#a fic that explores the dynamic that i wished we got in the show

[drrav3nb]

Killer Eyes, Dangerous Hands and a Devastating Smile

“You couldn’t kill me even if you wanted to,” Lee Tang jeered with a confident smile. “I’ve already taken one life,” Nan-gam reminded. “I’m sure that taking another won’t be so difficult.” His declaration spurred a silence to fill the space between them, a quiet imposed by his nemesis as he brought his gaze towards the hand that held a gun to his face. “But your hands are shaking.” | Aka how I wanted that final episode to go.

Read the fic here

[erisweekofficial]

Next up is the fantastic @clockwork-ashes!

🧡 She's written some fantastic general fic about Eris and his family and we're SO here for it! The Vanserra family dynamics are crucial to Eris's character and @clockwork-ashes is able to capture those important important family moments so effortlessly. There's not a lot of gen Eris fic out there so all of these pieces are truly a treasure!

🧡 It was SO tough to pick out which fic to start with, but we suggest Son of Autumn! The angst is perfection!! Read the rest of her work here.

🧡 Read more to hear from Ash!

What inspired you to start creating content about Eris? And especially about him and his mother?

I wanted to start writing about Eris right after I finished ACOSF and we got to see a small glimpse into his life. I found him so interesting and I wished we had gotten more of his character. I really do think I was inspired to create content about Eris, though, because so many talented fic writers were creating stories about Eris that I LOVED. Eris backstories were my absolute favourites. I wanted to write about Eris and his mother because Helion makes it so clear that she never wanted to marry Beron. Eris is her eldest son, she had him when she was so young with a man she didn’t love. My heart kind of breaks for her, and I really wanted to try and explore the relationship she might have with Eris.

You wrote some stories about Eris and his mother, and Eris and Beron, but how do you interpret the relationship with his brothers?

I think the relationship Eris has with his brothers is probably extremely complex. I am definitely projecting my own personality onto poor Eris, but as an eldest sibling myself, I want him to care about his brothers. Maybe he’s not the best at showing it, but if he cares, that makes his story just a little more tragic (and I do love angst). I also think that Beron would have never allowed his sons to be close or to really bond when they were younger, and considering how cutthroat the Autumn Court is described as in the books, they’re most likely all competing to become the next High Lord. I do secretly hope that Eris has at least one brother that he’s closer to, especially since Lucien and him aren’t on the best of terms. Mostly though, my interpretation is that the Vanserra brothers are always plotting and scheming and arguing with each other.

And since we are already talking about his brothers: Can you give me a name for one of Eris's brothers? And also for one of his dogs?

A name for one of Eris’s brothers that I like is Ronan because it sounds nice with the Vanserra family name added. For one of the dogs, maybe Lykos? I had a neighbour who had a huge shepherd dog with the same name and I kind of imagine the smoke hounds to be a bit similar to that dog.

What do you think would be Eris’ favourite board game? Does chess count as a board game??? Always having to think ahead and using strategy seems like something Eris would be drawn to. For a modern AU, I feel like Eris would like Clue. He’s probably observant enough to win every time 😌

[fuck-i-like-too-much-stuff]

I dont know if anyone is ready for this but these are my "Problems in We Are" post:

Disclaimer: if you have been on my blog or know me at all, you know that i love this series with my whole heart. But that being said, im nothing if not fair, and in all fairness, this series had its flaws. Less than most, but still there, these flaws do need to be addressed. My love for the series does not decrease, nor does it for the actors, characters, plots and settings.

QToey: Stagnancy that was Very Fixable.

I don't think many would disagree with me on the fact that Q and Toey's relationship became stagnant after the confession. Their moments could only be seen as Cute and their dynamic was definitely not explored any more. Another thing everyone would agree on is that we would have loved to see the ase/demisexual representation in these two characters. Had this been done, just one conversation around it, the whole plot and mood could have been shifted to a much more positive and progressive impact. Yeah the whole conversation would be a "difficult" one but Satang and Winny could have handled it.

The Lack of Focus on ChainPun

Look, I get it. There's a heirarchy of importance and ChainPun were definitely on a lower rung than the rest. I also am not against them getting together in the last minute of the last episode. But there were definitely times where there could have been a flashback scene for them, like all the others got. The only reason their relationship didnt become a background/2D narrative was because of Marc and Poon being brilliant actors. Had their efforts to make Chain and Pun important not made through the screen, there would be very little cheer for them and certainly no impact.

The First Few Episodes

Till the 5th episode, the direction and cinematography of this show was choppy as fuck. There were stills of absolutely irrelevant objects, sceneries or characters (in the moment) that could've been fixed with just a little bit of finesse in editing. It was fixed in the episodes that aired 5th and onwards, but it did almost make me drop the series (i get slightly OCD about these things)

Yet Another Almost Useless Female Character

Look me in the eyes and tell me that my girl Fai didnt deserve more. In the first couple of episodes she is shown to be integral to the group, a core member and close friend. And then poof she goes, only to appear when it is convenient to the plot. Yes we did have Aunt Pui as a prominent female character, but her role was that of a Guardian that is there in ever series, while the same series disposes every other female in it. Fai could have been given a role in the group, including the trips and outtings, and i shall die on that hill if i must.

Lastly, and surprisingly, the Way they handled Phum's parents

Till the last episode, i was big on Peem only encouraging reconciliation as he hoped for Phum to receive the love that he had himself received from his own parents. And yes, that does remain. But they could have gone without making Phum accept his father, or his father being this sweet guy who is "trying". Phum's dad is not sweet, he is not trying, he is not worthy of Phum or Fang's forgiveness. Though it was only implied and signifies just healing, i wish that the family dinner could've just meant Phum, Fang, Peem, Tan and maybe their brother, with if any, his partner, and a small intro of Peem to Phum's mom. But we shall work with what we have Ao3 and Fix Its.

With that, I end my saga and shall return to random thoughts as and when I have them and maybe a new chapter every now and then to the relic of a fic i have that no one reads lmao.

Thank you for reading and please do add on/leave your opinionss

[roodles03]

Skara Renders

Skara is a character I've actually grown to really like and enjoy... simply because of my fic writing. In my timeskip series its very fun to explore her character and ther dynamic with the rest of the Emerald Entrails. Her personality is also just fun to write, the over dramatic drama queen to spills the tea of hexside drama to her friends, as well as also exploring her past friendship with Boscha and how their relationship was toxic, and how much happier she is with her new friend group.

I really wish we got to see more of this exploration in the show, but it is very fun to explore it myself in all my fics.

I still have Viney and Matt's renders to complete, and once that is done I can return to drawing regular stuff. Yippie!

[bluecatwriter]

⭐ Step into the Light, which deserves way more attention

Thanks so much for the ask! This is one of my fics I'm most proud of. :)

The fic in question: "Some scenes from Quincey Morris's and Jonathan Harker's complicated relationship, from their time in Varna to the end of the novel, told through their alternating points of view."

Spoilers ahead…

-I know that, like most of my fics, this one was inspired by a Tumblr discussion, but I can't remember who started it or exactly what it was about, other than something about being able to surmise a very interesting relationship between Quincey and Jonathan near the end of the book, culminating with Quincey dying in Jonathan's arms. There was just a lot to explore there, and the idea of doing a back-and-forth perspective switch came to mind.

-Figuring out which beats of the story would be from which perspective was a little tricky; this was one of the few fics where I created a rough outline, and some of the perspectives got shuffled one to the other in order to keep them alternating.

-I usually write in third person, but the idea of using first/second person, with Quincey and Jonathan referring to each other as "you" in their respective scenes, got stuck in my head. It gave the story such an interesting intimacy to it, showing how these events are causing their worlds to sort of revolve around each other. To lend a greater sense of immediacy, I made it present tense instead of my usual past tense.

-Writing Jonathan's scenes came fairly naturally, since I've written a lot from his perspective (albeit in third person) and my third-person voice for him isn't that different from his first-person speaking voice. 

-Quincey's scenes were much more of a challenge; I ended up drafting them in my "normal" narrative voice and then went back later to rewrite nearly every sentence, taking into consideration his speaking patterns. Although I don't know anyone from Texas very well, I drew a lot from my extended family who live in the South, trying to capture the vivid phrasing and storytelling sensibility that goes into a lot of their speech. 

-I always have a hard time coming up with titles (which is why half my fics are named things like "Two Men Talking" LOL). But I was pleased with the title from this one, alluding to the lines: "I feel you staring at us like a coyote outside the light of a campfire ring…I wish I could grab your hand the way you grabbed mine just days ago. Draw you into this ring of light, hold your hand till you know you're safe."

-I decided that I wasn't going to explicitly say whose perspective we were in during any given scene, relying on the line breaks and the different in dialect to get it across. I think I succeeded.

-My preferred headcanon of Jonathan during this time is actually a lot less bitter and standoffish, but it was interesting to explore this version of him in this fic. He's running on pure animal instinct at this point, and Quincey is (wisely) treating him as such.

-I got a bit obsessed with the dynamic of Quincey being fully aware that Jonathan would kill him if he ever tried to stake vampire Mina— and him being cool with that. They've each made their promises, and it's Quincey's job to make sure that this clash never has to happen (but to accept the consequences if it does).

-I had to throw in a lil Quincey pining over Jonathan (and vice versa) because I am a big sucker for Yeehawrker. :D

-I am still very happy with the lines, "You'd look good spattered in the blood of a fresh kill. You'd still look good, even if the blood was mine." (Foreshadowing babey)

-Had to let Jonathan have a good cry! I thought this was an important moment, too, because Jonathan being able to not only break down in front of Quincey, but accept his comfort, was a big turning point for the two of them. Live in the moment, Jonno. You got this.

-Originally Quincey's death scene was from Jonathan's perspective, which makes more sense than writing from a guy who's dead, but I actually really like that my back-and-forth formula ended with Quincey's view of his own death; I think it gives the scene an eerie, almost dreamlike feel, and nicely bookends the whole fic through Quincey's eyes. (Present tense to the rescue, too.)

-I decided to draw out Quincey's monologue a bit more, and give Jonathan a couple words, as well as tying back in the imagery of Jonathan covered in Quincey's blood. And of course, we gotta have the final image of Jonathan (metaphorically stepping) into the light, smiling in the light of the sunset. It was a nice image to end with.

I'm enjoying these Director's Commentaries a bit too much! ;) Thanks again for asking!

(Ask game here)

[bambiraptorx]

What is your opinion on the mystical magenta goat man? (Draxum)

Good dad? Deserved more screentime/emotional moments with the bois? (they gave us like 2 moments like that in the finale, and I'm sad that it's all we got)

owo

Ooh, I have so many thoughts about Draxum. Buckle up.

First of all, it's worst mentioning that when I started watching Rise, I knew ahead of time that he would get a redemption arc. (Reading the wiki and watching clips/analysis videos is what got me interested in the show, after all.) So admittedly, my view of how his redemption arc went was a little skewed just because I knew from the start that it would happen.

Personally, I wish more of it had been actually shown in the show. We get about ten seconds of him helpless in an alley then a hard cut to him in his apartment being bullied by Mikey, and I would love to see how that series of events played out. Also, his arc from mortal enemy to somewhat trusted by the turtles happened in one eleven minute episode, and I would have loved to see that tension be played with a little more. I do understand that the show was cut short, though, and I'm pretty happy with what we did get.

*looks at all my fics* honestly, I think part of the reason that they're all more or less about Draxum spending time with the turtles one way or another is because that dynamic was so underdeveloped and several things went unaddressed in order to give the show a decently cohesive finale.

For example, the roof incident. Leo is clearly very bitter about it and clearly mistrusts Draxum because of it, but the show just didn't have the opportunity to address it. Another issue that had to go unresolved was Draxum's relationship to Cassandra, because she seriously looked up to/trusted him in their episode together but he more or less threw her under the bus.

Not to mention all the little things that canon hints at but doesn't show. Like, somehow Donnie has Draxum's phone number, meaning they had at least one conversation off screen. How did that happen? Do they hang out or something? And really, the whole story of how Mikey got Draxum to move into an apartment and let him come over is so unexplored, at least within the show.

And speaking of things that canon doesn't show, I find Draxum's position among yokai to be absolutely fascinating, especially given that the only yokai he deals with in the show itself are antagonists to him (Big Mama, the Council of Heads, the cops) aside from the gargoyles.

There's a pretty big hole there about how he interacted with the rest of the Hidden CIty-- did he have friends? DId people know about his research and mutations? What did people think about him? And obviously the narrative doesn't address this because the story is about the turtles, not him. But still.

And why did he choose to create mutants in the first place? Its fascinating that the prophecy that motivates him is never actually shown in the show itself, just referenced. Why was mutating humans the best option to him? Did he try other things? When exactly did the Council tell him not to create warriors?

The timeline is pretty fuzzy, and frankly Draxum's motives aren't actually all that clear. That's probably why there's so many different interpretations of why he's doing what he's doing (and what, exactly, he's actually doing) throughout the fandom-- canon doesn't address it super deeply.

So yeah, his relationships with the turtles are really fun to think about and mess around with, but the gaps in the narrative (not a perfect phrase but the general idea) around him are fascinating to explore in their own right. And whether canon would have explored him more or not, I think its fun so I'm gonna do it lol. I have built so much lore about this man (almost none of which has showed up in my stories) because he's fun.

And he is genuinely a fun character, whether pre or post redemption. He's dramatic, he's arrogant, he makes bad quips (seriously, he has a line about "how very NOT NICE to see you" at one point, and that's how my sister used to talk before she figured out how to actually be sarcastic). He, the big bad of season one, ends up as a lunch lady at one point, which is frankly absurd and absolutely in tone for the kind of show that Rise is. He's a powerhouse at times and completely out of his element at others.

And once he's no longer actively fighting the turtles most of his screen time, there's a goofiness to the nature of his character, a powerful alchemist/warrior trying to live a normal life (mostly because a thirteen year old will yell at him otherwise) and not even trying that hard. Season 2 especially does a lot of fun things with his character, and I only wish that they're been able to do more.

TLDR: Draxum is probably my favorite character, and also I want to hit him with the hammer of 'forced to deal with teenagers'.

[bardengarde]

I hope you struggle with this ask game as much as I did. Love you.

BJ: 3, 20, 22

Hawkeye: 1, 2, 6, 12, 24

God Shan you said you were going easy on me then I reviewed the questions.... I wish I had an emote here for BJ's sarcastic smile. Love you too though, and augh.... *cracks knuckles* BJ Hunnicutt

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Already this isn't fair, because you know me, you know my blog title, you know my beliefs. ...The entire episode of "Hanky Panky" though. I hate that he cheated on Peg (while still recognizing the significance of it to his character arc, and the archetype he fulfills). It was a hard fall when I got to that episode for the first time. I was rooting for him, we were all rooting for him. And the fact the date the episode released on is so close to my birthday- it felt like a targeted attack.

There are maybe other things..... won't share them here though, y'all stay safe.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Assuming I'm meant to answer other than Hawkeye since they're canonically best friends, I really would have liked to see his and Klinger's friendship expand more. I love the banter they have, they seem to get along great, and even if Klinger isn't a dad in the show I feel like he has dad energy and I feel like they'd be really stoked to show each other pictures of their kids in the future and be excited for one another and the milestones their kids reach. I'll stop myself before I go too far off on the deep end with headcanons, but I think their dynamic is often fun and sweet and would love to see it explored more.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

To be so real with you, I've not read enough fics to have a good answer for this- like down to details. I guess my thing is knowing that BJ is a very complex characters with multiple layers- I feel like I'd get annoyed if I read a fic that took a very fanon approach to BJ and made him like a malicious liar type, which I don't think he is at all. Or if he was boiled down to jealousy or anger issues. That said, I love reading a fic where someone can nail his sense of humor or puns.

Hawkeye Pierce

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Why DO I like him, honestly??? I'm rewatching the show from the beginning rn and god.... I landed on this guy??? Echoing your answer when I asked you, he's definitely very complex and I am always learning new things about him/ coming to a different understanding in my interpretation of him. I really appreciate his character arc and what Alan Alda did with his character; I appreciate his views on him as well. I'm also drawn to characters where just about everything happens to them, and god Hawkeye might have pioneered that trope /hj

I'd also argue that I like Hawkeye so much because he's so much unlike the majority of my favorite characters previously. Traditionally, I've been more drawn to serious, academic characters, or charming and romantic, or softer and gentler, or even clean-cut types, and Hawkeye is.... different, to say the least. Not to say he's not capable of some of those qualities... sometimes, but he's... just vastly different than say Aramis, Enjolras, Riza Hawkeye, Peggy Carter, Philippe (mitim), and so on, and so on...

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Hah.... This is also hard.

I like how imperfect he is. I would personally think of him as a good person (I say while wincing a bit), but I think more accurately he is a person who is trying to do his job to the best of his ability in one of the worst possible circumstances. And he tries to help people who are being mistreated along with it, and while standing up against idiocy and injustice, and being firm in his pacifism.

Despite that, he's sleazy, disrespectful, sometimes outright mean, and overall probably not someone I would want to be close friends with in real life. (At least, not at where he is in my current re-watching of the show.) He's not a 'saint in surgical garb'; he's a person. A very flawed person. And I like that. I like him. 6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I don't think I can answer this without getting too deep with it. Let's just say I like to think I'm funny sometimes.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I know none of these are new to you Shan, but you'll hear them again!!!

-I think one of Hawkeye's favorite ice cream flavors is Rum Raisin. I think he also likes splitting a banana split with someone else (as a kid- with either of his parents, does it on dates sometimes, etc)

-I'm purposefully twisting a line given in the show about him having a 'pet' stuffed owl, and saying he had a stuffed owl toy as a kid named Hooty.

-I think his favorite color is red.

-I have a very important headcanon to myself that after his mom passed away, he was given a lot of extra care and love by the moms of a few of his friends in Crabapple Cove. One would send along an extra packed lunch with their kid to make sure Hawkeye had something to eat at school. Another stopping him to fix where his hair looked a mess and straighten his shirt for him. And so, so many hugs and endearments. None of this was done because they thought that Daniel Pierce was neglectful or couldn't take care of Hawkeye, but because Daniel was grieving as well and they wanted to help where they could and ease some of the load off Daniel's shoulders with not only him becoming Hawkeye's sole guardian, but also while still being the towns doctor as well- while he's trying to pick up the pieces and get back on his feet.

I like to think even as an adult when Hawkeye sees one of his friends mom's who had helped taken care of him, he still runs up to them and gives them a big hug. :,)

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Hehe, there's the rub because I don't know if I have one. Mayyyybe Grantaire since I have Les Mis on the mind today, but not reallyyyyy. No offense to Grantaire but Hawkeye is a lot more competent and cares a lot more about things. But drunk, comical, not straight, in love with a blond- that checks out.

[dipplinduo]

I was thinking about the whole toxic chain theory with Kieran and I was just imagining the potential with it when it comes to this ship.

Like Juliana could still try to help Kieran while Dokutaro/Pecharunt is controlling/influencing him or something.

It made more sense in my head but what are your thoughts on this?

*** RESPONSE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS TO THE INDIGO DISK GAMEPLAY ***

Love this, personally I could write Kieran either way and was lowkey pro-toxic chain theory Kieran with the DLCs because I thought it was an interesting plot point that could better add to his characterization if done right (i.e. rather than being fully responsible for his 180, make it more so that the toxic chain capitalized off of his internalized emotions and potential lifetime trauma, and thus amplified some of the extremities we saw/could've seen).

At the end of the day, he is still a young teenager, though, so I understand the argument against Kieran toxic chain theory and just recognizing his behaviors as being developmentally appropriate. I also don't mind non-possessed Kieran either. I just wish his character motifs were better explored and his resolution was better written (e.g. more post-credit scenes with him making amends with other characters, which includes certain characters also apologizing to him). Because let's be honest, Kieran is very much a polarizing character to the general Pokemon community, and I do wish that people could sympathize with his overall story more. Like, I've legit seen people rant up and down about his negative character arc in the teal mask, but in reality it's very obvious that the player was more of the straw that broke the camel's back given his home life and upbringing. The player just takes the brunt of it because they are something tangible that he can externalize and project his frustrations on, so we become an obstacle and goal. The closest we got to that being integrated in the storyline was as Kieran was yanking at terapagos's stone. It's there, but could've been better imo.

However, at the same time, I also think it's important to note that Kieran's actions are things he needs to be held accountable for as well. Especially in the indigo disk as he's in full blown villain arc. Like, he straight up bullied a number of people and lashes out on practically everyone he interacts with. Changes the dynamic of an entire school just because he's pissed off and bitter. Despite his pain, those kinds of actions are not okay and shouldn't be left unchecked. Even Kieran himself shows the capacity to acknowledge when he's not necessarily doing the right thing, yet will choose to do so anyway.

I have more opinions on this LOL, but the point to that tangent is that the motif for a toxic chain possession is there. In my own multi chapter toxic chain fic that I was trying to have chapter 1 of out today for, AND WILL DEF COME OUT SATURDAY OR SUNDAY LATEST a dynamic that is similar to what you mentioned will be happening between Kieran and Juliana. Because OOOOH THE POTENTIAL FOR BOTH CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT. Get ready for some angst. 🥲

[spaceorphan18]

You may have answered this a hundred times before, if so, point me to your previous answers! How would you have improved Kurt’s story in canon? What are the major things you would have changed, and some of the niggles and minor things that drive you mad?

Hi! You know - I don't mind getting these kinds of questions again. My answers tend to change as the years pass.

I'm not sure if there's anything major I'd change? I don't mind the overall structure of his story (@snarkyhag - omg, I used the word 'structure' for the first time in forever, feels nice, lol.) But Glee has very jaggedy story telling, in that it does highs and lows but doesn't do details or in-betweens very well.

I think his arcs in Season 1 and 2 are pretty well done, and despite me always wanting /more/ - the show was about an ensemble, and he did relatively well. I really have no complaints there.

In Season 3, I would have liked his story to be less attached to Rachel and more on an individual path. Everything that happens in his story line (that isn't related to Blaine) is a consequence or set up of Rachel's story line, and it's maddening. I don't mind that he doesn't get into NYADA -- I wish he would have stayed out, tbh, but the narrative around him getting or not getting in should have been devoid of what Rachel's story needed to be.

I also wish he and Blaine had had more intimate moments -- I don't mean, necessarily, kissing/sex/romance -- but more moments where the two of them are just them together, in a more relaxed way. Hard to do in a school setting, sure, but things like the missing Box Scene from the Christmas episode sprinkled in more often would have been nice.

Of course - I would have loved so much more in Season 4. More fall out from the Break Up. More of Kurt exploring New York City. It would have been nice to see Adam developed as a real relationship for Kurt. Just seeing more of how he felt, and how he was struggling with moving, and being in a new city, and leaving friends and family, and missing Blaine, etc, etc. There's such a rich story there -- but the show, ultimately, was about a high school glee club, not up and coming college kids, and of course, Kurt's story still ended up tied in to Rachel's. (Of course - on the flip side Season 4 gives us such rich material to fanfic around -- so much good fic arose out of this era.)

Season 5 is hard to articulate - there is such a complex variety of things going on - with Finn's Death, the engagement, and all of Rachel and Santana. I wish Kurt would have more of his own individual story line. I know he got the band and Elliott - but what does he really want to do with his life? Again, I do wish we had Glee - the College Years for the full season.

I love the NYC arc - and the exploration of the Klaine dynamic, but I would have seen more the highs there, too. I realize TV needs conflict, and the writers knew where they were going with the story, but I don't think the June story line necessarily worked now that I'm this far out, and I would have liked to see them more navigate the ins and outs of a relationship.

Season 6 I would change less than you think. My biggest thing is that I'd rewrite the entire Klaine part of the Wedding episode. Kurt needs a catalyst (probably the one thing that still bugs me the most) to run back - the writing is just awkward.

But also - Kurt and Blaine don't get a single, private conversation between getting back together and the locker scene in Dreams Come True. I realize it's more about the show winding down - and that scene is essentially their 'happily ever after' moment, but it would have been nice for the show let Kurt (and Blaine) reflect on marriage and taking that next step. But also, having a conversation about how their lives are moving forward when back in New York.

The epilogue was nice, but I would have moved it farther than five years -- and I'm somewhat indifferent about them having kids, but twenty-six feels young for them being dads.

Idk, those are the major things. There are episode to episode minor-ish things, too, I guess. Like why did Kurt give back the tape in Michael? Why did he have to be a jerk to Quinn in On My Way? Stuff like that where I don't agree on the writers' charactierizations.

Thanks for the question, Nonny! It was nice to get back into writing meta!

[fayedartmouth]

I totally agree with 'Because I was totally fine with how dark they took JJ -- and that he was making mistakes and unraveling.  But they completely failed to put him back together' because even with Rudy leaving that could have been a much better closure than how decided to leave it. JJ is - has always been - impulsive and reckless. He's wild and emotional and fiecely loyal, which makes him a danger to himself as much as whatever situations was around him. I always expected JJ to unwind, for dark thoughts and mindsets to throw him off course - he's been rejected by family, he;s been abused, he's lost so much, and was still losing things - things being taken from him. That was always going to mark him, and at some point he was going to break, there were so many missed opportunities , which is really hard to ignore - like JJ seeing his dead mother in the crypt, I mean that is TRAUMATISING, and I just thought , hell- he's being locked in a crypt with a bunch of dead bodies, including his mother??? That's a panic attack right there, I'm telling you.

One thing I will approve of, even if it was such a fleeting moment, was Mike actually sticking up for JJ for once - despite the animosity he usually shows JJ, Mike didn't think for one second that JJ could kill anyone, and I like to think that he's intervention with the deputy and his gun was as much for JJ as it was Kiara. I had always hoped that the writers would have explored more of a dynamic between Mike and JJ. I also held out hope for JJ and Shoupe's dynamic, especially when there were little tidbits here and there - I mean Shoupe genuinely seemed to want JJ to keep out of trouble, after taking John B in, and then with the attention he was giving JJ after, I let myself believe this meant something, that even if it was just a professional attention, it would bring JJ's emotional turmoil to his attention, and like your post/prompt idea about JJ's breakdown during the town council and the resulting riot, I had really hoped that we got to see some understanding that JJ was in need of help. I'm glad that Shoupe got a chance to show them all that he didn't think the pogues, or JJ, were actually responsible, I just wished that we got more of it, and as a result, JJ getting to to know that were older people - older father-figures - who he could trust. I'd like to think that Shoupe, post this season, upon knowing JJ's fate, goes hard for Groff.

Well, rant over, at least I have your wonderful writing and fics to compensate.

I still have to think that killing JJ was a last minute thing that they simply didn't work into anything they established in S4 at all. They started too many plot points -- just to drop them randomly. It made almost no sense.

Because yeah, the set up in S4 was for JJ to finally get over some of his issues and to figure out who he was. You can't put a character through all that and then kill him. And I mean the whole part about his mom -- and none of his friends came to support him. And he was just expected to be okay. After he finds out Luke's not his dad. After he sees his mother's corpse. After Groff tries to kill him.

There's no part of JJ that could possibly be okay. I think Shoupe is going to get the legal stuff all cleared up on the back end in S5 -- and JJ was probably originally supposed to be a big part of that -- until, well, you know.

I also think we were gonna see Mike and Anna come around on JJ but again. Things changed. The writing was so bad that it's the only thing that accounts for the complete lack of logic.

I am glad my writing can help if only a little! The show left so much to be desired and I can't leave JJ behind just yet. So I'll keep fixing him as best I can.

[anthonycrowley]

same anon w the braime fic - IM SO GLAD i also did the classic tv show > ao3 > actual asoiaf source text order of consumption lol i wasn’t sure if you were abstaining from fic till u read the books or smth idk but anyway. if u did a fic rec i would totally eat that up

braime dynamic is so far up my street u are so right about horny subtext + slow reveal emotional vulnerability, plus a side of enemies to lovers or like. prisoner/captor to reluctant allies to lovers. man i haven’t thought about them in so long… are there any other pairings in the show/books that u enjoy?

naaaah fuck that noise, no offense but i needed to be in the right mindset to read multiple thousand plus page books and i like fanfic. sorry. i guess. i’m here now. anyway.

i could talk about them but. god. clenches fist. i’ll go insane. and people will stop listening to my commentary. i think you got it except metatextually they are destiel. like what happened to destiel happened to them. two nickels. absolutely bonkers.

aaaaaand as far as other pairings. hm. i think largely i tend to gravitate towards character’s plotlines rather than ships - i find arya fascinating but not don’t really care all that much about gendarya, although i don’t mind it. - braime being the exception. or if i do find pairings interesting they’re usually more because of platonic reasons more than romantic. if i had to pick. hm. and before i say these we are going to remember this is the problematic ship book and i am not necessarily saying they are morally good just very fun to explore. jokes aside stavos has some hilson energy going on. what do you want from me. i think samgilly is cute (this is helped because sam is one of my faves). is it weird if i say robbjeyne is cute. jaimecersei i actually do enjoy in a these two are toxically codependent in a fun way and i wish people could explore it in a way that’s not incredibly black and white because there’s A Lot there. sansatyrion but i think that one might get me shot (and once she’s older preferably). robbtheon i get the appeal of and makes me insane to think about but i don’t like read fic for them. sansamargaery because sansa deserves nice things and i think they’d be good for each other. my hottest take i think is that jon and sam should explore each other’s bodies and i do feel this wholeheartedly and unironically. that’s all i can think of off the top of my head there’s so many fucking characters in this book. why are most of my ships straight. feels wrong. or maybe that’s just what happens when the female characters are good. idk.

[tprings-hair]

8 for the ask thing

8. Is there anything I wish people would write more about in fics? (A dynamic, an exploration of an arc, just a character that doesn’t get much screentime, etc)

oh my god, there are so many little character choices that the actors/writers/directors of tos have made that I am obsessed with, and I can't imagine how they don't have pages and pages of fic. these include:

- in spectre of the gun, the way the sheriff talked with kirk (putting his hands on his shoulders to keep him there, kirk looking up at him with that desperate look, the tone they took with each other) and the way kirk reacted to him made me wonder about his relationship with his father. shatner's novel collision course has a bunch of stuff about how kirk doesn't get along with his ex-starfleet father. I would be really interested to see a deep dive into that and how it shapes kirk as a leader. you can't just drop that scene of kirk getting angrier and louder than he's ever been with anyone in the show and expect me not to think about teenage kirk!

- kirk and shakespeare! you can't tell me he and spock and uhura aren't bouncing shakespeare quotes back and forth on the bridge to pass the time on boring shifts. I firmly believe he has said "do you bite your thumb at me, sir?" to an alien diplomat as a joke, only to find out it's either horrifically offensive or lewd. before beaming down for shore leave he would tell spock "parting is such sweet sorrow" just so he could see spock sigh at him. he has definitely quoted kent in act i scene ii of king lear in a fight. (I will elaborate on any of this in a fic if anyone would actually be interested.)

- uhura. just anything about her. we don't know how she grew up, why she joined starfleet, what's waiting for her on earth, or why her only real connections seem to be with her crewmates when she's so friendly and open with everyone. I know it's a side effect of being a black female character written by white men in the 60s but please, I want the kind of backstory and motivations for her that people make up for other characters like chekov and mccoy! it's not like we don't have material. she's got a fear of dying a long and painful death (see that one episode with the creepy kids in season 3), wonderful musical and theatrical talents, an insane amount of charisma (what's under that?), and she admits that she's afraid on the bridge and finds security in knowing that kirk has the situation in hand. we also have an underdeveloped last minute relationship with scotty, which actually makes sense if you think about it? she doesn't need a defender or a musketeer like sulu tried to be, she just wants to know she's going to make it out okay, and scotty is the one who makes sure the ship can take them home safely. plus, he's less vain and more reliable than kirk. it came out of left field for me, too, but I honestly see it now that I think about it. so yeah, I want more development for uhura as a character, and for her relationship with scotty.

- any of the women, really, but I'm a little obsessed with the woman in who mourns for adonais, lt. carolyn palamas (played by leslie parrish, who was according to wikipedia an activist against the vietnam war who created her own tv station to give the average american a more in depth look at their news! sounds very cool). her arc is literally the same one that the male main characters repeatedly get (seduced by alien, must choose between career/following orders and being lost in this new romance) and she's just so cool. imo this episode was more feminist than people give it credit for, not just for giving her that choice but also showing her as someone who is good at her job to the point of being absolute instrumental to the plan. she wavers, just like kirk is allowed to do, and she chooses duty in the end, and it doesnt make her two-faced. she's allowed to be human. I love her.

[seamsterspell]

Hey, Ann!! Happy Valentines!!! 💚💚💚

I was wondering here: which ships are in your Top OTPs? And why you love them so much (if you want to share!)

OMG HI MONDO!!!! Happy (belated) valentine to you as well 💘💘💘 How are you?? I hope you are well!!!

Of course I want to share, I love oversharing about my ships HAHA. So here you go, a (short) list of my SNK OTPs:

LeviHan

(pretends to be shocked). No, but I'm not even kidding when I said that they live in my head 24/7 🤣 Everytime I do or see something, I would automatically connect it to Levihan. I just can't help it lol, I love them so much (both as a character and as a ship). Their relationship is mature and pure but fun at the same time. I mean, they embody all of my favourite tropes, so no suprise here. But idk, there are no other ships (that came before them or after them) that could alter my brain in the same way as them. They changed me fr, like something shifted inside me the moment I became a Levihan shipper. Hell, I even chose my uni major because of a Levihan fanfiction 💀 Not only that, my writings and English has improved a lot, and all of that merely because I want to write their fanfic LOL.

I've been a Levihan shipper since 2013 and I will continue to be one until I die. So yeah, expect to see more Levihan fanfiction for more decades to come 😚✌️

AruAni

They don't really live in my head 24/7 but I still think of them often. Also, they hold an important place in my heart since they are my first ship in SNK. Not only that, they are also special to me because they are THE ship that went from being considered as a crack ship to a canon one. LIKE IT WAS INSANE. I mean I've been an Aruani shipper since 2013 and so I knew how small the fandom were back then. Not only that, most of the SNK fandom saw AruAni as a crack shipper, but we were like, "No! They are not! (proceed to analyse the hell out of their interaction in the female titan arc)." 😀👍

So imagine how SHOCKED and ECSTATIC I WAS when all of these analysis and headcanons CAME TRUE. It took us almost a decade, but we finally got to say, "See guys? WE ARE NOT DELUSIONAL." I never been proud as a shipper HAHA. One of my biggest flex is to say that I've been an Aruani truther since 2013 😎

Okay now that I think about it, the only ships that I deeply care about are only the two above. I do like other ships, but only in a casual way (but I still gonna defend them though LOL), and those are:

YumiHisu

I used to be neutral with them but when that episode of Historia holding the passed out Ymir on her lap and said, "My real name is Historia", then they stared at each other eyes with such love???? BEAUTIFUL I SAY. Their dynamic and the way their characters arc intertwined with each other? Love it! I wished Isayama gave them a proper closure though :(

JeanKasa

Oh man, I actually have a lot of things to say about them but I'm gonna keep it brief🤐 I didn't ship them at the beginning, but as I grew up and as I tried to understand their characters, I found myself falling for JeanKasa and their potential. I feel they will have a healthy, mature, and loving relationship. I also like the way Jean showed his love to Mikasa (he's not selfish and he's not blinded by his love).

Well, that's all! But, before I end this ask, here are some honourable mentions: PokkoPiku, EreHisu, EreMin, and MikeNana.

Bonus: I actually like to play with the idea of Erwin and Marie, I even tried to explore them in my fic HAHA.

OK THAT'S ALL. SORRY IF THIS WAS TOO LONG MONDO 😝 Thank you for the ask!! You made my day!!!!! I love you 💖💖💖

[haven-of-dusk]

for the ask game: headcanons for nico di angelo? (if you haven’t read the books, then ricky bowen 🤠)

Sorry this took me so long... I have indeed read the books, so I'll tackle both! Nico Di Angelo:

Sexuality - Gay

A ship - I actually do like Solangelo a fair bit, they're not my faves per se, but I don't have glaring issues with them (especially compared with say, Caleo).

However for the sake of fun, I also love Jasico (I hope I have that name right). Minor aside that I'm about 90% sure Jason is (he's fine, TBM didn't happen I promise) a closeted gay man based on a number of hints dropped in TBM, plus vibes plus he just screams internalized heteronormativity. So I really wish we could've explored more of Nico and Jason's dynamic. Plus they'd be incredibly adorable about one-upping each other's displays of "touch him and die" imo.

A BROTP - Percico, I totally get why shipping them romantically is a thing, but I also adore the dynamic idea that Nico completely got over Percy and Percy's a little salty about it, plus the level of trust they eventually displayed regardless of the definition of their relationship is very special to me. (End of MoA always gets me right in the feels).

A NOTP - I don't have any specific ones...so I guess I'll just say any ship that tries to get him involved romantically with a woman.

A random headcanon - Though he mostly put Mythomagic behind him, he has since become a massive D&D nerd, with multiple fully fleshed out characters and a couple campaign ideas that he badgers people to play with him. (Also the main cast of HoO playing D&D is a podcast I wish was real, Critical Role style...)

General Opinion - I love Nico, top 3 Percy Jackson Universe characters (I think, I haven't gone through and put together an exact ranking ever since I love almost all of them), not super happy when the writing leans too far into the 'edgy' side of him, but his dry wit is always a pleasure, and he's also capable of backing up the edge with badassery.

His original artwork will always give me nightmares though.

Richard 'Ricky' Bowen:

Sexuality - Bisexual

Gender - Cis Male, though he did experiment with they/them pronouns to see if they felt better to him. They didn't, but he's glad he tried.

A ship - Caswen. Obviously. I think my canon rewrite of half the show serves as adequate explanation of my love for them.

A BROTP - Redky. The friendship/brotherhood between Big Red and Ricky was something I really enjoyed in the first two seasons, it felt quite accurate to my high school experiences and I also find their interactions in fanfiction very endearing. Plus it provides more fuel to my fire that Caswen are NOT brotherly since we have a perfect brotherly relationship for Ricky right there and it looks nothing like his relationship to EJ imo.

Plus I'm still extra irritated that in addition to the rampant biphobia in how Big Red's storyline was handled, they also tried to shove him out of the picture and replace him with Jet in S4, with a scene in E3 especially feeling like the dialogue was written for BR and then they had Jet read it for...no discernable reason.

A NOTP - ...Rina /s.

In all seriousness the only answer I can readily come up with is Rily, because wtf was that subplot even supposed to be, but I struggle to think of NOTPs for Ricky since my brain is mostly Caswen or bust. I thought of the EJ alternatives purely because Tim is so militant about Rina, but I really don't know what Ricky would do outside of preferably Caswen or Tim's beloved 'canon' Rina. And while I do think Rini work better as friends, I also wouldn't call them a NOTP since I feel kind of bad for some Rini shippers (not the creepy ones, the normies for lack of a better term).

Idk, I guess I'll just say Rily and move on.

A random headcanon - Ricky loves the Spice Girls. Where did this HC come from you ask? I have no idea. But I feel like it fits.

The urge to write a mini-fic of Ricky and EJ dancing at their wedding to 'Spice up Your Life' is rising. (Totally not influenced by Doctor Who)

General Opinion - I love Ricky. Not quite as much as Elton, but that's a pretty high bar to clear since Elton rose to my top ten of all time list pretty easily. I have mixed feelings about S3 and S4 Ricky since I felt like they made him overly obsessed with Gina and lost a lot of the charm of his earlier plotlines centering on familial trauma and figuring out his own desires in life, but he's still high ranking for HSMTMTS characters, and I obviously love Caswen to death, so it's hard for me to say I don't also adore Ricky as a special little guy.

That spiraled into a bit of a ramble. Point is that I do really like Ricky, I just wish the writing for him later in the show was less...self-parodic...if that makes any sense.

[ardentpoop]

for anyone who still struggles to understand early s8 sam’s reactions to benny I wrote out some guiding questions a while ago that should help 🤓

also to reiterate: one of my most overwhelming sources of frustration w/ the fandom is that dean’s characterization drowns out sam’s no matter how the average viewer thinks they feel about each of the brothers. many people who are sure they relate most to sam or are most endeared to/attracted to sam very much do still struggle to grasp his motivations because of the way the narrative treats him vs dean, especially from s4 onwards when the dynamic gets (extra) violent and the narrative justifies the violence in turn.

there are certain seasons and arcs that confused the fandom more than others and s8 is by far one of the biggest offenders, which is a shame because s8 sam changes so much from the start to the end of the season and I really wish more people cared to examine why in detail. the church scene in “sacrifice” is largely regarded as an uplifting scene btwn the brothers when - if you’re like me and you’re paying extra close attention to sam - it is actually one of the most sickening moments in the entire show (complimentary; endlessly fascinating to explore how we got from point A to this very grim point B)

s8 was so difficult to watch live when it was airing because the fandom was extremely unsympathetic to sam overall and I hope eventually we can turn that around. unfortunately from the commentary I’ve seen and the fic I’ve read I don’t think much has changed in the past decade.

[banana-pancake5]

For the character bingo:

SWWTRH: Obi, Zen, and Shirayuki

Haikyu: Tanaka, Tendō, Nishinoya, and Kenma

TMNT 2012: Leo, Splinter, and Donnie

Hehehe OKAY!!! Under the cut bc it’s gonna be long!

The bingo card in question in case anyone wishes to play:

Gravity Falls:

- Fiddleford -

He was interesting in the show, definitely not a bad character, but I never really payed attention to him… AND THEN I START READING JOURNAL THREE. AND THEN I THINK ABOUT THE MEMORY GUN. AND THEN I LOOK AT THE WEBSITE. AND THEN— AGH BRO HIS LORE IS SO SO GOOD AND SAD I wish they explored it more in the show but I do love what we got in the show.

Rottmnt

- Baron Draxum -

Not really a fan of him… he is definitely good in a lot of fan fics I’ve read but in the show he’s kinda meh.

Tottmnt:

- Hun -

He’s alright! I like some of the stuff they do with him but over all I don’t have many thoughts on him. I really like him talking to Raph and just that whole scene :D

Snow White with the Red Hair:

- Zen -

This bingo card does not give the right impression… ZEN IS AWESOME. I love him very much, he is hilarious and such a sweetheart, yet I think he is much better as part of a dynamic. Him and Obi are HILARIOUS together, him and Mitsuhide are so sweet and funny (huge brother vibes that I love) and him and Shariyuki are SO SWEET AND ADORABLE!!!

- Shariyuki -

I love her very much but I think she needs to show a litttle more emotion sometimes. I feel like she can be sort of bland? Idk but she is awesome and inspiring and sweet and lovable and caring and eidjncedijncedijn she’s great. Her dynamic are amazing as well, the two I love the most are her and Zen and her and Obi :D

- Obi -

THANK YOU CROW. I AM SO GLAD YOU ABT ASKED HIM.

Obi is 100% in my top five characters EVER. he works insanely well in all dynamics (but I didn’t say he was better as part of one bc he is WONDERFUL on his own as well). If he was real I’d either be terrified or we’d get along great. He is SCARY when he wants to be. Oh and “He’s never done anything wrong in his life” is very incorrect but I don’t care because he is the best lil guy. Okay moving on before I ramble tooooo much!

Haikyuu:

- Tanaka -

TANAKA IS ANOTHER OF THE BEST LIL GUYS EVER. JSDHCNUSDHNCDSUHN. He is a ball of chaos and older brother vibes. He is insane yet caring and sweet. HE IS THE MENTAL ACE AND I LOVE IT. His backstory gives me the FEELS. Ejfhcnuhcefnceudhn. He is such a good friend to everyone and is great in all the dynamics. I LOVE him being friends with Nishinoya it is so hype and amazing. I wish there was a lot more of him in the show but it’s plenty so wont complain.

- Nishinoya -

Nishinoya is wonderful. He’s a lil ball of sunshine and he’s such a sturdy foundation of the team. I would LOVE to see more of him. I don’t have much to say outside of his relationships with the team and characters… OH HIS LIL JUMP WHEN HE CHEERS WITN HINATA IS SO FUN AND AWESOME. the shorties jumping up and down every win. Also he is so determined and just bah he is great.

———

NOOOOO I RAN OUT OF PHOTO SPACE. OKAY OKAY PT 2 IS HERE