#and the good version of the story now

[kumeko]

A/N: My pinch hit for the Our Town Zine! Much love to the writer mod for the zine, my first attempt at this fic left much to be desired but the second round worked out so much better. Thanks for helping me figure out the right way to go about it. I have much to learn about the realm of cute and fluff.

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Hubert was acting suspiciously.

Ferdinand frowned as he studied his paramour of several years. As usual, the meticulous Hubert was dressed flawlessly, from his black woolen double-breasted overcoat trimmed with fox fur, to the matching top hat and velvet gloves. Not a hair was out of place. As Dorothea liked to put it, he was packaged perfection.

Even with his work as Edelgard’s campaign manager, Hubert used the same degree of care and attention. She had only announced she was running for mayor a few weeks ago and already Hubert had set up her campaign office, organized volunteers, and created her official slogan. There was a thick binder in his study with a plan for the next year, marked clearly for each month, week, and day.

It was something Ferdinand had come to love about Hubert. It had put him off at first; Hubert was sometimes so organized that he came off as cold, but over time Ferdinand had come to see that these acts of service were how he showed affection.

Which was why Ferdinand knew that Hubert was acting suspicious today. It was late November, with half a year left before the election cycle properly began. While everyone knew that Claude would be running as well, he hadn’t yet formally announced his campaign. In their small town, the event venues were few but their usages were fewer still.

It was far too early to look into booking.

No matter how detail-oriented Hubert was, this didn’t make sense.

Ferdinand’s frown deepened as his lover stood in the middle of the rose garden, his arms crossed as he gazed out at the rows of tables. Hubert appeared to seriously be considering how to best use the space.

“I did not expect the garden to look good now,” Hubert said. He wasn’t one for idle flattery, so anything he said always had an honest ring about it.

“It is the last bloom of the year. We also spent the summer replacing the old roses with new ones.” Ferdinand smiled proudly, gesturing at the still blooming roses. This late in the year, most of the plants had died off or lost their leaves, preparing for the hard winter ahead. The roses, however, managed to keep their flowers. They probably would keep them until the winter properly set in, the snow burying the plants until they spent all their energy just surviving.

“You did good work,” Hubert replied, as though he hadn’t witnessed Ferdinand’s efforts all summer, as though he hadn’t heard Ferdinand stress over importing new varieties and where to place them.

It was suspicious. Ferdinand fought down his smile now. This wasn’t the time to get distracted. “Why are we looking at this venue again?”

“Edelgard is hoping to have a small, intimate affair with her top supporters,” Hubert explained, approaching Ferdinand. His dark eyes revealed no secrets, his impassive expression as readable as a blank sheet. “This seems like the ideal venue for it. You said you can guarantee privacy.”

And this was also strange. Hubert was talking as though he had never been here before. Ferdinand raised a brow. “As you should well know. We have had multiple dates here.”

The hedges surrounding this courtyard separated it from other, similar courtyards. The rose garden was carefully maintained so that there could be multiple private parties without different groups accidentally meeting one another. Ferdinand pointed at a hedge to their left, “Our first date was right over there, in fact.”

“I remember you asked me here.” Hubert’s lips lifted slightly, his eyes softening. He reached down and clasped Ferdinand’s hand, an oddly mollifying move that removed most of his ire.

He was not supposed to be such a simple man.

Hubert’s grip was gentle and Ferdinand sighed internally. Just this once, he’d let him get away with it. As the bigger man. Clearing his throat, he replied, “Well, one of us had to make the first move, and you moved at the pace of a turtle.”

“I did not realize you were so eager,” Hubert replied with a teasing lilt.

Yes. “Not at all,” Ferdinand retorted, scrunching his nose in disdain. “If anything, you were too hesitant and clearly needed a hand.”

“A helping hand that involves a place that only serves tea?” Hubert questioned, raising a brow. It was terribly charming. “How were you hoping this date would fare?”

That had been an accident. Ferdinand had realized the second they’d both looked at the daily tea offerings that this was perhaps the worst place for a date with a coffee fanatic. It was a miracle Hubert hadn’t taken it the wrong way.

“Despite your complaints, you had two cups,” Ferdinand pointed out, smirking as he leaned forward, his hair falling off his shoulders as he looked up at Hubert playfully. “Are you certain I was the eager one?”

In response, Hubert raised their clasped hands and pressed a kiss on Ferdinand’s knuckles. “Desperate, perhaps.” He smiled against Ferdinand’s skin. “Though I am not the one who is personally stocking coffee here.”

Ferdinand flushed. “How did you—when did you find out?”

“I’m the only one provided coffee,” Hubert replied smugly, pulling back but keeping their hands joined. “And almost immediately.”

-x-

Love was quite the drug, Ferdinand reflected as the pair stood now in front of the town square. Holding hands with Hubert and reminiscing on their first date had given him an almost euphoric high. And now it was all crashing down as they stood in the empty field. A cold wind blew, reminding them of exactly why everyone else was snuggly indoors instead of visiting the town’s scenic highlights.

“What are we doing here?” Ferdinand asked, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He kept his back ramrod straight, refusing to hunch over no matter how much his body wanted to curl up for warmth.

“Edelgard’s election opening,” Hubert replied bluntly, not responding to the slight hostility. He took off his muffler, carefully wrapping it around Ferdinand’s neck. “Better?”

He touched the woolen scarf and pulled it up. “A bit.”

“You get cold too easily,” Hubert stated matter-of-factly before returning to the matter at hand. “How many people did you say this space could hold?”

“Fifty, seated with high dining,” Ferdinand replied automatically. He wasn’t the town’s event planner for nothing; he knew the capacities, costs, and offerings for each of the town’s venues, no matter how large or small. “The election is next year.”

“Indeed it is,” Hubert agreed, strolling toward the gazebo. “It does not hurt to prepare beforehand.”

“It is at least four months too early for that, if not more,” Ferdinand argued, trailing after him reluctantly. It was strange coming here in November. The place looked forlorn and desolate, a far cry from the summer where families and couples swarmed the grass. “You cannot even book this early.”

“I still need to be prepared. Claude is a sly opponent,” Hubert explained as he climbed the creaky stairs into the gazebo proper. “Surely you haven’t forgotten our school days?”

“Of course not.” Ferdinand scowled, shuddering in distaste as he remembered Claude’s pranks during their high school years. “I swear, not a week went by without some scheme or the other.” He rested a hand on his hip as he stayed firmly on the ground. “Yet, that doesn’t explain this at all.”

“Oh?” Hubert asked, leaning against the wooden railings, his hands clasped as he peered down at Ferdinand.

“Even Claude would not be able to set anything up this early. He wouldn’t be able to book, wouldn’t be able to make arrangements, and most importantly…” Ferdinand tapped his chest. “Have you forgotten who the town’s event planner is? He hasn’t once approached my front door.”

“That only means he hasn’t started yet.” Hubert rebutted half-heartedly. There was something lazy about his demeanor, as though he was just arguing for the sake of arguing. It reminded Ferdinand of their coffee and tea arguments, a weekly debate that was at this point just tradition.

“What are you up to?” Ferdinand repeated, squinting as he studied his paramour. This couldn’t be about Edelgard’s election, not really.

“Work. Which is what you are doing right now, too.” Hubert gestured at him to come up and join him. “A band can fit up here, correct?”

At least one thing hadn’t changed over the years: Hubert was a terrible liar. However, he was also exceptional at keeping secrets. There would be no prying this out of him until he wanted to give the ghost up. It was better to just play along and see the end of this charade.

Ferdinand sighed before joining his partner. “A quartet, a quintet at most.”

“This place seems a little small for five musicians,” Hubert replied, tapping his chin as he considered it. “There was a quartet at the harvest festival.”

“A string one.”

Hubert glanced at him from the corner of his eye, as though assessing the situation. And he called Claude a sly one—the scheme was clear in his eyes, even if Ferdinand still had no idea what it was. “You were rather busy during the party.”

“Between the storm destroying all the decorations and the catering problems, I had my hands full.” Ferdinand retorted, grimacing at the memory. It had only been two months and he still had nightmares about everything that had gone wrong that day. “You’re lucky we even had a festival.”

“I wasn’t lucky,” Hubert disagreed, pushing off the column. “I didn’t see you once.”

“I was busy,” he repeated, rubbing his forehead. Ferdinand could feel a ghost of the headache of that night. It had taken a week to recover from the fatigue. He almost swore off event planning entirely. “You said you understood.”

“I did, however…” he held out a hand. “You still owe me a dance.”

Caught off guard, Ferdinand could only stare at the offered palm. He wet his lips, following the arm up to Hubert’s face. “That’s oddly romantic of you.”

“Sometimes, even I feel romantic,” he replied sincerely, his hand still outstretched. “Or do you think nothing’s changed since our first date?”

Ferdinand softened, accepting the dance. He slipped his hand in Hubert’s, letting his partner draw him in close. “Old age must be getting to you. I found a white hair the other day.”

“Premature greying,” Hubert said blithely. A hand settled on Ferdinand’s waist, his grip firm. “I’m surprised I haven’t found any on you yet. I find your job more stressful.”

“And yet, I still look as young as ever.” Ferdinand grinned as Hubert started to waltz. “You are aware there’s no music, right?”

“Is that enough to stop you?” Hubert challenged.

“No,” Ferdinand chuckled, matching his lover’s steps. “I suppose not.”

-x-

Perhaps he was also getting soft with old age. It was the only explanation Ferdinand had for how he allowed Hubert to con him into going to not one, not two, but three outdoor venues in the chilly late fall weather.

Three.

Maybe he should see a doctor about this. Ferdinand crossed his arms and glowered as he stared at the farm in front of him. ‘Old Gilbert’s farm’ was what most people called it, even though Gilbert hadn’t lived in it for years and the place had once been all but abandoned. It had a derelict barn with holes in the roof and broken doors. The tiny house that accompanied it had seen far better days.

At least, that was before Lorenz and Ferdinand had gotten their hands on it.

Hubert stood beside him, an arm wrapped around Ferdinand’s shoulders as though he wasn’t aware of just how much his partner was glaring at him. He nodded approvingly as he studied the barn. “I must admit, I did not think it would look like this.”

“It took three years,” Ferdinand bit out, trying and failing to keep the pride from his voice. “I thought Lorenz was crazy when he proposed turning it into a great hall, but he was right.”

“He is occasionally and that is what makes him insufferable.” Hubert crinkled his nose. It was more than a little funny how much Hubert disliked Lorenz. Ferdinand had a suspicion there was a little jealousy behind it, especially about how close Lorenz and Ferdinand were.

“He’s not that bad,” said Ferdinand, defending his friend. “He can be fun when you get to know him. We’re actually quite similar.”

 “I doubt it,” Hubert scoffed. Changing the subject, he pointed at the barn’s wall. “New paint job?”

“After all the repairs, it needed one. You should see the inside. You wouldn’t even think this was once a barn.” Ferdinand kept his posture stiff, resisting the urge to lean against Hubert. In the cold, it was especially tempting, but it was time his paramour realized that this game couldn’t go on any longer.

There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to go to a fourth place.

Clearing his throat, Ferdinand asked, “So, why are we here?”

“As I said—”

“The truth.” Ferdinand glared at Hubert, removing his arm from his shoulder and pulling away. “Even if this really was for Edelgard’s election, you have already been to all of these places. You already know their capacities, menus, and more from other events Edelgard has held. You even know it from the times I’ve asked you to help out.”

“You haven’t held any event here,” Hubert said, his hands in his pockets now.

He scowled. “We did just last month—Byleth’s wedding. You were there.”

“True.” Hubert half-smiled. “I doubt you’ll buy that I just wanted to spend more time with you?”

“No.” Ferdinand deepened his frown, his hands fisting. “You’re a meticulous, practical man. You don’t like wasting time.”

“I don’t, but it’s not a waste with you,” Hubert corrected. “Though you are right. I did have something else in mind.”

“I knew it, you are a terrible li—”

Anything else Ferdinand was about to say flew out of his mind as Hubert swiftly kneeled in front of him. In his hand was a small velvet case, an orange sapphire ring glittering in the light. Time stopped, everything fading away except for this one moment, this one scene.

A ring.

A proposal.

That’s what all of this was about. Ferdinand swallowed, stepping back slightly, his throat thick with emotions. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, could only watch as Hubert reached forward and took one of his hands.

“Like I said, none of this was a waste of time,” Hubert said slowly, interlacing their fingers. His eyes were impossibly soft. “Though, that depends on your answer.”

Ferdinand blinked rapidly, trying and failing not to tear up. He let out a watery chuckle as he squeezed Hubert’s hand. “You didn’t even ask a question.”

Hubert’s lips quirked, but he obliged. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes, a thousand times yes!”

Even before Ferdinand answered, Hubert was already pulling him into his arms. Their teeth bumped as they eagerly kissed, Hubert’s top-hat falling forgotten to the ground. Ferdinand roughly tugged his short, black hair, earning a groan as the kiss deepened. Despite the chill, he was hot, his skin burning as he tried to pull his lover closer and closer.

No, not his lover.

His fiancé.

Sothis, he could get used to that.

Finally, they broke apart. Panting slightly, Hubert didn’t loosen his grip on Ferdinand’s waist. “What do you think of holding the wedding here?”

Ferdinand blinked. Their first date at the rose garden, their most recent one at the gazebo, and now a wedding at the barn. A play by play of their relationship. He broke into laughter.

Hubert certainly was a meticulous man.

“How long did you have this planned?” he asked, pressing his forehead against Hubert’s chest.

“Months.” A quick, succinct reply.

He laughed again. “And our wedding?”

“Years.” Even quicker this time.

Of course he had. There was probably a binder out there with their relationship in it. Other people thought Hubert wasn’t a romantic, but that was clearly because they didn’t know how he spelled love. Ferdinand pulled back slightly. “As long as its in the summer. I refuse to come out here past September again.”

Hubert chuckled wryly. “Noted.”

[antigonesghosts]

What I loved about Cinderella's Castle is it is so entirely about Ella. We know starkid can handle a show with tons and tons of characters but I found it quite refreshing for it to be so wholly her story? I think it was a lovely choice for this show and man Bryce did such a perfect job of it, she is truly such a star

[doverstar]

actually I love Tentoo and he is the Doctor and it was the only ending for Rose that worked and it is a huge gift to be able to have the man she loves grow old with her, they were always heading for that, y'all be quiet. I 100% understand the angst but it's okay, they're okay, good ending-

[ponpox]

IM SORRY this season has been SO focused on the toxic yaoi and they just keep confirming that that's exactly what it is????? It's insane my god even Quinn clocks it immediately

[gingermintpepper]

hi, i haven't read the iliad and the odyssey but want to - do u have a specific translation you recommend? the emily wilson one has been going around bc, y'know, first female translator of the iliad and odyssey into english, but i was wondering on if you had Thoughts

Hi anon! Sorry for the somewhat late response and I'm glad you trust me with recommendations! Full, disclosure, I am somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to translations of the source text of the Iliad + Odyssey combo wombo, which means I tend to prefer closeness in literal verbiage over interpretation of the poetic form of these epics - for that reason, my personal preferred versions of the Odyssey and Iliad both are Robert Fitzgerald's. Because both of these translations (and his Aeneid!) were done some 50+ years ago (63 for his original Odyssey tl, 50 flat for his Iliad and 40 for his Aeneid) the English itself can be a bit difficult to read and the syntax can get confusing in a lot of places, so despite my personal preferences, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking to experience the Iliad + Odyssey for the very first time.

For an absolute beginner, someone who has tried to read one or both of these epics but couldn't get into it or someone who has a lot of difficulty with concentrating on poetry or long, winding bits of prose, I fully and wholeheartedly recommend Wilson's translation! See, the genius of Emily Wilson's Iliad + Odyssey isn't that she's a woman who's translated these classics, it's that she's a poet who's adapted the greek traditional poetic form of dactylic hexameter into the english traditional poetic form of iambic pentameter. That alone goes a very very long way to making these poems feel more digestible and approachable - iambic pentameter is simply extremely comfortable and natural for native english speakers' brains and the general briskness of her verbiage helps a lot in getting through a lot of the problem books that people usually drop the Iliad or Odyssey in like Book 2 of the Iliad or Book 4 of the Odyssey. I think it's a wonderful starting point that allows people to familiarise themselves with the source text before deciding if they want to dig deeper - personally, researching Wilson's translation choices alone is a massive rabbit hole that is worth getting into LOL.

The happy medium between Fitzgerald's somewhat archaic but precise syntax and Wilson's comfortable meter but occasionally less detailled account is Robert Fagles' Iliad + Odyssey. Now, full disclosure, I detest how Fagles handles epithets in both of his versions, I think they're far too subtle which is something he himself has talked at length about in his translation notes, but for everything else - I'd consider his translations the most well rounded of english adaptations of this text in recent memory. They're accurate but written in plain English, they're descriptive and detailled without sacrificing a comfortable meter and, perhaps most importantly, they're very accessible for native english speaking audiences to approach and interact with. I've annotated my Fagles' volumes of these books to heaven and back because I'm deeply interested in a lot of the translation decisions made, but I also have to specifically compliment his ability to capture nuance in the characters' of these poems in a way I don't often see. He managed to adapt the ambivalence of ancient greek morality in a way I scarcely see and that probably has a hand in why I keep coming back to his translations.

Now, I know this wasn't much of a direct recommendation but as I do not know you personally, dear anon, I can't much make a direct recommendation to a version that would best appeal to your style of reading. Ideally, I'd recommend that you read and enjoy all three! But, presuming that you are a normal person, I suggest picking which one is most applicable for you. I hope this helps! 🥰

[unfortunatelyilikebnha]

Bnha makes me so mad because it could’ve been good. It had a lot of good aspects. But in the end none of them were satisfyingly resolved so it just feels bad.

[ganondoodle]

.... back on my totk rewrite thoughts so, poll time (pls read before voting o3o )

no matter how cute tulins design is, i like teba more and he had at least a little bit more to fall back on from botw than tulin did, given how little time is spent on these characters (and the time that is is just ... so flat, its all so tasteless, no flavor) hes just as much, or little really, as the champions descendants were in botw .. if even, though this game should have been the time to go hard on narrative, sicne the world was established now would have been the time to dig into the story more

im considering making teba the 'sage' (no sages in my rewrite but for understandings sake) and possibly with a .. 'backpack' tulin, they are a team and work as one (doing proper character arcs is hard to do in a game world like botw, given how isolated each area is and how little everyone interacts, id focus more on having some active troubles and dangers- team getting seperated etc. to make it feel like theres actual stakes instead of a flat one scene character 'arc' and then some baby puzzles that i hesitate to even call that)

(i still havent found a workaround for the abilities yet, botws way of doing it was very well integrated and made sense with the story, i dont want to repeat that but also dont want to have the shitty totk way, - killing a character off in the present to have them aid you in spirit is interesting only if not applied to everyone bc then it gets all too samey again, something something items in a way--- regardless of how im gonna solve that issue, i like the idea of them working together just like you are actively traveling with zelda as your companion and it will work whether i give them actual abilities or not)

[gregorovitch-adler]

John not being there in part 1 of The Three Gables makes me sad. :(

I know he needs time to grieve for Mary, but still. I miss him a lot.

That being said, I don't mind Mariana being the narrator this time. I love her voice too.

And I like the fact that Mariana and Sherlock are getting some alone time together (after loads of episodes of Mariana - John's alone time and John - Sherlock's alone time). Quite intriguing.

[invinciblerodent]

Hitting the "not interested in this post" button over people's endless navel-gaze-y catastrophizing about how "discouraged" and "critical" they're feeling over Veilguard should be an Olympic sport, and brother, I'd bring home the gold

(thank you for the plethora of undodgeable, untagged spoilers btw, bunch of terminally pessimistic dicks)

[hinasho]

I'll tell you what people's problem with The Crow 2024 is — I'm a longtime fan by the way, I own the comics, I watched all the movies, so on.

The Crow 1994 managed to get the soul of the source material (comics). The Crow is a story about overcoming grief and acceptance of death — the author wrote Eric's story during his darkest periods of grief after his girlfriend was killed. So the story of Eric and Shelley have meaning, they are meaningful characters to a lot of people. Brandon's movie, while with some differences from the original story, still carried the same themes beautifully and the tragedy that happened during the filming made people (me included) turn protective over the memory of The Crow and it’s meaning.

There were three other movies after The Crow 1994 but they never dared to touch on Eric's character, instead they created new ones like Ashe Corven, Jimmy Cuervo and Alex Corvis. And those movies suck, don’t get me wrong, but people don’t have a problem with them because they didn't touch on Brandon's Lee legacy and di their best to stay on theme — grief and acceptance. They are their own thing, and that's that.

So did the comics. Eric story is the first main one, but no one took him and tried to continue it, he's pretty much untouchable, he has his beginning and his end. Instead, they created new Crows for their stories: Joshua, Iris Shaw, Mark Leung...There's a long list of existing Crows with their own stories.

The problem with 2024 The Crow is mostly that they called it a remake and took Eric's names to a character that doesn’t even resembles the original Eric — and I'm not saying in physical appearance, I'm saying his essence because the original Eric is a killer of bad guys, but he's also pretty charismatic; he loved life, he was gentle with the little girl Sarah he was friends with, he was kind, he was thoughtful, he even jokes around! Which, to many people, Bill's Eric does not resembles even a little bit of Eric's other than his name and neither does his story matches the themes and soul behind The Crow franchise.

The main gripe The Crow community has with the 2024 version is them taking Eric's and Shelley story, then changing it so much and losing it's soul when the easiest thing to avoid all this controversy and review bombing would've been just be like "Hey, we're making a new Crow movie, but we have created our own original protagonists for it!" just like people have been doing for years, because that's what 2024 Shelley and Eric feel like to people — original characters who just happen to share the names of the OG's.

Anyway, I watched the 2024 version and while Bill did a phenomenal job as always with what he was given and he looks so damn good, the story just...Didn't get me at all. There's not one bit of The Crow essence in there for me.

Hello, thank you for sharing your thoughts! 💞 I finally watched The Crow 1994 and City of Angels today (still need to watch Salvation & Wicked Prayer) so fortunately I now have a bit more context.

The problem with 2024 The Crow is mostly that they called it a remake

So to begin my breakdown: The 2024 isn't a remake of the 1994 movie. This seems to be a widespread misconception. But in all of the clips and trailers Lionsgate has released, they clarify that it's a "modern re-imagining of the original graphic novel". The movie never claims to be a remake of the 1994 film.

Now a fair debate could be how closely tied (or not) the '24 movie is to the graphic novel, which the two are remarkably different, but based on the reviews and comments I've seen, fans seem more inclined to keep comparing it to the 1994 adaptation despite Lionsgate never claiming they were trying to remake that specific film.

So basically, comparisons between '94 Eric and '24 Eric don't really hold up as valid criticisms in my opinion, because the director had no intention of adapting the '24 film from the '94 movie in the first place.

the original Eric is a killer of bad guys, but he's also pretty charismatic; he loved life, he was gentle with the little girl Sarah he was friends with, he was kind, he was thoughtful, he even jokes around! Which, to many people, Bill's Eric does not resembles even a little bit

'24 Eric is still a killer of killers. He only kills those that attack him first or had something to do with his and Shelly's deaths. He never kills needlessly.

In regards to him loving life, 2024 Eric does in droves! He actively hates having to kill so many people and takes no enjoyment out of it. The opera scene, while fantastic, wasn't a fun moment for him. Since her death, you can tangibly feel that all he wants to do is get back to his simple life with Shelly. He loves her and he loves the life they had.

As for him being charismatic, I can see your point there. In the graphic novels (from summaries I've read), GN Eric does have a morbid sense of humor and at times played around with his kills before finishing the job. His relationship with Sherri was brief but sweet and he gets a cute cat!! He continues to form relationships even after Shelly's death because of his charisma and kindness.

From a writing perspective, I believe all of these moments are intended to humanize Eric given the GN begins with him as The Crow pretty much immediately. We are introduced to him already in the throes of his grief and seeking vengeance.

In contrast, the '24 film paces the transition MUCH slower with the first act being about how Shelly and Eric meet, and the growth of their romance. I believe Director Rupert Sanders used those scenes to humanize the characters instead, which he accomplishes as both Eric and Shelly feel like they're just normal people dealt a shitty hand who only want to live their lives together. You can see the love they shared and how pure it was.

Basically, the core of the characters remain the same, just told in different ways throughout the story. In the graphic novel, James O'Barr humanizes Eric & adds levity in the midst of the carnage, while Rupert Sanders adds it before the carnage. Despite the timeline differences, both succeed in showing that Eric isn't a mindless murdering machine, and is just a regular guy who's been driven to the point of madness.

(It still would've been a nice touch for '24 Eric to adopt a cat for Shelly in the movie though.)

Bill's Eric does not resembles even a little bit of Eric's other than his name and neither does his story matches the themes and soul behind The Crow franchise.

From my understanding, the main themes behind the franchise are grief, the difficulty to move past it, and divine justice.

All three Erics suffer from visions of Shelly, who's memory plays on a feedback loop as they go about their spree. Something both the '94 and '24 films don't do, however, is touch on GN Eric's self harm tendencies. Which isn't a criticism! I'm merely discussing the different ways they show Eric's state of mourning.

The inability to move on is also still prevalent in the '24 movie. It's an active choice Eric makes when Kronos gives him the option to get his life back, and instead Eric submerges deeper and signs away his soul. He steps into it with his eyes wide open knowing he's damning himself forever.

Meanwhile in the graphic novel, Eric is already submerged. He is already a walking corpse, the embodiment of a heart so broken the only way to put himself back together is to weaponize the shards of his loss. I believe this is who '24 Eric develops into after the second act when he signs away his soul.

In the first act, he is human. In the second act, he is transitioning, and in the third act, he has truly become The Crow. Too deep in grief to escape it. The main difference between the '24 version and the GN version is that we see '24 Eric's journey to reach that final stage. It's the difference between character-focused narratives vs parable-like storytelling. Neither is inherently better than the other, just different.

And when it comes to divine justice, hmmm.....

In the GN, Eric and Shelly are killed and brutalized due to a completely random act of evil. The gang that killed them and assaulted Shelly had zero connections to the couple and were just some cruel, awful randos off the street. Based on what I've read, Eric nearly kills all of them without difficulty. Most of his hardship comes from his own bouts of depression and misery.

(By the way, by having the villains all be mediocre average goons, and majority of Eric's troubles be psychological, the GN focuses more on the danger of all-consuming grief, highly likely because of the trauma James O'Barr was experiencing when he wrote it. Meanwhile both the '94 and '24 films have Eric struggle a lot more during his fight scenes, elevating the danger of his physical opponents. But this is a tangent, back to what I was talking about!)

By all of them being average goons, the story gets across that: yes normal everyday people can and are capable of atrocious acts of evil, and yes they deserve to face the brunt of their crimes and divine punishment.

However in both the '94 and '24 movies, Eric and Shelly's deaths are not random and are planned crimes to silence Shelly. And both come up with a "big bad" for Eric to face off against. In the '94 movie, it was Top Dollar, a criminal kingpin, and in the '24 movie it's Vincent Roeg, a rich executive who's also a crimelord.

BUT what the '24 film does differently is that Roeg is also a supernatural being himself, who's made a pact with the devil to trade innocent souls for immortality.

This is probably the only area in which I agree with OG fans on that a central theme was changed. Because by making the main antagonist "unnatural", it's no longer about everyday, normal people committing horrible evils. It's about a supernatural entity on par with The Crow.

I think Rupert Sanders wanted to focus more on the supernatural aspect of The Crow universe. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing and definitely made for a fun movie, but I do agree with OG fans that the "grounded" nature of casual human cruelty was lost in that regard.

By implementing this change, the weight of Eric's vengeance is also changed. Because now it's no longer just personal. As the character of Kronos says in the movie, they need Eric to kill Roeg because he and all the deaths he's caused are unnatural and they essentially need Eric to tip the scales back into balance. While Eric's primary motive is still about doing right by Shelly, there's now an element of saving the world from an unnaturally superpowered tyrant, rather than the everyday cruelties of man.

So in this aspect, I do agree that a core theme was changed between the graphic novel and the 2024 movie. This still doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad story, just that Rupert Sanders had different intentions.

Because this still connects to the previous theme, the inability to move on and cope with death. Except now it's portrayed in the antagonist as well. His power is completely about his refusal to accept his own mortality. However, this does, like I said, detract from the normality of evil theme. So it's basically a gain and a loss 😅

(Plus, as I was writing this, I thought about how Eric's motivation is changed as well. In the '24 movie, Eric's goal is still to do right by Shelly, but it's to save her. Because if he succeeds, Shelly will be resurrected. This adds a noble spin to his killing spree, whereas the GN and the '94 film are solely about overwhelming rage at the loss of a loved one. There is no resurrecting Shelly. It's about enacting divine justice against their killers before traveling to the afterlife together. They're already dead and there's nothing GN Eric can do to change that, unlike 2024 Eric.

On the flip side, while this "nobler" take may feel like a negative change, I think it's countered by the fact that Eric succeeds in saving her, but is still dissatisfied because he's unable to actually be with her. GN and '94 Eric were able to find peace and reunite with their loves. '24 Eric only gets about 5 minutes before she's resurrected and he's stuck in purgatory forever.

At the end of the '24 film, both Eric and Shelly are dissatisfied as they can no longer be together. It's a bittersweet ending that feels more bitter than sweet. So while there is a "nobler" cause behind Eric's actions, the tone of the story is still very grim.

This is also why I believe the way the 2024 movie ended was with the intentions of a sequel where Eric does achieve his own peace. But that's a different conversation!)

...the easiest thing to avoid all this controversy and review bombing would've been just be like "Hey, we're making a new Crow movie, but we have created our own original protagonists for it!" just like people have been doing for years, because that's what 2024 Shelley and Eric feel like to people — original characters who just happen to share the names of the OG's.

Sure! I don't disagree. Well, I don't really think anything deserves to be review bombed unless it's content that's actively harmful. But I don't disagree with the original protagonists angle. Changing the names couldn't have hurt.

That said though, and I say this as gently as I can, Eric's character existed before '94 Eric and does not need to end with the '94 movie. I think it'd be one thing if the 1994 movie created the story of The Crow and that was the first iteration of Eric's character. But... it's not.

Multiple re-imaginings and adaptations of books / comics have been around since forever. The show Smallville and Man of Steel both adapt Superman in wildly different ways. Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew has had five different adaptations, and yet no one shits on 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) or Deliver Us From Eva (2003) for being modern re-imaginings. Awhile ago, me and my friend were discussing our favorite adaptations of the Little Women novel. Her favorite is the 1994 film while my favorite is the 2022 modern Kdrama!

I bring up all of these examples to say that there is REALLY nothing wrong with doing modern re-imaginings of older works, and tweaking characters and plotlines to reflect the changed style of the story and time period.

What's most important is that the heart of the story is kept. At the end of the day, The Crow is about an innocent man who enacts divine justice against he and his lover's murderers, while struggling to cope with her loss. Based on the graphic novel and what I've seen of the 1994 movie and the City of Angels sequel, the world of The Crow says that life can be fair and that no matter how high, or low, or cruel, or spineless, someone is, that karma is a bitch and it IS possible for them to reap what they sow.

I truly think the 2024 adaptation captured that feeling, even if it may look different than what people might be used to or expected.

Instead of being upset about how unexpected it is, try going in with an open mind and seeing the story Rupert, Bill, and FKA Twigs wanted to tell. I've read and seen a few interviews by now, and these three were genuinely passionate about the characters & story, and you can feel that in the movie.

And even if you still have no interest, the other parts of the franchise you do enjoy aren't going anywhere. The 2024 adaptation doesn't effect them in any capacity. The stories you love still exist and the new addition can't harm or take them away from you.

[fictionadventurer]

Potential September Reading

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (ideally in audio)

An English Squire by Christabel R. Coleridge

A Sherlock Holmes story (and/or a screen adaptation)

C.S. Lewis nonfiction

A sensation or mystery novel

A piece of one of the Psmith stories

Some kind of nonfiction book

[charcubed]

I NEEEED people—especially those with unfathomably large platforms???—to start doing just a tiny bit of internal evaluation before they log onto a blue website and say “I don’t want these queer characters to fuck in canon” or “I’d be fine if these characters never kissed again” or whatever.

This is a post about Good Omens and the prospect of Aziraphale and Crowley potentially having sex in season 3. It's a response to a tweet that I'm crossposting, but let it be known the above statement and this topic applies broadly across multiple fandoms too.

But anyway, in regards to Good Omens specifically:

I am seeing this take that essentially boils down to "Canon has now made it clear that these characters want to have sex with each other through subtext (i.e. Aziraphale and the ox), but I don’t want that to reach narrative completion because the idea of them having sex makes me uncomfortable or isn’t my personal preference” and it is, to put it mildly and delicately, A Very Bad Take.

This is rhetorical (and I do not expect or particularly want an answer), but: explain to me how and why queer characters who are unavoidably visibly queer (aka 2 "man-shaped beings") fucking on screen wouldn’t be a net positive, especially when you can indicate how canon has set it up.

Presumably, some people say things like this because ~they want to see them as visibly ace.~ Okay. But by some of these people’s own admission, there IS more evidence in canon now to indicate these characters crave sex with each other (vs arguing otherwise)... yet people would rather that be ignored/erased all for the sake of them feeling comfortable or feeling better about what canon shows or doesn’t show explicitly??

I’m sorry, but—speaking as an ace person, to be clear—your personal preferences for the story shouldn’t / don’t affect anything here. There’s too much in this.

Yeah, I understand on a personal level not having “representation.” I almost never see myself or my unique experiences and identity reflected in stories. And yet, I also understand that that doesn’t change any story or the world in which we live. Things like this are not said in a vacuum.

Any queer characters having sex on screen IS a net positive. It is rare and impactful, and openly calling for or hoping for otherwise when canon points to its potential is a detrimental alliance with purity culture, whether intentionally or accidentally. Because we live in a Goddamn society!

Who knows (other than Neil Gaiman) whether Aziraphale and Crowley ARE going to fuck on international TV. None of us do! But the subtext right now blatantly says they’re starving for it. And you don’t have to like the prospect of that, but honestly? We SHOULD get to see it play out. There’s no truly legitimate reason we shouldn’t ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Whether you "prefer" it or not.

And my ultimate hot take is… if someone balks at the idea of that or doesn’t understand the importance of it, despite even seeing the subtext… then they should perhaps unpack that? Just a thought.

Truly the way fandoms are managing to hit either “subtext doesn’t count :/ ” or “let’s keep it to subtext so it’s ‘open to interpretation’ :) ” nowadays depending on what corner one visits is MADDENING. Whiplash-inducing. Surreal. And so much nonsense you can’t pick where to start.

So! I do genuinely hope I'm not kicking off discourse but I felt this Needed To Be Said (and on more than one site). Because posts like “even if they never kiss again, we’ve won <3 “ make me want to be like…

These characters are YEARNING. Do not doom them and us to it. For once, we can reach for the stars and maybe–against all odds–pull them down. Embrace it!

---

[Update: after more discourse has occurred, I have somewhat elaborated on this further, from the POV of the significance of the queer themes in Good Omens and more specifically how they center illicit pleasure/desire]

[dukeofthomas]

I'm so mad that so far the only good robin!jason content i've ever found is his original run. Everything i've seen since has just been making him out to be the Angry Bad Problem Child and victim blaming him for dying. How is it that the only fucking good characterization of him is 20 issues from the 1980s

[secretsimpleness]

hi, new follower here for the exquisite ME fanart, have you played supergiant games' hades? pretty sure that's something i'd love to see in your style

Thank you for the kindness! Regarding Hades, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that it's not my type of game, gameplay-wise. I usually don't enjoy combat for its own sake. The good news is that I did some research, because in this instance I'm perfectly fine with watching someone else suffer with combat. So, at the very least, I did some scribbles for you based on my findings :)

[goldensunset]

The scene is pretty much the same but the wording to me is just so much more volatile. He's not even calling him a freak here, he's calling him a monster, which is something he has never called N before now, not in the games and not in the manga in any translation I've come across. It reads as so much more dehumanizing here and the way he says N is "biting the hand that feeds him" is so interesting to me. N is being disobedient by expressing his love for Ghetsis, that is what gets him marked as being unruly, going against the rules. This Ghetsis isn't just expressing his disdain for being N's father, he's expressing his disdain for N as a whole; N is "disgusting" to him. I prefer this translation rather than the official one just because it feels so much more emotionally charged, it feels so much more hate filled.

aurghghgh……….

[sysig]

My fourth wall OCs! ♥ (Patreon)

I tried to put everything in the tags but ended up being too long-winded lol, so here it is instead!

For this year’s big behind-the-scenes project, I realized I haven’t given colour references to a lot of my 4th Wall characters! There are...a surprising proportion of femboys who are aware of their existence here now that I look at it lol - I mean technically only Cory and Mint count there but that's still 2/8 - a fourth is kind of a lot! Their sizing is pretty funny to me as well, Cory’s proportions make everyone else look tiny by comparison, he’s just got a very large eye! Set right next to Gijat too, Vortians are so compact - he’s fully grown he’s an adult he’s just small!

Okay, for actuals now, starting left-to-right - while they’re obviously organized by height, it's funny because Cure is also the oldest by creation date. She's front of the line on everything! How silly. She's larger than your average plush bear but only by a little - just enough to be like Mildly intimidating if she approached haha. Puntable - and yet unpuntable lol. It's not just her being the oldest of the lot that makes her more powerful (although that is a contributing factor - she’s aware of her status both in and out of character!). It's not just Kids Rules either since she was made such a long time ago - y'know like ''Oh yeah well my character is [very powerful for X reasons]'' - although yes Also That lol. She's a Fourth Wall OC down to her roots, always intended that way - not everyone here can say that!

Tala also has that edge! Though in a very different way haha - she's also the only one here with a physical counterpart, which is fun :D Means she can go on “actual” adventures and bring that knowledge back with her cartoon versions - both are as real as the other! I keep forgotting her bow, agh, I need to take some more pictures of her sometime so my mental picture of her is more up to date haha

I guess my blankslate HF expression kind of counts?? Lol, it’s mostly for funsies, they’re more like a Concept As Person so?? Sure lol, With Accessories of course lol - haven’t been fighting it much lately so that’s all for now ♪ I wonder if they’ll stay so lucky in the near future hmmm

Gijat! ♥ He ended up being an accidental fourth wall character actually haha, he wasn’t designed with that in mind! He's not meant to know such things, but he did fairly well with it while he was part of the main rotation :) He was designed to be a story character but he ended up being my favourite comfort character so he got a few glimpses out <3 He hasn't for a while though! He's been retired for a long while actually - he's the second oldest character in the lineup after Cure but she had more staying power, sorry Gi <3 I did draw his fairy version not all That long ago tho! It’s hard to let go of anyone for Too long haha

Cory ♥ My sweet special boy <3 He's also the third oldest here! He was the first one to assert himself as a fourth wall OC haha ♪ Cure didn't really congeal into an OC for a long time - she stayed a concept and Gijat was on accident - whereas Cory purposefully and clearly looked outward from the start. He Has a story but it's never been all That developed - he has some non-4th Wall character-friends but his main focus is other, unrelated characters. He's always been very interested in other OCs, a lot of which stems from Bar actually haha - he and Bar are near-contemporaries - they're both featured here for a reason haha

Mint >:| He's...fine. He was inspired from a weird source and has therefore always Been weird - and also asserted himself like Cory. Same story - he has canon story elements but for the most part he's interested in others! Usually in a Pursuit kind of way, and not just limited to my OCs >:/ He needs to behave himself is what - he also has like 1000 outfits and they rarely repeat, ugh, pick one! I wasn’t familiar with the eGirl aesthetic at the time I made him, but he 100% fits it, look at him in his elf ears and heterochromatic contacts smh. I don’t actually know his real eye colour, or hair colour! He wears contacts and dyes his hair and won’t tell me, he even started dating a non-4th wall character without asking! He’s a real wild card

Erase is probably the babiest of the list despite Tala being newer and younger - everyone else was made before Erase! They’ve had had less screen time and less development than everyone else too.They're an incredibly light and oddly harmless fourth wall presence lol for all the danger They pose in Their story :0 They're fairly polite all things considered. They actually have a degree of respect for the fourth wall - unlike Some people (Mint) - probably from acknowledging The Player/Character vs. developer. If there's a hierarchy capable of being distinguished then Erase is going to place Themself in the safest spot. Y'know - to cause problems from lol. I do need to play with Them more - They're fun! But fun isn't quite enough to be full-fledged Interesting just yet, more to do, more to do

It's almost unfair to have Erase right next to Bar lol - possibly my most Interesting OC of all time. First created in 2015 quite soon after Cory, even in the same notebook! He retired in 2017, I think? 2018 at the latest - and then was revived in 2020 and has been here again since. And that's just his timeline! Not counting everything that went into him character-wise. Obviously my sonas don't count as 4th wall OCs because y'know - they're me - but Bar falls kind of unclear of the line between OC and sona, he's always been a weird one. He was initially meant to be an RP character and then over time he developed into a 4th wall OC/sona of a Kind. Nowadays he's a fully-fledged 4th wall OC by design - his change in design from his 2020 revival was meant to represent his transformation thereof - but he's always been weird! If I had to pick a character that I’d consider “overdeveloped” or put too much of myself in - even more than some of my sonas - it'd be him. He's one of my favourites because of that but it's hard to quantify how exactly I feel about him haha. I love him! It's painful! He's great! He's awful! He's very important to me and he'll never return to being what he was first created for again. I do quite like his new design <3 Paying homage to the video that sent him crashing back into relevance for me haha

It was fun to draw everyone :D And it's nice that they all have colour references now! Mint has definitely been the longest without one, everyone else has had at least Something - even Erase! And They're way newer! I did make Mint in a couple online dollmakers but that's not quite the same thing haha, he really needs his clothes hand-drawn :P

It's good to have them all :) They're a fun bunch and I like all of them <3 I think it’s kinda funny and a little strange how few crossovers they’ve had with each other though! So far it’s really only been Tala-Bar-Cory - the rest are aware of each other but haven’t really met, how strange, considering what they are!