#and i don't understand! why someone with this perspective! would choose to write for a kids' show!

[summerlimeismethebrony]

...I think the people writing Ninjago season 2 may have hated children

[lurkingshan]

Thoughts on ThamePo

I finally got some time this weekend, so I decided to go ahead and binge ThamePo, a show many of you seemed to enjoy and that quite a few people have told me is one of the more solid to come out of GMMTV's BL lineup in awhile. I told a few friends I would share thoughts when I watched it. Let’s go!

The TL, WR: I had a fun time watching this show and agree it managed to avoid a lot of GMMTV shows' worst pitfalls, but I also found the writing around the core plot to be an inconsistent mess. I'll break down the good, the bad and the huh from my perspective, so only read on if you care to know. Disclaimer: I am not a LYKN fan and in fact knew almost nothing about them before watching this.

The Good

The show looks fantastic. As soon as I turned it on I said "is this a Parbdee production?!" And it sure was. It seems GMMTV picks one BL a year that it's willing to actually fund high production values for, and ThamePo was the lucky winner of this round. It was quite a startling contrast having just watched My Golden Blood.

The flirting between Thame and Po in their talking stage was a lot of fun. I don't think it made me swoon quite as hard as some of you, but I was charmed. Is memorizing someone's phone number the new height of romance?

Drake and Sammy were here! And looking cute! I was happy every time they showed up.

Nano's colorful sweaters. I want every single one.

All of episode 10, which was my personal favorite of the show. It was the only episode where I felt like they had a strong episodic plot and theme that they executed well and that showed a realistic sequence of events around how idols are treated by their fans.

Baifern learned something about how to love and support her idols without crossing boundaries. This girl made me so uncomfortable for the whole show and I was glad they had her realize she was wrong and speak directly into the camera about it. GMMTV owed us that after the disastrous handling of this issue in Only Boo. Plus, Baifern growing meant I could enjoy the absolute comedy of her reaction to finding out who Mr. B was. Ciize is so funny.

Noble idiocy was given the respect it deserves: none.

I liked the resolution for the romance, and that ultimately what Thame and Po wanted was just an ordinary relationship where they could spend time together and pursue their careers on their own terms. It was wonderfully straightforward and low drama.

Contra GMMTV's usual pattern, this show's strongest run was its last four episodes, and I actually thought the finale was strong given the story they had set up for themselves. I appreciated that rather than indulge in the fantasy ending of Only Boo, MARS had to suffer real consequences for choosing their personal lives and orchestrating a breach of contract. They had to reckon with the fact that being idols was directly at odds with the way they wanted to live, and make a choice. Kudos to the show for that.

The Bad

It feels like this script was written by someone who doesn't really understand the idol industry or how anything works. Much of the plot for MARS and the business machinations of managing them was nonsensical and contra how idols are actually managed in the industry. It was extra jarring to then cast a real idol group and have them act out this weird incorrect version of their reality.

Relatedly, the writing for Pemika was all over the place. We are supposed to see her as a smart businesswoman who knows what's best for their careers even as she is very unkind to them as humans, but the way she handled Thame throughout the show was ludicrous. First of all, it is the industry norm for idols to do solo work while staying in their group, so for her to insist on dismantling MARS so that Thame could go solo made no sense, and the entire plot hinged on this! It's not only bad artist management--she is deeply pissing off and damaging her relationship with her most important performer--it also just doesn't make sense from a revenue standpoint. Why kill MARS, a popular idol group with a large fanbase, when you could just negotiate with Thame for a solo album in exchange for another MARS album and keep both revenue streams? Pemika's approach was counterproductive. I was intrigued by what they tried to do with her in certain moments, but it didn't hang together because there were too many logic gaps.

On that note, I think the biggest problem with the way the MARS plot was constructed is that if they are already a successful group, most of the plot does not make any sense. Agencies don't destroy successful and profitable groups just for the hell of it, and if Thame is the leader of a successful group with a powerful fanbase he should have more power than the show implied. The whole story makes a lot more sense if MARS was struggling to break out and didn't actually have fans yet, but the show tried to have its cake and eat it, too.

This is a matter of personal preference, but I personally did not care for Thame's characterization as an extraordinarily selfless idol with no ego who only cared about his friends at the expense of his own career. Please, show. A little more nuance and complexity to his motivations would have been nice.

The whole subplot with Jun pretending to hit on Po was just stupid and I found it to be a very frustrating diversion that was mostly there to stall getting Thame and Po together. They already knew they liked each other and his interference did not accomplish anything except making me wonder why Thame considers that asshat his friend.

Must GMMTV continue to stab me in the heart by making me listen to the Last Twilight OST over and over again?? Write a new song!

On that note (look away stans), the music performances in this show were just unforgivably bad. I will not go into further detail so as to not hurt anyone's feelings (but you can come sit by me in the DMs if you want to talk shit).

The Huh

I don't understand why Thai idol dramas keep making getting recruited to Korea the standard. Not only is it deeply unrealistic to suggest that an industry already teeming with talent is eager to recruit middling talent from elsewhere, but if your goal is to promote the tpop industry, focus on tpop!

On top of the business plot not making sense, the way they presented the group and their roles was just strange. Idols all have to have baseline competency in singing, dancing, and rap--you don't have one member who does each like the show kept saying. I got confused every time the show reverted to this framing. Don't even get me started on the concept of Nano, the successful idol who *checks notes* doesn't know how to sing.

Let me not also forget that these are supposed to be famous idols, yet they are constantly casually hanging out in public spaces with no fans approaching them. Every time they sat around as a group in a park I wanted to scream.

Which of course leads me to my incredulity that so much of Thame and Po's flirtation happened in public, outside, in front of tons of onlookers, and somehow they were not spotted every time despite Thame being famous. As fucking if! The way the story ignored this reality for the first 2/3 of the show really undercut the final arc when they suddenly remembered idols can't date. And right after the group handled Pepper's scandal, Thame was back to holding Po's hand outside again. I felt like I was taking crazy pills.

I was also salty about Pepper directly encouraging Thame to pursue Po only to turn around the next episode and tell him idols can't date. Sir, what the fuck.

The whole thing with Mick was kind of a miss for me. They made a big deal about his incompetence in the first few episodes, then he functionally disappeared for half the show, then they revealed he was pretending to be bad at his job as some roundabout way of helping them, I guess? It was a half-baked idea poorly presented.

Since I mentioned Only Boo up top, it would be remiss of me not to mention that if ThamePo takes place in the same universe as the cameos imply, this plot makes even less sense because Moo already broke down this barrier and idols can now have boyfriends with no consequences! (Seriously though if you're gonna have them cameo at least let Moo speak I love that boy).

The show should not have been in the bubble. So much of the romance plot and the contrast between Pepper/Gam and Thame/Po would have been strengthened if their sexuality mattered.

Lastly, I'll just say that I found this plot a strange one if GMMTV's intent was to use the show as a vehicle to promote LYKN. The entire plot is that the agency thinks Thame is the only talented one and the rest of the group is holding him back, but he's a Good Person so he will stay with them anyway. If I was anyone else in LYKN I'd be side-eyeing this plot big time.

In conclusion: This was a fun binge but I am still waiting for the Thai idol BL of my dreams starring Daou and Offroad. I will write the goddamn script if I have to!

[sleepymarimo]

𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙!

summary: just a small list of qualities & traits which may be ideal for these op men when it comes to choosing a partner pairing(s): luffy x reader, zoro x reader, sanji x reader notes: based off my personal opinion of the monster trio and what we've seen from them! i also tried to utilize their alleged mbti and enneagram types. i totally didn't get butthurt while writing this (cries)

luffy

adaptability. luffy marches to the beat of his own drum. a dinner date might quickly turn into infiltrating an underground criminal organization. its just how he is! having a partner that can roll with the punches, maybe even enjoy it, without feeling neglected, is ideal

he doesn't like the predictable and will take any opportunity to spice things up. someone who panics when plans go off track, who finds comfort in having routine, may not be the best match for him

commitment. someone who is flaky and can't keep their promises is a big red flag for him. he craves connection and loyalty. despite his childlike enthusiasm, his feelings run deep. his pain isn't something he openly shares, as he opts to express himself happily, but he will open up his his soul to you if he knows you'll be there, no matter what

following the first point of adaptability, know that luffy will show up for you regardless of the situation. a date or outing or fight might not go as planned, but he won't leave you hanging he will want to take on your big emotions too. he loves feeling, he loves knowing your feelings and understanding you. while he might not necessarily agree with all perspectives, he can see where people come from. be open with him, don't hide

creativity. this captain hates boredom and routine. he does things his own way and enjoys thinking outside the box. his partner would likely be the same way. a big imagination and a lot of enthusiasm draws luffy in. if you constantly shut down ideas without offering any of your own, it frustrates him

he would love doing things like arts and crafts with a partner. anything hands on will catch his attention! loves talking about the future. goes back to the point regarding commitment. he doesn't care if the ideas you offer are crazy or unrealistic, as long as you have him in mind for what's to come, he's all in luffy attracts people, its just how he is. to keep him actively interested, he needs excitement. if the two of you are cuddling and you're looking too cozy, he might have to start a tickle fight

vocal and affectionate. luffy feeds off the energy around him and gets satisfaction from others. he loves seeing his nakama happy and the same goes for his partner. it could be as small as a smile or as grand as tackling him to the ground- let him know, verbally and through action, that he's doing well and making you happy!

words of affirmation and quality time! he'll never get tired of hearing you talk and very much prefers it over silence. even if it's the most obscure and obtuse topic, he doesn't care as long as it comes out of your mouth a partner who is easily embarrassed by pda may not be the best match for him. luffy has no shame and will not hesitate to pull you to his side and drag you off towards whatever adventure he has planned. he'll be confused and maybe even slightly offended if you push him off

patient. luffy is not the most easy person to deal with at times. along with being patient, he would love a partner who revels in the attention he gives and can also reciprocate it without getting too overwhelmed.

however, sometimes, you want your own space and time to do things. luffy might take this as a personal hit to himself, since he's much more receptive to the criticism of his partner. this is why he would also do well with someone who is...

gentle and constructive. don't snap at the man or suddenly grow distant! if he truly loves you and is in deep, he'll be hurt and might even force himself deal with an issue in a bid to 'solve' the conflict. taking the time to explain things to him while giving him a healthy dose of affection will work wonders

will very much ask what he did wrong if you ever say you want time away from him. his extroversion makes him able to be in the company of others for extended periods of time without needing to take time for himself a partner with emotional awareness would be great for him. he feels a lot, and he feels it very strongly, so having someone who can read him is great!

likes unique features! freckles, scars, killer eyeliner... luffy is drawn to people who look interesting. before he really gets to know you, he'll probably associate you with whatever he finds most captivating about you!

zoro

independent. this man values his ambitions. having a partner with a full and functional life, outside of the relationship, is something he would admire and respect. he sees a relationships as a union between two individuals, very much egalitarian. he's loyal and passionate to the core, would do most anything for his partner, but he also expects the same in return. all or nothing.

you recognizing him as a being, as an individual, really makes him comfortable. codependency and clinginess, too many expectations will have him retreating talks of marriage and future endeavours might also be touchy. as much as he craves stability in a long term partnership, he also values his freedom and being unconstrained by expectations. don’t set marriage dates or make a ‘plan’ for the relationship. he loves you, but he truthfully doesn't know what the future holds. all he knows is that he wants you now. the act of choosing you in the first place shows that he has you in mind for the future- he won’t get into a relationship for fun or for the sake of keeping his bed warm. he takes it more seriously than you think!!

private. you're a team, a unit. if something comes up, talk to him first. he gets needing to consult with friends for outside perspective, that's understandable, and he might even do the same. but giving your friends the hot gossip, spilling details about your relationship- it ticks him off

does not necessarily mean he prefers a quiet partner! he enjoys listening to his partner and participating in engaging conversations about obscure topics. does not care much for drama can be quite empathetic, but you have to let him know how you're feeling. he won't figure it out on his own, but once he understands where you’re coming from he becomes a lot more reasonable.

respectful. his pride is important to him. he doesn't like embarrassing himself or being embarrassed. he enjoys your teasing and affection in private, but in public prefers to hold himself to a certain standard

if you ignore these boundaries, maybe embarrass him for the sake of a good laugh, he gets a bit irritated, even if it is only for lighthearted fun preferring to do things alone, zoro knows he's starting to fall for someone when he lets someone join him for the smallest of things. could be polishing swords in silence or sharing some sake- the fact that he wants you around, even if he isn't too outwardly expressive of it, is meaningful. respect and cherish the time he gives you, don't complain of boredom or head off to do something with someone else loves you and adores you, but will not put you on a pedestal. will point out hypocrisies and double standards. don't take this point the wrong way, because once he's committed, he's committed, and won't let the relationship go that easily, but he respects himself he expects you to call him out if he ever treads over your boundaries as well

understanding & perceptive. this man very much does things how he wants, when he wants. not to say that he's inconsiderate, not at all, but sometimes things come up that simply demand his attention. if he's on his way to meet up with you and sees some marines unjustly terrorizing civilians, he won't think twice. know that in his heart, he'd never intentionally do anything to hurt you

if he chooses you, he expects you to have trust in him and his intentions. having a partner that can read between the lines and see the magnitude of his actions is something he appreciates he won't outright ask for much of his partner, so, ideally, they should be perceptive enough to give him what he needs. show him and tell him that you appreciate what he does acts of service and physical touch!

realistic, or perhaps even idealistic. he admires those with lofty goals and ambitions, those who are aware that what they seek won't just be handed to them on a silver platter

relationship-wise, zoro would appreciate a partner who is aware of the facts…without getting butthurt yes, sometimes he wants time alone, even from you. no, it doesn't mean that he doesn't love you. yes, he'll protect you with all his heart and soul, but you can't expect him to hold your hand on every island you stop on. you're pirates- this won't be a sappy love story

supportive. a partner who shows interest in his craft will get his attention. you don't have to be an expert on the ways of the blade, but asking him questions and allowing him a chance to engage in something he's passionate about will draw him out of his shell

asking about swordsmanship is probably what drew him to you in the first place. he won't bother with conversation if its not something he's interested in, so its a good way to get his attention! similarly, if he's genuinely in love, he would go the extra mile to learn about his partner's interests and passions. he is an intense lover

zoro is a bit indifferent when it comes to physical preferences. he's very much drawn towards character above all else. however, in my opinion, due to his friendship with kuina, he does tend to have a soft spot for those with darker hair and eyes, maybe even someone taller than him

sanji

generosity. sanji is a giver and is not afraid to show it. it's a double edged sword. he's shown that he is willing to sell himself short, willing to put himself down if its for the sake of others. while he enjoys giving, revels in it, he desperately craves someone who can coddle and spoil him rotten

ideal partner would not be embarrassed of him or push him away. he's a sensitive soul, afraid of abandonment from the one he loves most. accepting his love with a smile and returning it with equal or greater fervor would send him over the moon partner does not necessarily have to be super bubbly or extroverted to check this point! if sanji loves you, he knows you. a quiet partner who gives him a smile and squeezes his hand can be just as reassuring as an extroverted partner pulling him into a hug

emotional depth. this man would merge his very soul with yours if it were possible. sees partnership as a bond that will transcend all else and won't accept anything less. allowing him to explore you, all of you, will not only make him feel trusted, but truly connected to you

seconding this, a partner who can be open with him would be ideal. if you close yourself off, hesitate to divulge information, he might feel that he is doing something wrong. he understands needing time to process emotions, so if that's what you want, then at least make him aware of that he will be just as open. you're his safe space, his haven

committed and idealistic. this is a man who loves to talk about the future. marriage, kids, how your kitchen will look like… it warms his heart and makes him feel secure. it lets him know, even if some of the ideas are outlandish, that you have him in mind for the long run

partners that find discussing such commitments to be nerve racking, may make this cook a little panicky. you might not doubt him, but he would wonder why you felt the need to avoid the topic. did you not see him as someone you could be with in the future? talk with him, dream big with him

organized and orderly. he recognizes the effort it takes to formulate a plan and execute it, especially when it comes to dates and gifts. in the moment, spontaneous outings are meaningful, but don't hold as much weight as something which requires effort and is tailored to his partners wants and needs. he's a planner and likes when things fall into place

also ties to previous point about commitment. he finds comfort in planning a future with you and discussing your desires

compassionate. ties back to first point relating to generosity. sanji will very much push aside his own wants as long as you're happy. having a partner who can get him to speak up for himself, and actually listen, would be a dream come true. when he treats you and spoils you, he expects nothing in return. its just how he is. reciprocating and giving him his own spot in the limelight will heal him in ways he didn't even know he needed

unlike the marimo, sanji will put you on a pedestal. he thinks you're an angel, incapable of wrong. sanji needs a compassionate partner who recognizes this and gently reminds him that it takes two to form a partnership, and that he is just as worthy of love sanji does not do well being criticized by his partner. lack of reciprocation and a general disinterest in him will turn him away

reliability. he'll be in your corner, always. in a pirate world where everything is tumultuous and unpredictable, he finds solace in knowing that his partner is waiting for him. you being there for him, regardless of the situation, makes him even more eager to please you and show you that he's worthy of your affections. the simple act of showing up means more to him than most

sanji has been known to indulge in the finer things. aesthetics and looks are what catch his attention and he floods most any pretty thing with affection. however, its that emotional connection and depth, authenticity and passion, which ultimately keep him hooked

disclaimer: don't worry if you lack any of these traits- any relationship can work! these things work in mysterious ways... as long as there's proper communication and love, i'm sure any of these one piece men would adore being with you ૮ • ﻌ - ა

[halliescomut]

Am I back on my KimChay bullshit?

So like...the big sads have been real big, and so I truly haven't been doing anything in terms of writing, especially for my longform KimChay fic...but I'm still thinking about them, and I have a thought that I seriously doubt is original, and I'm very certain I've read at least a couple of fics with this included, and that is Virgin Kim.

^This Kim-100% a virgin for sure.

Leaving aside that virginity is a construct, it's not something I ever really thought a whole lot about when writing my fic. I honestly tend more towards an assumption that no one in KinnPorsche is a virgin except perhaps Tankhun...because of the whole Ace thing. (The Ace thing being some general fanon agreement that Tankhun is Ace, or at the very least somewhere within the asexual/aromantic spectrum.) So for myself, you could categorize that I present Chay as a virgin given that prior to his first time having sex with Kim he hadn't had penetrative sex with a partner of any gender. But even i don't have a hard line about that as a concept within the fic. I just felt like if you are going to be having sex with someone (especially penetrative sex) that's a conversation that needs to be had. So I had to basically decide Yes or No and I chose No. He hadn't done that particular act with another person, but he had engaged in other sexual acts and even fooled around on his own.

But to get to my actual point. There's a pretty clear idea of how the other TPK's whose sex lives that we have knowledge of, engage with the general idea of sex, and the act of sex. Both Kinn and Vegas engage in sex from a perspective of exerting control.

With Vegas this is pretty obvious in that he's very clearly portrayed as a Dominant. And even in (I'm gonna use the word relationship, but I mean that SOOO loosely) relationships beyond Pete where it's not an established and understood dynamic necessarily, he's always in control and he's often using sex as a way to manipulate or exert control over partners beyond the bedroom. We also know that he intentionally seeks out former sexual partners of Kinn specifically with the intent to fuck them as a way of kind of poking at Kinn. That's a not unrelated reason for his rather lackadaisical pursuit of Porsche.

Kinn is more subtle (just in general) than Vegas, but his relationship with sex does feel very directly related to control as well. Now I'm making some logical leaps, based on the information we're given in the series, my very poor memory of speed reading a moderately okay translation of the novel, and just a general understanding of the "standards" often seen in Thai BL especially around the time of KinnPorsche's release, but Kinn only tops. We see through the series some vague questioning of his ability to lead, and while his sexuality isn't brought up as a a reason why, there's kind of these things left unsaid. By being openly gay within the series, it doesn't seem to be something kept secret in any way, he's kind of starting out at a disadvantage, because realistically the people he's having to make deals with are gonna be homophobic. Social groups where the concept of masculinity is such an important part of a man's identity but also a framework that is pretty fucking narrow creates a space where homophobia will run pretty rampant. So it's 'okay' that Kinn has sex with men, but more specifically it's 'okay' because he's the one doing the fucking and not getting fucked. So in order to maintain this appearance of masculinity, he can't (and doesn't) bottom.

I don't think this is something that is set in stone, especially post series canon, and I've discussed oddly at length the position preferences of multiple BL characters (you can read that here I guess). But to summarize specifically Kinn and Vegas's preferences- Vegas always tops, even post series, and I'd hazard to say that prior to the story start would only choose to bottom in VERY specific circumstances. Kinn, as stated before has only topped within series canon and prior to it, but in post canon I believe that he would not solely top. I believe that as he becomes more comfortable and secure in his relationship with Porsche, they would eventually get to a point of not holding to that dynamic stringently. And this is both because of the level of trust they've built with each other, which you can see in the sort of playfulness that is present int heir sex lives after their kidnapping. But also (I think) because of the recognition that Kinn would have that he is the only man Porsche had ever been with and he should be able to have the full breadth of possible experiences when it comes to sex with men, they both should. From there, their more long-term preferences would develop once they have full understanding of all sides...you know?

Vegas, as a more 'traditional' Dom (realistically Kinn is Dominant in the way that many Tops in Thai BL are, in that it's almost more happenstance than intentional and it very rarely bleeds into the overall story) has a much deeper relationship between his desire for control and his preference for topping, because that control does bleed into all aspects of his relationship with Pete (and Tawan), not just their sex life.

And looking further you can pretty easily establish why they develop the preferences they have. They both want power because in the long run power means choices. And they both want control, not just over the TPK Family Business, but their own lives. By virtue of their birth and who their fathers are, neither Kinn nor Vegas have much control over their own lives. Outside of what they wear and who they sleep with, that's pretty much it a lot of the time. The expectations of how they should act, the acts they have to do in their roles as heir, filled with violence, blood, dishonesty. Every word from their fathers, the people they should be able to trust the most, full of hidden agendas, secret plans. This constant pressure of not even knowing if the choices you're making are your own, or are you being led into them like some obedient lamb? And perhaps if they truly trusted their fathers that idea of being led into certain 'choices' wouldn't be so bad, but they don't (and they shouldn't). So in one the few aspect of their lives in which every decision truly is theirs (who they sleep with and how)....they can't give up that control. Because this is almost the singular space in which they feel in control. They also can't be vulnerable in the way you would have to be, because they've been taught this ugly lesson that being vulnerable opens you up for people to use you, to hurt you, to plot against you.

And with that understanding of truly how little control any of this particular generations of TPK men has, where does that leave us for the rest. Tankhun, as discussed exerts his control by being out of control. Not a single person in the fandom truly believes that Tankhun is all the way cracked. Whether you think it comes and goes, or you think that he's kinda playing it up at this point in order to keep himself out of the Family Business, I don't know a single fan who thinks he's all the way gone.

But for Kim, who has removed himself both physically and emotionally from the family to try and take control, who has also been raised in these houses full of lies, where you can't really ever know who you can trust, where does that put him? For me, I think it's feasible that it puts Kim in a space where he doesn't ever open up to anyone in a way that becomes a physical sexual relationship. Even as a college student, moneyed, and living on his own, I don't think he's bringing "study dates" home. As a budding idol building a fanbase with an incredibly handsome face that could pull him a tail of myriad genders...I don't think he's going for it. His priorities as we've seen them are pretty limited, mostly based around his music career, and protecting his siblings, and little else. And I do think a lot of this is related to his age, we don't really have hard numbers in the book or the series, but general idea is he leaves the Main Family house around 16. Now he could have already have been having sex, but these control and trust issues would have already existed prior to the move out. Plus the general average age of loss of virginity is around 18-20 pretty much across the board, and it's potential that he wouldn't have had the desire or opportunity prior to the move out. (This whole discussion does hinge on him wanting to have sex, I'll touch on AroAceKim later.)

And post moveout, he's now got all of your standard adult responsibilities and expectations while still being a kid. Adultified-ness of all of the KinnPorsche characters of that generation aside, that's a lot to handle mentally. And we've seen other characters handle it through sex, Kinn and Porsche specifically, but is that truly an option for Kim? Kinn can take whoever he wants to the Main Family house and not truly be worried about what they might see or hear, because they're either pre-screened, or a part of that social circle. But Kim's option is his only private space and the first space he's occupied that's really his, and he doesn't have (can also be read as refuses to use) resources that would prescreen potential sex partners, and also doesn't want anything to do with people who exist in that social circle, because he's trying to distance himself from it. Porsche can bang chicks in the back alley behind Hum Bar whenever he wants, but if Kim does want to actively pursue his music career, that's not really an option for him, because of the expectation of a moral standard from musicians/idols in Thailand.

So it's entirely reasonable to think that prior to the series and his relationship with Chay that he wouldn't have been sexually experienced. I do think the novel operates under an assumption of previous sexual experience, but not in any truly thought out or character driven way in my opinion. And the novel very directly presents the Kim Chay love story as one of first love for BOTH sides. Yes, it's very much in a doomed romance Romeo and Juliet way, but it's very clearly meant to show that both of them are experiencing this for the first time. (See previous ramble about this here.) And without the sort of naive confidence that love gives you to do something 'stupid' would Kim have ever really have taken the chance by having a sexual relationship with anyone else. Signs point to No.

And the portrayal of Kim by Jeff within the series supports this to me. In interactions with practically every character except Chay he's very detached, very serious, even his small quips with Tankhun feel distant. And in the beginning, he's distant from Chay, but Chay's warmth kind of breaks though, specifically in a way that he finds both surprising and terrifying. The moment of recognition he has in episode 5 that Chay kinda just is who he is, there's no subterfuge, almost leaves him at a loss for words. I know we joke about how the series presents Kim to be this ridiculously inept detective, but I really do feel like that's more a result from him dealing with someone who has no plan or interest in lying to him...something he's basically never encountered before. And Chay's casual honesty and openness pretty quickly disarms Kim completely, and then we're seeing him have that "Oh...OH" moment where he first really knows that his feelings for Chay are both real and real serious. So realistically, within the narrative that we've been presented, Chay is the first person Kim has loved romantically, and we see him be there first person that Kim takes risks for, that he truly reenters the mafia world for, breaking promises he'd made to himself in order to keep Chay safe. And he's the first person we really see Kim be unselfish for. None of us as viewers really blame him for 'being selfish' in regards to leaving the Family Business to pursue music, though other members of the Family (*cough* Korn *cough*) do see his choices that way. And his choice to kind of let Chay hate him is an attempt to be unselfish, to put this person he values more than himself first with the hope that this will mean he'll be safe. {It's a stupid decision, but it does come from a good place, and also I think he thought Porsche would take Chay and run after the kidnapping.}

So all of this to say...I think narratively it would make sense for Kim to be a virgin at the time of the events of the series. Because while theoretically he would have had ample time and opportunity to have sex with whoever he pleased, he's a fucked up little guy. One who struggles to trust and be open with anyone, and while sex doesn't inherently require trust, I think especially as a teen when this freedom first came to him, it would have. Because he's been smacked by the hand that feeds him a lot.

My notes about Kim's slow recognition of his feelings for Chay and their depth also explains why many fans see Kim existing somewhere within the AroAce spectrum, as he does seem very caught off guard by the whole concept of love especially. Because it is easy to understand why he may not trust love as a concept, while still knowing that he does love his brothers and I think wants to love his father. But romantic love seems practically made up and you have to figure the only example of that he'd ever have seen in real life might have been Kinn's relationship with Tawan, which ended in betrayal.

I actually think it's more reasonable to assume Chay is sexually experienced. Because I think that sex would have been discussed pretty matter-of-factly in their home, making it something that wasn't necessarily precious, but also wasn't something to play around with willy-nilly. I don't think that Porsche would have ever really discouraged Chay from having sex, but would have rather bluntly instructed him on how to do it safely, because risks of pregnancy or an STI are simply not risks they can take. And so at 17 or 18, whether before he met Kim, or during their break-up era, I think it's not outside of the realm of possibility that Chay would have experimented sexually, especially considering that he did have fairly poor supervision for a teenager. (I don't blame Porsche, he was doing his best.) Really the only thing that makes me hesitant on being 100% sure on the sex thing before he meets Kim is that we do know that Kim is the first person he's ever confessed to. And while feelings aren't required for sex, Chay is a rather romantic soul and so I think would want to have feelings involved if he was having sex. This does go a bit out the window during break-up era because while I don't see him making a direct choice to have sex with someone as a sort of revenge against Kim, I can see him following the "the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else" mantra in an emotional way. Try to pursue something with someone new with this idea that if he can just push past all this and really put his feeling for Kim behind him in this sort of 'first heartbreak' memory bank he'll just never have to think about it or deal with it again.

Well that was 2.6k words that I probably could have summed up in under 100 but....it is what it is. I hope you enjoyed.

[ikementally-deficient]

Advice On Writing

I have a couple of writing friends who keep asking me for advice (which is extremely flattering and I love to infodump, please don't stop), but I thought getting my thoughts down on the metaphorical paper and putting them out into the world might be helpful for others as well.

I mostly had fanfiction in mind when I wrote this, but honestly I think the vast majority of it will be applicable to any kind of creative writing.

I would love to get feedback or have conversations about this, so if you want to squawk at or with me, please don't hesitate!

The Bare Minimum

Write

Write as often and as much as you can. If you manage to do nothing else on this list, just writing consistently and continuously will eventually improve your skills, even if it takes a long time.

The Basics

2. Read

Find things you enjoy, and read them. Read as much as you have time for. Things that speak to you and make you feel things (words, turns of phrase, tropes) will all work their way into your subconscious and feed your own writing.

3. Read Critically

Re-read the things you enjoy, and consciously think about why you enjoy them. Why did this scene manage to express such a clear sense of desolation? What about this interaction between characters made me relate to them so much? How did this story give me such a sense of satisfaction and coming full circle? Highlight the phrases you really love. Look for and circle the small details that foreshadow later developments. Identify the things you don’t like as well (nothing is perfect). How would you have done this differently? Do you hate the purple prose, or is it killing you that these scenes aren’t more detailed? Look up the words you don’t understand - maybe the author chose their words poorly, or maybe you’re one of the lucky ten thousand who gets to learn a new vocabulary word today.

The Cringe Parts

4. Ask for constructive criticism

This part is really hard, but vital. While you will inevitably find some of the weaknesses of your own writing, you won’t find all of them. An outside perspective is invaluable. If you’re frightened of constructive criticism, start small. Ask one person to look at SPAG (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). Pick one paragraph or scene to show someone and ask them how it flows. Have someone review your outline for plotholes instead of giving them prose. Brace yourself for things you don’t want to hear. Sit with any and all criticism for a few days before reacting. It’s okay to decide that someone just didn’t get what you were going for, but make sure that’s actually true instead of just a knee-jerk reaction to hurt feelings or a bruised ego. Listen to what your reviewer or beta is actually saying - ‘this part confuses me’ doesn’t mean your writing is bad, it means that your head holds the entire picture and you just didn’t put enough of that down on paper so your reader can see it too.

5. Re-read your own work

Every once in a while, go back and see how what you wrote six months ago or last year holds up. You’ve been writing for a while, you’re a stronger writer, so give yourself the perspective of seeing how far you’ve come. And see if there are any weak areas that are still giving you trouble; you can focus more on those in your next piece of writing.

6. Edit for other people

Editing is a skill. No one falls out of the sky able to give useful and actionable feedback. The act of reading and criticising something you have a little cognitive distance from is far easier than criticising your own work, but it’s still a muscle you need to build. Start with basic proof reading (SPAG). Ask questions: “Why did you choose this word, it seems obscure?” Explain your feedback: “I can’t tell who’s speaking here, I think the dialogue went back and forth one too many times without a tag.” Instead of “I don’t like this,” explain why: “This description feels like something I’ve seen too many times already and feel cliché, but I bet you can change it up.” Learning to give that feedback in a kind and helpful way is something you can bring back to your own writing. Remember that if someone asks you to beta read or edit their work, they too are trying to get better. Don’t just blow sunshine up their ass, give them the respect of being honest about elements that aren’t working. Just don’t be an asshole about it. 

Some resources on being a good beta reader - these also are handy guides for writers on how to communicate their needs effectively to a beta reader:

How to Be a Great Beta Reader and Give Helpful Feedback (dianaurban.com)

What makes a good beta reader? (smallbluedog.com)

Tips on how to beta read, from a beta reader : FanFiction (reddit.com)

Advanced Class

7. Try new things

Try a different format. If you mostly write long, multi-chapter works, aim for a short story. Write some poetry. Change up your genre. Consciously try to imitate someone else’s style. Stretch out of your comfort zone. Feel like you write too much descriptive detail? Force yourself to write nothing but dialogue, like Isaac Asimov. Feel like your characters are always floating in empty space? Indulge in some Robert Jordan, down to every detail of what the characters are wearing. This is going to be difficult, and the results might not be something you want to share publicly, but it’s still worth the effort.

8. Read about writing

There are university courses on this stuff. Check your local library for a copy of the Little, Brown Handbook - it’s aimed at academic writing, but it’s a great resource on grammar and syntax and planning and revising your work. Look for fun ones like The Transitive Vampire and The Well-Tempered Sentence, or Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Centre for Fiction has a great list of books on creative writing by writers, and industry professionals (if publishing for profit is a goal of yours). 

Back to the Beginning

9. Keep writing

You might not be the next Stephen King, or Jude Devereaux, or Isaac Asimov. Cool, me neither. You don’t have to be. As long as writing is still giving you joy, keep doing it. 

[maxleyrosebud]

Max and Bradley Comparison - Part 5 : Bradley’s father and the Gamma’s.

Bradley and his Father in AEGM

When it comes to Bradley’s father we don’t actually know much about him nor do we get to see him In AEGM. 

The only scene in AEGM where we get a slight hint about him is during the scene where Bradley is trying to convince Goofy to be a Gamma. 

On my side blog @Bradleyblog I did a speculation post series on Bradley’s dad where in Part one I talked about this scene in good detail, but for the sake of this post I'll be giving a shorter summary of it here. 

When Goofy rejects Bradley’s offer to be a Gamma due to him only being interested in staying close to Max , Bradley remarks with- “Uh… I’m not sure you understand this once in a lifetime opportunity.” 

Goofy however doesn't budge. He mimics Bradley’s body language and responds to Bradley’s comment by saying - “Well , ah-yuck, I’m not sure you understand the bond between a father and his son.” 

Now , If Goofy was only referring to his bond with him and Max then he should have said something like “I’m not sure you understand the bond I have with my son” or “I’m not sure you understand the fatherly son bond between me and Max”. 

Instead , Goofy’s remark refers to a bond between a father and son in general. Goofy gets this impression because Bradley thinks Goofy is wasting a once in a life opportunity not picking personal gain over spending time with his son. 

But to someone like Goofy, this should be common knowledge and understandable that a father would pick their son above anything. 

But what’s interesting about this moment between Goofy and Bradley is how Bradley reacts to Goofy’s statement. 

At first he is smiling while waiting for Goofy to respond but once Goofy says “I’m not sure you understand-” Bradley’s smile drops into a neutral expression to see what Goofy thinks he doesn't understand. 

The camera then cuts to a wider shot of Goofy and the Gamma’s so the audience can focus on Max. 

But if you zoom in real close on Bradley’s expression , you can see that his expression has become more vulnerable looking when Goofy says the line - “the bond between a father and his son”.

To me, Bradley looks rather sad by Goofy’s assessment/accusation, even if it is very brief.  

But instead of retorting back to Goofy’s statement , he folds his arms across his chest in a defensive manner and changes the direction of the conversation into a Exit strategy by giving Goofy a business card if Goofy changes his mind and decides to leave. 

It’s like Bradley is deflecting from the subject and isn't comfortable discussing it any further. 

So to me and many others , Goofy’s statement and Bradley’s reaction would imply that Bradley doesn't have a close emotional bond with his own dad. It also implies that Bradley’s own father would probably choose personal gain over Bradley. 

But is Bradley and his dad not having a good bond actually canon? In my opinion , I would say so based on this scene as I think it at least implies that this is indeed the case. 

So with this in mind , what I’m going to suggest going forward about Bradley’s father is based on the idea that they don't have a good bond.

But I’m also going to base my assumptions on the values that the upper class have in their universe and the concept that Max and Bradley are foils to one another. But It's really up to you from this point on whether or not you agree on this interpretation or not as it’s not seen in the movie.  

Bradley’s father son relationship contrasting with Max and Goofy. 

As rivals , Max and Bradley are foils to one another. So from a writing perspective it would make sense that Goofy and Bradley’s dad would also be foils to one another and would contrast differently as father’s. 

If this is the case then Bradley’s father would probably be the opposite to Goofy in personality and how he treats his son.  It would certainly be one explanation as to why Bradley and his father don't have a good bond.

Goofy and Bradley’s father also come from different social classes and economic backgrounds , so their world views would probably contradict each others. 

In terms of personality, Goofy can be clumsy , slow-witted , childish , absent minded but humble , emotional , forgiving , accepting of others and very loving/affectionate. He is also overly empathic to the point that Pete often tricks Goofy into believing his lies and schemes. 

Bradley’s father on the other hand would probably be stoic, business-like, judgemental ,  a man of Etiquette and protocol, a complete perfectionist  , narcissistic , snobbish , competitive , resentful , not overly affectionate or loving and career and status focused. May also be very apathetic if Goofy is too empathic. 

Goofy also tries to teach Max to do the right thing and has faith in him to be a good person. 

Bradley’s father on the other hand has probably encouraged Bradley to have status oriented values and a business like mentality, essentially teaching Bradley the wrong lessons on what is most important.  

I would then imagine that if Goofy’s relationship with Max is unconditional love,  then Bradley’s father could have a conditional relationship with his son instead. 

King of the household 

At college Bradley is in a position of authority for being the leader of the Gamma’s and is referred to as the King by Tank because of his College X game King nickname. But back home , Bradley wouldn’t be in a position of authority nor would he be seen as the King. His father would. 

This is because Bradley’s father would be the head of the family household and the one with the most influence and control. So Bradley’s father would be the one in a position of authority and be the one to hold all the money and power in their relationship. 

This would mean that his father could have great influence in a lot of Bradley’s life choices such as schools , who he associates himself with , a choice of career and who he may choose to have as a future partner. 

Bradley would also be financially dependent on his father until he has a stable career , so being obedient to his father would be in Bradley’s best interest until then.  

In Part 4 I mentioned how Bradley would be raised to act a certain way to gain acceptance and approval in his upper class social circle , so Bradley’s father would most likely tell him what to do and how to act. 

It Makes you wonder if Bradley’s father has ever clicked his fingers at Bradley to do what is expected of him. It also makes you wonder what tactics Bradley’s father would use to make sure Bradley conformed to the status quo. 

So like Max , I believe that Bradley too would have liked the idea of going to College to get away from his dad. Not only would he get away from his dad’s constant authority but like Max , Bradley can have more independence and freedom, even if he still has to meet expectations. 

Bradley can also have more of the spotlight on him than on his dad compared to when he is at home , as his father would be the one to gain the most attention from his status. 

The theme of Father like son. 

Max tries to not to be seen like his dad as being like Goofy is seen as a negative thing.  

For Bradley though , being like his dad would be deemed as a positive from everyone else as his father would be thought of in a high regard and his father would be rather successful and popular. 

So for Bradley, being like his father would mean he would be thought highly of as well and gain the same recognition. 

Bradley may also try to be like his dad to gain his father’s approval and to meet certain expectations. Maybe Bradley even mimics some of his father’s behaviour when taking on a leadership role as that’s how he sees his father act in a position of authority too. 

But Bradley may also feel like he is in his father’s shadow , as his father would also be someone who has built a reputation for himself based on status.  Compared to Bradley , his father may have a lot of trophies for his own past winnings and items reflecting achievement that he has received over his own life span. So his father would be very well accomplished and so Bradley might feel like he has to measure up to him.

So compared to Max , instead of being unconventional, Bradley instead conforms to what is expected of him and may try to be like his dad. 

Family legacy 

As I mentioned in Part 4 , Status and High achievement is important within the Upperclass. So growing up Bradley would have had high expectations put on him to succeed and to be accepted.

But Bradley may have also had to excel for his family’s reputation , as in their family legacy. 

He comes from royalty , the top of high society and the best of the best. So the Uppercrusts need possessions and achievements to reflect their high status. 

Failure probably wouldn’t be tolerated then as it would make their family look bad. 

So Bradley having to continue the family legacy is possible. Even the concept of upholding the family legacy has been shown in the Goof troop show within PJ’s relationship with his own dad Pete. 

Axed by Addition 

Pete wants PJ to pass his Math test so PJ doesn't make him look bad. 

“But what if , this is just if , I Flunk?”-PJ

“FLUNK!? AND MAKE MY BRAINS LOOK BAD!? It’s a simple equation. You’re gonna pass that test, if you have to study all night, see? FLUNK AND YOU’RE GROUNDED FOREVER!”  -Pete

Later in the episode when Pete thinks PJ is trying to purposely get out of doing the math test, Pete tells PJ to uphold the family IQ. - “I DON'T CARE IF YOU’VE GOT BLISTERS ON THE BRAIN OR WATER ON THE KNEE! YOU’RE NOT MISSING THAT TEST! NOW GO OUT THERE AND UNHOLD THE FAMILY IQ!

Tub Be or Not tub be 

Pete has always won in the Tub race competition. PJ however later finds out that Pete is going to cheat to win the prize money in the Tub race and that his been cheating all along. Pete then makes the argument to PJ that he should uphold the family name and that they should cheat if PJ doesn't want to lose. 

“Booby trapping the race course , huh? Dad , this is low down , dishonest cheating!”-PJ

“Dishonest cheating? Me? Why , I don't have a dishonest bone in my body. This here’s honest cheating. You’ve got to uphold your good name. You don’t want to lose , do you?”-Pete

From Air to Eternity 

Pete shows PJ three generations of their families accomplishments over heights where they have received trophies and medals for their tremendous acts of overcoming heights. 

It’s Unknown to PJ at the time that Pete and his ancestors are all frauds but because of their family legacy, PJ feels like he is a stain on the family name as he hasn’t achieved what his family has.   

“Three generations of Pete’s , climbing to the very heights of greatness!” - Pete to PJ

“Oh, ill tell you Max , my dad’s got more hero trophies than my dad’s got fleas. I mean , I’m just a stain on the good name of Pete.” - PJ to Max  

Unlike Bradley , PJ comes from a Middle class family. Yes , Pete is shown to be able to afford very expensive things and isn’t in a financial situation like Goofy and Max are but Pete and PJ are not Upper Class like Bradley.  

So imagine being raised as an Uppercrust , the best of the best in an upper class society where status and achievement is more demanded from you.

You would probably feel a lot of pressure to meet expectations and to make sure your family looked good. 

So the concept of Bradley upholding the family legacy to some degree is plausible.  But that’s all we're going to discuss about Bradley’s father in Part 5. 

Vacations

Unlike Max , Bradley’s family would be able to afford very expensive vaccinations every single year due to their status and wealth. They may even have their own holiday homes or a private resort. 

Bradley would then of course be able to go to many countries growing up and may have met many famous figures in those countries for being an Uppercrust. Perhaps Bradley knows a few different languages because of this? 

It’s also shown in the original ducktales series that the rich usually have their own boats.  

Materialistic things 

When it comes to Bradley getting materialistic things , I would say he got the best of everything.  

Money would be of no expense for the Uppercrust family and because of their royal status , it is probably expected that their family would get the best of everything. 

We’ve also seen with character’s like Charles UpStart the Third in the original Ducktales series that he has the best of everything too. 

When Charles was trying to make a trade against Scrooge McDuck for the mask of  , he had big status symbols to trade with such as a Stylish Diamond-Studded watch , A Solid Gold Cadillac and A Paris original dress for your wife. 

So unlike Max , Bradley probably did get the newest and most expensive things as a sign of the family's high status. 

However , Bradley may have had to obtain some things from his father through hard work , success , negotiation and meeting certain conditions. 

This could be possible to make sure Bradley is motivated to meet high expectations. But this could also be possible due to how in AEGM , Bradley usually tries to get what he wants through persuasion and treats getting what he wants as a business deal where both parties get something out of the arrangement. He's not like Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate factory if you get what I mean. 

In terms of sentimental things, it's hard to say as their society is shown to be pretty shallow and don’t value something unless it has status. 

However , Bradley is shown to have a Gold foundation mirror which is something that is usually owned by women and because the film is based in the early 2000’s, I doubt his father gave his own son something associated with being a woman. 

So it’s more likely that his mother gave it to him or Bradley took it from his mother as a memento.

But again, it’s hard to say as Bradley would be expected to look his best and have a good appearance so I suppose the Gold foundation mirror is up to interpretation on how and why he has it. 

Being an Uppercrust 

Max grew up unpopular for being born a Goof, whereas Bradley grew up being popular for being born as an Uppercrust ( A Royal ) . 

This would mean Bradley would get a lot of positive attention and people wanting to be his friend. But this also makes him a target for other people’s personal gain and in a position where he may doubt if his friendships are sincere due to people liking him for his status.    

As we've discussed before , Status means a lot in the upper class society in the Goof universe. So it’s likely that Kids growing up in this high society would probably want to be his friend to be associated with him or would be heavily encouraged by their parents to be friends with Bradley so their families can have a closer connection with the Uppercrust family for personal gain.  

But even ordinary People from normal working backgrounds might just want to be friends with Bradley because of his status as well. Some may even use Bradley to gain popularity, perks or obtain luxuries from just being his friend?

So on the surface Bradley’s popularity seems great for being born as an Uppercurst. But when people admire you and want to be friends with you for your royal status , his popularity has more to do with his status than who Bradley is as a person.

It would then be hard for Bradley to know who’s feelings for him are genuine, especially if Bradley is aware that people benefit from being his friend. 

So in Bradley’s mind , he may feel that if people are going to use him for his benefit then why can’t he do the same. 

Will be talking more about this in Part 6. 

Gamma’s 

Bradley’s relationship with the Gamma’s is quite a formal and a professional one. He addresses them as Gamma Brother’s and gentlemen and due to him being their Gamma leader , their relationship is more like a business one where Bradley is their boss and their his loyal employers. (With Tank , Bradley does refer to Tank as his right hand man but he does call Tank by just his name compared to the other Gamma’s.)

When it comes to the Gamma’s themselves , the Gamma’s are loyal and obedient to Bradley but compared to Max’s friendship group , they are not good friends to Bradley in the traditional sense. 

The main reason they listen to Bradley is because his the head of the Gamma’s and because they benefit from him. The Gamma’s want to win and Bradley always pulls through with his plans to obtain victory at the X games. And so they choose to be willing participants in these schemes so they can win , regardless of who they injure.

By winning , the Gamma’s can be seen as top dogs , be admired and reap all the benefits that come from being seen as the best on campus. 

They could easily say no to Bradley's cheating or authority as they outnumber Bradley and are all physically stronger than him but they don't, as they receive personal gain from his leadership. 

But in doing so they are pretty much enablers and validate Bradley’s behaviour by giving him their approval. 

Additionally , when Goofy leaves the Gamma’s they overlook or ignore the fact that Bradley is clearly spiralling as their only focus is winning. 

When Bradley says “We’ll win how we always win. And how’s that Gamma’s” it’s easy to assume that one of the Gamma’s must have asked Bradley how they were going to win without Goofy or that Bradley noticed that the Gamma’s were worried about Goofy's absence in the team. 

Goofy has just decided to leave the Gamma’s on the LAST day before the competition , which isn’t the best timing and whatever plans Bradley had for Goofy are now being thrown out the window. 

Bradley was clearly very frustrated and annoyed by Goofy’s decision and they know how much Bradley wants to win and beat Max , but no one is reassuring Bradley that it will all be okay. ( At least not on screen ) 

Instead , Bradley is the one reassuring all of them that Goofy’s departure is fine as they will win how they always win by cheating.

This makes the Gamma’s happily chant the word “Cheat!” over and over again and Tank states fondly that they will cheat just like last year. 

We then cut to Bradley who is looking into the fire , probably since Goofy left , where he is trying to quickly think of another plan to win.

Bradley then turns around and comments that last year’s cheat was a great cheat but menacingly reveals that he now has a better plan to win. 

But just by looking at how Bradley is acting and the expressions he is making , you can tell that his plan is going to go too far and that he is clearly spiralling. But his mental state is being ignored. 

Bradley and Goofy 

When Goofy joins the Gamma’s , Goofy isn’t aware of why Bradley really wants him on the team. As far as Goofy is aware , Bradley asked him on the team because he thought Goofy was a good skateboarder and was later asked to participate in the Qualifying rounds as an act of good comradery for being on the team. 

“Crazy idea , you do the honours Brother Goof.” - Bradley

“Me! Gwarsh , uh well , sure.”- Goofy 

But because Goofy see’s how hurt Max is for beating him at the Qualifying rounds and realizes that he has lost his focus on getting his degree , he chooses to quit the Gamma’s and not compete at the X games. 

So when Goofy does go the Gamma's to tell them the news , Goofy probably is conscious of the fact that the Gamma’s won't like him quitting as when Goofy is saying he has to quit the team to Bradley’s face , he looks guilty or nervous. I think he knows this is a bad look but he has to do what’s best for Max so he goes through with it.

However , to Bradley this is a betrayal or a sign of disloyalty. 

In terms of a betrayal , Bradley believes that the reason Goofy has chosen to quit is to join Max’s team. Which ultimately means that Goofy is joining Max to help him beat Bradley.  

In terms of disloyalty , it’s because he has potentially felt used by Goofy. 

From Bradley’s perspective he let Goofy become a Gamma which is a once in a lifetime opportunity that he doesn't just give to anyone and it was something Goofy willingly chose to become. 

He gave Goofy a Gamma Mu Mu pledge pin as a sign that Goofy is pledging his loyalty to the Gamma’s and to him. Gave him a proper Gamma inauguration. Let Goofy participate in the Qualifying rounds and in return Goofy became super popular around campus because of it. 

Yes , Bradley is using Goofy against Max for personal gain but Goofy isn’t aware of this intention and to Bradley , Goofy has gained so much from being a Gamma. Goofy has also chosen the worst day to quit ,which is the last day of the competition. So if Bradley felt used by goofy , it is karma to a degree but you can see why Bradley would be so mad. 

Bradley also forms a lot of his relationships on a transactional basis , where both people get something from the other to obtain personal gain. So goofy not following through on his end of the bargain and Bradley being someone who is probably aware that people benefit from his status, only adds to his frustration in this scene.

Bradley and Tank 

Out of all the Gamma’s, Tank is the closest thing Bradley has to an actual friend. 

Unlike the other Gamma’s , Tank is the only one who sticks up for Bradley at the bean scene after he see’s how angry Bradley got from Max calling him Brad. He was also the only one who pointed Max out to Bradley after Beret Girl's poetry performance.

And when Bradley’s booty gets lit on fire at Goofy’s inauguration , Tank and Goofy are the only ones to help Bradley despite the room being filled with Gamma’s.

Granted Tank did stand there looking confused at Bradley’s frantic panicking , but he did still help him. 

Tank also offered to put some sense into Goofy through physical force when Bradley was clearly mad at Goofy for quitting on the last day of the competition. Bradley turned this offer down as that would be going too far but it shows that Tank does at least try to do things he thinks will make Bradley happy.   

So compared to the other Gamma’s, Tank does have moments of being a good friend to Bradley and he is of course , a very loyal right hand man to him. So to me at least , Tank probably does have a genuine friendship towards Bradley. 

With Bradley it stays rather professional and he refers to Tank as his right hand man but there are times where Bradley does show comradery with Tank. 

At the Bean scene Bradley didn’t like that Tank interrupted his conversation with Max but he is seen smiling with approval at Tank, after Tank gives Max a compliment as Bradley wants Max on their team. 

When Goofy enters the classroom , it’s Tank that Bradley turns to talk to about what a goon Goofy is. - ( chuckle ) “Who is this goon?”

At the qualifying rounds , Bradley bonds with Tank over cheating , "Just like we always do" and gives him a smile when Tank calls it insurance with no deductible. - "It's a little insurance baby. With no Deductible."

In the snooker room , Bradley once again bonds with Tank over cheating when he agrees that last year's cheat was a great one.

Trusts Tank enough to throw him during the race to get ahead of Max and Bobby. 

However , like I've mentioned before , Bradley knows the Gamma’s listen to him as he can make them winner’s in the X games. 

"Be a winner , join us."- Bradley to Goofy

"Witness Gentlemen. Victory is ours."-Bradley to Tank and Slouch

“We’ll win how we always win. And how’s that Gamma’s?”-Bradley to all the Gamma's

And while growing up , Bradley has been brought up in a competitive environment where people in upper class society only care about personal gain and status. 

So while Tank has proved himself again and again that he is a very loyal right hand man, to someone like Bradley it would be hard for him to understand that Tank is actually loyal to him for more personal reasons rather than being loyal to him for his own personal gain.  

So what I’m going to say next might surprise some as this perspective from Bradley isn’t really talked about much but I'm going to address it and talk about it as best as I can. 

When Bradley is knocked off his skateboard by Goofy , Bradley shakes his head after the fall and looks up. He then gasps when he sees Tank and Max ahead , skateboarding away in the distance.  

Despite having the remote control , Bradley’s first instinct isn’t to use the remote but to call out to Tank to take Max out of the race, as he depends on Tank to help him the most - “TANK! TAKE HIM OUT!”

But Tank continues to race ahead. 

Bradley then quickly comes to the conclusion that Tank must have ignored him on purpose as Tank isn’t doing what he asked of him and then states that Nobody gets to finish this race but him. - “I will not be ignored. Nobody gets to finish this race but me!

At that moment , Bradley isn’t being rational and is making a very impulsive decision from anger and his own ambition to win. His basically letting his emotions and his focus on winning affect his better judgment. 

Tank of course probably didn't hear Bradley or misunderstood what Bradley meant. From Tank’s perspective he thinks winning first for the team is actually helping Bradley.

But from Bradley’s perspective , his right hand man , the person who’s supposed to help him the most , has left him behind instead of helping him get back in the race when he got knocked off his skateboard by Goofy and feels like Tank has ignored his order’s on purpose for his own personal gain so Tank can win the X games for himself.  

Bradley ofcourse is wrong in his assessment of the situation and if Goofy had knocked Tank off his skateboard , Bradley would have still kept on going like Tank had done. Bradley’s main focus in the X games is to win after all. 

But due to people benefiting from Bradley’s status , a lack of genuine friendships in his life, seeing everyone as competition and always promising the Gamma’s that they can be winner’s , I can see why Bradley would jump to this wrong conclusion about Tank ignoring him on purpose when that wasn’t the case. I can also see why it’s possible that he chose to skate past the fire if he felt like Tank had abandoned and ignored him first. 

So while Max has actual friendships with proper human connection, Bradley struggles with his own friendships, not just because Bradley can be self absorbed but due to his friendships usually being ones where each person benefits from the other for personal gain.

In Part 6 will be discussing Bradley’s sense of worth and it will be the final part for Bradley's section. See you next time. 

[tirsynni]

There's a popular mindset that I'm seeing within fandoms right now, and it's the type of mindset which destroys fandoms and makes enjoying any type of storytelling difficult.

"Well, I don't understand why the character just didn't do this."

"If I was in that person's shoes, I wouldn't have done that dumb action."

"OBVIOUSLY, the character just should have done this."

One, if the character did all of that stuff, there wouldn't be a story to tell. Two, if the character had such a godly, clear perspective of everything and the emotional detachment to complete all of the actions, it would be a boring story. Three, that's not how shit works. That's not how stories work, and that's not how real life works.

"Why did that character run up the stairs? That was stupid of them."

Do you think they knew what genre they were in? How many horror characters know they're in a horror story? Many of them think that if they're in any genre, it's romance or something.

In that specific moment, with the known options available and no information beyond what is immediately in front of them, what option will the character take? The viewer or reader is outside the action. They can pause the movie. They can put down the book. The character doesn't have that option.

Characters within a story are also bound by the laws within that story. If they have the time and ability to think on their options, that still doesn't give them complete freedom of choice. They are still bound by specific options, with each set of options having possible positive and negative consequences.

This character has concerns about his current military operation? What makes more sense? Dramatically going AWOL with all of its possible complications and consequences or staying in line? More often than not, the latter makes the most sense to the character at the time. They think that they have the time and ability to figure everything out. They don't have the information to know just how bad the situation is.

The tragedy within stories and what often makes them fascinating to us is all of the things which binds the characters to their negative choices. A story where a character realizes they're in a horror genre and are completely willing to get the hell out of there... except they can't. Because they can't leave their friends behind. Someone who knows their actions will probably lead to their own death but truly believes that it will benefit their loved ones. Someone who keeps making awful choice after awful choice for all the best reasons and can't back out now: they've gone too far and they're confident that the next choice will make everything better again.

The best characters are the ones whose positives are balanced by their negatives. Their strengths become their weaknesses. A character's confidence becomes arrogance which leads to their doom. Someone's love becomes obsession.

And sometimes, within the frame of the story, the character can make all the right decisions and still fail. As Captain Picard says, that's life, and that also makes for an intriguing story.

I love my fix-its. I love writing how something could have changed to make a happy ending. I rarely want the canon to change unless the writer made that awful ending for stupid reasons, though, like laziness or just going for stupid shock value. Even then, the best fix-its work with the tragedy inherent in the original story.

Darth Vader survives! Now what? It's never implied within the narrative that he thought the bad guys were wrong, after all: he just chose his son over the emperor, chose love and family over the Empire. Him surviving by a change in circumstances doesn't mean happily ever after. It opens a whole new can of worms.

And honestly? Sometimes the characters having two equal choices and choosing the bad, lethal choice is what makes the story that much more heart wrenching, because they were so close to that happy ending, and it was their lack of godly perspective and their mortal limitations which led to their tragic end. That's not a bad thing!

If every character made every proper choice and had no flaws which would impair their decision making, it would lead to a boring story. It would also be jarring within the context of the story and separate the characters from their own universe, elevate them above the narrative instead of allowing them to flourish or wilt within it. It's more fun to dissect what led to those choices than to just say, "Well I would have just done this!"

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/758355990597025792/the-way-people-talk-about-first-person-narrative

This is a very stupid take because the way a story is told ABSOLUTELY changes the way the story 'feels', including the perspective it is told from, and it's perfectly normal to have preferences, even strong ones. Like, would you say the same thing about first person POV vs third in video games? Or can you not understand that the way a narrative is viewed (through one character's eyes vs following one character from a distance vs viewing all characters from a greater distance even as certain things get story focus) will change how it reads to the reader and therefore certain perspectives may be more grating than others?

Sure, good writing can make the difference, but good writing can also make me enjoy a trope or relationship dynamic or plotline I would otherwise dislike, that doesn't mean I don't have preferences it just means good enough writing can overcome them!

Authors choose first or third person, the pov character, present or past tense, vocabulary and tone, complexity of sentence structure, pacing, and other meta things like that based on the way they serve the story that's being told.

Ok, and? Authors choose ships, what the fic is about, and the medium and genre (like poetry or readerfic), and everything else you think people are allowed to hate, based on the way they serve the story being told, too! If I think the way the story is told is ass or the writing isn't good enough to overcome my dislike for the perspective of the writing (or my dislike for the genre or the medium or the ship or or or) then it really doesn't matter why the author chose to write things this way. I don't have to like something just because it was chosen with intent rather than done 'just because' (although plenty of people choose viewpoint perspective based on vibes or what they prefer writing, not everyone sits down and thinks 'well gee what will best serve the story???' and to be clear there's nothing wrong with this, especially for fic! but picking POV is no more sacred than picking a ship or whatever and the choice can still be disliked just by virtue of not liking that particular tool of storytelling!), and if someone isn't a good enough writer to make up for the reasons I dislike first person, then I'm just not gonna read their stuff!

Which is fine, they don't need me to, it's no great loss on either side. But it is, in fact, 'a separate thing [I] can hate'. And that opinion hasn't changed even though I have found the occasional exception to that general rule which I do enjoy.

--

This part of fandom is extremely weird about first person. It's inevitable that there are going to be posts pointing that out.

[overthinkthis]

Final thoughts on MMDIY

This is not going to be a review because I don't really do that kind of thing, but I do want to write about the point that I loved most about this show. I know it's not perfect but I will forgive a lot of wobbles in plot or editing when a show emotionally resonates with me or makes me feel seen in a way other shows don't. And the way queer struggles were portrayed in mmdiy definitely did that.

Neither Wan nor Kim are out as queer but it's like they're living in an open closet. It should be obvious to everyone (even themselves) that they love each other and yet, for the longest time they seem unable to make that last step and confess their love, even though they both desperately want to on some level.

We do get some explicit homophobia with regard to Wan's career but it very quickly becomes obvious that that isn't the actual problem. Wan is very well able to stand her ground when she is attacked directly, we see that with Jessie and with Marwin's family. She is ready to confess to Kim, plans to do so multiple times. Why is it so hard to make that last step?

I do not know what the creators of the show were trying to say, but what I feel when watching the show, is the impact of the invisible homophobia and misogyny woven into all of society. The kind that isn't openly hostile but consistenly equates happiness for women with straight marriage and queerness with being miserable. We can write essays about comphet, but to me, this show gives a good take on what it actually feels like to be pressed into this expectation (although, I should probably say that I come at this from the perspective of a trans guy, not a lesbian - I still think a lot of the feelings are similar).

I love the conversation between Wan and Kim and the end of ep 9, where Kim tells her that she is going to marry Marwin. She basically admits that she doesn't love him, but she is still going to marry him because her mother wants her to.

And we know her mum isn't really trying to control Kim or make her miserable - quite the opposite. All she wants is for Kim to be happy. She should probably know better - given how her own marriage ended - but the idea that marrying the 'perfect' guy is the pinnacle of female happiness is so ingrained in society that it's understandable why she still falls into this trap. I really like that they show how suffocating a parent only wanting what's 'best' for their child can be.

I love that this show made Marwin someone who looks like such a good catch. I mean, there were some red flags from the start, but at a time where Wan was more controlling and aggressive, he genuinely looked like the better option. Gentle, patient, rich (some people even commented that the show made them ship the straight couple). The kind of guy that would be endgame in every second cheesy het romcom.

The people around Kim can kind of feel that he isn't right for her (even Marwin on some level does) but they still all enable her terrible decision to marry him. Which is another aspect I like about the show: The conflict is only resolved when Wan and Kim choose each other.

Women are constantly discouraged from going for what they want, especially when it causes other people distress, but the show clearly says: They make this choice for themselves, even though it hurts people, and that is how they get their happy ending. Not by being perfect all the time, not by caring about everyone else's feelings, but by choosing what they want for themselves.

And yes, obvisouly the whole thing could have been resolved earlier with less people getting hurt. But in another sense it couldn't, because they weren't ready. It's easy to blame Kim and Wan for not being more honest earlier on, but we can't do so without acknowledging the silent (and sometimes very loud) pressure to conform to heteronormativity.

I know some people didn't like this show very much and I do hope you all get all the kinds of GLs you're longing for soon. But imo it shows important aspects of queer experiences that we don't see a lot. And I'm really glad it exists in the way it does.

[muchanmocha]

Y'know seeing the toxic reactions after Wiege about how it's toxic romance apologism and apparently racism allegations cuz "yeah the POC lady get killed cuz of white man" from fans is what's so bad for me cuz I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of what the creators wanted to convey, yes I hated Luka cuz to be fair, he was a fairly destructive villain and he was terrible to gaslight Mizi during their performance like that but it doesn't mean he can't have a core understanding perspective as a character cuz now we know more than enough that this man is broken and he wasn't raised to be any better but he has the potential to change

Okay I heard about Studio Lico producing works like Manhwas where they sometimes have racist writing but it's definitely not the case for ALNST and I don't think racism has anything to do with Hyuna and Luka's story, it's just the bullshit modern western audience has been having on Twitter

I also want to say that ALNST drives down the realistic horrors of trauma and love, the so-called toxic romance fits but what Hyuna and Luka have aren't just about romance, it's about two people who are deeply hurt and are major victims of a hurting system and it ended up ruining their relationship one way or another, we see how it screwed up Luka and it ended up costing his relationship with Hyuna, but I want to say that Hyuna is honestly great that in the end, she accepted that Luka really is just another victim like her and he's not the real villain here but the shitty life they were born into, I think that's what matters more

ALNST is what I call a true story of Love in the face of the horrors and the unknown and I mean this quite literally

As someone of Asian heritage myself who's lived both outside and inside the US, I've been exposed to both worlds for most of my life (the TV in my household quite literally had no English channels). On top of that I started consuming copious amounts of East Asian media including the obvious manga/anime/light novels/webnovels/webtoons/games/etc across JP, KR, CN so believe me when I say I know how racist it can be. In fact my biggest pet peeve is the depiction of foreign characters and I have a whole essay I can write on this topic.

...Which makes the Alnst racism allegations hilarious because oh man, the sweet summer children have no idea what racism in East Asia(n media) looks like if they think Hyuna dying for Luka is a solid example.

Not to mention, Hyuna is one of the few characters explicitly Korean (as shown in her and Hyun Woo's names) and there seems to be a built in assumption in this accusation that brown skin means she's... not Korean. Which in and of itself reveals a lot of issues.

Generally I think outrage over Wiege are the result of a few factors:

Hatred for Luka (understandable considering he is purposefully set up to be hated for Round 5 and 7)

Misdirected Western social justice warrior-ing

Just general upset/denial over Hyuna dying

But also you'd notice that none of these things... speak to the quality of writing. And there's a reason for that.

Because the writing is good.

What you want for the story ≠ what's good for the story

Something makes you upset ≠ it's bad writing

I want all of the characters to have never died or suffered and live happily with each other in the AU world.

But if canon didn't exist why would I want that so desperately?

The fact that canon exists and ripped my heart out and stomped it to pieces is necessary, and believe it or not, objectively good writing.

-

Toxic romance apologism is even more hilarious considering

Firstly — *waves hand at the entire Alnst lineup* Why would you choose now to speak up on that 😂

Secondly — apologism implies Alnst is defending toxic romance.

When.

It is clearly not.

As proven by: [Insert link to every official art ever of characters in Alnst fked up bc of love and/or another character]

But also this , this , this , and this.

If there's any romanticisation, I'd argue it's from the fandom rather than creator intent.

Alnst explores unhealthy love, absolutely. But it never once defends it or pretends it isn't what it is. Just read any of the creator commentary on the characters and you'd see that.

Tl;dr the fact that someone has interpreted Alnst as toxic romance apologism implies a shallow read on the story imo

Also just gotta say

People shouting that Hyuna has been treated unjustly, yet not seeing that the entire video of Wiege is a love letter to Hyuna and her worldview is quite ironic

[angelosearch]

Happy b-day to my girl Rinoa. I wish I had fic or art ready to post today but I don't :(

All I will say is that writing in her perspective for an extended period of time, and therefore looking at her lines and behaviors over and over again, has just really made me appreciate Rinoa as a character.

A few things I love about her:

As the daughter of what we are led to believe are Galbadia's highest ranking general and one of the world's biggest celebrities, Rinoa is privileged. She comes from a position of power and wealth. She could have just lived a comfortable life but she chooses to use her knowledge and skills to help free a country from violent occupation. Doing so puts her at great personal risk, and although she may not fully understand how risky it is, it is extremely brave and righteous for her to do this. This is why I believe Rinoa is not Ultimecia - because at her core, she is someone who places her values over personal gain when she has power and influence. She can be possessed but I don't believe she corruptible (into Ultimecia, anyway).

On her bravery, we all know that Rinoa fears doing things alone. But many times in the game, she does things alone anyway. Bravery is not the absence of fear but the willingness to challenge it, and our girl challenges it all the time!

Further, she makes the active decision to rejoin the SeeDs after Irvine escorts her out of D-District prison. What I realized in writing my fic, which is an alternate timeline, is that Rinoa actually has no established reason to go to the missile base. But you can assign her to that party. And she will do it without complaint. She is risking her life, not to earn money, or to move her mission in Timber forward, or even to spend more time with Squall. She will go because she thinks it's the right thing to do, and because she wants to help Selphie, someone she has just met.

She gives people the benefit of the doubt. There is no denying that Squall is a huge jerk to her at times early game, but she is emotionally intelligent enough to realize that whatever he is projecting is not about her. And then she tries, over and over, to reach out to him. She is so patient. But also, she gives Deling the benefit of the doubt - they were trying to reason with him on the train, not even blackmail him or threaten him, but just have a conversation. She tries to not kill Edea TWICE. She tries to use the bangle to circumvent assassination and then tries to get the SeeDs to find another way to face her. She even returns to Esthar after they were hostile toward her. She believes in the good of people. Maybe that's being naive but if we were all as cynical as some other characters in this game, the world would completely fall apart.

Rinoa is always thinking. She is crafty, she comes up with interesting plans, and she can even be a bit of a schmoozer. Rinoa is only 17, and so some of this is not always executed in the best way; but I think she is extremely intelligent and creative. And, I mean, you GOTTA BE if you can teach your dog all those amazing tricks.

Don't you DARE call her a damsel in distress. She is just as much the hero of FFVIII as Squall is and YES I will die on this hill. Does she get into some pretty nasty situations? Yes. Are some of these situations caused by mistakes on her part? Absolutely. But this girl is far from helpless and goes all out to save Squall, her friends, and ALL OF TIME AND SPACE. She was willing to go to Edea by herself with a bangle that she had idea if it worked to help her friends. She was at peace with being locked away for probably the rest of her life if that meant keeping the world safe. She was willingly possessed by an evil sorceress for a second time after having a traumatic more-than-near-death experience the first time (she hadn't even experienced an Ellone dream before so imagine how scary this entire prospect was??? Like yes you need to lose your conciousness to some future bitch again and then you have to go into this other bitch's head in the past in this dreamscape you've never even been in and then yeah all of time is gonna collapse if/when you come to, you cool with that, Rinoa?). At the end of the game, she physically travels between dimensions/time/space/realities to find Squall and revive him, and then transport them back to their own reality which is obvious savior stuff. But she also saves Squall throughout the game by staying by his side, asking the right questions, listening to him, and giving him validation that, while he doesn't accept, he needs to hear. And oh yeah she fucks up Irvine to go get Squall out of prison. There's a reason they only call her "princess" once in the game - because she's NOT just a princess.

She cute as fuck js not just physically but also the things she says and her mannerisms. She's just so charming! No wonder Squall fell toss-myself-into-space in love with her! Me too tf

Tbh there are more reasons but this post is already longer than I thought it was going to be. Apparently I just have a lot of Rinoa feelings okay?! Okay.

Love you, happy birthday you absolute angel you ❤️

[gilraina]

Sometimes when I browse the podfic tag I see posts like "I'd like to start making podfics, tell me what stories you'd like to see me podfic" and there's just something so weird about this to me? Imagine someone saying "I wanna get into making fanart, tell me what I should draw first", or "I'd like to try writing fanfic, give me ideas for stories". I know it's not a 1 to 1 comparison (and maybe it even happens sometimes, I dunno), but it just feels like such a backwards approach?

I started podficcing because I was reading a lot of fanfic and had so many fics I loved and wanted to try recording, either because I had an idea for what I wanted them to sound like when read out loud, or just wanted to experiment. Over the years I've had to tell multiple people that I don't take requests, or even commissions, because my to-pod list is already long and keeps expanding. Finding a good story, and reaching out to the author to get permission to record it, is all part of the process to me.

I don't know, maybe it just comes down to people being new to podfic and not fully understanding that part of fandom and its etiquette, but even so, my question is: if you don't know what stories you'd like to podfic, or it doesn't make a difference to you, to the point where your first instinct is to ask random strangers what they'd like you to record rather than to pick something yourself, then why would you even want to do it in the first place? Contrary to what some may believe, making a podfic is actually a lot of work (especially when you're new to it), and personally I just can't imagine putting all that work into something I'm not passionate about. And if you haven't even made a single podfic before, then how can anyone even give you a good suggestion, when they don't know yet what kinds of stories you gravitate towards, what would be the best match for your narration style, etc.?

Also, from the fic writers' perspective, I imagine there's a world of difference between

a) reaching out to the author for permission to podfic their fic, because you loved it so much that it inspired you to create something based on it

and

b) putting out a general "send me fics and (maybe) I'll record them" statement

One of those will get you a much more enthusiastic response from the writers than the other. Not to even mention that there are plenty of writers who have already given blanket permission for their fic to be podficced, and would love to get a surprise podfic of their story. If you're a podficcer or want to get into podficcing, I can't recommend using the Blanket Permission Highlighter extension enough. It highlights the names of AO3 authors who have given blanket permission for their works to be transformed, and allows you to filter the archive to only show works from authors who have BP statements.

If you'd like to try podficcing, but feel anxious about reaching out to authors to ask for permission, choosing a fic from an author who's already given that permission is a great place to start! Much better than announcing that you want to make podfics and waiting for people to reach out to you, I promise!

[meridiansdominoes]

I am LOVING "Dominoes" so far! I can't wait for what's next! Also, I have two questions. What inspired you to write "Dominoes" in the first place and gave you the idea for the story? Secondly, out of all the Jedi that could've possibly confronted Krell to arrest him, what made you choose Unduli and Windu? I understand why Anakin wouldn't be a good choice because he would've straight up murdered that sleemo besalisk on the spot. Not that I would blame him. But I know Obi-Wan is a good negotiator and seeing him sass Krell could've been hilarious! And seeing Plo Koon confront him could've been interesting as well with their completely opposite views on clones. Also, Master Plo doesn't strike me as the type to loose his temper easily. I don't know as much about Aayla so I can't really guess for her. But if she loves Bly, seeing her whoop Krell big time could've been interesting as well. Did you choose Unduli and Windu because they're were the most likely to be able to keep their cool dealing with someone like Krell? Or was it something else? Thanks! Keep being amazing!

Hiya! Thanks for the ask! I got the original idea when I was reading clone wars fanfics a while ago and every time travel fic was mostly Jedi! Not that there's anything wrong with that, and also now there's a ton of clone-centric time travel too, but back in the day it was very difficult to find clone time travel that was well executed. Since the clones had always been my favorite characters, I really wanted something like that, and the more I thought about it the more I became interested in how non-force sensitives and people with very little galactic influence would handle a time-travel situation! I decided to write it myself, using Domino squad because that way I could bring back three of my favorite characters and expand on characters who didn't get any screentime!

As for your second question, I actually chose Mace Windu to go after Krell because I decided that he had the highest chance of defeating Krell in a 1 on 1 lightsaber duel! I don't know how good of a fighter Krell actually is against other Jedi--we never get to see him fight another lightsaber user... maybe he's actually terrible and even Ahsoka could beat him, or maybe he's a monster. Regardless of reality, he's huge, and those dual double-bladed are super intimidating, so I decided he's probably pretty tough. With that in mind, I needed someone who was super competent at lightsaber dueling to take him on, so I chose Mace! It also made sense to me that the council would choose someone fairly important to go and arrest one of their own. I chose Luminara to back him up because, as you mentioned, she's good at staying calm under pressure, and I also felt like I had missed an opportunity to include her on Geonosis, so I wanted to make up for that! I also partially chose her because I'm a big fan of clone commander Gree, and I knew I eventually wanted to write a short about it from his perspective, which I did!

Plo Koon and Aayla both would have been interesting choices as well, you make really good points that their relationships with their clones could have really made them fierce opponents for Krell! As for Anakin... I didn't choose him for a very specific reason that you will find out in a few chapters hehe!

[thatmexisaurusrex]

your bt fics inspire me so much 💕 i especially love the way you write tommy! i love reading fics from his perspective which are hard to find. sorry to send this anon but i’m shy lmao!

Oh gosh, don't be sorry! Anon is on for the shy folk out there, I'm glad it gives you the space to write in 🥰 I'm so happy you like my BuckTommy fics! Thank you so much for saying this 🥺 Tommy is a character I truly love writing. Some characters just hit you and he did. He's a man who wasn't good in the past. He was terrible partially because of the environment that he was in, partially because of the way he was raised, and most definitely because of his own poor choices.

But he chooses to be better. To be someone he can finally be proud of. To free himself of the restraints placed on him by his father figures, by society, and by himself. He becomes something that makes him happy. Becomes somebody who does better for the people around him. Who can have people's backs even if he hadn't in the past.

And I don't know if he's really there yet. I don't know if he's happy with himself. There's a loneliness to him that sticks so well, that tells me at least that he had never fully given in to being happy. Never knew how to or ever had the expectation that someone would want to make him happy or even the expectation that he could be happy.

But I like letting him live in my stories as he tries to figure that out. I like delving into why he gives those hints. I like helping him grapple with what has to be depression and heavy but necessary introspection on his part.

And while he shouldn't be the main highlight of next season, I do hope he gets moments to show the growth he has had. To show once again that he does have Hen, Chim, Eddie, Bobby, and Buck's back. I hope he finds that family in the people he wasn't sure he could have as family before.

I understand why someone may not like his character. There are reasons not to like him. He was a coward in the past. He did allow patriarchy and white supremacy to prop him up and allowed his fear of how he would be treated to overshadow doing the right thing back then. Even if 9-1-1 has shown that Hen and Chimney have forgiven him and trust him through hanging out with him after work at a bar, the 118 giving him a fun send off when he leaves, and Chimney on several occasions asking for Tommy's help and getting it, I understand that his past can put some people off. And there's a valid critique that more on-screen growth would be helpful in showing just how far Tommy is from the person he once was in the flashbacks.

But I have faith that 9-1-1 will show more of that. And it's clear from the narrative that that's what we're supposed to see in him - a person who's grown from the man who helped perpetuate a toxic work environment.

I feel like I might have veered away from the original ask here a bit, but I don't know. It's like - you take the good and the bad in a character. You take his past and his loneliness and his insecurities, but you also take his deadpan dry gallows humor and his patience and his understanding of how to be that better person he wished he always was.

And you let that blossom in your writing. And the character is all the better for it. I think so, at least. Thank you for loving my fics. Thank you for loving how I write Tommy. It means so much to me that my writing inspires you. You've truly made my day 🥰

[id-element0]

Happy 25th Anniversary to All Sims Lovers

The whole 25th Birthday Re-release debacle and the the reaction it created, sent me back in years once again. Honestly, I've been thinking about writing a 'memorial' of sorts regarding this weird game for a long time.

So if you're not interested in a middle-aged nerd's personal memories and ramblings about a video game series, you can skip this post.

The year 2000, my brother is playing a game while also trying to get me into it by explaining things. At some point, he says 'Do you want to know how they make babies?' and proceeds to show. If memory serves, he chooses an option from a popup and a text appears on the screen saying: "SHALL WE HAVE A BABY?"

If you click yes or ok, a bassinet with a baby in it, appears out of nowhere, just like that. That entertains me well, so I'm intrigued. This is my first ever memory about the sims - the one and only back then.

The other thing that I remember is him telling me that the game was actually designed as an architectural tool for students of architect. And then they decided to put little people in the houses they built to see how they used the house. 😂 Regardless of the truthfulness of the story, you got to admit it's a good one.

So I'm already enjoying playing the SimCity games, the idea of managing the households individually sounds like a fun idea. Right? But as someone who's barely 20, I don't have the patience to build up. I want things done ASAP but these creatures called sims are constantly whining, weeping & having nervous breakdowns at every turn. And I'm like 'Fuck this game!'

After having successful SimCity runs, I can't understand why this game is so buggy and whiny. A year or so later, I complain about it to a friend and she says to me:

"You're doing it wrong. All you need is House Party EP. Then cheat all their needs, give them money and throw parties all the time. That's what I do and I'm having so much fun!"

Well, this friend was from a smaller city with non-neglecting parents and her thirst for parties in real life was ever present. Whereas I, from a metropolis with neglecting parents, having thrown or been to house parties since 17, had little interest in partying.

I dismiss her suggestion simply because I don't find it helpful. More than 20 years later, I keep remembering that friend and the wise words she uttered that day, whenever I throw a successful party playing sims 3. 😂

If the sims games were lovers, The Sims 1 would be a platonic one. Never knowing about your desires, intentions and efforts to impress them, they move on with their life unaffected, sometimes forgetting that you even exist.

I know a lot of people have different perspectives and experiences regarding this game, and this is solely mine. Fast forward a couple years or so, in year 2004, I would be in a totally different situation with The Sims 2. But that's another story. Happy simming!

[makoredeyes]

Getting to know your moots

Tagged by @tarakanpaintedpurple :3

•What's the origin of your blogs title?

My tag makoredeyes is a Final Fantasy 7 reference (see Vincent Valentine <3) ... "Feralwinter" came from a joke about me comparing Felwinter from Destiny to a stray cat about a year ago.

•Favorite fandoms

Presently ears-deep in Destiny/D2 but I am also a big Titanfall2 fan, LOVE Trigun, and Final Fantasy 7 and its derivatives will forever live in my heart. I also have a marriage and over 25 year relationship built on Star Wars and I've seen The Nightmare Before Christmas 109 times.

•OTPs+Ship name

I am a filthy multishipper <3

FFVII it's Cid Highwind x Vincent Valentine and I'm pretty confident I'm actually the one that got people using the Valenwind shipname waaaay back in the day.

Titanfall it's BTxJack or Jack xBlisk or if I'm feeling spicy I'll try to make all three of them work. :3

Destiny I think ya'll know but my favorites are Felwinter x Timur and/or Osiris in just about any permutation of the three, adding or subtracting a handful of wildcards for giggles, plot, or kink depending on the setting and timing. (I see you pervs choosing that Saint X Osiris X Felwinter XXX oneshot I did as my most popular fic alaksjd;fksdkf)

•Favourite colours Love deep amethyst purple, or red. or somewhere in between like a mauve.

•Favourite game

Presently Destiny 2 and/or ARK Evolution Evolved

•Weirdest habit/trait

Took me a minute but I reckon my tendency to impulsively collect bits of broken glass is probably pretty fucking weird.

•Hobbies

Obviously I write, and draw, but I also enjoy painting resin figures (I can't really call my preference for larger scale models 'minifgures' but like that). I'm a actively practicing and learning lapidary (I carve rocks) and rockhound (I go out and search for and collect rocks) and rock collector lol. I love rocks. XD I'm also big into plants and have a huge indoor houseplant collection, and a pretty robust garden, and start a lot of stuff by seed most years. Removing myself from the earth, I'm also a license pilot although I haven't flown in years due to both medical and financial restrictions. (renting an airplane is fucking expensive RIP lol) Flying isn't something I actively practice anymore but the knowledge, culture, and fascination and love of flying and airplanes is burned into my bones and I don't think it's ever going to go away. <3

•Something you're good at

I think I'm a pretty decent writer. I'd like to think I generally am pretty good at understanding people too. Like, seeing things from their perspectives and understanding their needs and wants and intentions and all that. It's what I like to write about too, fundamentally so they go hand in hand I guess.

•Something you're bad at

pffff most things. Adulting. My home is a constant mess. But I do my best.

•Something you excel at

I can't resist laughing and pointing out Microsoft Excel. I'm so autistic I actually like spreadsheets and am very good at them al;ksdjfshdfh. IDK. I think I'm getting pretty awesome at these model paintings. I don't think of myself like this.

•Something you love

Gentle rain. A good scented candle. Pretty lights. A mossy forest, the ocean, my damn cats even though one of them is bullying me right now. cozy things.

•Something you could talk about for hours without off the cuff

Truly, Destiny Lore. Character analysis and picking apart text, words used, context, setting, tracing threads. Swapping headcanons and worldbuilding based on what we already have. Conjecture. Let's ramble for the next 6 hours about why he would totally say that, or did say it, or could have because I think this lore card implies he did. I live for those meals and eat so grandly off of just...sharing the stories.

•Something you hate

I don't think this is what this question meant when someone first listed it but this is the only think rolling around in my head right now so Imma say it and you'll know some of the shadows and worries in my heart today: I fucking hate Nazis.

•Something you collect

Cobalt glass. I have a lot of vintage (and some not) cobalt things. I love that color.

•Something you forget

I always have a glass of water but 80% of the time I've forgotten it in another room. Husband teases me relentlessly. We're both very excited because I remembered to rescue it from his office tonight.

•What's your love language

Acts of service/gifts. I love writing ficlets or doing little drawings for my friends especially on request. Special little things I won't share otherwise unless you ask me to. Just for you. I am hugging you this way because I am not close enough to do it the conventional way.

•Favorite movie/show

Oh I forgot Transformers for fandoms. Transformers Prime is kind of old now but I just adored that show.

•Favorite food

Pho. 10/10 comfort food. Actually I just really love Vietnamese food in general but Pho is a gift from heaven.

•Favorite animal

Magpies

•Favorite subject in school

Yanno I'm not entirely sure because I'm struggling between my favorite teacher who taught my worst subject, art which was just fun but not challenging, English which I was GOOD at but not fun in any way, and Spanish which was engaging but too challenging to be fun.

I'm going to just go back and point at some of my aviation classes I took in college lol.

•Least favourite subject

Chemistry because we had a teacher who couldn't stay on topic and I already really struggled with the math of it.

•What's your best character trait?

I'd like to think I'm pretty open-minded usually. And generally friendly. I can be a little bit of an asshole sometimes but I'm really working on that so hopefully nobody has the opportunity to notice lol.

•If you could change any detail of your day right now, what would it be?

Well I had to go to work and I would have much rather been home all day doing creative stuff so that would have been a nice change.

•If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

My great-grandad who I apparently have a LOT in common with but I never really met.

•Recommend one of your favorite fanfics

Nah nah, we're not doing just ONE haha.

Please see all my husband's wonderfully lyrical Destiny fanfics but especially The Storm That Stalks featuring a look at the harder side to my favorite Stormtrancer

Besty Crafty Cooper aka @slavetomyheadcanon has some fantastic (and delightfully filthy) Overwatch and Titanfall fic as well as Destiny but PLEASE sample this entirely unexpectedly titillating experimental crackpair from a randomizer featuring Cayde-6 x Timur. Seriously trust me on this one. FPM: Cayde-6 + Timur + Shock Collar (*AO3 sign-in required. If anyone needs an invite DM me I have lots)

OK it's Timur hours apparently. @zalia wrote Subornation for me last spring and I just adore it. It's sweet and quirky and has some fantastic character insights. Then go and browse the other uhh... 145 Destiny fics in Zalia's portfolio if you haven't already because they're all bangers.

I usually don't tag people for this kind of stuff, but today I'm putting the squad on blast. @slavetomyheadcanon , @zalia , @vallaragna , @nearfromfar, @wendysketches , @heckin-sleeby & @sylenth-l if you do this kind of thing have at it.