#and now he's a protagonist with what is overwhelmingly agreed to be one of the best character arcs in any long form media

[shannonsketches]

Sometimes I see this panel and laugh so hard that Toriyama didn't think anyone would like Vegeta and fully planned to kill him off permanently but the fandom just put this whole tiny man in their mouth immediately and he stayed in the story until Toriyama fell in love with him too

That's real power, baby

[calamitaswrath]

Lucia plays Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn: Part 3 Chapter 8

Compared to the previous chapters, there really is a whole lot less setup for this one, huh? But I guess when your characters are just trying to escape, there isn't much to go into strategy or what politics are at play - just gotta make a run for it.

It's nice to see though how the actual geography of Tellius comes into play for setting up the story and maps here. Based on everything I've seen thus far, this setting feels like it's one of the most fleshed-out that Fire Emblem has ever had, easily up there with Fòdlan. But becaues Three Houses and Three Hope just tend to reuse maps a lot, Fòdlan just really lacks a whole lot of the visual identity that Tellius has. That's something I was actually talking about with my friend as I was streaming for her and she also pointed out that this makes the journey (as in, the physical one, not the emotional one) that the characters go on just a whole lot more believable, which I honestly also really agree with. 3H didn't really have that.

Senator Valtome. Urgh, this guy really looks like an offensive queer stereotype, and behaves like one, too. What a wonderful type of character to have as an antagonist.

Base conversations - Skrimir really showing off his character development here. I do feel like it has happened a bit fast, but. . . ehh, let's be real - with him not being the main protagonist, it's already plenty that he's getting some at all. Not everyone gets that.

Lethe and Lyre have a bit of sibling talk! Not much to note here, but it was a nice one. Based on the title, I wasn't actually certain about which siblings this would be - my first guess was Oscar, Boyd and Rolf, my second guess was Lethe and Lyre, and then my third guess was Ike and Mist. Shame on me that I remembered them last, especially since I gushed about their sibling dynamic a while ago! . . .But also, my friend was probably having some fun listening to me trying to figure that out before I viewed the conversation, especially when it turned out to be Lethe and Lyre, after all.

Now, as for the actual map - heeyyy, it's this guy! The boss! The guy who ran away in the prologue of part three! Fat load of good that did him in the end.

You know, this whole setup and actual map reminds me rather a lot of the chapter in Awakening that takes place in the Demon's Ignle. Protagonists on the run from overwhelmingly strong enemy forces, fleeing through an area with a lot of lava, random area effects from the surroundings. . . guess I now know where they got that inspiration from.

Come to think of it though it's generally just really interesting to see so much of the DNA of the presentation that would manifest itself in a different way in Awakening and Fates here in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn - what with the bust up body portraits for characters, the different expressions on those (though they really are more pronounced in the 3DS titles) and using the 3D models for some simple cutscenes in the background. . . it's neat to see.

Pffft, the boss doesn't have any ranged weapons. Well then!

Hey, we're in Goldoa! I was wondering when that'd come up, seeing as it was set up in the first game and then not a whole lot happened with it.

Dheginsea really is very committed to being neutral, huh? And Tibarn definitely has some good reasons for having beef with them.

Oh, Nasir and Ena are back! Nice to see them. But this really was a short meeting in the end. No way they're not coming back, though.

Come to think of it, though - Soren was once again mysteriously absent for this scene as well, no? He knows he's a branded, so he must be at least somewhat aware of his heritage.

[fitzrove]

Thank you for the video! A very astute analysis of the show’s change over the years, and how marketing played into it. As someone who has been seeing TdV on and off for fifteen years now (but mostly Hungarian-Viennese-Russian branch), it really did strike me when I saw it again after a long pandemic break a few days just how “predatory gay” trope the Herbert scene is. I guess the world was a bit different back when I was in my teens, and we were just happy to get *any* overt representation there, but that bit didn’t age well, and there sure seems to be little point to Herbert in the show at all.

That said, I always saw this as a complex story about hedonism and human nature without a protagonist, or, rather, letting the audience pick the protagonist, which is not always a bad thing. My main qualm with the show going against the theme of freedom is how passive Sarah is during the escape. For a girl who is more of less defined by agency, who manipulates so skillfully, she sure does not have much agency during the ballroom sequence. Her wants are so clear throughout (*translation dependent), but are completely absent in that moment.

Anyway, please do more videos. I am *very* curious to hear your thoughts on SE.

At the risk of going into a ramble...

When I was a youngish teenager, a group leader at a summer camp I went to sang Totale Finsternis and mentioned it was from a musical, which piqued my interest. I watched some clips from Youtube and they didn't really hold my interest at first, not at all... not before I came across what was probably this video. And then this one. And then this. I didn't speak any German at that point but I was so intrigued (as someone who loved musicals, was obsessed with fanfic and absolutely devastated at the lack of canon lgbtq rep in the types of historical/goth mainstream media I liked - it was 2016). So it's literally Wenn Liebe that originally got me into the show, even though my views on it have done a complete 180 after I grew up and started to look at what was actually going on ajfkkslf. I still think that some of the portrayals are a bit less... well, cruel - Máté Kamarás' Herbert is very earnest for the most part, which makes the portrayal feel more genuine, like the character is more than a parody, even just a little bit.

But it's still an uncomfortable scene and it's uncomfortable that the fandom reaction to it is so overwhelmingly positive even now 😅 Canon divergent fanfic is one thing (I definitely know the feeling of being so starved for lgbtq rep that you just rewrite the story to be able to have a ship), but a lot of people's takes even for the canon show amount to "he secretly likes it", which... 😭 My take still is that a lot of people ship it just to get Alfred out of the way of Krolock x Sarah. And that's annoying ahfkdk, where are the Alfred x Krolock x Sarah fics (Krolock isn't my favourite character but like, that has more canonical basis than alfbert lol)

I agree that Sarah just completely loses her agency for post-bite Tanzsaal, which is a somewhat odd choice! And I think a hedonism reading of the story is really interesting and checks out - in my video I mostly skipped over Chagal and Magda because it's a Can of Worms, but they definitely reinforce the idea that it's the central theme.

Thank you so much for the compliments and the ask!!! :D

Ajfkfk I must admit that I don't get what SE means in this context 😁😁 feel free to educate me in the notes!

[cephalopodinspace]

Spoilers for the Trickster duology.

The oddest thing about the second book in Tamora Pierce's Trickster duology, Trickster's Queen, is that from the very beginning, it posits that the heroes' victory is inevitable not merely because the heroes are strong and worthy, but because the villains are incompetent and pathetic. Exemplifying their inability to rule either effectively or benevolently (and keeping with family tradition), the colonizing regents Imajane and Rubenon kill their own advisors, mages, and child king--who is also their own brother--out of paranoia and needlessly cripple their own government. Their spymaster is a lazy, inattentive fool. Their magic is characterized by its heavy-handediness, in contrast to raka practices. Because of their selfish individualism, they do not realize they are fomenting rebellion by brutalizing their population until the revolution is already upon them. The leaders of the revolution are highly aware of the villains' vulnerabilities, and the main character repeatedly confirms what the totality of the their incompetency implies: the only way for the heroes to fail is if the revolution they trigger is so overwhelmingly violent that it results in the deaths of all members of the tyrants' racial caste.

Complementing the villains' earthly, human weakness, the raka rebels' strength comes from two sources that are beyond the comprehension of the individual human. One, as is typical of the genre, is divine: the trickster god Kyprioth sponsors the rebellion in order to take back the Copper Isles from his siblings, who side with the colonizers. Aly is as close to Kyprioth as any mortal can be, yet he remains a source of mystery for her throughout the series. As a god, he is naturally beyond the comprehension of any mortal; and as a trickster, he deliberately keeps his motivations and true plans somewhat obscure. While Kyprioth's siblings are (like the regents) ignorant of the true extent rebellion until the final battle of the duology, Kyprioth frequently lends his supernatural support to the rebels. For instance, he does things like sending a prophet (in Aly) to the family of his chosen queen and giving the rebels the crows as allies. His actions serve to lend the rebellion a mythic quality and sense of divine justice that contrasts sharply with the all-too-human weakness of the regents.

The other, less conventional source of the rebels' power is centuries of preparation carried about by generations of raka living under luarin rule. Like Kyprioth's divine might, the collective power of the raka transcends that of the individual human. And as with Kyprioth, the raka's overwhelming material power is obscure not just by nature of its vastness, but by design: since the colonization of the Isles, the raka have learned to conceal themselves and their power--their magic, their military strength, their traditions--from luarin view. Now, as the revolution arrives, the leaders agree that no one person in the rebellion will know the true extent of it, emphasizing that the rebellion's victory will not stem from the heroism of the individual, but from the perseverance of the collective. Because the rebels access the perspective of the people, they understand the true reality of the Isles in a way that the regents refuse to--and that's why they win the war.

In a story that is entirely about the rebellion of an indigenous people against a racist colonist regime, Aly--a member of the colonizers' white-coded racial group, albeit a foreigner--seems like an odd choice for a protagonist. However, by virtue of being a luarin and an outsider, Aly has a unique relationship with the colonizing class that is worthy of greater focus. The chief weaknesses of the regents are their ignorance and their individualism, both of which Aly seeks to curb in herself. As a spy, Aly understands the value of information and abhors ignorance. In the first book, she snoops and uses the crows to find information. In the second book, she gains new methods of finding information, such as her spy network and the darkings. Aly is more well-informed about the rebellion than any other participant in it: so much so that Kyprioth casts a spell on her that prevents her from giving up information under torture or magic. However, that knowledge is ultimately imperfect, and potentially serves to mask Aly's true ignorance in the same way that the regents' ignorance is masked from them by their royal power. One moment when Aly realizes her ignorance is when she realizes that prospective queen Sarai has eloped, and she can do nothing to stop it. The Graveyard Hag physically prevents Aly from going off to search for Sarai at the critical moment, linking the revelation of Aly's ignorance and arrogance to the horror of powerlessness. However much information Aly gains, her knowledge remains incomplete. She cannot know everything about the gods, and she cannot know everything the rebellion needs to know. If she believed otherwise, then she would be making the same mistake as the regents. A key part of Aly's story is that she learns not to believe in her own myth or believe her power extends further than it actually does.

Aly's rejection of individualism parallels Pierce's rejection of the individualist hero in the context of the duology. Aly's realization of her own ignorance after Sarai's elopement is one example of her rejection of individualism: the realization pushes Aly to subdue her ego, and she in turn encourages Kyprioth to do the same. She then explains that while Sarai is gone, the rebellion survives, and has the potential to flourish under Dove's leadership. Where the regents fall back on their paranoia after every disaster and murder whomever they can deem responsible for their failures, Aly's discovery of her own weakness leads her to place greater faith in the rebellion that she serves and devote her individual strength more completely to the collective. In many ways, framing throughout the duology enforces the idea that Aly is not a lone hero, but a contributor to a movement far larger than herself. Significantly, Aly is a spy, rather than a warrior or a mage. As a result, her inherent physical and mental strength is less important than the connections she forges: rather than defeating her enemies in combat, she uses information to augment the power of her allies and disadvantage her enemies. In the prophecy fortelling the reestablishment of raka sovereignty, Aly is not the central figure, but again placed in a support role. As a luarin, Aly differentiates herself from the regents and their ilk by understanding that taking that supportive role is just and good, even if it means sacrificing her own myth as an individual--even if it means sacrificing the Tortallan identity that empowered and defined her for her entire life up until her arrival in the Isles, as she does temporarily at the end of the first book and permanently at the end of the second.

The Trickster duology is the story of the indigenous raka and their allies uniting as a collectivist force to overthrow the colonizing luarin regime, which is ultimately a victim of its own individualism and ignorance. While Aly, an outsider, immediately allies herself with the rebels' cause against the colonizers, she ends up spending the rest of the duology learning to identify and deconstruct aspects of the colonizers' ideology as they manifest in her own worldview. In the Trickster duology, Tamora Pierce rejects common fantasy conventions--including conventions that have appeared in her previous works--like setting lone heroes against evil hordes or faceless armies, or making heroes from hegemonic groups the leaders of rebellions composed of oppressed peoples. Though Pierce's work is by no means flawless, it engages deeply and thoughtfully with the worldview behind colonialism and the impacts it has on colonized communities, and raises the bar for discussion of colonialism in the fantasy and young adult genres on the whole.

[wickwrites]

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4: Boys’ and Girls’ Suicides Do Mean Different Things (But Not in the Way the Mannequins Want You to Think!)

So, let’s talk about this for a second. After I got over my initial knee-jerk reaction, I realized I wasn’t sure how to make sense of exactly what the mannequins were arguing for here. So let me rephrase their statements to make the argumentative structure more explicit: Because men are goal-oriented and women are not, because women are emotion-oriented and men are not, and because women are impulsive and easily influenced by others’ voices and men are not, boys’ and girls’ suicides mean different things – girls are more easily “tempted” by death, and therefore, more likely to require saving when they inevitably regret their suicide. While Wonder Egg Priority, so far, seems to agree with the vague version of the mannequins’ conclusion, namely that boys’ and girl’s suicides mean different things, it refutes the gender-essentialist logic through which that conclusion was derived.

The mannequins choose a decidedly gender essentialist approach in explaining the difference between girls’ and boy’s suicides; they argue that the suicides are different because of some immutable characteristic of their mental hard wiring (in this case, impulsivity, emotionality, and influenceability). Obviously, this is a load of bull, and Wonder Egg Priority knows it. The mannequins are not exactly characters we’re supposed to trust, seeing that they’re running a business that is literally based on letting these kids put themselves in mortal danger. As faceless adult men, they parrot and possibly represent the systems that force these girls to continue to be subjected to physical and emotional trauma (it’s probably more complicated than this, but four episodes in, it’s hard to say more). So, we’re probably supposed to take what they say with great skepticism. Also, the director, Shin Wakabayashi, has recently said that in response to these lines, Neiru was originally going to object, “When it comes to their brains, boys and girls are also the same,” (which unfortunately is not exactly true and is somewhat of an oversimplification, but the sentiment is there). While that line ultimately did not make it in, Neiru does reply with a confused and somewhat indignant, “What?!”, a reaction that gets the message across.  Neiru is not a fan of gender essentialism, and as a (more) sympathetic character, we’re supposed to agree with her.

That is, the differences between boys and girls is not something inherent to their biology or character, but something constructed by culture and experience. This rejection of gender-essentialism is apparent in Wonder Egg Priority’s narrative, which takes a more sociocultural perspective on the difference between boys’ and girls’ suicides. It says, well of course boys’ and and girl’s suicides don’t mean the same thing, that’s the whole reason why we’re delving into the experiences specific to being a girl (cis or trans) or AFAB in this world – to show you how girls’ suicides are influenced by systems of oppression perpetuated by those in power (ie. the adult, in this specific anime).

And all the suicides we’ve seen up until now tie into that somehow. For instance, Koito is bullied by her female classmates who think that Sawaki is giving her special treatment. This is a narrative that comes up over and over again, in real life as well: that if a young girl is being given attention from an older man, then it’s her fault – that she must want it, or at least enjoy it somehow, and that it signifies a virtue (eg. maturity or beauty) on her part. And if Koito is actually being given such treatment by Sawaki, an adult man in a position of power over her, that is incredibly predatory. 

And we all know that child sexual abuse is something that overwhelmingly affects girls, with one out of nine experiencing it before the age of 18, as opposed to one out of 53 boys (Finkelhor et al., 2014). Regardless of whether Sawaki was actually abusing Koito or if the students only thought that he was, Koito’s trauma is ultimately the result of this romanticized “love between a young girl and adult man, but not because the man is predatory, but because the girl has some enviable virtue that makes her desirable” narrative. Similarly, in episode 2, Minami’s suicide is driven by ideas related to discipline and body image in sports, which while not necessarily specific to female and AFAB athletes, is framed in an AFAB-specific way. For instance, take the pressure on Minami to “maintain her figure”. Certainly, male athletes also face a similar pressure, but we know that AFAB and (cis and trans) female bodies are subject to closer scrutiny and criticism. We know that young girls are more likely to suffer from eating disorders. And Wonder Egg Priority situates Minami’s experience as decidedly “about” AFAB experience when her coach accuses her change of figure due to her period as a character failing on her part.

 Likewise, episode 3 delves into suicides related to “stan” culture, this fervent dedication to celebrities that is overwhelmingly associated to teenage girls. And Miwa’s story, in episode 4, explicitly shows how society responds to sexual assault. When Miwa does have the courage to speak up about her assault, she’s instantly reprimanded by basically everyone around her. Her father is fired because her abuser was an executive of his company. Her mother asks her why she couldn’t just bear with it, telling her that her abuser chose her because she was cute, as if that’s supposed to make her feel better about it. Wonder Egg Priority shows that this sort of abuse is a systemic problem, a set of rules and norms deeply engrained in a society and upheld by all adults, regardless of gender, social status, or closeness (to the victim). Wonder Egg Priority says that, yes, girls’ and boys’ suicides have different meanings, but it’s not due to some inherent difference between the two, but the hostile environment in which these girls grow up. Girls are not more easily “tempted” by death, they just have more societal bullshit to deal with.

But Wonder Egg Priority goes further than just showcasing how girls’ (and AFAB) experiences are shaped by sociocultural factors. The story also disproves the supposedly dichotomous characteristics that the mannequins use to differentiate girls and boys (i.e. influenceability/independence, impulsivity/deliberation, emotion-orientation/goal-orientation). If the mannequins are indeed correct, and that girls are just influenceable, impulsive, and emotional, you’d expect the girls in the story to be to be like such too. Except, they aren’t. Rather, they’re a mix of both/all characteristics. This show says that, certainly, girls can be suggestible, but they’re also capable of thinking for themselves. For instance, when Momoe asserts her own identity as a girl at the end of episode four, she rejects the words of those around her who insisted that she isn’t a girl. If she were as suggestible as the mannequins believe her to be, that would never have happened – she would have just continued believing that she wasn’t girl “enough”. But, she doesn’t because she is equally capable of making her own judgements. Likewise, Wonder Egg Priority shows that girls can be impulsive, but they can also be deliberate and pre-mediating. When Miwa tricks her Wonder Killer into groping her to create an opening for Momoe to defeat it, she’s not doing it out of impulse – it’s a pre-mediated and deliberate choice unto a goal. And Wonder Egg Priority continues, girls can be equally emotion oriented and goal oriented. Sure, the main girls are fighting because they have the goal of bringing their loved ones back to life, but those goals are motivated by a large range of emotions, from guilt to anger, grief, compassion, and love. 

Being emotion-driven doesn’t mean you’re not goal-driven, and vice versa. In fact, in this case, being emotional drives these girls toward their goals. In other words, none of these traits that the mannequins listed are either “girl traits” or “boy traits”. Being one does not mean you can’t be the other, even if they seem dichotomous at first. Wonder Egg Priority’s diverse cast of multi-dimensional female characters allows it to undermine the mannequins’ conceptualization of gendered roles, refuting the idea that these (or any) character traits should be consider gendered at all.

As an underdeveloped side thought, I think Wonder Egg Priority’s blurring of gendered roles is also well-reflected in its style. There’s been a lot of talk about whether Wonder Egg Priority constitutes a magical girl series, and I think that’s an interesting question deserving of its own essay. Certainly, it does follow the basic formula of the magical girl story: a teenage heroine ensemble wielding magical weapons saves the day. But it also throws out a lot of the conventions you’d expect of a magical girl story – both aesthetically and narratively. Aesthetically, it’s probably missing the component that most would consider the thing that makes an anime a magical girl anime: the full body transformation sequence, complete with the sparkles and the costume and all that. Narratively, the girls are also not really magical girl protagonist material – they’ve got a fair share of flaws, have done some pretty awful things (looking at Kawai in particular; I still love you though), and aren’t exactly the endlessly self-sacrificing heroines you’d expect from a typical magical girl story. On the other hand, the anime also borrows a lot from shonen battle anime. We get these dynamic, well choreographed action sequences full of horror and gore, the focus on the importance of camaraderie between allies (or “nakama”, as shonen anime would call it) exemplified through all the bonding between the main girls during their downtime, and in the necessary co-operation to bring down the Wonder Killers. That said, this anime is not a shonen; the characters, types of conflicts, and themes are quite different from those that you’d find in a typical shonen. The bleeding together of the shonen genre and the magical girl genre, at the very least (and I say this because I think it does way more than just that), reflects Wonder Egg Priority’s interest in rebelling against conventional narratives about girlhood and gender.

[dicapriho]

Important quotes to take from this article, that sums up perfectly why Daenarys’ treatment in season 8 was so heartbreaking..(long post with bullet points for easy reading):

Game of Thrones is "a world where women are often treated as disposable objects, Daenerys outwitted and overpowered her male enemies. As the sole protagonist in her own storyline, far from the rest of the characters, she was set up to be one of the few unambiguously [female] heroic figures in the series."

"in just a few episodes, she quickly transformed from a woman who has prided herself on saving the downtrodden to one who burns the innocent."

"[Daenerys’] treatment this season from the makeup of the writers’ room: The writers and directors on the show have always been overwhelmingly male, and women were shut out of both writing and directing jobs for every episode in season 8."

"Throughout her life, Daenerys has shown a commitment to justice...She freed the slaves in Meereen... When Drogon burned one child, she chained up her other two dragons, leaving herself more vulnerable...She put her fight for the Iron Throne on pause to fight in Jon’s war against the White Walkers [in the North where she knew she would feel unwelcome]."

"She was called the “Breaker of Chains” for a reason. When she misstepped, we forgave her, as we forgave, say, Tyrion for strangling Shae." [And Jon for killing a child for betraying him!]

“Daenerys has certainly used “Dracarys” to punish plenty of people during her reign... she always gave some compelling reason for doing so.”

She first used her dragon’s fire to kill a warlock who tried to imprison her, and again against a slaver who tried to cheat her...she crucified all the masters in retaliation for them having killed slave children — but they had killed children...She burned all the Khals who were threatening to keep her as a slave or rape her, or both."

Dany’s advisors gave awful advice:

"Daenerys agreed to make Tyrion her hand because Tyrion said he “knew things”...specifically, he claimed to know how to make alliances in Westeros and exploit people’s hate of Cersei in order to put Daenerys on the throne. Except, Tyrion did…none of that."

"...when did Tyrion convince a single lord that if they joined their side, they could get a new title and nice castle and see the land’s most hated woman [Cersei] burned to a crisp? Never."

"...what Tyrion did do: Try to cut a deal with slavers that would have kept slavery legal for a longer period of time, until Daenerys decided to burn their ships instead; convince Dany not to fly to King’s Landing and burn the Red Keep, which would have resulted in far fewer Kings Landing deaths; come up with the horrible plan to capture a wight that almost got Jon killed and lost Daenerys a dragon and still didn’t earn Cersei’s allegiance; convince Daenerys to trust Cersei, who has never proven herself to be trustworthy; forget to remind Daenerys that Euron and the Iron Fleet would almost certainly be waiting near Dragonstone, thus losing Daenerys another dragon; free Jaime from captivity in an effort to help both his brother and Cersei escape death at Daenerys’ hands..."

"Don’t even get me started on Varys, who didn’t write a single letter to a single lord to gain intel against Cersei or an ally for Dany but did find time to spread the word about Jon’s true parentage...”

“Tyrion and Varys were supposed to be her helpers. They failed her. Instead of owning up to this and realizing the part they have both played, Tyrion and Varys begin to worry that Daenerys is a flawed ruler exactly because she’s losing faith in them over their terrible decisions."

On the Sansa v Dany struggle:

"...The writers of the show cited much more petty reasons for their [Sansa and Dany's] conflict: “[Daenerys is] also very pretty, and how much does that factor in? Sansa starts off this season very suspicious and not at all friendly with Dany.”"

Her Isolation:

"In the last few episodes, Daenerys finds herself envying the love that Jon’s people feel for him...it’s destabilizing for her to arrive in Westeros and find that people are not eager to see her. Why, exactly, the Northerners don’t appreciate her dragons — without which they could not have defeated the Army of the Dead...."

"Daenerys rightfully glowers at Jon as his countrymen celebrate the fact that he mounted a dragon a couple of times when Dany has been riding one for years [Not to mention she is the first Targaryen in hundreds of years to have successfully mothered & raised/trained dragons]...In a mission to make Dany feel as isolated as possible, the show killed off her closest advisors, Jorah and Missendei."

"Daario is controlling Slaver’s Bay in her absence. Yara Greyjoy is sworn to her. In theory, the new Prince of Dorne would be allied with her since Daenerys struck a pact with Ellaria Sand. Daenerys could have called on any of these allies when she faced Cersei’s army but didn’t — simply because the show needed her to be alone ."

On Missandei:

"Game of Thrones fridged Missandei. There’s no other way to put it. Her capture and death happens just so Daenerys would feel isolated. The fact that the writers turned the only major black female character on the show into a device to motivate Daenerys feels even more cringeworthy."

"The fairly quick transition from complicated hero to totally mad villain leaned heavily on an oft-repeated line: “every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin”. But should Daenerys’ Targaryen blood necessarily doom her? After all, Jon is half Targaryen, too. So why does he get to sit comfortably on the other side of the coin?...The show has long been obsessed with various characters’ struggles to shake their family’s legacies. Tyrion killed his own father and joined Team Daenerys, only to betray Daenerys in order to help his family again." 

"Daenerys has long tried to differentiate herself from her father, the Mad King, only to become her father’s daughter."

"...the show’s most recent plotting flaws was Varys’ rushed decision that Daenerys was a terrible enough queen that he would endeavor to poison her — quite a stretch for a man who served under King Joffrey...Remember that Varys once wanted to put Dany’s brother Viserys, a demonstrable megalomaniac, on the Iron Throne."

"...when Varys found out Jon was a Targaryen, he began openly conspiring to undermine and overthrow Daenerys...He accused her of being paranoid while simultaneously conspiring against her, which means she had every right to be suspicious...Again, it’s a failure of the show that the man who was once revered as Master of Whispers walked up to Jon in the middle of a crowded beach and suggested he usurp Daenerys."

"Other rulers we think of as heroes in this story have executed men for less than attempted murder: Robb Stark executed Rickard Karstark for killing the Lannister hostages, against Robb’s orders...Ned Stark executed someone for abandoning the Night’s Watch...Jon Snow executed the men who succeeded in murdering him (before he was resurrected) including Olly, a young boy."

"...Jon betrayed Daenerys’ trust by telling his family, and Tyrion betrayed her — twice. Davos also betrayed her too for totally inexplicable reasons by helping Tyrion smuggle Jaime to Cersei...Her advisor’s lie to her and gaslit her, plain and simple. And yet the way that Daenerys’ destruction of King’s Landing is shot, we are supposed to see her as the irrational one and Tyrion as one of the victims of her terror."

"...either due to time restrictions or lack of source material or just plain lack of creativity, the show took shortcuts this season...And those shortcuts tended to rely on the laziest of sexist stereotypes about crazed, power-hungry women."

"Maureen Ryan at the Hollywood Reporter put it best: “Inescapably, infuriatingly, what we’re left with is apparently the central message of Game of Thrones: Bitches are crazy.” "

"...Had [Dany's] paranoia been seeded many episodes ago and grown over the course of several seasons, it would be an epic Shakespearean tragedy. Instead we must infer this descent based on her frizzy hair."

"Worse, the moment when she seemingly decides to rule with fear, not love, comes after she’s romantically rejected by Jon...” [Suggestible that the lack of requited love is a strong enough reason for a level-minded strong woman to fall into a pit of craziness, despite all the good she has ever done and vows to continue doing..]

"Varys suggested that Jon would be a better ruler exactly because he did not want to rule. Figures in mythology and history ranging from Moses to George Washington to Harry Potter have been heralded as heroes because they came to power reluctantly. Those figures also tend to be male. How do our stories cast women eager for power? As evil queens. And now Daenerys is a cliché."

"There have been a lot of problematic characterizations of women this season, as revealed by the writers’ own commentary surrounding the episodes...Sansa essentially parroted what the writers have been saying for years about her rape by Ramsay Bolton — that it made her stronger...and the showrunners called Cersei, one of the smartest, most vicious characters on Thrones, “just a girl who needs the comfort of a man..”

"...in the end, Daenerys cycled through several tired stereotypes: Another evil, power-hungry queen literally shot with a dragon’s wings behind her; the crazy lady that a noble man has to heroically overcome..."

Like Cersei, Dany was a character introduced in the first episode, who ws incredible meaningful in the narrative of Game of Thrones. Instead of going out with a bang, Daenerys’ death wasn’t a bang like she truly deserved, but a whimper and forgotten to emphasise the man’s conquer and victory.

[marythegizka]

Following a couple of reviews from an admittedly 'disturbed' guest on fanfiction.net, I'd like to remind people of one very basic rule: don't like, don't read.

Yes, I'm aware that vadaphra is 'out of character' (for Aphra, but perhaps even more so for Vader. I mean, Tolvan is basically a less malevolent, more grounded and somewhat watered-down female version of Vader, and Aphra would still totally hit that (does, in fact, hit that), but Vader doesn’t give jack shit about relationships. Padme got thrown into the fridge and his idea of love along with her). Yes, I'm also aware that Aphra is overwhelmingly considered gay (though I’ve always headcanoned her as bi, and in my fic 'Ashes in the Clearing', struggling to fix her relationship with Sana, even though that's not the point of the fic and therefore not explicitly mentioned. The theme was: grieving for someone you knew was bad for you, which we can all agree Vader was, canon or not canon, and therefore failing to completely move on. In other words, it’s a liberation that is not fully experienced as such). Yes, I know Vader is... look the word 'asshole' is not strong enough, but you get the point. Yes, I also know he's older than her, but Aphra is a grown woman, and I can assure you, being about the same age, that a fifteen-year age gap between consenting adults does not even remotely phase me (I also happen to know people in relationships with that same age difference (and no, it's not always men who are older, and yes, they're happy that way.) Now, back to the topic at hand. Yes, there is a power-imbalance. No, I don't think 'vadaphra-type' relationships should be endorsed, and no, my writing fics about them does not equate me saying 'gay girls go try boys', that would simply be unacceptable. But here's the thing: IT'S FICTION. Can fiction depict ideal situations? Sure. Is it necessarily its job? Hell no. I mean, how many classics rely on toxic atmospheres, unbalanced relationships and unhealthy protagonists? Yes, too many to count. 'Perfect' (if that’s even a thing) is what I want real-life people to get, if they want it, not what I want to read in books. Now, of course, my fics will never be 'classics' or even 'literature', nor do I want them to be. But I believe censorship and self-censorship, when it comes to fiction - not life - is an inherently bigoted attitude that takes the very essence out of it. Fiction can have many roles, and one of them is to explore things you wouldn't in life. And that's what I like about it. You wouldn't accuse Gustave Flaubert or Emily Brontë of promoting toxic behaviours, right? And yet they did write about them, in deeper and more thought out ways than I ever could. (Now, look me in the eye, and tell me you’d still read Wuthering Heights if Heathcliff were a sane, decent and gentlemanly person. Come on, I’m waiting.)

Now, my second point is: vadaphra. Is. A. Crackship. That’s it, guys. We know it's not canon. We know it won't happen because those people do. Not. Exist. Now, if after all those considerations you still think digging up dead fics and gracing me with your deep and insightful reviews about how 'disturbed' you are is necessary... sure. I'm not going to stop you. But allow me to be honest: you're not fighting the real fight. You're just assuaging your conscience by guilt-tripping someone who's already on your side. This is all I have to say about the subject. I already spend a good deal of my time 'debating' (arguing) with conservative relatives, and have no desire to spend my online time doing the same. But I needed to get this out. Now that it's done, let us all go enjoy the rest of our day.

[explosionshark]

Thanks for recommending Gideon the Ninth! It was so good! Do you have a book rec tag I could check out? :)

honestly i should, huh? i’ve read more books than probably ever before this year and i’ve talked about ‘em intermittently, but not with a consistent tag. i’ll recommend some right now, though, with a healthy dose of recency bias!

sf/f

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon - a truly epic fantasy novel with one of the most beautiful, satisfying f/f romances i’ve ever read. the novel takes account nearly everything i hate about fantasy as a genre (overwhelmingly straight, white, and male centric, bland medieval European settings, tired tropes) and subverts them. incredible world-building, diverse fantasy cultures, really cool arthrurian legend influence. one of my favorite books i’ve ever read tbh.

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir - which you’ve read, obviously, but for posterity’s sake i’m keeping it here! sci-fi + murder mystery + gothic horror. genuinely funny while still having a super strong emotional core and more than enough gnarly necromantic to satisfy the horror nerd in me. makes use of some of my favorite tropes in fiction, namely the slowburn childhood enemies to reluctant allies to friends to ??? progression between gideon and harrow. absolutely frothing at the mouth for a sequel.

the broken earth trilogy by nk jemisin - really the first book that helped me realize i don’t hate fantasy, i just hate the mainstream ‘medieval europe but with magic’ version of fantasy that dominates the genre. EXTREMELY cool worldbuilding. i’ve definitely described it as like, a GOOD version of what the mage-vs-templar conflict in dragon age could have been, with a storyline particularly reminiscent of “what if someone got Anders right?”

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone - i’m not usually big on epistolary novels, but this one really worked for me. spy vs spy but it’s gay and takes place between time traveling agents of two opposing sides of a war. the letter writing format really plays to el-mohtar’s strengths as a poet, the unfolding love story is weird and beautiful. it’s a really quick read, too, if you’re short on time or attention.

empress of forever  by max gladstone - i just finished this one this week! if you’re in the mood for a space opera, look no further. imagine if steve jobs was an asian lesbian and also like not a shitty person. this is where you start with vivian liao. you get the classic putting-the-band-together arc with beings from all across the universe, your romances and enemies-turned-friends and uneasy alliances all over the place. really satisfying character development and some extremely cool twists along the way. it’s just a fun good time.

the luminous dead by caitlin starling - this one rides the line of horror so it’s closest to that part of the list. it reminds me of the most inventive low budget horror/sci-fi films i’ve loved in the best way possible because it makes use of the barest narrative resources. it’s a book that takes place in one primary setting, featuring interactions between two characters that only meet each other face-to-face for the briefest period. the tension between the two characters is the most compelling part of the story, with competing and increasingly unreliable narratives and an eerie backdrop to ratchet things up even higher. the author described it as “queer trust kink” at one point which is, uh, super apt actually and totally my jam. the relationship at the center of the book is complicated to say the least, outright combative at points, but super compelling. plus there’s lost of gnarly sci-fi spelunking if you like stories about people wandering around in caves.

horror

the ballad of black tom by victor lavalle - we all agree that while lovecraft introduced/popularized some cool elements into horror and kind of defined what cosmic horror would come to mean, he was a racist sack of shit. which is why my favorite type of ‘lovecraftian horror’ is the type that openly challenges his abhorrent views. the ballad of black tom is a retelling of the horror at redhook that flips the narrative by centering the action around a black protagonist. 

lovecraft country by matt ruff - more of what i just described. again, lovecraftian themes centered around black protagonists. this one’s especially cool because it’s a series of interconnected short stories following related characters. it’s getting a tv adaptation i believe, but the book is definitely not to be missed

rolling in the deep / into the drowning deep by mira grant - mermaids are real and they’re the ultimate deep sea predators! that’s really the whole premise. if for some reason that’s not enough for you, let me add this: diverse cast, a romance between a bi woman who’s not afraid to use the word and an autistic lesbian, really cool speculative science tangents about mermaid biology and myth. 

the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson - it’s halloween month so i’m thinking about hill house again. one of the greatest american ghost stories ever written. especially worth the read if you follow it up w the 1964 film adaptation (the haunting) and then the 2018 netflix series.

the hunger by alma katsu - i’ve always been fascinated by the donner party even though we now know the popular narrative is largely falsehoods. still, this highly fictionalized version of events scratched an itch for me and ended up surprising me with its resistance from the most expected and toxic racist tropes associated with donner party myth.

wounds / north american lake monsters by nathan ballingrud - nathan ballingrud is my favorite horror writer of all time. one of my favorite writers period regardless of genre. in ballingrud’s work the horror is right in front of you. you can look directly at it, it’s right there. but what permeates it, what draws your attention instead, what makes it hurt is the brutally honest emotional core of everything surrounding the horror. the human tragedy that’s’ reflected by the more fantastic horror elements is the heart of his work. it’s always deeply, profoundly moving for me. both of these collections are technically short stories, but they’re in the horror section of the recs because delineations are totally arbitrary and made solely at my discretion. 

short stories

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado - tbh i almost put this in w horror but there’s enough weird fiction here for me to be willing to straddle the line. it was really refreshing to read horror that centered queer women’s perspectives. the stories in this collection are really diverse and super powerful. there’s an incredible weird fiction piece that’s like prompt-based law and order svu micro fiction (go with me here) that ends up going to some incredible places. there’s the husband stitch, a story that devastated me in ways i’m still unraveling. the final story reminded me of a more contemporary haunting of hill house in the best way possible. machado is a writer i’m really excited about.

vampires in the lemon grove by karen russell - my friend zach recommended this to me when we were swapping book recs earlier this year and i went wild for it! mostly weird fiction, but i’m not really interested in getting hung up on genres. i don’t know what to say about this really other than i really loved it and it got me excited about reading in a way i haven’t been in a while. 

the tenth of december by george saunders - i really like saunders’ work and i feel like the tenth of december is a great place to start reading him. quirky without being cloying, weird without being unrelatable.

misc

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid - there’s something really compelling to me about the glamour of old hollywood. this story is framed as a young journalist interviewing a famously reclusive former starlet at the end of her life. the story of how evelyn hugo goes from being the dirt-poor daughter of cuban immigrants to one of the biggest names in hollywood to an old woman facing the end of her life alone is by turns beautiful, inspiring, infuriating and desperately sad. by far the heart of the book is in evelyn finally coming out as bisexual, detailing her decades-long on/off relationship with celia st. james, another actress. evelyn’s life was turbulent, fraught with abuse and the kind of exploitation you can expect from the hollywood machine, but the story is compelling and engaging and i loved reading it.

smoke gets in your eyes by caitlin doughty - a memoir by caitlin doughty, the woman behind the popular ‘ask a mortician’ youtube series. it was a super insightful look into the american death industry and its many flaws as well as an interesting, often moving look at the human relationship with death through the eyes of someone touched by it early and deeply.

love and rockets by los bros hernandez (jaime and gilbert and mario) - this was a big alt comic in the 80s with some series within running on and off through the present. i’m not current, but this book was so important for me as a kid. in particular the locas series, which centered around two queer latina girls coming up in the punk scene in a fictional california town. the beginning starts of a little sci-fi-ish but over time becomes more concerned with slice-of-life personal dramas. 

[alma-berry]

1) I think it's really dangerous to suggest that a non-straight character being popular is tied to their 'pornographic value' and blatant proof of mass fetishisation bc it achieves the exact opposite of normalising lgbt ships (it pushes them to the margins/silences discussions centred on them) and it creates a damaging narrative of lgbt characters being nothing but their sexuality and having no hope of ever being recognised as more than their sexuality/romantic inclination.

(I’m gonna answer each part of this ask individually cuz this is long and I have a lot to say)

2) I rarely see these kind of discussions aimed at straight ships. I've never seen someone imply that Julian is a fan favourite because he's with Emma and had sex with her. The mixed reactions Jace and Clary got, and are still getting, have little to do with their sexual orientation. Most people I've talked to are side-eyeing the J/C/M triangle bc a lot of us are over love triangles, not because Cordelia is getting in the way of J/M.

I couldn’t agree more. Our need of queer characters is not in order to create our own little bubble. We need queer narratives to be normalised, such as queer identities. Normal not in a form of “same as” but in a form of “just as valid as”. That why you’re so right, and we need to be very careful in the way we phrase ourselves and our demand for more queer representation. This world consists of so many kinds of people, and each and every one of them should be appreciated on its own, by its own right and its own story, and not just as a title or a box that should be checked.

3) As far as wlw ships are concerned, the silence around them is in part the result of Cassie's own treatment of her (sparse, so so rare) wlw characters. There's very few of them and the ones we do have, Cassie's own investment in them is lacklustre. They are sidelined, barely mentioned, rarely involved in the main plot. Exiled, chained to a sickbed, they don't get to shine as protagonists braving their own adventure.

Leaving Anna aside (who so far is a remarkable character), I agree with you completely. Intentionally or not, this is the case. The wlw representations in TSC is weak, inconsistent (I spoke before of how Helen is a completely different character in RSOM than she was in Tales and TID) and lacking of authenticity. The story of how Haline met in RSOM fell so flat to me, almost as a gag. They have some beautiful moments in TID which I truly love, but as a whole I’m disappointed of how they’re portrayed. But, we can ask what the reason for it might be. Is it because CC has something against wlw ships? I don’t think so. I think the problem is planted in that they interest her less than other ships. Or, we might say, ships with men. I’m NOT saying this is a woman-hating thing, not at all. But I have a lot of criticism towards the way she writes female characters, and I think this specific lack of authenticity in her wlw ships is originated there.

4) Cassie could have made Cordelia a lesbian of colour. She could have matched her with Lucie instead. She could have made Kit, the lost Herondale, a girl instead. Could have written Ty as an autistic, gay girl. Heck, she could have made Julian a girl! She had plenty of mains to choose from as potential wlw rep and she didn't. She either made them straight or mlm and it was her decision. If there's a bias in the fandom, it certainly echoes the one in her books.

Now, this I don’t agree with. There’s a story, and the story has to make sense. Making some characters female or wlw just for the sake of it is not something I think she should do. Also, she doesn’t owe us more representation, she’s doing quite a lot in that department. We can criticise the quality of it, but calling her out for not doing more, or more in the way we want her too, is not fair. I understand completely that we have our own needs of female wlw characters, I truly do (The only characters I can meekly identify with is Helen, which sucks for reasons I already explained), but we can’t pretend we’re owed that by every single author on earth, let alone an author who already is quite a pioneer in that department.

5) So what I'm saying: while she has good rep in her books, her main characters are still overwhelmingly straight and if they are not straight, they are more often than not mlm. And while I'm grateful for the world she has created and every single one of her lgbt characters, I don't think it's warranted to act as if her books treat male and female characters equally, as if there's a perfect balance between m/f, m/m and f/f ships, and insult her fans for working with what she gave them.

No, her male and female characters are not balanced. Not in so many ways… the more problematic thing to me is from a feminist point of view and not from a queer point of view, honestly. But this is not the subject at hand - so no, we can’t say theres a balance, but must we? The world is more straight than queer, that’s a fact. Not that I would’ve minded a completely queer cast of characters (it would be a dream come true) but why be angry about that? Yes, she writes far more mlm than wlw couples, that’s true. Obviously she likes (and frankly, succeeds) writing them more than the others. But should we be spiteful because of that?

Her comment on that post is insulting by all means, I said it loud and clear. Not sure if its relevant to how were “working with it” though.

[delicioussshame]

Here is the Luo Binghe route for the prostitution AU.

I don’t know how obvious that was, but Shen Jiu stumbling on Yue Qingyuan and Shen Yuan was an accident. Let’s say he was visiting his own favourite brothel. The thing is, that’s not what he told his disciples, and Luo Binghe and a few others came to the city with him. Luo Binghe might have been curious about his Shizun’s whereabouts, so he was following him from afar, and while he didn’t get the details, he got enough to guess that the man both Shizun and Yue Qingyuan followed into that brothel had to be a prostitute.

For everyone’s peace of mind, let’s agree Binghe is at least in his late teens. Also for the sake of my peace of mind, Shen Jiu is a bit nicer in this, because I’m not getting him killed after I got him laid. So Luo Binghe is supposed to be a stallion protagonist, so hormones are raging, and even if Shen Jiu isn’t Shen Yuan I guess Luo Binghe would still think he’s Fine. So when he sees a Shizun lookalike good enough for Yue Qingyuan, one that he could just… pay and get over with his attraction to Shizun, he’s very, very tempted. So he puts some money aside, gathers his courage and visits Shen Yuan’s brothel.

The moment he sets foot in the place everything that can fuck is after him, because hello, Luo Binghe here. But Binghe knows what he wants and asks for Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan doesn’t get why a man as overwhelmingly attractive as Luo Binghe has to pay a prostitute to have sex when he could ask out any married woman and no one would blame them for cheating, but Luo Binghe knows what he wants, and any attempt at sending him off toward someone more age-appropriate, because Shen Yuan feels like a cradle robber (despite not being that old) are firmly rejected, so he figures he might as well enjoy it. Cue giving Luo Binghe the time of his life. That doesn’t stop him from being Shen Yuan, so weak to Binghe and giving him advice and worrying about everything being fine. Luo Binghe is kind of charmed and has had a very good night, and figures he’ll come again when he can. Which he does. Often.

Shen Yuan gets a bit worried that Luo Binghe is wasting his money and not eating right and not serious enough about his cultivation since he’s so young and pure. Anyone could take advantage of him! He sees Binghe as his cute horny puppy.

Obviously Luo Binghe falls for Shen Yuan, because duh, he’s Luo Binghe.

And that continues until Luo Binghe falls into the Abyss.

Shen Yuan gets worried enough after not having seen Binghe around that he gets around to writing a Very Formal Letter to Yue Qingyuan, whom he hasn’t seen since the man had very gently let him known he wouldn’t return to his brothel because Xiao Jiu disapproved (while looking overjoyed), asking about the wellbeing of one of his disciples. He gets a Very Formal Letter back telling him that Binghe died.

Shen Yuan mourns for real. He also gets very, very sick of being a prostitute, but hey, he has a contract so he’s stuck there.

The first thing Binghe does when he returns to the human realm is show up at the brothel with an obscene amount of gold, looking to buy off Shen Yuan’s contract. The Madam tries to argue. Luo Binghe puts even more gold on the front desk and tells him he’ll pay as much as necessary, but he’s not leaving without Shen Yuan. This point is accompanied by demonic qi so strong everyone in the brothel can feel it and Xin Mo oozing malevolence, so the Madam shuts the fuck up, takes the gold and has someone fetch Shen Yuan. Who is very into slightly older and much richer/stronger Binghe spiriting him away, thanks. He has no issues at all with Luo Binghe setting him up in his palace and keeping him buried under luxury and love, none at all.

At some point in the future, Luo Binghe has to visit the sect for some reason or another and decides to bring Shen Yuan just because. Yue Qingyuan chokes when he sees who Luo Binghe’s spouse is. Shen Jiu isn’t a fan either.

Shen Yuan might possibly still be a little bitter about how the whole thing turned out, so he waits for the right moment and calls Yue Qingyuan Qi-ge right in front of Shen Jiu. Who breaks his fan in rage while Yue Qingyuan sweats all the water off his body, because Shen Jiu knew Shen Yuan looked like him, but he didn’t know how much Yue Qingyuan shared about him or that he basically had him roleplay him.

Shen Yuan is having the time of his life creating chaos.

Shen Jiu is pissed as hell and turns his hostility toward Shen Yuan for half a second before Binghe, who has no idea what happened, radiates demonic qi strongly enough that disciples run away in fright, and tell Shen Jiu that even if he is his Shizun, if he touches one hair of Shen Yuan’s head he’s dead. And he means it. Shen Jiu sneers but he retreats because he knows he has no chance of beating him, and Yue Qingyuan is way too mortified to do anything.

Shen Yuan is very happy because out of all of them, he’s the one who got the better deal.

The End.

And now, a fic about Luo Binghe’s return.

“Shen Yuan! Shen Yuan! Go downstairs now! The madam needs you.”

Shen Yuan blinks at the shaken serving girl. “I would rather not.” Whatever is causing the waves of unease that are disturbing everyone, he wants nothing to do with.

The girl seems close to tears. “You have to! He looks nice, but I bet he’ll kill her if you don’t.”

Shen Yuan definitely doesn’t want to go down now. Why would he go meet a murderer. He will regret the madam dying a lot less than losing his own life. “Who is “he”?”

She starts crying. “I don’t know! But he wants to buy your contract! Why did you get involved with someone so dangerous!”

Someone who wants to buy his contract? A few names come to mind, but none stick. The only person with both the means and the will to do so hasn’t stopped by in years. Not to mention Yue Qingyuan isn’t the kind of man that would kill for him. “I have no idea who it could be. Are you sure he asked for me? It must be some mistake.” He isn’t dumb. While some of the courtesans here court disaster by entertaining thieves and killers, Shen Yuan always favored scholars and public servants, much less prone to turning against him.

“There’s no mistake! He asked for you by name!” The serving girl pulls at his sleeve with force.  

This tiny slip of a girl could never hope to bring him anywhere he doesn’t want to go, but he has to admit to himself that if the man is that insistent, he will come to get him himself if Shen Yuan doesn’t come down, and that would make deescalating this situation that much harder. “Fine. Stop pulling, you’ll rip the fabric. I’ll come along.” Shen Yuan puts on his most placid mask and follows the girl to the front desk.

Where a very, very attractive man is waiting. For a moment, Shen Yuan is too blinded by the man’s sheer physical perfection to realise who he is. The next moment, he’s convinced he has gone insane. Dead men do not return from the grave.

And yet, there’s no mistaking that flawless visage. “…Binghe?”

His voice wavers against his will.  

Luo Binghe turns toward him, polite smile fading into true happiness. “Shen Yuan!”

For a moment, Shen Yuan thinks Luo Binghe will jump on him and take him here and now, for anyone to see, considering how hungry for him he looks.  

But Luo Binghe controls himself. “I came here to buy off your contract. Is that something you’re amenable to?”

…What? Why? What is happening? A mere disciple could never hope to buy off his contract. Then again, from the luxury of the robes he’s wearing, he probably isn’t just a disciple anymore. “Your sect master told me you were dead.” Important matters must be addressed first. Shen Yuan won’t be bought by a ghost, thank you.

“He was wrong. I had… family obligations to deal with, but now that they are dealt with, I returned to free you. Afterward, Shen Yuan can do whatever he wants.” His voice lowers and trembles a little. “He doesn’t have to come with me, if he would prefer not to. All I ask is that he doesn’t remain here. Shen Yuan is so talented, there are many things he could do if he chose to. Whatever path he wants to walk, this Luo Binghe will happily support, if Shen Yuan would let him.”

Shen Yuan stands frozen where he is. Not only Luo Binghe is back, he’s offering to free him? Why? Shen Yuan doesn’t understand anything.

This is unbecoming. “If you would follow me to my room? There are many things I would like to ask.”

“Yes!” Luo Binghe follows him almost too eagerly.  

The moment the door closes behind them, Luo Binghe traps him into an embrace too strong to be escaped from. “Shen Yuan! Shen Yuan! It really is you! I missed you so much.”

All anxiety he might have held melts into nothing. Ah, this is still his cute Binghe, too innocent for this place and yet refusing to let it corrupt him.  

He goes to return the embrace, but before he can, Luo Binghe pushes him away gently, leaving him destabilised.  

“I pray Shen Yuan forgive my presumptuousness. It had been years. He might not even remember me.”

Shen Yuan rolls his eyes. “Did I not call your name as soon as I saw you? Of course I remember you. I would like to know what happened to you, though.” From up close, Luo Binghe looks like the son of a rich nobleman, or maybe even a prince. Everything he wears screams wealth. He is startlingly out of place in Shen Yuan’s small and proper room. “Is Luo Binghe the scion of some rich family? Or did he marry a princess?”  

“I would never! The only want I would share my life with is you!”

Shen Yuan blinks at this declaration as Luo Binghe blushes. “Shen Yuan must forgive me again. I didn’t intend to be so blunt, but since it has been said, Shen Yuan must know only his memory keep me sane during those years. I would love nothing more than repay him for what he has done for me. All the wealth and power I control are his to command, if he wants to. But, as I said before, if he would rather try his fortune by himself, I will wish him well and let him go. I just don’t want Shen Yuan to have to share his bed with people he doesn’t desire. Even if it is how we met, he deserves better.”  

Shen Yuan notices Luo Binghe’s eyes are full of tears. He mindlessly uses his sleeve to wipe them off, a gesture familiar to them both. Luo Binghe has always been easily overwhelmed.  

The proposition is very appealing. Shen Yuan wants nothing more than be freed of this place. And since it is obvious that buying him wouldn’t even set him back… “Luo Binghe really wants to use his money to free this old man? Doesn’t he have better things to use it for?”

But Luo Binghe isn’t looking at him anymore. Through the open door to his bedroom, his eyes have caught the little altar with incense still smoking. “Shen Yuan, is this, can I dare ask if…”

Shen Yuan blushes. How ridiculous this seems now. Luo Binghe isn’t dead. He needs no offering. “Yes. I thought you were dead, and you told me you had no family, so I got into the habit of preparing offerings for you in case no one else would and just… never stopped. You can laugh at this sentimental fool, if you want.”

Luo Binghe kisses him, wet and hot and messy, hands tangling into his hair and keeping him there. “Let me take you to my home. Let me treat you the way you deserve to be treated. You will never lack for anything, I promise. If you don’t want to share my bed, that’s fine, but please, let me keep you by my side.”

His little Binghe is no liar. Shen Yuan could always read the truth of him on his face, on his body, in his every gesture. He knows too much of Luo Binghe to be scared of him, or to doubt him.  

Also, Shen Yuan has eyes. Who but the blinds would not want to share this man’s bed? It’s a good thing Luo Binghe put an end to the kiss, because if he hadn’t, they might not have left today. “If, for some reason, Binghe has taken a fancy to this old whore, I would love nothing more than accompany him away from here and into his bed, if he wants me to.”

“Shen Yuan!” Luo Binghe kisses him so more, and this time, Shen Yuan kisses back, allowing himself for the first time to accept just how much he missed this dear little client of his.  

“Is there anything Shen Yuan wants to bring along?”  

Shen Yuan looks at the garish robes, the maquillage and the fans he held on to for whatever reasons. “No. But I should bring some clothes. I have little money to buy new robes.”

“Shen Yuan doesn’t have to worry. From now on, only the finest silk will adorn his body. If he doesn’t like his current robes, he can leave them here.” His own eyes travel over the room, before they falter. “I just, if Shen Yuan agrees, I would like to take the altar back? He won’t have to look at it if it brings back bad memories. I will keep it in my room, as proof of his affection.”

The blush returns to Shen Yuan’s face. He will never stop feeling stupid for tending to an altar for a living man.  

Still. If it made Luo Binghe happy, it was less useless than it seems. “Luo Binghe can have it, of course.”

Luo Binghe seems ecstatic. “Thank you!” He extends his hand to Shen Yuan. “Well then, if Shen Yuan would come with me?”

Resolved, Shen Yuan takes his hand.

It’s so big now, strong and firm. Luo Binghe can easily hold all of Shen Yuan’s hand in his.  

It only brings him reassurance.  

His fingers curl around Luo Binghe’s, and his heart warms when they curl back.

He knows they won’t let go.

[astudyinfreewill]

tbh i get queer fans being mad/sad about kavinsky being killed off in that yeah, bury your guys can always be upsetting no matter the character. but it's weird to me when people go the 'he didn't DESERVE it blah blah' route because like, that has nothing to do with the trope. like i agree with queer characters always getting killed off being exhausting, but i don't get people going hard for this particular character lmao

hmm i… sort of agree. i guess i can understand fans being sad about kavinsky being killed off if they empathise with him, even though personally i just… can’t imagine relating to a character like that. but i honestly, genuinely don’t believe he’s an example of Bury Your Gays. it would be BYG if kavinsky was the only queer rep in the books, or even he killed himself specifically for being gay… which, no matter what people argue, he didn’t. but rather than give my opinion on it, i’m gonna take this chance to go through the trope systematically and explain why the shoe doesn’t fit. it’s meta time!

Why Kavinsky Dying is Not “Bury Your Gays”

[All quotes are taken directly from TvTropes, though the emphasis is mine.]

The Bury Your Gays trope in media, including all its variants, is a homophobic cliché. It is the presentation of deaths of LGBT characters where these characters are nominally able to be viewed as more expendable than their heteronormative counterparts. In this way, the death is treated as exceptional in its circumstances. In aggregate, queer characters are more likely to die than straight characters. Indeed, it may be because they seem to have less purpose compared to straight characters, or that the supposed natural conclusion of their story is an early death.

Kavinsky is never viewed as “more expendable than his heteronormative counterparts”. If you see Kavinsky as simply Ronan’s foil, then the reasoning doesn’t apply, because Ronan is gay himself, so he can’t be a “heteronormative counterpart”. However, Kavinsky apologists like to latch on to Gansey’s “We matter” quote to prove Kavinsky is treated as unimportant – but that’s a fallacy for several reasons. First, you’re taking Gansey to speak for the author, or for objective truth, when Gansey is one of the most unreliable narrators in the book, and his world view is extremely biased. Secondly, Gansey isn’t Kavinsky’s counterpart. Kavinsky is an antagonist, so you have to look at what happens to the other antagonists – his actual heteronormative counterparts. And, well: they pretty much ALL get killed off. Not just that, but they often get killed off in a way that does not have the emotional/narrative impact implied in Kavinsky’s death. By that reckoning, he gets the better shake. Additionally, we get 4 heteronormative villains killed off - Whelk, Neeve, Colin, and Piper. So in the series, queer characters are not more likely to die than straight characters (even among the protagonists, Gansey and Noah are the ones who “die”, where Ronan and Adam do not).

The reasons for this trope have evolved somewhat over the years. For a good while, it was because the Depraved Homosexual trope and its ilk pretty much limited portrayals of explicitly gay characters to villainous characters, or at least characters who weren’t given much respect by the narrative. This, conversely, meant that most of them would either die or be punished by the end. 

This is not applicable to TRC, as portrayals of explicitly queer characters are not limited to villainous characters; Adam and Ronan are both explicitly queer and they are treated with huge amounts of respect by the narrative. So Kavinsky isn’t being killed for being the odd one out/the Token Evil Queer; plus, there are other reasons why he doesn’t fit the Depraved Homosexual trope (while sexual molestation is a part of this trope, TVTropes encourages you to “think of whether he’d be any different if he wasn’t gay” – and Kavinsky wouldn’t. Not only because DHs are usually extremely camp while Kavinsky’s mannerisms aren’t particularly queer-coded, but also because he is not shown to have any more respect for women than he does for men, and his abuse would look the same if he was straight).

However, as sensitivity to gay people became more mainstream, this evolved into a sort of Rule-Abiding Rebel “love the sinner, hate the sin” attitude. You could have sympathetic queer characters, but they would still usually be “punished” for their queerness in some way so as to not anger more homophobic audiences, similar to how one might write a sympathetic drug addict but still show their addiction in a poor light. 

Again: Neither Ronan nor Adam – the two sympathetic queer characters – are punished for being queer, hence subverting this form of the trope.

This then transitioned into the Too Good for This Sinful Earth narrative, where stories would tackle the subject of homophobia and then depict LGBT characters as suffering victims who die tragic deaths from an uncaring world. The AIDS crisis also contributed to this narrative, as the Tragic AIDS Story became its own archetype, popularized by films like Philadelphia. 

Okay, this is DEFINITELY not Kavinsky’s case. Kavinsky’s death isn’t specifically connected to being gay (e.g.: a hate crime or an STD), and he’s never depicted as some innocent suffering victim. As for the “uncaring world”… eh. Kavinsky may not have a valid support system, but that’s just as much by choice as by chance - and when Ronan extends a helping hand and tries to save him, Kavinsky rejects it. Too Good For This Sinful Earth is definitely not in play. 

The only trope that kind of fits the bill is Gayngst-Induced Suicide… but only on the surface. As TVTrope puts it, Gayngst-Induced Suicide is “when LGBT characters are Driven to Suicide because of their sexuality, either because of internalized homophobia (hating themselves) or experiencing a miserable life because of their “deviant” gender or sexuality: having to hide who they are, not finding a stable relationship, homophobia from other parties, etc.”. Kavinsky certainly has quite a bit of internalized homophobia, but he is absolutely not experiencing a miserable life because of his sexuality – i.e. he’s not being bullied or taunted or subejcted to hate crimes. He doesn’t have to hide who he is: his parents are effectively out of the picture, his cronies worship him, and he constantly makes gay jokes to Ronan and Gansey. As for “not finding a stable relationship”… well that’s not exactly the problem, is it. He’s not looking for a stable relationship – he’s pursuing Ronan specifically, obsessively, through stalking and abuse. So even this trope is not applicable. 

And then there are the cases of But Not Too Gay or the Bait-and-Switch Lesbians, where creators manage to get the romance going but quickly avoid showing it in detail by killing off one of the relevant characters. 

Once again this is not the case with Kavinsky, as 1) there was no romance going between him and Ronan, and 2) he is not killed off before the nature of his obsession with Ronan is revealed – he gets the chance to both admit (sort of) he wants Ronan, and to confront Ronan about his sexuality, to which Ronan admits that yes, he is gay, but he is not interested in Kavinsky. So, there is no But Not Too Gay nor any Bait-and-Switch here. 

Also known as Dead Lesbian Syndrome, though that name has largely fallen out of use post-2015 and the media riots about overuse of the trope. And, as this public outcry restated, the problem isn’t merely that gay characters are killed off: the problem is the tendency that gay characters are killed off in a story full of mostly straight characters, or when the characters are killed off because they are gay.

This is a very good definition of the trope and why it doesn’t apply to Kavinsky: he’s not killed off because he’s gay, and he’s not killed off in a story full of mostly straight characters; TRC is definitely not overwhelmingly diverse, but 2 of the 4 protagonists are queer, giving us a solid 50% ratio (I’m not counting Noah because his “character” status is vague, and I’m not counting Henry because he came in so late, and also because his sexuality is the matter of much speculation).

For a comparison that will make it even clearer: take a show like Supernatural. Supernatural’s range of characters is almost entirely presented as straight white cis men (as of canon – despite much of the fandom’s hopes and speculation). They’ve had problems with diversity in general, with a lot of black characters dying immediately, and a lot of women getting fridged for plot advancement or male angst (a different problematic trope altogether). Now, apart from minor inconsequential cameos, Supernatural had ONE recurring gay character: Charlie Bradbury. And they killed her off for no discernible reason other than plot advancement and male angst, in a context that had elements of Too Good For This Sinful Earth (Charlie being a fan-favourite, ~pure cinnamon roll~, being killed by actual nazis, who historically targeted gay people). See, THAT was Bury Your Gays, AND Dead Lesbian Syndrome, AND Fridging…

However, sometimes gay characters die in fiction because, well, sometimes people die. There are many Anyone Can Die stories: barring explicit differences in the treatments of the gay and straight deaths in these, it’s not odd that the gay characters are dying. The occasional death of one in a Cast Full of Gay is unlikely to be notable, either.

…But that is not the case with TRC. As I’ve said above, there are no explicit differences in the treatments of the gay and straight villain deaths. Kavinsky’s death is not Bury Your Gays; it’s Anyone Can Die – even a protagonist’s foil who has magic powers and is present for most of the book.

Believe me, I would not be cavalier about this. As you rightly said, queer characters always getting killed off is exhausting, and as a bi woman myself, I am deeply affected by instances of Bury Your Gays. When Supernatural killed off Charlie, I wrote a novel-length fix-it fic and basically stopped watching the show – a show I had been following, flaws and all, for 10 years. I don’t take it lightly. But Kavinsky’s death isn’t Bury Your Gays, nor is it homophobia. Sometimes, a character death is just a character death.

[mellicose]

Doctor ... WTF?

An impassioned rant about the steady decline of Doctor Who, the trajectory of the Thirteenth Doctor, and the righteous indignation after The Timeless Children, not only as a Whovian, but as a woman-

I love how certain people are spinning The Timeless Children as being good, yet the BBC has released (2)TWO statements basically telling fans the following:

“Doctor Who is a beloved long-running series and we understand that some people will feel attached to a particular idea they have of the Doctor, or that they enjoy certain aspects of the programme more than others. Opinions are strong and this is indicative of the imaginative hold that Doctor Who has – that so many people engage with it on so many different levels.

We wholeheartedly support the creative freedom of the writers and we feel that creating an origin story is a staple of science fiction writing. What was written does not alter the flow of stories from William Hartnell’s brilliant Doctor onwards – it just adds new layers and possibilities to this ongoing saga.”

Creative freedom, huh? Ask Joe Hill about it. Or Gaiman. The writers, including Chibnall, are only free to do what the Beeb and the other show investors tell them. 

They go on:

“We have also received many positive reactions to the episode’s cliff-hanger. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, and we hope that you will come back to join us and see what happens, but we appreciate that it’s impossible to please all of our viewers all of the time and your feedback has been raised with the programme’s Executive Producer." 

Uglylaughing.gif

There is a huge, monumental difference between 'not being able to please everyone all at the same time' and basically making a whole fandom, New and Classic, young and old, come together with the same level of disgust and disappointment.

I also find the people arguing "Canon? What canon?" about the Doctor now being the Lord and Savior of the Shining World of the Seven Systems to be foolish at best, and disingenuous at worst.

No canon?? So what have I been steeping myself in for years  - a vague approximation of a tale? Please. Of course, writers have embellished and alluded, but tampering with the unspoken but well-known 'no touch' rule about the Doctor's origin is ... well, it's canon, in and of itself...

...which Chibnall completely wrecked, and I can't imagine why. Hubris? By all accounts, he was a fan. I thought Moffat was a dick for bringing back Gallifrey, but now, to me, my disappointment then vs now is like comparing a fart to a shitstorm.

Please excuse the scatological references, but I'm using it deliberately. It is a swirling turd, which I and many others wish we could flush down and forget forever.

In another RadioTimes article - which basically is the BBC - amongst the usual apologetics, Huw Fullerton drops this little gem:

“The glory days of David Tennant et al were in a different TV landscape, and if the Tenth Doctor touched down now it seems unlikely he’d command anything close to the ratings he did over a decade ago.”

Yeah, you can all take a break to have a hearty laugh. Or throw up. Whichever. Did they just hint that, basically, the incarnation of the Doctor who continues to get as much love (if not more) than Four, who still consistently gets thousands of butts in seats in conventions worldwide, and has made the BBC hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling in merchandising “wouldn’t command the ratings he did in 2008?”

As Gary Buechler of Nerdrotic said in his response to this article: “Actually, if David Tennant had been given as many chances as Jodie Whittaker, it would’ve had Game of Thrones-level ratings.”

And I agree. Not because I’m a Tenth Doctor stan, but because it’s just ... categorically true. His seasons consistently got average rating of 7.5 to 8 million viewers - and this in a time before BBCiPlayer, so 7-day catch up ratings meant nothing. It was butts on sofas then, which, to me, speaks of a massive, sustained interest.

But Huw goes on to say that such things mean nothing. And that the huge, telling sink in both overnight and 7-day ratings between the 11th and 12th seasons, and the dismal 4.69m 7 day ratings for The Timeless Children - the lowest for a NewWho finale since its reboot - shouldn’t be taken as a loss of interest from the fandom.

Then, pray tell goodman, what does it mean? Does it mean that fans are following the Thirteenth Doctor’s adventures in spirit? Ratings are tanking. Outside of the precious few who blindly tweet and write articles about the show solely based on its now female protagonist, people are notoriously furious, especially after the execrable season finale.

Yet BBC’s Piers Wenger, who once produced the show, says “I don’t think it’s been in better health, editorially. I think it’s fantastic and I think that, the production values obviously have never been better.”

Right. Okay. So, putting Tom Ford makeup on a pig makes it haute couture, huh? The writing is appalling, and after two excruciatingly painful to watch seasons, the Doctor has failed to appear - all I’ve seen is borderline sociopathic navel gazing from an ‘alien’ wearing a pastel duster.

How dare you besmirch the unfailingly cool reputation of the long coat, Chibnall? Jodie? How?? 

I will not let someone piss on my head and call it rain ... ‘because it’s a woman.’ Assuming I’ll accept it just adds insult to injury. Who do they think we are, as female fans? I will not cosign garbage to further an agenda that is ultimately damaging one of my favorite things ever, Doctor Who. I agree that politics, and a positive moral, have always been a part of DW, but at it’s best the writing was so good that it only added to the entertainment. Now, the BBC is feeding us all the bitter pill, without the kindness to hide it in a piece of tasty cheese. It gives the impression that they believe we are already so indoctrinated that we no longer need artifice!

Well, not only am I not indoctrinated, but I refuse to ingest.

I refuse to allow people to silence me because the Doctor is now a woman, and so am I. That, I shouldn’t say anything, or complain, because it’s an act of rebellion on womankind, not only in entertainment, but in general. Well, to that I say ... er ... I disavow.

Disavow. Disavow.

And this from a woman who once criticized Peter Davison for saying that casting a woman was “a vital loss of a role model for boys,” taking it as a sexist comment when in truth, it was just a relevant narrative concern about gender-swapping the traditionally male-presenting Time Lord. Just changing a character from male to female doesn’t do anything but demonstrate a tone-deafness about the emotional and physical differences between men and women, which exist whether we want to address them or not. This is why genderswap reboots are terrible. They are trying to further the feminist agenda, while surreptitiously painting traditional, every day femininity as weakness, and something to be avoided at all costs. I reject the modern Hollywood representation of what a ‘strong woman’ is meant to be. I can be clever, yet sensitive enough to comfort a friend when they confide their fears about a cancer relapse. I can be funny, and not at the expense of the man in the room. I can be brave, but not at the expense of my friends. The mind boggles as to why they thought their current tack with the Doctor was going to be any good. The Doctor is a woman, but more importantly, she’s a Timelord. Where are they? Is the alien that we’ve known and loved for the last 60 years truly gone away, and Thirteen is from a whole different timeline? If so, I don’t want to know her. 

And it breaks my heart.

Why continue to support a corporation who thinks of me, the fan, as no more than a heartless, thoughtless consumer? A drone? A sheep who has no conscious idea of what I like or need?

I’m done. It’s been two seasons of absolute dreck, with absolutely no sign of a course-correction due to the overwhelmingly negative response. I may be many things, but I’m no masochist - even in the name of love. And Chibnall, knowing that many fans would go back to the classic stories to cleanse ourselves, went back to the beginning and took a giant shit there too. 

Oh, the cleverness! the absolute schadenfreude of not only tampering, but rewriting the Doctor’s origins! I suppose that tells me he truly was once a fan. But no longer. Even if it turns out that the Master is as full of crap as Chibnall and it’s all an orchestrated lie, I don’t care anymore. Every inexplicable, terrible thing that happened before has already exhausted my patience with the narrative.

As veteral DW writer and script editor Terrance Dicks said:

If you’re concentrating on putting forth a political message, rather than on doing a really good show, I think there is a danger, maybe, you can do both but it would be hellish difficult, and I think that there’s maybe a danger that the show wouldn’t as be as good as it could or should be, because you’re not looking at the right aims.”

It seems like all that has been lost in time. Big corporations are buying up beloved science fiction properties, and systematically destroying them by trying to mix their politics into the mythos. [see ‘the fandom menace’]

I say, don’t support things that make you unhappy, in the name of nostalgia. That’s how they continue to upset us, while lining their pockets with our hard earned money. Complaining amongst ourselves, writing emails, or making angry Youtube videos no longer works anyway. Now is the time to just ... let it go. No more special edition DVDs, novelizations, or pretty action figures. Hit them in the pocketbook. We will still have fond memories of better times. I will not let them hijack, retcon, and retool them too.

There is a telling paragraph hidden in the depths of the article, which makes my DW fangirl sink:

It’s not as simple as “the ratings are down so Doctor Who will be cancelled,” as for the publicly-funded BBC there’s an interesting question about exactly what ratings are for beyond bragging rights. Obviously they need to make TV that people want to watch – but which people?

Not us, Huw. That’s who.

[kylermalloy]

My Official Unofficial Ranking of Supernatural Seasons That Nobody Asked For

This was...surprisingly easy. For someone who has a hard time picking favorites, I’m apparently quite eager to throw some seasons of one of my favorite shows under the bus.

My reasonings for this ranking are...all over the place. Since I’m considering seasons as a whole, I look mostly at the overall narrative structure, the prevalent themes, and the major character arcs. I won’t take individual/one-off episodes into much consideration...except for when I do. I won’t like some seasons/story arcs for any rationale between “this was sloppily executed,” “the message is misunderstood by viewers,” or even just that gif of Chris Evans “I don’t wike it.” I’m trying to look at seasons and storylines objectively, but I guarantee my Sam!girl bias will peek through at some point. Also, I reserve the right to change my mind at any point after I post this!

From bottom to top:

14 - Season 14

Ah, the twilight years of SPN. Now that we know this is the penultimate season, I’m a bit more lenient toward its shortcomings. Long running shows usually do stutter to a halt, story-wise. But still. I’m not taking it out of the bottom spot.

What was this season even about? Michael overtaking Dean? Nah, that barely lasted three whole episodes. Jack becoming evil? Not until the last six episodes. Team Free Will becoming a cohesive family unit? Lol. For a season that tried to set up Jack’s evil arc as a kid betraying his family, I hardly saw this “family” except in fanworks. The most heartfelt moments remained between Sam and Dean (not that I’m complaining about that—I loved those moments!) Was there an overarching theme besides “nobody is okay, especially Sam”? Season 14 is clumsy, unfocused, and does a poor job of telling the story it tried to tell. Even Mary’s second death reeked of “well, we didn’t know what to do with her and we needed a tragedy.” Oh yeah, and John was back for a hot minute.

13 - Season 9

Here’s one of these weird seasons. I like it, but I don’t. It’s well done, but it’s terrible. Also, I’m taking fan response into consideration on this one, since it colored my perception of it so negatively.

Season 9 could have been great. In a way, it was great. It was Dean’s dark arc—the part of Dean’s dark arc that I like. I’m not here to debate, just lay out the story. Dean stepped over a line. He tricked Sam into possession, lied to him for months, then refused to apologize afterward. He took the Mark of Cain as a penance, but it blew up in his face and turned him into something worse than he was before.

This is where fan response comes in. Fandom (from what I can tell; I wasn’t here back then) vilified Sam for setting boundaries with Dean, overwhelmingly siding with poor Dean who just didn’t want to be alone. The show, on paper, wasn’t trying to make the audience think this, but the POVs were skewed in such a way that we hardly got a chance to see Sam’s perspective and Sam’s trauma—so casual viewers didn’t really have a choice.

On a completely unrelated note (see, this is why this season is ranked so low) we have the angel storyline. What could’ve been a really cool and impactful story of celestial beings walking the earth, as well as Castiel exploring his new humanity in a way (that wasn’t just about sex) ended up a trite, dull affair about underdeveloped politics and characters I don’t care about. Did Metatron (the supposed big bad) even care about the Winchesters? I can’t remember. Only the actor’s indulgently entertaining performance saves that character. Even Castiel’s human arc was so short and ignored I sometimes forget it happened. This was a season that was so all over the place—good bones, bad execution.

12 - Season 12

This season is just...forgettable. Yet another season that was so all over the place—but unlike season 9, the story arcs did not culminate in a cool twist that pushed the SPN story to new heights. We had the BMOL, Mary’s return, and the Lucifer/Kelly/Dagon/nephilim story, and...honestly I can barely remember anything about them. The twisting story threads got interlocked at some points, like Mary working with the BMOL, and Sam and Dean working with them to take down Lucifer, but the threads were all wrapped up independently. To me, this suggests a lack of true investment in the stories and season arcs. Ultimately, Mary’s return was utterly wasted, the BMOL might as well have never existed, and the Lucifer storyline is a bloody, bloated carcass being dragged along behind the show by a fraying rope (called Buckleming) complete with a bad smell.

The reason I rank this season above season 9 is that I don’t shudder when I hear people talking about season 12. I don’t generally get angry when I think about it (except the way they did Crowley dirty) and it did give us Jack, the greatest fanon projection the show has ever given us. (I’ll elaborate on that in a minute)

11 - Season 10

This is the season in which I don’t like Dean’s dark arc. By that I mean...it wasn’t much of a dark arc. Instead of exploring Dean’s inner darkness and the choices that led him to take the MoC, we get a meandering season of (pretty enjoyable) one-offs. We are repeatedly told Dean can’t fight off what he truly is—except we’re also being told that Dean can’t truly control what the MoC is doing to him, meaning the MoC isn’t what he truly is. It’s a mixed message, and it ends up being too many episodes in a row of Dean staring moodily at his arm while he drinks. Sorry, an ancient tribal tattoo does not a compelling big bad make.

Speaking of bad guys, though, season 10 gave us Rowena! And more Crowley material! And the Stynes—wait, no. We don’t talk about...whatever they were.

I do like Sam’s determination to save Dean, and I even like the underhanded methods he used to get the MoC off. Charlie’s death was a horrifying shock, but it actually fed the story very well. And I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about individual episodes, but Soul Survivor and Fan Fiction are both epic.

10 - Season 8

...this season. This season is such a mixed bag you could almost rank it as two separate seasons! ;) This was Jeremy Carver’s first season as showrunner—and while I like what he ended up doing, I hated the way he played with the brother dynamics throughout the season, especially the first half. Season 8 starts out disjointed, very unconnected from the previous season. The story thread of “Sam didn’t look for Dean” is overplayed and very tired. Also a bit of a reach, considering the season 5 finale. My point is, Sam and Dean both act like pod people for the first part of this season. Dean is mad at Sam for...doing exactly what Dean himself did a few years ago (fandom misses the nuance of Dean’s hypocrisy and jumps right in the blame-Sam boat with him) and Sam is suddenly...living with a strange woman we barely get to meet and okay with not hunting anymore?

This is another example of the skewed POVs hurting the show’s message. We don’t get to see Sam’s grief the same way we saw Dean’s struggle in purgatory, and since Sam’s Amelia arc makes very little sense anyway, we’re forced to imagine it—and this is a disservice to both Sam and the overarching story.

However, the saving grace of season 8 is the second half. We get the bunker, the Trials storyline, which is a whump goldmine for my Sam-loving heart, and one of the best season finales this show has ever produced. I mean...they got married. In a CHURCH! I’m not really a wincester, but seriously how do you not ship it just a little when the show gives you stuff like THAT?!

*deep breath* I’m good. Moving on!

9 - Season 13

I...have a soft spot for this season. Anybody who follows me on here can probably guess why. That’s right, it’s Jack, the greatest fanon projection the show has ever gifted us.

Let me explain. The narrative structure of the season is a mess. The exploratory theme of Sam and Dean as parents is derailed by the fact that Sam and Dean spend less than six episodes with their surrogate child and spend the rest of the season spinning their wheels until it’s time for the finale. Lucifer as a villain doesn’t give a crap about the protagonists, which makes him a really boring and terrible antagonist—to say nothing of the fact that two of the writers try to make him sympathetic and end up assassinating the character harder than Michael!Dean did. I only found Scoobynatural mildly entertaining. As for Asmodeus...who’s that?

Basically, the only shining light in this season besides the brothers is Jack. And we don’t even get a consistent characterization of him. He’s essentially a blank slate, which means we as fans and fanwork creators get to make him whatever we want. While he’s supposedly the Winchesters’ kid in canon, it’s rarely shown—that falls on us as fans to make a reality. And boy do we make it reality! This is where I found my corner of fandom, and that’s why this mess of a season ranks relatively high for me. Still in the bottom half, but it gave me one of the greatest gifts the show has ever given.

8 - Season 7

I shouldn’t have to defend myself, but while most of the fandom harbors a little black spot of hatred for this season...I don’t. Like, at all.

I don’t agree with all the creative choices of this season—the Leviathans were an out-of-nowhere big bad with no connection to the Winchesters. However, the guy who played Dick Roman did a fantastic job hamming it up. And I love how all the pieces came together in the end—Sam and Dean, Cas, Crowley, even Meg as a surprise reluctant hero. We also got Charlie! And Kevin! Bobby got a fantastic arc, both before he died and from beyond the grave. And Crowley, even though he helped win the day, also rigged the game so he took all the pieces left on the board. Mad respect for my king.

Also, as a stalwart fan of Sam whump, Sam’s hallucination storyline was all kinds of awesome. (Except for how it abruptly ended and was never spoken of again)

I know objectively this season isn’t very good, but I still find myself rewatching it a surprising amount. I have a soft spot for Sera’s storytelling, and she did not have complete control over the creative decisions for this year. Season 7 only barely misses out of the top half.

7 - Season 3

This season is great, it really is. I think the main reason I rank it so low is because of the shortened season—Sam’s aborted arc. And that was obviously out of everyone’s control; the creators had to just pick up the pieces and make do with what circumstances gave them.

Basically, I don’t have anything bad to say about this season. It’s a brother-lovefest, it gives us Bela and Ruby, and yes we get some truly great one-off eps. Bad Day at Black Rock, A Very Supernatural Christmas, Mystery Spot, Jus in Bello, and Ghostfacers are among my favorite episodes to rewatch. I just mainly miss the end of Sam’s arc. Although I do appreciate the writers’ strike giving us Castiel instead, I still wish we could’ve gotten to see boyking!Sam save his brother.

6 - Season 2

While on the surface season 2 is barely different than season 1, it also gives us loads of gamechangers. It’s the coming-of-age season—Sam and Dean aren’t kids anymore; in fact, they aren’t anyone’s kids. The season bookends of John’s death and Sam’s death make a horrible tragedy that I don’t even care much what’s in the middle.

But then again, everything in between is so good. There’s not much of an overarching story, just a sense of dread and desperation as...something...draws near. (We don’t even know what it is, but it still scares us! It’s masterful!) The tone is consistent and effective, the brother dynamics are still balanced enough to fully enjoy, and of course...there’s Playthings. :)

(Y’all are gonna stop believing me when I say I’m not a wincester, I can feel it. What can I say, I have incestuous shipping tendencies.)

5 - Season 11

This is a season that I could tear limb from limb for falling so flat in the end, but...somehow I can’t bring myself to. I didn't find myself into the Amara storyline too much, mainly because the God/Darkness sibling dynamic wasn’t developed enough to parallel with Sam and Dean invest in. But this season does an awesome job of healing the brother dynamics. While seasons 8, 9, and 10 were fight-heavy, Sam and Dean spend this season in relative peace. In times of potential crisis, they band together instead of fracturing apart. And that, honestly, is enough for me to forgive...well, a lot, plotwise. The Dean/Amara connection that went nowhere, the Casifer storyline that went nowhere, the Darkness’s grudge against her brother that...went nowhere...and I’m not even going to touch on the Sam/Lucifer dynamic that started out SO GOOD and then...well...

Again, I’m not going to touch on it. I love this season despite its flaws.

4 - Season 1

Here it is. The season that started it all. I said I was going to consider mostly narrative structures for this ranking, yet here season 1 is without much of a narrative structure, fourth from the top.

The first season of a show is always the feel-around-in-the-dark season. This is where we learn the rules of the show, how the world works, and most importantly, who our characters are. We spend 22 episodes with the writers and actors just...figuring out who Sam and Dean are, most especially who they are to each other. They were so successful in this that they spawned a fifteen year phenomenon centered around this fraternal love story. As an additional plus, since the characters were so new, season 1 gives us the most balanced POV between the brothers. We get to feel for both of them without being pitted against each other, and I appreciate that more than words.

The horror is old-school, the storytelling can be a bit cliche, but every show has an origin story and I’m in love with this one.

3 - Season 6

Again, I love Sera Gamble’s storytelling. It’s most evidenced here in her first year of showrunning. This season had the astronomical task of following up season 5. How do you follow up the literal apocalypse?

...Astoundingly well. To me at least.

This season’s narrative structure is my favorite. It’s kind of a noir thriller, with more twists and turns than Supernatural usually gets. In fact, having now watched Vampire Diaries and The Originals, season 6 of SPN kind of echoes those shows. (I don’t think it’s coincidence that TVD aired its first season one year prior to this)

Instead of trying to outdo the literal devil (the mistake of latter seasons) we spend most of season 6 not knowing who the big bad is. We meet a few baddies, get backstabbed by former friends, and we’re told Raphael is a threat, but in the end the big bad was the friend we made along the way—Castiel. It’s depressing, it’s not what we expected, and it’s honestly a departure from “traditional” SPN. But I like it. I like it a lot. If Sera had been allowed to do more seasons like this, she probably would’ve stayed longer.

2 - Season 4

I love a lot of things about this season. The way they handled the angels was great—the right way to do unknowably powerful beings. I like Sam’s dark arc. It’s coupled perfectly with his good intentions and his all-consuming love for his brother. The plot twist at the end is perfect—Sam, in doing the right thing, unleashes the worst evil this world has (yet) known.

The tone is also perfect. It’s dark. A little edgier. Edging toward eldritch horror rather than ghost horror. Balanced out with light episodes that pack a hard punch in the feels regardless. And this is a little thing, but the color grading shifts back to more sepia after the technicolor of season 3. It gives us this little sense of dread throughout the season without even knowing why.

I could complain about the skewed POVs, about how fandom still sometimes crows “Dean was right about Lilith!” when all Dean opposed was Ruby and the demon blood—he wanted killed Lilith too. But as this instance of POV-warp serves the storyline in a good, necessary way, and Sam truly did need to be brought back from his dark path, I’m choosing to ignore it.

1 - Season 5

Are we surprised? Maybe some Sam fans are—I know some who get vexed about the blame for the apocalypse being solely and constantly placed on Sam...but I’m not. The overall story of season 5 is just so good. Lucifer is a good villain in this season. Sam and Dean have an excellent healing arc. The angels are good villains, also ironic mouthpieces of the overarching themes—despite touting “fate” and “unavoidable,” they are champions of free will, since they do whatever they want in their father’s absence. Zachariah most notably. Castiel was utilized in a good way (whereas now he struggles to still have purpose in the show) Bobby and Crowley both were good in this season (and also sparked a rarepair that’s—hilariously—canon) and this season did not pull any punches when it came to death. Even the main protagonists were shot point-blank halfway through the season! (Don’t talk to me about the samulet, I can’t do it without bawling)

And Swan Song remains my favorite season finale and overall episode. Dean relinquishing control of his little brother, allowing him to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the world. I still halfway wish the series ended with Sam and Dean both throwing themselves into the Cage, destroying themselves for the world, out of love for each other. (insert “poetic cinema” meme)

And there we have it! To my mutuals, I’d love to hear your thoughts or your rankings. And to @letsgobethegoodguys - Steph, since this was so hard for you, I did it myself so I could feel your pain. 😘

[lookinghbo]

'Looking' Made Raúl Castillo A Sex Symbol. Sheer Force Made Him A Star.

In New York, in the middle of July, if the fickle subway system allows it, you’d be wise to arrive at a destination 10 minutes early. You’ll need that time to let the sweat evaporate, to stamp out the damp spots that have betrayed your outfit.

Raúl Castillo forfeited his chance to cool down before shaking my hand at a Manhattan hotel restaurant on a sweltering Thursday morning. I didn’t mind. It was an honest mistake.

The “Looking” star was running slightly late and looking slightly frazzled when he bounded toward our table. He’d confused this hotel for another within walking distance where, the previous night, Castillo had attended a screening of the new Alexander McQueen documentary with his girlfriend, the costume designer Alexis Forte, who has the late fashion maverick’s biography at their Brooklyn apartment.

It’s cute to see celebrities frayed, even ones who are still building their marquee value. Castillo is the type who hasn’t yet abandoned public transportation when navigating the city, even though it’s becoming harder to do so without attracting strangers’ gazes. While trekking home from the “McQueen” event, a Latina teenager tapped him to say she loved “Atypical,” the Netflix series in which Castillo played a charismatic bartender sleeping with Jennifer Jason Leigh’s married character. The teenager’s mother loved “Seven Seconds,” the Netflix series in which Castillo played a narcotics detective tending to a racially charged investigation.

Raúl Castillo: a guy you can bring home to Mom, punctual or otherwise.

It’s his voice that people recognize, the 40-year-old actor said, a modest notion considering his breakthrough role as the sensitive barber Richie on “Looking” made Castillo a veritable heartthrob, despite the HBO show’s modest ratings. But it’s true that his warm baritone gravel is a distinguishing trait. Earlier this year, when I saw “Unsane,” Steven Soderbergh’s scrappy iPhone thriller set inside a mental institution, I recognized Castillo’s intonation before his face appeared onscreen.

That’s a significant feat. Castillo mumbled so much as an adolescent that a teacher recommended he see a speech therapist. He refused, instead reminding himself to enunciate or else using the impediment as a defense mechanism. “I have all these things wrong with my voice,” Castillo said, though few today would agree.

Castillo’s cadence may be growing familiar, but fame hardly seems like his long game. This is, after all, a guy who studied playwriting ― hardly the creative pursuit that commands the brightest spotlight ― at Boston University, after which he paid about $300 a month to live in a garage in Austin and perform local Chicano theater. “We the Animals,” a Sundance indie opening this weekend, marks the first time Castillo is the one generating a project’s star power. He portrays the father of three tight-knit boys storming through a wooded town in upstate New York. The movie, adapted from Justin Torres’ autobiographical novel of the same name, combines elements of “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Moonlight” to capture a domestic home life that’s equal parts tender and volatile, where abuse and affection are equally common.

Castillo’s enthusiasm about “We the Animals,” and about the possibly of again working with its director, Jeremiah Zagar (“Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart”), speaks to his ambivalence toward the celebrity ecosystem.

“He could be like Tom Cruise without the child slavery,” Zagar said, roasting the “Mission: Impossible” moneymaker’s Scientology association (and its alleged history of forced manual labor). “Raúl’s that kind of a dude. He’s a perfect-looking dude, and yet he’s incredibly real and honest and true. There’s never a false note. He’s also incredibly collaborative. As a director, that’s a wonderful thing. I didn’t know what I was doing, really, because I had never directed a narrative before, and Raúl had a way of making me feel comfortable and confident in my own beliefs and my own material. He’s so seasoned and so clear about what he needs to do to make a scene work and a character work and to elevate other people around him.”

It’s a small movie with grainy aesthetics and an impressionistic lyricism ― in no way the kind of thing that will make a killing at the box office. For someone who first fell in love with theater by discovering the plays of Puerto Rican and Mexican writers like Miguel Piñero and Luis Valdez in his high school library, playing the complicated patriarch of a mixed-race family feels like a destiny fulfilled. (Sheila Vand, star of the Iranian horror gem “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” plays Castillo’s wife.) At this point, opportunities to extend his commercial footprint ― guest spots as a cannibal on “Gotham” and a music teacher on “Riverdale,” for example ― will find Castillo one way or another.

“I’ve always felt that I was never cookie-cutter,” he said. “For as much as I tried to fit my square peg into round holes, constantly, my whole career, I could never do it. Whenever I read ‘We the Animals,’ I didn’t think I would be cast in that film. [...] I felt viewed more as a Richie. People think I tend to find those roles easier than I do a role like this, ’cause it’s harsh. I knew that I could do it. I’m so grateful for both Jeremiah and Justin, who did see that in me.”

Born in McAllen, Texas, a midsize agricultural town that sits on the Mexican border, Castillo’s triumphs were born out of people believing in him at the exact right moments. He belongs to a first-generation immigrant family, even if home was a mere 10 miles down the road. Castillo didn’t feel othered, but his dual identity instilled a sort of anti-establishment fluster.

“I just saw a lot of bullshit in the structures that were established for me,” he said. “I found a lot of hypocrisies. People valued money, and I think when I was very young, I valued money and I didn’t have it. I think I hated myself for it.”

Slowly shedding the Catholic mysticism that once awed him, he took up bass and played in punk bands. When his friend Tanya Saracho, who would go on to write for “Looking” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” likened his GPA to a lifeline out of McAllen, Castillo decided to care about school. But in Boston, he was suddenly the minority. His “bad attitude” kept him out of second-year acting courses, until mentorship from a professor of color let Castillo understand that he shouldn’t punish himself for being subjected to an overwhelmingly white institution. And when he moved to New York in 2002, his pal Mando Alvarado, now a writer for “Greenleaf” and “Vida” (on which Castillo will soon appear), posited presentation as a mark of self-worth; if he didn’t put care into his résumé and headshot, why should anyone put care into hiring him?

Of course, when success takes years to manifest, it’s easy to forget the lessons you’ve learned. Living with four or five roommates at once, Castillo worked his way into the Labyrinth Theater Company, an experimental off-Broadway troupe founded by Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz. He still wanted to be a writer ― in high school, Castillo only ever acted to impress girls anyway ― but in 2006 he found himself starring in a Labyrinth production of “School of the Americas,” a play by “Motorcycle Diaries” scribe José Rivera. The acting bug stuck. In 2009, his play “Knives and Other Sharp Objects,” a multigenerational drama about class in Texas, opened off-Broadway, earning a mixed review from The New York Times.

Still, nothing quite lasted. The business side of things was grueling, and his coffee-shop gigs were getting old, even if he did count Lili Taylor and RuPaul as customers. An agent sent him on auditions for “huge” Hollywood movies ― which ones, Castillo wouldn’t say ― but dropped him after none proved fruitful. He was ready to give up altogether when “Looking” came around. Castillo had starred in the short film that became a prototype for the series. Its director, Michael Lannan, called him to audition for Richie (the character he’d initially played) and Augustin (a more prominent Latino character who worked as an artist’s assistant). He didn’t land either role, even though he’d originated one of them.

But by the time “Looking” was a week away from shooting, a Richie still hadn’t been cast. The producers called Castillo to read for Andrew Haigh, the gifted English director who shepherded the half-hour dramedy. Haigh had seen Castillo in an indie mystery called “Cold Weather” that gave him “street cred.” Crashing on John Ortiz’s couch in Hell’s Kitchen, wondering what else he could do with his life, Castillo was at a bar one night when he received an email with a contract attached. He had no representation to negotiate his salary, but it didn’t matter: After living check to check, he was on HBO.

“I was like, ‘Yes. Take my soul. I don’t care. Pay me. I need money,’” Castillo recalled. “I needed not just a paycheck but the affirmation. I needed something artistically that I could sink my teeth into that had value to it. Something that was substantial. Something that had a real point of view. I needed a character that gave me a platform to do what I do in a really great scale in the best way possible. And it ended up being that. That show was such a great gift to me.”

All of Castillo’s ensuing fortune can be linked to “Looking.” It made him a sex symbol, a love interest, a fan favorite, a rising star whose claim to fame meant a great deal to anyone hungry for frank depictions of queer intimacy. Richie was the good-natured, self-righteous ideal ― a perfect counterpoint for Patrick (Jonathan Groff), the series’ unsettled protagonist. It became gay viewers’ great disappointment when they learned that Castillo, their anointed hunk, was in fact straight.

“His inability to be fake as a person translates directly into his acting,” Groff said. “There is nothing extraneous or false about Raúl, and he brought a grounded, honest integrity to the character that absolutely no one else could have. He’s also just innately magic on screen and has that ‘it’ factor.”

Perhaps it was Castillo’s dual identity as a Mexican-American that helped him shine as a gay, blue-collar Californian who was sure of himself despite being rejected by his family. It’s certainly what lets him shine as the cash-strapped paterfamilias, caught between unremitting love for his kin and an inescapable pattern of violence, in “We the Animals.” This dyad comes at time when Castillo sees his identity splashed across the evening news.

McAllen houses the U.S. Border Patrol’s busiest hub for detaining immigrants suspected of entering the country illegally. While Castillo was vacationing in Europe and playing make-believe on sets, children were being ripped from their parents’ arms in his hometown.

“I would always have to explain where McAllen was, and now it’s this name you’re seeing constantly in the news for all these reasons that represent, for me, everything that’s wrong with this country,” Castillo said. “It was paralyzing. I was sitting in a beach in Europe, wondering why I deserved to be there. My parents had access to this country in ways that people who are coming from longer distances don’t. We had the great gift of citizenship, which is an incredible privilege. But my parents were immigrants, and they navigated that dynamic our entire lives. I saw my mom and my dad deal with all the insecurities and all the precarious nature of what being an immigrant in this country is. [...] Having grown up going back and forth across the border throughout my whole life, it’s disheartening and upsetting to see what’s happening. And then to think about this particular movie that deals with children, who are especially in that age when their minds are being formed and their view of the world is taking shape, to think about [the ones] locked in cages is enraging.”

Castillo may be miles from that crisis now, but he’s done more to better the world for brown people than he can know. His goal hasn’t been to diversity Hollywood roles written for white ensembles; it’s been to find work that naturally accentuates the grooves of his Latino heritage. He saw almost no Chicano role models in popular culture growing up, and now he is writing and starring in artistic endeavors that paint all shades of the human experience ― gay, poor, brown, cannibalistic, whatever ― with a dynamic brush.

Which isn’t to say everything’s gotten easy. He was slated to play the lead in “Mix Tape” (a musical drama set in Los Angeles) and appear on “One Day at a Time” (the Norman Lear reboot), but has since exited both series and would rather not disclose why. I got the sense, during our two-hour breakfast, that Castillo is still protective of how he is perceived. Maybe he always will be. He’s comfortable reflecting on his upbringing and his relationship with race ― concepts he’s spent his whole life processing ― but being candid about recent setbacks, as routinely asked of celebrities in interviews, does not yet come easy.

It’s the “ego business bullshit” that still eats at him. It’s what eats at most of us. But when someone makes a name for himself, that burden slowly fades to the periphery, replaced by a newfound comfort, even power. The man who once served RuPaul coffee now shares an agent with the drag dignitary.

“For so long, it was all feast or famine,” Castillo said. “I just took work when I could take it. And at this point, I’m in a new place where I want to be more thoughtful about the roles that I take on from here on out. The projects, the roles, the people. I’ve learned so much in the journey that now I want to apply all that and also honor my experience, because at this point I want to work with people who challenge me in all the right ways and push me to become a better actor and a better artist.”

[elsnark]

haruhiheart replied to your post:

lol what do you think this is, slice-of-life anime? you literally play a girl who's batshit crazy to the point of killing people and dismembering them herself. what difference does it make really?

Me:  (has been following YanSim since late 2014 or early 2015; clearly knows the game’s genre) You:  lmfao can you not tell the difference between genres

Also, what... what does the genre have to do with being grossed out by an idea and an overwhelmingly positive response to something so disgusting?

Please read my response to chrysur, who I also replied to in this post.

✧Sourcream

chrysur replied to your post:

well yansim was p deatched from reality /because/ its a girl who does batshit things for her love interest but i think its cuz the whole human trafficking business is a legit real life problem tht leaves a bad taste in a lot of ppl's mouths. including mine lmao and it doesnt rlly work from a mechanics pov anyway seems lik too much work for little payoff

Hey, before I respond, I need to let you know this isn’t aimed at trying to argue with you.  It’s mainly agreeing with you/adding onto your response for haruhiheart’s sake.

Yeah, like, I get it.  Yan-chan isn’t a normal person.  She’ll murder to be with Taro.  She’ll sabotage.  She’s not a good person.  I get it.  I know.  I understand.

You gotta have some suspension of disbelief because it’s a game, it’s not real, but... like... a member of the mafia actively working with a high school student that helped his brother once?  That’s way too out there.  I also don’t feel it adds anything to the game.

Yeah, human trafficking does leave a bad taste since it’s a really huge issue and it seems really prominent these days.  Since 2017 has started, I’ve seen a lot of news about people going missing, likely fallen victim to human trafficking.  I’m not saying human trafficking wasn’t a big issue before, but it seems worse these days.  Or perhaps I’ve simply grown to be more aware of it.

That being said, I’m honestly okay with human trafficking being in any form of media if it’s well written, serves a purpose, goes with the story’s atmosphere, and no one’s trying to paint it in a positive light.  Human trafficking in YanSim though... I can’t be comfortable with it.  YanDev’s writing ability ranges from being either decent or pretty bad, there is no in-between.  There’s also little risk with a heavy reward if you choose to make use of the yakuza member.  To be perfectly honest, I don’t feel a game should reward a player for choosing to participate in human trafficking.

Based off of Osana’s interactions with Taro (I know, it’s a completely different topic, but it’s all written by YanDev), I feel that human trafficking won’t be done justice.  Looking at Osana, she, the childhood friend, calling Taro, “Senpai”.  Based off of Japan’s customs, she’d either call him Yamada-kun/Yamada-senpai if she never obtained permission to use his first name, but, considering how long they’ve known each other, she’d definitely have permission to use his first name or she’d call him by a childhood nickname.  We have Osana, the childhood friend, not knowing Taro’s taste in music.  If it were worded as, “hey, what music have you been listening to lately” and not, “hey, what music do you like” I would 100% be more inclined to believe they’re close.  When you hear, “childhood friends” you automatically think, “two people who are pretty close”, but Osana and Taro don’t give off the sense of having a deep bond only childhood friends could have.

Now, I won’t deny that YanDev has handled some things decently, like Kokona’s story with her father being in debt, but, based off how he handled Osana’s relationship with Taro, I’m not inclined to believe he’ll give everything the writing it deserves.

Even if it did fit in with YanSim, if you look at every mechanic that would be involved in this process, human trafficking is too overpowered.  I’ve explained this in another post, but I’ll go over it again and explain it step by step.  It’s super easy to raise your stats enough to be able to access the ability to effectively use a tranquilizer against someone.  The mini-game to steal keys off of someone is super easy, you just need to have the proper timing.  As it is now, the nurse is all alone in her room so you’re only going to get caught for stealing if you mess up your input.  Do I believe it’ll be like that in the final game?  I hope not.  I hope there are occasionally students in the nurse’s office so you can’t just waltz in whenever you like and steal the keys to the medicine cabinet, where the tranquilizer and syringe will likely be held, then freely open the cabinet and take what you want.  As for getting the nurse out the room to access the cabinet:  the radio.  Once you find it and the NPC is attracted to it, you just have to be fast enough to get in and get out.  Hell, you can probably even use Yan-chan’s laugh to get the nurse out of the room long enough for you to steal the syringe and tranquilizer.  Raising your reputation up enough for students to follow you is disgustingly easy, especially since YanDev wants there to be at least 90 NPCs, a majority being students, in the final game.  Once a student follows you and you put them in the box, the only way for them to be discovered is if you commit murder and the police arrive.  If you get enough “points” with the yakuza member, it sounds like they can’t get caught if you ask them to eliminate your rival.  This is no risk, high reward.  How is he going to balance it?  A teacher discovering a student in the box if you placed them there either before school or during lunch?  The yakuza guy only having a set percent, say 25%, chance to succeed in kidnapping your rival?  Needing to befriend a student before they can follow you?  Will he even try to balance it since a previous elimination method, specifically setting your rival on fire, remains unbalanced after a year or two of being in the game?

Games should not reward players for participating in human trafficking.  By this I mean, if the protagonist is going along with human trafficking in order to make money or deepen their friendship with someone or earn favors from the local person in charge of the human trafficking ring or anything like that.  Players should only be rewarded for this if they help victims escape, if the protagonist is helping to shut down the process, if the player is helping a victim adjust to their freedom, if the protagonist started out as being a victim in some way and the player helps them escape, and just things like that.  Human trafficking is too sensitive a subject to reward the player for participating in it honestly.

There’s probably so much more I could say, but I feel that this about covers it.

✧Sourcream

[kingofthewilderwest]

What do you think of Viggo´s supposed death? The noise he made when falling and the complete lack of dramatic element regarding it make me think he is as dead ad Dagur. It would not surprise me to watch Hiccup attending that Maces and Talons match only to find Viggo has already won and greets him with open arms and something in the line of "My dear Hiccup, it is such a pity you couldn´t arrive earlier. I truly was hoping to compete against you"against you"

Hello, hello! Thank you so much - I’m doing well! I’m moving into a new apartment and it’s slowly coming together. :)

[Quick note on the damselstrid (continued from this post) before I chat about Viggo: The way I usually see Damselstrid dialogue occur within the Hiccstrid community is that either the individual doesn’t mind or they are very frustrated with the portrayal (I see much more of the latter on my dashboard). So I understand what you mean, yeah! It’s frustrating for all of us. As you saw in my previous post, I agree that it’s something that should be addressed and corrected in later seasons. I also guess I’m glad I helped illuminate the sexism within RTTE? The sad thing is I could continue elaborating with many more points… but I hope that, at least with pointing out some of the things, people can be aware it’s there. As much as I love the show, and as much as I will continue to love the show, it’s always good to be aware of the areas in which the show could use improvement, especially in areas of representation.]

As far as Viggo is concerned, I personally actually really hope he’s dead. As much as I love the mind games that Viggo has, and as much as I think he is a unique villain within the HTTYD realm, I don’t think that bringing him “back from the dead” would be the best choice of narrative. Even though there is a point to be made that his death feels, in many ways, anticlimactic and lacking in drama, I also feel as though it would be a poor choice in other writing respects to bring him back. Here are my main reasons why:

1. Back-from-the-dead tropes get old fast.2. Viggo might have a disproportionate number of screen time otherwise.3. Still being alive would be unrealistic.4. Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws.5. RTTE S4 wraps up basically everything with the Viggo plot arc.

1. Back-from-the-dead tropes get old fast

Fake deaths are a common narrative device in fiction used to build tension and create audience surprise. When done correctly, it can evoke shock, excitement, or a host of other suddenly-jarred emotions. Correctly done faked deaths can really get the audiences excited. When done incorrectly, though, it can feel like a very worn-out plot device… especially since it is a common trope. 

It’s to note that repeating tropes within a single story - especially tropes with these sorts of high-drama elements - tend to wear out and annoy audiences. It’s not a good plot element to recycle and keep redoing; if ever done, it should be done once for optimal effect. Otherwise, you cheapen both the first faked death and the second, make the plot of the story predictable and repetitive, and rely too heavily on tropish plot devices to carry the narrative “forward.”

RTTE writers have already implemented the back-from-the-dead trope once. It’s what happened with Dagur in S3 to S4. We never saw Dagur’s body at the end of his “death scene” in S3′s Family on the Edge, and indeed, he comes back in the fourth season alive and well. Now, if Viggo came back from the dead, not only would we recycle the same overdramatic plot device… but we’d be pulling the same stunt with two characters in back-to-back seasons. At this point, it would feel much like a worn-out, recycled plot device… rather than giving us some new, more novel twists and turns.

I would MUCH more prefer that Viggo - and Ryker - stay dead for that narrative reason alone.

2. Viggo might have a disproportionate number of screen time otherwise.

I’ve always found it interesting how long a character stays an antagonist in the DreamWorks Dragons shows. The writers tend to have a set time frame in which the villain interacts with Hiccup before we move onto some new enemy. To recapitulate how long villains stayed in conflict with Hiccup:

Mildew: 1 season (ROB; 2 seasons, counting brief appearances in DOB)

Alvin: 2 seasons (ROB and DOB)

Dagur: 3 seasons (DOB, RTTE S1, RTTE S2).

Ryker: 3 seasons (RTTE S2-S4)

Viggo: 3 seasons (RTTE S2-S4)

Now, it is to note that RTTE seasons are half the length of ROB and DOB seasons, and that he only appears visually on screen at the end of RTTE S2… but we still get about the same amount of screen time per villain. At the moment, we have a pretty decent pattern in which the villains come, wreak havoc, but end their plot arcs before their presence gets worn out. We don’t drag out the villain plot arcs in the DreamWorks Dragons franchise.

Now, if we have Viggo return in Seasons 5 and 6, then he would disproportionately dominate much of the narrative throughout the HTTYD franchise. It might feel a little odd that this villain, whose presence has been keenly felt since RTTE S2, would be so prevalent, while the other antagonists would have a disproportionately lesser time being the bad guy.

So purely from a sake of balance, it’d be better for Viggo to be dead, too.

3. Still being alive would be unrealistic.

Race to the Edge is hardly accurate in how it portrays volcanoes. Oh goodness, it is very inaccurate in how it portrays volcanoes. That said, having a character seem to fall down into a volcano still seems like a sure way to perish. We could suggest Viggo grabs onto the side of the cliff or something like that, but regardless, chances of survival are extraordinarily, extraordinarily slim for him. It’s extremely likely he dies here.

Now, people could point out, “We don’t SEE him dead.” Yes, that is true. Nevertheless, would this show actually show a dead character on screen? Would they actually show the character getting impaled or hitting the lava or something else horrendous and graphic like that? Probably not. They’re going to show a character falling down into what should be a sure death without showing their actual death. Sort of like what just happened with Viggo.

Especially given as we see Hiccup watch Viggo fall, and Hiccup’s right there with his eyes glued on the volcano… it makes it a little hard to say that Viggo made it out alive. Look at Hiccup’s horrified expression. It seems he witnessed something directly.

Of course, this doesn’t have to mean that Viggo is dead, but the most they will ever show on screen I believe - for a children’s show like this - is an implied death with the camera focused on the individual (Hiccup) watching it.

4. Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws.

One of the things I have always been curious about was how Hiccup and Viggo’s intelligence match would progress. I suspected that, over time, Hiccup would learn how to outmanipulate the manipulator and beat Viggo at his own game - though in a way that demonstrated kindness and mercy rather than a drive for one’s own profit. I suspected that Hiccup would grow from being extremely frustrated about Viggo, feeling as though there’s no way he can beat the villain, to the person making Viggo unsettled and worried. There would be a turn of tides, with Hiccup eventually gaining the upper hand. That was my prediction.

Nevertheless, the fact that this is not what occurred still doesn’t mean it wasn’t an interesting and fitting way to end Viggo’s role as a villain. In fact, Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws in multiple respects - both in terms of Hiccup’s interactions, and in terms of Viggo’s character itself.

First, the fact that Viggo never becomes overwhelmingly bested by Hiccup means that Viggo will forever remain as the character who could outsmart Hiccup. Viggo retains his legacy forever, this way, which is actually sort of fitting. We don’t have an all-powerful protagonist who can magically outdo people at their own strengths. We have a villain who still gets defeated, but retains his legacy of his strengths. Viggo’s identity never unravels.

Hiccup still manages to outdo Viggo by throwing away the Dragon Eye, but it’s not an “outhinking”, so much. It shows Hiccup doesn’t have to become Viggo to best Viggo. Furthermore, it shows Hiccup’s growth from being obsessed about the Dragon Eye to the point he endangers his friends (Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part 2)… to being willing to sacrifice it because of the people he cares about - it’s not Hiccup becoming better than Viggo, but Hiccup becoming better at being Hiccup. Then, this event could help Hiccup grow into who he is by HTTYD 2, someone who doesn’t believe he can do everything (since he never got to outdo Viggo at his own game, in full).

Last, what happens is that Viggo’s core identity - that of a manipulator - is what leads to his own downfall. Viggo leads to Viggo’s own fall. It’s Shakespearian. It’s nice. It’s fitting to have him end in the way where his own strengths becomes his undermining weaknesses.

Viggo’s greatest strengths are his control over the dragon hunters, his manipulative abilities, and his desires for profits (which in turn fuels him to hunt dragons, seek the Dragon Eye, and thus clash with Hiccup so adamantly). These are what make him a villain to be contended with against Hiccup. All these things lead to his downfall in RTTE S4.

Viggo’s gripping control is what makes him a leader. But Viggo’s gripping control is what sours his relationship with his brother and turns Ryker against him (debatably - we’ll never know how much of that incident was staged trickery and how much was genuine rebellion). But more obviously, Viggo’s desire for profit and ability to manipulate is what led to his direct end. Viggo tried to manipulate Hiccup with Astrid. That backfired. It led to a situation where Hiccup had to throw away the Dragon Eye. Viggo wanted to get hold of the Dragon Eye - it was his pursuit from start to end of his role as villain - it’s how he could extend his profits as a dragon hunter. But his own drive for the Dragon Eye, the very reason that he was such a contender and dangerous enemy for Hiccup… is what led to him trying to grab the Dragon Eye… and thus falling to his death. 

Had Viggo not wanted the Dragon Eye, he wouldn’t have been an enemy to contend with. But had Viggo not wanted the Dragon Eye, then he wouldn’t have fallen as he did.

So Viggo’s ending is superbly fitting to his character. The reasons why he butted heads with villain and became a dangerous villain are what became his downfall. Viggo brought about Viggo’s own end there at the end of S4. And that’s very fitting.

Now, it’s true that it might have felt anticlimactic in its execution, and I agree, but the concept is really something I can get behind. REALLY something I can get behind.

5. RTTE S4 wraps up basically everything with the Viggo plot arc.

Viggo’s antagonist story doesn’t need to be continued. It is, in many ways, self-contained between seasons two through four. The main plot of Viggo bothering the youths through the dragon hunters and battling over the Dragon Eye is now done. The Dragon Eye is gone, after all. And even the problem of Hiccup needing to best Viggo to save the dragons is finished. Assuming Viggo and Ryker never come back, the dragon hunters won’t harm the dragons any more. The dragon riders have victory in all the areas that they need for the plot arc. They’re not going to be bothered by those dragon hunters again. Story closed.

So there’s no need to extend the plot arc with Viggo. We’ve gotten a full narrative arc with an ending that concludes just about everything that needs to be concluded.

Rather, I would prefer if we spent the next two seasons exploring the new plot device they’ve opened up with Krogan. If he becomes the main antagonist in the next two seasons, then that would make a lot of sense, have room for development, and make for a good lead-in to HTTYD 2 by the end of S6.

Now, the last thing I want to say is that, just because *I* think that it is better plot-wise on many fronts for Viggo to be dead… doesn’t mean he has to be dead. It doesn’t mean that this is the route the writers will take. My comments are not predictive, they’re just what I think would be best for the story were I writing it myself. It’s totally possible for Viggo to make a reappearance. I wouldn’t be all that astonished if it happened. But for me, personally, I want this to be the wraps on the Viggo story arc, for the reasons I outlined above! XD