#audience story contract

[monriatitans]

Realism is Bad, Actually

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* Description: * We say we love "realistic" fiction like Batman, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Horizon: Forbidden West. We say we love when our characters "act like real people" and "have realistic dialogue." But it's worth asking: Are these things ACTUALLY realistic? And if not, is realism even worth trying to capture?

* chapters: * 00:00:00 - Intro: Concrete Monsters 00:04:17 - Part 1: Using Realism 00:10:34 - Part 2: Investigating Realism 00:17:27 - Part 3: Criticizing Realism 00:40:32 - Intermission 00:43:17 - Part 4: Replacing Realism 00:59:16 - Conclusion: Sounds Good 01:08:39 - Outro & Poem

* Sources: * ---Books ------“Gamic Realism”: Player, Perception and Action in Video Game Play - Hanna Sommerseth ------Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds - Jesper Juul ------Hunting the Dark Knight - Will Brooker ------Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist - James Gurney ------Maps of the Imagination - Peter Turchi ------Method and Madness - Alice LaPlante ------reality tv: realism and revelation - Anita Biressi and Heather Nunn ------Rules of Play - Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen ------The American Monomyth -  Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence ------The Militarization of Childhood - ed. J. Marshall Beier ------The Rules of Play - Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman ------What is Cinema? - Andre Bazin 

---Articles ------“A Grounded Investigation of Game Immersion” - Emily Brown and Paul Cairns ------“Foley Sounds vs Real Sounds” - Stefano Trento and Amalia De Götzen ------“Footsteps with character: the art and craft of Foley” - Benjamin Wright ------“Making fictions sound real – On film sound, perceptual realism and genre” - Birger Langkjær ------“Perceived realism and the CSI-effect” - Logan A. Ewanation, Susan Yamamoto, Jordan Monnink & Evelyn M. Maeder ------“Reading Realism: Audiences’ Evaluations fo the Reality of Media Texts” - Alice Hall ------“Realism in FIFA? How social realism enabled platformed racism in a video game” - Sam Srauy and John Cheney-Lippold ------“Selling Marvel's Cinematic Superheroes through Militarization” - Brett Pardy ------“Skeleton Keys: Teaching the Fiction of Narrative Truth” - Douglas P. Felter ------“Social Realism in Gaming” - Alexander R. Galloway ------“The One Measure of True Love Is: You Can Insult the Other” (Interview) - Sabine Reul and Thomas Deichman ------“The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television” - Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter ------“Videogames of the oppressed: critical thinking, education, tolerance and other trivial issues” - Gonzalo Frasca 

---Videos ------"Reality Isn’t Always Right" - Solar Sands (   • Reality Isn't Alw...  )  ------"SHUT UP ABOUT PLOT HOLES" - Patrick (H) Willems (   • SHUT UP ABOUT PLO...  )  ------"What's the Point of R-Rated Superheroes?" - Patrick (H) Willems (   • What's the Point ...  ) ------"Why Do We Care if Movies Are "Realistic?" - Patrick (H) Willems (   • Why Do We Care if...  )  ------“MASSIVE sound design breakdown of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” - INDEPTH Sound Design (   • MASSIVE sound des...  ) 

* Further Watching: * ---"How Animal Sounds Are Made For Movies And TV | Movies Insider" - Movie Insider (   • How Animal Sounds...  )  ---"Does Representation Matter?" - Legal Kimchi (   • Does Representati...  ) 

* quote reads (in order of appearance) * ---Caelan Conrad ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaelanConrad ------YouTube:   / caelanconrad   ---Mica (Ponderful) ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/PonderfulYT ------YouTube:   / @ponderfulyt   ---Little Hoot ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/hoot_little ------YouTube:   / littlehoot   ---Aranock ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aranock1 ------YouTube:   / @aranock   

* edited by Charlie Flowers * YouTube:   / @xxinrealtimexx   Twitter: https://twitter.com/xXinrealtimeXx 

* To Support Me: * ---Become a channel Member! ➤   / @zoe_bee   ---Join the Patreon! ➤ https://www.patreon.com/zoe_bee ---Make a one-time donation! ➤ https://ko-fi.com/zoebee ---Join the Discord! ➤ https://discord.gg/8GBmS9Qug9 ---Check out my second channel! ➤   / @zoecee   ---Watch my D&D game! ➤   / @thejaycorn   ---Watch my Blades in the Dark game! ➤ https://www.twitch.tv/itucrew 

(disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Wren.)

[liveasbutterflies]

In New Joseon, is there a school that teaches you a sleek way of speaking? The Story of Park's Marriage Contract 열녀 박씨 계약 결혼뎐 (2023)

[butchlifeguard]

seems like you want to be a doctor for the wrong reasons… it shouldn’t be about being able to be “pretentious” someday

this is a one piece blog

[awkward-teabag]

Bonus: Movies are actually written in such a way that account for the limited time they have. At least the good ones and older movies are. There's more and more "dead" time in modern movies as the writers have to pad things out to hit the 120-150 minute mark studios demand.

[fairieswithwings]

Fifth Harmony is my doomed by the narrative trope

[nokkiart]

As a long time httyd fan who has been heavily involved in the fandom since the first movie and who has spent years working in the animation industry, I’d like to share my thoughts on the new httyd movie. Keep in mind, this is just my personal opinion and it's completely fine if you disagree with me. I just want to say a little something about all this that really bothers me.

The core reason that Dreamworks and Universal made this film is that it’s a quick and easy cash grab for them. Thats it. They don’t care about telling a good story or making a ��better” version of the original movie for fans or even having an accurate portrayal of the characters/story. It’s purely about money. They know that fans of the original film will go see this movie, whether it’s good or bad. And those guaranteed ticket sales are all that matter to the studios. And with Universal, it has the added bonus of being a cheap promotional and merchandising opportunity for the new HTTYD land in Orlando that opens around the same time that the film is premiering in theaters.

And to help the studios make even more money out of this, they are using non-unionized VFX companies around the world to make this film, so that they can get cheaper labor and push the artists to do more that would be against American union standards. The same thing has probably happened with the costuming and fabrication for the filming, hence why the costumes look un-weathered and the sets look cheap. They don’t want to pay for the extra time and effort that it would take to make the practical bits of the production look good.

On top of all this, Dreamworks has already announced that they’re shutting down all their in-house animation projects in favor of using AI and outsourcing projects to cheaper international non-union studios.

With all this in mind, I just can’t support this film and I will not be seeing it in theaters. And I hope that others will do the same.

The only way to stop all these horrible “live action” remakes (which are actually just realistically animated remakes) is to not buy tickets to see them. Money is all that matters to these studios, and if they don’t make any money off of it, then they will stop and try something different. Maybe they'll even go back to focusing on original stories!

That’s the power that we hold as audiences. Our wallets help drive the decisions that the executives make. So support unique storytelling and gorgeous cinematography in movies. Support indie films. Support animators as they're fighting for fair pay and better contracts. But don't support a mediocre shot-for-shot remake riding on the coattails of an already successful film.

And I just want to wrap all this up by saying I have absolutely no hate towards anyone that has worked on the new film. Toothless looks incredible and I know the artists and creatives involved in this project did the best they could with what they were given.

But I also know that those same artists have so many more brilliant ideas that they would’ve loved to be given the creative freedom to do. I just wish hollywood would be willing to take a chance and let them do it.

[hiddenlife-manager]

Hii! I love your fics and was wondering if you’d do a pt2/blurb of one of them? The one where lando is jealous of oscar and reader, and they have jealous sex afterwards? Well I was wondering if you could write something for afterwards where lando is insecure and reader comforts him that she’d never actually leave him for oscar. Its fine if you dont want to do it just liked the idea so I thought Id share it.

Aftercare Lando x FemReader

cw... aftercare, past mention of sex, fluff, comfort, slight jealousy, oscar being a problem, etc...

notepad... I don't often do story things mainly cause it doesn't get much interest in the audience. So if this gets as big as my other smuts of lando then you might have me on board hehe.

Part One

He was sitting up tense, the both of you completely naked. It was clear that even if you let him take out his anger on you sexually, he hasn’t fully recovered. Your lips were aligned with his neck, slowly trailing down to his shoulders. You were attempting to ease him up a little. You two were exhausted, but you wanted to comfort the man you had come to love. 

“What’s on your mind?” You asked calmly, massaging his other shoulders as your breasts were pressed against his back. You know what was on his mind, and you wished for him to explain it so you could speak to him in all contexts. 

“Nothing…” He trailed off; he was low in his tone, and you sighed as you pressed your head on his one shoulder.

“You know you can’t hide a little thing from me.” You knew it was wrong to press, but you had to. “If it is about Oscar, just tell me.” 

“Of course it is about Osc. He is nothing but my competition. I am conflicted.” You brushed his air a bit as you took a deep breath in. 

“The rookie who impresses all who watch,” you chuckled, kissing his shoulder. “It reminds me of someone. Sure, he is competitive, but so are the rest of the drivers. You already signed a multi-year contract with McLaren; you have nothing to fear.” You attempted to comfort him, but he truly continued to be tense. 

“This is my life racing. Oscar is a good guy, but all he does is make me realize I am temporary if I don’t show results. Look at him, flirting with you. He lost Lily, and now he is after everything in my life. His helmet is similar to mine, and I had to change it to be different.” He began to tell you all in his mind, and he realized it was eating him up. 

“And…” You rolled your eyes and sighed. “So what? Isn’t that the point of the sport? Training to be better and not lose your seat. This job isn’t forever, Lando. He is your partner, and competition treats him as such. Stop worrying about such trivial things as helmets. I know one thing: you deserve the seat. That being said, what is so wrong about leaving Mclaren and branching in the future?" You kissed his neck once more and left a mark. “I would never leave you for Oscar. He may be hot, but you are hotter and have such a nice morning voice.” You whispered into his ear. 

He was quiet and a bit surprised you told him so straight forward. But you were like that always, and you meant well. He laughed and grabbed you, pinning you to the bed. You screamed a bit and sighed. 

“You are right. These worries are annoying.” He kissed your lips and sighed. It was a beautiful night in Monaco. All he wanted was to cuddle you. “Let's just rest; fuck the others.” He laid beside you and pulled you in closer. His voice is low and perfect. 

“I love the way you speak.” You mumbled as you rested your head on his chest. “Don’t stop.”

[misscammiedawn]

Thinking about Furudo Erika and the "without love it cannot be seen" quote again.

Many attribute Erika as a criticism on the Sherlock style sociopathic detective and to an extent that's true but she's more important as a symbol of the contract between the author and audience as elaborated in Chapter 7 of Umineko.

The author promises not to trick the audience with bad faith mystery writing and the audience must promise in return to approach the fiction with sincerity and accept the universe that the author writes.

It takes two to create a world. One to create it and one to acknowledge it. Without love it cannot be seen.

Erika is the munchkin rules lawyer at the TTRPG table who wants to "win" what should be a collaborative storytelling experience. She represents disrespecting the fiction and trying to "win" at the mystery by peeling apart the narrative at the seams. Refusing to acknowledge the imagination of the author and forcing them to engage with reality on their terms.

The Great Detective trope is just fine. But they have to be a part of the world they are in and play by its rules and respect both the fiction and the audience. Like Will does.

To engage with the story and have faith in the author is to love and with that you can see the story being told.

I feel this should apply to all storytelling. Approach all fiction with love. Go on a ride with the author and see where they take you. If they respect you, I promise it'll be more fun.

[cjrae]

Rank And Responsibility. Or: The Hairpin Scene from Jinshi's POV.

Be warned now about the consequences of choosing to do an English Lit degree - you end up doing lit crit for fun. With that in mind, let's break down the hairpin scene at the end of Covert Operations (Episode 5). Mild spoilers for Jinshi's arc are below.

While this moment does kick off the romantic subplot, with all the implications that giving Maomao the hairpin out of his own hair has, I would argue that this is not the moment Jinshi realizes he's in love with Maomao. Instead, from his point of view, this scene demonstrates how Jinshi handles failure.

Holding Power In An Open Palm

This is still very early in the story. Our first hint to Jinshi's true rank does come in this scene, but for now we know him as the manager of the Rear Palace. For the three thousand people who live and work there, for all intents and purposes, Jinshi is the highest authority they will encounter. He literally has the power of life and death over them, either directly in the case of the servants and eunuchs, or in the case of the consorts, his word to the Emperor directly can serve the same purpose. We also see Jinshi use this power early on - he's not just there to keep order, but also to test the consorts' loyalties and virtue. We never see what happens to the lower-ranked consort who attempted to invite Jinshi back to her room, but at the very least that report ensures that her already small chance of the Emperor choosing her as a potential mother of the nation is utterly cut off - and if she doesn't bear children, she will be discarded.

We also know that Jinshi will not hesitate to order corporal punishment if he views it necessary - for example, when Maomao discovers that the toxic face powder is still being used by Consort Lihua's ladies in waiting, she mentions in the aftermath that the eunuch who failed to recover the powder was flogged, while the lady in waiting who hid the powder is put in solitary confinement. These are brutal punishments - and if we consider the historical inspirations, these are also very restrained consequences. For hiding an item that caused the death of the prince (unfortunately, the more valuable child) and has put the life of one of the Emperor's favored High Consorts in danger, Jinshi would be utterly within his rights to order executions. If ignorance is a sin, ignorance in the face of knowledge is a greater one.

Microcosm of Li

For all that Jinshi holds his power lightly, he also takes the responsibility that power bestows upon him quite seriously. It's worth noting that Jinshi takes over governing the Rear Palace shortly after Maomao's service contract is purchased. (Remember, Xiaolan talks about the "beautiful, new eunuch that's been posted to the central courtyard," which tells us that Jinshi has not been in the Rear Palace long enough to become a fixture - he's an object of speculation and admiration from episode 1).

In context it's clear that, with the birth of two Imperial children, his job is to ensure the survival of the Imperial line and investigate why children of the Emperor are dying consistently in one of the wealthiest and safest places in the entire empire. We're shown him running in between Lady Lihua and Lady Gyokuyou to ensure that their very sick children are being seen to properly, investigating what could be causing it, while also managing tensions as rumors about the Emperor's children being cursed begin to spread and outright accusations of sorcery are being thrown between consorts. While the audience might immediately scoff along with Maomao at the idea of one consort cursing another, if Maomao hadn't found the cause of death, those types of accusations followed by Lady Lihua's and Princess Lingli's inevitable deaths could have ended with Lady Gyokuyou's execution.

The Rear Palace is a reflection of the nation as a whole. No Imperial heirs plus the deaths of two High Consorts with various foreign and domestic political ties had the potential to thrust the entire nation into chaos. Jinshi's choices have very real consequences, so when Maomao discovers what the true cause of death is and sends her warning, Jinshi looks at Maomao and doesn't see a person. He sees a "perfect pawn." A tool, one with talents that have ensured that at least one Imperial child has survived and providing a rational explanation why these children have died so that it can be prevented from happening again - and a skill set that can be turned to preventing any more shenanigans in the Rear Palace that could threaten the empire's foundation.

And, as Gaoshun points out, in the beginning of the hairpin scene, she is a toy. Maomao amuses Jinshi up until this point.

For all that Jinshi is shown wielding power with a light hand and a responsible mindset, it literally doesn't occur to him that the people working in the rear palace have stories - some tragic - about how they came to be there. They are resources to be used as befits the Emperor's (and therefore the nation's) need.

Hidden Beauty

When Maomao turns around and Jinshi doesn't recognize her until she speaks, he's shocked. He thought he knew exactly who and what this girl was - ugly and unremarkable, except for her intellectual brilliance and the challenge in managing her by other means than empty compliments and smiles. He attempts to recover and assumes that she is enhancing her looks - and is shocked again when he realizes that the face Maomao has presented to him so far is a protective mask against attracting attention. In a world where beauty is both a currency and a tool that others covet, Jinshi doesn't understand why Maomao would deliberately devalue herself like that. So she tells him.

This is the moment Maomao becomes a person to Jinshi.

Not a toy, not a pawn. Someone who has been ripped from her home and her life illegally and sold off. It's in this moment that Jinshi is forced to confront the ugly side of the society he lives in, people who would rape Maomao out of pure convenience or just take a "borderline marketable" girl off the street in order to get extra drinking money.

Worse, Jinshi is complicit in Maomao's captivity. The Rear Palace has bought her contract - and as the manager of the Rear Palace, Jinshi is responsible for everything that happens within its' walls. The fact that Jinshi does not personally oversee service contracts is irrelevant. The buck stops with him. If the Matron of the Serving Women or whoever is below her is buying these contracts without checking their sources, that is Jinshi's fault because he has allowed a lax enough system to flourish. He has failed to govern this microcosm of the nation wisely, with thought for the welfare of the least powerful among his people. Worse, he has failed to even notice the problem - Maomao may say she's angry about having been kidnapped and sold, but she doesn't react in a way that indicates anger. Instead, she's resigned. Yes, what happened to her was wrong and she's angry about it, but there's literally nothing she or Jinshi can do.

Or Is There?

Jinshi offers Maomao two apologies, the first of which is our first hint to his true status. "I'm sorry we couldn't police them better." Maomao immediately blows off this apology - she points out that there's no way Jinshi should have known and has a very "all's well that ends well" attitude about her situation - her contract will be up eventually and in the meantime she's managed to land in a fulfilling role. Essentially Maomao is telling Jinshi that this apology is not his to make - he's overstepping his responsibility. And, if Jinshi were simply the manager of the Rear Palace, she would be right. It's his job to ensure that the Rear Palace is properly staffed, not to regulate that all contracts comply with the law.

Jinshi apologizes again. This time, he offers no other context. He doesn't accept Maomao's absolution of responsibility - because he knows (even if we, the audience, don't) otherwise. It can certainly be read as Jinshi refusing to accept easy absolution, and the rest of those witnessing the scene, apart from Gaoshun, certainly take it that way.

Instead, he takes the hair stick from his own hair and places it in Maomao's. Their entire relationship has just been upended; Maomao is a person who has been gravely wronged and it is Jinshi's responsibility to begin to make it right. Aside from the personal implications of giving her the hairpin (and the faint blush on his face makes it clear that he's aware of them), it is a form of restitution. There is an unspoken social contract Jinshi is offering that Maomao does not understand in the slightest. It never occurs to her that Jinshi would do something for her with no thought of what he would receive in return, because of the difference in their social ranks. But, from Jinshi's perspective, that social difference is the point. He has failed her and, as the person of higher rank, it is his responsibility to do what is within his power to begin to remedy the situation in front of him.

And, of course, in that moment he sees Maomao in a new light, the other meaning of gifting her his hairpin has fertile ground to take root in Jinshi's mind.

[pregobirthlvr]

Public shower birth

• ————— •

Possible TW: this story contains some noncon themes (unwanted exhibitionism)

Also contains: pregnancy, birth, labor, public birth,

• —————————————— •

I grip the handles of the shower stall. A public pool bathroom was not the place I wanted to have this baby but it had different plans. Thankfully it was early enough there weren’t that many people around to see what was happening. Still, I tried to keep quiet behind the sound of running water and the thin plastic curtain that covered the shower stall.

I could feel the next contraction start to rip through me. I gasp and grab the bars harder. I squat down slightly and push hard. I shake and writhe around while I somehow find it in me to push. I make it to the end of my contraction when I hear the door open.

“What was that noise?” A man’s voice said.

I tried to hide my breathing even more and think to myself ‘Did I enter the wrong bathroom… I thought the ones restrooms were on the right.”

I tried to think back. Suddenly I remember I stumbled and got turned around at the entry way from a large contraction. I must have walked into the wrong bathroom by mistake.

I didn’t have time, nor the ability to fix it now. I tried to fix the curtain to close as much as I could. It wasn’t very effective to begin with but I was mostly covered. I didn’t have time to fuss with it, I now had to focus on my next contraction.

The next contraction came just as one of the men that walked in appeared in the stall next to me. I grab harder at the bar in the shower and try my hardest to stay quiet. I end up squatting and buring my face in my arm to get through. I labor again a few moments later the man still in the stall next to me. Then again and again.

Finally, I hear the water turn off and I let out a sign of relief. It was short lived when I hear the foot steps of a second man approaching.

“Hey you don’t yet?” Another man voice said.

“Yeah I’m about to hop out,” The first man said back.

They started to mess around, and I tried my best to tune them out as another contraction started. I grip the bars again and spread my legs wide. My concentration was abruptly ruined when the two men ripped the curtain to my shower stall down.

I let out a gasp. My focus now pulled away from being quiet, I let out a deep loud moan as my contraction reaches its peak. With the curtain down, I try to cover myself up, which wasn’t working in the middle of a contraction. It didn’t help that the men that just ruined my privacy were now staring at me. Just watching me push and grunt my baby out.

“Please don’t look,” I say blushing and panting hard after my contraction.

Neither of them said a word. They just stared at my body.

“Please don’t look at-“ I get cut off by another contraction. I push hard the lips of my vagina spreading around the babies head.

When I stop pushing the head sinks back in. “No. No. No. please stay out…” I beg.

I gently sit back leaning against one of the walls legs spread to my onlookers. When I realize the position I’m in I try to start scooting across the floor to get more privacy. I get stopped almost immediately by another contraction.

I toss my head back and cry out. I instinctively spread my legs and push hard. I scream and grunt my way through the contraction. I shakily reach down and feel between my thighs. The babies head was half way out.

“Please help me,” I beg to the men.

“I think you’re doing a great job all on your own,” one says.

“Yeah you’re doing amazing,” The other one says.

Another contraction cut of any attempt for me to try and plead for it. I braces myself and pushed hard again. I was exhausted but this baby had to come out.

“Almost done,” I gasp out. I look up to see my audience has grown. Two more guys have showed up just in time to see me push this baby out.

With another big push the head popped free. A gush of fluids splattered the floor and flowed down the shower drain. I took a moment to breathe then pushed again the shoulders and body sliding the rest of the way out of me and into my hands.

I lay on the shower floor with my baby on my chest when I finally hear someone say “maybe we should call an ambulance.”

[venus-haze]

You're My Best Friend (Homelander x Reader)

Summary: Homelander was a test tube baby, raised in isolation in a cold, clinical lab. But that doesn’t inspire America, does it? Vought tasks you with creating the idyllic backstory for its hero, and what starts as a limited comic run spirals out of control when Homelander himself demands your help in making the story a reality.

Note: Gender neutral reader, but no other descriptors are used. Based on a request by @crash-and-cure as well as a bastardization of one of the sweetest love songs ever written (sorry, John Deacon!) This got kinda meta? Do not interact if you’re under 18 or post thinspo/ED content.

Word count: 2k

Warnings: Emotional manipulation, I guess some gaslighting on Homelander’s part? Do not interact if you’re under 18.

When Vought hired you to create their long-awaited Homelander origin comic series, you were thrilled—until they gave you so little information about his childhood to work with, you weren’t even sure you could come up with one comic, let alone the ten they requested. The details about his childhood were minimal, not even a full printed page—a loving mom and dad, played baseball, did well in school, strong sense of justice from a young age, his friends called him “Johnny.” Your requests to meet with Homelander so you could get some stories from the man himself were constantly denied.

You almost considered dropping the project, until you decided to throw caution to the wind and pull from your own childhood and set it in good ol’ generic suburbia. Some of the storylines were based on your own experiences or things that had happened to people you’d grown up with, though you changed enough names and details to not link it to anyone in particular. Except yourself, of course. Using a pseudonym professionally meant you felt no need to change your own name in the comics. Sure, making your cooler fictionalized self Homelander’s childhood best friend was a bit self-indulgent, but no one would know, really.

To your relief, the editors at Vought loved your ideas, making minor changes before bringing the storylines to their comic artists to bring it to life. The result was Finding Homelander: A Boy’s Journey To Be a Hero. The issues flew off shelves when they were first released, ironically praised for their relatability and authenticity. Vought extended your contract, asking you to produce the cartoon adaptation and another ten issues.

Still, in all of that, you’d never met Homelander. A representative from Vought emailed you to let you know to tune in to his interview on a talk show one day, saying that he’d be talking more about the cartoon project on it. You recognized the host, Tracey, always chipper and having some extravagant giveaway for her audience members. Daytime TV was never your thing, though.

“I think what resonates with so many people is how relatable your childhood is,” Tracey said, holding up a copy of Finding Homelander issue #3, where he saved ‘you’ from getting hit in the face with a baseball at one of his games, catching it with ease. It’d been the happy ending to a short storyline of him struggling to find his place on the team and you encouraging him to not give up. “You and Y/N were pretty close, do you still keep in touch?”

“You know, Tracey, not as much as I’d like, unfortunately. Adulthood can be so busy, you need to cherish those childhood memories,” Homelander said. “I did give them a call when the comics first came out, and wow, the laughs we had over those old antics of ours. Talk about a walk down memory lane!”

You guessed the bullshitting was all part of the promotional circuit for Homelander. Knowing this childhood of his was your own fabrication, you couldn’t help but wonder what else about him was fake. Maybe he wanted to maintain his privacy, you could certainly understand that. You couldn’t shake the voice in the back of your mind that said it wasn’t so simple, that the narrative Vought pushed was a cover to hide something in Homelander’s past.

“Now, I’ve heard rumors of a cartoon show based on the comics in the making, is this true?”

“It is! I’m excited for this project, getting back to my ‘roots’ so to speak. I’ll be voicing myself, of course, but it’s funny you’d bring up Y/N, because they’ve agreed to voice themself, too.”

“How fun!” Tracey exclaimed over the roar of the talk show crowd’s applause and cheers. “I guess this is the hopeless romantic in me, but I hope this reconnection leads to something a little more. I’m just a sucker for childhood sweethearts!” 

Homelander laughed along with the host’s giggles, “Well, you never know.”

You balked at the television, mouth agape. Surely he couldn’t be talking about you. ‘Y/N’ could be anyone with your same features. Vought had probably hired a professional voice actor for the role and were pushing the authenticity angle. The whole situation felt odd. 

When you checked your work email again on your phone, you nearly dropped it on the floor. 

SUBJECT: Meeting with Homelander This Week

The email contained a list of days and times throughout the week wherein Homelander would be free, apparently wanting to meet you to thank you for the success of the comic series and discuss upcoming work. Yeah. That last part you sure as hell wanted to discuss too. You responded with the soonest time available, in a meeting room in Vought Tower the following evening. As soon as you hit ‘send’, you wondered what exactly you were getting yourself into.

Anticipation filled your gut as you went about your day leading up to meeting the supe himself. What would he be like, really be like? Was there even a version of Homelander that wasn’t hopelessly manufactured for the masses? You knew then that his upbringing was a lie, and thus stood the probability that so much else was, too. 

When you stepped into that meeting room, you hadn’t been expecting his face to light up at the sight of you. 

“Homelander, hi, it’s great to—“

“No need to be so formal, Y/N! You can call me Johnny, just like old times,” he said cheerfully, in on a joke you clearly hadn’t been aware of.

“Sorry, Johnny,” you said, playing along. “It’s great to see you again.”

He pulled you in for an unexpected hug that you returned. “Figured we should catch up before things really start getting crazy, don’t you think?”

You nodded, your nose brushing against him as you did so. Just as your lips parted to offer an apology, he smiled, shooing away the assistant who’d accompanied him out of the room. 

He sat down, motioning for you to do the same.

“Gotta say, I’m a fan of your work,” he said.

“Thank you,” you said. “I’m not sure I understand exactly what’s going on, though.”

“What’s there to understand? I’m not allowed to know more about my best friend, our lives together growing up?”

“How did you know it was me?”

“Wasn’t hard for me to put two and two together, but considering everyone else around here has their head up their asses, they have no idea,” he said, before lowering his voice conspiratorially and giving you a charming smile. “I haven’t told anyone. What’s a secret between friends?”

You nodded, overwhelmed by the intensity of his attention on you. “What do you want to know?”

He sighed, resting his head on his hand. “Everything.”

So you told him. Not quite everything, of course, but enough to abate his curiosity. At least for the time being. His interviews were sharper, more specific with details rather than rattling off whatever had been in the comics. You watched in shock as convincing photos of his Little League days were posted to his social media accounts, anecdotes provided by his increasingly frequent conversations–or more like interrogation sessions–with you, but in his style, of course. It was almost scary what the graphic design team at Vought could accomplish, not that you’d ever know how, exactly, as they were all under the same strict NDA that you were.

He started spending more time with you, too, and after a while, it did seem like you were old friends. Part of you flinched whenever you called him Johnny, because Johnny wasn’t even real, but with your complacency, this fabrication was slowly morphing into a strikingly tangible memory. With each conversation, he drew you deeper into the world you’d been paid to create for him until you found yourself slipping up.

You’d been showing him a goofy stuffed monkey on your desk, a cute little thing with big sparkling eyes. A prize for getting two out of three at the ring toss. Probably spent more money winning it than it was actually worth, but it was about the effort, the memories made.

“You remember, don’t you? You won it for me at the county fair,” you said without thinking.

He laughed in agreement, as if he actually had. Except he hadn’t. Your high school boyfriend won it for you a week before graduation. Sensing the mood shift, he set down your prize and looked at you with the same intensity he had when you first met.

“It’s been a while since we were there, huh?” he said. “Why don’t we go back?”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Go where?”

“Home.”

With a strong arm around your waist, he took off for your hometown. You could hardly tell which way was up or down, he was flying so high, but he didn’t seem to mind the way you clung to him at all. When he finally landed, you recognized the community baseball field where all of his fictional games were set. 

“Geez, it’s like nothing’s changed,” he said cheerfully.

You looked at him in disbelief. How long was he going to expect you to go along with it? Or maybe the question you should have been asking was, how long were you going to enable him? The end wasn’t anywhere in sight as he took your hand, and you walked him through your childhood, further enmeshing him in it until you arrived at the house you grew up in. 

The middle of the day, no one was home, and so you let yourselves in like you owned the place. Suddenly, the house seemed too small for a man like Homelander to occupy, but he was engrossed in the details of it. He scanned the kitchen, no doubt inspecting the contents of the fridge and cabinets with his x-ray vision. Moving onto the living room, he stared at photos on the wall, the magazines and DVDs that were strewn on the coffee table, giving away your parents’ taste in entertainment.

“Which one was your room again?” he asked.

You swore you could feel his breath on the back of your neck as you wordlessly led him to your room. Each step down the hall felt dangerous, as if you were about to walk into a trap. Face-to-face with the closed door, you opened it, standing aside while Homelander looked around, from what you had hanging on the walls to the knick-knacks you’d left behind.

An uncomfortable tension settled over the room when Homelander closed the door of your childhood bedroom. An odd blend of hurt and amusement spread across his face as he observed the way you were eyeing him, body ready to fruitlessly run from him the way a rabbit would a hawk.

“C’mon, after how long we’ve been friends, I would never hurt you,” he said, as if reading your mind. “We’ve been through so much together. I mean, we were each other’s first kiss.”

You froze. Issue #9. That was something Vought’s editors had added, claiming a romance angle would make the series appeal to the younger female demographic. You hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

He slyly backed you into the wall, leaning over you as you slinked down the slightest bit.

“Show me how we did it,” he whispered, his hand caressing your cheek. “So clumsy and nervous, I can even feel you…quivering.”

“Homelander, I don’t know what you’re—“

He tsked. “Y/N.”

You let out a shaky breath, “Johnny—“

He hummed in satisfaction. “It’s alright. I know it’s been a while.”

You let him kiss you, sweetly in a way that put your actual first kiss to shame. His lips were soft against yours, his tender movements intentional as he cradled your face, pulling you the slightest bit closer to him when you kissed him back. 

A sense of familiarity settled over you, warm and comforting like pulling a blanket out of the dryer on a chilly evening. Every time it seemed like you were beginning to overthink the situation with Homelander, he drew you back in with the kiss, a more than effective distraction until you pulled away with a dazed smile on your face.

[lexirosewrites]

Moviestars AU (?) steddie A/B/O

No, but like they're filming a christmas movie. Not sure abt the time period I'm thinking 90s to 2000s

A!Eddie didn't end up making it as a rock star, he ended up getting famous from comedy. He went out to LA & found himself performing stand up on the side. He worked his way through the comedy club scene around LA till he found himself in front of a bored director & then he was on a movie set as a ten line character in some buddy comedy movie. Then he found himself on another movie set, then another movie set, and then suddenly before he knew it he was considered a legitimate movie star. He played up the wannabe rock star who was too goofy persona, wore something leather at every event, got multiple piercings on both ears, doesn't hide his tattoos he even gets more as the years go by, and he now had a multitude of rings tht weren't costume jewelry.

Eddie proves himself as a srs actor by starring in a few horror movies. Even got to show off his skills on the guitar. He's made a lot of money, he bought Wayne some land with a house out in Montana, and he owns a house of his own in the Hills. When his agent A!Chrissy slides a christmas movie script his way he actually laughs. She convinces him to read the script before he thinks to reject it bc it did have to go thru her critical eye before she even brought it to him. So he gives it a read not long after chrissy leaves.

It's not what he's expecting. The movie is set entirely inside a mountain hotel at christmas (think hunting lodge aesthetics), guests & workers find themselves in the midst of a blizzard christmas eve, his character is the manager of the hotel & he largely features as the narrator of three different christmas stories happening among the other characters, till the end which is a large party for the guests & the audience learns the manager was flirting w the baker from the town who got trapped by the blizzard throughout the movie and it ends w them kissing under the mistletoe

Eddie gives it thought & ends up agreeing to the role. Chrissy gets his contract finalized, and the read throughs begin. He quickly learns its something of an ensemble cast with multiple big names playing characters featured throughout the movie, till he meets the actor playing the baker & he doesn't recognize him.

O!Steve is a movie star, of a sort. He's a hallmark darling so to speak. He's often cast in romantic straight to TV movies done on a shoe string budget, he isn't often the lead. there's a running gag tht his characters have to have a scene where he's cooking or baking. It started as coincidence but now it's become a pattern tht has turned into a larger meta inside joke. When he gets asked to act in an actual movie full of big names & big studios backing the budget he says yes simply because Hallmark wasn't in filming season quite yet.

Anyway Steve is cast as the baker trapped from leaving the hotel from the blizzard.

Read through goes well, and he ends up having good screen chemistry w Eddie. Filming has its ups and downs, but steddie end up falling in love inbtwn takes... so much so tht the morning after the wrap party they go to the nearest courthouse. The news tht they're married is supposed to b kept secret till the movie premiere, only for Eddie to reveal their relationship by accident on a morning talk show when he slips up by saying he & Steve r spending time w his Uncle Wayne for the winter holidays. The PR team is able to spin it in a way tht leads to the movie getting an even bigger box office turn out when it comes out around December 10th

Steddie don't pay this much mind by the time the movies out bc they're having Christmas at Wayne's farm & have a wrapped box for the old man filled with 3 positive pregnancy tests & an ultrasound image

HALLMARK ROMCOM ACTORS STEDDIE OMEGAVERSE LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOO!!!!

[leaf-kei]

NO ONE ASKED FOR MY TF2 VOICE ACTOR OPINIONS

but I really like the way Robin Atkin Downes characterizes Medic while he’s improvising! His interpretation basically lines up with my own—that Medic’s a silly, dorky guy who IS crazy and disturbed, but ultimately means well and cares about his friends. I love how parental Robin’s Medic is to Archimedes… in one livestream he did (which consisted of him contemplating performing surgery on Archimedes with a pizza cutter???), he threw the plush across the room while yelling “fly, my little prince, fly!” and I just like that. I think thats something Medic would say. He’s a weird dork alright

I also like the way he and Gary Schwartz play around with their relationship! They squabble in a very predictable and harmless way, and they’re always making cheesy romance-related jokes (like Heavy telling Medic he thinks they should seek counseling). I don’t think they’re actually that invested in the ship—which is fine, they don’t have to be—but the potential for humor in it is obvious, and they play into that well. The story of TF2 is so wacky and violent that having the characters experience moments of relatable mundanity is surprising and cute. In the Poker Night game, Heavy has a line like “I live in Red barracks. It’s nice! We have foosball table!” and imo heavymedic is funny for the same reason. Contract killers also play foosball, and they also fall in love, and they also have constant tiny arguments with their partners which annoy their friends

…And as far as dirty jokes and innuendos go (there have been lots lol), Heavy’s always suave and forward while Medic’s prudish and oblivious, which I also like a lot??? It’s probably because revealing the muscle brawn gun guy to actually be smooth and romantic is funny (and Medic constantly shooting down Heavy’s suggestions might be a result of Robin being kinda embarrassed and not sure if it’s okay to make these jokes in front of an audience lol)… but i think it converges in a great way ok. These guys just happen to keep replicating my own headcanons for these characters. im Eating

[synchodai]

Let's talk adaptation theory, because I've been seeing a lot of accusations that criticism of HotD is just "wanting it to be exactly like the books" and "book purists" not knowing what an adaptation is. So okay, let's talk about what an adaptation is, then.

I'll mostly be quoting from Linda Hutcheon's A Theory of Adaptation, because this is the first book most everyone reads when going into adaptation studies. Let's look at several ways we can approach and critique adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS INTERPRETATION

The adapted text, therefore, is not something to be reproduced, but something to be interpreted and recreated [...]

No one expects HotD to be a 1:1 reproduction of F&B. Hutcheon often compares adaptation to the process of linguistic translation, in that there will always be an inevitable loss of fidelity when translating from one language to another. However, the translator is still expected to provide an accurate representation of the source text — hence, adaptation as interpretation and recreation. Some may call this approach "fidelity criticism," an evaluation of quality based on how much the adaptation aligns with the source text.

("Fidelity criticism" is not what GRRM did. He didn't criticize the show simply because it differed from the books, and often even praises changes from the source material if it "strengthens" the impact of the work. His priority was never fidelity.)

This approach has its detractors, but there is merit to pointing out that HotD and its audience will have a difficult time interpreting and conveying F&B's message (story) if the showrunners actively take out key words (characters) and terminology (plot events). If we view adaptation as translation (from one medium to another), then the role of the adapter is to convey the intention and meaning of the source text as accurately as possible. And people do have a right to criticize "accuracy" of meaning if we see adaptation as a process of translation and remediation — which you are free not to, but some people DO come from this angle and are often dismissed as "book purists."

If you see adaptation as interpretation, are you a book purist? Perhaps, depending on what the definition of "book purist" is, but to make it clear, the people who are coming from this viewpoint clearly do not expect a blow-by-blow reproduction, and to argue that they do is dismissing a whole school of thought when it comes to adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS SUBSTITUTION

Another way to look at adaptation is through a "process of substitution." Pretty simple to understand, right? Prose that says "red dress" is substituted for an image of a white gown but with ruby embellishments, two characters are merged into one for the show, and Aemond and Aegon working together in Rook's Rest is substituted for the former betraying the latter. Your mileage may vary on whether you find these acceptable substitutions.

I believe this is the camp GRRM falls into. He brings up fidelity only insofar that he's concerned a lack of it will lead to poor and unacceptable substitutions.

How does one know if a substitution is "acceptable?" Well, I'd like to use the analogy Hutcheon brings up about surgery:

Usually adaptations, especially from long novels, mean that the adapter's job is one of subtraction or contraction; this is called "surgical art."

Good adaptations are like good surgeries: the body remains holistically intact and ideally functions better with the replacements and removals. Bad adaptations are like bad surgeries — hence the oft lobbied critique of an adaptation "butchering" the source material. The body of the adapted text cannot function on its own, being maimed or crippled by the adaptation process.

For example, the adaptational change of making Rhaenyra and Alicent the "heart" of the story has been discussed a lot by fans and critics. It was praised in the first season because it gave the story an intimate and personal "face." But it was lambasted in the second season because it actively deterred the plot progression, "crippling" the pace and stakes of the show.

In GRRM's case, his argument was that while Maelor was an unimportant part by himself, his presence was necessary for the continued function of other more vital organs. He goes on to suggest possible replacements and reprecussions upon the text as a whole. While he expresses disapproval that Maelor was removed in the first place and mentions other potentially "toxic" changes, there's also the (albeit wary) admission that Condal and his team could very still find acceptable substitutes that may stave off the damage he foresees being done to the body.

Again, this is valid criticism and a legitimate approach to HotD as an adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS AUTONOMOUS

Perhaps one way to think about unsuccessful adaptations is not in terms of infidelity to a prior text, but in terms of lack of creativity and skill to make the text one's own and autonomous.

Basically, this approach to adaptation asks, "Is the show still good by itself? Or does it fall apart without its source text and paratext (interviews, podcasts, press releases, etc.)?" This mode argues that adaptations cannot be simply sequels, prequels, or any sort of expansion of the source text. They must be separate retellings that actively evolve and mutate into a species that can survive on its own — mainly, that it adapts to a new context and audience so to speak.

A critique lobbied at the season two HotD finale was that its impact relied solely on the legacy of the prior show and the A Song of Ice and Fire mystery of who truly is The Prince That Was Promised. If the audience had no connection to Daenerys, no investment in the question of who truly was TPTWP, and never watched Game of Thrones, would Daemon's decision to finally devote himself to Rhaenyra make sense? Or does its emotional resonance rely solely on the audience's investment to another story that is not this one? Is it an adaptation of F&B or a prequel to GoT?

There's nothing wrong with it being a prequel, but if it was billed as an adaptation, then the audience has the right to feel misled because both conventional wisdom and esoteric theory agree that prequels are not adaptations. I think this is the school of thought most people subscribe to when they say HotD feels like "fanfiction" — because while fanfics CAN be written as adaptation (like modern AUs, video game novelizations, etc.), a vast majority of them are not. Most fanfics are grafted on expansions reliant on the source text for context.

This is all to say that a lot of criticism levied against the show, including GRRM's, can't be chalked up to "people not knowing what an adaptation is." There are several different ways to approach adaptation — the question is does HotD succeed in any of them?

[scream-cam]

anyone else struggling to move on from “Expect scandalous stories they couldn’t share before” like why not before?? young audience?? contract obligations?? phard launch??

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

re: leaks

As the series comes to a close, I feel compelled to offer my perspective on leaks, my role in them, and how fandom has changed for the worse.

I understand that this post will probably come off as sanctimonious or emotional. That’s fine. The impending end has made everyone incredibly emotional, and I am no exception.

If you look at my blog, you’ll find that I very rarely mention anything about leaked chapters before their official release, and if I do, I tag clearly.

I want to say this outright: the manga chapters getting leaked is wrong.

It is both illegal and morally wrong.

Horikoshi-sensei chose to work with Shueisha to release MHA in Weekly Shonen Jump. They offered him terms for the production and sale of his story, and he accepted them. Shueisha contracts other companies, such as Viz, to release his work to a broader audience and increase his success. You may have reasonable objections to the workload of weekly manga, the pressure involved in running a popular shounen series, or the various publishing companies’ choices, but I strongly encourage you to avoid projecting these criticisms onto Horikoshi-sensei himself. He has expressed nothing but complete gratitude and respect for his team and colleagues, who have supported him in making his dream come true.

The exclusive first-release of his work through WSJ and its related publishers is one of his rights as a creator. He has the right to control how his work is first presented to the public.

I started reading leaks because I didn’t have access to the Japanese chapters. For a lot of reasons, I wanted to read the original chapters before a translation. Along the way I resolved this issue: I have a paid monthly subscription to Shonen Jump+. There are ways to do this outside Japan; if one wanted to contribute financially, it can be done. Regardless of what happens with leaks, I read the official release on their website every week. I recognize that I am an outlier; most people in the English-speaking fandom cannot read Japanese.

Every week, leaks stir up absolute chaos as misinterpretations and badly worded summaries produce patently false, random theories that then spread through the rumor mill of the internet. The same night, pikahlua posts their literal translations. I won’t speak for pika, these thoughts are wholly my own, but their literal translations provide the mha fandom an incredible service that:

combats rampant misinformation produced by leaks

enlightens the non-Japanese-speaking audience to linguistic and cultural nuances that present challenges in translation

facilitates deeper examination of and appreciation for the work as a whole

The first is damage control in the early days of the leak. The second is damage control during the subsequent days, as people argue back and forth about differences between the leaker translation and the official English release. The third is simply a great contribution to fandom. pika works really hard, and some of you have perhaps noticed them tagging me to thank me for providing assistance to them. I help out because, for me, if there is any contribution I can make towards improving readers’ understanding of the text and reducing the chaos that leaks have become, I feel some sense of duty to do so.

Fandom has changed. Modern leakers are not diehard underdogs bringing inaccessible art to a dedicated audience who wants to celebrate it. The Japanese release has a pricetag, but for six other languages, chapters are released online simultaneously every week for free. This kind of access is unparalleled. Leaks are fundamentally unnecessary. The fact that the fan scanlation comes out before the official release is a direct violation of Horikoshi-sensei’s wishes. I can't even put into words how disrespectful it is.

The leakers make the argument that if they didn’t leak the chapters, someone else would, but they personally made the choice to cultivate leaks as an event. They set the stage for how this works. They release the 15-some pages incredibly slowly, over a period of an hour or more, with page uploads delayed behind the summaries. If they receive the entire chapter at once, it really makes no sense to not just summarize the whole thing and schedule posts in tandem with each other in rapid succession. If they receive the pages at roughly the rate they post them, why don’t they just wait until they get the last page to begin?

The only reason to not do this, as far as I can tell, is to generate attention and earn a reputation for being first.

If they think the chapters will get leaked in some form anyway, why don’t they just let them happen and offer summaries to help? I know they must pay money to access these illegal goods, but if their intentions are honest, why don’t they acquire the leaks, translate them, and then release theirs—which you’d think could be of good, cohesive quality with extra time and care—only if somebody else puts out a shoddy upload first?

The leakers have twitter accounts with roughly 68,000 and 92,000 followers each. They manage a discord channel with over two thousand users. Hundreds of people post leaked pages untagged within minutes of the leak, commenting with wild guesses about what’s going on. I see people say that fan spaces feel empty between releases, and that’s because we’re all hyped up on leak juice, focusing all of our time and energy into this brief frenetic spell and then just waiting for the next high.

Many fandoms go on for decades after the series’ end. I think people are concerned mha’s fandom will vanish after the last chapter because when we consume at such a high rate, there may be no longevity to it. But no matter who else is with me, I’ll be here for as long as it makes me happy to do it.

Japanese fandom hates English-speaking fandom because of the leaks. They hate our asses and block us for posting spoilers, memes, and fanart based on leaked chapters before the real release. I see people be curious and try to peer into the Japanese fandom, to find out how the Japanese readership reacts to things, and I get why, but I just always feel sad and uncomfortable that we’re out here breaking the law, breaking the rules of fandom, and disrespecting the creator’s wishes, and then we still feel entitled to their spaces.

If the leakers didn’t release the chapters early to almost a hundred thousand people, maybe some random person would still get a hold of them. Maybe they’d still get spread around a little. But not like this. Not in a way that is impossible to avoid, impossible to quell, impossible to discourage.

I’m sad.

You can think this is stupid or judgmental or moralistic of me or whatever you want, but I’m sad.

Horikoshi-sensei's ending will get filtered through a bad summary and messy translations before he gets to release it properly on his own terms. I've tried to help clean up the mess they make every week, but it never feels like enough.

Every shred of attention just fuels the fire no one is willing to put out.

And I feel very little else except sorry for it.