#and yes you read those male characters correctly

[luna-the-cretar]

I just remembered that the only other female character i remember having a bit of a crush on was Joy from Monster Prom

(This is her, btw)

…and as for recently, it is Lethica. From Edge of Midnight. From Legends of Avantris.

Guys I. I thought I had gotten past my “edgy fictional character” (I know Lethica isn’t even remotely edgy, I’m just talking about color palette here) phase when I was like, 14. I thought that phase died years ago. I didn’t expect it to just transfer to female fictional characters…

[olderthannetfic]

I have really mixed feelings about the small proportion of F/F fiction (original or fanfic), because yeah sure, people have their desires, they should write what they want, I get it. It all works out when I hear it from person to person. But somehow the logic only ever applies in one direction? "There are more male protagonists because men only care about male characters! Women also mostly care about male characters, because that's the majority of characters they get!" And then somehow we also yet kvetch when men write female characters (because it's incorrectly or something, nevermind if women are writing male characters correctly). Why don't we expect gay men to feel compelled only by femslash for the same reasons (but gender swapped) as the lesbian slashers/fujoshi? All of those very rational justifications are applied selectively, "for me for not for thee," and it all only leads to "idk I just don't wanna write femslash", for Reasons. Do we get to call them microaggressions yet?

--

No, you don't get to call other people's fantasy life a microaggression.

That is indeed "for me but not for thee" in the sense that you get to want what you want but other people aren't supposed to follow their id.

Do you also police gay men who spend too much time on drag and obsessing over female divas? That's an actual real world behavior that's somewhat equivalent. It frequently goes unchallenged, at least by progressives, because men are allowed to do whatever they want with chick stuff, while women are "stealing" if they dare to stray into dude stuff.

(God, I've seen so much more policing of drag kings being ~problematic~ for acting out stereotypical gender than policing of drag queens for the same. It's nuts!)

Fujoshi are often queer, but it's absurd to think we're mostly lesbians. We tend to be bi or asexual women with gender stuff going on, though there is a mix of everybody, including lesbians. There are also a lot of AFAB non-women who get lumped in with us. On the rare occasions I find a man willing to admit to being a similar demographic, he usually does like gender play in his hobbies and entertainment. It's just that men face even more pressure than women do to fit into tidy categories. Bi women get told we're whores. Bi men are told they don't exist.

Yes, I know plenty of lesbians who write more m/m than f/f, but in the big picture of all of AO3 or all of fanfic or all of media, they aren't the demographic driving these numbers. They're vastly outnumbered by the bi women, the asexual women, and the straight and gnc women.

The men we should be looking at as an equivalent aren't cis gay men but bicurious soy boys and the like.

Do most of us fujoshi object to equivalent men doing an equivalent thing? I've seen it sometimes, and I agree it's hypocritical. I'd like us to afford men the same ability to play and take on identities in their art. I remember enjoying Ranma fandom back in the day and reading quite a lot of f/f that was probably by men. It had some of that same sense of distance and fantasy that I so enjoy in m/m aimed at fujoshi. (I do consume some by-cis-gay, for-cis-gay content, both m/m and f/f, but it's often too literal and too bound up in specific named identities for my taste.)

On average, the people I see complaining most about men producing f/f material are the same people who think that because I have a clit, I should center my life around women exclusively. In other words, people spouting radfem ideology, perhaps on purpose or perhaps without realizing.

I do agree that some of the ways of expressing a lack of desire to write femslash can get pretty douchey. I want us to move away from some of the less accurate ones like "There are no compelling female characters" because of this.

But the reason for all these jerkass explanations is that women and people perceived as women who like m/m are constantly asked to explain ourselves. These aren't usually microaggressions: they're openly hostile. People get defensive and try to answer with important-sounding reasons about identity and pain because society at large won't accept "I like this" as the true explanation.

Pleasure is never enough of a reason for a woman to do something.

[pixiecactus]

another thing that i've seen that is very popular in fandom spaces when people talk about gendrya and really irks me is:

people seem to have this impression that gendry can't actually stand arya or being around her pretty much, but he doesn't have any other choice, so he stays around her. honestly, this time i blame the "pain in my ass" line and the fact that in the show, i don't get the impression that there ever was a friendship between them, just an older boy alongside a little child, with said older boy being angry to be put in the position of being that child's caretaker (even when said child directly saved his life)

because in the books even when gendry was the angriest he has ever been at arya back in harrenhal, after the weasel soup (if i remember correctly) there still was a sense of trust lying underneath their interactions, still a "us vs. them" feeling and connection that was important to both of them.

also doesn't really make sense to me that the time when they decided to show us that gendry doesn't trust highborns and nobility and how he dislikes them altogether was after stannis incarcerated him.

(i want to go on a tangent about the melissandre/gendry fiasco, but at the same time i don't want to, but what you have to know about my position in this is that i am deeply disappointed. i think that book!gendry would have been a lot more distrustful about mel showing interest in him, also, book!gendry doesn't actually think with his cock, and that makes him very different from practically 90% of the male westerosi population. i'm not trying to say that show!gendry was to blame for what happened to him, but rather highlight a distinction between the two versions of gendry we got.

this is going to sound a little weird, but i think that melissandre assaulting gendry was an excellent opportunity to show that sexual assault can happen to anyone. and yes. men get raped too; if you actually disagree with that statement, i don't know what to tell you... sexual assault is not a crime of passion and desire; it is about a person asserting power over their victim. and if i remember correctly, gendry at the start of all this was consenting, and the production had another great opportunity to show a large audience that in any sexual act you can revoke consent at any given time... and what we actually got was other characters later on mocking the fact that gendry was sexually assaulted by a woman because he was a man, which makes me want to tear my hair off!)

coming back to the point i wanted to make was, after this, we see gendry going "i hate those bitches (highborns) and all of them suck ass."

...

what about that little girl who was part of the nobility that saved your life once and cared for your well-being? is this supposed to be unimportant because she had a dumb crush on you and that was her only motivation?

i think that their book's counterpart both shared a "this person is different from the rest" moment with book!arya we were able to read that exact sentence in the text. and for book!gendry i think that sentiment is shown with the devotion he still has for his friend, even after they got separated.

also have you seen how book!gendry behaves around other girls who aren't arya, the boy is fucking rude to all of them. is like no other girl can compare to arya in his mind (only arya was different... amirite, gendry?) and that's so important to me, important enough to make this post.

instead in the show we got a gendry that seems to have completely forgotten about this little kid called arya, because she wasn't important at all until she appeared in the winterfell's forge, and then he couldn't ignore her anymore because she was right in front of him.

i don't have the link, but honorary mention to that post on tumblr that shows how in the books, the period of time where gendry most smiled and laughed was during his time with arya.

[violettathepiratequeen]

Okay so I don't make a lot of ranty posts, haha, I think it's exhausting to scream about something, so this is me getting on my soapbox to just say a word in defense of Xander, and if you're gonna be bothered by that, you don't have to read this.

But I just kind of don't understand all the hate surrounding him. Hating the Scoobies as a group I get, kinda, even though that must make rewatches of the show very unpleasant for those who do. But Xander specifically did nothing more egregious or irritating than any other Scooby member (DIFFERENT things, certainly, but they all had their faults) and he gets shit for being the worst just because he's the only male who sticks around long enough to rack up that kind of hate. I think in Spuffy circles it may be just because he hates Spike so much, and a. that is an overprotection of Spike's character that not even I can get behind, and b. I think you're misreading the show if you think Xander hated Spike without reason throughout.

Because he didn't hate Spike throughout. He (begrudgingly) allowed Spike to bunk with him twice, and gave him less than ideal conditions but DID pay for his blood, both times. He was the only one who didn't jump on board the "let's kill Spike" train in S7 and even suggested that Spike might have a trigger forcing him to kill people (he also correctly identified the tracer the Initiative shot him with in S4, stating that they didn't have much time before Riley and his gang found them). The only time he actively tried to kill Spike was when he saw him screwing his ex, and Buffy also was deeply wounded and offended by the Anya/Spike fling, and just reacted differently than Xander. Buffy also allowed Xander's hatred for Spike to go on, never correcting him or telling him that actually yes we ARE sleeping together so could you maybe not insult him so much, and I think he would have backed off, just like he eventually did with both Angel and Riley, if Buffy had been firm about her relationship with him.

And beyond the Spike thing, Xander followed Buffy into every single battle despite having no superpowers, and never once had an episode where he tried to make himself more special.

He went along with Anya's unconventional way of getting them to date, and fell in love with her despite all the forceful and less-than-ideal things about her. (You know what they tell you in those harrassment and safe environment work videos? That explicitly talking about your sexual life in public is a form of sexual abuse, and Xander is clearly uncomfortable every time Anya does, so what is he supposed to do? NOT correct her? He's seriously a saint for letting her say as much stuff as she does.)

He accepted Tara no problem, and Tara described him as a sweetie to Willow at the top of S5. He asked Buffy exactly once to go out with him, and when she said no he was hurt, and his feelings didn't disappear right away (nor should they have! Feelings don't quit just because it's never gonna happen!) but he never pursued her again, even when a love spell enticed her to come on to him.

He loved and cared for Dawn like a sister, he stayed loyal to Willow after her trying to end the world, he was the only Scooby that wasn't scattered to the winds at the start of S7, he rebuilt the Summers house again and again, he put in so much time in high school and after helping with research even though books and studying were like his least favorite hobbies, and he always, ALWAYS worked with whomever he needed to to accomplish the greater good, no matter who it was or why he was asked to do so.

Spike's "You're the one, Buffy" speech is my favorite moment in the whole show but I think it overshadows the fact that Xander had his own "here's why Buffy's amazing" speech to all the doubting Potentials just two episodes prior. His arcs were subtle and not as extreme as some of the others', but they were there all the same, and he started and ended a good person with a good heart and a fierce sense of love and loyalty.

I remember watching "Welcome to the Hellmouth" for the first time, and Jesse was actually more triggering to me than anything. He mocked his friends and got in Cordelia's face and was the kind of boy I'm used to seeing in these kinds of shows. Insensitive and rude and emotionless. And Xander, by comparison, was sweet to the new girl he had a crush on, was defensive of Willow, and jumped on board the supernatural train with very little freakout. He showed his love and bravery and sensitivity straight away, and of course as a sixteen year old boy he couldn't be a model child ALL the time, but I remember being blown away in those first few episodes by how Xander was not the typical self-involved one-track-mind teen that was so often portrayed in media. And Jesse was.

I get that some characters just get on your nerves for no reason, and I have plenty of hate characters of my own, as do we all! And as I said before I know Xander's got plenty of faults, plenty of annoying qualities and plenty of dumb lines, and I remember my first run of S6, he and I did not get along at ALL (but I was also on the outs with everyone who brought Buffy back and then expected her to be normal, so it wasn't just him).

But I think he gets so much universal, unjustified hate throughout all the seasons, and that's not a fair interpretation of his character. It hurts me every time I see it, so I just wanted to add a counterpoint to the opinions out there.

[ladyniniane]

The worst Greek mythology retelling?

Unless you live in a cave (lucky you), you can't have escaped the wave of Greek mythology retellings. Some are bad, some are good and most of them are mediocre. Among those I've read, one was particularly bad and cringe and we are going to dissect it today.

PSA: As you can see, I didn't include the book's title in the post, nor use specific tags. This post is primarily aimed at me and my mutuals. If you disagree, feel free to block me and mask my username. You're the master of your ship and the only one who can curate your internet experience. Rude comments will be sent to the Tartarus blocked. And I mean, you aren't going to change my mind anyway so don't bother trying😎.

Now that we are done, let me introduce you to this book.

I already see some of you in the back rows being like "But Niniane, why did you bother with this? It's obviously going to be bad!". Well, sometimes I need things that are light and easy to read. Everyone needs to turn their brain off from time to time.

And besides, it looked inoffensive. The idea of modern women being isekaied during the Trojan War is fun. As a writer and enjoyer of OC fanfics, I absolutely love new takes and dynamics with existing characters.

Except that...it wasn't fun at all! Let's dive! And I hope you're prepared because it's gonna be a ride.

-So it starts with the goddesses being fed up with the Trojan War and male egos (Lego des Zhommes if you're French). They decide to find a way to stop the war. So far, so good.

-And their solution is to...send modern women back in time. Yeah, because they think that ancient-era women are too weak and meek. Only independent modern women will be able to handle those strong warriors:

"modern mortal women are different from ancient women [...] they're independent and smart and not used to bowing down and taking orders [...] maidens from the ancient world are not equipped to handle such a man, but I know that modern mortal women are different ---stronger, smarter, more independent."

Yes, you've read correctly.

First of all, it reeks of victim-blaming. If the Trojan women had been more assertive, they could have stopped this. It could have prevented them from being raped and enslaved! They just had to lean in and...Stop, stop. And I'm sorry but those ancient women are more equipped with dealing with that sort of men because they live with them every day. Idk the goddesses could have just...empowered the Trojan women so they could resist? Send the Amazons to help (with more success than in the original myths)? Give them a safe place where they could be protected?

-So, anyway, the heroine is transported in the body of a Trojan princess. But there is another problem. The heroine's friend who transmigrates with her is black. And she gets turned into a white woman. The reason? "Jacqueline’s lovely dark skin would be too hard to explain among the golden Greeks"(sic.). Here, we can see that the author didn't bother doing her research. Many stories regarding the Trojan War have an African king come to the Trojans' aid. The ancient world was furthermore interconnected. So yes, it would have been f*cking easy to explain. And to add insult to injury, our black woman turned white becomes the servant of the main character and is treated as her property.

-So anyway, MC becomes Achilles' war prize. And being a war prize is such a cool and fun life! You can wander around the camp, with no fear of being sexually assaulted!

-MC is a therapist and wants to try to help Achilles. She thus practices hypnosis on him and decides to have sex with him while he's still in that state. So, she basically rapes him. The worst thing: she knows it's wrong, but she does it anyway and she isn't sorry.

-Then, Achilles tells the MC that he has frequent bouts of berserk rage and that he even raped a woman. But he didn't mean to do it. Poor meow meow.

Needless to say, I stopped here. This wasn't fun, this was downright insensitive. The ending is predictable: MC ends up with Achilles and MC's best friend with Patroclus because no one can stay single!

Anyway, that was, imo, the worst Greek mythology retelling.

[justasillyartist]

I want to read a throne of glass rewrite because sjm did an awful job.

Anyway things I think would be better for tog:

•No rowan and aelin it seemed forced and to quick plus rowan told aelin to k***herself and hit her or said something aboat going to do it

•if there had to be romance aelin and fenrys would work only if there had to be romance though I see them more as friends

•I would have aelin actually k*** people

•aelin should be in her late 20s because she can't be that skilled and only be 19

•chaol and yerne should not be married that quick

•events of tower of dawn should be longer I felt we missed out on a lot of culture and characters

•chaol should be older than aelin and dorian like come on he is captain of the guards he has to be experienced because he is in charge of people and is also probably training them aswell

•lorcan and elite they have a nice relationship but why is lorcan so tall and elite so small to me elite would look like a child standing next to lorcan like have elide taller at least around 5,6 5,7

•have the group struggle defeating maeve and erwan because it seemed to quick and easy for them and those 2 are over thousands of years old like what do you mean 19 year olds helped out by 300 year olds be ye guys .Maeve brainwashed an entire city of fae for 3000 years.

•make dorians father more cruel I want to hate him not forget aboat him

•nehimah(don't if I spelled her name correctly) didn't have to die like that if she had to die she should have died later like there were other ways to make aelin motivated

•the 13 dint all have to die like what the he'll sjm some of them could be badly injured or burned or something

•aelin running through the fae war camp in chains like girl your not that gast to out run fae males/men or whatever they call themselves. It was an emotional sence for the characters though

Please tell me If there are more problems I should know aboat because I think I forgot aboat some

[fateunwritten-if]

Hey Amelia. Just literally finished the updated demo and i enjoyed reading it alot.

Honestly kinda very...sorta.. interested in the creepy shadow guy 🤣 i like them dangerous.

But still incredibly downbad for Callan ngl that scene with Ivan was sooooo awkward i loved it.

There are a few times in the demo where my male mc is referred to as her and princess. Like when speaking to ivan in the office the first time and thinking on your expectations as a future royal it says future queen. And flora also called him her and i think 2 other times there are just a few pronoun errors.

Oh, and one other thing i wanted to let u know the options for seeing the soldiers off are swapped. So if you choose to say yes to Ivan, then the next dialog acts like you refused and vice versa.

Think those are the only things i picked up on. 💖

Hey there!

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to play the updated demo and for sharing your thoughts with me! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it!

Okay, let’s break this down because your note made me smile so much:

Shadow – Oh, I love that you’re into the dangerous vibe! 😂 He’s definitely got that mysterious energy, and I’m so here for it.

Callan – Yessss, I’m so glad you’re still down bad for him! He’s such a fun character to write, and that scene with Ivan? 😏

Pronoun errors – Ugh, thank you for catching those! I’ve fixed the issues where your male MC was referred to as “her” or “princess.” It’s so important to me that the game feels inclusive and accurate, so I really appreciate you pointing those out.

Soldier send-off options – Ah, good catch on the swapped options! That’s been fixed now, so the choices should flow correctly. Thanks for letting me know—it’s super helpful!

Seriously, your ask made my day. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the story, and I’m even more excited to keep working on it and polishing it up. If you ever notice anything else or just want to gush about Callan (or the shadow, lol), feel free~!

[romilly-jay]

Thoughts About The "Thoughts About The Expanse" Panel

***spoilers, natch***

This was one of the sessions I actively wanted to go to but Managing Worldcon Life got in the way. (If I've reconstructed correctly - never certain!- this session was on the same day as the big Worldcon philharmonic concert and immediately before it? If that's right - in theory, it should have been possible to do both, one straight after the other, BUT in reality, this hour got eaten up in queueing time.

So, delighted to find it in the replays and an early priority to listen to - and very glad I did, if mainly to feel the waves of joy and affection rising as I was reminded how VERY MUCH I loved this show*.

*Yes, I know that The Expanse is also an impressive series of novels and novellas as well, but I have mostly - not read these. Yet. They are firmly IN my TBR but as with Worldcon, life has so far Intervened.

=========================================

Right, I'd written the bits above and below the === then got called away [dinner awaits no blogging, dahlings] and then... forgot to return - so the middle segment was NEARLY just the following:

Some of the panel content here.

But - hurrah - started on the next blog and wanted to link it to what that clever Caroline Mersey said about it, only to discover that... she said nothing (as reported here). Oops and - corrected.

In fact almost all of the next part is CM's pitch for why The Expanse is the greatest TV SF series of the 21st century // worldcon Aug 2024

Her pitch revolved around the treatment of sexuality and gender:

This show is the most progressive recent SFF show, particularly in the way it queers gender and sexuality in ways we rarely see on TV.

The power is how it normalises and embeds its treatment. It has poly relationships – almost unheard of in commercial productions. Holden’s family of origin. It’s not just about the tax breaks. Drummer’s crew of space pirates. More complex than a traditional love triangle (tho Draomi is a canon relationship YAY.) This is a show that consistently queers and interrogates expected gender roles. Bobby Draper: not sexualised, not all-powerful, seeks help. Peaches: classic tale of angry superhero on a revenge trip who earns her redemption. Drummer: uber-competent but also with brittle edges.

The exception to the excellence is Julie Mao – the fetishised object of a middle aged white guy’s obsession. CM comments that book one was pretty standard male-oriented SF – very blokey, testosterone-fuelled – but complimented the two writers for how they responded to receiving that feedback, gender flipping certain characters from book two onwards and allowing the story to unfold as it did.

CM's summary of what she loves about the show is made with reference to the final three episodes of S5:

The story around Naomi’s resilience – her desperate determination to save the Roci from Inaros’s trap – we don’t breathe until she does again – amazing engineering ingenuity – while she’s trying to send a signal and break the trap. We have Amos and Peaches and their hugely daring escape from Earth. Avasarala’s coup. Drummer’s torn loyalties – but we’ve also got: how you best deal with your sex pest cast member by writing them out in a way that respects the character but conclusively rules out a return. Those episodes exemplify the most striking and my favourite things about the series.

There was really only one point I *really* wanted to grab from the rest of the session and I *believe* it was lawyer Wes Rist who made it:

Noting the benefit to the quality of the story - its complexity, its ambiguity, the kinks away from expected narratives - that they had several “goes” at it. The role playing game. The books (and novellas filling out the world between the main stories). And then the show.

=========================================

Finishing up by I'm listing out the panel members, incl their varied backgrounds, along with a sort-of-summary of what they said about themselves. To me, this is synecdochal (??) of the identity and value-set of the series and the quality of its appeal i.e. appeals to and relevant to, well, lots of people but almost certainly including:

people who are interested in politics and/or international relations and/or Marxism and/or debating between different philosophies;

people who like hard science and realistic space battles - slash - pouring of liquids in zero G;

people who want to imagine human futures across and within the solar system and the social - slash - economic - slash - politics impacts and implications involved in becoming a bi-planetary species and/or a multi-space location capitalist construct; and

people who want to imagine alternative gendered futures.

[Also, people who think about the Roman empire alot. Perhaps daily.]

These, then, are the panellists:

Sven von Vittorelli is a conservation biologist from Germany, who told the room that his day job is often filled with frustration, with the sense of coming up against the boundaries of what's possible, and so chooses to enrich his life through engaging with science fiction.

[Writing - he's working on the first novel in a hard SF series, which appealed to me immediately because it namechecks Shackleton in the title, Shackleton Ridge. And as a fan - he won me over again by naming Firefly and Battlestar Galactica as series he loved on the way to becoming a fan of The Expanse.]

Wes Rist is an international human rights lawyer whose day job involves working on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity - clearly, seriously heavy, and also, deeply relevant to the political context, themes and developments of The Expanse series.

[He clarified, of course, that his views expressed here, are personal - he's working in some capacity for the US government but not speaking for his employer HERE.]

Bob Hranek has a tech background, initially for the US Airforce (5 yrs), then for the US min of defence (35 years) focused on aerospace systems - he pointed out that any views expressed were his own and not those of his employer (prompting the same from WR).

He joked that given his background he would generally, in the context of The Expanse, be expected to be representing [Evil! Tech! And Weapons! Giant!] Protogen.

Caroline Mersey is a cos player and book nerd and organises lots of book events in her spare time, including the 'Super Relaxed Fantasy Bookclub' - every second Tuesday in London. [Must attempt to go...]

And the panel moderator, Michael Pea, is senior writer at Friends of Comic Con and self-declared *uberfan* of The Expanse.

[ananke-xiii]

From Epic to Tragedy to ... Epic, I guess? Or why Supernatural Season 6 is the most important season of all (pt 1).

Do I have your attention? Yes, good. But just so you know it'll be long and in installments and maybe it makes sense or maybe not.

Yes, I know the title is a tiny bit incendiary but I promise I have a point to make.  

So, my idea: I posit that SPN S1-5 are inherently an epic narrative with a tragic tone while S6, in an unexpected turn of events, heavily shifts the show towards a tragic narrative with an epic tone. S6 creates a great divide within the narrative itself that the show is ultimately unable to resolve. On one hand Sam will “carry on” the epic narrative, on the other Castiel will “swan dive” to his (many) tragic endings. S8-11 arc correctly identifies Dean as the character who's able to mitigate the divide and bring the two narratives together. However, the pervy obsession Chuck has with Deanthe show simply refuses to do so, consequently S12 introduces Jack (as an absent character but we already know from S11 The Mother as an Archetype is now alive and well in the unfridged Mary so the emergence of The Son is something clear from the very ending of the previous season) as the character most likely to resolve the narrative. However, S13-15 arc fails because it wants to do too many things at the same time. The "funny" thing is that, as a result, all characters just seem to be extremely tired of The Journey, The Quest, the obstacles, they all start screaming "Catharsis!" but it's still not given to them (hello Chuck!). By the time Cas makes the deal with The Empty the audience feels the impending tragedy and it's partially given to them, although... The show doesn't mend "The Rupture" between the two narratives, Cas dies as a tragic hero, Sam as an epic hero and Dean and Jack will remain in their limbo (a limbheaven, I guess? lol) but in substantially different positions. I personally think that this is what led to the audience’s conflicted response about the finale: ultimately the scale was tipped off in favor of the tragic narrative but the audience was eventually given the epic narrative ending.  

Premise: this is my very first attempt at writing what in my mind, I hope, will turn out to be an analysis, a meta if you will, about Supernatural. I stand on the shoulders of giants and I myself am a microscopic ant but, you know, there’s room for everyone even for a little ant like me. I want to write down my thoughts and share them with strangers on the internet because 1) if I keep all my ideas trapped inside my head I’ll explode; 2) writing them down helps holding my spiraling mind down; 3) I thrive when people listen to my convoluted thoughts and share their opinions and we all have heated chats and sometimes I end up hating those people because they’re right but also I fall in love with their minds lol.  

Finally, please just remember that I’m also just a girl, sitting in front of a laptop, asking you to not come at me.

Part 1: Or where I posit that SPN s1-5 are inherently an epic narrative with a tragic tone…

Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices…

After the Pilot, the first SPN episode starts with two guys playing a videogame. One tells the other that he’s cheating; the other replies that he’s just smart. Interesting. The third guy we see (Guys! Guys! Guys!) is sending a video to his girlfriend and oh, look! He’s reading “The Hero with a Thousand Face” written by Joseph Campbell.

In less than 10 seconds the show is literally telling us everything we need to know: we’re dealing with Young Males, An Adventure, Trials, Obstacles… and with the completion of the journey (just like the videogame: overcome all your obstacle until you win). Basically, the show is an epic narrative. More specifically, it’s an epic narrative like The Odyssey. Well, actually, no. It’s more like The Telemachy. The Telemachy is the first 4 books of the Odyssey where Telemachus leaves Ithaca for the first time to look for his Absent Father. Sounds familiar? By the way, to this day I can’t help but feel deep admiration when I realize that The Odyssey is the story of The Absent Father and it starts off… precisely with his absence! Just like Supernatural, LOL.

Necessary aside: as if this was not already enough S10E5 Fan Fiction gifts us with what I find is the most brilliant meta ever metaed on SPN (and no, I’m not talking about the fan fiction part). In this episode we find out that the MOTW is… *drums roll* CALLIOPE!!! The muse who presides over EPIC POETRY! And she wants to EAT The Author (and, in hindsight the fact that the Real Author is God… I mean, possibly Calliope was THEE monster that they really shouldn’t have killed lol). As if this was not enough… Maggie hits Calliope with… The Odyssey! Robbie Thompson was VIBING when he was writing this episode, I’m telling you!

Okay so now going back to my main point. Supernatural epic has a very distinct tragic tone. The Absent Father does return like Odysseus (end of S1) but he can’t stay (beginning of S2): in order for the Adventure to continue The Father must die (unlike the Odyssey where Father and Son unite to defeat the enemy and Return to The Ordinary World Together). After all, this is not The Odyssey, it’s The Telemachy where The Hero is not The Father but The Son.

So know let’s talk about The Son. The Epic Hero in Supernatural is Sam Winchester. He’s the one marked at birth by the story, aka The Special Kid with Psychic Powers of S2. This is the second half of the “Challenges and temptations” phase of the Hero’s Journey culminating with The Revelation and the subsequent Death&Rebirth. Sam will have to go through this cycle a lot because his own role commands it. He has to face the Abyss and then come out of it otherwise the story can’t progress. Occasionally, he’ll have to step outside the Special World into the Ordinary World (The Normal Life) even though he has not completed all the stages because the story needs to reboot and if The Hero goes back to the Ordinary World having completed all the stages then the story is over. This is why after 15 (FIFTEEN!) season it might feel (or, as I should say, I feel because people here largely disagree) that Sam’s arc is.. well, not exactly something that varies over time. It’s not the character’s fault: he’s just drawn that way (because the show refused to let go of this trite and old Hero’s Journey cycle but this is a topic for another time, hello Chuck, ya basic!). So Sam, The Son. S3 Sam faces the challenges of possibly losing his brother so The Quest is trying to save Dean. Of course, this won’t happen (as previously stated, Sam needs a continuous Quest because he’s an Epic Hero) so we’re back at square one in S4-5 with the demon blood, the 66 sigils and, ultimately, Lucifer and the apocalypse.

Sam is the Epic Hero, special by birth, called back to the Adventure by his brother, quick learner, intelligent and warrior-like, overcomer of obstacles, trials and (maybe to a lesser degree lol) temptations and capable of facing the Abyss. I like the fact that he's definitely not The Perfect Hero because his many flaws make him more compelling and fascinating. Speaking of flaws, there's one thing that Sam lacks. Sure, like all characters on every TV show he has a need, a desire AND a fatal flaw. However, there is a fatal flaw and THE fatal flaw: hamartia.

Hamartia is the tragic flaw, the character's very own trait that brings about his very own downfall. How do we know that Sam lacks this very specific trait? Because he never experiences utter and total ruin brought about by his and his own only hands.

However, there is a certain character, the one and only character that dares to "make it up as [he goes]", that committs a huge mistake, and he errs not because of some events, not because of some circumstances, possibly not even because of God's will: he just makes decisions that trigger cosmic consequences...

I wonder who could it be...

[hatsunevitu]

okay this might seem like a lil bit controversial topic but please imagine tfbw but if cartman knew what fancervice and queerbait meant. like. are you really telling me he wouldn’t use it to get more fans and attention and money? please. so i strongly believe he’d make kyle participate in this shit with him to get more profit, and when kyle found out about new romantic-ish scenes between human kite and racoon that cartman had just written into the script for human kite’s movie… kyle’d get completely furious so he went to cartman’s basement and tried to make a scene.

(also i know i can’t call super craig a side character but i believe kyle actually thinks that the main characters are the racoon and human kite. no offense to craig tho. oh and just in case: i do not support queerbaiting!!)

k: Fatass!

c: What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at home reading your script!

k: I did read the script! And what the hell are all those scenes you’ve added? They make no sense!

c: Do not question my narrator’s talent, jew. I’m the one who’s in charge of writing, your task is to memorise it and worship me for all my hard work.

k: Really? Oh, really? “Hard work”, you say? What is this fucking moment, you fat piece of shit?

c: Which one, Kahl? Please, elaborate.

k: “The Racoon is on the verge of death, fighting for every breath, so Human Kite heroically decides to give him mouth-to-mouth. The camera switches to the reaction of other Friends, but loud sounds of CPR can be heard behind the scenes”.

c: Pretty dramatic, huh? I really outdid myself, didn’t I?

k: The whole new script is full of this shit! What’s the matter, Cartman?

c: You know, just decided to make your movie more inclusive and… spicy. Are you against it?

k: Yes! Yes, I am against it, I don’t want to participate in this! There are so many actually homosexual people and by doing this you erase them. That is wrong, unethical and also it’s freaking gay!

c: A-huh. So did I get it correctly, Kahl, that you don’t want to make our characters closer ‘cause that is in your opinion, and I quote, “gay”? What are you, homophobic?

k: Knock it off! Stop twisting my words, that is not what I said!

c: Then I see no reasons to reject my offer, Kyle.

k: It’s just so inappropriate and wrong!

c: What’s wrong about two male characters being close and emotionally attached to each other?

k: Everything! If it’s me and you – everything is wrong! Where’s the catch, Fatass? I will not believe for a single minute that you’re doing it for inclusion of minorities.

c: …Well, okay. I guess… I guess it is time for you to learn this.

k: Learn what? What are you talking about, Cartman?

c: Have you ever heard the word “queerbaiting”, Kyle?

k: Uh… no. What’s that?

c: Let me start with another question. Who do you think is the most popular character in Racoon and Friends?

k: Um-m-m… I don’t know, probably you?

c: Wrong! It’s not me, Kahl. And wipe that smirk off your face, ‘cause it’s not you either.

k: Then who?

c: Super Craig.

k: What? This can’t be… You’re the main character, he can’t be more popular than you or me! It makes no sense!

c: That’s what I thought! When I first saw the character popularity rank I started thinking… Where was my mistake? How is it possible for a side character like Super Craig to be more popular than me and you? Is it his character design? His backstory? His role in the plot? I was seeking for answers for hours until I finally realised…

k: Realised what? Come on, stop wasting my time!

c: Patience, Kyle, patience. It’s the most important trait for a superhero. So, let me continue. The main reason of popularity when it comes to Netflix… The reason why everyone loves Super Craig so much… The gayness, Kyle.

k: …Huh?

c: That’s right, you heard it correctly. The gayness. Homosexual orientation immediately makes a male character more attractive to fans.

k: …That’s stupid.

c: No, Kahl! There can be no mistake! I looked through the popularity rate of Freedom Pals and guess who the most favorite is there?

k: No way…

c: Yes way, Kahl! It’s fucking Wonder Tweek! The one with the most lousy backstory I’ve ever seen! The fans are completely in love with his cute little dramatic breakup with his boyfriend. Can you imagine it?!

k: Wow… That’s…

c: I understand how shocked you are now, but that’s not the end. Then I’ve heard the term “queerbaiting” and that is so goddamn genius, man, you’ll just love it! It’s when two dudes, who are not directly said to be homosexuals, show some gay hints here and there.

k: So?..

c: Don’t you get it, Kyle? It’s just hints! You don’t have to *actually* be gay, the fans will just fill the blanks themselves! It saves a lot of troubles with homophobes and laws in foreign countries, but you can still make money on gay jokes! That’s sweet, dude!

k: Wait, and do you expect people to actually buy it?

c: …Who are the most popular rivals in DC?

k: Batman and Joker?

c: Who are the most popular characters themselves?

k: …Batman and Joker. Dude… what the fuck?…

c: See? Told you!

k: So you want us to be gay so we become the most liked ones?

c: Yes, if you put it simple.

k: That’s… kind of messed up.

c: Oh my god, we won’t be *really* gay. Just… hints or something.

k: O-okay… Just to be clear: there won’t be any weird moments we have to actually take part in, will there?

c: What do you mean?

k: Like… um… I don’t know, some too-gay shit like holding hands or really kissing?

c: I will hope so. Believe me, Kahl, I like it no more than you do.

k: Well… Are you sure they’ll all like it?

c: Totally!

k: Oh, god, I feel like there is some kind of a trap, but…

c: Think about money, Kyle. The large, unthinkable pile of money and fame for just small scenes with some remotely gay-ish dialogues. That thought must calm your little jewish soul.

k: …Just so you know, I still fucking hate you. And I’m doing it only because I don’t think it’s right for a side character to be more popular than the main ones.

c: Whatever makes you sleep at night, Kyle. Whatever makes you sleep at night…

[pokesmashorpokepass]

Gen VI, Complete!

You read that correctly, we've made it through PokeFrance (Official term for Kalos, honest!) and have compiled the data!

With that said, let us begin the usual look at this generations...

Sultans of Smash!

(Which is just my fancy way of saying they got more "Smash" than "Pass" votes)

So come with me on this fabulous journey in smashing! Our Smashables are (under the Read More because, you know, this gonna take a while):

1. So for this generation, we do have three starters on the list! But, sadly, Chesnaught couldn't make it. So for our first starter, we instead have our second middle evolution, Braixen! Suppose it's not hard to see why, everyone loves magical girls and Braixen certainly counts! Counts enough to get a 66.4% Smash rating, which is pretty good says I.

2. But far surpassing Braixen is the greatest of Pokemon fire mages, Delphox! And when I say surpass, I mean really surpasses! Delphox has the honor of being the first Starter Pokemon to make it into the Gods of Smash, with a mighty 80.9% Smash rating! There's no stopping the magic of this witch! ...Side note, I think I will be naming my next Delphox "Browser", because she's a Firefox. (Ba-Dum-Tss)

3. Similar to the samurai, ninja have long been one of the more interesting mainstays of Japanese pop culture (especially abroad), and are almost always popular. So it's understandable that Pokemon's own ninja, Greninja, would have their fair share of friends and admirers! And with a smash rating of 72.5% in Standard Form, god damn what fans they have! The Ash-Greninja form, while not quite as popular Standard Form, also makes it in with a 52% Smash rating! Looks like not even a ninja of this calibur can hide how smashable they are.

4. This next Pokemon has a pretty accurate name. Florges, a combination of "Flower" and Gorgeous", certainly describes them pretty well if you ask me! And judging by that solid 67.8% Smash rating she's earned herself, I'd say many of y'all agree!

5. Everyone knows the "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" character archetype, and the closely related "Bruiser with a Soft Center". And it cannot be understated that these character archetypes are super popular. So of course, combining them into a single Pokemon and making that Pokemon a panda? Instant recipe for success, I'm sure! And said Pokemon exists in the form of Pangoro! Are they loved? I dunno, let's ask that 67.9% Smash rating of theirs. ...Survey says yes.

6. Many of us love cats, but often wish it was easier to understand them (or at the very least make ourselves understood to them). Fortunately for the Pokemon universe, they do have cats that can understand us and be more easily understood in the form of the psychic Meowstic! Coming in at 68.1% Smashable for Female Meowstic and 59.3% Smashable for Male Meowstic, it seems some of y'all really appreciate these cats! ...Now if only Female Meowstic didn't tend to fall into the French/Kalosian stereotype of being kind of a jerk (according to the Pokedex, anyways)

7. If there's two things I've seen a number of tumblr users like, it's tentacles and hypno stuff. So with that in mind, Malamar having both makes it very unsurprising they've gained entry to the Sultans of Smash! That said, at a 51.7% Smash rating, I have to admit I expected larger numbers. But anyways... Wait wha- ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOSQUID.

8. It's a tale as old as time, people look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex as a kid and think "That's them, that's the coolest fucking dinosaur ever!" While some move on or get different favorite dinosaurs, for some that passion never fades. And that passion for the majestic t.Rex, it seems, translates itself onto Tyrantrum! And at 53% Smashability, seems this king will have no reason to go on a tantrum. (Thank god, I don't think we could handle the repair bills to the property if they did...)

9. The Aurora Borealis has fascinated humans since they've first been able to observe that wondrous display of light. Thankfully for those of us who don't live in polar regions, the color-changing sails of Aurorus can help capture the beauty of such a natural phenomenon! Certainly, many of you have expressed a desire to admire this Pokemon up close and personal, if that 65.9% smash rating is any indication! Though really, the ice crystals and geometric patterns on their scales also do a lot for the appeal of this cool customer.

10. Attention everyone, it is once again Real Eeveelution Hours! And for this list's Eeveelution, we have everyone's favorite walking trans flag, Sylveon! With their extendable ribbons, piercing blue eyes, and 69.3% Smash rating, it seems Sylveon continues the time-honored Eeveelution tradition of being absolutely smashable!

11. Hear me out here, what if snails and slugs were also... Dragons? If your answer to learning this was "Oh fuck yeah that sounds awesome!", then I have Good News! This Snail/Slug Dragon I proposed is a thing in the form of Goodra, with Kalosian Goodra being more slug-like and Hisuian Goodra being more snail-like! However people like them though, considering Kalosian Goodra has a 71.4% Smash rating and Hisuian Goodra has a 61.6% rating, it's clear people do like these dragons quite a bit.

12. It may not be Halloween, but for many of us there's always time for Jack-o'-Lanterns! And with Gourgeist, the next Pokemon on our list, you can have a jack-o'-lantern that can also be smashed, something a number of you want if that 50.4% Smash rating is any indication!

13. And next up on the list, we have a noisy one! Ever wondered what would happen if bats could be loud enough to shatter anything by yelling at it? Well, if Noivern and their 68% Smash rating is any indication, the answer is "People would want to smash it!" Though really, looking at them, I can safely say you'd have to be blind as a bat to not see the appeal. Sorry, the pun had to be made.

14. I'm gonna be honest, I tried thinking long and hard on how to be crafty with my statement regarding this next one, but I just can't do it. I'd need more than one lifetime to make something fitting enough for this majestic deer! Fortunately, Xerneas can give one all the time in the world they need to think of stuff! And judging by that 66.5% Smash rating, I think a few of y'all have a few ideas on what to do with all the time Xerneas' immortality will give you...

15. But where there's life, there must, sadly, be death. Fortunately, death is this case is the very cool looking Yveltal, who has achieved an impressive 63.5% Smash rating! Seems that for some of y'all, "Death comes for you" has a different meaning...

16. Balance is an important part of any ecosystem. Too much death and you have no ecosystem, but too much life and you risk one particular part of that ecosystem overwhelming the rest. Fortunately, to prevent this from happening, Zygarde is here! And judging by how 50% Forme has a 52.3% Smash rating and Complete Forme has a 61.2% Smash rating, I'd say a number of you wish to show Zygarde your appreciation.

17. Diamonds are great. They're shiny, they're stupidly hard to damage, and they can come in a variety of colors! And that's just in our universe, the Pokemon universe is lucky and has Diancie, a living diamond Pokemon! And if Standard Form's 56.1% Rating and Mega Diancie's 65.3% rating is any indication, Diancie also adds "Very smashable" to the list of good diamond traits!

18. And for the finale, I present to you... Another Pokemon who only had an alternate form get in? Yep! It's Hoopa, the genie in a bottle Pokemon! Specifically, it's Hoopa Unbound, who makes it in with a 55.6% Smash rating! And with his rings, they'll show you the wo- Eh? What? Copyright law?! Damn it! Ok my lawers just advised me to not finish that joke, so sadly I can't leave y'all on the Aladdin reference. But I can say that considering Hoopa has a history of stealing treasure with their rings, I'm beginning to suspect some of y'all have a thing for Pokemon with criminal tendencies...

And thus is the Gen VI Who's Who of Smashing concluded, bringing us up to 136 Sultans of Smash! Well then let's see what's next... Gen VII? Oh man, we've got some choice Sultans of Smash incoming...!

[phoenixkaptain]

You know I read that Doyle apologized (allegedly) to Mormons for writing a really demonizing story about them, and while I was listening to said demonizing story, I couldn’t help but think “oh, yes, I must search these, or I shall be led astray” (don’t look at me, my speech patterns tend to match the books I’m reading, stop looking at me)

So, I looked up things like Mormons having a subsection that existed just to exile/murder/intimidate people (which did exist, but Brigham Young claimed he disbanded it), Mormons kidnapping their wives (I can’t find any proof for it, but all the proof against it is just “people are too hard on these guys” and I’m sorry but it is impossible to be too hard on Utah-based Mormons. You have not met a real bastard until you’ve met a stuck-up, pretentious Mormon who hails from the land of Utah), people who tried to leave the religion mysteriously vanishing (proof would be hard to find for this one anyway, because they could have just claimed it was a bear attack or an attack from the natives or some settlers on their way to California, and who would doubt them???) etc. etc.

A lot of the results were inconclusive at best. Which is perfectly fine, honestly. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle didn’t have an internet connection and access to the broadest encyclopedia in history, and apparently he got most of his information from reading papers on Mormons. It’s fine that he got things wrong. You can’t be led astray and think that this belittles or lessens the absolute horror I felt while reading parts of the story because of how terrifying and disgusting it is, from my own perspective.

So, when the main character, John Ferrier, is visited by the man himself, Brigham Young, I thought to myself, “Doyle didn’t even ever meet this man once. If there are discrepancies, that’s fine. I’ll just search them up, correct my knowledge, prove that my biases towards Mormons are really unfounded and-“

BRIGHAM YOUNG SAID THAT IF MORMONS DIDN’T PRACTICE POLYGAMY, THEY WOULD BE DAMNED TO HELL.

(From Wikipedia, with references to a book: “Brigham Young said that any male member of the church who was commanded to practice polygamy and refused would be damned.” You can actually borrow the book this quote is sourced to from, oh, Brigham Young University)

Brigham Young said that. Brigham Fucking Young fucking said that. This man has a fucking university named after him. He’s one of the most famous Mormons in history for saying “This is the place” when he came across a valley. When he threatened, in the novel, that John Ferrier had to marry off his daughter or else him not taking a wife meant he wasn’t a real Mormon, I thought it was wrong. I thought it was made up. I thought it was just a silly little thing people made up. I thought it was a goof, a gaff, poppycock.

I make no secret of my biases towards Mormons. Specifically, I find fault in those Latter-Day Saints who place their roots in Utah, the main hive, as it were. And don’t get me wrong; Utah has improved greatly in the past hundred years. Mormons are still the majority, but there are immigrants from other states and other countries, which gives me hope that maybe one day, there will be no children bullied in school because they don’t practice a bogus religion “correctly” at the age of seven. Just a small hope of mine.

I can’t tell you that Mormons are all bad people. Such a thing is impossible. Those children born into families that ask them to study scripture every night, is it really their fault? All religions call themselves “the correct religion,” so I can only assume that the problem of bullying and slandering is prevalent for all who don’t practice the same religion as the majority, when that majority controls the land. I’ve met many people who practice Mormonism who are genuinely good and kind. I’ve met just as many who would watch a child be mocked and laughed at just because that child was not one of them.

Did Mormons have a rough history? Yes. Was it majorly, almost entirely the fault of the religious leaders themselves? Also yes. What did they think would happen when they took over towns and put small shops out of business? What did they expect when all of the members voted for the same person, making it impossible for people living in that place to make their opinion known? The people drafted into the might not have knowingly done wrong, but I just can’t believe that liars as good as the likes of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young didn’t know exactly what they were doing.

So, is this story, taking place in A Study in Scarlet, demonizing to an unrealistic extreme? Of course. Such is fiction. But was everything in the story wrong?

No.

Unfortunately, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got at least one fact correct.

[lost-inanotherlife]

thank you for the addition! you've made some interesting points, i want to add something to them with a caveat: you've said that Charlie and Despen are important to you and that's important to me! i don't want to spoil the fun, and take away the joy from anybody so my own addition to the post just serves the purpose to re-contextualize what I have said in the first place.

it was a "salty asks" game so my answers were salty bc the context allowed it but, of course, those few sentences of mine can be read as reductive... because they are! so let me add some more "serious" stuff...

first of all, i'm basically almost alone and thirsty in a whole desert bc LOST, to me, is not about Answers but about Questions. Yes, you've read correctly... i'm in the minority of the minority in the fandom bc LOST has become famous as "The Show that Doesn't Answer its Own Questions" which is an insanely wild take. To me. To each their own. But I say: LOST is the Show that Asks you Difficul Questions.

so since, to me, LOST is about Questions and what You as audience take away from it, I could never say that your counterpoints are not valid. Firstly, because they are. I mean, yours is a generous reading as far as I am concerned but it's a very valid reading ("valid" not bc "I've said so" but bc I think the text does support what you're saying, as in: I can't say that what you say is factually incorrect).

However. and here's my second point: I really liked Charlie and Despen, as you've read in my post. Like, when I first watched the show they really were "IT" for me so I can totally understand where you're coming from and I respect that bc hey! I was on "Penny's boat", excuse me for the pun, lmao.

Rewatching the show after 20 years means that I've been rewatching the show with the eyes of a person who's lived 20 more years on this planet... and who's watched 20 more years worth of media... so, I guess, I had to change my mind on some stuff or... how can I put it... it'd mean that I was still holding onto my teenager mentality and... as whimsy as it sounds it's also not possible. I have grown up and grown older, after all.

And so, Penny. Yes, I was uncharitable towards her and my blog is dedicated to avenging LOST female characters. However, this avenging process requires a lot of work FROM ME as an audience member. The show is not as generous as you and I are towards our favorite women and this is why fandom is important. This is why, if Penny is important to you, it's crucial that you go ahead and give her more depth. Take the crumbs the show has given us and make her a Real Character. Bc as far as LOST is concerned, female characters are secondary to male characters and this is something that I think anybody would be pressed to argue against.

This doesn't mean that they are all Sexy Lamps, as the trope says, bc CLEARLY they are not. But they aren't given the OPPORTUNITY to have more depth and, sadly, Penny fits the description. It's Desmond's story and she has a role in it, a central and important role but it's still a secondary role. In other words, it's "not Penny's boat" like it's not Penny's story.

Does this bother me? Yes. Did the writers have to do better? Absolutely yes. Does this mean we can't like her or can't find something in her that's important for us? Hell, no!

so thank you for giving me more insights into Penny as a character! It's important that LOST fandom focus on this rather than the never ending discourse about the finale.

As far as Charlie and addiction/recovery are concerned... I need more time to be able to write about that bc it's a delicate topic but I hear what you say. However, there are some things in the writing wrt these topics that I personally have some issues with.

I'll write about them as soon as I have a moment and I'll make sure to tag you in case you're still interested in my ramblings :P

thanks again, you've given me a lot of food for thought!!!

and thanks for saying that i've made you change your feelings about jate, that means a lot to me! 2025 needs to rediscover jack shephard and kate austen and the mess they are together! lol

7, 13, and 17 for the salty asks!

thank u for taking pity on me 🌷🌷😂 i just love sending&answering asks 😊

okay, let's gooo! let's see these salty asks!

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

Yep! I was a huuuge Charlie Pace fan, like he was my second favourite character, I just liked him a lot! On a 20-years-later rewatch though? Ahem, well! Turns out that I don't really like Charlie after all. I found myself making too many excuses for the things I didn't like in his character so eventually I had to give up ad admit defeat: Charlie is a bit of a dick. Ngl, I think the writers didn't handle the drug addiction storyline particularly well. I dunno, I find his arc too all over the place, not to mention that its finale message is so dark: if you follow the "recovery" storyline then you have a character who can't really recover, the only way to be "forgiven" is through self-sacrifice which... dangerous message. If you follow the "Charlie is a dick not bc of drugs but bc of his personality + backstory" then you also have the story of a character that can't  be "saved" bc he's "inerehently" off-putting and weird and a bit of a dick, which is also a dangerous message.

I'm not trying to be a moralist but the show does have, at time, a very evangelical vibe that I feel like I need to go against it and say my piece about it, lol. Incidentally, I think this is also why the show definitely toned down (read: did its best to make us forget about it) Jack's suicidality, drug AND alcohol abuse. If you connect the dots the final message of the show is absolutely bone-chilling.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

I think Desmond and Penny's love story is... okay, ig. I used to see their love story as the epitome of all love stories but on rewatch it's just... okay. I know, I know, EYE know... it's all very Odyssey-coded and I do like that a lot but... it's also very male-centric and, ngl, I don't understand why Des is so hung up on getting Charles' approval. I mean, YES he has big issues with masculine figures of authority, that much is clear, but why? You gotta give me a reason, brotha. On Penny's side... look, I understand that her name is Penelope but is she a character or an archetype? The Waiting Wife/Lover has to have a personality too and you gotta write it bc I can't do your job as well, writers. Lol.

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

I would have completely changed Michael and Walter's stories in S3. Not sure how, maybe I would've killed off Michael while he was trying to save his son and Walt was left to live with the Others like Alex did (he wouldn't know Michael was killed by them or something). I dunno, I'm spitballing now but I'm furious with how they've handled their story. Look, writing children is difficult bc the actors obviously grow up more rapidly than the story but still... they kinda forgot about him while Michael "becoming" Kevin Johnson doesn't make an ounce of sense. Me not like at all. I wouldn't want Michael to die/be killed at all but I understand that, in his case, sacrificing himself for his son DOES make sense bc his story is a story about a HUUUGE sacrifice done in the name of his son's well-being and it's complex and hard and difficult to watch but it's  also so raw and real. I just hate how they introduced something so good and then turned it into something so bad.

thank u so much for this ask, i'm not thinking about 3000 more things about this show hahahah 😘

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

Can I request for Ei/baal, Yae miko, and Sara with an S/O who is wife material? Y'know how thoma is a great attendant and male wife and were kinda the same? Like we dote on them constantly?

Them with a s/o that's spouse material

characters: Yae Miko/Ei/Kujou Sara x gn!reader(seperate)

warnings: none, just fluff

a/n: I hope I did it correctly, even though I'm a bit worried that it might have turned into something more considered as a general "living with them" fic, but I guess it should be okay.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Yae Miko

You were what could be considered the perfect partner for Yae. You were easy to talk to, could cook fried tofu like no other and liked reading as much as her. But you were also easily embarrassed and so not even your seemingly perfect nature could protect you from her teasing. Instead, the fox envoy managed to somehow find a way to tease you about it. But once her mocking would end, the two of you would just sit next to each other in comfortable silence, reading whatever new, promising novel Yae had brought home from her publishing house that day.

Yae was sitting at the couch, slowly eating the fried tofu you made her while reading a book you had never seen before, which wasn’t unusual for her, since was one of the first persons to get access to new releases. When you walked over to her and looked over her shoulder to see what she was reading, she instead turned around to face you, her face far too near to yours, causing you to blush a little even though you already lived together.

“Do you need something, little bird?”, her sudden use of nicknames caught you completely off guard and caused you to blush even more. You leaned away from her, somehow feeling that if held your distance, she wouldn’t be able to see the redness of your face, only to notice her wearing the same kind of smile she always did before starting to tease you.

“I-I just wanted to ask what you were reading”, you eventually managed to form a complete sentence after scrambling for words, relaxing when seeing Yae’s smile change to a genuine one.

“Since the fried tofu you made was so good, I guess I could show you”, she said before signalling you to take a seat next to her.

Ei

Even though Ei had a lot of people working for her for the sole reason of making her food or cleaning the different rooms, she couldn’t help but feel a nice warmth in her chest whenever the dish she was eating was made from you or knew that you where the one that cleaned the room she entered. But with every good thing came some bad ones and every time she put her shoes on the wrong spot or forgot to put her plate away, you weren’t shy about lecturing her, the literal archon of Inazuma, about it. And even though she expected herself to feel annoyed by it, she couldn’t help but smile about your typical behaviour whenever it happened.

Like every day after work, both you and Ei found yourself eating the food you made together and chatted simply chatted about your days. When both of you finished eating, Ei stood up and wanted to prepare herself to go roam the streets of Inazuma with you, only to freeze when she felt your stare on her. When she looked back to you and noticed you signal to the empty plate, she mentally slapped herself before putting it away and instantly seeing you begin to smile. She was used to people doing all those little things for her, but you always seemed happy with her, when she did it herself.

“How was the food?”, you asked, clearly knowing the answer already but wanting to hear her praise you anyway. When she eventually did compliment your cooking skills, you jumped up from your seat and quickly put your own plate away.

“That’s good to hear. Have you heard of the new sweets-store opening?”, you asked her and when she shook her head slightly, you grabbed her hand before looking at her once again. “Do you want to visit it?”, you didn’t have to wait long for her answer and when she predictively said yes, you started leading her into the direction of the shop.

Kujou Sara

Sara came back home exhausted most of the days, so having someone that made most of the household chores in her absence was a huge relief. She of course would try helping as much as she could, but you often forced her to just sit down and relax. You would cook for her and let her tell you about her day if she wanted to. Sometimes Sara wondered if you were real or if she had fallen into a deep coma and was dreaming about your whole existence, but even if that was the case, she wouldn’t want to wake up.

Once you heard the door to your home open, you instantly went to greet Sara with a hug. There was a time when she would get completely stiff whenever you as much as touched her hand, but after being together for quite a while, she would simply lean into you after a tiring day, leaving it to you to drag her to the couch so she could promptly collapse onto it. And just like those other days, the same thing happened today too.

“How was your day?”, you asked even though the answer was obvious for both of you. But she still responded, at least she tried to, but when Sara realised that she would have to actually open her mouth for words to come out of it, she let out a small groan before doing so anyways.

“Tiring”, was all that she answered before closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. You instantly stood up and walked to the kitchen, causing Sara to look up at you with an irritated face. “Where are you going?”, she asked in barely more than a whisper.

“I’m going to make you something to eat, so just stay there and relax”, you told her and even though she felt the small urge to argue about letting you do the work alone, she was far to tired to actually say something. Instead, she simply closed her eyes and thanked the Archons for letting her meet you.

[sunlightandsuffering]

My favorite part of switch is erens pov when he just cant control himself even when mikasa is doing absolutely nothing. In general, eren trying to control his urges is so hot in every au like man is gritting his teeth thinking unholy stuff, barely manages to keep his hands to himself and then just going for it is just tooo satisfying to read. I mean i love mikasas povs too but erens povs are always so unhinged and borderline obsessive I often end up wishing for erens pov in literaly every fic

omg ur like me, whenever I read fics I LOVE Eren's POV or even just the guy's POV it's refreshing and I love the jealousy and emotions you get to experience reading both POV's. Like ugh, even in manga, my fave is Ao Haru Ride, and I love reading from both Kou and Futaba's POV bc i'm like U IDIOT WIN HER BACK! But then in her POV i'm like omg yes make him jealous girl, it's kind of fun lol!

But writing male POV is wild, it's fun, but it's also difficult bc I'm a girl so obviously Mikasa's POV comes easier and more natural, especially during smut, I feel like it's easier to write sometimes from Mikasa's POV than Eren's lol!.

bUT I TOTALLY GET WHAT U MEAN! Eren is hot, especially if he's written correctly, ur so right that he can just become unhinged and fucking go off bc that's 11/10 in his character arc, this is the mans who lowkey had a little temper tantrum at the idea that MIkasa would forget about him!! MANS COULD EASILY BE FERAL!! AND I LOVE TO BE A PART OF THAT! Here let's give u some thirsty Eren lmfao!

With Christmas comes baking and well, fortunately or perhaps unfortunately for Eren Mikasa absolutely loves to bake.  Which means cookies and sweets galore. In the past week since Christmas break began, she’s made biscotti, short bread, sugar cookies, white chocolate cranberry cookies, and even his favourite, chocolate haystacks. 

So currently, Eren is battling his desires on two fronts: the desire to binge her entire tray of freshly baked short bread, and the desire to lay her out on the counter while they wait for them to cook and lick the icing off of her cheek himself.  Instead of doing either of those things, Eren sits himself down on one of their barstools, placing his hands firmly in his lap and carefully tells her about the icing on her cheek.  “Oh, thanks Eren,” Mikasa beams, wiping the sugary substance off with her thumb, before licking it up just like he wanted to. He’s jealous, so very jealous, especially as her pink tongue darts out for another taste, suckling the whole digit between her lips. She tops it all off with these cute little noises of satisfaction, her eyes shut tight as she tastes the fruit of her labours.  “Yummy,” she tells him before going back to stirring up her bowl of chocolate where she’s currently trying to make hot chocolate balls, her next baking experiment.  So, not only does the kitchen smell heavenly, there is also melted chocolate and icing everywhere. 

He should leave, he really needs to leave.  His gym bag has been sitting ready to go in the hallway for a half an hour now and yet he’s still no closer to leaving. In fact, with every batch of cookies and treats Mikasa makes his motivation actually decreases. 

The timer on the oven beeps and Mikasa gives him an excited smile as she goes to pull out her next creation, her beloved gingerbread.  She carefully places the trays on top of the oven to cool, leaving the door propped open for a moment, a wave of heat assaulting her. 

“So hot,” Mikasa complains before taking the opportunity to strip off her third layer of clothing today, her little green Christmas sweater, leaving her only in her sports bra.  And this is what he means by his motivation being sapped with every batch, because when he first walked by, she was wearing his hoodie on top and a pair of sweat pants. And now, now she’s got nothing on but spandex, a sports bra that barely covers her tits, and a cute little apron that’s going to be the subject of all of his fantasies tonight.  She stretches her arms over her head, yawning as she gently kicks the oven door shut, “I’m getting tired.”  “You’ve been baking all day Mikasa, you can take a break.”  He needs her to take a fucking break or he’s never going to be able to leave, he was supposed to meet Armin at the gym a half an hour ago. 

Mikasa hums, “It’s okay, that was my last batch, I just need to finish off these hot chocolate balls.”  She beams at him, giving him a small smile as she comes back to her chocolate work station, “I’m going to make one for everyone Aunt Carla and Uncle Grisha and my family too! And maybe even Sasha and Armin if I have extra.” 

He's not going to make it through. 

[u1tr4vio1ence]

Hello again. 

I agree with what the anon says about Dion as a romantic interest/male lead. I can’t imagine Dion ever sharing an entirely healthy relationship or love his significant other in the conventional sense as his mentality is warped and at psychopathic level. If he were to love someone down the line, it will probably remain slightly distorted even up to the very end. If he were to ever confess his love, I imagine a scenario going similarly to Roxana’s confession to Cassis in the novel. The way she conveyed it was twisted, but in a way kind of sweet. It was her way of expressing her love. The way an Agriche would express their love.

In general I love love LOVE slow burn dynamics so I’m always on board for those, but I think with Dion in particular he’s one of those characters that I think really need the slow build up. I’m already loving how apathetic he is towards the reader and vice versa. A lot of sh!t is definitely going to go down in order to get to the endgame point. As you’ve said, for his entire life, the world has had nothing of interest to offer him so it’ll definitely take a lot or some specific event has to occur for someone to really capture his interest. (I remember reading a few romantic Dion fics where he was just too ooc and/or the progression of the relationship was too fast-paced and so romanticized. Shivers.) If memory serves correctly, Dion at this point is already fixated with Roxana right? I imagine it’ll also take a lot to divert that focus on her to someone else. So I’m very curious as to how the reader will end up drawing his attention. Will it go similarly to how Dion became fixated with Roxana? Will the reader cry or display some other form of sincere, profound emotion in front of his very eyes and end up captivating him? 🤔

Maria has a disconcerting fascination with beautiful things indeed, and the reader fits that criteria. In order to survive Maria’s frenzy, perhaps the reader will resort to flawing herself physically/self harm in some way down the line in order to ultimately lose her interest(?) 😭 I’m anxious yet intrigued at the same time. 

Poor reader being used as means to an end by the despicable fathers. I’m excited to learn more about the background of her house and if there will be other family members mentioned.  

I just want to say thank you for taking the time to read and reply back to my asks thus far. I feel like they get kinda long so I'll try to shorten them a bit next time haha.

Hey!

Given the setting of TWTPTFLOB and how every character in there are all at least a little bit morally fucked up, any relationship (especially one with an Agriche) is going to end up toxic in some sense. Yes! Even with Roxana's relationship with Cassis, it's pretty toxic with how obsessive both of them are but at the same time, like you said, their love is somewhat sweet. The characters in the series can't help but be like that, even though they're bad people it's due to the environment they were raised in.

I live for slow burns too, the slower the better 😤. When I was drafting this story, I was worried that it was too slow but then remembered that this was Dion that I was dealing with. Making his cold dead heart skip a beat is one thing, but having his character comprehend the feelings and go through the relationship is another and it's going to take forever anyways 😭.

Writing a full multi-chapter fic is hard enough but having Dion as the love interest is even more difficult! There are a lot of concerning mental issues going on with him, so making him OOC/romanticizing the relationship with him is very hard to avoid since, after all, he's supposed to be the endgame lover; I totally get him ending up OOC at some point in a story, I'm 1000000% sure that my story isn't going to have a perfect depiction of Dion either, but I'll try my best to make a good attempt!

Correct, this is before Cassis arrives as hostage (a couple of months before, definitely no later than half a year though), so Dion is only focused on killing and seeing Roxana's tears. How will the reader catch his attention? Like you said, it'll take some factors to happen, but it definitely won't be quick. I want the relationship with Dion to be as real as possible, with all the ugly and good, all the trials and errors; but in order for a relationship to even form it needs effort on both ends! And the current state of their relationship right now is... non-existent 💀.

Maria is a handful but she's so fun to write for! Her obsession with beautiful things is definitely a double-edged sword for the reader. She has quite the role in the story's draft, I'm excited to show her more :).

Yeah, in the novel it shows the ruling families to be pretty vile and corrupted, and the Vespertines in this fic is going to be no different. Vespertine Green is a pretty large noble house! More will definitely be revealed.

No problem at all, I enjoy reading them so much; you can make your asks as short or as long as you like I don't mind either! I'm genuinely so glad that it's been less than a week since releasing Eye of the Storm and I'm already getting such nice commentary!

Chapter three is coming out very soon, I hope you'll have a good time reading it! ❤️❤️❤️