, and he isn't ashamed of something. There's also the stuff about Ivan choosing not to be like his father, which is something that could have been relevant to Adrien, but it's not, because Adrien doesn't know who his father really was. So this theme doesn't work at all.

To add insult to injury, this episode once again has a terrible parent be immediately forgiven. Given how often this happens in this show, I'm convinced that if Gabriel hadn't died, the show would have let him get away with everything he did.

The Concert

The whole concert part of the episode felt so disconnected and tacked on to the episode. In fact, the only real connection it has is the fact that Juleka's song mentions her father, connecting to the attempt at a theme. Other than that, this subplot could have been part of any episode.

How come Juleka needed to perform alone? Ivan and Luka may have been absent, but Rose and Adrien were still there (until Adrien had to leave too). Both of them can play the keyboard, why didn't either of them back Juleka up?

Finally, in Juleka's song, she puts more importance in her deadbeat dad, rather than her loving single mother. You might argue, "Well, it's because she's a musician like her father." I'd like to remind anyone who claims this that Juleka's mother is also a musician. Ever since season 4, the show has put more importance on Jagged Stone as parent to Luka and Juleka, rather than their mother. But this is the first time that focusing on the deadbeat has been the character's decision. So, I feel like I can say that Juleka Couffaine has been character assassinated.

The Council

Finally, this episode also sets up the idea that Gabriel and Tomoe's alliance wasn't just the two of them, there are also a bunch of other mysterious figures that knew he was Monarch and are working behind the scenes. And one of these people is Nathalie's father. There's not much to talk about here, it's just something that briefly appears at the end. It's just to tease that something interesting might happen in the future. But considering this show's track record of following through on its setups, I have zero faith that anything good will come from this.

Conclusion

I don't think a single thing that this episode tried to do was well executed, and it showed that not even a minor character like Juleka is safe from being ruined. Still not as bad as "Werepapas" though!

[stu-dyingstudent]

kid/academy/pre-genin Sakura Haruno fic recs

To be honest, there aren't many kid or academy Sakura fics out there, at least that I can find, and most of which are actually time travel AUs. Now, the tricky thing with it is that most of those tend to start where Sakura is quite young, but by the end of the story she is a genin. So, it gives me the difficult decision of whether of not I should include those on this list (I haven't decided).

Anyway, the other difficult aspect of fanfiction about a young Sakura is the writing itself. There has to be a good balance of childishness and eloquence to ensure that the writing is not just truthful to the character, but that it also flows with the story. These are some of the ones I like!

Started: 2024.07.25

Last Updated: 2024.09.28

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Satori (Between the Lines) - Jaylene || ffn || gen || T || academy AU || complete

While attending the Academy, Sakura's field experience assignment with the Konohagakure Intelligence Division ends up being more valuable than she'd ever guess.

Sakura lands herself working in Torture & Intelligence??? From the very beginning Sakura has been pegged as a "paper ninja" where she is constantly praised for her intelligence, so Satori (Between the Lines) is academy Sakura putting these skills to use. Super good read and includes characters we don't normally get to see in fics!

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Time Flies Like An Arrow - Katlou303 || ao3 || gen || K || time travel AU || complete

Sakura traveled back in time with the intent of changing everything, but something went wrong, and now she's four years old having nightmares about impossible monsters and losing friends she has yet to meet.

Time Flies Like An Arrow is probably the most interesting take on a time travel AU I have ever read. Sakura ends up going back in time to when she is 4 years old and not even in the academy. The only thing is, she has no clue that this is the second time she's living this life and her mind is still one of a child.

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Two Minds (are better than one) - Lesemaus16 || ao3 || gen || Tobirama as inner AU || complete

Tobirama doesn't generally object to being reborn. He does object to being stuck in the mind of a little girl, though.Sakura grows up with a grumpy voice in her head, telling her to train more.Tobirama's influence on Sakura might very well change the story. Or maybe not, who knows.

note: I think this might actually take place during the genin days, but I have to check since I can't remember.

Tobirama is such a great character (so refreshing) and his interactions with Sakura in this are gold! I hope one day Kishimoto will release some side stories about him and other characters from his time as we really don't know that much about them tbh.

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New Day Dawning - IncompleteSentanc (Erava) || ao3 || narusaku || T || canon divergence || complete

One day, while visiting the grave of Nohara Rin, Obito stumbles across a young girl terrifyingly like her. He decides to ensure she doesn’t meet the same fate.As for Sakura? Sakura had no idea what she was awakening the day she went to visit her parents graves - but she never looked back. One way or another.(Feat. Sakura raised by Obito and the Akatsuki, and her eventual return to Konoha and all those she left behind)

Sakura is brainwashed and manipulated, but loved by notorious killers nonetheless. Incredibly well written and I won't lie when I say that the ending took me a bit by surprise. Also, I should warn you that this does take place over a long time and thus Sakura does not remain a child for the whole thing, but I just really wanted to put New Day Dawning on this list (just read it).

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In Another World - eleventheeggo || ao3 || gen || T || orphan Sakura AU || ongoing

What if Sakura was an orphan instead of Naruto and Sasuke? A story about a socially stunted girl who has a thirst for knowledge and is surrounded by softies who love her all the same.

Orphan!Sakura is not something I knew I needed in my life! She is so precious and it's great to watch all of these characters come together for her sake. In Another World also discusses ROOT a bit, which you know I love, so I can't wait for the story to get there.

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Your Move, Instigator (draw your weapon and hold your tongue) - Laysan_albatross || ao3|| third war extended AU || complete

“We are still under wartime policy,” the recruiter had told her parents. He had an envelope in his hand. He sounded sorry. “She has two parents who are successful ninjas. We would be remiss to overlook her potential based upon that alone.” The Third Shinobi War never ended. Konoha needs more soldiers, grabbing anyone who can fight, especially those who can't say no.

I feel like one of Your Move Instigator's biggest strengths is that it truly gets across the innocence (or loss) of these characters. They themselves don't fully understand what they are doing or why. They are just children following the orders given to them by adults, even if that means taking the life of another. In the beginning, Sakura even recalls times of her spelling and grammar being corrected in her reports along with other childish things. Konoha has shown themselves of not being above dispatching young children to fight, but this story just brings that devastation to new light.

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cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done. and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Probably one of the best time travel AUs out there!! Also, we get to see ROOT!Sakura in here, which I love in addition to Sai (my baby). I know I said it's incomplete, but it's only missing one chapter so you still get plenty of story. Anyway, definitely check out cut the head off the snake!!

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Not so imaginary - FangirlJo || ao3 || gen || T || ghost Tobirama AU || incomplete

Haruno Sakura was 5 when she realises her imaginary friend was not so imaginary at all and resembles the Second Hokage by a lot. Like a lot a lot. In which Senju Tobirama is Sakura's Ghost Sensei. Things change, chaos ensues and Tobirama is once more reminded with the reason he doesn't have kids.

Damn, I just really love Tobirama as a character. This guy rocks and deserves more story time (justice for Tobirama!!).

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Ground Zero - TheIzzatron || ao3 || gen || T || third war extended AU || incomplete

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If this means forcing weapons into the hands of children, then so be it.

A young Sakura is taken advantage of in her parents’ absence at war and is enrolled into the academy's "accelerated" program. The complete unfairness of the situation is skillfully conveyed throughout the story. Sakura is left to wonder why she too isn't learning about flowers and history like Ino? Why Ino isn't learning the fastest way to kill her enemies? The characters and their emotions are so well done that you truly feel just how cheated they are. They aren't heartless, they are children. Highly recommend.

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Inherited Will of Fire - jokergirl2001 || ffn || T || gen || sakura can see ghosts AU || incomplete

She always knew she was a natural at genjutsu but what she didn't know was that being a natural meant she had some immense talent when it comes to spiritual energy. Well at least that's what the cheerful raven haired boy who apparently drowned himself on purpose said.

I only just started reading this now, but Inherited Will of Fire is super cute! Academy Sakura finds she is able to see ghosts after stumbling upon Shisui shortly after the Uchiha massacre.

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One Change in the Story - Aingeal98 || ffn || T || gen || time travel AU || ongoing

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was only supposed to go back five minutes in time. Instead, Sakura wakes up in a dark room surrounded by people wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. The worst part? She doesn't have a clue who she is.

Praying for One Change in the Story to be completed!! Sakura lands herself back in time with the mind and body of her four year old self. With Pein being the first one to find her, Sakura's new life purpose is to be the Akatsuki's weapon. Similar to New Day Dawning, Sakura doesn't stay a child for the entirety of this fic, but I still think it is a notable mention. Sakura slowly loses herself to her new roll and in a sense becomes the embodiment of a ROOT agent. It was interesting to see Itachi's internal battle with the situation and Konan's guilt. However, even with Sakura bound to Ame, there are children back in Konoha who have an itch that a pink-haired girl named Sakura is someone important.

edit: recently updated!

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Old Man by the Bar - Varmint || ao3 || T || gen || academy AU || complete

All it took was one school teacher's decision for the reality of Konoha to be altered in a way that no one could have imagined. Follow Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, and Chouji Akimichi as they grow as individuals, friends, and ninja. All with the help of that grumpy old man with all of the cool war stories.

The way this fic is genuinely so good and I almost never see people talking about it is criminal! The interactions between the kids are truly great and there is so much character growth among them. Kiba, Sakura, and Choji really just started off as a group of misfits thrown together for an assignment, but even though it was a complete disaster they grew to appreciate the relationship formed.

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Y'all, please send me some good kid/academy Sakura fics!!!! Or write one...

[laurikarauchscat]

Cw for fictional rape and real rape culture, mentioned pregnancy from rape, mentions of other sexual violence. And swearing, for those who need that warning

So I've read the short story Raistlin's Daughter, and 1) I honestly have *severe* criticisms; 2) I really think it was meant to be true originally. It begins with Caramon thinking about how he started hearing stories about Raistlin's child about five years after Raistlin remained in the Abyss... and then the entire story is a flashback to what happened almost a decade before the remaining-in-the-Abyss, most of which was then erased from memory of at the very least Caramon.

And the wiki even gives Usha's date of birth *later* than About Five Years after Test of the Twins! Although the DL writers have always been careless with details. Sturm has aged several years in several months, and in the following two years Caramon's grown half a foot in height. And more.

There's also another thing I've noticed the DL writers having a pattern of doing.

I've noticed how they treat sexual violence. There's a lot of talk about it, and a lot of sexual harassment&assaults and attempted rapes. But rape never *happens* to the characters (not even only the main ones) or even near enough around them. There are three "exceptions" in the hexalogy, all with their specifics making it clear why they were allowed to be written.

Two of the victims were elven women who got pregnant from their human rapists and eventually, quite soon, met horrible fates as consequences of those events. (I also feel like the rape of Tanis's mother, the only one out of the three for which the word rape is actually used as well, was written in for shock value, to be referenced so early: look, we aren't like fluffy clean Tolkien, we do like the fluffy clean Tolkien but here elves get raped). The third victim was a young man whose rapist, a young woman, and a bunch of people surrounding them, coerced and harassed him into the act rather than physically forced, and the experience was written as having not affected him much.

I already knew the third one had been retconned out (I started to rant about it, but also thing is, a former friend of mine *has*, probably, gotten a confirmation from Margaret Weis that it was indeed meant as a replacement — she didn't word things very clear in her question, but it's probably unlikely Weis would think it about something else and then reply with her "Same story. Have you read The Soulforge?" Anyway, I think that sucks Horribly; if you'd ever like me to elaborate, I so readily will). Today I learned that the other two were too. Not so sure about the elfmaid who was the victim of Lord Soth, but the wiki on both her and him appears so, placing events differently; and about Tanis's mother — explicitly in The Inheritance, upon the wikipedia page on which I happened upon.

And what happened in the Raistlin's Daughter short story would fall into this same pattern. They can only allow rape that has happened, to People Who Matter, under narrow conditions, and then they withdraw even that again and again. With at the very least what happened to Raistlin in his youth it could have been them having *realized* what the fuck they wrote, and I'm *glad* if that was the case, and still they certainly had to fucking own it and not fucking go noooo it actually never happened. With what happened to Tanis's mother, they were very fully fucking aware of what they wrote, and then they did this.

I'm not sure about their level of awareness with the other two cases. What happened to the elfmaid (I don't trust post-hexalogy names. Why is an elfmaid named Isolde) seems more like yes they did realize from how it and a lot of the book chapter it's in were written, but I am not certain, from how further events are written and spoken about in that chapter. With Raistlin and Amberyl.... I said I'm not sure, but thinking about it, it really seems to me that no they didn't realize at-fucking-all.

And then, in any case, all four of these stories, specifically these stories, had the same oh that never happened nevermind. We aren't like fluffy clean Tolkien but we can't actually allow that to happen to anyone remotely important or to have been done by anyone remotely important (even a villain who was established as a rapist anyway. Oh and definitely can't allow our perfect honorable hero (about whose flaws including his youth as a principleless fuck half the point of the book it was referenced in, and that specific chapter, was about) to have been complicit in it!) can we.

Now, onto the story itself, and your hc/AU!

First of all jesus fucking christ that fucking magic. Btw I think it wasn't actually "we have to fuck or we both die" — Amberyl was specifically thinking about how for Raistlin it's probably even worse than for her because he is human and ill and specifically ohgodwhatifitmightkillhim. It would not have killed her. It would eventually have led them to fuck no matter what, though (...unless Raistlin would have died from it. Which he probably would, Caramon said Raistlin was more ill than *ever* and that's *right after the Test of High Sorcery*. Ok so what the fuck would happen in that case... Perhaps then Amberyl would indeed die, but only because Raistlin died? Or perhaps she would have been freed? Or maybe she would become a hazard again, the magic resetting, looking for a new "donor"?).

Triple billional Y E S to your idea that it's Evil Magic TM. I'm pretty astonished that it seems not to be the case as it was written, but also like, in a "disappointed but really not surprised" way I guess. But yes it would even... technically fall under evil magic?? It's control of others and further harm to them??? But it really seems to me that the authors didn't think about that???? Oh this is the remnant of the ogre race uncorrupted by evil. Oh yes their elders have decided that in order for them to not die out they should curse their young adults into rape. Oh and Amberyl didn't mind telling Raistlin that and *didn't mind trapping Caramon in the Wayreth forest for hours so he would not be able to defend Raistlin from her* but was afraid to tell him those are *ogres* because oh *then* he'd hate her and the child born from. his rape. Otherwise he wouldn't. Oh and he is also written to not be minding it in the end. At all. And then he's fucking having pleasant dreams. What's wrong with the writers (rape culture, and general abuse culture that goes oh nonconsensual things are fine).

Also yeah like, Amberyl is also a victim (and god, her reaction when the eye contact happened), but her actions in the Wayreth forest... fucking yikes.

She's admittedly interesting to me. But the idea of Takhisis possessing her body is also interesting, and oh god do I see Takhisis doing those actions in the forest. Takhisis telling Raistlin that his brother won't come.

Mentioned it in the tags already but god the added weight in the musical's universe. Where Takhisis had been targeting Raistlin from childhood, molding and breaking him into eventually becoming her servant. This as part of that, as one of the especially sharp blows. He knows that she has been targeting him, and she lets him know that it is her doing this now.

In the book's universe too! I really loved raistakhi in War of the Twins (impressed me more than in the other Legends).

I think I originally didn't really notice it, or took much notice, but upon rereading the post today I'm really really intrigued by the child-taken-away-to-be-raised-as-a-servant-of-Takhisis thing. I really feel it in the drawing, too. Do you have more on that part? And, do you have things (ideas, headcanons, whatever) about Raistlin and his daughter eventually meeting?

I said it already but yeah I really love this hc, and (haven't said that part I think) I want to build things off it. In the bookverse and musicalverse separately, even! Bc of the differences in the dynamics between Takhisis and Raistlin. Also I love shoving lore differences there (but I prefer the musical to retain the elves, even for the human-and-god-only versions I headcanon they aren't actually that, and the Irda can well be there as well).

Hey!

#1 - Thank you so much for the ask!!

Let me just say this is the first time in my life I woke up to 99+ notes. Great experience, thank you so much!

I saw the other ask as well, but I'm responding to this one, as it's longer.

#2 - SA in media - TW

So, I just wanted to mention the following here because I found the breakdown you made of how the DL writers treat sexual violence very interesting.

The books do have this weirdly old-timey sort of sexism in the narrative. I don't mean like in the story - characters being sexist sort of matches with the cultural context of the story and the genre (sword and sorcery "hur dur! Bring out the mead and wenches!") - I mean that the writers' sexism dates the book a little. When I was reading the short story for Raistlin's daughter, I genuinely did not get the impression that the writers considered what was happening to be sexual assault. To them, the worst consequence was the half-ogre child. I am ashamed to say that even I did not consider the effect the event would have on Raist until I read @skullbearer5 works, because I was like twelve and I grew up in a culture that considers rape to be a thing that only happens to women and children.

On top of that - in a lot of fantasy stories a lot of weight is given to the traits fathers pass on to their sons. I think with Tanis, their intention at first may have been to pad out his angsty backstory, but then later the idea that their ever virtuous hero is related to a rapist may just have been too icky for them. Hence the retcon.

Don't what the fuck they were thinking with the others you mentioned, tbh.

In terms of traits passed on from parents to children (even, rather illogically, personality traits, destiny, and luck), I have to confess that that is probably one of my favourite tropes ever. EVER. It just really pisses me off how the older stories are so fixated on fathers and sons and nothing else.

I notice you have been exploring my blog - have you seen that I tend to fixate on certain duo's: Leia vs Vader, Shiadhal vs Lara Dorren, Mel vs Ambessa, Lestat vs Claudia, Ciri vs Emhyr etc. Give me a shitty or evil parent and a daughter that desperately tries to be different but fails; I will DEVOUR that shit. So, I guess that was what I was looking for with Raistlin's daughter.

#3 - My Head cannons

I am a prolific daydreamer. We used to buy books from a second hand bookstore in a city 2 hours away from my hometown that we used to visit about twice per year. We were also on a tight budget. So, I read DL, then two years went by, then I found the collection with Raistlin's daughter. Outside of these two books, the only other book in the series I read was about Gilthas and the elves stuck in the desert, and the one book about the elf king Gilthas names his son after. Based on these, I have built a narrative only vaguely connected to what canon I have read about on wiki (btw, the whole "magic goes away" thing is fucking stupid, and I will not be touching that).

Raistlin's daughter has had many paths in my head since then. Right now, I have this narrative going where the three gods of magic rise up against Paladin, Thakisis and the other one - finally sick of millennia of infighting and mismanagement. But first, If they are to kill the three main ones they have to find three new stand-ins who will become the new gods of magic. Hence they entrust Palin with finding his cousin, and one more worthy mage. Tensions arise as they try to figure out what the new configuration will be. I currently like the idea of giving Moira (Raistlin's daughter) a twin brother who is to Palin's great distress a very clear replacement for the white robed god. This would sort of directly challenge the whole "sons are always reflections of their fathers or other male relatives" thing, and cause Palin some angst. Moira I have forming a romantic entanglement with Kerian, because I live for the mess that would cause, as Tanis watches his boy lose a dick-measuring contest with Raistlin's offspring.

[pressplay-if]

I remember reading the demo before the update during the song Stevie wrote and went “damn girl who hurt yo-oh wait that songs probably about me” cuz I’m playing an Mc who has a crush on Stevie but doesn’t believe it’ll ever go anywhere cuz they’re from 2 different worlds.

Stevie is rich and in a supportive household while the MC is in a below average income household with a single mother who tries her best but is busy with work so they cant always be there for them.

Sidenote: I LOVE THIS DEMO mostly cuz of how well written and fleshed out it is. I love all the characters and the fact theyre all complex and you really go in depth to what the MC is thinking and the fact their problems aren’t just flavor text. You actually go in depth and explore mental health. Anyway looking forward to more updates!!!

Granted, Stevie writes that song regardless of the MC. I do like your interpretation though 😊 it definitely fits for that sort of Stevie/MC constellation.

I think Stevie's just as morbid as the MC sometimes, and she takes inspiration from a lot of different things. Her lyrics can be just as strange as stuff MC would write, even though she's generally a rather cheerful person (at least for now).

Stevie's folks aren't rich, by the way, just upper middle class. Enough to afford a big house and a bunch of luxuries. Though that might as well seem rich to a singlemom-background MC.

Thank you so much for the kind words, nonnie. I love when my readers address the mental health themes, because it's really what Press Play is about in large parts. I'd say it's the core topic, so making it flavor text would have gone poorly haha. I'm very glad I'm handling it effectively