#and also I think liking a character from a shakespeare play based on someone who lived 600+ years ago isn’t gonna have

[headful-of-worms]

I really need to stop getting my hopes up and brainstorming/ building D&D characters for campaigns that aren’t finalized or don’t even exist

[koifishhies]

This tag is very interesting to me, because you’re not wrong @perksofbeingalittletwat! That is indeed the point. This post came from a place of “it’s humorous to point out the dichotomy between enjoying a specific type character while hating that specific type of person.”

I think it’s okay to enjoy these characters so long as there is an active discussion about and awareness of the fact that they are not good irl.

(There is a line tho!! I’m only talking about, like, having fun with a good old royalty fantasy while still acknowledging that monarchies are antithetical to democracy and should be dismantled. Not proship/dead dove content.)

That being said I think “I'm going to detach these characters from the context and just enjoy them as characters" and “the fact that this character is likeable is a political commentary in and of itself, those in power can appear likeable and still be corrupted” are takes that can coexist.

“you’re not supposed to like richard he’s a tyrant king” then why did you cast david tennant to play him huh? why did you cast david tennant and give him the most lusciously beautiful long hair and make him kiss men while crying and lamenting like a pathetic little baby huh? you think I can resist such a girlfailure of a character? you’re WRONG. he’s my blorbo now.

[medievalandfantasymelee]

COME ONE, COME ALL to the MOSTE ILLUSTRIOUS TOURNAMENT of the FINEST, the MOSTE PUISSANT and HOTTEST MEN MEDIEVAL MEDIA HAS TO ITS CREDIT.

Be it known that we shall accept submissions of the hottest men OF THE PEOPLES’ CHOOSING from any live-action* TV or movie media property set between the years AD 500 – 1550 (Tudors WELCOME!!), and any fantasy properties which emulate said period!

KNOW ALSO that we, by the grace of this fine hellsite and with the counsel of the moste honorable and illustrious @hotvintagepoll (many thanks), have made

THESE GUIDELINES here given:

ANY HOT GUY who appears in any movie or TV show released in ANY YEAR, from ANY COUNTRY, shall be deemed eligible for entry. Below are listed examples of eligible properties. If YE BE NOT CERTAIN whether your hot guy is eligible, submit him anyway!

Examples of Eligible Properties: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-03), Game of Thrones (2011-19) House of the Dragon (2022), Wolf Hall (2015-2024), The Tudors (2007-2010), Ladyhawke (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), The White Queen (2013), Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020-2022), Vikings (2013-2020), The Last Kingdom (2015-2022), Diriliş: Ertuğrul (2014), A Knight’s Tale (2001), BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-3009), The Last Duel (2021), The Story of Minglan (2018), The Borgias (2013), Robin Hood (1939), Outlaw King (2018), Pilgrimage (2017), Legend (1985), Braveheart (1995), The Green Knight (2021), Excalibur (1981), Beowulf & Grendel (2005), The Lion in Winter (1968), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), The Black Adder (Blackadder Series 1, 1982), Rashomon (1950)

Remember: This is just a list of examples—WOW ME!

These following titles are examples of properties that do not fall within or emulate the stated time period and therefore DO NOT QUALIFY: The Three Musketeers (Any Version), Pirates of the Caribbean (2004), Barbarians (2020), Gladiator (2000), Ben Hur (1959), Shogun (2024), Elizabeth (1999), 300 (2006), Troy (2004), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001), Disney's Robin Hood (1973)**, Yojimbo (1961), Shakespeare in Love (1998), King Arthur (2004)***

For the purposes of this tournament, "Man" and "Guy" are defined as any bi-pedal humanoid male character played by a man. As such, characters belonging to non-human races such as Hobbits, Orcs, Elves, Demons, Fauns, Werewolves etc. ARE admissible, and, indeed, encouraged.

If you have propaganda you forgot to include in your submission, just hold onto it and send it in an ask after the Tournament begins.

You may submit as many hot men as you like but please submit only ONE ENTRANT per submission.

Do not hesitate to submit ANY hot guy you think may qualify, no matter how popular he is. There is no such thing as a shoo-in with these tournaments. If you think "Someone MUST have submitted him already!" Everyone else is probably thinking that too and then he may well NEVER get submitted and we don't want that.

Do not worry about how many submissions your hot guy might have had already--I need to get a sense of who the strongest contenders are in order to fairly seed the draws, and the best way to do that is volume of submissions.

We are voting on the hotness of the characters. While the actors who portray them are of course a major factor in this, we are not voting on the actors themselves, therefore propaganda pertaining to the actors real lives (aside from anecdotes relating to their portrayal of the character) is not admissible.

By that same token, in the case of historical figures (e.g. Henry VIII) we are judging hotness based on the fictionalized portrayals of them in these properties, not on historical fact.

Regarding immortal/time-travelling/dimension-hopping/extremely long-lived characters, regardless of when the character was born, the main action**** of the story must take place within the Medieval Period (see dates listed at the top of this post) or Medieval-esque fantasy fantasy realm in order for them to be eligible for submission. As such, characters like the Pevensie brothers (The Chronicles of Narnia) and Ash Williams (Army of Darkness) are admissible, but Asgardians (the MCU Thor films) are not.

I, as the Administrator and Master of Revels of this tournament, am exercising discretion in the admittance of characters from works by Shakespeare, since many of them have no set date.

Re: characters adapted from books/written works - Book quotes by/ about your character are not admissible as Propaganda for their tv/ movie counterparts unless said quotes were also written into the show/movie.

Book illustrations and fanart are not admissible Propaganda

SUBMISSIONS SHALL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT, JULY 1st

The Tourney shall begin at a date yet to be determined with the Melee (Qualifying Rounds), wherein the entrants with the fewest submissions and least propaganda will duke it out in a free for all brawl to determine who will enter the Lists.

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRANTS HERE TODAY!!!

-- Master of Revels

*The "live-action" qualification does have a caveat: exception may be made for those CGI films which were all the rage in the mid-00's that used the motion-capture and likeness of the actors; for example characters from, Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf (2007) are admissible.

** this one doesn't qualify, not because it isn't the right time period, but because it falls solidly under the "Animated" category.

***Yes, sadly we are deprived of the beautiful countenances of Clive Owen, Mads Mikkelsen, Ioan Gruffudd et al because the producers of this film in their infinite wisdom and in an attempt to seem "more historically accurate" chose to set it during the Roman withdrawal from Britain, which occurred in the 5th Century (About a CENTURY earlier than Authurian tradition) and is generally agreed to have ended by AD 410. It therefore does not fall under the Medieval umbrella and is not eligible for submission.

**** "Main Action" here defined as "More than half an hour of a movie and more than two episodes of a series"

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

I loved your analysis of the Romeo and Juliet reference in Taylors song it was such a perfect example of why people praise her songwriting so much without realising how hollow it is. I also especially loved how when someone commented that they didn’t have a large enough vocab to understand your post, you actually responded really nicely and offered to explain! It’s such a bare minimum thing but so rare to see on the Internet where people often just ignore such comments or become pretentious. Anyway, definitely earned a follow because your posts seem really cool and I hope you do more song analysis posts, whether they’re praising or critiquing music.

Hello! Apologies for taking so long to get back to you! I’ve been in middle of moving (and it’s taking up much of my time ahaha). I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed my Romeo and Juliet post. I love that play- mostly because of its sly, subversive nature and social reform thematic purpose. I remember reading it in High School and how that was one of the first times I was consciously aware of the power literature holds to shift culture and move public consciousness towards progressive ideologies. Remarkable. For that reason, Swift’s repeated misunderstanding, and blatant, purposeful ignorance surrounding the plays, has always frustrated me.  

I will be returning to the topic to write about the infamous “Love Story” (2009), and I’m also going to debunk a couple of her other literary references like The Scarlett Letter one. Also, I will be posting something about her bastardization of Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca” (1938) because she over-simplified the thematic point of the book and made it seem silly, and frivolous, instead of the hard-hitting social reform literature that it is. Much of my frustration with Swift stems from her use of literary genius, and the way she twists these stories into empty- ego-driven narratives that singularly focus on break-ups or centering her aspirations towards praising hetero-patriarchal standards in her music.  

I’m fucking over it- Y'all.  

She has this way of taking literary references, some of the most famous and important works in history, and remaking it into something dull, derivative and nonsensical. She incinerates the plotlines and erases the methodology of the literary work through demeaning the intrinsic social reform efforts of the works themselves. For instance, with my post on her work and the reference to “Romeo and Juliet” I mention how Swift purposely leaves out, or negates, Shakespeare intentional social reform phenomenological base to the line “O be some other name/ What’s in a name?” Shakespeare himself is clearly drawing attention to the ways in which people often judge not by the content of our characters but by shallow intonation of our names and station in society. He is using these lines, and the two characters, to show how hypocritical and judgmental it is to uphold petty difference over the ideal of believing in the prospects of human connection. Shakespeare was a radical in his day- he pulled no punches to criticizing the aristocracy or the values of post-feudal hierarchal institutions.  

Swift took such an intentional aspect of his work, his social reform efforts, and purposely divorced it from the line. Thus, remaking, rewording, it into her line, which was a silly, and self-centered, petulant line about how people really should have been nicer to her because she’s a good girl. It’s so fucking stupid- imagine trying to remake Shakespeare without understanding Shakespeare. I cannot abide- now that I’m grown, and no longer a child, who could mindlessly listen to her bastardization of important literary work- I simply must speak up. It’s important because, I think, that her purposeful misuse of the work- making it devoid of social reform- says a lot about her intentions as a person. She’s not the activist people think she is- she's just another pseudo-intellectual grifter.  

Anyway, I’m glad you found something worthwhile in that post- and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of my other posts since then. I admit that I sometimes venture into posting mere opinion- but for my more serious posts I will stick to interrogation of her work through literary invocation. It’s just what I know best.  

If anyone has any questions about my posts- or confusions about my vocabulary use- I am happy to chat and answer questions! I really meant it when I told that person that I would be happy to re-explain using some different words. Sometimes- I get carried away and slip into “academic jargon” but that’s not what I want my blog to devolve into. I want to share information with people who perhaps have not studied literature- or English. I wouldn’t judge anyone just for having a question or being confused about a certain word. I, myself, make a habit of studying other languages- besides English- and that does wonders for keeping me humble about my own knowledge of English. Haha. :) I do not express myself nearly so well in French or German- so it becomes much easier for me to empathize with those who have a hard time expressing themselves with language too. Language is hard- learning is even more difficult. But what a wonderful, rewarding venture it is to ask a question and learn something new!  

I encourage people’s curiosity- truly.  

And yes- I will certainly be posting about other artists as well. Haha, now that I feel comfortable doing so- I will have some fun with it :)  

Thank you for writing in- I am sending you well-wishes and good vibes.  

[theflagscene]

15 Day BL Challenge (part 2)

Day 18: What show are you waiting most (im)patiently for?

Revamp: The Undead Story - I’ve been cheering on Boun’s desperate quest for a vampire series he and Prem could act in since he first brought it up. Then when he decided to just write it himself? Yes! Even better, Prem literally promised to stay in acting (back when he was thinking of retiring due to health issues) just to be able to do the vampire series with Boun. Now that GMMTV has acquired it, I mean, at least we know it’ll get made. Will it fall victim to the classic GMMTV pitfalls? Who knows, but I don’t care, I just want Boun to get to live out his vampire fantasies finally!

The Heart Killers - This one I won’t be waiting much longer for, thank goodness! And okay so the ‘if you want me you have to find someone for my brother’ seems a lot like it’s going to be a Thai BL version of The Taming of the Shrew lol. But you know what, ain’t nothing wrong with that. Shakespeare would love to see all the gay little shows based on his gay little plays, so go off, I approve. Also I will admit, I’ve never watched a JoongDunk helmed series before, so I cannot speak for their onscreen chemistry. But from what I’ve seen of them as actors and people, they seem funny, kind and hardworking. So while I’m mostly going into this for FirstKhao (and Jojo’s directing/screenwriting) I’m also looking forward to experiencing my first JoongDunk series.

Goddess Bless You From Death - If there’s one thing I’ve been since childhood, it’s a hardcore horror fanatic. So when you mix horror and my gay lil shows together, I jump on that shit! Plus I lowkey wanna see if it’s Pooh’s acting I dislike or just the character of Charlie, I’m suspecting that it’s Charlie - I said what I said lol. So I’m looking forward to seeing PavelPooh act together in something besides Pit Babe - although I’m looking forward to season two of that, I need more AlanJeff in my life - also more MichaelTopTen! I stg, if they aren’t playing a couple in this series, omg! 🤬🤬

Happy Ending - Jeff and Barcode together again, what more can I say? Barcode has been waiting to get his claws into Jeff since his (then) underage self was paired with him on Kinnporsche lol. The problems of working with someone almost a full decade older than you! Plus it’s a mix of like horror, thriller, action, fantasy and dark romance. What more could you want!? Mike Angelo? Oh well, it’s got that too! Toss in Jeff’s soundtrack and I’m just over here salivating at the thought of this twisted series. Seeing Jeff and Barcode play crazy and deranged together!? I won’t know where to look!

[fancyfeathers]

Society of Protection (Yandere Bungo Bungou Stray Dogs x reader x original characters) (normalized yandere au)

Chapter Twenty Two, The Genius That Leads

(A/N- I read Romeo and Juliet before writing this and now I love the idea of William being called the prince of cats like Tybalt because of their similarities and that being the story much of his character is based on)

Prologue and oc intro

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven, part one

Chapter seven, part two

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Chapter ten

Chapter eleven

Chapter twelve

Chapter thirteen

Chapter fourteen

Chapter fifteen

Chapter sixteen

Chapter seventeen

Chapter eighteen

Chapter nineteen

Chapter twenty

Chapter twenty, part two

Chapter twenty one

“Deal.” The moment you said that a smile came across his face. You glanced back at the book you were asked to retrieve, before he could say something you grabbed it from the table. You looked back over at him, keeping the book curled up in your arm. “Not a word.”

“Only if you keep your end of the deal, doll,” Ayatsuji replied as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’ll have a hard time hiding that book at the party, what do you plan on doing?”

“I will be leaving early, I have my own matters to tend to.” You took out your phone, ready to call your driver to pick you up. “The Society is not the only affair that keeps me busy. There is something I need to get to the bottom of, a mystery if you will.”

“How interesting, but you are not a detective, are you?” He hums, tapping his gloved finger against his cheek. His eyes are fixed on you, scanning over your form, trying to find any sign of what you are thinking.

“Perhaps, it is a family profession after all.” You picked up the skirt of your dress and began making your way towards the door. You spared him a glance as you pushed open the door to the hallway. “Now I suppose I’ll see you soon enough and hopefully we will be on the same side of the playing field. Goodbye, have a lovely evening, detective.”

“We will see…”

You stepped out into the long hallway, slowly making your way to the garage where your driver would be picking you up. You looked down at your phone, dialing up your driver’s number. The ringing mixed with the echoing of your heeled shoes as they clicked against the floor. You were a far enough distance away from the auction hall that you knew Ayatsuji was not following you, but something still felt off. You felt yourself grow more tense as you walked along the hall, as if someone was watching you. The mixture of clicking and ringing did not help calm your nerves, only blocking out another one of your senses…

Click…

Ring…

Click…

Ring…

Click…

Ring…

Click…

Ring-

You heard the line get cut at the sound of your phone getting a call. You pulled your phone away to see who was calling you, you looked down to see the contact name as none other than William Shakespeare. You hit the bright green button on the screen without hesitation, answering the call as you held it up to your ear.

“William, I have the book-“

“(Name), I need you to come to room two-three-six, the plan has changed.” You heard William’s voice speak to you, but he was not worried, not bothered, if anything he was… happy? “Things may be turning in our favor after all.”

Did he find Miss Jane already? Thoughts ran through your mind as you made your way down through the floors of the hotel. The clicking of your heels rang through the halls, everything was silent except the clicking of those heels. Soon enough you came to the door, knocking once and the door was answered not even a moment later. It was answered not a moment later by a familiar face, just not one you were expecting.

“Joan?”

Before you stood the maid who was one of the first people you met at the Society’s headquarters, only she was dressed in an outfit suited for business, a black suit and a blue plaid tie. Her long blond hair was down, not up in her usual bun that also let her blue eyes be on display. She smiled back at you, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she stepped aside to allow you to come in. “It seems we have quite a bit to explain to you.”

“What do you mean- Oh!” You cut yourself off as you entered the room, turning your head to see sitting at the table of the luxury room the familiar face of William who summoned you along with-

“I apologize for setting you up, (Name).” Those words escaped those lips, soft and gentle as always. You saw sitting at the table with William, the form of Miss Jane. She was not dressed how you expected, she herself wore a black vest over a white button up, a long blue skirt, it was simple but elegant. She rested her head against her hand, a smile coming across her face. “The truth is, I never turned myself into Fitzgerald, I would never dream of it.”

You heard the sound of the person you once thought to be a maid closing the door behind you as she approached the table. William looked over at you with a smile, before a laugh escaped from his lips. “Honestly it surprised me as well, but Jane, Wells, and Leroux fooled us all.”

“Wells?” You turned to look at the woman who opened the door for you, was that Joan’s real name? Who was she really?

“Ah yes, let me properly introduce you,” Jane said, reaching out a hand over to the woman standing beside you. “This is an old friend of mine from my work in England when I was looking for capable individuals to join the Society. May I introduce to you H.G. Wells, she has been the one keeping our Society safe from the shadows this whole time along with the one who has been brewing up those  updates  on where I was for Emma and the others that led to this elaborate planning for this ball that fit into the plan I devised with Wells and Leroux.”

“But Gaston is missing, I found his blood in the room along with-“

“Not missing, he is exactly where he needs to be in this plan.” Wells cut in, coming to sit down on the couch not too far from the table, swinging her arms over the back of the couch and crossing her legs. “Leroux was kidnapped by a well-known European criminal known as Nikolai Gogol. Due to Gaston’s time working with the European Union when tracking down Fyodor Dostoevsky, he found evidence that the two had connections to one another.”

“So this all has to do with Fyodor, doesn’t it?” You asked, glancing around the room at everyone.

“Exactly, Gaston had informed me of what happened when he was asked by the Port Mafia to look into the disappearance of one of their executives who had Fyodor in their custody. We immediately knew Fyodor was planning something.” Jane nodded to your question and answered as it all was obvious. “We knew that the Port Mafia would be wanting any information they could in Fyodor after so even before all this we had all of Gaston’s observations from his work in European Union on Fyodor printed into a book and set up to be sold at an auction, that’s the same book you are holding now. We planned on dangling a carrot for the Port Mafia to desire and for Fyodor to destroy.”

You glanced down at the book you held, this was all a ploy. 

“I apologize for you having to be a pawn in all of this, but you played your role wonderfully.” Jane complemented with a smile, a giggle escaping her voice. “Now Gaston has Fyodor under constant surveillance and that  rat  has no idea, he will practically reveal everything to us and that bastard has no eyes on us because he is so focused on the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia.”

“I see, I have just a few questions…” You found yourself sitting down at the table along with the others, you felt yourself crew at your lower lip in thought. “How did you fake yourself leaving at the mansion all those months ago and how did you know that Nikolai would be here?”

“Ah, well the first answer is with Ms. Wells and her ability. She was disgusted as the driver who brought the two of us there. That envelope I gave her with the instruction to  open when the time was right  was all she needed to know what to do.” You glanced over at the woman on the couch, she was disgusted as a maid for all these months, what was stopping her from being disguised as a driver? “You see Wells’ ability is called Time Machine and allows her to manipulate time itself. So inside the envelope told her the exact time to activate her ability, when you got inside the car. She activated her ability on me, giving me 3300 seconds to go back in time myself and slip away from Fitzgerald, who was also used as a pawn in all of this. After that I returned to Europe for a few months, working with some old friends of mine in the Order of the Clocktower, but I am afraid that is trivial at the current moment.”

“I did not expect for you to be this much of a mastermind, Miss Jane.” You heard William chuckle as he crossed his legs with a closed-eyed smile. “But I suppose I should have expected that from the leader of the Society of Protection.”

“Well, I do pride myself on my understanding of the human mind, so manipulating it with both my plans and my ability is all too easy, no offense my dear (Name).” Jane apologized with a smile which you nodded to.

“None was taken, Miss Jane. After all, I have quite a lot to still learn.” You giggled along with her smile, which was true you did have so much to learn compared to the actual geniuses that hid within the Society. “But what of my second question?”

“Ah, about Nikolai, well that is thanks to your visit to Mr. Tonan with Leroux and Dr. Stevenson such a long time ago. Do you remember his assistant and the strange behavior he had?” You nodded at Jane’s question which caused her to hum. “I did not believe him at first, just a strange assistant and nothing more, at least that is what I thought at first. As you know Gaston is a composer at the Paris Opera House, a theater, he has experience with actors and the art of such so it is easy for him to tell when one is acting. He told me that he forced the attitude of a sane man to have a perfect accent, but not to one who works with actors from that part of the world every day, so detecting a fake accent was child’s play for him.”

“So Mr. Tonan’s assistant is Nikolai in disguise?” You asked, most. to yourself as you pondered the question and then it clicked. “Wait, Mr. Tonan and his assistant were invited to the ball, so Nikolai was among the guests.”

“Just as planned, they fell into our trap like rats.” Wells smiles as she speaks, running her hand through her hair. “And now we will trap them all like rats, all of them running in a maze they don’t even know.”

[secriden]

yeah it was me who made the post about subbing in the assassins for the women - tbh i think you can assume if there’s a meta post about thk and comparing it to taming, im the one that made it cause i have genuinely not seen anyone else making meta posts about it shskdhd which is like fair! i get that people are way more familiar with 10 things and i also get the urge with the source material being so heavily about misogyny, but tbh i feel like you’re taking away from either one by making it about men, because while the misogyny isnt as prominent in 10 things, kat being a feminist is very integral to her character, so either way there’s things that are being lost if we’re saying it’s based on 10 things. but it’s just. very frustrating when i or other people comment on taming and people reply with stuff like “oh it’s not even actually based on that lol” because!! it is!! it actively is!! like i know a lot of people are gonna miss the direct references, hell IVE missed a number of references that i only caught upon rereading taming post ep5 but it’s such a discredit to jojo and the team when they have put in the WORK of this being a shakespeare adaption for so many people to just kind of dismiss it. like i have my grips with taking out the women but subbing them in for assassins and therefore allowing the stakes to be raised to the same manner that the misogyny exists within taming is something i have genuinely not seen in another taming adaption and it is utterly fascinating to me and it’s a genuinely interesting route for them to have gone. sorry for going off in your inbox but as a shakespeare nerd/someone who got their degree in theatre, i take the shakespeare aspect of this show far more seriously than most other people and it’s genuinely frustrating to me when people dismiss it shskdhd

Ok first off, please don't apologise for going off, I love this! I love reading about other people's passions and how they influence perspectives on something I also love because it's soooo fascinating to me the details that other people see that I'll miss because I don't have the same interest/background/experiences. Like. Everything Style right now is going to be tied to him losing his mother and how that influences his Character and Personality and Way of Looking at the World, but I'm also conscious that it's because that's literally My Story, too. Anyway, sorry for going on a bit of a tangent there.

I didn't mean to downplay (my tags here for context) the inaccuracy of assuming that THK is an adaption of 10 Things vs ToS, but what I was trying to get at is how it's simply easier for a contemporary audience to see scenes like Style embarrassing Fadel in the stadium as being a reference to 10 Things and Patrick serenading Kat at the end of the show and ignore the way the tone and the intention of the characters (Style in ep 3 vs Patrick at the end of the movie) are TOTALLY different, and actually Style doing that was far more in line with Petruchio subjecting Katherina to public humiliation in his method of wooing in the early stages of the play (although tbh I don't think that ever really changes in the play and in THIS, at least, I'm glad THK is ALSO a romance). Even the way the people in the stadium respond to Style's antics with baffled amusement is a better reference to how Petruchio's behaviour was mostly accepted by the society at the time despite how cruel it really was to Katherina.

But yeah, like, its just harder to see that because while both ToS and 10 Things actually does, as you say, deal with misogyny very intentionally, because they're both depictions of misogyny set in their respective time periods, what we see in ToS is SO alien vs what we see in 10 Things. And since THK is again an even more recent/current adaption, the social 'vibe' it has is closer to 10 Things than to ToS.

As a 90s kid, 10 Things was one of my favourite movies precisely because it unflinchingly commented on (and dramatised) my own experience of how girls/women were required to behave/speak/think in certain ways to fit a 'feminine' ideal, but if you compare it objectively to ToS, what it depicted was so much tamer (pun not intended) to what women in Shakespeare's time experienced.

And as someone who's currently working in education, it's sad to see the way classics like Shakespeare's plays have slowly lost value in education for more "modern" and "relevant" pieces of literature because I actually think the lessons to be learned in these works are so valuable and necessary to raise a generation of nuanced thinkers.

And the byproduct of this is that when people are watching something like THK it's simply harder to appreciate where the true inspiration lies.

[bitethedevil]

What are you thoughts on fanfiction vs real literature?

My dear Anon, you are going to make me yap for forever with this question. I find that such an interesting question as someone who is both an English major and a fanfiction writer.

What is literature?

Literature is often defined as “written works”, often with the addition of “especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit” or something to that effect, though the keyword here is “considered”. The idea that there is ‘good’ literature and ‘bad’ literature is utter bullshit.

We are force-fed the idea that there is such a thing from we start in the school system, and it is true that some old hat somewhere has decided that Shakespeare is the epitome of what is considered ‘good literature’ (I love Shakespeare by the way, but this is just a classic example).

It’s the same with any kind of art:

If I draw a stick figure and go hand it in to a museum, they might be like “what the fuck?”. However, maybe more people look at my stick figure. Maybe they have deemed that I am actually pretty good at drawing stick figures, and that it seems like I’ve had some kind of intent behind them. They might decide that my stick figure is actually a great metaphor for whatever current world problem there is, or that it resonates with them in some way. Boom. It’s modern art. It’s ‘good’ art because a lot of people have pointed at it and said “oh that’s awesome. I like it and I get it”.

A lot of people have pointed at Shakespeare’s works and said “I like that. He seems good at that. That’s the best”.  So, we can conclude that what is considered ‘good’ literature has more to do with the reader-response than it actually does with the writer. That’s not to say that’s the writer is not important though, because the skill of the writer obviously plays a role as well.

Humans are social animals above all, so we are also easily influenced by what others deem good and bad. You personally might have read a lot of literature that your former teachers have said was the greatest pieces of literature of our time, and personally thought that it was a bit shit. Though you might still bring up the author’s name if someone asked you to name some of the greatest authors of all time.

What is fanfiction?

There’s a couple of different definitions:

“stories written about TV, film, or book characters by their fans” (Cambridge Dictionary)

or even simpler:

“a story written by a fan” (Merriam-Webster)

Some also claim that it has to be published by an amateur author, or that it has to be published on the internet, but we’ll keep it simple here and just use the two definitions above.

So many people have pointed at fanfiction and went “lol cringe” so it is considered ‘bad’ literature. If it is even considered literature at all. Though we know they are written works, so they are, by definition, ‘literature’.

It is quite unfair to think this way about fanfiction. YA and children’s lit has gotten the same treatment in the past, and it’s only pretty recently that academics have started treating those with the respect and regard they deserve.

YA and children’s literature are obviously written for a particular audience: young adults and children. For that reason, it means that they can’t have the same timeless and universal messages as those classics that your old English teacher loved to harp on about (which is complete BS) and for that reason they are seen as unimportant and uninteresting.

Let’s be honest here as well: when a lot of people think about the concept of fanfiction, they think about media such as Twilight, Harry Potter, One Direction, and so on. What do these have in common? They are usually targeted towards a younger audience, and it is the same weird discrimination against YA and children’s lit that causes the hate for fanfiction, I am completely sure of it.

However, we know that fanfiction does not have to be based on YA or children’s lit. There’s a whole variety of adult media that has fanfiction too. Though there still is that weird narrowminded idea of what it actually is, because we have all heard about the ‘My Immortal’ Harry Potter fic and the ones where all the One Direction boys have one big sexy orgy with each other (or whatever, I was never a Directioner).

Literally all the art ever made has been based off something else. We make what we consume. Ever read or seen media that is heavily influenced by the Bible? Fanfiction. It’s media that uses the same characters and plots from another popular work. Even Shakespeare yoinked most of his stories from ones that already existed. Even the classic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was taken from a story called ‘The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet’ by Arthur Brooke. Our boy barely even bothered to change their names. That’s Fanfiction™ babey.

“But, but, but, those stories were real stories. They weren’t just smut.” Come here, my fictive question-asker. Take my hand and listen: the presence of sexual themes and smut should not make you devalue any piece of media, you weird little puritan.

If that was the case, is Shakespeare’s works of less value because the guy loved his dirty jokes? Is Bram Stoker’s Dracula then shit? Because my god…any piece of vampire and werewolf media, is inherently horny as fuck. That stuff was the AO3 smut tag for Victorian housewives. Lots of classics are horny as hell, we just sort of ignore it because “oh well, they’re classics”.

In conclusion of this long-ass rant

Fanfiction is real literature in my opinion. It gets discredited because it is often written for a very specific audience, just like some other unfortunate genres, and it really isn’t fair. It also gets discredited because most people have a very narrow idea of what it actually is.

I’ll even go as far and to say that fanfiction in some ways is a more beautiful concept than what is widely considered as “real literature”. Fanfiction is often not written for a monetary gain. It is not made to be publishable. There are probably thousands of beautiful, genre-breaking, amazing books that will never see the light of day because some publishers have looked at it and thought “this won’t sell”.  

That’s not the case with fanfiction. It’s a genre that is written because people really felt like they wanted to share something, and I honestly think that is an incredibly beautiful concept in this hopeless world where literally everything is about money. Thank you, as always, for coming to my TedTalk.

(Thank you so much for this simple and yet insanely interesting question <3)

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-08-26

Documence...

Listening: Modest Mouse to fill some spaces. I am rather fond of This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About so here's She Ionizes And Atomizes

Watching: Hosted a rare Good Movie Night, put on Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, which is one of the best movies. It's so good. We had one person who hadn't seen it since school, and one person who had never seen it. Truly a great movie start to finish, more movies should just be Shakespeare plays!

I really like how it plays with line delivery, a lot of the Big Lines where a lesser performance would leave some space for a dipshit audience are brushed past in the context of their passages while other normally innocuous lines are elevated to an astounding degree. "Mercutio, thou consort'st with Romeo" is normally a pretty like, passing line, it's very easy to read it as part of the pre-game bickering of Mercutio and Tybalt, but here it marks the point where the game changes from idle banter to a serious accusation. A simply inspired line read.

I'm a huge tragedy lover. It's great how many times a character looks up and goes "hey does anyone else feel doomed". Yo these violent delights are coming to an end anyone know what comes next?

Reading: I have been occupied with obsessing over Documents so I have had Baru Cormorant on hold. Instead, mostly various blogs. One of interest is They Don't Make Readers Like They Used To

This is interesting especially since I've been the main sounding board for @thosearentcrimes reading lately and it makes some interesting points that might be wrong, as is common for this blog.

The key thesis is that readers engage more with the works they read now, but also they are more likely to challenge those works on their fundamentals, rather than anchoring themselves directly in the author's words first.

Some of this is definitely just that more people engage with media now, and it's more visible, is part of it, but that is also kind of the thing it's pointing at. More people are able to engage with media like this who would, I guess, have normally had to become writers in order to express these thoughts. Some of them did!

Playing: Tactical Breach Wizards is out! I am about halfway through the campaign.

It's very a tight tactical combat strategy game, especially if like me you are trying to be quick and efficient with your turns. You can absolutely kite enemies around a level for round upon round if you wanted to in most levels but it feels bad and it will eventually chip you down.

Because you can rewind within each turn but not successive turns you are kind of encouraged to keep your turns dense in action and low in number so that if you need to go back you aren't throwing away dozens of turns of state. Most levels pan out in 1-5 turns, which is small enough that you can memorize every action you took even with a larger squad.

The writing is Tom Francis Standard, mostly snappy quips, but the additional dialogue compared to, say, Gunpoint gives it some room to get a little more earnest. Which is nice.

Making: Bleh.

Tools and Equipment: Live Captions for Linux is an interesting little application that runs a CPU-based live transcription model locally to transcribe whatever is coming through your speakers, or whatever's coming in on the mic.

I've had it sitting on my computers transcribing podcasts, which I often listen to by routing my phone's bluetooth audio via the PC I'm sitting at. It provides a reasonably good glanceable transcript as well as a transcription history that is handy if I lose focus for a second. Rather than rewinding I can just take a look and see what I missed.

[kaz-rizzveld]

I just wanted to put in my 2 cents with season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.

Disclaimer: no hate please, this is my opinion!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Starting off with the ending.

So what the actual fuck. One time I saw someone say back before the season came out that they did in fact think the show should end with all the siblings dying together and realizing there’s nothing they could do and someone else replied how weak that thinking is and I completely agree. (I believe the person who explained how that was weak was "mortal-song" here on tumblr, btw)

Anyway, if the show creators thought of this choice as another “tragic ending” that should have been written or a lesson that things don’t always end well, I get it from a standpoint of someone who thinks all outcomes should be portrayed in media, I just don’t agree that it was the right direction for this show. It’s literally become nothing more than a trend and people thinking they’re quirky and different by ending things badly with a handful of unexplained plot holes because they think they’re Shakespeare. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re not. 

I also understand the idea that this is not a kids show and deep and sophisticated plot lines will be explored, so there should be no problem ending the show this way, right? Wrong again. I’m sick of the idea that because this show is for adults, that we can, and should, give it a tragic ending to communicate that things don’t always end well, no matter how hard you try and that’s such a dangerous message. I’ve also seen people talk about how the show is about coming together as a family and working through childhood trauma as now grown ass adults and that the final conclusions the characters came to is that “we’re the problem and we should give up and die.” This the complete wrong message on so many levels. The devolution of these complex characters and unnecessary romance storylines is so ridiculous (don’t even get me started on Five and Lila) and, quite frankly, insulting to the actors, but I’ll get into that in a minute.

My overall point is that the message and ending in general is absolutely WEAK. It’s rushed, sloppy, and weak. If we had to keep all of the other batshit crazy plot lines that don’t even make any sense, but ended the show differently, we could’ve ended the show with the characters allowing the world to end and them die because they believed that they would also make it to the next world, another motivating message that could’ve been explored, by the way. They could’ve ended out also alive and well in the fixed timeline, living their lives as regular people and healing together. Them literally dying and being erased from existence making the past three seasons pointless is just. Weak. 

Now onto the actors, especially Aidan because based on interviews, I feel like I relate to him and this is just what I feel I can speak to. !! Now I am not him, I do not know him, and I don’t know how he feels !! but if I played Five Hargreeves, if I grew as an actor playing such a complex character, and if I learned a lot about who I was and who the people around me were through my character and theirs, and then the writers completely changed who he is in so many ways, whether that’s selfishness, self pity, giving up, or being a complete home wrecker, I’d be quite upset. If I was in Aidan’s shoes, I’d be furious. That’s so insulting because he brought your character to life and explored a traumatic story for you and for viewers AND gave an absolutely amazing performance, and you go and do him like that…. That’s honestly just so odd of you and I feel bad for him and his costars for being insulted like that. 

I could talk about Ritu as well because as an actress she watched her co-star and friend grow up, and then you go and make her have a romantic relationship with him. I know they’re actors and it’s their job but that’s literally so odd. This mainly, but also other aspects of her character that I feel was completely different to who she was as a person in the last two seasons, is also very insulting to Ritu. Like just wow.

Some other smaller examples for the other actors:

It’s insulting to Tom that you reduced his character to a literal stripper and over the top golden retriever after he progressed and grew.

It’s insulting to David that you reduced his character to a “father” who isn’t doing his job well and in a highly broken marriage. Not to mention he was against the Lila and Five plot and you went and did it anyway.

It’s insulting to Emmy that she didn’t get to build on and explore a real or complex relationship with the people her character sacrificed everything for in the first place.

It’s insulting to Robert that you developed his character to someone sober and more mature, just to strip it away and reduce him back to season 1 him- someone the others can’t trust or take seriously, whether he’s drinking or a germaphobe, just for giggles. It wasn't funny by the way.

It’s insulting to Aidan that you reduced his character to a blind and selfish boy who betrayed his own brother and gave up on his family when that's literally the opposite of his character.

It’s insulting to Justin that you reduced his character to the monster he was afraid of becoming since the beginning and probably gave him false hope about being able to share a powerful message this season since he was supposed to be the focus.

It’s insulting to Elliot that though he was able to explore his character as a grown individual who stands up for himself to his father, that it was all for nothing, meant nothing in the long run.

It’s insulting to Ritu that her character development also meant nothing and her character was reduced to a messy adulterer and questionable mother.

It’s a bad and weak message to the audience and it’s a bad and weak message to the actors and it’s insulting to them that they had to communicate said message after all of this.

[passionwillow]

I just recently stumbled into the SWAT fandom and I always love another perspective, so I would be curious who you'd see with me (though if someone from another fandom is jumping out at you, I am curious too :) ).

I am a queer, bilingual (German and English), disabled (AuDHD) woman, so living with me is not easy (sensory sensitivities (cannot leave the house without sunglasses and headphones), struggles with social interactions/cues (I will take what you say at face value so you have to be direct with me or I will not get it) and low social battery, focus issues, the whole nine yards). In my friend group, I was always dubbed the "mom friend" (including the first aid kit and the protective behaviour for others. Like I won't say something if you disrespect me, but if you disrespect my friends, you will meet the fury of the heavens). My brain is running 100 miles an hour and switching gears super fast. One moment we chat about the weather and the next I rant about how Lafayette's "declaration of human rights" wasn't one of human rights because like they are teaching it in school because in french there are two different plurals, based on whether it's only men or if there are women in the group (like one is enough. My french teacher would be so proud that I remember at least one thing XD ) or why I think Burial at Sea is the worst thing to ever happen to the Bioshock franchise (I will die on that hill). I always have a documentary or video essay running in the background because I cannot stand the quiet otherwise which means that I know the most random shit imaginable (like in the 15th century at some tournaments knights weren't allowed to wear armour that had bible verses or imagery of saints engraved because it was considered white magic and therefore an unfair advantage) or I rewatch a movie/series for the 100th time, sometimes saying the lines with the characters and in normal conversations I often answer with quotes, likely from some obscure play I saw ages ago. I live with a cat in dog's fur (Akita) who taught me patience and I love going for walks with her, preferably in the forest because it's beautiful and the quiet really helps to calm the running thoughts and sort shit in my brain. If I am not falling down research rabbit holes for random hyperfixations, I love to write or do fibre arts (spinning, weaving, dyeing, sewing). In my former life, I was a theatre girl (and I still miss it sometimes) and even though it is sacrilegious, my favourite Shakespeare will always be Much Ado About Nothing (what can I say, Beatrice and Benedict are goals). My perfect vacation is a city trip spending my time in museums (even if I hate that usually, it's so full with people but hey. You gotta do what you gotta do), my favourite painters are Van Gogh and Botticelli, my favourite painting is Starry Night by Van Gogh, my favourite book as a child was Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke, and my favourite singer is Freddie Mercury. Oh and if it wasn't already showing, I cannot keep stuff short for the life of me and I've been told that I talk too much.

I commend you if you are still with me reading this and I hope you are having fun and if you are not, please feel free to skip it. This is all for fun after all :)

I hope you are having a lovely day wherever you are and may the muses smile upon you.

This was absolutely fascinating to read. I loved every second of it. 😂

I see you with two different people.

Hondo from SWAT for sure. He’d LOVE to listen to you talk about anything and everything. He’s fiercely protective of those around him and is definitely content staying in and watching movies or documentaries.

But McGee from NCIS also popped into my head. I think he’d be SO fascinated by you. He’d love to talk history or movies or- whatever with you!

Your quotes during conversation would make both of them grin, and McGee would be with you through every hyperfixation.

[bbcphile]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤

Thanks for the ask, @thesilversun! 😀

Since the ask said written, not “are writing,” I’m not including my current MLC longfic (as yet unnamed), but otherwise it would absolutely be on this list. It’s 58k and not yet halfway through (facepalm), and I’m really looking forward to finishing it and sharing it. So, for MLC folks, sorry there’s only one MLC fic here!

1. What’s Sealed Away (Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Dihua)

I really enjoyed figuring out how a-Fei’s amnesia works based on the details the show gives us and the things it’s oddly silent about, and reverse engineering based on how he acts towards LLH what his experience of amnesia might be like. (Also, as someone who has unfortunately had experience with amnesia, I feel like most examples of the amnesia trope really punt on the many different kinds of memory and how amnesia can mean you lose some but not all, and the wild things that happen when there are contradictions between them.) I’m also really proud of the ways I tried to convey the meanings behind LLH’s reactions even when DFS as the POV character had no way to fully interpret them because of all the missing context. It was a fun writing challenge.

2. Nunc Atque Semper (Horatio Hornblower, Maria/Horatio Hornblower, past Archie Kennedy/Horatio Hornblower; the only Dead Kennedy Universe fic I will ever write)

I can’t even read fics where Archie dies without being an emotional mess for days, so I was not ever expecting to write one. But 1. I got a prompt for it, and 2. It was a chance to hold Horatio accountable for the ways he treats Maria in the series while also being sympathetic to him for his overwhelming grief and being married to someone he doesn’t love; and 3. I love incorporating literary allusions into my work, and Archie’s canonical love of Shakespeare meant that I could have a central part of the fic be Maria essentially trying to do literary analysis to figure out what Archie and Horatio were to each other. I very much broke my own heart with this fic and I’m still proud of it.

3. Harboured and Encompassed (Horatio Hornblower modernAU (libraryAU + actor!Archie), Archie/Horatio; Archie/Horatio/Will pre-slash; 148,000 words)

I am still so incredibly proud of how I adapted the characters and events (with aspects of some of the books thrown in) to a modern setting while staying true to who they are. These characters will always have a very very special place in my heart, as will the special combo of humor, fluff, and heart-rending angst that having a character like Archie at the center of it enabled (I miss writing him so much sometimes). I love the whole series, too, but this is definitely the core of it.

4. Turning Over the Sands of Time (Horatio Hornblower, Archie/Horatio)

I still don’t understand why this one has so few kudos when I think it’s some of my best writing. Maybe the subject matter is too bleak/violent? (Mind the tags if you read it!) I really love writing missing scene fics and character studies, and the moments from the show that bookend this fic break my heart every time and make me fall in love with Archie all over again, respectively, and I wanted to delve into the hellscape of Archie’s mind in those moments and show how, even when he is in emotional agony and dealing with flashbacks, he is still compassionate and caring and trying with what little agency he has to make sure no one ever suffers as he did, or at least, if they are forced to, that no one has to suffer alone. (Also, a horribly depressed and triggered Archie means a very poetic Archie, which means I got to write lines like “The actors had changed, but the play had not” and “a rotting weed by any name would smell as fetid” and “Dying might be a price worth paying if it could but purchase that.” Have I mentioned I miss writing Archie?)

5. Taking Hands Against a Sea of Troubles (Horatio Hornblower, Archie/Horatio)

TW: suicide mention

The first time I saw a delirious Archie quote Anthony and Cleopatra during his suicide attempt and the play-illiterate Horatio has no idea what he’s saying, I knew I wanted to write the a scene where they see the play together years later in Drury Lane and Horatio finally understands the context. And I knew the scene in the theater box would need so much non-verbal communication and would need to be so comparatively subtle–because of the semi-public nature of the theatre box and the very real danger they would face if Horatio actually comforted Archie more overtly–so I waited a few years after having the idea until I was able to execute it the way I wanted to. I really love fics that deal just as much (if not more) in what’s unsaid than what’s said–for all that I love deep dives into character psychology–and I’m so glad I was able to finally write this. 

Thanks again for the ask!

[marvelmaniac715]

It is just past midnight but I would very much like to ramble about David Tennant for a minute:

Of course he’s good looking, I mean, just look at that bone structure and blinding smile, and that’s not even mentioning his eyes that I’ve often been lost in when watching him on tv. But as a person David Tennant is just so wonderful. He’s intelligent, funny, and is so clearly a man of such warmth and kindness, he even wears pride pins to make it clear that he’s an ally. He just seems like someone you’d want to sit down and watch tv with, someone who wouldn’t judge you, someone you could have a laugh with. Oh yeah, and he’s a phenomenal actor. Just think of his iconic characters; Crowley, the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, Scrooge McDuck… all heroic characters, but have you seen him as a villain? Might I direct you to his performance as Kilgrave in Jessica Jones?:

I (uncomfortably) found myself close to rooting for Kilgrave several times whilst watching the first season of Jessica Jones, based on the sheer power of his performance alone. His performances in Shakespeare plays are also commendable, many people talk about his Hamlet, Macbeth or Richard III, but even as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing he gave a man from Jacobean/Elizabethan times a soul, beyond the verse in Shakespeare’s text. Many people have made posts talking about how incredible David Tennant is, but did you know that he can actually SING?:

If there’s one thing that you should take away from this post it’s that David Tennant is multi-talented, and I’d love to meet him but I know that I am not worthy to be in his presence (joking, like I said he seems like a lovely man who wouldn’t judge anyone). I’ve neglected to mention many of his well-known characters because, regrettably, I have not seen all of his performances. I’m yet to watch Broadchurch, for example. I just think David Tennant is one of the greatest actors of our time and I wanted to talk a bit about him.

[dashielldeveron]

HELPPPPP TELL ME WHY IVE ONLY NOW FOUND YOUR FICS AT AN UNHOLY HOUR IN THE MORNING AND HAVE SPENT THE PAST FOUR HOURS PORING OVER YOUR WRITING????

literally wasnt in a bnha phase atm when i got smacked in the head with the absolute DELIGHT that is your writing??!?! oh my GOD your writing is so delicious i was kicking my feet and had to put my phone down MULTIPLE times when going through shinsou's, monoma's, and dabi's part of the soulmate series and im Not Ready for aizawas or todorokis. what RIGHT do you have to make me have to stuff my comforter in my mouth to stifle my laughter as i clutch my phone in my hands and grin like a maniac at the absolute comedic gold that is your writing.

Your dialogue? masterful. i want to eat your writing because the interactions between characters seem so Real and Complex and in depth i am frothing at the mouth you dknt UNDERSTAND!!! And the fact the reader insert has a nuanced personality!!!! the snark and sheer Kindness from the reader in dabi's fic and TENDERNESS!!! HAD ME!!! SHAKINF!!! goddd you write tenderness and yearning so so well im going to be re reading your fics for the next couple years, actually. "shy boy" and "sweet boy" being used for dabi , , , im on my hands and knees you have no right!!! at all!!! to make me want to kiss the reader insert!!! hello!!!! what the fuck!!

AND MONOMA!!! MY BABYGIRL!!! HES SUCH A THEATRE NERD WHO WANTS TO PRACTICE AND SATISFY YOU BECAUSE!! TO SEE U BE UNRAVELED BY H I M --- NOT AN ABILITY HE MIMICKED FROM SOMEONE ELSE--- MAKES HIM SO SO WEAK. i have no words. best monoma character portrayal ive seen. hands down. im gonna die happy, actually.

also.

reader: wanna try sexting?

shinsou: no <3

made me cavkle so hard aksbjsbsbs i love that man sm

Oh btw!! may i ask what other chars you have planned for the soulmate au? i will be. frothing over whatever you put out nonetheless!! i hope you have a lovely day <333

four hours?!?!?! you could've watched gone with the wind in that time!!

yessss YESSSS get back into bnha!!! we want you back!!!! lol it's fab that you were reacting like that to thinking about the boys; i think that monoma would be kicking his feet, too, if he were reading about you!!! and shinsou would get so overwhelmed reading fluff about you that he'd have to take breaks, splash water on his face. if dabi read fic, he'd prob read the whole thing in one sitting, emotionless, but then have to go throw rocks at windows. whatever you're feeling, they'd feel, too

and yesssss dabi is shy/sweet boy bc that's what he is!!!! he's prob not feeling very shy/sweet in canon rn, but he'll remember eventually!! ohhhhhhhh monoma my beloved. GOD it makes me so happy to hear that you like him here. i love monoma soooooo much; i dislike how he's villainised in fic bc it's easy to, but i think he's so charming and devoted, both to his friends and to the bit. and based on 1-B's play at the festival, someone's a huge fuckin' nerd about LOTR and Shakespeare and stuff, and i think it would fit monoma well; he seems aware of the roles of characters in stories and overall storytelling, and LOTR/HP/Shakespeare are all about structure and word choice. i love him. i'm going to take him to therapy and make out with him in the car afterwards.

also!!! not that there's a "correct" order to read the routes in, but it sounds like you're reading them out of release order!!! which is great!!! i'd be FASCINATED to hear back from you after you read aizawa's chapter, bc that's where most of the tainted love lore is dropped--and aizawa's and shinsou's routes have pretty heavy overlap.

i'm writing shigaraki's right now, and then i have a route for [secret character], censored not bc he's the "true route," or anything, but bc he already appears in the story, and from my POV, it would sour his current scenes if we knew we had a route with him. these are the routes i have planned, and then i will either 1) let the fic marinate or 2) leave the fic "finished" but occasionally add "non-canon" routes for other characters and perhaps "fandiscs" for existing routes. considering i have lots of ideas for other fics, i'm leaning towards the first one, since i don't think i can commit to the latter right now idk

but ohhhhhh i love you. you are SO kind, and i'm so so so glad you're liking the fic!!!! i hope the rest of it is just as fun and that your day is peaceful!!!! xx.

[orphetos]

My first ever Tales of Arcadia OC

I’ve got my ideas for an OC for a fanfic that I am currently working on. So I decided to just put it out there.

The name of my OC is Duncan Finlay, a Scottish boy, attending Arcadia Oaks High as a senior at the age of 18. Oh, and he’s also going to be the Trollhunter, mainly because it will make things easier for me for what I am going to do to him. (see my reimagining for the Triumbric stones and the Eclipse armor to get an idea) (also, I think he might have become a self-insert so… suffer, bitch! suffer!! (no shade at others who make self-inserts, I'm fine with that.))

I took some inspiration from Macbeth from the play by Shakespeare and the real-life King Duncan, along with Fionn Mac Cumhaill(pronounced Finn MacCool) for Duncan’s character. Speaking of which, I got the idea for Duncan’s name from the real-life King Duncan I. He was the king before Macbeth and wasn't the best king as he was young, weak, and not great at leading. His titles was “the sick” or “the diseased” and that instantly sold me on naming my OC: Duncan because of what I have in store for him.

Because I can’t art (or at least, art without it making me cringe (and if it makes me cringe, I don’t want anyone else to look at it )) here’s a description of him. Duncan has straight blonde hair that’s a bit messy and short at the back than it is at the front. He has a stubble on his chin, trying to grow a goatee that would cover his chin. His eyes are grey and has a pale skin color. He stands at about 5'11'' to 6 feet tall and is mostly slim yet has some muscle on him, but not much for you to think he’s got any abs. Usually, he wears a whitish-grey t-shirt with black pants that have a thick white line on each side.

Now, let me tell you about his troll form(half-troll if you wanna get technical). The colors of his body is similar to labradorite as that is what I believe the Daylight Stone is based on because, in the metaphysical world, it is said to be one of the most powerful protectors (put a pin in that) (firemountaingems.com/resources/encyclobeadia/gem-notes/gmstnprprtslbrd) and it’s a stone of magic and mystery and it is said to be a stone of change (friendsnyc.com/blogs/news/witchy-ways-labradorite-crystal-meaning-uses). 

As a troll, he’s about 8 feet tall, his skin is predominantly blue (with some other colors here and there) and his hair becomes white. Side note, his hair being blonde as a human and it being white as a troll is a reference to Fionn Mac Cumhaill (a great warrior in irish myth) where Fionn means white or light-hued and is usually what you refer to someone who has blonde hair, and how some myths believed he got this name because his hair was turning prematurely white. As a troll, his hair becomes softer, he grows some sideburns and a full goatee. He grows more hair on the back of his neck, connected to a large spot of hair on the top part of his back that slims down as you go down his back and some hair on his shoulders, along with some chest hair that extends down his stomach. He’s also got a thick line of hair on the side of the forearm that starts below the elbow and ends above the wrist. His horns start at the top part of his forehead and curve back into a crescent shape. The color of his horns are a dusty grey and the tips start to become a pale green. Duncan has carvings on his troll body. However, normally, carvings on a troll’s body have a darker, faded color of their stone-skin; Duncan’s carvings are black that can glow bright blue. He also has a black spot in the shape of the Eye of Gunmar at the area of his right eye, which only the outline of it can glow. As of right now, I don’t have a reference to what his markings look like but I’ll work on it.

Before he became the Trollhunter, there was nothing much to say about Duncan, he was a good guy who likes to go on for walks as he listens to music, he does good in school, he never did any drugs or disobeyed anyone, he was the example of a well behaved person. Even though he’s a good guy, he never went out of his way to make any friends, or go to any parties. Because of this, he felt like his life was going nowhere, a blank slate where others tell him what to do. That was until he wound up being in the presence of Kanjigar’s death during one of his early morning walks. Duncan went down to the pile of rocks and picked up the amulet.

During his time as the Trollhunter, he began making friends, he felt like he was doing something with his life, he could finally release all his pent up frustration he gathered over the years through training. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he had a purpose for living. For the first time in a long time, the smile on his face wasn’t forced. For the first time in a long time, he was happy. And to him, it was all thanks to the amulet.

The reason why Merlin turned Duncan into a troll was not because “Your humanity is not enough”, but because his soul was corrupted, and he needed to be purified and his body to be turned into something that had a natural defense against evil, spiritual, forces. The purification process left Duncan’s soul quite broken, with a bunch of missing pieces being replaced by spiritual energy. With such a radical change to his soul, the Amulet could not tell if Duncan really was him and rejected him altogether. This little action inadvertently caused Duncan to believe he was no longer Duncan. He was no longer Human and he couldn’t be a troll as trolls turn to stone in daylight, where he can just walk around in it freely. He felt like he was a demon, an abomination that goes against nature. Duncan was alone.

Duncan subconsciously knew that his soul was being corrupted, the consciousness did not pick up on this fact. This subconscious knowledge caused him to develop a fear, a nightmare, where he is in the Darklands, seated on the dark throne, wearing the same kilt as Gunmar and wearing a looped necklace of skulls. At his feet, the beheaded remains of his human companions he made, along with the shattered remains of his troll friends. The skin color of his right eye has been turned to red, similar to a 3rd degree burn. His right eye lid is charcoal black and the eye itself looked just like Gunmar’s. As he is seated upon the dark throne, the Gumm-Gumm army are gathered at the throne room, chanting: “Long live the new Gumm-Gumm king! All hail Duncan the Red!”

Welp, that's all for now! See you next time.

[blushingzephyr]

are any other succession characters in your detective au? like, what’s shiv doing in this au?

quick disclaimer: i know nothing about detectives, especially in the US. i am sort of basing it around the show Shakespeare and Hathaway private investigators? if anyone wants to inform me about hierachies and ranks they would be welcome!

Shiv:

i think shiv would also be a private investigator/detective. she would be newly qualified or NEARLY qualified and keeps messing up in the test by being too impulsive or something?like how in the show she’s new to the company and the concept of being CEO and just moved from the world of politics.

either she is actually loyal to the roy company, but she keeps trying to do things in a different way and go off on her own,

OR she’s constantly being a double agent between kendall and roy’s agency and other detective agencies (e.g mattson?) like giving the roys fake evidence to mess up the investigation. OR both? at different points.

Tom:

yeah hes helping as another detective too, like lower ranks maybe but still qualified. he does lots of asking around houses and driving around. he takes greg with him because he gets lonely to use him as a human shield in case a bullet flies at his face.

Greg:

considering the Roys would still be rich, they can afford to get some clerks or whatever to get them coffee bc i KNOW they would not be able to survive without help.

he helps Tom, and im toying with this idea that Tom gets Greg to do an errand while they’re on a case, and then Greg gets kidnapped and held hostage.

Connor:

someone in the tags of a reblog said that he’s the IT guy and i think thats such a good idea but i lost who said it. so if you said this, 👍! ( if i find it i’ll put you here: @sleek-lazy-cats-8-the-cotter)

i also think that as well as being really bad at IT and barely being able to work a word document, there’s this ONE time that he gets a piece of information that is crucial to the case and he ALWAYS brings it up.

Logan:

100% a crime boss. That man hires hitmen for fun. everytime he crops up in a case, they debate whether to prove his guilt (because it would skyrocket their reputation and get them more money) or cover for him because he’s their father and he continues to play mindtricks.

how did they become detectives with a crimeboss as a father in the first place? beats me.

Gerri:

kinda giving criminal girlboss. like that woman stabs people. also roman gets to be conflicted about her if shes immoral.

Kendall and Roman:

i said shiv might try and do things differently, and i also think that kendall and roman do that too. none of them work together well for more than a couple days. lol. they do attempt it.

Kendall covers up his crime/murder/thing and i have an idea that he jumps in a river to chase a criminal and like. somethin something water motif somethin something.

Roman tries his hardest to be smooth with criminals and chat them up in order to get them to talk but he ends up just like. forgetting he exists and messing it up. also he constantly jibes kendall about drugs bc they crop up in cases a lot.

thats it so far. feel free to add anything if you want, and if anyone wants to write fanfic with this idea, they’d be welcome to! i would read them.