#and i know this fandom is so incredibly white so maybe thats why no one cares

[sieglinde-freud]

every now and then im reminded of hildas casual racism and how it goes so underlooked purely because in the biggest instance of it, its directed at cyril who most people dont like 😭 like isnt that crazy. i know ingrids the scapegoat racist (i have a lot of problems with her too esp with the language she uses but yk not the point of the post) but like she does acknowledge she is wrong. hilda does not do that… ever. what happens is that she praises cyril for being obedient and nice (in direct opposition to her stereotypes about almyrans which she does not clear up and also is a result of cyril being a child slave) like was that not kind of insane. i get shes like that because of how she was raised but when does she ever end up changing those prejudices… when does that happen…

[dufferpuffer]

I know people have a problem with bookworm!remus because he only is seen reading one book in canon (even though I don’t think that’s a fair reason to completely dismiss that hc) but I often think about the fact that for all of his childhood before hogwarts he literally didn’t have any friends and couldn’t even really interact with other kids, if that’s his situation it makes a lot of sense to be giving him hobbies like being interested in movies (though I don’t think he’d have easy access to them given the whole wizard thing), music and books. I mean it’s very common for lonely children to take interest in books because it’s a way to live in another world where characters can give you comfort, I really don’t think it’s a stretch to hc Remus as a bookworm. I also recognize that the pushback might be coming from frustrations with fanon in general, as fanon Lupin apparently doesn’t look much like canon Lupin (I wouldn’t really know I don’t really interact with that side of the fandom) but still I feel like it might be misdirected anger.

Oh! Oh oh! I LOVE bookworm Remus! I love 'does little crafts' Remus! Baby Remus reading books and colouring in and staying inside all the time - because he can't go make friends with the other kids - and they are scared of his scars, anyway!

I LOVE 'Remus that has a soft spot for fiction'! He doesn't' get to have friends growing up, he doesn't get to have many friends as an ADULT - and he is always acting a role... why not those roles be based on characters in the many books he has read? Plus books are cheap, easy to carry and easy to replace.

'Learned how to cook and clean muggle-style because he was at home with a sickly mother and wanted to help scrub the rental property before they had to move again' Remus!

I have a HC that he grew up with music and the radio I find it hard to believe they would carry a TV with them from house to house when they need to move so often - maybe a small black and white? Ha, baby Remus watching Dr Who in the 60s... It's a shame the 3rd Doctor started when Remus was going off to Hogwarts - I think he would have liked him...

I don't know if there is a backlash on bookworm Remus as much as there is on smart Remus. Like... smartest of the bunch Remus. Because thats just not true - and isn't how he is as an adult, either. He really isn't that studious or... idk... research-y...? Albus and Severus are pushing the boundaries of magical knowledge in the fields they are interested in. Sirius and James were child genius' doing the near-impossible. Remus... doesn't do that. He is specifically excluded from that.

But Remus isn't DUMB. He knows his stuff. We DO see him with his nose in a book, and I think that MEANS something. It just doesn't have to mean much. "Remus likes books" Or "Remus studies even when outside"

But it will always be hilarious how the text goes "James and Sirius were INCREDIBLY smart and RIDICULOUSLY talented, doing things that were basically impossible" And yet people go "Remus was the brains. He read... a book"

[therealslimshakespeare]

Ugh this blog has been bursting with content lately which I love love love love. I haven’t sent many asks but trust me when I say I follow them religiously. But amidst all this controversy about Maureen and the resurfacing of the fight between her and Ida, I do just want to say that, all that stuff and discourse is so fun and special and it’s amazing that you’ve created all of it, but in addition to that, there’s so much other stuff about ur blog that’s incredible as well. The biggest thing that I think is, I know this sudden surge of asks about Tallulah Smith that started at the start of summer and just has continued on since, might have surprised you and certain readers. And I feel like it might be easy to boil that all down to “oh well she’s not as controversial as some of the other characters so she’s easy to like”, and while that might be true to some extent, if I can offer a bit of context to all that, I have been a part of SO many fandoms over the course of so many years and this is actually pretty common. A lot of the time, with historical shows especially, where a lot of the characters and therefore the OCs that are created are white, people in the fandom who are NOT white will find one creator or one blog who is doing gods work in representing history in a more diverse way. And they will absolutely rally around the OC/ OCs created by that individual because hello?? Where else am I gonna get this sort of representation?? And like I know, I know, people might think oh but this is just fanfic, it’s not that deep, but the thing is, it absolutely is that deep. I mean think about all the people that have Indigenous family members who fought in world war two and didn’t get recognition or respect. Or all the people who might have family members that experienced racism and discrimination in the army. OF COURSE those people would be so intrigued by what you’ve created here and OF COURSE they’d be so excited by Tallulah. And I just don’t want you to think that she’s comparatively flat or boring compared to the other girls. You’ve really created something thats so incredibly special for so many people by writing her character. I mean even just her backstory aside from her identity, I was so thrilled and amazed to see this brave and incredible young girl who’s in a male dominated field and who’s going through it but is still SO gracious and tender hearted. Like even ONE of those qualities of hers is enough to absolutely adore her and of course I love her for her strength and bravery and ambition AS WELL AS her identity. And I know you said a few things about being surprised that everyone was up in arms for her and Sanchez so early on, again, I personally was not the least bit surprised at that just because of the fact that this fandom is sort of limited in what it explores. And I know that it might not have been your intention to have ur blog and this universe be THE haven for a lot of BIPOC members of this fandom, and I hope it’s not an insane amount of pressure to insinuate that it is?? Cause part of why what you do is so special is how it’s folded in so seamlessly, you acknowledge the identities of these women while also not making it the only thing about them. But I just want you to know that what you’ve done in writing Sanchez and Lu and now Tilly as well is SO beyond special and incredible and I hope you are so appreciated and loved for it because you deserve it.

Oh my goodness, this was so very sweet.

I had not registered it as a haven necessarily but I knew I was spoiled with interaction and affirmation and I massively appreciate your perspective on it. It’s not a crushing pressure at all to be that, it’s an honor and maybe a bit of a daunting one but the sheer amount of contributions my beloved anons such as yourself has brought to the plot and the BIPOC characters gives me a lotta surety I might not otherwise have.

I wanted these characters for all the reasons you mentioned and to simulate my own friend group in some ways. Glad to hear it’s gone above and beyond even that intention. Glad? Thrilled

And this last compliment?? Literally soothed my soul as it’s exactly what I wanted to come across and yet I never know if I’m managing it, thank you thank you thank you:

“Cause part of why what you do is so special is how it's folded in so seamlessly, you acknowledge the identities of these women while also not making it the only thing about them.”

[jack-kellys]

west end question: i obviously love my brooklyn girls and would die for them all, but is it bad that it’s taken away the sprace dynamic for me? like i’m still 100% on board with a nowhere near canon ship and it shouldn’t affect me they’ve decided to have spot be a girl, but it lowkey has? and i feel kinda guilty about it? idk i love my proshot boys. but i am 100% here for all the uk newsies cast they are amazing and so talented and it’s definitely my favourite production by far!! idk if i’m making sense

ok part of me feels a litle baited actually because like. i feel like... im vocal abt mlm musical sprace not being a big vibe for me in the first place. so im a funny person to ask if you were looking for relief lmao. anyway here's my thesis below.

wait also if ur a white newsie fan a read-thru+rb of this would be much appreciated thank youuu (also yall have been eating up my character analyses anyway sooooo!)

TL;DR THESIS: if you're feeling genuinely let down that your ship did not see the light of day and a black girlsie spot conlon got to instead, then yes, you should reevaluate that.

followers, if you've been with me long enough, you know that i have quite strong opinions about how this show gets treated when it comes to interpretations and fandom/fanon. mostly, this is because i literally work in theater, and it's extremely backwards in my brain personally when shows get treated more like a movie or tv show than a performance piece.

im also one of the only ppl in this fandom that ever seems to dare speak on race (not the damn character smh). and anon, buddy, kiddo, this does have to do with race, gender, and sexuality.

firstly, what i think needs to be understood about newsies, is that it is theater, which means it is meant to be mutable. there is no one way. there should never be one way. it does not exist. secondly, theater does not exist in a fandom vacuum. its live every night, conceptually. theater is a live performance art.

interpretations change- it's the nature of theater. so i think asks like these really do illuminate the difference between fans of the show's content or fans of... i guess the show's culture's content.

this is a culture content ask.

one thing i really, truly, deeply need you all to understand: from an objective, script- and staging-based perspective, proshot sprace does not exist. they do not speak. they barely see each other. race does not even volunteer to go to brooklyn. the ship originates from the 1992 movie, where they do actually interact, which is why the ship has prevailed through the 90s to today. they're from the movie, not the musical.

of course, this doesn't bash the ship- it has history, and naturally fans want to create new history when they get a new source material (the musical). it's true for like every newsie ship lowkey (but also not lowkey because all the manhattan newsies do interact and sprace literally does not but thats a different post!!), which is something i do admire about the fandom- we do a lot of our own legwork here, we invent relationships and backgrounds from one-liners that could be given to tbh any frickin newsie. i respect the 30 years we have invented ships.

however.

when a huge, publicized, consistently sold out production comes along with spot conlon as not only a woman, but a woman of color (specifically black rn!) as the leader of the most feared group on stage, there becomes something much more important than a "sprace dynamic", which does not canonically exist in the musical anyway bro. you can't miss something that isn't there imo. often the story and casting within a story comes first, and goddamn if this isn't one of those times. lillie-pearl's spot brings bravado, swagger, confidence, and intimidation that is literally....fine maybe i'm being personal but it is slash gen incredible to see in technically a period piece! a black woman in leadership with that kind of assuredness! in such a popular musical! how is that not– automatically surpassing an often obsessed-over (yes i am. hinting at something here, straight girl fans) mlm ship?

and while i'm on the topic of the over-obsessiveness of mlm musical sprace, let me talk about uksies sprace. because what's also wack abt this ask is that sprace is not a hopeless case in this production- it literally has about as much 'evidence' as the proshot imo!!!!!

i got to hop over to 2nd row brooklyn seating for act 2 so i saw once and for all really close up, right. there's a moment when race is upstage letting the newsies in/down from the stairs. spot comes down and she does, in fact, share a look with him. race gives spot a nod and she keeps moving.

and like im gonna see the show again (every day i am counting my mf blessings fr), so if i'm wrong or they don't do it every time i'll correct myself, but that's what i saw with my own dang eyes on saturday. they do acknowledge each other in uksies.

and since they do, i really like. i have to ask. what is bothersome/unpopular abt uksies sprace, other than oh idk.... its not white/white mlm with a twink/manly bf trope? why can't race still love who spot is as a character, this strong and fearless ruler of brooklyn, in uksies? because tbh josh's racer...nahhhh because. this is such a side note now but they'd be so good together oh jesus am i gonna ship uk sprace. and it's not like they're 'taking away' from a queer ship because a) you can headcanon spot as a queer girl and race being trans is consistently popular and b) newsies has ten billion gayass ships bro we've been eatin for literal decades.

anon, i'm sure you didn't mean harm by this ask. i'm sure, honestly, that a lot of fans are feeling the same way as you and weren't quite sure how to put it in words. but, i'm also not surprised you sent an ask like this on anonymous specifically.

should you feel guilty about it? i don't think guilt is the right word. but i believe you should think more about how newsies is not.....static. it does not exist in one form, and it never will. if you're feeling genuinely let down that your ship did not see the light of day and a black girlsie spot conlon got to instead, then yes, you should reevaluate that. in theater, you should always question why something impacted you the way it did- a major point of theater is to discuss and think about it when you leave! i know this because ive spent three years literally studying it, to back up my thesis credentials.

thank you for reading this, newsies fandom. i do honestly say all this with love, and i hope it made u think !! ♥️

[bummeryumedanshi]

hiii stoked fandom ^____^ i love music sooo hereis my music taste headcanons for the characteres...

reef:

-He would listen to white rappers. but not the eminem type i mean the jack harlow/tommy richman/yung gravy type

-Ohh i kind of dgaf about him. He would just listen to whatever is popping off on tiktok I guess

emma:

- any taylor swift album idk i dont listen to her but shes definitely a swiftie

-I haven't thought of Emma enough for her to become a lesbian in my head but if she was then i'd see her listening to stuff like P.U.N.K. girl by Heavenly

fin:

-she never grew out of her emo phase so she would listen to paramore and fall out boy

- Youuuuuu sink intooo myy clooooootheeeees...... This invasion makes me feel Worthless hopeless sick... Im so sick Infected with where I live let me l

-Clocking her as a musical fan idk why i just have a feeling

lo:

-lo IS brat 💚

-She would like azealia banks i believe

-Oh god anything that serves cunt really I love her thats sister

broseph:

-when kendrick lamar said "are you myy friendd?? Are we locked innn??" broseph would have went "yessss kendrick we areeee T____T" out loud

-Aside from being familiar with a lot of reggae music which I'm not that well versed in. I don't know why my mind palace is saying he would like ecco2k. Maybe that's incredibly wrong and he just listens to it because reef listens to it though

- i think he wiuld like gorillaz

johnny:

-He would tell people he likes artists like steve lacy to look normal in front of people but he would be a kpop gg stan on twitter under a different name and his pfp is his bias and he has all the other staff members preemptively blocked so no one finds out about his stan twt account

-He has definitely also had an emo phase so maybe him and fin can queen out sometimes

-Staceys mom has got it goin on.... at first i gave this to reef but its kind of not jock-core enough in 2024. i believe johnny would also be the type to enjoy a few white boy songs

andrew:

-God knows

-Boku wa naze... Kaze no you ni...

-in reality he wouldnt know what the fuck vkei is but its in his soul. (I am delusional.) In reality he probably listens to something completely normal like Radiohead

-I really dont want to say itbut he probably listens to classic rock

kahuna:

- He wiuld like ska music but i only know about ska music because of Sublime so what im saying is he would probably like Sublime

- ithink he would also enjoy a bit of 90s r&b

snack shack:

-weezer

[eclysia]

Send me a Fandom ask meme: OFF including all of the fangames you have experienced, we're curious.

ive played a lot of fangames but some may be excluded because i dont remember them too well! (csr is one that immediately comes to mind, along with inter/intra/extra/add. pretty sure thats what it was? cant seem to find it)

nonetheless lets go. ancient ask game with an ancient interest of mine

The first character I first fell in love with: 

well thatd be the judge! his design is likely what drew me to the game in the first place, but i cant remember for certain

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

valerie and japhet, theyre a package deal because uh you know (but homes valerie is my favorite)! his unfortunate fate has always been compelling to me, a little bird using a cats corpse as a meat puppet blew my mind

  The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

uhh huh its difficult to inherently dislike someone tbh? i feel like zacharie is a cop out answer but he kind of is, i think early tumblr has wildly misinterpreted his character including some fangames. not quite the answer you were seeking i bet but he does come to mind

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

okay who is actually hated though. does erebos from home count because i think i was the net one person who was incredibly obsessed with him. not Hated but definitely swept under the rug, right?

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

tough. i want to say csr ghost batter tbh, as ive gotten older his language usage has gotten stale to me. also most characters from unknown.

The character I would totally smooch:

this phrasing is silly. biting is more appropriate and family friendly for this blog. so...

inhales

roland gaius blue/white dream batters maybe regular batter and also executioner and sucre and lugosi and probably the computer at this point why the hell not and (im taken out back and shot)

 The character I’d want to be like: 

tbh i wished i looked like 365!puppeteer irl . also erebos because computer. and malachis little bird minions, and probably malachi himself, and valerie for good measure

The character I’d slap: 

literally all of them at least once except Literally hugo. no im not taking criticism

A pairing that I love:

thog dont caare (there was one pair of lesbian cats that i liked when i was Younger but i dont know how i feel about ones creator atm, so)

A pairing that I despise: 

battery (intentional misspelling) is only good when its funny and rest assured it isnt. people only shipped them because they needed two humanoid men to bang. borink.

[trixstriforce]

hello :) i saw your posts about lu and idk if you were gauging interest in people hearing your opinions. personally i would be super interested in reading what specifically about every lu character is ooc! i am similarly frustrated with the current dominance of lu characterizations in fandom as a ww fan. ive been following for a while i just logged into this side account because i am scared to ask on main :( i hope you do not mind the somewhat bare blog. thank you!

oh my god oh my god oh my god someone wants my opinion??? do u wanna make out???? u do not understand the power u r giving me rn u do not understand how annoying and nitpicky and very passionate i can get specifically about lu bc i care so much about link its unreal and also bc i just like things like linkedmaze, dimensional links, and minaslinkverse better characterization wise bc to me they have shown the "found family links meeting up" thing a lotttt better than lu when i still read it

but to be fair i STOPPED reading around the part where four split due to the way the lu community reacting to the person with DID, a very stigmatized disorder who genuinely just wanted Jojo to acknowledge they messed up in the past and present and didnt like the vauge ass apology she gave making me actually disgusted. ppl talk about accountability then rallied against 1 tumblr user who was uncomfortable bc ppl liked Jojo's comic so she doesnt have to explain that now she respects nonbinary ppl and understands how past things were wrong for her to say we just infer this bc lu good :/ like hey maybe Jojo owned up to it afterwards or something bc she made 2 apologies that would make a YouTuber blush so i was done w/ the community and it was only rlly after that and after i played a few of the actual games + read some mangas i realized wow actually i do not like lu as much as i thoguht i did they butchered my boy, also i feel i should say it literally wouldnt matter to me do what u want in ur au but lu is now a fandom of its own and its influenced a lot of other aus and interpretations of link so i do take issue w/ how ooc these guys end up being

OK HERE R THE MOST BASIC ISSUES W/OUT GETTING INTO EACH LINK RN:

for one i dont know for me having link as a secret hoarder who would rather DIE than use the full scope of his abilities around OTHER HEROS is just no bc thats fucking stupid levels of wanting to appear normal around OTHER HEROS possiblly the ONLY other ppl to ever understand what u r going through

for me having every single link act like a frat boy/standard teenage white boy who is emotionally constipated is a no??? have u SEEN link he is so sociable and kind and understanding to other ppl WHY r the links like this, so many fics just...make them stew in their issues for angst and not trust the others and be incredibly insecure about the other heros(which is lu canon for at least hyrule and wind i think?) and like ok that is definitely fine for 1 link but why r they all like this in the games link is clearly not like that he wouldn't be this closed off and wouldn't hesitate so much like my dude he just inserts himself into other ppl's lives to make them better than leaves he wouldn't pussyfoot around other heros like what

also another major issue is the mergings just lead to certain characterizations or important backstory for certain links(FOUR. LEGEND.) being completely erased and the nuance of their journeys lost like when u merge links who r canonically 100s of years apart not just in the timeline but in the GAMES? yeah u lose things that make that link special

also bc u mentioned wind waker i found it kinda fucked up that wind waker link was delegated to The Kid TM even tho his entire journey was about moving on from the past to a brighter future and he took on the mantle left behind by the hero of time on his own volition and did what Time COULDN'T do which is kill Ganon but he is constantly underestimated and made into the Kid Who Wants Approval trope specifically around Time which sucks ass ngl he deserves to be an equal him still being a kid while the others got to grow up, including Four who's first journey arguably would have been a better fit for this archtype of wide eyed kid, is just side lining one of the most interesting links especially considering most of the other links were YOUNGER than him when they started

this is all general stuff plus 1 of my issues w/ Wind bc ur a Wind Waker fan bc as a Spirit Track fan i feel a kinship, im gonna make another post for specifically each link breaking down my issues w/ how they r portrayed later bc rn it is 8am and i ment to just say haha ty for the permission but then my inner ranter came out i am INCAPABLE of being normal about lu especially after i actually experienced zelda games bc lu was my FIRST introduction to zelda outside of smash bros lol

toast if u r reading this say rip to ur dms bc i am once more gonna talk to u about a comic for a videogame franchise u only know about due to my rambles and forcing u at gunpoint to learn about link...godspeed comrade

[yougurtella]

hot take (or tea) of the day from me:

Both apple and raven want what they want and would do mostly anything to get it (mostly apple, but i’ll explain raven later).

Apple White is ambitious, maybe not always, but definitely with the things she wants. She wants people to be safe, yes, but she also wants to be safe as well. Of course, Apple wants everyone to be safe, that’s why she is destined to be a great Queen for her future kingdom. But do you know why she’s so stuck on her destiny?

If you read The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale, we discover that when Apple was young, she fell into a well, and was stuck there for a long time (not super long, probably a few hours, I’m writing this from memory). That scarred her, and as a result, convinced her to think that her destiny is the only thing that can keep her safe (we also know that she was groomed to be a prim and proper destiny-following-princess since she was born, so all her life she’s been convinced her destiny is the only way to live). Same with following the rules. If you follow the rules, you’re bound to stay out of trouble and safe and sound, right? And as we’ve seen, Apple will do anything to stay safe. She was instructed to pretty much manipulate Raven into following her destiny, and even tried to follow through with it (she also joined Raven on her journey to find clues about the sisters that disappeared after legacy day when refusing to follow their destinies. all throughout that journey, Apple is also trying to convince Raven her story is the one she needs to follow). She is constantly questioning Raven, trying to find a fault in her thinking (these are the only examples i can think of right now, but if you have any more, feel free to mention some). And we get to Dragon Games. Apple meets the Evil Queen, who manipulates Apple into breaking her out of the mirror (you can find a clip of it on youtube, or netflix):

Evil Queen: “Oh I’m sorry, I thought maybe you were like your mother. When her time came, your mother embraced her fairytale destiny. She did whatever it took.”

Apple: “I am not afraid. I will do whatever it takes. And I am like my mother, and my destiny is mine!”

Just noting how she reacted to what the evil queen said. she could have brushed it off, or have said, “i may be like my mother, but i don’t want you to be an option to help me achieve my destiny”. but Apple reacted so...so angrily. She just burst into aggression and threw the Apple at the mirror.

We also see that Snow White tries manipulating Apple into forcing others to follow her destiny. (“Perhaps there is some way you could nudge Raven towards evil?...remember, she’s still her mother’s daughter!”) I have a feeling Snow’s been doing this ever since Apple could comprehend words. Apple definitely seems like she would’ve been that annoying kid on the playground that would’ve been like “You need to follow your destiny or else I’m telling the teacher!”

Anyways, Apple has definitely had some hard times, (which don’t justify her actions, but could have led her to realize that she needs to change. not just for the heck of it, but to become a better person; to become a better queen. also jesus, if EAH wasn’t cancelled she would’ve had an amazing character arc i just know it—) but anyway. She’s had some traumatic moments in her past, and we’ve only seen a glimpse of how Snow White raised her, there’s definitely some stiff linings in that relationship. It seems more like a business relationship than a loving Mother-Daughter one.

Which leads me to Raven Queen. If you read the books, you’ll also know that throughout Raven’s life, she’s always questioned destiny, and instead has used the word “choice” in her vocabulary. Her mother has seemed to be absent most of the time, whether because she was in “evil meetings”, doing Queen duty, or being trapped in her mirror. I don’t think that has impacted Raven’s opinion on destiny, the only way it’s impacted her it’s probably the absence of love from a mother. Raven doesn’t like her destiny because she knows she has it in her that she couldn’t go through with evil-doing. We know that too (especially in WTW, when Apple tells her “This isn’t you, you’re about choosing your destiny, and breaking binds and whatever” and Raven goes back to normal).

Anyways, back to Raven possibly being a Slytherin.

She’s also demonstrated that she’s ambitious, I mean, she entered a talent show wanting to perform a (quote on quote from Headmaster Grimm) “non-evil” song, and stuck with it until Sparrow got to her. She’s always letting people know they have a choice (maybe sometimes a little forcefully, but it’s not as bad as Apple). She even went on a journey (in the Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale), sneaking out of the school, breaking multiple rules, to prove that you don’t “poof” when you refuse to follow your prewritten story. She’s quick to correct people on the fact that she won’t be following her destiny; but Legacy Day is a bigger example of her ambition. She knew about the legends and rumors of your demise when refusing to follow in the footsteps of your parents, yet took that chance anyways, putting many peoples lives into harms way (granted, it never happened, but they didn’t know whether they’d poof or not). That’s hardcore though. Imagine making a choice about your life, that could have people’s lives be ruined, or worse, dispelled (haha get it? dis-spelled?), and you take the route of putting people in harm’s or deaths way. Thats incredibly selfish, but also quite heroic. (there’s so many discussions to be held about the ethics of EAH, i’m so mad the fandom isn’t bigger because we could have so many videos and essays about this wonderful story) Raven took a stand, feeling ambitious enough to say “No” to a predetermined life. Round of applause for her.

I’ve realized that i’ve probably written more about Apple (because she is one of my favorites), and I didn’t have a lot of evidence for Raven, just feelings and opinions. But anyway, this was mostly for fun and to procrastinate on schoolwork lmao.

Keep in mind this was just a fun silly thing to do, to start a friendly and respectful discussion. I don’t want any people saying how Apple is a horrible person and how she’d be say “all lives matter” and be a white supremacist. She wouldn’t. Her destiny is to be there for others, and to be the kindest and fairest in the land.

So maybe Raven would be a Gryffindor instead. Apple could easily be a Gryffindor as well, heck, I see both Raven and Apple being in any of the houses in Hogwarts (it would make sense for Raven to be a RAVENclaw hahahah—ok ill stop). They both have demonstrated key traits for each houses.

So what do you guys think? Would Raven and Apple be Slytherins? Do you have a different house you think they’d suit more?

I honestly think that if EAH and Hogwarts had a crossover, Apple would definitely convince Headmaster Grimm and the Sorting Hat to place Raven in the same house as her (because you know, she wants Raven to follow her destiny). I also think it’d be a funny bit.

[collectionofcherries]

👀couldnt help but notice you talking about hannibal in your billy loomis imagine 👀 also couldnt help but to notice thats in your fandom list 👀 maybe you should shoot your shot with an imagine with hanni 👀

So over on my Naruto blog I did a little fluff piece called Morning Coffee that everyone seemed to enjoy so I thought I'd bring it here. It’s a simple concept, it follows your morning to the start of your cup to the end of it. Hope you enjoy! --- ☕ Morning Coffee ☕

---

written in the mind-frame of a Female!Reader but there are no pronouns mentioned nor gender specific anatomical body parts.  Warnings: None, flirting with the idea of smut but no actual smut. Sexual longing maybe? Word Count: 1,155

--- Hannibal Lecter

   Having coffee with a friend shouldn't have been this stressful, being this stressed in the morning couldn't be good for you but it wasn't like you could help it. How are you supposed to dress for morning coffee with a man who practically lives in three piece suits? Formal? Business casual? Casual casual? Your clothing covered floor seemed to bare no answers as you stared at what you swore was everything you owned...had everything always been this ugly? God! Why did you even propose a breakfast together? Hannibal does dinner but no you had to pitch breakfast to be different and try to impress him, yeah you're sure he'd be impressed by the amount of clothing on the floor. If you'd been like everyone else and just gone for dinner you'd have more time to try on clothes but a look at the clock told you that you had to leave now or you'd be late and that'd be terrible, that'd be rude and Hannibal can't stand people who're rude. However messy your floor was it was worth it for the compliment you got when Hannibal opened his door to greet you. “I don't see you in colour often, red looks lovely on you.”     Well, guess you're wearing red for the rest of your life.     "Oh thank you.” Finds it's way out of your throat as your face is painted the colour that apparently looks lovely on you.     “Please, come in.” He welcomes stepping to the side to allow room.    You never gave much thought to what a foyer could be, yours is technically where you just kick off your shoes and put your keys but this, this was proper foyer. Just the entrance to his house was nice. God it was big too, he could probably rent it out to a poor college kid for like 500 bucks if he wanted not that he looked like he needed the extra money. Did you even know how to say Foyer properly? You bet Hannibal did, without a doubt he knew all those fancy French words--was that word even French? Oh no, what if you were stupid and it wasn't French? What if this wasn't even a foyer? How dumb were you? H-- hands came up to your shoulders jolting you out of your spiral. Hannibal gently pulls the edges of your jacket and you immediately understand. “Thank you.” You repeat once again.    He smiles with a nod as he slides your jacket off of you with your help and hangs it up on a beautiful wood stand you're sure costs more than half your rent. Thinking about how much money was within these walls could make your head spin but that spinning is halted by the soothing tones of his voice. “Lost in thought?” He inquired.    “Uh, just early morning brain fog you know?” You try to bluff.    It's not convincing but he nods anyway. “Perhaps some coffee would help.”     “Sounds good.” You agree.    Following him through his house only furthers your awe, you could spent a lifetime in here just looking at stuff. “I thought it'd be pleasant to make breakfast together instead of having it ready, eating together is one experience but preparing a meal is another entirely.” He explained    The idea of sharing an experience with Hannibal was one that filled you with butterflies, the more you thought about it you didn't think you'd heard of Hannibal cooking with anyone else, maybe the stress of this morning would pay off after all. “I'm not a chef but I'll do my best, what're we making?”     “Uova al purgatorio.” Which leads to a bit of a blank stare on your end, as pretty as it sounds you've got no idea what that means. “It's an Italian dish, eggs in Purgatory.” He explained.    “Sounds interesting.” You quip.    “It is, the name comes from the eggs sitting in a tomato base, the white of the eggs floating within the red sauce giving the illusion of souls trapped within the unknown of Purgatory.” He explains as he prepares the boiling water for your coffee. “Even at breakfast it seems we wonder where our souls go to lay.”     “Well makes sense for Italy home of the Pope, I'm sure there's religious overtones at most meals.”    He smiles a little and nods. “During my time in Italy it truly does surround you, it's an interesting feeling, almost euphoric to be encapsulated by it at every

turn.” He remarked.    “Wow, you spent time in Italy? It looks beautiful there.” You say, trying to stray a little further from the religious aspect, you don't exactly know where Hannibal falls on that spectrum and the last thing you want to do is come across rude or disrespectful to him. “Coffee smells great.” You add as he pours the boiling water into his very fancy looking French Press.    Your attempt to change subjects doesn't go unnoticed at all but he once again nods as he looks at you. “Yes, I traveled quite a bit in my youth, I called Italy my home for some time.” He explains.     “Do you ever miss it?” You ask    “I take with me what I relish in the places I've been, while I may no longer be surrounded by the Primavera or the walls of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini they are ever present in my mind, reproduced with the utmost detail.” You could listen to Hannibal talk all day, it wouldn't matter what he said you just like the way he said things, the timbre of his voice. “Have you ever given thought to travelling?” He prodded.    “Course, who doesn't think about travelling? See far off places, experience new people, new things, different cultures.” You reminisce.    “What stops you?”     You shrug a little. “Funds mainly but I'd want to take the time to learn the language of where I'm going, understand the culture so I don't offend anyone. I don't want to be one of those tourists that makes an ass out of themselves.” You said cringing at the end.    “It's considerate to take the time to understand a culture you will not live in, many go on whims like they're visiting amusement parks.” He agreed. “Would Italy be a place you'd like to visit or would you find their taste for religion leaving a sour taste in your mouth?” He asked.    Did you really think you'd get out of a question Hannibal wanted answered? You shrugged a little once again trying to make sure you phrase things that wouldn't step on toes that were in shoes that likely cost more than your rent. “I'm unsure...I don't know if my broader and more open views would be welcome in the narrower scope of such a religious place and I wouldn't want to impose myself or my views upon anyone.” You slowly clamber out as he pours two cups of what smells like incredibly coffee. “Thank you.” You quickly add as you take it from his hands.    “While I do know you enough to welcome you into my home, I'm not sure if I know you well enough to know of the open views you believe would be scrutinized under the gaze of the Church. Do you speak a broader view of all religions? Racial rights? Sexual appetite?”     You stomach almost leaps into your throat at the last question, talking sexual appetites with someone who could feed that said appetite for the rest of your life? How were you supposed to talk about that? You didn't want to impose but you certainly didn't want to miss any chance of feeding that appetite. “All of the above, you know?” You pitch at first. “I'm a big believer in religious freedoms for everyone, from anywhere--just freedom for everyone in general.” You tackle first, that's the more important one and the one that won't get you into any trouble. “And um--yeah I suppose my sexual appetite wouldn't please the Church.” You say with a small laugh breaking your gaze from Hannibal and down at your coffee cup. “Not exactly a born again virgin.” Smooth. Great job. Wow. Fuck. Maybe you could drown yourself in this coffee? You take a sip and to spite being too shy to ask for sugar or milk this coffee is great, actually smooth. Unlike you. “This is great, what is this?” You try.    Why do you try? He always notices, you're luckier than you know that it endlessly amuses him rather than annoys him. “It's Peaberry Coffee from Tanzania, it's a rounder sweeter bean, almost tea like.” He explains, allowing for a moment for you to believe you've somehow fooled him into letting his prior question go thoroughly unanswered. “It can take a more refined palette to taste all the notes.” He remarks.    “I don't know how refined mine is, I just know it's nice.”

You admit with a small laugh.    “Usually our tongues know more than we think, close your eyes and allow the flavours to dance over your tongue.” He instructed.    Hannibal could tell you to jump off a cliff and if he said it nice enough you probably would. You take a small breath and take another sip and try your damnest to impress Hannibal if only even a little but as you swallow you know your guesses are little more than shots in the dark. “It's sweet...kind of like a berry...?” You weakly pitch.    You're not wrong but Hannibal can tell your guess isn't confident. “Do you know you have a habit of coming in on yourself when you're unsure of what you're saying?” He asks letting you know he's been on to you for much longer than you would have hoped. He comes around from his large kitchen island to stand in front of you and you fight the urge to step back and away which only adds to how hard your heart beats in your chest. “Coming in on ones self allows negative neurons to fire, by simply lifting your head you'll allude more confidence and though red looks lovely on you so does that.” That compliment alone made your head spin so his next action of bringing his warm hand up to gently lift your head? Your entire body felt weak. It was laughable that the simple touch of his thumb resting on your chin and his forefinger below it could have such an effect on you, looking up at him him with unsure eyes as to where this went next was laughable to him. You were putty in his hands, vulnerable in every meaning of the word. "Try again, close your eyes and when you take a sip allow it to work around your mouth, to explore every inch of your tongue.”    Was this porn? This could be porn, this might as well be porn as far as your body was concerned apparently. It took you a moment to actually get your limbs to move and grab your coffee again and it felt good to close your eyes, you liked Hannibal but being so close and having him stare back at you was overwhelming. And he knew it, there was something very satisfying about your kind of vulnerability, it was raw and open for him to touch and mold with his hands. You brought the cup to your lips and took another sip and once again tried to find a defined note in this coffee and maybe it was having your head tilted up, maybe it was having him so close but an answer did come from your mouth. “Cedar?”    Opening your eyes you knew you'd gotten it right by the contented look you were rewarded with. "I had a hunch your tongue knew more than you were letting on.” He teased.    He let his thumb trail back and forth on your chin before moving it away and your head felt like it was floating. “What does your tongue taste? I'm sure it's much more experienced than mine.”     You're sure if you didn't feel so floaty such a blatantly flirty question wouldn't have come out of you but it seemed to fly just fine as a small amused breath made it's way out of him. “Your assumption would be correct.” He let you know. “The notes in this coffee I've become very acquainted with over the years so it wouldn't be much of an exercise in taste for me to tell you them all. Perhaps another breakfast we could expand upon both our tongues.” Your entire body clenched and you had to practically drown out your whine of want by taking a sip of your coffee. “For now we'll be expanding on yours, come, wash up I'll show you how to make uova al purgatorio, a taste from my past.” He said walking back around the kitchen island.    You follow him around the island and with one last sip put your empty coffee cup into the sink. --- ~Admin Coral 🍒 Buy Me A Coffee?

[rogueswitch]

1, 3, 5, 9, and 11 for the ask meme

o geez thats a lot :p i'll do Wrench because of course i will

1) what’s a Hot Take you have about your f/o?

The only reason why Wrench is popular is because he is quirky and white. You know the whole thing with fandoms only giving a shit about the white characters? I truly think it holds true with watch dogs as well. people will wax poetic about how Aiden (another 'vigilante' white man) from watch dogs 1 is the best character, and Wrench is unabashedly the most popular character from WD2 even though he's not the protagonist and arguably is a pretty undeveloped character (the actual protagonist of WD2 is Marcus, a black man, and a reasonably well-developed character compared to the others).

To bring this point home further, both Aiden and Wrench have their own DLC missions+story in WDLegion, while other characters like Marcus (and any of the other WD2 characters) are forgotten about all but to provide some cosmetic outfits.

3) did you used to ship your f/o with anyone before realizing you wanted to ship them with yourself?

No, not really. Once I really got into the meat of WD2, I just kinda went oh, and realized I had a crush on Wrench and started to ship with him. A lot of people ship Marcus/Wrench because they have a bromance in the game, but I always read it more as Wrench is unabashedly flirty with everyone, and they are both just being silly because they are best friends and comfortable with each other.

5) what’s the dumbest thing you’ve heard about your f/o, either on the internet or irl?

I'm not gonna lie, i don't really interact with fandom much so i dont have a great spicy answer for this one. but maybe something like Wrench is straight or some shit. The dude does nothing but flirt with everyone in WD2, men and women alike. No way is that man straight.

9) do you distance yourself from other fans of your f/o or their source?

Fans, yes. Source, no. I like Watch Dogs as a setting, it's sort of pre-cyberpunk dystopia where things are modern but with just a bit more complex technology (at least in WD2), and it begins to dip into why things like advanced technology can be incredibly harmful when everything is connected to the internet or links back to the government (survalience state). And, because it's Ubisoft, I do also like exploring things like my watch dogs/assassins creed crossover au, because both settings lore fit really well together. I vibe with the source.

I generally don't interact with fans of WD that much because 1) people that tend to play the games and interact online are classic Gamer Bros and i don't really wanna fuck with that, and 2) other then the occasional artist, people who like Wrench just tend to be that Brand of fandom bullshittery that I don't want anything to do with.

11) do you think it’s better to have a copious amount of content for your f/o, even with the risk of finding a lot of ship art, or better to have a lot less?

Ummm. Most content for Wrench is generally Wrench/Marcus ship stuff, which doesn't really bother me even though I don't romantically ship them. So I personally don't mind seeing ship art, and I even like some of the marcus/wrench art just because the artists are really good. When it comes to other's selfships with Wrench though, I tend to be a bit iffier and uncomfy.

I think I prefer having less content/art/fics, because I imagine that if every piece of content was ship content, I would probably get fed up pretty quickly. It can already be a bit eh now, because every other self shipper who is into WD ships with Wrench. I think its a bit nicer to have a smaller amount of good content that I can enjoy, rather then a lot of content I really can't interact with because it makes me uncomfy.

[merrilldidnothingwrong]

I just wanna fucking scream and i don’t know where to scream I hate how BioWare handled dragon age so much why did they write like this why did they bother to write about systemic oppression and make the system go “maybe it’s not that bad” for their grEy mOrALitY why are they like this? It’s literally the easiest thing to make choices to support the liberation of these groups and yet they never fucking did! (1/?)

(2/?) Every single character/choice I want to like has to have some bullshit downside like sera hating actual little people elves (??) and not being able to talk her about it decently, dorian about slavery, Zevran and his comment about city elves, ancient elves and hostility for the dalish, the new lore about the evanuris? like I’m so goddamn tired of going “good but-“ and not being able to confront them about these issues that hit way too close to home

(3/3 like they just put it in their shitty fantasy world for some “real world flavor” giving it no respect at all, oh it’s so gritty and shit I’m so fuckign tired of just stomaching all these problematic shit that I just exploded today. How could their writers room have so little braincells for this Then the majority of fandom doesn’t really think critically about these either? when I joined I read that this fandom isn’t the best for POC and I should’ve listened Sorry for barging in here

hey youre good, its something i talk a lot about here. honestly its just white people not giving a shit about how oppression ACTUALLY is. its like, meh, good enough. or its what THEY think it is from their privileged point of view. god forbid they hire actual people of color / Black people, oh no!

they really cater their games to the humans, and inquisition to the cishet temp/ar gamers. and its just bloody awful. after da2 they really gonna put a new divine? after it was shown the chantry was the villain the whole time? and yeah the fandom does NOT understand, at least outside the circle of my mutuals/followers. it is incredibly frustrating. i understand!

i absolutely adore the dalish, i almost always play as them and especially in inquisition it is awful the shit they have to endure, like their entire clan can  get killed and nobody says a thing? you HAVE to deal with the chantry and cant even tell them to fuck off in haven / the chantry when you damn well know that thats the institution responsible for kicking you out and making your people endure slavery, the slums of the city or moving around as the dalish? like fucking really? and in the end its like theyre going for “oh but the elves were the evil ones in the end!” fucking really? im SO nervous for da4

im pretty slow when i start playing new games but the instant i starting playing da2 i knew that things were fucked up, especially with the fandom ken doll spewing his hate of mages and other races. ive been in this fandom..... 5 years? give or take and seen some truly garbage takes. inot that ive been perfect ive made mistakes but i keep trying to do better.

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Comparing RWBY and YGO DM: The Handling and Evolution of Themes

Hey! Its been a hot minute since I last posted anything RWBY-related but Im laying in my bed right now and Im sick and bored so I guess we're doing this. Today I will do my best to analyze what I percieve to be the main themes and messages of both of these shows, or more specifically, how theyre handled narratively. Im mostly focusing on that part because, while these series do have similar themes and messaging, they are still a few things in which they are wildly different. And with that, lets start with this essay-post-thing!

1. Theres something we need to adress first

Okay so, before we can really talk about this, theres something I feel the need to clarify here: Neither of these stories was "planned from the beginning".

Now, I dont think a story being planned from the beginning or not nesscessarily makes the story any better or worse by default, however, it is still important to acknowledge because the way the story is planned is going to affect every facet of it. Things are not going to be foreshadowed properly, things are gonna be set up only for nothing to come of it, the story might drastically change directions, characters might act differently, etc, etc.

And, this is bit off-topic but, it's much better to just admit that the story was not planned than trying to pretend that it was. Like, there are a lot of reasons why I tend to be so forgiving towards YGO even though its not very good, but one of them is definitely the fact that, as far as Im aware atleast, the guy who wrote it isnt pretending to have had this big master plan all along and neither is the fandom. With RWBY on the other hand... yeaaaah, its kinda the opposite. From what Ive seen of RWBYs fandom, there seems to be this pretty popular narrative that everything was planned even though it clearly wasnt. Thats pretty bad and honestly lowers my opinion of the writers so much more than if they would just admit to not having a proper plan.

Like, I initially consumed YGO like this: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh (aka Season 0), like, a quarter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga (I still havent finished it)

In all three of these we have the character of Yami Yuugi, or just Yami. Broadly speaking, he is an ancient egyptian gamer spirit who lives in a magical puzzle that has not been solved for 3000 years until this highschooler named Yuugi Mutou comes along and solves it, thus setting him free and allowing him to possess Yuugi and have access to the vague magical powers of the puzzle.

In Duel Monsters he's perfectly fine most of time, morally speaking. There is an instance of him almost murdering a guy and its a bit unclear what exactly happens to those he mindcrushes but overall he's very much a pretty good guy. In Season 0 most of what he does is set up these games for bad people, where they will go insane no matter what they do. From how I understand this whole Shadow Game, Penalty Game stuff, if you lose a Shadow Game, you get violent and intense hallucinations and you will always cuz yknow, gamer spirit. But if you try to cheat, which most of the bad people do in this show, you get violent and intense hallucinations as a punishment.

Since the two anime are generally considered two different continuities, its perfectly fine that Yamis characterization is wildly different in both of them. But in the manga both of these characterizations appear, basically one after the other with no real arc or consequences, for that matter. Why is that? Simply put, someone thought it was a good idea to try to turn an episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror manga into a more traditional, more plot-driven battle shounen. From what Ive heard, it was apparently largely because of network interference or something, but the point is, it changed directions incredibly drastically with little planning and everyone knows this and I can understand that for the most part.

In RWBY we have the character of Blake Belladonna, who, in the first 3 volumes/seasons atleast, was this aloof, more toned down loner-type character with a pretty strong sense of justice. She's an in-universe marginilized racial minority and she clearly cares about racial injustice. The way its initially framed makes it seem like she had a very hard life and no stable support system, which is what eventually pushed her to join a Civil Rights group/Terrorist organization (good god, the Faunus subplot is so awful, I could write a whole essay about it but Im already de-railing rn so I'll just save that for later).

Then, in volumes 4-5 it turns out her father is actually like, the mayor or chief of this island-place called Menagerie and she grew up in this big mansion with multiple guards/servants. Oh and also, apparently "space is a commodity" on there, so theres that. She still retains large parts of her personality but she's kinda like, worse somehow I think. I cant really describe it in a meaningful way but I hope you get what Im saying anyway. Then in Volume 6 she confronted her emotional abuser Adam (sorry for not mentioning him sooner but yeah, he was like, her abusive boyfriend, which is something that a lot of people disagree with but I wont really say anything about it either way because I dont really feel any specific way) with her friend, Yang, and ended up killing him.

After all that, she pretty much lost the rest of her personality, as well as her arc about all the Faunus stuff. She just kinda became the meek, generically nice, recovering abuse victim. Why? Well, the actual reason is that they didnt plan out shit and are just kinda flying by the seat of their oversized clown-pants and if they and the fandom just admitted it, I would have less of an issue. I still wouldnt be as forgiving towards RWBY as I am towards YGO because the crux of the issue, for me, is just that I dont particulary like RWBY but also like. Do you really expect me to take MKEK seriously as writers after admitting to not have a timeline because iT wOuLd CaUsE pLoThOlEs?

However, since they want us to believe that everything was planned out from the beginning, the explaination would be.... Idk, they deliberately butchered one of their main characters?? Because.. they hate her?? Maybe????

So yeah, that was quite a detour however, I would like you to keep this mind going forward.

2. Themes of the Early Series'

First, what do mean by 'Early Series' for both of these shows respectively? Well, for YGO that would have to be Season 0 or if youre reading the manga, everything pre-Duelist Kingdom. Basically, the part of the series thats a episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror series.

For RWBY that would be the first three Volumes, also known as the Poser-Era. Back then it was just kinda an action series that took place at Anime Warrior Academy (also known as Beacon) with some pretty bare minimum worldbuilding, character-driven plots and developments but now its more of an epic high-fantasy story with more of an emphasis on plot as opposed to just action.

The themes and messages in Early YGO are kinda vague, very confusing to me and if you were to follow any of it literally that would be pretty bad. For now Im just gonna say the main themes are Friendship and Identity and mostly focus on the Identity aspect.

Now, it took me a little while to figure out RWBYs deal but I think the main themes for Volumes 1-3 are also Friendship and Heroism. Once again, I'll mostly focus on Heroism and touch on Friendship more briefly later.

I dont have much more to add to YGOs themes right now, so I'll briefly go over Heroism in RWBY.

In RWBYs setting there are these man-eating monsters called Grimm that have basically infected the planet. In order to deal with that, they have people called huntsmen and huntresses that kill them and protect people. Theyre trained at special academies like Beacon and go on missions there and stuff like that. Our four main characters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, are training to become huntresses and one day they go on this mission to clean up a grimm infested city block with one of their teachers. Obviously, that takes a long time so they have to camp out in one of the empty houses. Weiss, Blake and Yang cant sleep because theyve been thinking about this question that their teacher asked them when they were fighting grimm: "Why do you want to become a huntress?"

They have a heart to heart and we find out about their motivations; Weiss wants to bring honour back to her family, Blake want to distance herself from the White Fang (that terrorist organization I mentioned earlier) and as an extension from Adam, Yang wants to have a life of adventure. They also talk about why Ruby wants to be a huntress and it turns out that she judt wants to help people. Unlike the others, she has no motivation besides that. We're meant to listen to that and look at her as a sort-of personification of Heroism: kind, but not naive, strong and most of all, selfless. The others on her team are not portayed as bad for not being like Ruby by any means but we are clearly meant to admire her the most out of all of them.

Okay, now comes the part Ive been looking forward to the most:

3. How did these themes evolve in the Modern Series'?

Alright, before we can really delve into the way they evolved in YGO I'll have to give you a brief summary of the character progression. At the start of DM, during the Duelist Kingdom arc, Yami Yuugi is just that; A darker Yuugi. Hes more confident, bolder, his voice is deeper, hes somehow taller, more ruthless, all that good stuff. Notably, he doesnt actually seem more skilled than Yuugi even at the start of this story, but he's still dependent on Yami. Yami on the other hand, has no identity of his own or even hints at one at this point. He's just The Other Yuugi.

Then during the Battle City arc, they find out that Yami was actually a pharao prior to being sealed in the puzzle, he just didnt know because of amnesia, I guess. So now they need to find out his real name and then send him to the afterlife because hes meant to be dead, but not before saving the world from being swallowed by darkness, which is also a thing they have to do now.

Then we finally get to the Memory World arc, where Yami, Yuugi and the rest of the gang astralproject to ancient egypt via puzzle magic. Yami is trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who all these familiar people are, while Yuugi & Co are trying their best to help him. Then some weird shit happens and it turns out that all of that is not just Yamis sealed away memories, but also a giant D&D Shadow Game that will destroy the world if Yami loses. So now theres Pharao!Yami who is still clueless on the metaphorical and literal playing field and Player!Yami, who is kinda controlling himself now? I guess?? Yamis opponent, The Spirit of The Ring, has something similar to that going on where hes both controlling and properly participating in the game. So Player!Yami is now fighting against Player!TSoTR, Pharao!Yami is now fighting against Thief King Bakura (who is like, the human, ancient egyptian version of the Ring Spirit) and Yuugi is now fighting against Yami Bakura (who is like, the human, modern japanese version of the Ring Spirit). Yuugi gets Yamis real name, he and the gang go over to Pharao!Yami and tell him his name, meanwhile Player!Yami is also somehow helping as well and they defeat the Ring Spirit, thus saving the world. Then they travel to modern Egypt, the Ceremonial Duel happens and Yuugi wins, sending Yami to the Afterlife where he can finally rest and that was the series!

I originally wanted to recount the stuff that was going on with the Ring Spirit and his host as well because they parallel eachother, but this summary is already far too long and I think youll get the point without me needing to explain any more.

My point here is, that the story went from being vaguely about Identity, maybe? to being very clearly about Self-Discovery and Learning to Be Independent. I think this is a very good way to evolve the messaging of your story. How does RWBY track on that?

Well, uh... its not great. I will acknowledge that they have tried to introduce new themes and ideas since, even though I wont really be talking about them in this post. But yeah, the whole Heroism thing really regressed.

Like, I didnt explicitly say it when I was explaining grimm earlier, but theyre not going away. The grimm have always been there and people who sign up to become huntsmen and huntresses are effectively signing up for a job that will never truly be done, no matter what they do. Characters like Ruby and even more minor ones like Phyrrah have shown us that that doesnt matter when youre a hero. No life isnt worth saving, no grimm isnt worth killing, no criminal isnt worth arresting. Then, in volume 6 they find out about Salem. Salem is the Big Bad of the show, shes immortal, controls the grimm and is supposed to be very powerful.

What do our heroes do? They give up. Sike! They were just mindcontrolled by monsters or some shit, of course they didnt give up their mission (which is to bring an Important Macguffin to a city called Atlas, sorry I didnt mention it)!

But then they arrive in Atlas (which is llike, a city thats floating over another city called Mantle) and yknow, they do some plot stuff thats not really important right now until the city gets invaded by Salem and this big grimm army she has.

What do our heroes do? Well, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and some side characters are chilling, drinking tea in a mansion and Yang and the B Team were actually trying to do something, but even those efforts seem incredibly minimal.

Oh wait, I also forgot to mention that Ironwood (a fairly minor, vaguely antagonistic character up until now) wanted to lift Atlas even higher to save Atleasian civilians from danger while leaving Mantle vulnerable to Salems invasion.

What would be the most heroic thing to do?

A) Let Ironwood lift Atlas, get as much support as they can down to Mantle and save as many Mantle civilians as they can from the invasion

B) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas but then split up in order to protect both Atlas and Mantle civilians

C) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas and then dont do anything else

Congrats! If you choose C, you think exactly like the writers!

And I just

This is so mindboggling to me, I feel like I shouldnt even have explain how this is bad. And like, it wouldve been so easy to actually make them seem herokc through their actions, to make it seem like they did try but no.

I have never seen a central theme be this botched, how in the world did they do that? Why did they think it was a good idea for Ruby "The Embodiment of Heroism" Rose to sit in a mansion doing nothing, no planning, no organizing just ..... God, how are they this bad? Like, this doesnt even have anything to do with it being planned in any way, this is just straight up incompetence

4. Very briefly touching on friendship

The friendship is awful and its not solely because they all have the same opinions. They barely interact with eachother outside their designated pairs which leads to it all feeling incredibly hollow. Theyre also practically indistingushable from one another now, which is a shame because it wasnt always like that. Like, I dont think the characters were that well-developed in earlier volumes but they were very well-characterized. But now we've gotten to a point where you can literally copy and paste one characters dialogue onto another and literally nothing changes, it really sucks.

5. Some closing words

Damn, this took way longer than I thought it would and now Im pretty exhausted. I have no idea how yall always write these but props to you! I feel like this ended up a bit rambly but overall, Im pretty proud.

Please let me know what you think of the points I brought up! Id also really appreciate some tips on how to get better at these longer posts because I am planning on writing more in the future (not the near future, probably but yknow).

Thats all I have to say for now, thanks for reading!

[faggotcitosis]

I saw your post about how the Supernatural fandom should talk more about racism on the show. As a WOC I do thank you for that post even though I know people in this fandom won't actually do anything to tackle the issue of race on the show. Maybe I'm horrible for feeling this but it does make me a little sad that we've been on destielgate (which has gotten countless posts and video analysis) for over a month now while the issue of race is either ignored or just a tack on point after an OP is called out for not including it along the list of problematic elements on the show. I just feel so exhausted and not sure I can handle being in a community where I feel ignored

i haven’t seen the final seasons yet so i’m just repeating what i saw but the treatment of billie was awful as well and it’s incredibly recent, so it’s not like ppl can use the excuse of it being ~~back then :/

unfortunately poc are always on the back burner for (white) gay rights and it’s a very upsetting thing. i’m not expecting white people to make detailed analyses on the show’s racism, but it’s literally simply one extra word to tack on your post abt the issues of spn... but it’s one word that always gets forgotten, i wonder why...

but i also have noticed that posts that don’t mention racism and only focus on the homophobia and misogyny circulate a lot more... i might be seeing things but thats just my experience so far.

i will be very honest, like i said on my post i do turn my critical thinking off to enjoy spn bc unfortunately it is my early teens comfort tv show. my solution was surrounding myself with a specific group of people who i trust & not going much further than that. it’s very very exhausting being in a place your voice isn’t heard and im so sorry for that. you deserve better and we deserve better tbh, especially black and indigenous ppl who besides being victims of racism are literally having their culture stolen to make the washed down apropriated myths in this show.

[lucidpantone]

Anon after the cut (it contains spoilers)

Anon: Ugh god. This is making me incredibly nervous I gotta admit.Why do I feel like they are throwing a loved character under the proverbial bus in order to still not address the issues with Kato as a character.

Like why bring Aaron into this? Yes of course racial bias and profiling comes in many shapes and forms from many different people, and maybe this is the only way they felt they could link both boy squads or whatever but when you’ve already unintentionally perfectly set up your overtly racist character in the previous season why not expand on that and explore that and explain that!

Like you say, they’ve already demonstrated they don’t exactly have the skill to handle this as a plot point, why double down? I dunno it doesn’t sit well with me that they would now paint Aaron in a similar light as a way to almost take the heat off of Kato...we’re never gonna like her wtfock no matter what tricks you try and pull.

Fam thats what am saying in any other context I wouldn't be so triggered but to me this feels very performative like wtfock crew/writers need to prove to the audience they arent racist and that they do understand racial bias and what not and its like my guys if you want to prove that then you don't need to wrong a right via narrative or if you want to do that then explain yourself first and then maybe talk about why you want to explore these threads at length with more nuance in the next season. Also we arent dumb we know why you are using Aaron who is this harmless jester type of character (also they didnt have much options it was either Aaron or Nathan to portray this and honestly Aaron’s a better actor overall). They know they couldn't use Romi because her acting is terrible but also she cant be on screen more then 10secs before enraging the fandom. My issue isnt that they want to explore racial bias my issue is the intent behind it which is they want to absolve themselves from prior racist actions via portrayals then actually having the people responsible be accountable for them. Do i think Aaron will do these plot justice? Yes, I do. One because he is a far superior actor then Romi but also Elias is a friend he isnt trying to be in a romantic relationship with him that needs to have some form of established trust tied to it. Also Aaron isnt using Elias like Kato was using Moyo for what he could do for her. It does feel like they are doubling down because imo this almost entirely white crew and cast need to have some sort of last word to prove they arent racist. This plot is some weird half truths mash up. Like yes, Nora is correct in her experiences and probably the lived experiences of the balloon squad actors but it feels like their experiences which are honest and their truths are being used to mitigate the prior lack of racial sensitivity of the prior season. Also they better write the shit out of these plot points because they need to be almost perfect for the fandom not to go after them. To me its like why even take the chance.... I know wtfock will say well its Nora story which I agree but thats not the tune you were singing when you were abusing Noa’s story last year. Like I said I am very split about this whole thing because it deserves screen time and addressing but it also like this doesnt fix what was done last year in the slightest for me. wtFOCK is still deflecting from the issue.

[mookybear12404]

OKAY i have never watched any of the Vox Machina episodes but i’ve watched like 20 episodes of the Mighty Nein and I’ve absorbed stuff via tumblr fandom osmosis so im going to try and explain the characters as best i can

first off there’s a pair of twins named vex and vax. They’re both sassy half-elves.  both of them think they are the older sibling. I for the life of my cannot tell which one is which so im just going to call them boy twin and girl twin

boy twin is VERY hot and also edgy. theres also something with him and ravens. I think he’s part raven or something? theres also a meme where he yells “DAGGER DAGGER DAGGER”. Im pretty sure he dies at the end of the story.

girl twin is very pretty and calls everyone “darling”. badass of the group and uses a bow. 

Then there’s the white hair dude percy whose actual name is incredibly long. i feel like i know the most about him because he’s the fandom’s favorite. he has a really dark backstory and wants to get revenge on some people. also he invented guns and has a really strong steampunk vibe going to him. i think he’s also possessed by a demon or something? i think at some point he wears a mask and turns on his friends? the fandom calls him “no mercy percy” for some reason. also he has a romance with girl twin and ends up getting married to her. I think at some point the boy twin beats him up for flirting with his sister. he dies at some point and its really sad but he gets better so its okay

Theres also a red haired druid girl that i think has a romance with boy twin?? people either seem to think she is really boring or are obsessed with her. i know that there is some point in the story where she tries to see how tall a cliff is by jumping off of it and straight up dies. 

Theres a goliath barbarian named Grog who is the absolute definition of himbo. He is really huge, dumb as hell, and yet very kind, (when he’s not ripping people in half). also he is best friends with the gnome bard and does anything he says

then theres a gnome bard dude named scalath or something? basically he’s just the stereotypical horny bard.

also theres a white haired halfing girl named pike with lots of armor that i wouldn’t have even known existed if i hadn’t been curious to who Ashley played in the first campaign. Why does nobody talk about her??? she seems like a cinnamon roll 

also theres a bear. a whole ass bear. not a magical bear or anything but just a normal bear. Why is it on the team??? why has it not eaten any of them??? i have no idea 

ALSO I SWEAR TO YOU THERES A RED DRAGONBORN. I DON’T KNOW ITS NAME BUT I KNOW HE EXISTS. i have no idea why ive never seen anyone talk about him but im pretty sure he was in the comic book?? I think he was Talisen’s character before he had percy? maybe he died early on and thats why nobody talks about him?? 

[autumn-foxfire]

God ye dazai n chuuya are so fun together on screen. Its the familiarity of them that i really like though, like even after so much time it feels like they have internal jokes ( i will never not belive that chuuya doing the impression of a young girl with turned in feet ISNT an internal joke. Anime kinda doesnt do it justice cuz it has dazai go 'ah its not funny' when in the manga dazai bursts out laughing n i love that much more) n like after all that time they can still cooperate so easily and casualy with each other. Chuuya is really a trooper here cuz hes the one putting himself in most harm and i find that still after all this time he can still trust dazai to think of a good tactic and deal with the aftermath.

I think soukoku has this special thing where it is enemies to lovers but you can also sirta read it, and i usually do as 'enemies to friend to lovers to enemies again to lovers again maybe'. Like i like ull get baby dazai n chuuya at the start of s3 so ull see but ive always headcanoned that dazai n chuuya had a sort of a reletionship before dazai left and i love the betreyal, the pining, the tension that would come from that. It just has so much potential for so many interesting dynamics and oh my god its happening im getting dragged into soukoku again

The thing is that episode was also one of the things that soured me on soukoku. Like this has nothing to do with the show and everything to do with how fandom treated chuuya at the time (im honestly not sure how they do now i havent been active in ages) but back then i always felt like chuuya was treated as sort of a decoration to dazai much like how hawks gets treated as deciration to dabi.

And in that scene dazai betrays chuuyas trust. Like its played for a joke but thats what happens. Chuuya is on his last legs and he asks dazai to make sure to get him back to safety, he puts that trust in him, he proves that he still trusts in their partnership and in dazai.

And dazai just leaves him there.

Like its heavily implied that chuuyas quirk hurts him greatly, destroys him inside out. Without dazai he would die during corruption and dazai is late to stop him mostly to fuck with him, prolonging possible damege to his body. Like once again anime doesnt do manga justice here i was FURIOUS when i saw the way anime potrayed corruption because they made it look oooo pretty aesthetic swirls in the manga it was horrifying it looked much more like wounds. And knowing dazai just leaves chuuya all alone suffering who knows what kind of damege without indication did he call for anyone to pick him up for anything, like it doesnt paint dazai in a pretty light.

And thats fine, dazai isnt a morally upright character and theres a lot to unpack there about him not caring for chuuya as much as other way around but when this episode first aired the fandom reaction was this:

'Awwww dazai is so sweet, he folded chuuyas clothes and everything, he loves him so much'

Like i know its played for a gag but that fandom reaction of romanticizing a clear act of neglect for jokes sake just really soured me off of soukoku for a long time

I’ve just watched the first two episodes of season 3 and I really do love Dazai’s and Chuuya’s dynamic T-T Get dragged into soukoku hell because I’m pretty sure I’m going to spiral into it too (I watched the movie last night and they really had to use a Snow White and Prince Charming theme for the two of them, didn’t they XD My god, how can they do this stuff and then not expect us to ship them!), enemies to lovers really do make the most interesting ships!

I saw the image you sent of corruption and damn does the manga really show us the extent of the damage it does to Chuuya then the anime does and yeah, I can see why you would be upset with Dazai for him not deactivating the ability straight away despite Chuuya putting his trust in him to do so (though I did like that about the movie, Chuuya trusted Dazai to stop him when he reached him and he did and man... I want to see more of these two because I love them so much T-T)

It’s actually incredible how much trust Chuuya and Dazai put in each other other, though I can see why with Dazai, people would view it more of him being smart and manipulating events rather then purely trusting Chuuya.

I haven’t really explored the fandom side of BSD’s yet so I have no clue what the fandom does, usually in fandom I just find people whose stories I like and then explore their bookmarks because they’re more likely to like similar characterisations to their own (it’s how I find most of my favourite stories in fandom, actually). It sounds like I’m going to have to do that with these two, as well.